shaverville

happy boom, boom, bang, pop, pop!

2009-07-02T23:09:00.000-07:00

These cute boys have been having some fun at the club of late- and though they don't know about the impending fireworks, I hope they're ready to hop-to! 'Cause it's a coming! 'Swimming' is a kick. Lots of bubbles are being made in the water- and they've been meeting new friends. Though they kind of tag team newbies and I can't break them of this behavior. It's kinda scary for the new 'friend'. We're now on another wait list for preschool in September for A- I fear nobody will drop and Aidan will have to have to be home pre-schooled. I am just not qualified...

dear poppy-poppy

2009-06-21T02:27:00.000-07:00

Aidan recently started calling Michael 'Poppy-Poppy'. As in "Oh my Poppy-Poppy! I LOVE him!" "You want it Poppy-Poppy?" "I do it too, Poppy-Poppy!" It's very cute. Henry sometimes follows suit- but may be more inclined to stick with Pappa. Michael is our touchpoint- a working guy that brings home the bacon and the smiles and love. He's the guy we turn to to change diapers and fix Sunday breakfast. He shows how to use a hammer and reads Henry's Thomas book- EVERY time it comes into play. (Seriously, this could be 100 times a day!) He's an invaluable person to our little pod.
There are a few other fathers we celebrate today... Daniel is Aidan's first father. He was a little hard to get to know when we were initially introduced to Aidan's first family. He was young-in outlook. He was transparent and possibly naive- if that's right? Well, surely he was energetic and so into his kids. He had lots of dreams and it was hard to see so many of those dreams remaining dreams for him. When we had a family visit last summer, he was exceptionally kind to Aidan and Henry too. Kind with his wife and kids and us. Real. Open. Here is a man that gave up his right to parent this boy of 'ours'. He chose us to parent his child. Sometimes thinking about what played out nearly three years ago- just leaves me completely flummoxed.
David is Henry's first father. We don't know him- except through what Carissa shares with us. She sees David's expressions in Henry's face -but prefers to see herself I think:) - which isn't hard! He looks just like Carissa. Its hard to know what David thinks of being a father to our sweet Hen. Hopefully we will know him someday and he too will see himself in this little mirror- and he will share with us all who he is. I found some photos of him online- from when he was 16. Tall and skinny, shooting hoops with a friend or foster brother? Few words. We heard last Christmas that he might be interested in seeing Henry and hope it happens.
My Pops. A funny rock. Slippery and sharp and soft. He loves our boys and us and supports everyone. He is happily ensconced in music after years of teaching other's kids. He is our grandpa, our pop- our Thursday morning recycling celebrator-the guy with the magic in his shirt pocket-and we love him!
Happy Father's Day to you all!
Robert, Jay Jay, Ken, Matthew, Oty, Jerry, Ralph, Tory the illustrious fathers to those in our circle- we salute you!
Michael reading with Aidan and his baby. Aidan is telling the story of the puppies and is saying, "Listen baby!" Michael is helping out by holding baby at attention. Here is Mr Ballionne getting the boys to smile BIG on our recent vacation! He's always good at encouraging the 'crazies' to come out at picture time- especially at roadside attractions! Why he's having them all hold the barbed wire- I just won't ask. No pain no gain, I guess :)

