Old School

My dad just posted this picture on facebook and I am blown away at how much Maisie looks like my little sister Katie. We always thought they looked  a lot alike, but this is insane. They could be twins. Seriously.

From top row left to right: My cousin Jana holding Katie, Aunt Lori, My Mom (look at those sunglasses!), my Grandma Lloyd and Uncle Marek

Bottom row: My Dad holding me, my brother Tim and holding the oar is my brother Jason.

P.S How cute is it that my brother is playing with my hair? 

Breaking News

MAISIE CLAIRE TOOK THREE STEPS TONIGHT!!

We have been really working with her by playing games where she will hold my hand and walk to Austin and then when I can't reach any longer she has to reach for Austin's hand. We do this a few times a night, I like to think if anything it's tiring her out, but tonight we made some serious progress.

As she was making her way to my out stretched arm I decided to add a little more distance between her hand and my arm, Austin also let go of her hand a littler early and sure enough with 3 sturdy steps she made her way into my arms.

I think I semi-traumatized her by my reaction. I screamed. Not a blood curdling scream, but it was quite loud. So she threw her little arms around my neck and I curled her in for a big hug. She was all walked out after that. She was proud of herself, but I don't think she was expecting me to make such a big deal about it and honestly I didn't think I would have either. Well, turns out I was just a little too excited.

I think this is the beginning of the end though. There is no going back. I am excited, but she seems much younger than her age simply because she's still not walking, so it will be a shock when she is completely done, but at the same time I am sick of worrying about scrapped up knees and filthy clothes from scooting all over the ground.

Hopefully I will catch the next batch of steps on camera.

More things the "Moo" is up to:

Blowing kisses

"gook" AKA "look" she probably says this a million times a day. No joke.

Signing please (she learned really fast it only took a couple days)

Signing sentences "more. food. please"

Kissing all of her books and toys. This girl seriously kisses everything, spoons, phones, sippy cup, you name it. She makes the perfect lip smack noise too. It's so dang cute.

Nursing about half as much during the day, but still twice during the night (like 2 am and 5 am)

She just now fits into a size 3 shoe (it's still a little loose, but doable). She totally inherited my tiny feet.

She loves brushing her hair using her new soft boar hair brush (she stole it from me).

Falls asleep by herself for all her naps. Some times it takes her a bit, she will talk to her self and sometimes throw her toys overboard, but she eventually falls asleep by herself with out a fuss.

Likes sea salt and vinegar chips. Today while at lunch Maisie started freaking out so I broke a piece of my sea salt and vinegar kettle chip and gave it to her. I thought she would be curious, but I totally thought it was going to end with a puckered face. Nope. She kept signing more all through lunch. At least she was happy though right?

She knows when we are saying bye without actually saying bye. She knows "see you later" " we will catch up then" "talk to you soon" "time to go" "we have to get going" there are a lot more, but it's late and I can't think of any more right now. Austin and I were talking about it and we are not 100% convinced that she actually knows these words/phrases she just knows the sound and tone of when we or some one else is about to leave because she will violently wave her little arm back and forth and the times where she's feeling a little more dainty she will just bend her wrist.

She waves to about every moving thing. People, cars, animals, toys. She is such a little ham.

She has become a professional stair/everything climber. She climbed onto the couch by using a toy to step on. Oy vey!

Smoothies are her current favorite food. I sneak in things like almond butter and spinach to add an extra health factor. Noodles and rice are a close second.

She has started drinking almond milk on a daily basis. She used to have cows milk, but she has decided that she now hates the taste of it.

That's all I can come up with right now, but Maisie is happy and healthy. Pretty soon she is going to be walking! So crazy!

Wedding Fun

Miss Bates becomes Mrs. Poole

Last Friday we had the honor to attend a dear friend's special day as she married her soul mate. I have known Liz quite some time now, I still remember our days at summer church camp (Go Canyon View!) in elementary school and being classmates from middle school through high school.  Liz is one of those people that no matter the circumstance she can put a smile on your face. She is genuine, kind and beautiful inside and out. 

One of the reasons Austin and I have been so excited for this wedding because we knew it would be the perfect date night. Dressed up? check. Romantic atmosphere? check. Good food? check. Friends? check. Dancing? check. Doing these things while celebrating and supporting our beautiful friend? check!

We knew it was going to be a beautiful wedding and any one who thought otherwise or even had a doubt, obviously doesn't know the bride well enough. She by trade is an event coordinator (I.E wedding planner) it's her job to plan other peoples big day, so it was a BIG no brainer assuming this wedding would be gorgeous and it truly was. Another thing, Liz has great taste is fashion (and just about everything), she's very fashion forward and I wouldn't mind her being my personal stylist the least bit. She was a stunning bride. Absolutely stunning.

