Washington/Oregon coast

The "majestic" Columbia River, as brady lovingly refers to it.

Daddy teaching Molly how to skip rocks. She didn't quite catch on. She is really good at throwing rocks though.

Feeding the kabillion geese! I am seriously afraid of geese. They just swarm around you and try to bite you. Luckily we got out unharmed.

Lots of relaxing, thanks to Grandma and Grandpa.

Molly had fun playing with her cousin Katelin. Especially when they got to go see the animals.

Molly loves the trampoline. she actually has pretty good balance.

We stayed in an awesome beach house. Molly and Katie especially liked the new surroundings.

We got to go to an aquarium and see lots of fish. Molly slept through half of it, but still got to see a lot. She wasn't afraid to touch all the slimy things.

The coast was so beautiful. I am a huge ocean fan and I have to say that I was not disappointed. The water was painfully cold, but the view was spectacular. I loved all the rocks and trees. It was so misty you could just feel it.

Molly hated the sand. She didn't want it on her feet. So...

We laid a towel out for our little princess.

Just a cute picture of Molly and her daddy.

The Backpack

Molly has this little backpack and she LOVES to wear it.

Molly and Dad cuddling after a little motorcycle ride.

Summertime!

I heard somewhere that summer is for kids. This statement has really helped me lighten up. Sometimes it just seems easier to not do something because I'm tired and it would be a lot of work. To put on swimsuits and sunscreen for 5 minutes in the pool seems like a waste of energy. Or to let Molly eat a popsicle and get it all over her outfit after I've just gotten her dressed. And as much as I want Molly to eat healthy things, that just doesn't end up happening all the time.

It is pretty impossible to keep any drink with a straw away from Molly. Luckily for the last little while we've been getting free drinks from sonic thanks to their survey receipts. They give them to us even when we get a free one. It's pretty nice.

Bowling with the help of daddy. It was cosmic bowling so it was dark with lights everywhere. She loved it.

Molly has an obsession with pushing around strollers. She found her umbrella stroller in the closet and wouldn't forget about it for a couple of days. Even if I put it back in the closet she would go right to it as soon as she woke up from her nap or when we got home from running errands. She will let us push her around sometimes, but it takes some convincing.

We have been swimming a few times this summer and Molly prefers sitting on the steps and splashing. The last time we went I was able to get her to release me from her death grip and she actually let me pull her around while she kicked her little legs. She has been so fun this summer and I can't believe how fast it is going.

18 months old!!!

Molly is officially 18 months old. She went to the doctor on Tuesday. She is in the 79th percentile in weight, the 88th percentile in height, and the 100th percentile in head size. They really need to make shirts that have bigger openings for the head. It gets to be a pretty tight squeeze sometimes. The pictures of Molly are on a playset that our super nice neighbors gave us.

Happy Father's Day!

This is Brady's first Father's day that he gets to spend with Molly. He was in China last year and he missed her so much. Molly is so lucky to have the dad she has. I know the bottom picture is kinda funny, but we didn't have any other real recent ones with just Molly and Dad. Happy Father's Day Brady! Thanks for all you do for us!

Haircut!

Molly had her second real haircut yesterday. I've done some trimming jobs, but that was hard enough the way Molly holds still. She hates getting her hair cut. This time was better, but still not pleasant. I would like to just let her hair grow out, but the bangs for sure had to be shorter. I do Molly's hair and it is pulled out minutes later. The lady that did her hair went a little shorter than I would have liked. Her bangs look like an older sister went at them with scissors. I'm sure I could have done that. Anyway...at least her hair won't be in her eyes. It is hard for me to get used to my own haircuts, and I'm finding it hard getting used to Molly's too.
She seems to look a little younger with her new do, so that is good at least.

before

before again

And after

Just some pictures

We are still working on patience.

Molly has become quite the girly girl. She definitely doesn't get that from her mom. She loves this little tutu and will make me put it on her any chance she gets.

Molly has been much happier this last month. She has had a rough time with teething. She has eight teeth and four molars. Hopefully the others won't hurt her so much. When she is happy it makes being a mom so much easier.

Bye!!!!

Molly has been saying some words for awhile, but this is our favorite. We're not quite sure why she makes her voice so high when she says 'bye,' but it definitely adds to the cuteness.

Yummy!

Molly takes after her mom's love of steak...

And her dad's love of pizza.

Easter

We had a really nice Easter this year. My Grandma had an Easter egg hunt for the older little kids. Molly wasn't really invited, but we invited ourselves anyway. I'm good at that. My Grandma and aunt Becky are so fun and did so much for the little kids. They each got an Easter basket full of lots of yummy treats. Molly even got her own special basket. Thanks Grandma and Becky! Molly wouldn't have had a basket if it weren't for you. Her parents are lame like that.

Molly was so cute going through her basket. She would pick everything out individually and look at it.

This is what Molly thinks of her aunt Paula most of the time.

This is when Molly realized that I was ten feet away from her. Poor Molly!

We got this chair for Molly. She loves it. She mostly likes carrying it around and pushing it, but every once in awhile she'll sit in it.

Molly wolly!

Molly loves books. She likes to bring them to us and plop in our laps so we can read them to her. My favorite is when I find her with a book. She has been saying 'ba' for ball, balloon, and other random things This book has balls in it and when she finds them she says, 'ba'. It's really cute.

Just some cute pictures of Molly with Daddy

Molly in jail. She likes to unfold all the laundry, so I have to immobilize her in order to get any laundry done. She thinks it's funny for a few minutes, but quickly realizes that it's not. She is actually really helpful at handing me the dirty laundry to put in the washer, but that's as far as it goes.

Molly and her new fashion statement. She loves wearing her clothes around her shoulders. She just grabs a random item and she's good to go.

St George!

We went to St. George over the weekend to get away from the snow. We love it there at this time of year. We did not get to stay long enough. We got to go with our friends and relax. I got sick so it was nice for Brady to have some good company. On a side note, I wish I could have edited more than just the red eye in this picture. Her face and hair are a mess, but hey, we were on vacation.

Molly preferred to walk and push her own stroller rather than ride in it. Maybe we shouldn't have forgotten her shoes. Oh well.

Then when that got old, she got to ride on daddy's shoulders.

Go Mariners!

Molly is getting ready early to support her Mariners. Her daddy's obsession has apparently rubbed off on her. Hopefully they'll be a little better this year so we can watch them win a few times. We don't ask for much.

5 Years!

Today is our 5 year anniversary. I love that we get to celebrate on the first day of spring. Everything feels so new. It is a great way to start a new year of marriage. In 5 years we have survived:

1 insane cat
Me finishing school
Brady finishing school
1 pregnancy
The cutest little girl ever
And much more.
Can't wait for 5 more!