a week of winter

2009-06-20T17:06:00.000-07:00

What the heck! This is June. Middle June. RAIN. That's what we're talking about here. Even when it's not raining it's cloudy or generally, not bright. Now, we're in Oregon. A nice place for rain. But seriously, enough is enough.
We've taken to the streets- on bikes and in bike trailers. Off to the park? You bet. Amusement rides? That too! A boat ride on the river? Out to dinner? BubbleFest 2009? The zoo? Yes, yes, yes. YES. Still, it would be nice to have some rays. Not for our skin- but for the vitamin D or light therapy. All it makes me want to consider is adding another baby to our family. What? Well, the subject has been broached a few times. And now well, things look one way- and then the other. I'd love it. Maybe if the sun comes out, the boys won't want to cuddle so much- want to run and play and take up sports and run through the neighborhood naked or something- to distract me. We'll see. Tick Tock. (Obviously- by tick-tock, I am not referring to my own personal ovum- but the idea of starting diapers again from scratch, say- next Tuesday) I must be feeling smug- or missing my babies being actual babies. Gad. Well, there are surely things to consider- but the idea of being needed by another little one- who needs a mom and dad- some big brothers- plus all the love in the world- well, lets just say, we're not closing ourselves off to the idea. Last week, Aidan was telling me how he wanted a baby. His baby would be called baby Biolet- he reminded me. Well, I asked him yesterday if he wanted a baby for our family and he replied- in your tummy? I said no- he said- baby Biolet? I said no- she'd be staying with Auntie Lib and Uncle Ken. He said- No. Later he told me he was a "tiny baby"- our fun game where he gets carried around like a tiny baby and rocked and coo'd at, etc. He said he wanted to be in my tummy. I told him I'd eat him up- but he reminded me- no biting! (shaking his finger) so we were at a standstill. I couldn't get him in and I couldn't provide him baby Biolet- so I guess he's voting no for now.

oh, dammit

2009-06-07T23:11:00.000-07:00

I always thought I was a shi%* person. Even worse, (before the boys) I'd drop the f-bomb like a pirate with a sore tooth. But I know now, as I watch Aidan build his 'tower' that I am- in fact- an, "Oh, dammit" person. Bad mommy.

adventure day

2009-06-06T13:57:00.000-07:00

Today started with making custard with papa and then off we rode on our bikes to the farmer's market for a little adventure. The boys got balloon animals (yeah- they lasted about three minutes- so we won't be standing in line for those again!), tasted fresh organic salt free butter, strawberries, ate a peanut butter cookie, petted carrots- lets see- anything else? Oh, great marimba music from White Rhino (that hit the spot!) and dancing, crepes and sausages, the boys 'fished' in a teeny-tiny rain puddle with pine needles- then back in the bike trailer and home just in time for naps and papa is off to golf with uncle JJ. I heard a rumor we might see uncle Scott this afternoon- so the adventure continues! OK- close your eyes and listen- at least till I can get this thing figured out!

big bands and queen kisses

2009-06-06T13:27:00.000-07:00

Friday night the boys and I had a date with uncles Arthur and William! We had a fun night cavorting under the clouds at BandFest 2009. Both boys received "Princess Power" buttons from Reigning (2008) Rose Festival Queen Marshawna- and kisses and offers of baby sitting! We had a pretzel and some fruit snacks and pink lemoname and we pissed off the people in front of us with cheers of "Great job guys!" and "Good drumming!!" oh and Henry kicked the ladies chair in front of us which caused the uproar to begin. Ah well. Aidan swung his arms with the flag girls and Henry sat patiently- leaning on either William or me and finally pooped out just as the One More Time Around Marching Band started up with Louie Louie. We had a great time! Though- I think we all wished the 'Mummers' were a little more mum. Still- the rain stayed away and we snuggled in our blankets and clapped hard for everyone!

eiy yie yie yie

2009-06-03T19:26:00.000-07:00

blue skies, smiling for me

2009-05-29T21:50:00.000-07:00

Omaha, Cheyenne, Ogden we've been lucky. No rain since Iowa. Thanks be to the driving gods! Scary beautiful country we have here. Sometime the road goes on forever, sometimes around a rocky bend- and still there are surprises. Like the camel I saw walking in a field with some cows! Aidan's new theme is HIT THE ROAD JACK! Both boys are back seat singers and have really kept the arguing down to once a day- which is nice. Well, we hit Oregon border today! Staying in Baker and home tomorrow!

