Tickets please, tickets please

Jack's imagination is just starting to take flight. The other day we were a train conductor. I remember doing this when I was a kid. I would record my voice on an old school tape recorder saying "all aboard,", complete with train sound effects, and then play it back while I was on the "train".

Our Bdays

Jack turned 3!
He had a fabulous day: pancakes in the morning, a bike ride around the neighborhood, playground fun, foam snakes, pizza for dinner and cupcakes for dessert!
Our sweet, but strong willed little guy, loves playing games, loves cars and singing along to the Cars soundtrack, loves to rhyme (even if it's not a real word), and loves his new subscription to the Friend magazine. He is our little buddy, always up for the next adventure.

I turned 1!

I was brand new to Durham, but had a fabulous day nonetheless. Jack and I checked out the Raleigh Farmers Market and after Derek got out of school that night, enjoyed a wonderful evening with him and Jack. My two favorite presents, flowers from my hubby presented in our glass blender (I wish I took a picture...out of all the things in our cupboard...I couldn't bare to take them out of it though) and my Thomas balloon from Jack. The eagerness and sheer joy in giving it to me was priceless. Thanks boys!

Goodbye Northwest...


Hello to the Southern life

We just made the long journey to North Carolina this week, so Derek could start grad school today. Or should I say, Derek and his dad made the long journey to NC while Jack and I flew! We've been in Pennsylvania this past month hanging out with the family and helping/nagging my dad while he is recovering from open heart surgery. Derek and his dad drove the moving truck to NC and put our stuff in storage for a month until we moved into an apartment this past week. We are excited, nervous, anxious for this next part of our lives together. Derek is excited for school and to utilize his brain again. I'm excited for when the going gets tough...the weak can now drive to her family. (6 hours to PA). So here we go! Let the student life begin again except this time with kids!

and this will make four

Hip Hip Hooray! Baby #2 is on the way!

I am 14 weeks along and due December 1st! Jack wants a baby sister and lets me know in his honest way whenever the baby (aka my protruding belly) is getting bigger. At least I can count on someone telling me the truth about my weight gain! We are ecstatic as can be. I was a lot sicker this time around and was worried that I wouldn't be better in time for our west coast vacation. But everything went awesome and the only person that threw up was Jack. Poor guy has a new found problem..car sickness. At one point we were driving on the 5 going 70 with the windows down. Those were some good times. Pictures to follow at some point! But here are a few of us crazy campers in the Redwood Forest before bed.

Been a while....

Jack In The Park from McKay Marshall on Vimeo.

So to set the record straight, we still haven't gotten the itch to get our blog on. However, a friend of ours had his camera at the park the other day and whipped up a nice clip of Jack. Props to McKay and his editing skills.

-D

BTW, although we have thought about upgrading from goldfish to a puppy, the dog is not ours; it belongs to McKay and Amanda. It is probably better that way, given our track record with the goldfish.

I just fully entered the world of toddlerdom. If you can't see the damage behind the little boy, it can't take much to imagine; picture it; two year old, black crayon, white canvas, mom and dad no where in sight. Of course the initial shock was that of anger as I reprimanded my little angel, but as I showed the damage to his father, we both had to turn our heads because we were laughing so hard. I was impressed though that Derek could compose himself quickly enough to share in a small teaching moment with his son. Call me weird, but I savor times like these. We all chipped in and helped clean off the wall, and it ended up being one of those little moments I'll never forget.

Dad did return bearing gifts; a cubs hat for Jack, which Jack appropriately replied "go cubbies". Think he's watched a few games maybe?

Dad is also good at making the best forts. We knew we missed having you around for something! Welcome home!

while dad's away

Derek was out of town for a few days. Jack and I stayed busy visiting family, going to the park, making playdough, and having date night (aka McD's playland and Toy Story). We had a blast, but we were so happy to have dad home!

essentials for the movie: blankies, popcorn, gummy bears, and M&Ms

glass half full

Today I was having a, crappy weather-my child took a very short nap-kind of day. My sweet friend Diana reminded me that these are the days when you should list the things that you love. Today I love the pear tree in my backyard and the beautiful pears it produces. I also love the freshly cut roses sitting on my kitchen window sill that I cut from my backyard. And in actuality, this day isn't so bad. The dreary day and short nap helped me appreciate the bright sun more when it peeked out and the extra time it gave Jack and I to get in a game of baseball, or it might have been the phone call I just received saying, "honey, let's go out for dinner and have some family time." All in all my "bad days" are just days where I haven't seen the good in them just yet.

