Life is a Beach

We got back yesterday from a week in Seaside with Dada's parents. They found a lovely 4 bedroom rental house that was 3 short blocks from the beach. I had never been to Seaside before, and I gotta say it was great! It is very level and not too spread out which made for super easy walking around town. We got to the beach every day (of course) and had many great walks and times digging in the sand. Even though being in a different house can be more work for parents of young children; how childproof is someone else's childproof, how fast will Charlie figure out how to turn on the gas stove (not very long), how fast will Charlie find the on/off switch for the garbage disposal (again, not very long); this house had obviously had children in it frequently and after a couple of baby gates were put up we could let the kids roam at will.
Grandma made sure we ate really well and we of course had happy hour every day (it seemed to get earlier and earlier every day). Ahhh, life is good.

This was our first day there. We got right to work digging and letting the kids feel the sand with their fingers and toes:

Grandpa Max playing with their dog, Nutmeg. She had a fabulous time running around in the water and had quite a few baths during the week!

Charlie really got into the spirit of the digging and playing. Plus, it's not too windy in Seaside so the sand didn't get blown into eyes and such as we were playing.

The next morning Max and I fed the seagulls some bread. They aren't shy and came to within 4 feet of us!

Dada decided to walk with Charlie into the water to see what she would do. She obviously has no trust issues with her Dada because she was quite all right in there with him!

Charlie is in a great mood sitting on Dada eating a cookie!

Max got to have his first marshmallow. Not s'mores, just a marshmallow for dessert one night. Look at the smile on his face!

He and Dada had to clink a little cheers before eating.

Yum! I like marshmallows! More marshmallows please!

'The Chariot'
This is how we went walking, once with both kids in there but mostly with Charlie in the backpack on Dada and Max in the chariot. Max insisted on being carried quite a bit and this was so much easier on the Mama!!

Of course there was a little down time when Max needed some entertainment so we put on a movie or show on Dada's laptop and he would be miraculously quiet for a while! Here he is making himself at home.

One morning we went down the coast to Cannon Beach and had to pose in front of Haystack Rock. Haystack is beautiful and though it can't be seen in the picture, it was constantly swarmed with various sea birds flying all around and over it.

Dada and Max decide to start building a sandcastle.

It was still in a rough state when we decided we should head back to the house soon for lunch. Max and Dada show the volcano shaped sandcastle:

Then Dada plops Max right on top of the mound! 'What? No! I have no idea how Max got so much sand in his pants!'

Dada and Max put hand prints in the side of the crushed sandcastle:

Charlie fell asleep shortly after, on our walk back to the truck. She was so out she didn't even feel Dada take the backpack off and set it on the ground!

The boys watching a movie. Max was really into whatever they were watching. Look at the chin resting on the hands!

Almost Square!

Max had his 3 year checkup this morning with the pediatrician, and is doing very well! The doctor said he is right on track with his language skills. Max was quite inquisitive with the stethoscope, blood pressure sleeve, and even the doctor's pen in his shirt pocket!

Here are his stats: (He was actually weighed and measured on an adult scale!)
35.5 lbs, 75th percentile
40 inches tall, 90th percentile

We (the doctor and I) had a little potty training pep talk, so hopefully we will see some sort of progress on that soon. No pressure, but when Max shows awareness of BM's, it is time to get him seated! So, the training of the Mama and Dada as well as the boy begins.

Max is completely normal with the tantrums and meltdowns we have been experiencing lately. He is getting to the age that he thinks he can do more than he actually can, thus the temperament switch on occasion. 'This too shall pass!'

Charlie is 1!

Charlie had her 1 year checkup with the pediatrician today. She is in great health and is doing very well with her verbal skills for her age (she can say kee-kee, doggy, and dada), and is already cutting her 18 month molars (she is so advanced!) ;)
Here are her current stats:
Height: 31 inches - 95th percentile
Weight: 20 lbs, 15 oz - 50th percentile
Head Circumference: 46.7 cm - 90th percentile

She's nothing if not consistent!

It's Birthday Time!

This past Saturday we hosted a birthday party for Max and Charlie. Max is just starting to understand about the whole birthday thing, but Charlie was just wondering why all of these people were in her house!

Max got really excited come cake time. He was laughing and couldn't wait to tear into that cupcake. Charlie, on the other hand, had no idea what was going on. Look at the sullen, lost look on her little face!

'Yo, Max! What are we supposed to do with this thing?'

'Lick all the fwosting off, Chahwee, then eat the cake!!'

'How's about I just feed it to Dada? He really seems to like it!'

And this is what a sugar crash looks like:

Most of his friends had left by this time, and poor Max was in need of a bath and his comfy bed!

Our thanks to everyone who came and helped our little monkeys celebrate their big days!

Closer... closer...

