7 months!

Our Beautiful Aftyn turns 8 months today! But here are her 7 month pictures that I forgot to post. She is such a joy! She started sitting up at 6 1/2 months. And she is so happy sitting and playing with toys all day long. Especially if brother and sister are there for her to watch.

Tillamook Cheese Factory!

Since Lincoln City Oregon (My family reunion) was only an hour south of Tillamook Oregon, I really wanted to visit the Tillamook Cheese Factory!  And It was so much fun, and the perfect break for us.  We got to sample cheese and see how they package it, and at the end, we stopped and got some yummy Tilamook Ice Cream and Fudge. 

Maiya the cow :)

quincey the farmer

Quincey the cow, Brianna the farmer

 And last but not least! We got to taste samples, of many types of cheese!  It was fabulous. 

Gustav's

On the way back from our family reunion, we stopped in Portland at a German food Restaurant called Gustav's with Eric and Amy.  It was soooo yummy!   And I was introduced to Spaetzle noodles.  Man those are fantastic!  Just now I looked up this recipe for them, and I need to try it ASAP. Thanks for letting us tag along RADimaks!!

Q and the Fondue!  (Ha! It rhymes.)

 Maiya and Carlee showing off their dance moves in the restaurant.  :)

My yummy meal... The Schnitzel was amazing, and the cabbage!  Oh man, comfort food at it's finest.  And there is the Spaetzle in the middle. 

Seattle!

We had such a busy summer, I didn't even have chance to take a breath, let alone BLOG! So, now that Q is in school, I finally have the time! Here are some pictures of me and the kids when we got to go to Seattle with Amy and kids and Brianna. We went to the top of the Space Needle for the first time. It was beautiful up there! And it was hard not to think of Sleepless in Seattle. I really love that movie. And now I can cross it off my bucket list!

Afterwards we ate some lunch at Ivar's, and the kids got to feed the birds. 

Funny Food Faces

So, I haven't posted about this yet, but I have been trying to feed Aftyn baby food since she was about 4 months. That is when she started waking up a lot more in the night from the frequent hunger that comes from a liquid diet. Despite my trying, however, she would not have it!!!  She is now starting to get a lot better.  But, we took these pictures about a month ago.  She would wince every time you bring the spoon close to her.  So funny!
 

What are you doing to me?!

Quincey started Kindergarten!

Q made it through the first day of school! And he really enjoys it. His teachers name is Ms. Cox. It is so cool living right next to the school because we can peek out the window and see him walking in and out from the playground. One day we saw him walking in line to his classroom and he was trying to roll his backpack instead of carry it. He was struggling with it because it kept flipping over. It was really cute to watch. Fun to spy on our kids ;) It is also nice that he can walk to and from school by himself. :)

It has been so much fun to have him come home everyday and talk about his day. The first day I just remember when I picked him up from school that I had never seen him so tired! He said he had a great time but he just looked so exhausted.He normally is not a water drinker except when he gets really hot and sweaty. So I thought it was funny that one of the first things he said after his first day was, "Mom! I like water now!!!"
It is crazy to think that he is old enough to go to school! We are so proud of him!

Maiya Tea's Tea Party!

Maiya turned 4! So she decided that she wanted a tea party "just like cousin Natalie."  So, we went all out and copied everything from my sisters blog, they say that imitation is the best form of flattery, well she should feel really flattered.  And boy... with 6 girls, it was a lot of work! But, it was worth it, and we all had a great time.

My girls wore matching 'Tea Time' shirts that Grandma Tea bought them. I picked out because of our last name, I just thought it was too cute to pass up, but then Maiya was the one who decided she wanted to wear them to the Tea Party! Good idea!

the invitations

Decorations!

The table

We read Fancy Nancy Tea Parties to learn all about proper etiquette. :)

Our yummy lunch! We used lemon wafers as crumpets, and we had sugar cubes and the girls got to ask each other if they wanted "one lump or two?" And it was most commonly answered with 'two'... of course! 

 Next, we all made purses!  The idea comes from here... and it was so much fun. The girls loved to string the beads onto their purse handles.  It kept them occupied for a good 45 min.  Amazing!

The Finished Product!

And here is Maiya's cake!!!!! 

I got the idea from my sister Amber to do individual mini tiered cakes for all of the girls, and also to use homemade Marshmallow Fondant. I have been wanting to try to make my own fondant, and it was sooooo yummy.  Here is the recipe that I used (I used marshmallow creme instead of mini marshmallows).  I'm not gonna lie, these took forever!!! And they were not perfect at all, but the girls loved them! And they got to take them home in a fried chicken bucket that I got for free from  the nice lady at the Safeway Deli who thought I was crazy for asking for 5 empty fried chicken buckets  ;)

Make a wish!

My beautiful birthday girl! She makes it all worth it.

 

The party was a success, and Maiya is already talking about what she wants for next year!  Hold on just for one minute! Let me catch my breath :)