Kid Time

Today, my dear friend Cindy took Jewell, Jefferson, and me to a cool place in Medford called Kid Time. I was super excited because I hadn't left the house since Sunday. I also desperately needed some adult time. But I think the best part was knowing that Jewell could actually act like a toddler her age (since she has now mastered walking).

Kid Time is a safe place for kids to enjoy a variety of different hands on activities. They have activities for toddlers, to even the oldest of kids :). They can go shopping, go to the bank, post office, ballet, construction site, etc. Jewell had an absolute blast at Kid Time! She seems to really like Cindy's kids :), especially Josiah. It was so neat to see Jewell walking around and playing with all the different activities.

Thank you Cindy for taking us, and for helping me out with the kids so much! It was a bit difficult to work with Jewell since I had Jefferson in my Baby Bjorn.

Bethany and Jason

Matt's dear sister Bethany called us on Tuesday night with great news! Jason asked her to marry him :). They are visiting the George Washington Inn in Washington, and he proposed on the bench where Dad used to read his Bible. For those of you that don't know, Dad built the George Washington Inn before he passed away. Good job Jason, you picked the perfect and most special spot to propose.

I must add, Bethany actually called me to tell me about the engagement before talking to Matt. This was really special to me. I never had a sister, so her including me like a real sister was quite special. I will never forget it.

Here is a quick picture of the happy couple. We expect a wedding next summer! Congrats Bethany and Jason!!!

So Much to Blog About

Okay, so I'm a bit behind on blogging :). A lot has happened in the last 2 weeks! Jefferson turned 3 months, Jewell turned 20 months, we traveled to SC, Bethany graduated, and we traveled back to Oregon. Yes, we have been very busy! And as soon as I find my camera battery that Jewell decided to hide, and I figure out where my husband saved all the great pictures, I'll post about all those things!

In other news, I think it's time to finally say what I've been waiting to say for oh...many, many, many months. My baby is finally walking!!! We are so proud of her. You won't believe what gets her to stand and walk the most actually...television. Yes, I just admitted that. Good ole Sesame Street does it again! Regardless of what motivated her to stand up and move, we are proud! She still struggles with walking in shoes, but she's getting there!

Ear Piercing and Park Enjoying

This has been a blast of a weekend. We headed to the mall first thing on Saturday and got Jewell's little ears pierced. We are heading to the beach in SC next week so we decided Jewell needed to look like a true beach cutie! Jewell did a great job getting her ears poked. She cried for about a minute, and I was sure the day of happiness may be over. But then, the kind lady gave Jewell a grape sucker. Suddenly, the look of, "What on earth did you do to me" went to, "Oh, a sucker! I like suckers Mommy". Gotta love little girls!







That afternoon Jewell enjoyed her typical 3 hour nap. I also enjoyed a nice nap. After the nap, we headed to the park :). It finally feels like Spring here in Oregon, so EVERYONE was at the park. We didn't mind. It was nice to see families playing in the park together (except for the family whose dad looked at his kids and said, sorry kids, your Mommy would rather be sitting on the bench on Facebook...yes, that mad me quite upset...poor kids).

Jewell enjoyed the swings at the park very much. She refused to let go of her snack cup, but that's okay!




Jefferson enjoyed hanging out in the stroller :).


I was a little nervous about our bed time routine Saturday night because we were going to have to clean Jewell ears. Boy does that girl have a high pain tolerance! She didn't even care that we turned her earrings and cleaned them! Way to go Jewell!!!

On Sunday morning I did my typical routine of dressing the kids and saying, "Let's take pictures." Poor Jefferson, he got stuck in a hat today! As you can see, he wasn't so sure Mommy made the right choice on his attire.



The service was good this morning, I was sad our Teaching Pastor wasn't there this week. We definitely missed his sermon.

We definitely had a great weekend as a family. We are so glad the weather was so nice!

Took the Plunge

I can't believe I'm admitting this. A few months ago I would laughed if you told me I would give into this new trend. I used to laugh at others who gave in. I had all the excuses in the world.

