The Rodeo Princess

Golly gee whiz, gosh darn, y'all! I just had one heck of a morning. Today may seem like an ordinary Saturday to the rest of you, but for the Schweighardt clan, we've been looking forward to this day for months! (or possibly hours...who am I to speak for that many people) Today is the day we set aside to throw caution to the wind--to pet livestock, eat nine dollar turkey legs and vow not to return home until we're sticky with the residue of too much fun. That's right--it's fair day!!

Standard fair protocol for us generally consists of: riding the bus to the fair grounds (this is incredibly exciting for toddlers and big girls alike) checking out the goats, sheep,cows and piggies, eating elephant ears/corn dogs for second breakfast, getting creeped out by the crazy chickens, drinking lemonade, petting bunnies, eating something deep fried, picking up swag from the vendor booths, eating giant turkey legs and enormous french fries, finding dessert, getting way too hot and riding the bus home sticky and tired.

This year was not too different.

except for one really big thing.

Remember that girl? The big girl who has to be talked into doing just about anything fun? The one we've had to work with to be ok with house flies being in her general area?

Well, turns out she loves to ride ponies.

And I know what you're thinking; what three year old wouldn't drop-dead-love to ride a pony? The kind that has to be convinced to pet a bunny. That kind.

I know I should be prepared for stuff like this since the kid throws me through a loop at least once a day, but never before have I seen Audrey take to something so enthusiastically. Even when she's having fun, there is usually some element of anxiety present; tensing her arms, putting her fingers in her mouth, shaking her hands......something.

For months we've been bringing up the topic of the fair coming to town and we always asked Audrey if she was going to ride the ponies. "Yep", she'd reply and then we would move on. Neither John or I thought it was actually going to happen. So when we got to the fair and we asked her: "Are you going to ride the ponies?" she said "Yep". We were still skeptical. She just didn't seem to be thinking about it in her normal Audrey-obsessive way.

Anyway, after petting lots of critters, we eventually made it around to the pony rides and I asked her again...yep. No hesitation. Standing in line, she was cool as a cucumber. I was still waiting for the nerves to hit.

They never did. That kid saddled up like a pro and rode in circles on her pony without an ounce of hesitation. Not only that, but she was so calmly excited; like she knew she was born to ride. It sounds cheesy when I put it in words, but it was magical. She rode around smiling like a Rodeo Princess, waving to the adoring parents standing outside.

Put that on the list of top five moments as a parent. And I'm including birth there.

It was a good day.

An Epic Adventure: A Photojourney

*Insert Lord of the Rings theme music here*

One word for our week at the coast?

Majestic

This was Bailey's preferred method of transportation while on vacation. The views are much better from seven feet high.

Three goons at the ocean...cheese!!

Grandpa G helped Audrey fly her first kite! It took her a long time to warm up to it, but she was so excited!

Grandpa G's head is significantly larger than a kite

While we were at the beach, Bailey got buried in the sand; she was not a fan.

Bailey and Calvin's preferred method of conflict resolution is to hug it out.

John, Bailey and I took an early morning stroll on the beach...that's right...I'm wearing fleece in July.

And let's not forget the hot air balloon show!
...puzzle
It was a beast!

Calvin took a real liking to Grandma G; finding him sitting on her lap was not uncommon. I'm only a little bit jealous.

We packed everyone into the 15-passenger van to take a trip to the magical land of Tillamook

This facial expression pretty much sums up how we all felt when we got to the factory.

After ingesting more cheese than is recommended in a two-hour period, we headed back to the ocean for some much-needed exercise. I promise I do occasionally let that kid out of the carrier, it's just impossible to get her to stand still long enough to document it.

Unless Grandpa G has let her dress herself and don bathing suit bottoms as a hat, that is.

Auntie Em took us all out at low tide to view creatures only she can name

Here's my big girl sitting on the steps of the Yaquina Head Lighthouse

...and making the world's best pirate face at the Pirate bakery.

...and showing me her breakfast at Pig N Pancake on our way out of town.

We stopped at Multnomah Falls on our way home. Bailey did some serious hiking while her big sister chose to look cute posing for pictures.

By the time we made it to Multnomah, Bailey had decided Uncle Joe was her favorite person in the world. They hike, sightsee and eat nachos together. Long-range plans? Building robots together and dominating the world. Look out!

Before Emma left, we made Audrey try on her new sweater for size.

In other news...I'm still waiting on a pair of socks.

....waiting!!

After all that fun, family and cake the kiddos were worn out!

I still stick to my guns that the most important gifts we can give our children are experiences. This one really topped the charts!