2+5+5+17= a little slice of heaven

Just got back from a blissful two weeks with the Knarr clan in PA. One of the weeks was spent at the beach and was filled with many many memories. How could 29 of us under one roof not result in a lot of memories?! I feel so lucky to have such an amazing, loving family. This year's color scheme for our annual family picture was reds, whites, and blues, going for a Tommy Hilfiger look, not so much a replica of the American flag. I think all in all we pulled it off, except I guess Mark and I were the only ones that got the navy blue memo. Also, it's usually me setting the self timer then jumping in the shot, but this year we found a willing stranger on the beach to take the shot. More pics to come! Miss you guys!

Gack Gack turns 2

Happy belated birthday to my little man. I love your requests for a kiss and then a hug, how you still need a hand stepping up a step, but can swim out to the deep end all by yourself (floaties on of course..we're not Michael Phelps). I love how you recently joined the club of train lovers and how you pick up anything looking remotely like a camera and say "cheeseburger". I love your scowls and your over exaggerated giggles, your love of books and balls, how you say your prayers so seriously, and how you mimic everything we do. I love how you run to wherever music is playing and cut a rug jack style and how you excitedly point out everything beautiful in life that I fail to see. I love you Jack Jack.

I managed to get a few picks of him after church a few weeks ago. He will always be our little man.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

I've debated over whether to write such personal things on our blog, but we haven't gotten around to telling too many dear friends and family about our recent sad event. This past Friday, I went to the doctors for my first routine pregnancy exam (I was 9 weeks along and definitely feeling all the "perks"). They did an ultrasound and found out the baby did not have a heart beat. It was measuring about 8-9 weeks, so they told me it must have just happened recently. After a stunned week, I still haven't actually miscarried the baby, so a D&C was scheduled for today. Even though this sad event has caused much gloom and sadness in our home, we are so so grateful for amazing friends and family, for our knowledge of eternal life, and for our sweet healthy boy we have been hugging extra close this week. Thank you to everyone for the flowers, the meals, the ice cream, and more importantly, your love, your listening ears and your prayers. This week has been a little depressing, but I know that our Heavenly Father has a plan for our family. We love you.

Silver Falls

Took a little trip to Silver Falls an hour south of here. It was so pretty. I loved this one because the hike isn't too hard and you can walk right behind the falls. Thanks Kristen for the tip!

Happy May Day!

Last week, I was having a rough morning and I receive a knock at my door. No one was there, but sitting on my doorstep were these beautiful tulips and yummy chocolates from a woman at church that has moved here just recently. They totally made my day (and made me cry :). There ARE such sweet people in the world. Happy May Day!

it's yaining

I'm ready for those sunnny days basking by the pool, but Jack doesn't seem to mind the ongoing rain. Whether he's staring out our window or outside getting wet, he points and shouts with exclamation "it's yaining, it's yaining!", like he hadn't remembered that it had been doing so all week. He puts his face up to the sky, his hands up in the air and sticks out his tongue to capture every drop; He has to step in every puddle wherever it may be; he has to touch every puddle with his hand to see how the ripples move (see below pics). Life is full of wonderful little events, and I love being able to experience them with a child. They constantly remind you, that life isn't about posessions (see yesterday's post), or getting to your next destination as fast as you can, but enjoying the little moments that are given to you. These are two things that have been weighing on me as we search out our next step as a family. I was reminded again today how blessed I am to have a wonderful family and to be enjoying this journey of life with them. The constant rain is a running joke in Portland, but the rain is one of the things I will always cherish about our first home as a family.