iowa fun

2009-05-26T20:13:00.000-07:00

We had a great visit in Marquette with Gramma Donna, Grandpa Bill and all the rest of the family! We got to visit with everyone solid-from Friday through Tuesday. You could have found us riding bikes, playing at the park, sleeping on the sofa, digging through the toy basket, laughing over old pictures, cruising the Mississippi, dinners out and lots of meals at the 'lodge' too! It was sure worth the drive! We had a great visit- including a visit to the folks interned at Manona and a side trip to grandpa's old place in Waterville- as well as the old swimmin' hole, Chet Spinner's place and Waterville Elementary.
Tonight we're in Omaha, Nebraska- so we're westward bound.

rushmore, bound

2009-05-21T07:50:00.000-07:00

Well, we made it to Mt. Rushmore! We had breakfast, played a little and then headed up to see Abe Lincoln- and George whamummble-mumble. But yay! Abe Lincoln! He's Aidan and Henry's favorite president- but mostly because we let them have pennies in their pockets! We ran all over today. Stone guys, not so stone guys, dinosaurs, wall drug, corn palace and more dinos! Phew! We pulled into Sioux Falls around 10 and rapidly pissed off the person or persons staying in the room below us. Aidan gets pretty excited when you ask him to do something- and he figures it out all on his own- so he was bouncing with abandon on the floor- after finding a trash can and depositing Henry's diaper for me. Yippee! Well, again- tired, so nighty night- and here are a few pics from today. And can I just say again how much I LOVE the WPA and their works. Sign me, Smiling big in Sioux Falls, SD!
You may also note that Henry is decidedly mostly missing from pics today. Today was a toughie for MR. Grouchy-Sassy Pants and attitude to boot = very few palatable pics. Ah, tomorrow. :)

road trip 2009, fun

2009-05-19T20:59:00.000-07:00

So, we're on day two of our road trip. First we stopped in Couer d' Alene, ID and now we're in Bozeman, MT. In CdA Aidan and Henry made friends with restaurant staff and got free cookies from Rhonda and Wendy. Then today they received hot wheels at the hotel from Dee Dee. If they could just make friends with a nice gas tycoon or hotel magnet! The boys have been good travelers- pretty patient and napping well in the car. They love going to the hotel and pushing the buttons on the alligator. Oh, um- the elevator. :) I'll post more tomorrow. Tired now.

a visit from uncle scott

2009-05-17T09:57:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I taught on Mother's Day- so we celebrated on Saturday- which I later learned is also called Birth Mother's Day (which I happen to think is a total crock). We ate breakfast at grammy and grandpa's with the uncles, dropped Sean home to his slumber and traveled to the train station with Scott and grandpa. It was a great time-full of people, trains, enthusiasm, balloons, excitement, trains, clowns, oh yeah, trains. I got a migraine- but that magically passed just in time for me to drive home- and reappeared in time for me to take a nap with the boys when we got home.

santa, the green van and the summer job

2009-05-15T17:34:00.000-07:00

What I'm nostolgic for; Senn's Dairy drive thru- fudgecicles, pop shoppe pop, drive-in movie play yards. These poor boys, they don't know the excitement of entering the drive thru- milk products, cow cut-out's, the promise of the frozen fudgieness. Also is lost the mystery of those tiny jewel-toned bottles of pop shoppe. And the comfort of viewing a movie from the theater swing set in their pajamas. So sad to me. Now, though, they hold the beautiful notion that Santa is working a summer job, here in town- in fact, driving down our street- selling ice cream from a green minivan. He wears his beard a little whispy, same smiling eyes, uh-hem- red turban, free candy. They have a jar of change- for ice cream sandwiches and visits from Santa. So lovely.

where have we been?

