She's crawling...

Makenna started crawling almost two weeks ago, and she's really moving now. Just give her a ball or toy to go after, and she's on her way...

Great Grandma and Papa Mackie's visit (slightly belated post)

Summer is cruising by, and it's already been a few weeks since my grandparents came to visit us, but I still want to share some photos and short stories:

Makenna was all eyes on her Great Grandma Mackie and Kieran loved talking with Great Papa Mackie non-stop. He also loved being read to, and thankfully they brought him a new favorite book about a little bear cub who was saved in a forest fire in Northern California last summer, entitled Saving Lil' Smokie. He was spoiled by us reading it to him about a dozen times a day! Kiki was well-loved too, as Grandma Mackie reminisced about the black lab my Dad had growing up.

Kevin and I also enjoyed the relaxing visit, just sharing each other's company and hanging out...finally a weekend home without projects or errands. :-) Grandma Mackie and I also bonded over a steam mop of all things...they wanted to buy us a belated house warming gift, and I have been wanting a new mop. She shared about her favorite cleaning weapon, The Shark, and after watching the video online, I was sold. It works really great, especially with all the new dog hair and slobber...just in time since, Makenna is crawling now...hope to post a video this weekend!

These smiles say everything! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Mackie!

7th year married, best camping trip ever!

We just returned from a four day camping vacation to celebrate our 7 year wedding anniversary.

We are a big beach family, and our very favorite beach is Tillicum Beach. Long wide sandy beach that seems to go forever. It's a bit remote, but worth the effort. On this trip we lucked out by getting one of the best camp sites. We visited the Oregon Coast Aquarium and the Rogue Brewery on our way there, and then drove through Alsea on the way home (one of the most picturesque and windy roads we've ever taken). I've got a squirmy 7 month old who just woke up on my lap, so we'll see how long this post ends up being...Hard to pick my favorite photos:

Beach time fun.

Football season is almost here, and these boys are ready!

Relaxing and reading the paper together.

Kieran found a buddy to play snakes and catchers with...they were so cute together.

Explaining how the sun sets and rises is one of the best things about being parents.

PS And no, I didn't manage to write this in one sitting, turned out she was squirmy for a reason! Thankfully, she's snoozing on my lap now, much easier!

Dog Days of Summer

We have officially survived the summer heatwave of 2009!

With temps over a 100 degrees all week and no A/C, this heatwave will definitely be one for family lore...remember when we slept in basement and went to the mall just to cool off?! Remember when Kieran took baths outside and played bongo drums on the metal bowls?! Or when "Daddy" jumped in the kiddie pool naked (thankfully, our yard is rather private)?! For better and worse, it's been a memorable week...and, yes, yesterday I was at my wits end melting home with the kids and Kieran asking me for a Popsicle every ten minutes, which were in the process of freezing...not quite something a 3 year old has the patience for...and neither did I.

Yet, hot weather or not, summer has been non-stop for us and packed with fun activities. Our biggest news is rather large, a big black labrador named Kiki! We've been his family now for just over two weeks, although he will celebrate his fifth b-day come October. His previous owner could no longer walk him, with bad knees and arthritis, and thought he deserved a more active life. Well, I think he's found the right family. Kieran adores him (although he likes to play like Daddy and order him around too), and Makenna has laughed while petting him. Kevin has been diligently getting up early to take him on walks, and Kieran usually joins him in the evenings, which helps wear out everyone's energy. Kiki is very lovable and always wants to be right in the action. There is still a learning curve for us all, but so far he's fitting into our little family quite well.

PS Our laptop melted and hence no blog postings. We've ordered a new one, and should be posting more regularly again.

Public Transit City

We love Portland for many reasons, and a big one is our public transit. The other morning we walked to the MAX train, then jumped on the streetcar, lifted off in the Tram, then took the streetcar back to the Pearl to catch the bus back home. The only tough part was being a "Mommy Mule" for the last few blocks with Makenna strapped on my front and Kieran almost asleep riding piggy back...almost 60 pounds! It was a fun adventure though, and nice to leave the car at home.

Beautiful British Columbia

Our little Cronin Clan was lucky enough to get our first "international" vacation up to the Gulf Islands of B.C. over an extended holiday weekend, and it felt so wonderful to adventure together. Thankfully, the kids were great travelers and we only missed one ferry, but we can't even blame that on the kids! No worries though, it just meant that we got to spend more time in Victoria and take this nice family photo (minus mom ;-)

We stayed on Mayne Island at a long-time friend's parents cabin, and Levi and Rosanna just recently had their first son, Lochlan, a month after Makenna. The babes got a little tummy time together, and are surely bonded for life. Makenna also enjoyed her first hike with Daddy, and plenty of snoozes on brilliantly sunny afternoons. We certainly lucked out on the weather, it was almost like summer with blue skies every day.

Levi's Dad took Kieran on his first boat ride, where he saw seals, sea lions and bald eagles. I could tell that was the highlight of the trip for him as he excitedly share the whole story with a woman in the car next to us waiting for the ferry back home! He also loved playing football, frisbee, parachute and fir cone basketball in the old orchard by the cabin. We visited a glass blower, and bought a glass slug for the garden. Oh, I can't forget to share about making a fire every day, thankfully, Kieran seems to be a very helpful and responsible pyro...he filled up the entire kindling box with twigs before we left.

Kevin and I enjoyed ourselves at least as much as the kids, and loved spending time with the Higgs family. Mayne Island is such a relaxing and beautiful place, and was definitely our kind of vacation spot. The birds chirped and waves splashed, and life just seemed to slow down. Levi took us out kayaking while Rosanna graciously babysat, and we paddled the afternoon away. The last time we had done that was on our honeymoon, almost seven years ago now, and we agree that we need to get out on the water much more often. We also agreed that this won't be our last trip to B.C., and we certainly hope to vacation with the Higgs family again. Some families want to visit Disneyland, we'll take Mayne Island instead. Nothing can top being followed by a group of a dozen seals, splashing and playing!

A very happy Mother's Day!

I've already had three Mother's Days as a Mom, but this one somehow felt like the first real one. Perhaps it's because I feel like my family is complete, or maybe because Kieran is now big enough to gleefully bring me flowers. The boys made breakfast together, our favorite corncakes. As I watched them sift and measure, I did feel appreciated as they began to realize how much work it takes for me to pull off big family breakfasts every weekend.

I also savored this Mommy's Day knowing that in only a few short years Makenna will be helping out too, no longer watching contentedly from the sidelines. I have a feeling that she'll be giving the boys directions!