Today I took the kids berry picking with our Mom's group. There is a local farm that does u-pick blueberries and strawberries. It is all organic so they encourage you to sample and eat the berries right off the bushes...and believe me Lucas took them up on that! Is there anything better than fresh berries in the Summer? Lucas "helped" me pick but I am pretty sure all of the ones he picked went straight into his mouth and never made it into the bag.

Claire is not pictured because she slept through the whole thing. Hey, I would sleep all day if I could too! She is a bit under the weather fighting the random fever like Lucas did a week or so ago. Hoping it passes quickly!



We also went to Yosemite this past weekend. Pictures are on the wrong card to be able to post. We had a nice day, Peter and the kids had never been so we had to make the trip. Yosemite is SOO busy these days, we felt like we were waiting in lines at Disneyland but to see waterfalls. The kids did not overly love being in the car so much, next time we go back we'll not go during peak season. Nonetheless, you can't surpass the beauty of Yosemite

A few pictures

I discovered that one of our photo cards works on this computer.. so here are a few pictures of the little Rietkerk's!

Lucas wanted to keep his helmet on while playing at the park!

Tummy time.

Sibling love

Claire at three months! Getting so big.

Amazing

I just have to write this down in the history books because it is always something I tried to get Lucas to do with no avail.. and Claire at 3.5 months pulls through! Yay girl!! When I knew she was getting sleepy but still happy this afternoon I took her into her crib and laid her down. She was giggling and cooing and playing with her hands, went back five minutes later.. she is fast asleep! So proud of you little Miss!

In other news it has been a bit of a dragging week. We had a nice weekend but with a sick little guy. We were supposed to head to Yosemite this weekend for Father's day but on Friday I noticed a bit of a weird rash under Lucas scar. That night he had a low grade fever and wasn't feeling so hot. On Saturday the rash had spread over his entire trunk and he had a steady fever. No real other symptoms though. I know as he starts getting exposed to more and more kids he is going to get weird stuff, but I can't help but hate it when it is sick!

On Father's day my sweet parents made the trip to see us so Peter and I could go to dinner.. JUST THE TWO OF US! We haven't done that in about a YEAR! Moving away from our family and most of our friends has been hard because we miss them so much, but it has also been really hard because we never get a break to just enjoy each others company in peace. We are so grateful that Grandma and Papa went WAY out of their way on the way to Bodega Bay to let us have a few hours to talk without getting interrupted a hundred times. So wonderful! Thank You!! We had a wonderful yummy dinner, and even better because I didn't cook it :).

The lack of pictures recently is because our computer that we can download pictures onto has decided it is tired and doesn't want to turn on any more...we are dragging our feet on getting a new one. But, when we do.. I have a ton of really sweet pictures to catch up on! Lucas and Claire are starting to play together better each day...so sweet!

One last thing that I want to share because it is pretty amazing in my opinion. The last week or so has been trying, only because we have been busy, it has been hot, and Lucas hasn't been feeling well (oh yea.. and he is 2). So, I was having a really rough morning one day and nothing seemed to be going right. I called Peter and asked him to please pray for me to have patience through all of the craziness. When I was getting Lucas ready for nap time that day I asked him what book he wanted to read and he said the "Je Je" (his word for Jesus) book. At first I didn't understand because he hadn't mentioned Jesus in a few weeks. So I picked him up and asked him to show me and he grabbed the Children's Bible out of the huge library of books we have! AMAZING! I knew at that moment that I was not alone in this craziness of a day, thank you Lord for your beautiful Grace!

Double the Fun!

As I sit down to write I can barely keep my eyes open because I am thoroughly and utterly exhausted from what should have been (and used to be) a simple shopping trip. Those of you who have dealt with the issue of double strollers will probably totally be able to relate to the "fun" they provide. The reason I write about such a silly thing is because for me the adjustment to two kids has been a challenge. Trying to work around everyone's schedules and needs..is hard..but I know one day soon I will look back on it and think..that was easy, what was I thinking? Having two very little kids is so wonderful, but more like quadruple the work :).

As if getting two kids out of the house, full, happy, diapered, and semi-clean and .. oh yea all of this scheduled around nap times... isn't a chore enough.. then you deal with the greatness that is a double stroller when you finally arrive at your destination.

We researched a lot of different strollers and decided on the front/back type rather than the side by side. With the side by side I have heard you are unable to get down any isle or through any single door way.. they both have their issues I am sure!