Little A's Birthday Adventure

All right, folks. It's time to knuckle-down, buckle-down and re-evaluate just how dedicated you are to your Audrey/Bailey obsession. This is really happening--it's about to come down like gangbusters. Are you ready for the pictures? And the string of inside jokes/movie lines that have no frame of reference for you? Are you ready to take a vacation from your problems? (What About Bob, anyone?) Go ahead and take a potty break, grab some fortifying snacks and a beverage; you're in for the long haul.

It all began with a birthday...

Remember that baby girl I brought home from the hospital three years ago? Well, she loves the Ocean more than just about anything, so we decided to wrangle up the relatives and head to the Oregon Coast.

Along the way, we stopped at the Bonneville Dam Fish Hatchery

Here, John is doing the official pose from the poster for Bailey

Bonneville Dam is not just a lovely place to stretch your legs and gawk at fish, it is also home to Herman the Sturgeon...who may or may not be 'the' largest Stergeon alive (who can prove that anyway?) Either way, Grandma G was suitably impressed.

...as were Audrey and I

The whole gang had a picnic by the river while we let the kids get out some energy before strapping them back into their car seats for the rest of the day.

This is one of my favorite pictures from the trip. I love how flippy Audrey's skirt is and how Bailey is trying to keep up with big sis. This photo pretty well sums up our life right now.

Classic. All pictures taken of me at this age were of me squatting on the ground. I don't know...maybe it's genetic?

Little A gazing out at the Gorge. I love how she's up on her tippy toes.

So, about twenty fresh produce stands that Joe refused to stop at, fifty 'I smell a farmer''s and several hours later, we made it to our vacation house. It was about two blocks from the ocean and aside from the plethora of stairs that could be referred to as a death-trap for toddlers, was absolutely wonderful.

Our first order of business after checking out our new digs was to hoof it to the beach. Bailey was not a big fan of having to walk in the sand. It ain't easy when your legs are that little!

Audrey, of course, was super excited. The number one uttered phrase from her was: "The ocean's going to get me!!!"

Marine Biologist Emma also immediately stepped in to identify the first of our oceanic creatures. A crab. You got off easy, dude...but thanks for holding it, because no one else wanted to.

Ok, now, let's not all get distracted by the Gorge and the house and the ocean and that dead cat floating in the ocean in the last picture. (seriously, what else did you think John was pointing at?) This post is about someone's Birthday...and we're about to mess up some delicious Kelley's (half-price!!!) cake.

It rocked the house. I wish I could eat that stuff for breakfast.

After CAKE! we opened Audrey's birthday presents. She got two new kites some sweet beach toys, an awesome handmade sweater and a package of about eight hundred and seventy six things that Uncle Joe knows Audrey loves and her Mother hates finding flung around the house: lip gloss, crowns, scepters, bracelets, rings, flashing microphones, earrings, and these lovely sashes. I love that B is rocking a robotics shirt and diaper under that diva sash.

Because it was her birthday and being a three year-old means you're pretty much a big girl, we let Audrey stay up late with us in her Grandma G pajamas. She wanted to take those bubbles to bed with her; she kept telling me they were 'comfortable'. Ah, logic!

Can you see the excited gleam in her eyes? The sugar-induced mania? The sheen from freshly applied lip gloss? I'd say it was a great birthday. And that's only the beginning! Mwahahaha! There's another post for our trip that almost entirely consists of pictures headed your way! In the mean time, remember to hydrate and fortify yourselves with high-protein foods. You're going to need the energy!

*insert evil cackling here*

Who Put the 'Fud' in the Fuddy duddy?

I was reading back through some old posts last night and came to a startling conclusion: I am turning into a fuddy duddy. *gasp* I'm not even turning into my mother. (which, by the way, I'm hoping DOES happen since she's pretty fantastically crazy) I'm not saying I want to start a bucket list or anything, but wowzers. Somewhere in my efforts to get the dishes and laundry done I just stopped being silly. Blech.

I don't blog so much any more because it feels like another task that I should be streamlining with the rest of the chores I have mapped out to be accomplished in an orderly fashion. I also have an obscene amount of sewing projects at the moment for someone who can't stitch a straight line...but I digress.

New focus: More Willian. Less Mommy Dearest. Check, check.

I should be working on the two (you heard that right-two!) posts I have for our trip to the Oregon Coast, but I know it'd come out all "oh-isn't-this-so-wonderful-look-at-these-pictures...snore"

So, instead I'm going to talk about my two favorite people.

Siegfried and Roy.

...if that's what we're referring to Audrey and Bailey as for the moment.

Audrey has grown up. A lot. In like less than a month.