2009-05-11T09:05:00.000-07:00

OK, I've been a total slacker. Poor Shaverville. It became my back burner, my thorn. Sorry. Again. I'll try to keep it up now. I'm trying some new time management skills, but we'll see how that progresses. Aries, you know. Love to start- not finish.
So, anyway. Look how big these boys are! They are smart and funny and talented. They sing songs, read stories, announce spiders, worms, ladybugs, bees as well as airplanes and helicopters and any number of trucks from the taco variety to the ambulance. Oh and we remodeled our bathrooms, so now they are all about the hammers and saws, screwdrivers, adjustable wrenches and plumber's tape!
Aidan is a sensitive little scamp who is learning how to turn up the cheese factor when he really wants something. You know when he gets to PUH-WEEZE, and you're laughing despite yourself- he's gonna win. Henry has made a ton of advancements in the past few months. He is still kinda tough to deal with Are we too much alike- that boy and I? He likes to talk back and PUSH buttons. Should I say hammer buttons? But he's smart and funny and out-laughs everyone for blocks around. Seriously, one day I will record one of his laughs- play it for the world and cure cancer or something!
Michael is doing well and busy with new responsibilities at work, I'm wrapping up teaching for this school year and we're all looking forward to our trip to Iowa later in the month and all the adventures the summer holds for us!

can you say busy?

2009-03-03T14:19:00.000-08:00

We had a few nice days- then some really rainy ones. We've played inside and out- made art and gone to the park. Here are a few smiles to make your day! We have fresh hair cuts and a runny nose on and off- but for the most part, we're all healthy!

for arthur...

2009-02-07T23:20:00.000-08:00

So if you know Arthur, you know he has a deep appreciation for bacon. It seems Aidan is gleaning some good info from his Uncle Arthur- though his bacon is good as food, and a spoon for syrup!

long time coming

2009-02-02T14:39:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the massive delay in posting! We've been busy, snowy, sunny, rainy, foggy, funny, happy, sad, crazy, tired, sleepy, reraxing, learning, growing, showing, telling- the list goes on and on and on. No , these aren't excuses- just the facts!
We've celebrated Christmas, New Years, Sammy's birthday, Oty's birthday, Julie's birthday, Arlo's birthday, Melissa's birthday, Chinese New Year, Arthur's birthday, National Kazoo Day, Sasha's birthday and Groundhog Day! We've been to mountains and museums, rode trains and attended parties, meetings and reunions.
Henry is so smart. He knows all his letters and is working on his numbers. Aidan loves singing itsy bitsy spider and being 'dangerous'. We've been busy. Sorry. And lazy. Sorry for that too! I personally think I didn't post- because I actually put it in writing that I'd be posting more frequently. So, the joke's on me.

megasnowpalooza

2008-12-20T22:23:00.000-08:00

We've had snow, no snow, mush, ice and nearly a foot of snow (just today)! This is pretty unusual around here, so we've tried to take advantage of the slippery, floaty goodness. Though the roads have been 'treacherous' we've successfully visited Santa (at the mall) been to the post office, did some shopping, some shipping and purchased the boy's first sled- albeit an orange plastic toboggan- and not a proper sled with metal runners. No snowmen yet- ha! our snow's not wet enough! Hope you enjoy the pics. I'll try to be better at posting in the coming days. Michael is home for 2 weeks! Hoorah!

celebrating 12.09 the day our debbra came to be amongst us!

2008-12-10T03:48:00.000-08:00

silly man child

2008-11-30T01:42:00.000-08:00

happy birthday, two haircuts!

2008-11-26T22:07:00.000-08:00

We had a fun weekend. Michael jumped to the next age bracket on most surveys. We celebrated at M's work with a pot-luck feast and black balloons and then again with our good friends Friday with a fab dinner out on the town while the grands watched the boys. Scruffy and Scrappy Doo got their hairs cut to an appropriate 'boy length' and Michael got to play golf with Uncle JJ - who-ray! Our thanks to friends and family!

mister logy, grouchy pants (x2)

