Photo Fun

I've taken a lot a pictures with my phone lately when I didn't have my camera or didn't have time to grab it. They show some of our everyday fun, however Wynn doesn't hold still much, so its hard to get a shot of him that's not blurry but I still wanted to post them because they show how much the kids are growing up. About 75% of the time, Sydney and Wynn are best buds and she can always make him laugh. It makes her feel special that he loves her so much. At Costco, they got to ride next to each other in the cart for a while and Wynn was thrilled. He immediately grabbed her hand and just stared at her smiling. Pretty soon though, his enthusiasm proved too much for Sydney when he started grabbing her doll, face and hair too. That gets me to the other 25% of the time, when Sydney wants to be Wynn's boss/mommy. At these times, she doesn't like him to touch anything except for those items that are "deemed" only his. She doesn't like him to grab or kick her, even if he's just happy and wiggling and she really doesn't like him to suck on her toys. The majority of the time though, she's too busy doing her own thing to notice what he's doing. On another note, Sydney's favorite features about herself are definitely her hair and her cheeks. She frequently says, "Mom, I have chubby cheeks!" She likes to look in the mirror and smile at herself. I think it because everyone comments on her cheeks. She also loves her "Rapunzel" hair. She really does have long beautiful hair. Sometimes I can get her to sit still long enough to braid it, but Andy's still much better at it than I am. Don't forget to check out the videos of Wynn's recent milestones too. I call him my jumping bean because as long as he's standing he tries to jump. He can jump for long stretches of time and thinks its so fun :D. He also has started to sign 'more' and possibly 'all done.' Sydney especially likes to get involved and teach him to sign. I think she is anxious for him to be able to communicate because she loves to talk!

Summer Returns

As with always in Juneau, the warm weather and sunshine comes and goes -  more goes than comes :D. But with the return of the warmer weather and Wynn getting older, we've been getting out again. We recently added this new toy for them in our backyard and its been a hit.

Below is our excursion to North Bridget Cove. We've found quite a few trails now that start in the woods, have planks to cross the marshy muskeg, and then stairs down the steep drop offs to the beach. Its fascinating to see the rapid change in vegetation here from mountain forest to ocean.

This beach is called Minnie Field beach. I dream of owning one of these beachfront properties! Its also one of the first beaches we've found with regular waves. It must just be in the ideal position for the waves to make it in all the way from the open ocean.

 Also with summer time... comes the bears! I think I've already seen five or six this year. Two today alone... They aren't afraid of cars or people and seem to love sitting right next to the road, however we always remember and teach the kids that they ARE dangerous and kinda scary in my opinion.

I've been hiking regularly with my friend Liz and another women's hiking group here. There are tons of trails I still need to check off my list, but its so fun to keep trying to places and finding new views several times a week.

This particular trail, West Glacier, was interesting since they installed a rail to help people scale the rocky steep mountainside.

Wynn is such a patient sweet boy. When we are hiking and he gets tired, I just turn him around and he falls asleep. Its not this longest nap, but he likes to be out in the trees and loves to look up at the canopy as we walk along.

Mom's Visit

My mom was able to come see us here in Juneau this year. It was a really fun trip. Andy had to work a fair amount of the time she was here; it was nice to get a lot of mother daughter time. Sydney was in heaven with Grandma here for a whole week especially since she stayed out our house. After she left, Sydney was a little upset when we moved the futon out of Wynn's room and started putting him to sleep in there. She said, "But Mom! That's Grandma's room." Sydney always loves the toys Grandma brings her to play with and has been wanted to have ice cream parties during her "quiet" time almost every day since. We were able to get in some good outdoor walks, go swimming, eat yummy food, and go on a whale watching tour too while she was here. Wynn took to Grandma right away and didn't spare any smiles for her. Somehow I think babies know who their grandmas are because Wynn gets usually gets anxious around people he isn't familiar with, but he was a smiley, happy baby for Grandma right from the start. Andy and I were very grateful that Grandma stayed home with the kids while we went on two dates while she was here as well :D! We don't get many of those anymore. For the coldest, wettest May in eight years, I still think we had a great time and got to see some pretty stuff. Now that its warming and drying up we've been getting out even more too, so we'll have more places to show Grandma and others next time they come to visit. Thanks for coming Mom. We love you!

Sydney caught a fish

We went down to the harbor today with Sydney's fishing pole to try our luck.  The weather wasn't the greatest, but we got to see seaplanes and helicopters fly over us.  Sydney was shaking her fishing pole saying "here fishies". After a bit, we caught one. It was cute. She didn't want to touch it, and she kept saying that we didn't catch a happy one because "it was frowning".

Petting Zoo

A few weekends ago we took Sydney and Wynn to our local petting zoo, Swampy Acres. It was a fundraiser for the preschool Sydney will be attending in the fall. Sydney got to hold baby chicks, feed chickens, pet bunnies and goats, and ride a horse for the second time. When she got up to the horse and saw how tall it was she got a little nervous, but with a little coaxing, she mustered up her courage and rode after all. Wynn's favorite part was the horses. He kept trying to see them from the sling on my back.