The Kiddos: 3.5 and 2 Years Old!

I am jumping back on the blogging bandwagon for many reason but most importantly because I finally have time to sit down and write (even if it is only 20 minutes at a time). Drew and I were discussing this past weekend that we really want to remember things our kids say but know we will eventually forget.  So, I will be using this blog to record some of them!

ABRAM: Currently Abe is 3 1/2 and really into trains (still). He is such a sweet, charismatic little guy and LOVES to be goofy and make people laugh. He has such a slapstick sense of humor and apparently falling down is his #1 joke right now.  He is super energetic and really flexible/acrobatic. We probably need to look into gymnastics again since soccer wasn't his thing (although they did group him together with kids up to age 10 at his first ever lesson so he was a little intimidated).

He also asks to watch TV about 500 times a day, so we have started making a pretty strict schedule about when it is allowed to minimize him asking so much :).
Abram constantly says funny things but some of my favorites are his new obsessions with "builders" and "mysteries". So, if there is a question he has about the house, like why his door makes a loud noise when we close it, he tells me I need to call the "builders who built this house" to come fix it. He also has been really into playing firefighters and solving "mysteries" as "inspector Abe" (from Inspector Gadget).


CAMRYN: Cami is now 2 years old and a total spitfire. She is so cute and hilarious when she wants to be and a total emotional mess the rest of the time, haha!  Thankfully the emotions seem to be triggered by certain groups of people or just being overly tired, so we're learning what situations are easier to introduce her too and what to wait on.  For example, our MOMS Club Monday playdates are getting pretty crowded with way more kids than before, so she has a hard time sharing when it's a large group of kids and all are communal toys. I know all of her behaviors are common for 2 year olds but the screaming is the one thing that gets to me most. She talks really well now and should be able to use her words but will scream (instinctively) in any situation where she wants to get her way. It's super loud!
Other than that, she is such a fun little girl. She LOVES following Abe around and playing with her big brother. She also LOVES her babies and has a lot of motherly instincts :). We will start working on potty training soon because she is probably ready for it and I would be so excited to get rid of diapers for good!
Some of her funniest phrases right now are when she mixes her Spanish and English phrases, "Grammy, I go in your coche?" "Abram is in casa" and she also responds a lot with "I fine."

We still do frequent activities/play dates with our MOMS Club but not nearly as much as previous years. We love to visit Bauman Farms, the Gilbert House, Young at Art, OMSI, and various parks in Keizer. We go out at least 3 times a week in the mornings but it is also getting much easier to stay home too since the kids will play together and entertain each other WAY better than before. We are ALMOST to the sweet spot where I can trust them to play independently (and well) together for long periods of time.  Both kids love to read books too and will just sit and read for a solid 30 minutes sometimes. I LOVE that!

The Kiddos: 20 months and 1 month

Abram (Abe)
20 months old
(I promise to stop counting in months when he turns 2!)

Abe is (almost) 20 months old and beginning to talk a lot more!  He says mostly one or two word phrases in both English and Spanish.  He is learning to favor English because I am the only person he hears speaking Spanish right now (although Drew mixes in a bit every now and then).  However, he understands both languages equally and will respond or follow directions in both.

He is developing quite the charming, loving, sweet personality.  He loves going to new places and is definitely a people person (after he acts shy for about 5 minutes first).  I was thrilled to receive the compliment last weekend that Abe was a very "compassionate" little boy to both animals and kids at a birthday party we attended.  Although he does try to test the boundaries (mostly by throwing things or getting into something he knows he shouldn't), all in all he is a complete joy to have as our son.

Right now his favorite things include tractors, cows, his baby sister, dancing, and ice cream.


Camryn (Cam) 
1 month old

Camryn is a total sweetheart!  She's really easygoing and sleeps and eats like a champ!  I think she is generally an easier baby than Abe was but Drew thinks it's just because we have more experience.

Last week we saw her first smiles (while awake) and she has been a great baby on all of our outings so far.  She's starting to fall into a pretty predictable sleeping/eating routine which makes our days go  smoothly (although I still call Drew begging him to come home around 5 o'clock every night when both kids tend to be tired and hungry at the same time).

Overall, we're all trying to soak up every minute of her tiny cuteness because she's already growing too fast!!

Updating the Kids Wardrobes for Fall (Garage Sale Style)

I have been trying to update Abe's wardrobe for the fall lately.  We are blessed to get a TON of hand-me-downs from my sister but more recently it has been obvious that my nephew and Abe were born in different seasons.  Most of the clothes we had in his size recently were winter clothes so naturally we were in need of winter clothes for the actual fall/winter that is coming soon.

I was trying to find a time to make it to the outlet mall (dangerously about 10 minutes from our house) but hadn't yet.

Last Friday in an effort to get out of the house, I looked on Craigslist for some garage sales and found a few in the same neighborhood nearby. But when we arrived, I realized it was actually the WHOLE neighborhood that was having a sale!  About every third house had a sale so we spent some time getting in and out of the car and doing a little walking with our new double stroller as well.

We actually did so well on Friday that we went back on Saturday morning (again just the kiddos and me) to do some more shopping.  All in all, I was thrilled with what we got!  We spent about $40 total and we got a ton of hardly-worn clothes!  That definitely beats the outlet mall prices!

Here's what I got for my kids:

And I picked up a few bigger sizes for my nephew:

Coupon Crazy

I made a trip to Target to do some couponing.  And believe it or not, I only bought what was on my list!  It makes it slightly easier to have focused shopping trips (that don't make you wander through each department) with a sleeping baby in the cart.  I was in and out in about 10 minutes and after all of my coupons were scanned, I was happy with the result!

I bought $14.99 worth of products for just $6.49.  57% savings!

My new goal for couponing is to ONLY buy what I KNOW we will use.  This was a problem in the past as I constantly threw out products that I got for pennies but we never used.  This was a great trip because it actually included food we would eat (like .07 cent celery and .50 cent raspberries).  Not a bad deal!

Cookie Monster

Abe and I had fun making cookies yesterday.  Even though they turned out flatter than flat (I think I need to add more flour), he liked them!  Here's the proof:

Back in the saddle

I'm deciding to do this blogging thing...again.  I had a great idea to write a blog about a year ago chronicling Abe's journey to bilingualism but I took a loooong break from that when I realized the updates wouldn't be that exciting until he actually started speaking.

Well, now he can speak.  And he does a lot!  In both languages!  Plus, we also have a new addition to the family who is keeping us pretty busy (hence why I'm typing with one hand and burping her with the other).

On top of these new developments, my year of "parental leave" from my teaching job starts this week as all of my co-workers head back to work.  So, to keep myself busy and still in some type of "literacy" mode, I will blog.

I will blog mostly about my kids (and include a bunch of pictures) to have a "scrapbook" for them to read when they get older.

I will also blog about our journey to bilingualism for the kids.  Hopefully it will keep me motivated and avoid the mindset of wanting to quit every other day when I have doubts!

Lastly, I will blog about some of my frugal living efforts to make it on one income.  After some answered prayers, we were able to rent a four bedroom house in the country for a ridiculously low price which was the only way we could make this "stay-at-home mom" thing work.  So now I am working to stretch our income enough that we can live comfortably while I enjoy time with my kiddos.