2008-11-17T12:17:00.000-08:00

Aidan was sick last week. His first real fever turned him into a big ol' snuggly lump. He would moan mournfully when I had to put him down to get him a cup of water (or go to the bathroom). His eyes were dark pits in his pretty boy face. He was one hot tamale! While A and I sat on the chair, the sofa, the floor, Mr Hen played with abandon. He got all the toys and no struggle for the prime place in front of the living room window. He was super happy the first day- but when he figured out he wasn't getting any lap time- and not much one on one time at all- he raised a little of his very special brand of h.e. double toothpicks. He beat the window with his favorite hammer, crashed all the trucks and caused the little crock-piano to dive off the coffee table (for eight hours)! He pulled Arlo's hair and Hammy's ears and Max's tail. Boo. I'm glad A is all better. Our house is much quieter. Oh, I mean... louder. Busier. Happier. Now, we've got to get them in for a haircut!

keep 'em moving

2008-11-17T12:07:00.000-08:00

Our boys are confident and crazy! We are finding ways to keep them moving so they crash hard enough to take a nice nap during the afternoon. You can see, they jump right in on their new 'chores'!Well, Henry looks like he might like exploring more than physical labor. Keep an eye on that one!

celebrating!

2008-11-05T12:14:00.000-08:00

We celebrated last night! Boy howdy- we had a good time! We are happily feeling very blue. We are celebrating with the state, the country and the world. It's great to live in a country where you can grow up to be anything you set our mind to!

yes we can

2008-11-04T12:17:00.000-08:00

hey vote for us!!!!

2008-11-02T18:45:00.000-08:00

Please take a minute to go to this blog and vote for the boys (siegfried and roy!) we need your votes by the 4th! Thank you!! http://www.goodhappenings.com/

happy halloween!

2008-10-31T19:30:00.000-07:00

covered in fluff

2008-10-30T23:32:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween! In response to the economy (and lack of abilities) I have revised the boy's costumes this year. My intention- as many of you know- was to play up the "how to utilize the 'light/dark' look of the boys"- basically rooted in tv programs of my past. Last year the boys were Siegfried and Roy. This year they were supposed to be Bo and Luke Duke- but I couldn't get the General Lee to work, and really, they wouldn't have stayed seated in the wagon this year anyway. So, I recycled the fur from last year's wagon liner (plus some duct tape, the boys backpacks and the stuffing of a very lumpy pillow) into two lovely and lovable wolf spiders. Oh yeah, I also splurged on some winter hats (you'll be seeing them again, later in the season) and whiffle balls. Here they are, laying in wait for two inquisitive boys to wander by. Who knows, next year they may be the dudes from Miami Vice or Lewis and Clark or Starsky and Hutch. We'll see. Maybe next year I won't procrastinate the idea of the costume away....

now on stage...

2008-10-27T13:42:00.000-07:00

Aidan made his way on stage for the first time this morning. He flew through a couple ditties with the grands and then was out on the floor dancing with the seniors of Canby (and Henry & I).

ponies and pumpkins- oh my!

2008-10-18T22:49:00.000-07:00

We had a great trip to an AWESOME pumpkin patch today. Animals, grilled corn, tractor rides, giant pumpkins, apple squeeze, old time music, what? These people didn't miss a trick. The boys had a blast and got to ride ponies for the first time ever. Aidan melted down big time when he had to get off Dusty. Henry melted numerous times, but all in all- he was really good. Aidan also loved finding a sunflower, ripping it from the ground and carrying it all over creation. Both little men were amazed by the tractor pulling what looked like 30 consecutive 'cow' wagons. "Wow!" Fun- any takers for next year?

strolling in the park

2008-10-15T13:22:00.000-07:00

We took a nice walk this morning. Here's proof!

crazy, fast, fall

2008-10-13T21:47:00.000-07:00

We had a surprise visit from Uncle Scotty! We ran and played and ran and tripped and cried and loved up the dog and refused to say goodbye at the end.

friends of old

2008-10-10T22:36:00.000-07:00

So Thursday I took the boys over to see Maureen. I haven't seen her for like ten to eleven years. Her twin girls are 12 now- and they were tiny babies when last I saw them. Her sis Kathleen was in town from NM and her folks dropped over for lunch, too. It was an awesome old home moment. A & H loved it. They ran and played and climbed stairs and tortured their dog Annie by hugging her. Dang carnies! I took the camera but didn't take any photos. Boo. Soooooo, I'm posting this photo of us from forever ago. You may not recognize me- I have one chin (well, we all do) and I'm wrapped up in Barry Frisbee. Maureen is super feathery and Kathleen is with her (now) nearly fifty year old husband. Good times.
We forgot the hammer from A's new tool kit- so we'll be going back soon.

visitors from the south!

