Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Rocker

Max was kind enough to model his Mixed Baby Greens hat that I made him a while back for his birthday.  True to MBG style, his hat is made out of the sleeve of a man's t-shirt that I bought at a thrift store.  Repurposed--with a few seams here and a few seams there, a knot at the top, and a star embellishment--I'd say this little one is rockin' in his new hat.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Tea Time

A trip to the neighborhood coffee shop with Hilary, Elliot and Max last week turned into a very fun little tea party.  Tea for you... and you... and you?

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Farmer Elliot

Strawberries and blueberries and raspberries, oh my!  We spent a glorious day out on our favorite u-pick farm.  This little cutie patootie had the most wonderful time... riding in a wagon, watching the tractors, and stuffing his face with berries!
"And just like that, he was a toddler."

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Date Night

I love this one.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Soaking Up The Sun

Except for one glorious weekend a while back, it seemed like summer was never going to come to Portland.  Day after day, gray gray gray.  Ugh.  I was starting to feel pretty miserable.  And then, to top it all off, the forecasters kept predicting sun and seventy degrees for each upcoming week, but then delaying it one day at a time.  Until by last Tuesday it felt like the sun was literally never going to shine again.  I was just about to go completely mad, when suddenly the clouds parted and out it came.  Sun, glorious sun.  And... it was even warm!  A beautiful seventy degrees.  The boys and I headed for Tabor to spend some time digging our feet into the grass and soaking up the sun.  It was exactly what I needed. 

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Bumper Cars

This past week the boys and I spent some time downstairs in the courtyard of our apartment complex.  Good thing we have two push carts, because these little guys are starting to get fixated on whatever it is that the other one has.  But with two of these, they can push away to their heart's content.  And that's what they did... for an entire hour!
E: Max, I said STOP crashing into me!

M: Hey, whatcha lookin' at, Elliot?

M: Ha ha, try and catch me Elliot!

And coming up from behind, Elliot takes the lead.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Date Night With Max

Our family is swapping date nights with the family that we do a childcare share with.  Max's Mama and Papa have lots to celebrate... Michelle's last day of work is only a few weeks away (yay!), it's her birthday this weekend (happy birthday, Michelle!), and it's Father's Day for David this weekend, too.  So they went out to a fancy dinner and we had Max over for our own date night. 

Of course, off to Mt. Tabor we went. With one boy in each carrier, Andrea and I walked them through the dog-park area (oh holy excitement!!!) and to the playground. As you can see, Max had a great time. Especially when he got behind the wheel of the jeep.
Next week Andrea and I are cashing in the gift certificate that we got to our favorite restaraunt from our realtor when we sold our house. I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait!  And I bet Elliot is equally excited for his date night out with Max's family, too.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Chooks

I've posted pictures of these neighborhood chickens before.  They are the perfect distance from our house for us to take a relaxing evening walk to say hi before starting Elliot's bedtime routine.  Especially great on warm evenings like we had last weekend.  
As we got closer, I started saying to Elliot, "we're going to see the chooks."  The word rolled right off my tongue, even though that's not usually what I call chickens.  It took me a minute, and then I realized that that's what my Nana, who is from Australia but immigrated to the states during WWII, called her chickens when I was growing up.  And then I realized it's also what one of my favorite blogging moms, who is also an Australian, calls her chickens, too.  And, yes, the more I looked into it the more I learned that chooks is really what they call chickens in Australia.  And if you listen to the little feathered friends, it really does sound like they're saying, "chook, chook, chook, chook."


The other thing that I love about our neighborhood walk to see the chooks is that the house that owns them has turned their corner lot into a community gathering place.  This is fairly common in Portland, and I feel so lucky to have one this close to our house.  In addition to having their chicken run and garden come right out to the sidewalk (which is very inviting), they've also build this corner sitting area and have a community board for posting neighborhood events.  The bench is a cob structure and they've put in this beautiful mosaic that Elliot really loved exploring.  

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Sweet Marin

What do you get when you mix a long overdue visit with a very dear friend + four little ones + a rainstorm?  Well you get a lovely trip to the neighborhood coffee shop (because it was literally POURING, so no picnic or park for us), some pictures that came out only okay (because who has time to stop and take any good photos when you're chasing four little guys and trying to catch up with each other as quickly as possible?), and a whole lotta smiles.  That's what you get!

Look at these beauties.  My lovely friend from college, Marin, stopped through town with her little guys Leif and Kai.  I haven't seen Leif since he was Elliot's age and he's now five and a half!  And I've never met little Kai.  What a treat to spend the day with them.  One of these days we'll do the same, and pop into their neck of the woods.  I've always wanted to visit Asheville, NC.  And these three give me all the reason in the world to make that happen.  Much love to you as you continue on your West Coast road trip.  May you have many more smiles, comfy coffee shops and rainstorms along your way!