We needed to run two simple errands, the bank and Macy's to get Peter a little something for Father's Day! I decided to park at the mall and walk with the stroller to the bank (just a few hundred yards) to limit the number of times getting the kids in and out of their car seats. After nearly breaking my back getting the stroller out of the car I got both kids loaded into what I know refer to as the limousine (seriously the thing is 5-6 feet long), we started off towards the bank. Well I have now learned that the limousine does not hop curbs and essentially has no steering capabilities. And just our luck the wheel chair ramp was clear on the other side of the building. I was trying to (not so) gracefully maneuver this monstrosity of a stroller through the parking lot meanwhile Lucas drops his sippy cup and it goes rolling away. I am trying to chase after it with a stroller that doesn't turn, in the middle of a parking lot mind you. Finally retrieve the cup and get to the door, where I learn that the only way to enter is backwards, seriously? The thing should come with back up sensors and mirrors. I am short ok, so my arms are not long at all, so I can only hold the door open to a certain point as I back the Limo through the door and then I have to warn Lucas who is in the front seat.. "ok buddy the door is going to fall on you be ready" he looks at me like I am crazy then smack.. the door lands on him (not hard) and I gently pull the limo the rest of the way backwards through the door. Thankfully on the way out I think one of the loan officers felt bad for me and made a point to get up from his desk and get the door for me.. thank you!!!

Finally maneuver back over to the mall, once you get some momentum going the thing can cruise at a nice clip, I am feeling good... so thankful the entrance has automatic sliding doors, but I now realize the merchandise filled walk ways are a recipe for disaster.. I don't care about the buy 3 get 1 free special on tires or the half off tool sale Sears was having, why do they have to be located smack in the center of the walkway.. don't they think of the poor moms with huge double strollers, who are barely unable to steer around other shoppers let alone this sale paraphernalia! We finally made it to Macy's with only one near catastrophe when a small girl walked right out into the aisle right in front of me. I had to almost roll the stroller over because as I mentioned it doesn't steer and it stops similarly to a Semi truck on the freeway.

Once we FINALLY reached Macy's Claire goes into a total meltdown. I guess the ride wasn't as smooth as she had hoped and she was unable to fall asleep. As I again work my way around the "One day Sale" merchandise (Doesn't it seem like Macy's has a one day sale every day) placed strategically right in the middle of every single isle, people are starting to stare because of the screaming child. Meanwhile Lucas is going through a stage of asking a ton of questions... "What's that mommy" "What's he doing Mommy" "Mommy, look at that" "Mommy turn that way" "Mommy remember when..." But like I mentioned before he is nearly 6 feet away on the front of what feels like the Titanic, so we are having to shout back and forth these questions and answers all while Claire is amping up more and more.

After realizing that the stroller pretty much takes up the entire elevator.. we have to wait several times to get the ride all to ourselves to make our way to the second floor. Then I realize that when you have a double stroller you can only shop the perimeters of the store. Trying to get to center racks is virtually impossible without taking out a rack or one of Lucas' limbs, so needless to say Peter's gift is a quickly chosen perimeter gift (it's the thought that counts right).

Upon checking out there were two sides of the register.. of course when it is my turn the girl at the very back register who is nestled in a bunch of racks and tables of clothes says, "next please". I didn't want to be rude so I somehow made it back there, but there was no way to park the stroller with the clothes out of Lucas' reach.. oh well, you can only do so much. I just ended up folding all of the clothes and putting them back on the table before we left. Ahhhh what a trip.

At least I learned A LOT about shopping with two kids, and I think the most valuable take home lesson is.. online shopping is the way to go! In my opinion a double stroller is not double the fun!!

Well Checks

On Monday both of the kids had their checkups. Here's the low down on how they are doing...

Lucas was seen for his two year old checkup (he was 25.5 months at the visit). He is weighing in at 30lbs and 34.5 inches tall. He is maintaining at the 50th percentile for both height and weight. He got one of his last vaccinations, so now he just needs his boosters before Kindergarten.

Claire is growing like a weed. She was three months old on the day of the appointment and was 14lb 2 oz which is slightly over the 90th percentile for weight. She was 24 inches long which is about the 50th percentile for height, her head was also in the 50th percentile. She is growing so fast. She got her first set of vaccinations. She did wonderful. She obviously cried for a minute or so but then was easily consoled. She was her happy self the rest of the day, maybe slightly more cuddly then usual. She is doing great and getting herself onto a pretty good little schedule. She wakes usually once per night, usually due to a blow out diaper. She is awake for no more than 2 hours in the morning, then sleeps again in her crib for anywhere from 2-4 hours. She is awake again and plays for another few hours then takes a few hour or so naps in the afternoon.

She is a thumb sucker, I have to say I am not thrilled about this. We have tried to stop this, but not sure we can. She sneaks it up when we're am not looking and definitely prefers it over the pacifier. I am VERY thankful she can self soothe but wish it wasn't wish her thumb, hopefully it will just be a short stage. She loves nursing..hence the weight gain, and she is doing better about spreading out her feedings. She is very close to rolling over.. most likely to get away from her brother who antagonizes her. I have been told that will never change :).

Both of the kids are doing great...happy and healthy. I often wish I could freeze this moment in time. They are both at such sweet stages, I try to take as much video, pictures, and mental pictures as possible because this is too sweet. Lucas is loving that Claire is becoming more interactive and reactive. It is so sweet to listen to him "read" her books every night. What a love bug!! Love these two!

In other news, I am very excited that I am close to getting our family blog printed into a book. I am excited to have all of these memories and pictures in a book on our shelf. I can't wait to share them with Lucas soon, he is excited for "His book" to arrive!