We have carpet!!!
The carpet is in and Dada is working on getting all of the trim installed. The kids slept in their new rooms last night and had naps up there today. Dada and I got to sleep in our own bed for the first time in 3 months!! Oh, so much more comfortable than the couch and the cot.
Dada is still working on finishing the last of the trim and all of the nail holes need to be filled, but at least they are up there! Seriously, we can't express how excited we are to have them in their own rooms. Max's book shelf and bean bag are up there, and soon Charlie's furniture will be up in her room. Then, my sewing space! Woohoo!

Oh my are we in trouble...

Charlie has been very good about showing us where we had become lax in our baby proofing, and here is yet another example of her getting into things before I am fully prepared. Luckily Dada had put the kid-proof doorknob covers on the exterior doors to keep Max in. We didn't realize Charlie would be testing them quite this soon!

Check out the huge grin on her face as she reaches up!

Who is that girl?

The kids and I spent the afternoon at Grandma and Grandpa's house, and while Max was napping Charlie had the opportunity to explore. She quickly found Grandma's mirror and started kissing the baby she saw looking back at her. Adorable!

Hey, there's a Mama in this mirror too!

(I love the hand on the mirror in this one)

Naked Max

Oh my! Hard to believe almost a month has gone by since my last post! We have been very busy here in the Meier household. The kids rooms upstairs are very close to being move-in ready. I have been doing some seamstress projects that have been fun and taught myself some techniques that came out very well (and have inspired me to make a few things for myself!). Max has finished his summer preschool sessions and anxiously awaits the real thing to start in September. We are ramping up for the kids birthday party coming up in a couple of weeks.
Here are a few pictures of Max from a couple of weeks ago - Dada was letting him run around naked in the back yard to see if we could make him more aware of the 'pee-pee feeling'. Pretty funny to have the occurrence surprise him! He would just stand there and stare at the puddle on the ground. We would ask him, 'Did you go pee?' He just looked at it like it had appeared from outer space or something. Anyway, we got some super cute pictures of his skinny little body running around playing.

Then when we came in the house we just wanted to do a quick cleanup before dinner:

Hands and feet please!

Progress!

We have made huge strides in the visible progress upstairs this past week. I got the colored walls painted, and this afternoon Dada (with a little help from me) got the new windows installed.
In the photo above, looking through the play area outside the kids rooms, the wall to the left is a robin's egg blue.

This is Charlie's room, which I painted a soft green.

From the very beginning of this project I would periodically ask Max what color he wanted his room. Every single time without fail his response was, 'Ohnch!' So he got 2 orange walls in his room. He even helped me pick out the exact paint swatch of orange he wanted!

Very soon this little corner of the play area will be a custom sewing desk all for me! I am so excited about the prospect of not needing to pack up my sewing machine each and every time I am through using it for the day.

What did you say?

Dada likes to tease me that both of the kids have said his name first (although I haven't heard Charlie say it in a verifiable way yet), so at dinner the other night we had this snippet of conversation:
Dada: Max, what was your first word?
Max: Potato!

I love that kid.

Boys Like Digging

A couple of weekends ago while the guys were working on the drywall and Dada didn't need to be up there helping, he built a new sandbox for Max. I wanted something taller so that Max wouldn't sit in the sand and get entirely filthy every time he played in it, so Dada figured out this box made of 2x6's. The sand is only about 5 inches deep, which is plenty for Max's trucks and shovels.

He loves it and only occasionally dumps sand on the grass around the box! The bonus of this system is that we can use it as a buffet table when the plywood cover is on it. Bring on the barbecues! (Well, bring them on when we have the upstairs a little closer to being done and can actually spend time cleaning up the back yard!)

We Have Paint!

I took these pictures yesterday afternoon. Everything has been primed, and the ceilings and the appropriate walls have been painted white.

It looks so different now! I am just thrilled with the results so far.

There is still plenty to do, but it is getting there!

And here is the gear Dada had to wear while tackling the dusty awful job of sanding the mud before the painting began:

He is SO glad that portion of the project is done!!!

Aaaaah, Summer...

Dada got out the hammock so that he and Max could climb up and 'swing, Dada!' (as Max would say). As soon as the major house projects are done they should be able to do this more often (Yeah, in about 6 years or so).

Look What I Can Do!

Last week on a sunny afternoon all four of us were playing in the back yard. I had Charlie in her excersaucer to keep her from putting grass, sticks, rocks, and whatever else she can find in her mouth. Dada decides he wanted her to crawl around and enjoy the weather. She noticed pretty quickly the back steps were quite close, and in about 5 seconds flat made it over there and crawled all the way up - she is only 10 months old!!! Dada got her and put her back on the grass but after she made it up the stairs two more times, he put her back in the excersaucer. ;)

Can I Help?

If I'm going to help you, Dada, I'm going to need a toolbelt that fits me!!

Little Dear/Deer

Last week Dada found an old pair of holiday antlers in Max's toy bin and put them on Charlie's head.

Of course, they didn't stay there long and quite soon were in her mouth...

Well, at least her immune system is boosted by putting all of this stuff in her mouth, right? Right?!?