She turned three and then all of the sudden started using the word 'lovely' in normal conversation and telling me that things are 'complicated'. She also has a tendency to get caught up in playing make believe (usually Cinderella or Rapunzel) so it's not strange to hear her wandering about the house, wistfully saying "May I have this dance?" or "But...but...my dress!"

The downside to all this awesome pretending is that it's extremely difficult to get her to snap. out. of. it. If I want her to do something while she's in Never Never Land, I usually end up playing the villian. And by that, I mean she is literally pretending that I'm the Evil Stepmother, Mother Gothel, you name it. I'm the bad guy. So, when her butt ends up in time out for not picking up her toys the fortieth time I've asked her, she runs screaming to her room: "No! No! Let me out of here! Don't lock me in here!" or "Mother, I just want to see the lights!" This is what we get for naming our child after an actress. Oy. Let's hope she can save the drama for her Aunt Kappy.

Other than having a fantastic imagination, Audrey has recently proven to be stellar at puzzles. We bought her a box with four puzzles in it at Target and the kid whipped those suckers out like nothing. I was baffled. She can't tell me her colors most of the time and refuses to let me help her with letters, but she can solve a puzzle toot-sweet. I'm proud of that kid. She never ceases to amaze me.

Now Bailey...oh, Lord. Where do I start? She's changing too. Every day I see how her big sister has an effect on her behavior. My fearless little child? Scared to death of trains, cars passing on the road and loud airplanes. She can thank "Audo" for pretending they were scary or screaming at new decibel levels when one came near the house. Conditioning, man, I tell ya.

The Bear is also starting to learn some good things from big sis; like how to take care of her babies, change shoes twelve times a day, go potty like a big girl and pick up vocabulary like nobody's business. Bailey's favorite word, without a doubt, is 'elbow'. Which I never realized sounds amazingly similar to 'apple'. She says 'bee boop' for belly button and 'mo' for more. She also has started saying 'no, no' which might remain cute for a few more days before I wish she were never capable of speech.

On occasion you can get a snuggle out of Bailey that lasts longer than five seconds and that is how my girls are alike; they never let you underestimate their affection. And I feel incredibly lucky to be one of the main recipients of it. If we're considering Bear/Dragon affection currency, I'm rich beyond measure. Blessed beyond compare. Mothers really do have one of the highest paying jobs. But don't let anyone know...I'm banking on some vacation time in Scotland at the end of September. Wouldn't want to ruin it.

You Say it's Your Birthday?

Someone recently had a Birthday. I'll give you a hint: Her name starts with 'A', she loves tea and bossing her little sister around. Have you figured it out yet?

She used to look like this:

This was the year we decided to splurge and take the whole Gamelin family to Audrey's favorite place in the world (aside from Claire's in the Mall). But before we packed all and sundry into the Horne's 15-passenger van and headed for the Oregon Coast, we had a small birthday tea party for the Audrey girl. (also recently known as Audrah, Audee or Aud-0. Who says there are no nicknames for Audrey's?)

Preparing for this party was a lot of fun for me. It was so small that there was relatively little stress involved, especially since it was just the precursor to the big shebang at the Ocean. Audrey picked out the flavor of the scones and teas that we had and also helped pick out the pettit fours at Kelley's bakery. It was nice to have some input for the first time on what kind of party she wanted.

Grandma and Grandpa G, Uncle Joe and Auntie Em had all made it into town the day before so after a morning of playing with Audrey-and-Bailey-deprived relatives, we put the girls down for their naps and decorated for the tea party. Grandma and Grandpa G also set up an incredible hand-made playhouse that Grandma G has apparently spent countless hours working on. The thing is the Sistine chapel of playhouses; it has a door, two windows (one stained-glass) with flowers in the window box that can be 'picked', a white picket fence, two dogs, a cat, and several partridges in a pear...er, apple tree. Anyone who was currently underestimating the ambitions of the Gamelin women may now slap themselves in the face.

Audrey (and more notably, Bailey) loved it. It even has a mailbox, so feel free to start a correspondence with Audrey. As an added incentive, she always includes stickers in her letters.

The actual tea party was wonderful. We decorated with lanterns and scattered ribbons, buttons and silk flowers. We also covered all the food on the table until it was time for the big reveal and I cannot tell you how cute it is to hear a 3 year-old squealing "Scones!! Croissants! Pettit Fours!!!" with delight. I love that she knows what all of those are without being told. I've succeeded in some measure as a parent then, right?

Mostly, it was just nice to be able to celebrate such a fun day with cherished family. As we were sitting down to dinner later that night Audrey turned to me and said in her best big-girl voice: "Mama, that was a lovely tea party." Be still my heart. I love that girl.