2008-10-05T22:17:00.000-07:00

We had a nice visit with Matt, Mel, Nola and Wren!! Spaghetti Factory fun and then off to the hotel to run and play. Nola shared her toys with the boys- what fun! Aidan left sweaty, sweaty, sweaty. Henry had fun peeking out from behind the curtains and Wren baptized both Michael and I with spit-up. Sweet girl. Pretty baby! Her lips make the perfect bow!

wackadoo kids

2008-10-03T22:04:00.000-07:00

Things- as they say- are status quo. If things can ever be status quo with two toddlers in the house. Everything is a mess. Dishes are dirty, clothes get washed at midnight, to get out of the house I go to the store for milk, ride my bike to the park with the baby trailer. Henry's continuing with his 'happy streak'. He is still the straight man to Aidan's eccentricities.
Yesterday we went to the mini-mall for a scoop of payday celebration. Henry wanted to bring his Percy train. Check. Simple enough to track down- should he jettison it. Aidan wanted his tiny kiki (blanket) his hat (green/gray stripes with polka dots and swirls) and the right suede work glove from the toy basket. Of course, he's wearing plaid. (Jennifer will love this). He was pretty quiet- as was Hen, but when some kids showed up A kept waving at them with that giant gray hand. What a weirdo.

This afternoon, while I put Henry down, Aidan found an appreciation for Perry Mason.

shorn, like the little lambs they are...

2008-09-27T13:08:00.000-07:00

We got the hairs cut. Such little men. Sitting on my lap and waiting for the cool spray of water, the snip snip of the scissors and the pressure of the hand tilting their head forward. They play along for the most part. Their last cut sits in their memory banks still. No blood- no real damage- just oohs and ahhs when we are through, so they're still in. Thank goodness we get to go to Sandra's for their cuts. I couldn't imagine plopping them in the big barber chair, handing them a magazine, dowsing them in the steam of a hot towel and buzzing them clean. I can wait for that.