Tools begone

This past weekend, our garage was broken into. Most of what they took happened to be Derek's coveted power tools, tool sets, tool boxes, tool chests; the main reason he convinced me that we needed to rent a garage in our aparment complex; basically they wiped him out. For those of you that know Derek, these tools meant a lot to him. Over half have been purchased, gifted or inherited from our fathers and his grandfather. A lot of them have sentimental value. Each time he goes to the garage, he discovers more of what they took. What I love about him, was he was pretty distraught about the whole situation on Sunday when he discovered what happened, but by the end of the night he just said, "...you know, it's just stuff." He can let it go so much easier than I can. I started thinking about everything that has been taken from us recently. Our Japanese Vespa knock off was stolen from our parking lot about a year ago, and recently my phone was stolen from a Noodles and Company where Jack and I had been eating and got up to clear our tray (I wanted to believe that the bus boy accidentally threw it away even though the manager said that it probably was stolen, and sure enough our phone bill had accumulated $55 in download charges from that same night.). I guess this is just all stuff like Derek said, but why is there so much evil and greed in this world that people really believe that they are entitled to things that are not theirs? As a side note, Jack has graciously offered Derek his tool set to borrow since he has but one screw driver left. What a boy!

Thank you J. Crew Thank you for finally believing that there are actually other tall people in the world besides your models. J. Crew finally extended their inseams to 36 inches. I know that doesn't sound exciting to most people, but there aren't too many stores out there that believe that there are taller people than 5'8.

Too Tall Hee Haw was the nickname my brother gave me at Aunt Laura's (our parents business). Every time I went to punch in, there was my name "too tall hee haw". But this is a brother that really did care. We were both working at the mall and it was right before prom. He knew that I was trying to find a pair of shoes that wouldn't make me taller than my date. I was in complete agony over trying to find a cute one inch heel shoe. He stopped what he was doing and told the other employees we were going on break. He took my hand and dragged me to one of the store's display windows. There in the window, were these huge pictures of beautiful models with 6 inch stiletto heels on. They looked amazing and confident. He told me that these girls were taller than me, wearing big heels and loving it. I told him I wasn't a model on display at Victoria Secrets, or I wouldn't care. But I have never forgotten this moment. I am tall and proud of it. My pants may always look like a floods coming, but I can reach the top shelf, see over crowds and reach my husbands lips without standing on my tip toes. Tall is beautiful and I embrace it.

Easter

I think we need more kids..Jack by the window, Jack with his basket, Jack with the bunny. He looks a little disheveled because this was after church and he's ready for his nap, but I had to quick take some shots.

Through a child's eyes

On this day down by the water, I saw life through the eyes of my son. It was raining and cold, but he could have cared less. At first glance all I saw was a cold and dirty fence and a brown river. I'm pretty sure he saw a perfect climb to a beautiful sea. I love these days.

Cupcake Mania

Last week while Angie was here we did a taste test of the two best cupcake joints in Portland to see who had the tastiest treats in town.

Saint Cupcake was our first stop. Located in the heart of NW, these cupcakes were amazing. The famous "dots", sized and priced perfectly for those wanting to try them all, were the perfect little treat. If we lived downtown still, this place would become a daily stop! Even their packaging is so cute!

VS

Cupcake Jones located in the Pearl, was our second stop. They have fun daily specials such as Hot Chocolate and Marsh on Thursdays and Peanut Butter and Jelly on Saturdays. I was surprised to find that they no longer use their "gourmet" wrappers to make the cupcakes more appealing, but all in all, still a delicious spot. I would recommend the larger ones because they are filled inside! To compare: they're priced a little higher than saint cupcake and there is no where to sit inside, but if you're getting them to go, not a problem.

Aunt Angie is the greatest

Angie came to visit for work again. Jack wouldn't leave her side and we had such a blast! Angie please come back!

Some pics I took down by the water. I am in love with the bridges in Portland.

Jack couldn't manage to seperate himself from Angie whenever she was home. The last day angie went to her room to pack and Jack of course toddled after her. It got really quiet, so after a while I went to go check on him. What could be better than gummy bears and Finding Nemo on Angie's bed?

