5 Months Old

I've been slower to post recently because our days are filled with lots of fun (=
Edgar has discovered the fun of hanging in the high chair playing with water or kitchen stuff while I do dishes and cook. Hooray for him--hooray for me!

We were all getting a bit stir crazy...so we ran away from home together. One weekend Alex, Edgar, and I all went to Kalamath Falls, OR. Why? Because we hadn't ever been there. Edgar loved staying in the hotel! He sat in the middle of that King sized bed and played and played. (Yup, he sat. He loves to sit now...still topples occasionally, but loves to sit!)

We don't have a bath tub at home, so it was fun to let him bathe in the hotel and watch his long luxurious flowing hair.

He got his first cut. Mommy failure: I let him play with the empty pop can--one of his favorite toys. He hit it and cut his finger on the opening. He was trying to eat the bandaid, so I covered his hands with socks. He was mad until Mommy and Daddy put socks on our hands too--then he thought it was a fun game!

The weekend after we ran away to K. Falls, Alex's parents wanted to go down to Crater Lake. So...we stayed in K. Falls again at the same hotel. Again, it was great fun. We made a play area out of couch cushions for Edge to hang in while we played pinochle.

Crater Lake was beautiful!

We all traveled together in the same car--so Edgar got to know Grandma and Grandpa a little better.
Edgar went swimming for the first time at the hotel pool. It took him a while to warm up to the idea--he clung to me for the first 20 minutes or so. But, the next 20 minutes were dedicated to kicking, splashing, and general mirth.

He's growing up so fast! Here, he is learning to share his pacifier with the Lion. They pretty much have the same hair, which helped them to become fast friends.

I love you, son!

Honest Abe and Edgar: Enchanting or Creepy?

Edgar and I went to The Enchanted Forest today with my sister-in-law Laura and her grandkids Garrett and Emily. (Enchanted Forest is a ghetto theme park in Salem, OR featuring fairy tales--basically a Disneyland knock off. But, it's fairly cheap and the really little ones love it).

Abraham Lincoln was there. He posed for a picture with my baby. Not too sure what I think about that...
The babies did quite well! Edgar only got cranky when he was an hour past nap-time...and he only cried a few minutes before succumbing to sleepiness.

Laura and I took turns riding rides with Garrett while the other person hung with the babies. We tried to all walk through the Haunted House...but when the first glowing skeleton jumped up, Garrett says, "I'm kind of creeped out" and we head back out for a refund (apparently a common occurrence on this attraction). Garrett decided that he might try again when he's six, or after two more birthdays. (I believe Garrett just turned 5).

I know, kinda blurry--but the only shot with all of us in it!

It's always fun when Grandpa comes...

...and Grandma and Auntie Steffie

My parents decided Friday afternoon that they couldn't wait anymore--so they loaded up, picked up my sis, and drove all night from Utah to Oregon to come visit! It was short--but super fun!

We went to the beach Saturday...I forgot my camera, but my parents took lots of photos (which they will soon post...right??)

Then Saturday night, they bathed him and played while Alex and I went on a date. It was great! We almost felt normal again for a few hours.

I came home and Stef had fallen asleep with Edgar--so cute!

Edgar had so much fun with his auntie! He really took to her.

Goodbyes came too soon...

We'll miss you Grandma & Grandpa...hope to see you again soon!

Hand Eye Coordination

A Borrowed Bounteous Harvest

Slice up some Yummy Tomatoes
Fry up some bacon

Crush up some saltines or club crackers.

Mix an egg with a little milk, salt, and pepper.

Bread the tomato slices and fry in bacon grease.

YUM. Fried Tomatoes are one of my favorite things to eat ever. Yum. Thanks to my sister-in-law Nelean and someone at Alex's work, we had lots of garden heirloom tomatoes last week.

I love summer!

Help Wanted from the Hive Mind

Dear Hive Mind (yes, that includes you)--

I have had the same cell phone plan for nearly a decade, and I have had the same phone for around five years. Needless to say, I have been technically challenged for a while--my phone does not have a camera, text messaging, music, or the Internet. (It does have a very low-fi tetris game and brick breaking game.) I am being forced to give up my $20 cell phone plan (yes people, $20/month for 500 minutes--no contract) because Qwest is discontinuing their wireless products at the end of October.

I have started to do a little research about cell phone plans (I haven't even started looking at phones yet), and I find myself completely overwhelmed. I know what I want, but I don't know if it exists.-I want to pay less than $50/month..

• I usually use around 500 minutes/month, but I tend to go over during months with big holidays or events.
• I have never used text messaging. Honestly, I would like to have the option for some texting (without paying per text), but I don't think I will be an avid texter.
• I want to get good service where I use my phone--in my basement apartment, in the Northwest, in Utah, and on the road between them (without paying roaming).
• I don't really care about having a fancy phone (sorry sis) or web browsing capabilities. If someone gave it to me, I might use it--but it's not worth shelling out the bucks for it at this point.

Any thoughts? What carrier do you use? Do you like them? Do you hate them? Why? Are all of my family members on the same carrier and talking to each other for free? I just got a letter in the mail from Qwest: they need to know what I am doing by mid-September, or they will re-route my outgoing calls to their customer service so that I will talk to them (freaky). So...I gotta figure this out ASAP.

Help!

Love,

Jen

The Danita Photoshoots

Danita finally sent us our professional photos about a month ago--but it has taken me this long to get them posted! She did a FANTASTIC job with our prenatal and newborn pictures. She even went through and did some photo-editing and made some beautifully artistic photos! Here are my favorites. There are a lot. Sorry. This IS me choosing just a couple of my favorites!

(All photos by Danita Pappas. The maternity photos were taken at the Oregon State Capital at approx. 37 weeks. The new baby photos were taken in our backyard and house when Edgar was just over a week old.)