20 fingers, 20 toes, 4 knees, 4 elbows, the hits keep on coming

2008-09-21T01:28:00.000-07:00

Busy little bees. I know I write about Aidan a ton. I don't mean to be unfair. I love little Hen, too- you know I do! Aidan's just been a super charged baby lately. He explores constantly. He takes everything apart- and does crazy ocd things- for example, he loves handing out car keys or shoes to their rightful owners. (The boys have learned, through repitition, we are going out if we put on shoes which leads to the car-keys chant and then he gets them out of the box and opens the door and takes Henry's hand and we're off! He loves to help. He likes to wash up and cleans with some kind of tenacity unknown to my gene pool. He likes to help bring in the groceries, dry cleaning, and hands out suckies like a champ. He wants to know words and names, names, names. Once he knows a name or any new word, really- he practices them. (!) We're driving around the 'hood doing our chores the other day and he is having a full on conversation with himself. Listing people, neighbor's pets, random items he sees, modes of transportation, animal names, Elmo... the list goes on and on. Yesterday he was asking himself questions. Cooking? Washing? Running? Funny man.
A's latest trick is that he's stopped stripping at nap time and now just removes himself from his crib. And climbs in with Henry. And starts jumping! And laughs JUMPING! JUMPING! JUMPING! Good god. Tonight he got up and came out into the living room. Dear me. I think we're in for a fun ride.
Henry has had a number of really good days. He says truck, hammer, cracker, dinner, diaper but refuses to say airplane. Once he learned helicopter- (well, his version of helicopter) which is hel- ca-ca- thats all he'll say. He can be right under a plane and will watch me say air... plane. He'll say hel-ca-ca. Often times we see both fIying machines within minutes of each other- he can see the difference- but he won't do it! I can just hear the neighbors.... WHY DOESN'T SHE JUST GIVE UP?? I must say airplane 5000 times a day. But- by gum- I know he can do it! It must be in there.
Hen's been taking things a little slower. Or something. He takes a look at things, lets say. If he has a stick in his hand, he'll poke at things. He draws in the gravel of the driveway with sticks. He follows Aidan on jungle safari with a stick- but take it away and he's stuck (or done). He still likes to hit, scream, yell. He regularly throws things and tips over the coffee table. The most AWESOME thing with Hen is that he's taken to doling out HUGE hugs. Repeatedly. He spreads his arms, grabs you and SQUEEZES! Yum.
One silly thing is both boys are in love with the garbage and recycling bins. They push them all over the driveway, run into each other like they're prepping for destruction derby or race them like nascar. WHY? you ask. Don't know!
The other thing Aidan's been doing is ABC's and 123's! He is so insistent with it. At meal time we sing ABC's and he'll beg to do it again and again. "More ABC's?" "More ABC's?" (Henry asks for ABC's too. "cuh-ca-caz"?) Sure thing buddy!
I'm in constant amazement. These are little people. Not babies. Not little lumps of wiggling, burpy, flesh. Like, seriously, little people. Miniature. Not like toys. Like people.

sweet, clean, and snuggly

2008-09-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

Here is gabby gabby mama and sweet Henry oiled up and fresh from the bath. I wish you could smell how yummy he smells! He loves nose holes- his, yours, the dogs, you get the picture! (you hear overalls in the drier in the background)

in defense of defense

2008-09-12T13:41:00.000-07:00

So, today I was a bad mommy. If Aidan had said, "Mama, no!" I would have said "YOU ARE RIGHT!", right away (and loudly)- because yes-sirree, I was NO. I made a little girl at the park cry.
I am one of the moms that stick with their kids at the jungle-gym-climbing-apparatus-thing. It's not that I totally fear that my sweet boys would head for the hills if I actually looked away from them, I just like to keep an eye on them. Offer them a finger the first time they go down the shiny slide or cross the wiggle bridge. I like to make sure, when they serve up what ever it is they think they're serving, when they scoop up handfuls of bark chips and display it like gold on the little window sill under the giant abacus- that they don't accidentally take out another mini park-goers eyeball. I like to make sure that Aidan is successful at climbing the chain ladder (YEAH! first time success today!) and that Henry can exit the slide before being trampled by the flashing mary-janes of a horde of girls in skirts and shorts (!). And so, it happened. Aidan crossed the wiggle bridge and walked right up to a girl- a foot taller than him- with a very cute 1920's bob- and said "Hi!!!" She ignored him- which is her prerogative- so when he walked around her and said "HI!!!!" to her other cheek she said "Go away." quietly and gave him a nudge. I told Aidan she didn't want to play right now- and he headed over to the abacus to play with the Japanese girls he loves to listen to. When first girl walks up to Aidan's back and says, "Get out of here!" and shoves him to the floor from behind.
**See the evil horns protrude from my forehead- my long claws sparkle in the dappled sun, the hair sprouting from my sweater's sleeve holes and neckline, warts arrive aplenty, my clothes a tattered mess and sticks in my hair**
"Please don't push him honey."
Screams. Screams. More screams. Not from my boy that fell into two sweet little girls and came up bleeding, not from the sweet girls that count in japanese at the abacus, but from the girl, caught by a mommy- not hers- and shocked. Then said girl's mommy comes running. "What's wrong,what happened, where is your owie?" spilled from her, all concern. Aidan by this time is crying. I told her she pushed him, but that he's ok and she's ok. I just scared her when I asked her not to push him.
**see horns shrink, warts disperse, hair retract, claws too**
Oh MY GOD IS HE OK?? It's just a scratch. Daughter still screaming, screaming screaming. Aidan is off figuring out how to jump from the corkscrew, Henry- jumping on the bridge like a big boy. Girl screaming, still. I approach to apologize. Mom waves me off (nicely). That girl is never going to want to go to the park again. Sorry little girl. Sorry little girl's mommy. Next time I'll just let it happen. A can handle himself. I just need to let him.

