Dear Aunt Daniela...

Before you really knew us, it was over a year ago in fact, you gave us an amazing gift.  For Christmas you generously spoiled us with a membership to the Oregon Zoo.  We have gone many times in the last 12 months, but I think this last time was our best ever.

We had a dusting of snow and we were anxious for an adventure.  After driving through Portland's west hills, we arrived at the zoo.  Aha!  What better to do on a cold, snowy day than to go and see the polar bears.

On our way we found mounds of snow...

And we didn't have to share it with anyone...we were almost the only ones at the zoo (besides the animals of course).  There were signs warning that many animals may be hiding away, protecting themselves from the cold weather.  But, we found that many animals were just as excited as we were about snow, and they too were looking for adventures.

 We watched the bobcat slink down his tree.

 and saw a lazy crocodile waiting for a snack to snap.   The leopards were out, we have never seen them before!  And we got so close to one while it was taking a rest in it's den.

We saw the tigers roaming around their cage and then watched one pick a sunny spot to stretch out and warm up.  We also got to see the lions, elephants, penguins, monkeys, turtles, ducks, big horn sheep, and the sea lions (where we stayed for quite some time, watching them swim and hearing them make their funny noises).  I did NOT take enough pictures!

But, nothing compared to the polar bears.  They were all we imagined.  When we first arrived, just the female was out.  She walked slowly around, seeming to be a little sad or tired.  She bopped around a few toys, but we commented on how hard it must be for her to be living in this place.  Then, out from their cave came the male.  He was HUGE.  His feet were bigger than our heads.  As soon as the girl saw him, she perked up.  She started to play a little more.  She started to wander over to the pool.

The male followed her.  First, they threw all their toys into the water.  Then the both danced around on the edge for a long time.  The water must have been freezing!  After a long time, the female finally jumped into the water, and we cheered for her!  She was so happy once she got in.

 Then they really started playing.  She put buckets on her head, played with the ball in the water, and did flips and turns all over the place.  It was so fun to watch her!

The very best part, was seeing the male and female together.  She would push a toy to the side of the pool, just outside of the male's reach.  If it started to float closer to him, she would wait and then just before he could reach it she would grab it and swim away.  We could tell she really wanted him to get in and play with her.  They even played tug of war with a branch, but she could not pull him into the water.  We imagined what they were saying to each other, how they were teasing one another, that they were probably laughing together.  We stayed at the polar bear exhibit for almost an hour.  Only our hungry tummies and cold toes finally pulled us away.

 We completely skipped lunch and nap time to stay longer with the polar bears.  When we left the zoo several hours later, we had such big smiles and incredible memories.  After a quick bite of lunch, we turned the heat all the way up in the suburban and started to get warm.  Soon, all the kids were sound asleep and I drove home back through the hills of snow.

When we got back to the house and the kids started to wake up, Silas said to me 'Mom, this was a really great day.  Thank you for taking us to the zoo and for having rest time in the car, watching the snow.'

Aunt Daniela, thank you.  Thank you for loving us generously before you knew us deeply.  Thank you for your thoughtfulness and your sincere heart.  Thank you for giving us our zoo pass, and making this really great day possible.


 PS, this was Trey while we were at the zoo.  He didn't watch the polar bears for very long, but he was a serious trooper.

We love you, Aunt Daniela!

Two and a Hap

 It is true, she is two and a half.  She tells everyone it's '2 and a hap'.  Her vocabulary is on a steady incline, and she is growing up in many other ways as well. 

She has successfully transferred to a big girl bed.  I worried BIG time that this would be a battle, to keep her in bed at night and at nap time.  However, the thing about Jewel is that she is squeezing every last bit of life out of every second that she is awake, so by the time bed time arrives she is pretty ready to crash.

