an evening at the beach.

these photos were pretty hard to get, considering the fact that owen didn't want the sand touching any part of his little body. we really had to bribe him with the beach grass and leaves. 

17 months.

heres a few fun facts about owen at 17 months:
 -hes climbing all over the furniture. and is figuring out how to maneuver things to get where wants to go. (i.e. pushing his owen chair up to the couch or using his little green chair to climb up onto his table.)

-he loves to climb in and out of things, especially his big toy basket or the bottom drawer on our armoire.

-he loves to push and drag things all around the house, especially his little blue stool and his wheely bug.

-hes really, really into certain books right now. 

-he absolutely looooooves the pigeon books. and would sit and listen to them all day long if he could. (definitely check out that link if you have a little one...so fun.)
-he also really likes, if you give a pig a pancake, and all of laura numeroff's  books in that series.

-he has so much fun going for rides in his radio flyer red wagon. 

-he loves to pick dandelions. and will try to carry sticks three times the size of him. 

-he absolutely loves balloons. and always has to get one when we go to the grocery store.

-hes getting really good at going down stairs backwards.

-hes not a big fan of the sand at the beach. and absolutely refuses to get any sand on his hands or feet.

-he loves to snack on rice cakes and kashi crackers. and cheesy omelets have become a favorite for breakfast or lunch.

-but he does seem to be getting a little more picky with his food.

-hes always asking lots of questions. but he gets pretty frustrated if we can't understand him.

-we've heard him say a few more words this month: duck, again, balloon, and pablo.

-if you ask him if he'd like to watch a backyardigans, he'll excitedly run straight to his owen chair and cuddle up with his blanket.

-and he can show you where is hair is. and we're working on the belly button.

happy birthday, hope.

you are growing up to be such a beautiful, talented and fashionable teenager. we hope you have a wonderful 11th birthday...we love you, pickles.

and just for fun, heres a photo of hope 4 years ago, as the flower girl in our wedding. i absolutely LOVE this photo of us together. i cannot even believe how much she has changed...

little miss adylinne.

i had such a fun time taking pictures of little miss adylinne. she was so easy going and laid back. and simply adorable. i had such a fun time visiting with her mommy too. (we really have to get together more often, koren.)

thanks for letting me play around with my camera. hope you love 'em.

lily pad pancakes.

a fun little recipe from this great little cookbook: the toddler cafe. its filled with tons of healthy and creative recipes, and even a few sneaky tips for getting those veggies in.

and of course, our little 'pea lovin' owen gobbled 'em right up...they were just the perfect little size for him to munch on. 

adam's fathers day card.

*made with yummy yogurt finger paint*


and the best part...the little artist got to eat the leftovers.

bubble cheeks.

thats what i see when i look at these photos...kissable, pinchable, lovable little bubble cheeks.

fathers day weekend.

we spent our weekend hanging out with family, and celebrating all of the wonderful dads in our life. 

hugs + kisses to grandpa doug, grandpa scott, and great grandpa duane. we hope you enjoyed your special day.

and to adam...the most AMAZING daddy in the world...thanks for making our life so sweet. happy third fathers day...hope you love the new grill. xoxo 

and i just recently came across this cute little photo that was taken last summer at ogden gardens...i don't know how i could have ever missed it.

goodmama contest | take 2

so which one is your favorite? take the poll to the right. ------>

eta: thanks to everyone who voted. #1 was the favorite, so we entered it into the contest...and won. yay!  check it out.
heres a couple screenshots...




photo 1

photo 2

photo 3

adam's (errr...i mean...owen's) new fish tank.

we had such a fun time setting up owen's new fish tank this weekend. hes been saying the word "fishies" over and over again. and he knows just where to find his little fish tank.

anyone have any good ideas for names?

16 month check-up.

so owen had a visit with dr. ludwig yesterday, and everything went great. here are the numbers:

weight - 27 lb. (50-75%)

height - 32.25 in. (50-75%)

head- 47.1 cm. (25-50%)

and while we're doing an update, here are a few fun things i forgot to mention in owen's 15 and 16 month updates...

-he recognizes himself in the mirror. and loves to make funny faces and give kisses.

-when he needs a little help getting down from a step, he'll wait and take your hand.

-every time he climbs up the staircase in our home, he'll stop at the ledge to look at our wedding pictures.

-whenever we're reading a book together, he loves to help turn the pages.

-and some more words or phrases that hes saying: blue, fishie, car, tickle tickle tickle, mmmm good.

be back tomorrow with pictures of owen's new fish tank.

tate mcclure apple orchard.

so this past sunday, owen and i took a short trip down to a little apple orchard in peru, indiana with grandma bonnie and great grandma ann. we met up with aunt crystal and trevor, and enjoyed a nice little picnic lunch. (adam was busy working on the roof, barry was busy working on a car, and grandpa doug was busy laying out at the pool. so, we decided to make it a girls day. well, except for the little guys.) they had such a good time running around and checking out all the animals. i had big plans for pictures, but sadly my camera battery only lasted about 10 minutes. i did, however, manage to capture a few cute shots of my little nephew, trevor.  don't you think he could really rock a mohawk? come on, crystal...let us just try it once.

have a great weekend.

random tidbits.

just an fyi... i have added a label list to the sidebar, and am working on adding labels to all of the previous blog posts. if you are looking for something specific, this should make it easier on you. for example, if you would like to see all of owen's monthly updates, just go to the labels list on the sidebar, click on 'monthly updates,' and they will be displayed in a new window. similarly, if you would like to see all of the info i've posted on cloth diapers, go to the sidebar and click on 'cloth diapers.' i plan to add more labels as time allows. hope that helps...enjoy.

.  .  .  .  .

i recently came across a couple of great cloth diapering articles in mothering magazine. if your interested, check 'em out here...
a tale of two diapers + crazy for cloth.

.  .  .  .

and since summer is finally here, i thought i'd share these very cool *bpa free* popsicle molds that i found on the safe mama site. scroll down and you'll see a great little recipe for toddlers and kids. i can't wait to make up a batch.

.  .  .  .

and this weekend, i am planning on making some of my own green cleaners. if you would like to give it a try, heres a great recipe that i found on another blog. (be sure to let me know how it goes.)

All-Surface Cleaner:

This will require a spray bottle (easily found at most stores - check your dollar store for a great deal!), vinegar (I prefer white), water, essential oils of your choice (my favorites are lavender or tea tree oil) and grapefruit seed extract. All of these ingredients can be found at a local health store, online or, surprisingly, at most drug stores.
Fill your spray bottle halfway with vinegar. Fill almost the rest of the way with water, leaving some room to add your oil/s and extract. I add my essential oil/s based on scent - generally around 10-15 drops. As for the grapefruit seed extract, I find that it’s very thick/stick and I just pour it from the bottle rather than messing with the dropper. I would guess it’s approximately 2 droppers full. Give the bottle a gentle shake and you’re done! Ready to clean - and it will clean! Did you know that grapefruit seed extract is more effective than bleach at killing off the bad things in your kitchen?

*happy thursday*