For Daddy

Getting two jedis ready for school takes surprisingly longer than one may think.

Explorers

The other day when I picked the boys up from school, we became explorers!  Tyler, our neighbor Isaac, and Gavin took to the hills of Mountain Park (Lake Oswego) and showed their "boyness" to the fullest.  I'm SO glad I had my camera in the car.  It was the highlight of our day (I know because at dinner over at our neighbors' house that night all three boys said it was their favorite of the day).

Oh the simple pleasures of raising boys!

Gavin got really tired and was less than thrilled with walking the way back ... more than a few tired tears so we compromised ... I carried him half way back and he screamed and walked the other half :)  Mr. "Up Please."

Tyler had to go potty in the woods so of course Gavin had to copy his bro.  Too funny.  

Battle Wound

Dock

I still have so many photos from this summer to go through.  Here are just a handful from down at the dock in Montana.  Tyler's and his little second cousin Alex were peas in a pod.  I LOVE the one with Alex frowning and Tyler smiling.  Too funny.

Check out the rock mid-plunge

Gavin's First Day of Preschool

Tyler went back to school today and Gavin started for the very first time.  They were SO excited.  We had our annual tradition of new jammies the night before, and then they got to take photos on the porch with their backpacks.

They both had the best time.  In Tyler's words,

"Mommy, I had the very best time.  I did NOT NOT have fun any of the time" ... double negative to mean that he DID have fun every minute.   We love our precious little preschool.  Here's to a great year!

Paleo/G-Free Update

Ever since I posted about Matt's hair loss and diet changes, I get a lot of questions about how that is all going.  I figured I'd do a little update.

We have not seen any changes in Matt's hair.  His eyebrows are sort of coming and going with the help of steroid injections.  They sometimes fill in and then sometimes fall out ... we would hope that they would stick around, but it is a definite possibility that they will leave for good someday.

However, we are both feeling SO good.  The improvements for Matt are MANY.

1.  Matt has not had any heartburn since going Paleo
2.  Matt is down from several cups of coffee a day to one cup of half decaf
3.  Matt used to wake up multiple times a night, every night.  He know sleeps soundly and no longer wakes up during the night.
4.  He used to be hot all the time.  His core temp was elevated because his body was so dehydrated.  He now has a more normal temperature ... actually he is usually cold now due to the baldness.

Personally, I have had so many improvements as well, that I have gone from committing to trying out the g-free lifestyle to purging our entire house of all gluten.

1.  I have SOOOOO much energy.  I am also down to half decaf coffee.
2.  My appetite is incredibly stable.  I used to get insanely hungry at certain times throughout the day.  Now, every few hours I have the "I guess I should eat" feeling, and then when I do eat, I feel satisfied and I don't need a snack an hour later.
3.  I have very stable energy during my workouts, and my endurance is consistent.  I am able to push myself hard at the end of a workout rather than crashing.
4.  I have really enjoyed cooking.  I've found so many recipes online plus I have racked my brain for new ideas, and most of them have been really good.  Food is definitely more of an art now ... if you can only eat a few premium ingredients, it's important to make them count.

I think the NUMBER ONE benefit though of all of this has been the quality of nutritious food we are feeding our littles.  We never fed our kids fast food and always provided a lot of healthy options.  However, their diet was also littered with goldfish crackers, pasta, pizza, bagels, etc typical kid food.  

Now, the kids are used to every meal or snack having fruits, nuts, veggies, lean meats, etc.  It's just normal now.  I get people commenting, "look at your boys just sitting their eating cucumbers" ... yep, it's pretty awesome.

I feel so proud that I know I am feeding my kids foods that are truly nourishing.  At every point that I can intervene to prevent them from eating gluten, I do.  It's not that I'm trying to be legalistic at all ... it's that I truly do believe that we are all SO much healthier not eating it.  You know how as a parent you try not to give your kids sugary sweets all the time ... I feel that way about almost anything gluten or processed, and I also try to limit dairy.  My kids would live on milk, yogurt, and cheese.  I supplement almond milk for about half of their milk, and I try and make other dairy more of a condiment rather than a main food group.