 This of course excludes the nights where she likes to remove her diaper after we put her to bed...and then have accidents in her bed while her clean diaper is laying on the floor next to her bed.  Or, worse yet, before she goes to sleep she poops in her diaper and then takes the dirty diaper off...while in her bed.  For at least 2 months we had to duct tape her diaper around her every nap and bed time.  But, we are pleased to announce that with the arrival of the big girl bed, we have been duct tape free.  When we will actually get rid of sleeping diapers, well, that's another story.

She loves to be the big sister.  I have to watch her like a hawk all the time because she is so intense.  She can't just hand Trey a toy, she has to put it into his mouth for him and make sure it is really in there and not going to fall out.  She can't just sit next to him, she has to lay nearly on top of him to get close enough.  When she sees him, she'll say to me over and over, 'kiss him, kiss him, kiss him!' until I bend down and let her kiss him.  Then she has to go through the whole routine of kissing each hand, his head and his feet before she is done.  By the time the affection is over, she is literally shaking with excitement and he is slobbered with super kisses.

 Jewel is just hysterical.  Her faces and antics are hard to describe because they are all so uniquely her.  At 2, this makes for serious parenting challenges.  One minute she is playing happily with Silas, the next her feelings are hurt and she is flopped on the floor in a tantrum, then I go over to help solve the problem and she is facing me but when I start talking she closes her eyes tightly and turns her head from one side to the other...Silas and I cannot help but giggle at this ridiculous drama, then she knows she has the crowd and she keeps going with faces...Always with the tongue out and head cocked to the side.

On one hand she is severely independent.  This means no one is allowed to help her do anything.  If she has to go to the bathroom, she insists on taking her pants off by herself, going into the bathroom and closing the door, going potty, wiping, flushing and getting dressed again BY HERSELF.  Interfering with this process gets loud protesting, telling the intruder to close the door for privacy, and saying as frantically and quickly as she is moving, 'Jewel's job, Jewel's job'.  Ninety percent of the time, she can do all of this on her own.  If anything goes wrong, she becomes a heap of frustration and disappointment on the floor.  Tears the size of gumdrops rolling off her cheeks.

This independence also makes her incredibly sneaky.  There are many things that she knows she should not be doing that she has figured out how to do in secret.  The kids always have to ask before getting snacks.  That is not a good plan for her, so she waits until I am not in the kitchen and goes to work.  Last week I went to pack a few snacks before we left the house.  I opened the fruit drawer in the fridge to find every single apple had at least one bite taken out of it.  I never once saw her do it.  Funny or frustrating?  Both. 

Yet she is still just 2.  She thrives on physical contact, so she wants to be held, snuggled, carried, wrestled, and kissed all the time.  She absolutely loves being kissed in the neck.  Most kids (and adults) get goosebumps just thinking about it, but she will come and ask Jordan to kiss her neck.  Once he starts she wants to make sure he gets all of it, so she'll move her hair and expose the opposite side, then the back, then the front.  She cannot get enough of it.  When we tuck her in, sing songs, and pray, she is climbing all over whoever is tucking her in, the whole time.  Touching your arm, then your ear, then your cheeks, then two hands on the face, then rubbing your eyebrows, poking your lips...all the while singing songs and chattering away with her binky hanging out of her mouth.

Oh the binky!  She is supposed to keep them in her bed, but she has them hidden in secret places all over the house.  If she asks for one, I usually tell her she can go climb in her bed and snuggle with her blanket and have her binky for a while.  Sometimes she does that, and then when she is feeling better she leaves it in her bed and comes out.  We call it getting a fix.  But, often, if she is really in need, she has one stashed near by.  Here is a great example.  In the stroller with Trey.  Taking cute pictures.

She leans over and starts squeezing his foot.  I have to scold her and tell her to be gentle.  Her feelings are hurt and she starts crying.  All of a sudden she stops and gets this little glimmer in her eye...

 

 Wait a minute...what could this be...something in her pocket???

 What could it be, tucked away in there so sneakily?

 

Oh yes, that's better, the binky comes to save the day.