A Birthday Letter to the Dragon

Dear Audrey,

You're three years old, and boy, do I know it. It feels like yesterday and forever ago that I was walking up and down the street three times a day trying to convince you to make your appearance. You made me a Mama and I am grateful every day for the opportunity to be responsible for a kid as amazing as you. I joke about how high maintenance you are when that is one of the things that makes you so unique; you are sensitive and loving, emotional and crazy.

I love how you love your sister; I hope the two of you keep that bond forever. I love that you keep me on track from what our daily schedule is down to the clothing and accessories I wear. Mama's have a tendency to let themselves go, but you wouldn't let me get away with wearing pajamas to the store, would you? You keep my mind engaged; that's right, little velociraptor, I'm on to you. You know exactly how the system works and exactly how to work it.

I'm so privileged to see you growing every day, not just out of your clothes like a little beanpole, but watching you meet challenges with joy, timidity, or fear and seeing you overcome them. You constantly make strides to push yourself out of your comfort zone (sometimes kicking and screaming) and I am so proud of all you have mastered and overcome. You're tired of me asking to practice letters, so mostly we read (about a million times a day) work on colors and do puzzles. You love any excuse to sing or dance and your favorite things in this world are your flippy skirts. Everywhere we go, people stop and comment on you and your sister; they love your hair and your crazy outfits. You mostly smile shyly and put your index finger in your mouth. It's ok; your cuteness has forced even your Mama out of her anti-social tendencies.

I wish that I could make a list of every character and mannerism that I love about you, but, really, Little Dragon, most of all I just love you...unconditionally. God has given you to me because he knows there is no other Mama on this Earth who could love you like I do. And it's true. Every day and always, I love you.

Mama GiGi

Catching Up

We've been keeping busy and having a lot of fun around here lately. Let's catch up, shall we?

Ollie D came to visit (with his parents in tow) The girls really had some great bonding time with him; I can't wait to see these crazy kids grow up together.

I am, however, more that a little frightened of how much trouble these two will get into once they're old enough for complete sentences or driver's licenses.

Trevor and Kirsten got married last month and it was the first wedding Audrey has been able to remember. She and her sister cut quite a swath with their mad dancing skillz and Bailey repeatedly attempted to capture the limelight during the first dances.

We headed home the night of the wedding so we could celebrate Father's Day at home. John and I had recently been on a cleanse and we celebrated with lots of delicious food. This was John's breakfast...and the day just got better from there.

We've been hitting up the Farmer's Market every Friday since it opened in June; I always take the girls to The Sister's Patisserie booth to pick out a treat and we eat it while listening to the live music act for the week.

D'Arcy and Jasmine both stayed with us for a while and their combined persuasive powers led me to submit to making many more baked goods than normal. It doesn't get much better than licking the beaters!


In the mean time, I turned another year older. It was worth it to get to go out to dinner with the Hubs and eat creme brulee.

We hiked Badger Mountain again before the weather gets too hot for the summer; this is a replica of a photo John took on this same rock with just Audrey when she was close to a year old. These girls love to hike.

The 4th of July came and went in the blink of an eye; Bailey celebrated by being awesome and fighting crime in her Wonder Woman shirt. The adults celebrated by eating brisket, drinking beer and smoking cigars-God Bless America!

John came home one day to find this little guy hanging around the garage. After printing out posters, canvasing the neighborhood and naming him Sebastian, we found a new owner for this sweet pup. Audrey was heavily involved in the investigation.

We took the girls blueberry picking a few weekends ago; John spent his time critiquing D'Arcy and my ability to efficiently pick berries, Duck picked blueberries until fatigue set in, Bailey tried to eat all the crunchy green berries and spat them on the ground and Audrey had me running interference between the picking fields and the port-a-potty.

It was all worth it for the 17.8 lbs. of blueberries and fantastic shaded play area at the farm.

Here, Bailey is contemplating the benefits of staying put and eating her lunch or bailing to go play with a fluffy dog. I'll let you guess which won out.

This past weekend, Papa and Audrey set out on an epic date (sans Mama and Bailey) to Seattle to see a Mariner's game. It was a fantastic opportunity for them to bond and for Bailey and I to get some quality only-child time.

While it was a fun experience for all involved, we're very happy to have our little family back together again. And we're looking forward to even more family being together; Grandma & Grandpa G., Uncle Joe and Auntie Em are all coming this weekend to celebrate Audrey's birthday at the Oregon Coast next week. We're looking forward to some fun at the beach, lots of good food and adventures!