June

Sierra has her own raised bed this year.  She planted it full of potatoes!

A beautiful end to an evening!

Happy birthday Papa!

Story time

Beautiful brown curls!

Reading in the baby doll's bed.

Sand box fun!

Sierra helping daddy "chase a gopher out of his hole with water".  I was at the grocery store.....

Sure do love these two!!

A trip for some photos out to the refuge.

I got some sweet shots but then we noticed there was poison oak EVERYWHERE so we ran home and all took a tecnu shower!

Karaoke bright and early in the morning

One of the cutest cashiers around.

Just.like.daddy.

PEAS!

No nap today, so we had a mani/pedi instead.

Loving garden time.

Heavy late rains ruined our cherry crop:(

This is why our children sleep in their own beds!  Yes, that is Jaxon's bum on Jesse's head. ;)

June was a month of recuperation in our house.  Sierra and Jaxon both were sick well into the month.  I have never seen a fever last so long and I hope I never do again!  When the kids started feeling better we worked on the garden, cried when our cherries all split, and started to get back into a regular "non-virus" routine.  This meant less TV, normal naps/bed, eating food, and playing outside as much as possible.

I'm not sure if it was so much time feeling crummy, but Jaxon really has enjoyed sitting at the table to play this month.  If I set him up with some cars, small toys, or play dough, he will sit and stay in one place and play for up to 30 minutes!  This means sometimes I can get the dishwasher loaded in one fell swoop!  I have learned though, that three dishes in the dishwasher at a time, or two pieces of folded laundry, or one washed window will at least make a dent in the large household to do list.  When I had Sierra, I would get frustrated if I couldn't finish a project and so I just wouldn't start.  If I couldn't load all the dishes at once, or sweep the whole floor, etc.  Now I know that you MUST take advantage of spare moments even if it is one dish at a time.

Sierra remains in her princess phase and wears dresses and tiaras all the time.  Trying to get her to put on shorts or pants underneath her dress to go outside or to town is one heck of a fight.  Why you ask?  Why do I care?  You should see her legs!!!  She is one solid bruise/scrape.  She's a busy girl outside and we live on a gravel road.  When she doesn't wear pants she ends up with rocks in her knees.  And when we are in town, she is only 3 and doesn't understand what it means to be ladylike (nor do I really, which is why I prefer pants) and strangers get to see her underpants.  I really do worry what getting ready for school is going to be like as a teenager!  She tries on at least 3 or 4 outfits before she decides on one, it must match, not give her wedgies, not be too tight, too loose, too long, too short, too ruffly, too plain, the right color, and all accessories must match.  Did I really give birth to this child?!  It drives me crazy!  I had no idea that this would be so important to an almost four year old.  NO IDEA!

Both of the kids ate horribly for what has seemed like forever because they were sick, but Jaxon has been super picky since he turned one.  If he doesn't like the look of a food he won't try it and no matter how hard we try to coax, bribe, trick, or shove it in, it comes right out or the meal ends in a screaming fit (him screaming, me trying really hard not to).  All of the things he ate before his 1st birthday he won't have a thing to do with.  He also doesn't really like to touch certain foods.  This doesn't seem very abnormal to me but it is very frustrating.  At his 15 month well baby checkup the Dr asked about his eating habits and I shared my frustrations with her.  She said that it is possible that Jaxon has some texture aversions and that there are specialists that help children get over these aversions.  Since our out of pocket for our insurance is met, I decided to give it a try.  Jaxon's first appointment was at the end of June.  It's mostly teaching me different things to do over and over at home to get him used to different textures - not just in his mouth, but on his arms, legs, hands and feet as well.  There's a lot of massage involved using a little brush, food play, and getting him used to having dirty hands.  I have no idea if it will work but if he will eat more than yogurt and cheese it will be a success! Hopefully I'll be able to report next month that it's helping!