Lochhead & shoulders, knees and toes...: September 2012

Saturday, September 29, 2012

A Girl and her Bike

Gracie has recently decided that riding her bike is SO MUCH FUN! She learned how to ride this summer in Sunriver, but she had a spill that made her timid for quite a while. This week, she decided to get the bike out again and try it.

And here's little "Me-Too." (Me-Two? :) Actually, 2 1/2 this week!)

She's riding up and down the sidewalks, now! The day these pictures were taken, she had snuck into bed with me at 7:00 AM and said, "Can I go ride my bike now, Mom?" I could barely keep her inside long enough to get coffee in my system and the camera in my hands.

Debbie and Randy were here visiting and Gracie kept dragging them outside to watch her ride. :) This morning they were gone and Grace said, "It doesn't feel normal to ride bike without Auntie Debbie and Uncle Randy not here."

And fall is upon us...the geese are flying...and those nasty pine needles are falling to the ground like rain. :)

The BEST Gift of September

MY Vote: Baby Oden has been the best present of September! We LOVE having Drew and Annie so close again--and we've been blessed to be able to see Cousin Oden two days a week, when I am working, and then when Annie is working!

Oden is such a big guy! Born a premie, but small, no longer! This boy can EAT! :) And he loves watching Gracie and Josh... Most of the time his eyes are wide open, taking everything in--and smiling when Gracie and Josh get down close to drizzle him with baby-talk.

Our kids have been having so much fun with the baby toys that we've brought back out from storage. It's like Christmas, all over again! Exer-saucer, bouncy seat, singing toys...meant for Oden, but entertaining a 4-and 2-year old, too!

With all this gear, Gracie has discovered a whole new play-land for her baby. Here, Oden is inspecting this dolly whom he found harnessed into HIS car seat. I guess "baby bear" thought this chair was just right! :)

Gracie's Vote:  Aunt Annie has been the best present of September! The kids think that having Auntie all to themselves is pretty great! On Tuesdays, I often come home to find Gracie playing Memory with Annie, or eating a snack while playing a "Which is Bigger?" number game, or recapping what happened in preschool that day. Joshy's a fan too. I knew this when, after two days of being with Annie, I woke him up in the morning on my first day off to see him immediately frown and say, "Where's ANNIE?!?" This boy is getting pretty silly. So it's pretty easy to know his vote...

Joshy's Vote:  Uncle Rico! has been the best present of September! I don't know where this name came from, but Josh has decided that Drew is really Uncle Rico, and Josh tells (and retells) the story about how Drew fell asleep while watching the Olivia movie with the kids at G'ma Colleen's house and Joshy peeled his eyelids open, saying, "Wake up, Uncle Rico!" (pronounced, "Un-ko Wee-ko!) They both have a funny bone that I'm concerned may be genetic...

Don't Forget...JEFF'S Vote:  Swede! Jeff can rest easy on days when Swede comes over with Annie, knowing that the safety of his family is at an all-time high. Swede is vigilant in keeping away squirrels and birds, neighbor dogs, and (Jeff's favorite) pesky neighborhood CATS!

Happy Birthday, Angela-la-la!

It was so fun having Angela's party at our house this year! All the Lochhead/Mietzners made it...even Drew and his family who have just moved back to Spokane!

Oh, September...

Whelp, it's the 29th of September! With October in sight, I have two final September-thoughts: 1) PHEW! We made it! We have transitioned from summer routine to school/work routine and we're all in one piece! 2) Where in the world did September go? Luckily, I picked up the camera once or twice in the last few blurred-together weeks, reminding me what we came through!

Isn't he so precious when he's sleeping?!? This picture sort of captures our month of shell-shock: 6:45pm, right after dinner was done, Jeff's head hits the table and doesn't come back up for 45 minutes. He's so tired!

This year Jeff's teaching geometry again at RHS and has taken on an AP Psychology course. He's also coaching girls soccer again, so he's out the door before six and home around six... We went to check out his classroom one night right before school started, so here are the kids with Daddy in his room!

And Gracie started 4-year old preschool! I had to work on her first morning of preschool, so Daddy took the morning off to take her. I was a little bit sad, so Daddy had her pose next to me before I left for work.

She's so big! Daddy took a great picture of her near the hydrangea bush, per request. :)

Gracie was very excited to start school again, though this year she moved preschools, so she was a bit nervous. We had met her teachers the night before at an ice cream social, and on the way there that night she informed me: "Mom, I'm going to be shy with my teachers." Just an FYI.

Daddy got to spoil her on the way...a stop at the Rocket Bakery was a must, where she was served a scone-the-size-of-her-head. :)

And here she's ready to go! She has quickly adjusted to her new teachers and surroundings...and now when I drop her off she races to her teachers to give them hugs. The shyness didn't last too long...

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Spaghetti Squash and Silly Friends

This is a spaghetti squash from our very own garden! We kept waiting for it to turn yellow, like the ones we find in the stores, but finally realized that it may take over our garden if we didn't harvest it soon.