 

 This independence and sneakyness leads to a fair amount of naughtiness.  Two weeks ago after lunch I had to go upstairs to put Trey down for his nap.  It is always a gamble, not knowing what will happen when I leave, but having to spend a little snuggle and singing time with Trey.  So, I buckled Jewel into her booster seat and gave her and Silas a little bowl of pudding since they had finished their lunch.  I was gone for maybe 5 minutes.  As I came down the stairs, Silas met me, insisting that I should be in the kitchen right now.  I came around the corner to this...

 She had dumped her pudding, smeared it everywhere, flung it with her spoon across the sliding glass door and the walls.  It was all over the floor, all over the chairs, and all over her.  Then, since Silas would never dream of doing something like this himself, he offered his pudding to her for round two.  Never in my life have I taken a picture of something like this before I handle the situation.  But, I was totally at a loss.  Where do you even start with something like this.  I just looked around in disbelief.  Silas could see I was exasperated.  He said 'Mom, I knew I should have come to get you when she started, but I just couldn't believe what she was doing!  And it was so funny to see her smearing it all around and making such a big mess.  I just couldn't leave.  And then (he looks down at the ground), I just gave her mine, too'.  I wasn't happy, but I totally got it.  Like watching the scene of an accident, you just can't look away.  After I got her cleaned up and down for a nap, I spent 30 minutes scrubbing pudding.  Less than an hour after she woke up, she pulled a tupperware container of powdered sugar off the counter and emptied it on the kitchen floor. 

So, how do we survive two year old Jewel?  With delight.  Yes, she makes us exhausted and works the last nerve and challenges any thought we may have had about being capable parents.  But, she loves like none other.  With the same intensity that she looks for trouble, she looks to express her affections to us.  She's the first to run down the hall and jump into Jordan's arms when he gets home.  She wakes up asking for Silas and when she finds him quickly snuggles up to him.  Trey is smothered with her love all day long.  And I still get the privilege of being her mommy, her #1, her safety zone and her security.  She is generous and intentional in sharing treats and treasures.  She makes all of us laugh, and our laughter lights her up.  She is so packed with personality and attitude, there is no second guessing how she is feeling.  Really, there is nothing else in the world like having her squishy little arms wrapped tightly around your neck.  Oh even thinking of hugging her makes me want to go get one now.  Precious Jewel, we love you so, so, so much.

And then...

And then, we had been in the house for two weeks and Jordan got notified that he would be leaving town for work, for two weeks.

Thankfully, after braving the packing, moving, and unpacking with little extra help, both of our moms were more than willing to come lend a hand to this wiped out momma!

Before he left, Jordan took both kids out on a special date night.  First he took Silas for a bike ride, to the Maxx station, out to dinner, and then home again.  You only need to spend about 15 minutes with Silas to know that this is a combination of his favorite things.  Then he took Jewel to the dollar store to go shopping and then the pet store to look at pets.  Major score for major cheap.  The kids felt so special and so loved.  I appreciated his intentionality in having individual time with both of them before being gone for so long.  

First, Grammy came for a long weekend.  She was able to see Jordan before he left, and give he and I a date night, too.  On the day she arrived, she took trouble makers 1, 2, and 3 for a dinner and bed time combo that can easily knock out Jordan and I together.  While we were out enjoying an incredible dinner with amazing service, followed by a nice long walk, catching up with each other...she was feeding bottles, giving baths, reading books and tucking in.  That right there would have made it worth her trip, but she didn't stop at that!

After Jordan left, she let me sleep in, take naps, and get caught up on my severely depleted rest.  She took the kids on special outings, changed the oil in our car, brought us groceries, AND had a snow ball fight with Silas (in western Oregon, gathering the snow off the hood and making a smashed snow cake constitutes as a snow ball).