Hike of the Month :: April

Hike-of-the-month update:  We did a good job exploring the suggested monthly hikes from the Portland Monthly magazine during January, February and March, but then we sold our house in April (no hiking) and were consumed with 1st birthday celebrations in May (no hiking) and now it's June.  So we're backtracking just a bit.  Come along with me.... welcome to April!
The Vegans joined us for a sweet little "hike" (Portland Monthly uses his word very loosely) to Camassia Natural Area.  It was just a short, one mile loop, but it passed through a swamp, a meadow, and beautiful forested areas and had rock outcroppings that dated back to almost 20,000 years ago.  And if we had actually gotten to this hike in April like was suggested, there would have been a ton of beautiful wildflowers.

My favorite part was that it was an interpretive loop and they had guide brochures at the entrance with descriptions of what you were passing along the route.  And, yes, I was the narrator for the day.

Minus the snakes (which Hilary and I were NOT happy about) it was a beautiful way to spend a sunny afternoon. 


Monday, June 14, 2010

Coffee Shop Time

I miss this baby so much right now.  I want our weekend back.

Rose Parade, Portland Style

We took the MAX train downtown to Portland's annual floral parade this past weekend.  We loved it!  Elliot, who had skipped his morning nap, liked it as well as any overly tired, overwhelmed, yet into-it, little one could.  There were floats and horses and marching bands, everything you would want from a parade.  And we would have never motivated to get ourselves down there to see it if we didn't have a little one.  The world is just so much more fun when you have Elliot to share it with!

Sunday, June 13, 2010

What A Weekend!

Don't get me wrong about this.  I loved being a homeowner.  It was such an amazing accomplishment when Andrea and I bought a home.  I loved doing home projects and building a garden and picking out paint colors.  And now I feel like it's even more of an accomplishment to have sold a house.   Getting it cleaned up, staging, being prepared for showings.  It was all such a great experience and I loved it all, but I am sooooooo glad to NOT be a homeowner anymore!  Never once this weekend did I have to figure out when to schedule in time to mow the lawn or weed between the pavers on the patio.  I didn't have to fight with blackberries or make sure I got the trash out to the curb in time for garbage pick up on Monday morning.  I saw people all over Portland working in their yards and caring for their homes this weekend, and I'm sure they were having fun.  And I'm also sure I am so glad it wasn't me out there.  Instead, I got to fill my weekend with one fun activity after another. Just me, Andrea and Elliot, out enjoying the world. 

This weekend's line-up:
- An early morning MAX ride downtown 
- The Rose Parade, ala Portland
- A quick stop in at the mall ($2 tank tops at Old Navy, heck yeah!)
- On the walk home from the MAX station, ducking into an Asian bakery--named, of course, Gary's Bakery and Bistro--for some yummies
- A stop in to a neighborhood coffee shop 
- The first swim of the summer in our pool
- An amazing summer night dinner with The Vegans
- A trip to a quintessential Portland food cart pod to get us some Wiffies--mmmm, hand pies!
- A catch-up hike-of-the-month with She and He Vegan
- A summer-like dinner of homemade pasta salad and our new favorite cocktail
- And an evening neighborhood walk to visit the chickens

I feel so lucky.  It is a dream to have the freedom to come and go and explore and have fun without any ties or responsibilities.  And, if in the meantime the apartment gets trashed, all we're talking about is a few hundred square feet littered with some toys.  No prob, Bob!  Nothing like taking care of an entire house and a chunk of land.  This weekend was the kick-off of summer for me, and oh was it ever wonderful!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Baby Faces

Maybe it's all of the books about baby faces that we've been reading lately, or maybe it's just that time in his development, but Elliot has been experimenting with the most hilarious facial expressions lately.  And yesterday, while we were out shopping, this busy baby was finally occupied for a few minutes when he found a mirror that he could practice his new faces in.
Absolutely hilarious.  And while we were at it, we decided to have a little dress-up time, too.  Because, when you're already having a photo shoot in the middle of the store, you might as well just go all the way, right?!
Yee-haw, cute baby!  You sure do make everything more fun!!

Summer Nights

Oh, lovely night.  After a perfectly wonder-full day, we shared a simply delightful evening with The Vegans, feasting on homemade pizza and caesar salad and enjoying the warm air and some coconut bliss ice cream out back in the cool grass.  
I always wanted a baby with grubby feet.  Thank you, Hilary and He Vegan for spending a perfect evening with us helping Elliot get his feet grubby.
9:30 and we're finally heading home.  Still wearing tank tops, feet bare, happy, happy, happy.