like father like son

The weather has been clear enough for Straton to mow our lawn for the first time this year.

Whenever Oaklen hears that lawn mower outside, he immediately needs to be outside watching.

Usually I hold him up to the windows or sliding glass door so he can watch. This time I took him outside and let him do some "mowing" on his own. I'm not sure if he was happy or not. He mostly just stood in one place with the same blank stare on his face. 

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P.S.

We are in the market for a new camera. 

Something that will last as long as possible 

(I don't seem to have the best luck with cameras these days), take great photos, 

easy to learn and inexpensive. I don't know a thing about cameras. 

I've used the same pink digital camera since high school. Straton and I are ready to move up in the world. 

So my friends, I need all the advice you can give. Nikon? Canon? 

We want to keep it below $700 if possible. 

We aren't photographers, so something simple (but still nice quality) will do just fine.

please and thank you!

Oaklen says

We hope you're all still in your pajamas and eating endless amounts of chocolatey goodness like us. 

On another note

Oaklen has had an obsession with YouTube videos lately, so I'm constantly searching for puppies, Sesame Street or funny babies because those seem to be his favorite.

So if you'd like a good laugh, enjoy this video:

all in a day's work

Oh hey. Another blog makeover. Another change. This time let's see if I can stick with this look for longer than a month, yeah?! I've neglected my responsibilities enough this past week trying to get the html just right, the colors to blend and buttons to work. But they'll have to wait a bit longer because I'm going to be lazy with my family for one more night.

Oaklen news: he's now learned how to stand up without help. It's quite an accomplishment. Especially because he can also do it without using his hands. I'm one proud mama. With all these milestones happening so fast, I'll have a lot to catch up on on his *baby blog.

Because I know how all of you are just dying to see this magical accomplishment (ok, so probably just my mom. and you Grandma), here's a video:

*if you'd like an invite to Oaklen's blog, leave me your email in a comment or email me and I'll add you!

P.S. I've been told to try out the Twitter. THE Twitter. The single thing I hate most about the internet. For anyone who has it, do you have any good tips? Will I be wasting my time?

what Oak learned in church

And here's what he learned 2 minutes later.

here's my big fat change

I don't have enough time to tell you all my feelings about this change I recently made. It's heartbreaking yet exciting at the same time. Mostly heartbreaking.
It was my choice. I wasn't forced. Yet I still have an empty hole in my stomach.
I've lost my security blanket. My signature. The one thing I loved most about myself.

Can you feel the sadness in my words yet?

Ok, so it's not that big of a deal. Well, it is, but it's certainly not the end of the world.

Let's reminisce for a second, shall we?

Bye-bye long, long beautiful locks....

I know. Crazy, right? After my crazy sister convinced me (thanks, Julie)  last attempt to chop off my long locks (stupid, stupid, stupid) a few years ago, I told myself I would never cut my hair again. Ever.
But like I said, I get bored, my hair was getting stringy at the ends, and I've had long hair my entire life. Seriously. If I could find my Kindergarten school picture, you would see the hair that I was constantly sitting on, it was so long.
Besides, my hair grows a foot like, every 6 months. So change is good. Right?!
Everyone agree with me and tell me you love it so I don't hide in bed and cry for the next three months.

new changes are on the way

I'm the kind of person who hates change. Whether big or small, I don't like switching things up. 

Here's what doesn't make sense to me, though. 

I can't stand things being the same for long periods of time. Things like my looks, the style of my home, clothing style...it all gets boring to me and I need a change. 

I'm just too much of a pansy to actually do something about it. 

I'd rather keep with the flow of things than change it up and hate the end result. 

Is any of this making sense? I totally feel like I'm rambling. 

Anyway, I'm changing things up! I'm starting small, but change is happening!

I'm extremely nervous about this first one. Stay tuned....

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Have you seen Pinterest yet? 

I've heard about it for a while from different bloggers and decided I'd give it a go. 

Because I apparently need something else to consume my time. 

 Anywho, it's fantastic. 

You can find me here.

home again

Disneyland was def. not the happiest place on earth for Oak. We think it was a mixture between being completely over stimulated and (still) not walking by himself that made him a complete crankster the entire time. He had too much energy stored up to be held or in a stroller all day. 

We had a blast, though! It was cold in the early mornings and at night, but perfect during the day! I'm pretty sure I could go on Tower of Terror or Space Mountain over and over again if we didn't have to wait in line for 40 minutes to an hour each time. Straton, his brother Tyson, sister Chenille and I decided to stay until midnight one night while the rest of the group went back to the hotel with the kids. We managed to hit a few rides with practically no wait, over and over again. Including the Buzz Lightyear ride, which was a blast competing against each other. 

Some random cell phone pictures

we're off!

This little family is about to take a vacation. Can you guess where we'll be?

Here are the clues:

1. It's where a grown up can feel like a kid again.

2. We will probably run into a princess or two. 

3. Oaklen is already preparing himself:

If you guessed Disneyland, three pats on the back for you!! 

It will be my (and Oakies) first time there. 

I can't wait to take my picture with the Mr. Mickey Mouse himself. I never took one years ago when I went to Disneyworld, and a Disney vacation is not a success without one!

Poor Oakie

This was my view at 3:30 AM last night.

I spent 2 hours holding, rocking and feeding him ice cubes. He had a high fever and refused a wash cloth on his forehead. So I moved his crib mattress to the floor, grabbed a pillow and blanket for me and sat next to my Oakie all night. Good news is he's all better today! Or so it seems. It usually always hits hard at night, so we'll be keeping a close eye on him all day. But it's all smiles again and I couldn't be happier!

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I had my very own little shout out over here today, which makes me feel very special. 

I declare today a good day. Rain or snow, fever or no fever. It's a good day.

visiting Meema and Papa

Oakie and I went for a quick trip back to Oregon to visit my family. I was expecting snow and rain the whole time but it was beautiful and sunny. Perfect weather to eat chocolate animal crackers in the park with all your cousins.

Oaklen blabbering away for all of Papa's students at school.

We love coming home to visit, but man is it hard to be far from family every day!