We packed a lot into her 3 days here, but the final afternoon and evening really took the cake.  She took Silas out to do some early birthday shopping while I stayed home and napped with Jewel and Trey.  They had also planned to get an oil change in our car while they were out.  I gave her directions to the closest oil changing station, but it was closed.  She was not deterred, Grammy busted out the GPS and found another one to go to.  Then they continued with their other stops, driving all around Hillsboro using the GPS to get from one place to the next.  After quite some time (and some disappointment with closed destinations), they were ready to come home, only to realize that Grammy did not have our home address in her GPS.  Neither did she have it in her phone, or did any of the other family members who could be reached by phone have our Hillsboro address (just the Beaverton one from a few weeks before).  She tried to call me, but I had turned my phone off so that I could sleep...and sleep we all did, for a couple hours at least.  When I got up I had a message from Silas and Grammy, well actually it was a message from the GPS.  The whole recording was Grammy trying to type something into the GPS.  I knew we had a problem.  After poor cell phone coverage and a bad connection, it was finally Silas who told Grammy the final turns to get back to our house.  The birthday shopping kept their spirits high and they were tired but still in good moods when they got home.  Needless to say, when we decided to get Chinese food for dinner, I though it would be best if Jewel and I went out to pick up the food and let Grammy have a break from her tour de Hillsboro.  We left Grammy and the boys happily playing trains.  The Chinese place was a little further than I thought, and it took longer for the food to get finished than they said, but we were home about 45 minutes later with hot food for dinner.  When we walked in the door, Silas was standing in his underwear outside the bathroom and the carpet was wet with water.  "We have a problem here, Mom."  I came down the hall to see Grammy with the lid off the toilet, up to her ankles in water, holding toilet parts in one hand to stop the water from flowing, while trying to shut off the water source with the other hand.  It took us an hour to call our friend Kyle to come over, have the toilet fixed, clean up the mess, and sit down to eat.  The food was cold, not as great as it could have been, and our good mood was fading.  Trey had started teething and was getting fussy, the kids had eaten dinner too late and were crabby, and we had already promised ice cream.  So, in the pouring rain we piled everyone into the Suburban and went to go find ice cream happiness.  We ended up at Target, combining a need for teething toys and tylenol with Target restaurant ice cream.  It worked.  I wanted to comfort our dear Grammy by saying it isn't always like this...but I could not in good conscience make the statement, since in reality it often is.  The next day we put Grammy on the airplane.  I dare say she was too tired to be very sad that she was leaving.  Thank you Grammy for braving the Bury house :)  We sure love you!

After Grammy left, my mom came to town.  We planned a trip to Spokane to see her sister and my cousin.  Right in line with Grammy's trip, we started off the vacation with a bang.  Snow and rain made the typical 6 hour drive into a 12 hour marathon.  Ice, snow, broken windshield wipers, frozen car parts, overturned semi trucks, and four wheel drive made the trip one to remember.  But, we made it to Spokane and it was totally worth it!  

My cousin has 4 kids ages 5 and under, combined with my 3, and several feet of snow...we had amazing adventures.  Her daughter, Macey, had her 4th birthday while we were there.  So while all of her friends came for nail polish and glittery make-up, I took Silas and the boys to my grandparent's house (where we were staying) for movies and a slumber party.  On top of that, my cousins' husband, Heath, took all the kids for rides on the sled...tied to the tractor.  When we got home, Silas said to me "Mom, I'll never forget these days.  The days of riding on the sled and playing in the snow with Colby...I'll just never forget these days."  Like I said, the trip was totally worth it.

 

My mom watched my kids several times so that Callie and I could escape away for coffee or shopping dates.  She also shared a bed with Jewel while we were there...forever sealing Jewel's affections for her Beppe.  They had a lot of fun together...super silly fun. 

 

Our drive home was magnificent.  The weather was pristine.  The kids were well behaved.  The conversation was rich and meaningful and delightful.  The coffee was full and steaming hot.  The treats were just right.  The company was easy and comfortable, but appreciated and treasured.  

 Of course Trey worked his sweet baby magic on Beppe and won her over right away.  There was a lot of snuggling, singing, cuddling and cooing that happened between these two.

