Our Family: August 2007

I've been so bad at blogging this summer. We've had a terrible time with our computer, and I haven't had much access to it. So here is a summary of our summer.

Max has a patch of exzema that will not go away. He is sensitive to a lot of foods, so we have been trying to determine which one is the cause of the eczema. The testing we did gave us a long list: dairy, wheat, sugar (any cane sugar), tomatoes, melon, apples, red pepper, and perfume. We eliminated all that for 6 weeks, then gradually added things back in. It's now narrowed down to dairy or wheat. Sooooo, we were planning a camping trip and wanted to bring a treat that Max could share. We made brownies- wheat free, gluten free, dairy free, nut free, egg free... and actually they were really good! I didn't make them from scratch... they were a bag mix from Whole Foods-The brand is The Cravings Place and they also have really good pancake mix. Max had his first "lick the bowl" experience. You can tell he liked it!

Then we went up to Mt.St.Helens to meet Dave, Chaos, and Fiona. Dave was biking in a race up there on Saturday. We had a great campground, Eco Park Resort. When we got there, it looked like rain, so we opted to stay in a yurt. It was perfect! Space for the kids to run around, a wood burning stove to keep us warm, and a propane lamp built in. We decided to pitch the tent anyhow so the kids could have a place to play. Fiona and Max helped.

Matching mama-knit ponchos. Soooo cute!

We spent a lot of time this summer at the Wilsonville Memorial Park-

We went to the Oregon Country Fair again. It was fun! Grandma Ammi flew up and came with us. We had planned on camping for 3 nights, and going to the fair 2 days. As it happened, Max got sick just a few days before we'd planned on going. We missed the first few days, and ended up driving down Saturday to camp, and only went to the fair Sunday. We camped with the Breana and Rich and the "K Crew", and Naked Jen and Dave. They had some friends drive up and join us, too. It was fun, but too quick! We didn't get to visit as much as we had wanted. Next year we'll try again for the full camping/multi day fair thing.

Heading off to the fair!

A nap in the midst of all the revelry...

Tree dude...

One of my favorite pictures ever...

Crow Guy...

Then there was the LaLecheLeague Family Disco Dance Party. It took awhile for Max to warm up, he danced in my arms for awhile...then he joined right in and boogied! I knew I should've brought the video camera!

Grandma and Grandpa Brooks babysit a couple days a week while I work. Max loves it. They have started taking him out more often. They think of all kinds of fun adventures! They take him to the little airport nearby to watch the planes take off and land, they take him to the water park, last week they took him to a go-kart racing place and a farm. He also loves visiting with Great-Grandma. What a lucky boy! We are very lucky parents, too. They babysit on weekends so Ron and I can have a night out once in awhile. We went and saw our first movie in a looooong time- Harry Potter in 3D on IMAX screen. Fun!

Max has been going to swimming classes once a week at this tiny private pool called Children of the Sea. He LOVES it! He goes under water, has learned to kick, and loves to go down the slide.

Last weekend we went to Big Truck Day which is put on by a local Parks and Rec. It was AWESOME! Every truck you can imagine was there. From street sweepers, to cranes, to ambulances and school busses. The kids could climb inside the trucks, honk the horns, etc. Max was a little unnerved by the height of the big rig he went in, but he loved the school bus and the old fire truck. What a great idea this is! I can only imagine how much more he'll love it next year.

Lest you think we are gender stereotyping with all these big trucks and all, Max has a baby that he loves. I gave it to him in the store and he wouldn't let it go. He hugs it and says "Baby!" so of course we had to buy it.

And he's had his first painting experience. He was more interested in putting the brushes in the paint than the actual painting, but that's ok. Speaking of painting, he LOVES the artwork we have in our home. Max's Great-Grandpa, Fred E.Brooks was an artist and we have many of his paintings in our house. Max will stand by one, point at it and say "Tete" which means "painting" and gesture for you to pick him up. Then he just stares and points at the paintings. Then you put him sown and he goes around the house pointing at all of Great-Grandpas paintings wanting you to pick him up so he can get a close look. Pretty cool.