In all honestly, it is challenging not to be obsessive about it.  A lot of that is because I am still fairly new and learning how to navigate a new world of food.  You have to plan a ton, shop at more places, research recipes, read EVERY SINGLE label, and keep your pantry well stocked.  We go through so much fresh produce ... I feel like I am constantly grocery shopping.  There have been so many days that I would have previously just thrown in a frozen pizza and called it good for dinner.  Now, we often eat dinner later because it takes longer to cook.  

It's still worth it.  It really, really is.

We have really loved going through this journey with friends.  We love finding people who are doing similar diet choices.  Our new neighbors happen to have very similar eating habits, and we keep exchanging baked goods ... so fun to have paleo-friendly cookies dropped on your doorstep, WOW!  Such a blessing!

There's the skinny.  I definitely feel like the training wheels are coming off that bike :-).

~ Jessica

Here's a messy faced silly G at dinner the other night

Mahi-Mahi with lemon, ready to go in the oven

A typical little J plate ... green veggies, flavorful fish, and a small side of some sweet potatoes

Psalm 32:8

When Tyler was three, I started learning the value of teaching him to memorize scripture.  I could go on and on about what an amazing gift this practice has been ... for me!

Of course, it is for him in the long run because it will equip his mind and heart with lifelong truth (the young mind never forgets words planted in it so early on).   But for me, it has helped me to memorize verses too which I had never done before.  It also has been a huge parenting help for me (we use the fruits of the spirit to help Tyler decide if his choices are in line with God's).

If you have ever had the inclination to teach your children verses, please try it!  They learn them so quickly, and they take pride in it.

I decided to teach Gavin his first one now that he is two.  It is the most darling thing.  It's really hard to understand him, but you can sure get the gist of it :).

"I will teach you the way you should go."  Psalm 32:8

Don't think the video works on iPhones ... only computers.  

But OH those summer nights

I LOVE summer.

I can't get enough of it.  I love fall for the air crispness and the decor (for those of you who know me .. FALL FAIRY, :) yay).  Other than Christmas, I pretty much hate winter.  I like the idea of spring, but the reality of that season in Portland is really just rain, drear, and teasers until the sun finally comes out after July 4.

But summer.  Oh summer!!!  You are warm, you are bright, you are fun.  Having kids has made me love you even more.  We can eat outside, make messes outside, run outside, and so much more.

What has made this summer even better is all of the water!  We joined Club Sport in April and have NEVER LOOKED BACK.  The club is amazing.  The workout classes kick even these P90X 1&2 grads' tooshies.  The childcare is wonderful.  The free valet parking is so convenient.  Most importantly, the amenities make even just a normal trip to the gym make you feel like you are on vacation.  We have used the pool a ton when we have been in town.  I know that this winter is going to be so much more bearable just because we have the club as a refuge from the rain.  I can sweat during a workout and then go in the spa or sauna.  Workout + spa/sauna + kids world = 2 hours a day of mommy being WARM instead of freezing, which I really think will do wonders for a cold soul.

That's a tangent.  Sorry.  I promise I don't get paid for plugging the club; I just seriously love it.  Anyhow, we have done so much swimming this summer that my kids are sprouting gils.  It's what I remember about summer as a kid ... getting in the pool as soon as the sun was starting to warm up the air and staying in until the last ray of light.

This summer, we have swam at the club, at Black Butte Ranch, at Juniper Aquatic Center in Bend, Prineville Reservoir, and in Flathead lake in Montana.  Vacation or home, my kids just adore water, and we have had the very best summer with a pinnacle of cute wet kiddos huddled in towels to the very end of the the days warmth (one more slide PLEASE mommy!).

We took SOOOOOOOOOOooooooo many photos on vacation (and none at the club, which is funny because we were there the most).  Anyhow, we took so many that I only feel like I can post one sect.  Here are some Black Butte pool pics.

Happy end-of-summer!!!

I'm not a huge fan of aviators, but I really love making fun faces in them :-)  Here's a fun edit-job to play up the photographer.

This was HILARIOUS!!!!!!  Mike's legs + Kayla's upper half = So many laughs!!! We could not get enough!!!!