 

We also got some extra time with Uncle Everett and Aunt Daniela while my mom was here.  Daniela is always so good at bringing treat for the kids...and this was no exception.  Take a look at Jewel enjoying this peanut butter, chocolate cupcake.  Wowza.  If you are going to indulge, this is the way to do it!

And so we survived.  My mom had two days back at my house with me before she left to go back to Tucson, Jordan came home the afternoon following her morning departure.  I was incredibly blessed to have my time shared with Jordan's mom and my mom.  We certainly treasure these opportunities to have special visits. 

Where to begin???

 So much has happened since I last posted (hence the reason for no posting), I seriously do not know where to start.  It seems ridiculous to go all the way back to Christmas, but to set the scene for where we are now, I feel I must do a brief overview.   

Christmas was amazing.  We stayed in Oregon this year and had a wonderful time with our family of 5.  We probably got carried away with the gifts...ok we did get carried away with gifts.  But it's not until you are a parent that you can really understand that to give is better than to receive.  Pretty much nothing better than watching a gift be opened that totally hits a home run with the kid.  We had several homers this year, and it was really fun to watch.

Also fun to be able to do things Bury style, meaning Jordan Bury style.  On Christmas morning, Silas was the first up at 8am.  We let him watch a couple shows in his DVD player on the floor in our room while we kept on sleeping and waiting for Jewel to get up....at 9:30.  It was much needed rest to make it through the day after Jordan and I had been up into the early morning hours assembling gifts and wrapping last minute presents.

 

 The best gifts were Jewel's baby doll accessories and Silas' guns.  The bike was supposed to be the big hit, but because it was a little big for him, it took several weeks before he got up the guts to ride it.  Now Jordan can barely keep up with him while he runs next to him, and Silas is very proud of himself, but we had to delete forever the video of the kids coming out on Christmas morning and Silas mentioning the bike briefly before helping Jewel engage with her new doll toys.

Even better than all the kids' toys...Jordan surprised me with a new computer, and it's a MAC!  Yes, he broke free from his PC roots to indulge his wife.  I was completely shocked and SO excited. 

After gifts, we had a lot of napping happening.  And, although this picture of Trey is not from Christmas day, it was shortly after Christmas that he found his sweet little right thumb.  We have a thumb sucker here, and all binkies are now useless (well, useless to Trey...still a very hot commodity for Jewel).  How cute is thumb sucking on this little guy!?!

 The day after Christmas started one of the longest week of our lives...which is saying a lot for what we have been through in our 9 years of marriage.  After much prayer and discussion, Jordan and I decided it was the best decision to move back into our house in Hillsboro.  Our renters moved out and we needed to refinance the house in order to make the monthly payments low enough to be able to be covered by another renter.  Well, you can only do that if you are living in the house.  So, as we took down the Christmas tree, we took down our whole house.  Unfortunately, Silas started getting sick Christmas afternoon.  By the next day I made him a doctor's appointment to have his mouth checked out.  It was covered in sores.  Confirmed case of Hand, Foot and Mouth virus had taken hold.  He had a few little red dots on his hands and ankles, but the inside of his mouth looked like bunches of canker sores.  He ate nothing but applesauce for 3 days and was miserable with pain.  Since it is a virus, much like pink eye, there is no medication to take (except motrin to help with the pain) and it is incredibly contagious.  So, of course just as he started to get better, Jewel was taken out.  She had the same horrible sores in her mouth, plus the virus also shows like a severe diaper rash in some cases...in our case, of course.  We didn't leave the house for 6 days.  We spent most of the day all piled on the couch.  Baby nursing, 2 year old crying, 4 year old whining.  Oh yeah, and we had our 9 year anniversary and we were packing boxes whenever I could distract the kids from their discomfort or they were all knocked out sleeping.  I couldn't even send one to a friend's house or have anyone come to help me pack.  Jordan and I prayed that we would be spared, and the baby, too.  By God's grace, Trey did not get it.  And on the 5th day, my incredible brother braved the germs and came to help me make packing progress.  Two days later, he and Daniela sacrificed their Saturday (New Year's Eve) to make trip after trip from the Beaverton house to the Hillsboro house.  The following week we tag teamed the kids.  Jordan was home with them one night while I went to the other house to clean, then I stayed home and he went to clear out the garage and shed, and back and forth until we were finally totally moved out.  We put just the essentials into the Hillsboro house...because the adventure isn't over.  If you recall, the house in Hillsboro has no back yard.  So, our plan is to refinance, do a few minor repairs and updates, and then move again and try to re-rent this house.  whoo hoo.  In the midst of it all, I think we were running on a 'being obedient' kind of adventurous adrenaline.  Sadly, the adrenaline has long worn off, but thankfully we are still able to rest in the peace and security of obedience. 

