8 Months

8 months already? Seriously, I cannot believe it.  We had fun today bumming around the house, testing out my new lens and getting ready for our big camping trip this weekend.  We celebrated with a picnic at Manito.  I wish it had been a little warmer, but we had fun. He had me rolling with so many hilarious faces.  I'll share more photos next week when we get home.  I think this kid is going to be a crack up as he gets older.

In other exciting news, Patrick comes home tomorrow!!! Please pray for his safe travels. He's leaving Seattle at rush hour on a holiday weekend heading east. Yikes! We hope he makes good time because we really miss him!

Turning our firepit into a pretty display

His "I'm just humoring you" smile

 

I think we should just start calling him Popeye.

Community Garden

 As promised, I remembered my camera when I went to the garden this week! I was extra excited to test out my new lens which arrived while I was gone.  I'm pretty excited about the new lens; however, I think I may have to return it :( My camera does not have auto-focus nor does the lens (the lens that came with the camera does have auto-focus). I managed some crisp pictures, but it may be too much of a hassle.

A happy helper despite it being close to naptime

Strawberries are beautiful and delicious :)

This new lens is great at blurring the background which is what makes it great for portraits

Somebody fell asleep while I was taking photos

Off to Grandma's (and Grandpa's)

We decided to escape the boredom of our own home and take a trip to see (Ronan's) Grandma and Grandpa Jenkins.  We also had the chance to visit with other family members and friends.  It was nice to get away, although I'm so glad to be home. I guess I'm not a huge fan of traveling with a baby and a dog and no Patrick.  Ronan had a harder time than normal adjusting to new places (naps were short and rare) and so he seemed rather cranky.  But overall it was a really nice trip!

Why do these cute clothes never include grandpas? Perhaps because grandma's are the one's buying them? :)

We made a trip to my family's cabin to test out my mom's new toy. A 2-person Can-Am Commander. So.much.fun.  We always have a great time at the cabin and find many ways to get incredibly dirty. I wish I had a picture of Kohly - he was in dog heaven. He was so so happy to have complete freedom.




Kisses from great gram

This was the result of NO naps on Saturday.

Hilarious don't you think? Clancy enjoys a ride on the 4 wheeler

I'm going to get in trouble for this one, but I love it. I'm not sure I've ever seen my mom this dirty :)

I was equally dirty, but you can't tell from this angle

Awesome view

Someday great gram will take you on a real ride. She can't wait!

Even babies aren't immune from the dirt

2 important milestones: Ronan meets my cousin Fawn for the first time during his first trip to Taco Time

Maybe he looks just a little like me here? Maybe?

Day 3

A day full of sunshine! It definitely felt like summer here and I decided to spend as much of it outside as possible. We started off early by watering the church garden - I need to get pictures of that next week. It's a really fun project to be a part of. I love gardening and I think watering is so peaceful. Plus, the food is used for our church's community dinners and we're planning to sell the extra to raise money to send to our sister church in Thailand. It's a win-win-win :)

This next series of photos cracks me up, so there are a lot. We've tried giving Ronan these rice husk cracker type things before, but he didn't really know what to do with them. He seems to put everything in his mouth EXCEPT for food. I really don't get that. But today we took another stab at it. He was totally into it! I love how nothing seems to change except he's a couple weeks older and he has obviously learned so much since then. It's really cool to watch.

I love how he's not really even holding the cracker. These things pretty much dissolve when they contact water so it just stuck to his mushy little hands.

Hmm, last piece. He got pretty upset when it was all gone

This afternoon included our first kiddie pool experience. Pretty much just like a bath, but outside ;) He loved it. I think it will be a great way to stay cool this summer and I'm so glad he loves the water!

That hair is wicked!

He moves so fast I cut off most of his body parts. I love the splashes though

Abandoning the pool for greener pastures

I wish had a picture to share the most impressive part of my day. To Patrick at least. I mowed the lawn. Bleh. I'm glad I've shown appropriate enthusiasm and compliments to Patrick when he does it because he deserves it. Just as much as he deserves the beer that follows. Which I indulged in as well. Though it had to wait for a screaming baby, watering the lawn, taking a shower... I wish I had another pair of hands.  It's a good thing it doesn't get dark until almost 10 so I can get everything done. Except then it's 10:00 and time for bed. Or not. I have a really good book right now :)

I just have to say too, that even though I was first frustrated by Ronan refusing to go to bed tonight (I was really looking forward to that beer, my book and some alone time), it led to some of our sweetest moments of the day. We hung out on a blanket watching the most amazing sunset from our backyard. He was super sweet and lovey and then went to bed an hour later with no problems.



Our roses are blooming! And our lupines have aphids, but I didn't take a picture of that. It is disgusting



Day 2

Today was our second full day without Patrick. What a beautiful day! A couple hours spent at a service station (just an oil change), a couple hours spent cleaning and dancing to Mumford and Sons, a couple hours spent outside. Then we met up with some of my girlfriends for our weekly bible study. With this gorgeous weather we had a picnic at Riverside State Park overlooking the river. Is there anything more amazing than eating good food with amazing friends while talking about the bible outside in God's creation?!? I don't think so. I highly encourage it :)

Morning sun streaming through

Pooped

Babe, this is where we would be if you were home :) The dogger would be so happy