1. They are gross.
2. My water bill will kill me.
3. My husband would never let me.
4. I don't have time for that!

And then, I moved to Oregon. Yes, my friends, I have taken the plunge. I'm now a cloth diaper Mom. You see, slowly my excuses were no longer valid. I no longer have a water bill (my landlord pays for it). I have time since I'm home and I do laundry all the time. And well, I had a boy! Boys dirty diapers a LOT and I'm pretty sure my son has the innate ability to poo sideways and out every single diaper I've tried on him. I was already cleaning out his outfits. So what was the purpose of the disposable diaper? They weren't working!!! Which is when it happened. My biggest excuse turned on me. Yes, my husband looked at me a few weeks ago and said, "Maybe we should look into cloth diapers." It was then that I knew my battle with the cloth diaper world was over.

One would think that looking into cloth diapers would be easy. Ha! I don't think I did as much research on my Geography project on Nepal! There are way too many types of cloth diapers. Fortunately, I had friends that helped me narrow down which kind would be my style. To make the long research of cloth short...I picked the Oh Katy pocket diaper to try. I am happy to report, my son has not leaked yet! In fact, he's absolutely adorable in them! I don't even want to put clothes on him because it covers his cute little dipe bottom. But I guess since it's still chilly here clothes will do for now.

Yes my friends, I'm afraid I finally took the plunge...and I'm never going back!

Easter Weekend

We had a wonderful Easter weekend as a family. Unfortunately, I realized last night that I forgot to take a picture of the kids dressed up. We were a bit rushed on Sunday morning :(. However, we did enjoy a lovely Easter service at church, and then headed to Easter dinner with some friends that invited us over. I made scalloped potatoes for the first time and they were a hit. I love it when a new recipe turns out.

We didn't do any egg hunting this year. However, we do plan to do something like that next year once Jewell is walking. We were very proud of Jewell this weekend though. She isn't the best morning person so we've always fed her her oatmeal. This weekend she decided it was time to feed herself.


As for Jefferson, he rolled over! He's 11 weeks and 6 days :). I took a few snap shots of him on his tummy, completely forgetting that my camera has a video mode. I think this was a weekend of Mommy brain!


Overall, we had a great weekend as a family, reflecting on how Christ has risen. We are so thankful for all that He has done for us.

A Great Week

We had another typical week here at the Slocum house :). We enjoyed laughing, playing, napping, and just being...kids.

Jefferson was a bit unusual this week. Can you believe this cute face would only want held when he was awake? Yes, Mommy was shocked as well!



Jefferson prefers to keep his legs in a standing position so giving him baths is rather interesting. I decided we needed some extra sitting practice since I was sprayed with an unpleasant fountain almost the entire bath time since someone was screaming and standing in the water :). Anyone that has a boy knows what I mean!




Jewell of course had to get in a picture :). I love this smile! It's her new favorite thing.



It's been raining a ton here in Oregon. Earlier this week we were at 127% for our rainfall. The drought definitely has not started yet! Since it was so nice out yesterday I decided to venture out for a walk. My back was really hurting, so I decided not to put Jeffers in the sling or carrier. I got out the double stroller. It was a huge success. Jewell loved her special cup holder! Jefferson well...as you can see from the picture below, tolerated it. I did learn one lesson from the experience of pushing the double stroller, I'm going to have killer legs for sure.




Yesterday afternoon I decided to introduce Jewell to Play-doh. She did great, until she ate it. I didn't even catch her eating it until I snapped the last picture! Oops! Bad Mommy!




I had a great week with the kids! However, I believe my favorite part, was my evening runs. Yes, I was finally able to sneak that in. I have learned to have dinner cleaned up rather quickly. After I feed the little man, Matt plays with the kids while I go running. I can't begin to explain how good a long run feels at the end of the day. My runs are beautiful. I live in a cute neighborhood that has mountains around it, as well as horses in one part. It's the perfect way to unwind from a busy day with the kiddos. I'm so blessed to have a husband who gives me this time to myself.

The days are getting more and more beautiful. I can't wait to see what next week holds!