Our St. Patty's breakfast. Who knew you could dye oj?

Beans, Beans

I haven't updated in a while, so just wanted to post a few picks of what we've been up to. We made a bean pool for Jack to play in (with the encouragement from Angie), which he LOVES. For those paranoid readers out there, he has been pretty good about not eating them! Lately though, he keeps bringing them to me in a cup and then dumping them out all over the floor! Luckily they clean up fast! This was such a cheap project and has kept Jack entertained for hours!

Reading Corner

With the rainy days, I found a lot of projects to work on in the house and a lot of time to play with Jack. He loves his books and would go behind the chair in his room to find the stragglers left on the floor. So to keep him busy, I made him his own little reading corner behind his chair, and he loves it! I'm not finished "decorating" it yet, but he loves his reading time. I find him sitting surrounded by all of his books picking up each one, totally enthralled by the pictures and words. I love it! One great piece of advice I received from my sisters when I was pregnant (they are so wise), was read, read, read to your child; even when they are a newborn, read to them. So that is what I did. I hope that he will always love to read.

"You have such a lovely daughter"

So after many phone calls and comments, I decided it was probably time for me to make an appearance in the blog world again. And no, I'm not stuck in the dumpster still!
I was starting to get comments about my pretty daughter, so I decided it was time for Jack to get a "real" haircut. Not just from me. I was really sad that she cut so much off because I asked her to keep it long, but she was just having a blast with Jack and got carried away. Derek keeps informing me that he's only 18 months and it will grow back.

BEFORE

This is what it looked like after his nap...seriously

AFTER

PA Farm Show

Derek doesn't like to explain pictures, so I thought I would add a few things. Growing up, my family went to the Pennsylvania Farm Show every year. Talk about rural, but it was always the highlight in the winter. My favorite memories were playing on the big tractors (no laughing), watching the horse pulls, petting the animals, and stuffing our faces with potato doughnuts and milk shakes. This year, we were in PA long enough to make it to this memorable event. You wouldn't understand how ecstatic I was.

The famous butter sculpture. This year it was of a school bus and the children. Yes there is one child pulling his cow onto the bus. What, you guys didn't have cows on your bus?

NYC

Dancing to the music in Central Park

Jack and I went for a carousel ride in Central Park. It went scary fast!

I love my daddy!

Crossing the Picket Line

Due to the requests of family and friends, I have decided to post a few pictures from the last couple months during Amy's blog boycott. It must be the anti-establishment in her.

My fun dad bought a part of a train from a local amusement park auction. He painted and detailed it, and the kids LOVE going on rides.

Garbage Day

Have you ever had a funny experience that you just can't seem to explain to someone, and you just wish they could have been there? Well I have been trying to think of a funny way to write what happened today, but I just can't seem to grasp the true essence of the moment. So just picture me, in our objectionable apartment dumpster, in the rain, fishing out my house keys. It was not a pretty site. I'm thankful for glass bottle recycling bins that seem to make the perfect step stools, and for Jack, who was sleeping soundly in our locked apartment, and for a cell phone, which was sitting in my locked apartment with my sleeping baby, and for Derek, who is out of town and could not have helped at all.

Things I love about Fall...the simplicity of a leaf

Things I love about Fall...Leaf Piles

Note the "rake"

Jack helping dad

Dad is so funny

Things I love about Fall...Picnics

Things I love about Fall...Apple Orchards

the conservatory

We were headed back from the pumpkin patch and found this awesome apple orchard. The land and architecture was amazing, so I had to take some shots. No apples were actually seen at the orchard, but we got to taste some amazing non pasturized apple juice, each one specific to the variety of apple used. It was so much better than store bought!

Things I love about Fall...Pumpkin Patches

We checked out the Roloff Farm pumpkin patch (TLC's Little People Big World) this year since it's a 5 min drive from our house. The cameras were there and it was packed full of people hoping to get their 3 seconds of fame. It was hilarious. I think I got mine though, so watch out for me in the pink coat!