Once we were back in the house, there were all kinds of new adjustments to make.  Jewel had to learn the hard way that even if a fire is behind glass, it is still hot to touch.

 She also refused to walk up or down the stairs the first month we were in the house.  Many days she sat, with big dramatic tears, waiting for me to take Trey down the stairs, set him on the floor, go back up the stairs, pick her up, and carry her down the stairs.  Same for going up.  She also takes full advantage of the lack of supervision that occurs on whatever floor I am not on.  We tried keeping her contained with a baby gate, but she figured out how to unlock and open it, and has continued on her destruction spree.  For weeks we had boxes around every corner, and as I was trying to unpack in one room, she was either re-packing in another room or using my distracted moment to make a giant mess somewhere else. 

We did, however, find some family fun in rediscovering our Wii.  Silas can effectively kick all of our butts in bowling and even rolled a six pack one night (literally, 6 strikes in a row...did not there was a name for that).  And, Trey started seeing things from a new perspective when we busted out the bumbo and the exersaucer.

 We made the most of the disarray by making forts, arranging things in fun ways in the kids' rooms, and having a lot of pajama days.  It was fun for the kids to have their regular things in a new environment.  Almost all toys have a new sense of excitement when they can be launched down a flight of stairs. 

 Jewel also continues to increase her vocabulary.  We knew this would have good and bad sides to it, and it does.  What a relief to have a break from the pointing and fussing for things she wants, and yet, so exhausting to have to respond to every thing she says, even if it is totally non-understandable, it requires acknowledgement and response.  Silas also keeps us incredibly entertained with his growing maturity and expressions of it.  Jordan and I frequently use the age old trick of spelling things when we don't want the kids to know what we are talking about.  Silas also uses this feature to distinguish himself from the 'little kids' and identifying himself on the grown up team.  At dinner, if Jewel is being silly, he shakes his head slowly and then says 'TRFJ, right, Dad?' as though we are all in on some secret that Jewel will never understand.  A few weeks ago he walked into the kitchen with one of his guns and a US Marshal star that Jordan gave him.  He looked me square in the eye and said 'Now this is what a real man carries, a badge and a gun.' 

 

The main benefit of being back at this house is the close proximity to church and friends.  Even though we don't have a yard to play in, we have several buddies to get together with...many in bike riding, if not walking distance.  On our way to see my friend, Lisa, Silas remarked that he could count all the way to her house.  Sure enough 39 seconds later, we were there.  We have also been having fun revisiting all of our old, favorite parks.  

 So, if I have been neglectful in my communication with you, this is why.  In fact, this isn't even all of it...more to come.

 

Bringing Christmas Cheer

We have distracted many devout believers during church with this little critter...he LOVES his Daddy! 

goldfish

You know how goldfish only grow to the size of their habitat? I mean if you got a goldfish and always kept it in a tiny bowl, it would stay tiny. But if you put it in a huge bowl, it can actually grow to be amazingly large.

I though I would try this with Trey. This is him in his basinett next to our bed. When he was brand new, he took up barely a fraction of it. We are getting dangerously close to outgrowing it...a few inches to be exact. Think if I keep making him sleep in here he will remain just small enough to fit?