I don't have many pictures because my purse was placed in the car and the camera was located in said purse, but I have a few and I think I will steal a couple from people as they post them, but I thought I would put a couple of them on here.

stunning right?

for more pictures check out Molly Kidd's blog urban nester

I borrowed a couple photos from her blog already, but there are more beautiful pictures of the lovely couple and the amazing set up.

I will share as the professional photos from Erich McVey Photography as they surface.

Trust me they will be amazing.

Toms update (sort of)

Ok. Before the word traitor is used I am going to clear the air...

I did not replace my toms with a new pair of toms as intended. Don't shoot!!

BUT I have not turned my back on my dear toms because I am for certain that more will be apart of my life (and Maisie's too). Please read my previous post "Hide your kids. Hide your toms." for the full story about their disappearance.

Here's the scoop... 

Austin, Nat and I went to Nordstrom to purchase supposed "replacement toms" I found a pair of "Nordstrom exclusives" that I really quite liked. I decided to browse a little bit and on the center table there was a large line of an array of different colored leather flats. These berry colored gems caught my eye. So as I pick them up I noticed the Frye signature stamp on right side of the heel. "Oh. My. Gosh". I exclaimed as I perked up onto my tippy toes in search of Austin. Austin was near by and heard me say "They're Fryes!!!"

I better do some explaining here. Last February when we got our tax return back I found a pair of Frye boots that I was almost (or totally) obsessed with, but they had a hefty price point. Austin said I could buy them because we agreed that we could each buy something fun with some of our tax return money, but I never brought myself to hand over the 300 dollars. I still regret it. I mean, I had permission and I didn't take it! What in the world is wrong with me!?

Anyway, back to the story. I was expecting an eye roll from Austin, but instead he said "I like those, try them on." I thought he was joking. I even said that if that there were no chance of me being able to buy them that I don't want to torture myself by trying them on. Austin said it again "just try them on Sammie" AHH! I did and it was good. I think I had 2 things going for me. I was the sad wife whose shoes were stolen/thrown away and I missed out of my first chance at owning a fine Frye product (Austin knew I regretted not getting those bad boys). 

So now I am the proud owner of these babes

These are the boots. That I WILL someday own.

These might have to be purchased as well... hah

Hide your kids. Hide your Toms.

I think I am still in shock, but my beloved Toms are gone.

Last time I had them was the drive/first night at the coast. I remember taking them off by the desk in our room and the next morning as we were walking out the door housekeeping came in to take our towels, make the bed and straighten up a little bit and then when we got back that night they were no where to be found. I seriously wore those shoes every day. I just still can't convince myself that some one (clears throat *housekeeping*) would take them. They were well loved (meaning they are worn, they don't look brand new, but they aren't in bad shape either) could have Maisie thrown them in the trash? This isn't to far fetched because she loves to hide things, but my shoes were on the opposite side of the room. She would have had to crawl over, grab one and then scoot all the way back to the trash and then repeat for the next shoe. I think we would have noticed and I also think Maisie would have done just one and then would be distracted by something else, but they are both just gone.

As we were checking out, my mother in law said something to the front desk and left our address so they could be sent back to us, but I don't think that's going to happen as much as I would like it to. I am pretty bummed. I remember how excited I was to get my first pair and add to the collection, but now I am toms-less. Austin promised I can get a new pair, but it still doesn't bring my other ones back.

I am a little excited to get a new pair because there are so many options. I have always imagined getting a fun/bright pair, but now that I am down a neutral pair, I don't know what to do. Should I get another staple neutral or a fun summery pair?

These were my trusty pals.

These are my contenders...

Right now I am really feeling the coral and aqua ones. But the ivory grosgrain is lovely too.

Any opinions?

Neskowin Beach

Tuesday the 5th we had to be checked out of the hotel at 11:00 am and our plan was to have a beach day and it was the perfect day for it. Another cloudless sky and in the low 70s. So we woke up the same time we always do (at about 8am) ate breakfast, showered and then Austin, Maisie and I headed down to the tide pools right outside our hotel. With how busy we were the day before, we didn't have a chance to scope out the tide pools just a few hundred feet away from us. After a short adventure on the rocks we headed back to our room where we finished packing up whilst watching the Casey Anthony trial (don't even get me started on the verdict). We then started making our way up north towards Lincoln City. We were going to stop at Otter Crest for lunch, but Maisie fell asleep and since she was already way off her normal schedule we wanted her to sleep as long as possible. We made a pit stop in Depot Bay for some old fashioned caramel corn and then continued past Lincoln City to Neskowin (I have such a soft spot for Neskowin. This was the beach my family would ALWAYS go to). 