A McD's kind of day

So today was that kind of day. Gray outside, rainy as usual and I was still in my pjs at noon. Jack woke up from his nap ready for lunch and there was seriously nothing left to eat in the house (yesterday Jack ate a waffle with peanut butter on it for lunch). What kind of housewife am I? So I loaded Jack in the car and went looking for food. McD's drivethru was the lucky winner. I pulled into a parking spot with our assortment of nuggets, orange Hi-C and sundaes and Jack and I proceded to chow down in the back seat together. Just then a woman in a mini van pulled in next to me. I watched her hand out her food to her kids in the back seat, and then take a long swig of her biggie size Diet Coke (yes that was what she was drinking). As she let out a sigh, she looked over at me and for that one moment, I was more connected to this woman than the sweat pants I had been wearing since yesterday. We understood each other. It made me smile. Maybe not everyone has had those McD's kind of days, but for those moms out there that have, you're not alone. Shout out to Orange Hi-C. Amazing.

Sisters

Last weekend, my wonderful, fabulous sisters ditched their diaper bags and made the long trek from the Eastcoast to visit us. We had such a blast and I miss them dearly. Thanks to the husbands, babysitters, and our mom for making this possible! Sisters Rule!

Out to dinner

The Rose Gardens

Jack is in love with his Aunties

Pretending we are Oregonians

Welcome to Oregon!

16 minutes

I did it. I finally convinced myself to join a gym (thanks to the pushing from Maria). And more importantly to sign up for the kids care. I went to bed last night so giddy that I would magically wake up in a day or two with a toned, modelesque body. This morning came, I dug around for my exercise pants that were completely wrinkled and haven't seen the light of day since 1999, and headed for the gym with Jack. I got my picture taken with Jack and quickly shooed him into the kiddie care, so I could get to work on my vision. I hit the elliptical first, and started chatting with Maria. This was it. It was so surreal. The Hallelujah chorus was singing in the background. I could see my legs getting toned as I ran. But I knew it was too good to be true. My name was called over the loudspeaker and I entered back into the world of mommyland. Jack was screaming, he had thrown up twice from crying so hard, and the girls in charge were giving me a hard time for bringing my kid in with a runny nose and cough (which he didn't have until exactly 16 minutes prior from crying so hard). And that was it. It was over. My 16 minutes of total freedom.

Nothin' like a smoothie in the tub

We all are trying to get over these infamous colds that seem to be going around. (Sorry I haven't commented in months to anyone's blogs) Jack couldn't manage to hand over his smoothie long enough to get a bath. Such a cutie

I Never Thought I Would

I never thought I would...
Warm my son's milk
Put chocolate in my son's warmed milk
Resort to doing airplanes with a spoon

Turn on Sesame Street for this picky, chocolate milk drinking son
Love a child as much as I do

Actually write something on my blog instead of posting pictures

I love being a mom...most days

Shout out to Missy Cochran from our ward for taking some awesome pictures!

Rug Rat

My Boys

Jack was pooped by the end of his party and just wanted his dad. I got some great shots of them enjoying a few moments with each other. I love them!!

Jack's Swim Party

Jack's swim party was a hit.

Cake, candy, swimming, and squirt guns. What else could a kid want?

Eating cake

playing with friends

relaxing in the poolplaying with his gifts from auntie andrea and angie

Happy First Birthday!

My baby turned one today!! Happy Birthday Jack Jack!

Visit from Grandma and Grandpa

Derek's parents came up for a weekend visit. We had a blast and Jack enjoyed playing with his grandparents. Thanks again for making the trek!

Viva Las Vegas

Carter and Hailee

Congrats to Carter and Hailee on their wonderful wedding! We are so excited to have Hailee join the Hansen family!

Beach trip family shots

The Knarr clan. My have we grown in size!

The Knarr girls

Knarr Beach Trip 2007

These are some of our pictures from the beach with our family. Jack couldn't get enough of the water. We had a blast with all the fam and a shout out to grandma and grandpa for making it a success!

The annual beach sac races. Jack was a contestant this year and beat out Connor and Alex for second!

Jack 10 months old

Never enter this kid into a staring contest