We decided to have lunch before hitting up the beach. We ate at the Hawk Creek Cafe and oh man, it is delicious! This was my second time eating there (once for dinner and this time for lunch) and I highly recommend it. After lunch we grabbed our towels and beach toys and walked until we found the perfect spot. This was Maisie's first real time playing on the beach. She ate fist fulls of sand and loved the water. All she wanted to do was splash around and throw sand clumps. The water was freezing, but she didn't seem to mind much. She would shiver and chatter her teeth, but she got mad every time we tried to dry her off or relocate her. She was loving everything about the beach. The kites, dogs, little kids, waves, of course the sand and her little water spot next to the ocean river. She wasn't too happy with the clean up that occurred after we headed back to the car, but I don't think shes too traumatized. Austin and I even had a little stroll to ourselves. Austin called it a date, while Maisie was being watched by Aunt Miranda, Grandpa and Grandma. Austin and I even got brave and decided to play in the ocean. It was so cold and pretty much the whole time we were screaming uncontrollably. We got a little above waist deep which is a feat for the Oregon Coast. We then walked/swam upstream the river to our little spot and the river water felt like a lukewarm bath compared to the ocean waves we were just frolicking in. It was so nice just to be able to hold hands. That is something I used to take for granted, but since having a child and now having to push a stroller or carry a bazillion things (including a baby), it seems like such a treat when we are actually able to. We then headed back to the car and made our way back home. We all got a little sunburned, mainly me. I was the only one who didn't put on SPF (I put SPF 15 on my face) but as for my chest, shoulders and neck... well I was a little toasty. It has already healed nicely into a tan though (Yay for diligent aloe vera applications and not peeling!)

Anyway, here are some pictures of our day at the beach.

red, white and blue flowers at Hawk Creek Cafe

Throwing sand clumps. She would make the cutest little noise as she threw them.

splish splash.

We had such a great time and our whole trip was so nice. There seriously couldn't have been any better weather at the coast. We are very excited for our next mini-vacation.

Newport Bay Fireworks

After our hiking adventures we headed back to the hotel to rest up/change/shower/feed Maisie then it was off to Newport. We wanted to get there early so we could scope out a good spot to watch the firework show. We ate a delicious dinner at Mo's and then went to the first dock to sit and wait for a couple hours until it was dark enough for the show to start. I am glad we got there early because there were already people camped out on the benches and setting up chairs in the front. We put down some blankets and ate Marion berry cobbler while the sun started to fade. We even had free entertainment a fellow was catching crab off the dock and every 15 minutes or so he would pull up his basket and sure enough there would be some crab. He even was teaching us what to look for. Males, at least 5 inches from ridge to ridge or the size of a dollar bill. Anything smaller or female gets tossed back in. Maisie was being so good. She was a little hard to keep still, but besides the boredom (which I don't blame her, we were sitting for a couple hours) she was an angel. A cart came around with hot chocolate so we warmed our hands and bellies until the show started. I was manning the camera, because Austin was busy trying to get comfortable and keeping Maisie occupied, but man was I struggling. My pictures we blurry (its impossible to take a good pictures of fireworks without a tripod or at least a flat stable surface) so finally Austin decided to take over. He went to the very edge of the dock and placed the camera on the ledge and took amazing pictures. For fun I will post some of mine first and then his.

Here we go...

mine

mine

Austin's

Austin's

AND THE WINNER IS........

Definitely Austin. 

Look at this stunning picture! The perfect timing and the reflection off the bay. Beautiful.

Giant Spruce Trail

After our tide pool adventure we had a little picnic before starting the Giant Spruce trail. We snacked on PB&Js, apples, grapes and chips then we started our hunt for the 600 year old spruce. It was about 2 o'clock at this point almost 3 hours past Maisie's normal nap time, so we were a little worried she was going to have a melt down half way through the trip, but we carried on and prayed that she would sleep in the hiking pack. See pictures for results...

about 10 minutes in she fell asleep. Austin was humming edelweiss to her as he blazed the trail.

Me and Miranda's hiking uphill self portrait

Maisie snoozing in the back...

We found the giant spruce!

And it is giant!

Look who woke up...

Salmon berries... which are in fact edible.