sun-day on the river

2008-09-07T22:23:00.001-07:00

Today, after naps (and pudding) we went on the boat for an enjoyable little trip up and down the river. Sean came too, and helped corral the munchkins in floaty coats. We soaked up some sun and laughter and headed home to celebrate grandparent's day with the grands after some BLT's. The t's were straight out of the garden!

Oh yeah, on the way to the river, Michael got pulled over. :(

what? victoria's three!

2008-09-06T13:19:00.000-07:00

This morning we went over to Victoria and Sasha's house for a party! We celebrated the big #3 with Victoria and all her friends from daycare. We jumped on the trampoline, played house, golf, raked up the yard a little, removed only two (!) lawn ornaments and ate some cupcakes! "Nummy-nummy!" to quote our Aidan (one of 2 there) when he got to frost his own cupcake! Henry was mostly interested in the frosting on the stick- funny man. But he did like wearing his birthday hat! Such a little sprite!

The boys and their 'little' babies!

visiting aidan's peeps

2008-08-31T16:47:00.002-07:00

Well, we met up with Shilo and Dan and the kids today in Astoria. Dan was good, Shilo was good, the kids were super rowdy and good. We ran into Mary (Dan's mom) at the Astoria market so grandma got to see the little man too. We grabbed some popcorn for the kids and took off to see the gang. We joked that they'd send Trinity out to greet us (like they did the first time we met) and Michael said he didn't think he'd recognize Trinity. I assured him, he'd recognize her- because she'd look the same. And she was the first one we saw and she did look the same. Shilo looked good- her hair is darker than before and she's not recovering from just having a baby- so all in all she looked great. Dan is the same and the boys are just bigger stair steps than they were during our last visit. We enjoyed the sun and the kids laughing and the dogs running around and the toys and the popcorn. It was a nice visit. I'm not sure what else to say about it. After it was over, I felt like I'd been holding my breath and was pretty stressed out. But, now I'm fine. I'm glad we did it. It just seemed unfathomable that Aidan would never see his family until he was an adult. Susan was right, it was easier that I ever thought it would be.
**Our visit brought on more dark thoughts for me. We didn't go in their apartment- at their request. They live in public housing and honestly, it just really brought me down. Shilo is working at a pizza place in town. Dan didn't say if he was working, and we didn't ask. I just feel so bad for them not having their baby (our baby) and frustrated that they are raising their children in the environment they are obviously choosing to live in. Shilo is 'trying' to home school the kids- but if she'd just send them to school, they could get breakfast and lunch and she'd only really have to worry about Sean (and Dan). Hmm. Did we 'save' Aidan? Do I feel like we need to 'save' Shilo now- or Trinity- or the other boys? We were never out to save anyone- we just wanted a baby. Shilo kept calling me mommy- and Aidan would call out for me when he felt he had ventured too far. On the way to their place, we practiced saying Hi Shilo- which little blondie did right on cue- so sweet. All the kids were great with the boys. And really, Dan was too. He gave Michael a nice note- thanking us for coming and for just being us- which was nice to hear. I'm so glad he didn't ask us for the things he had previously- that would have wrecked the meeting for me. The nice thing is, now we'll be able to share the photos and memories of the visit with Aidan. He won't be the kid that never got to see his birth family. Shilo told me four times how well we were raising A. The first time I said thank you. Then the second- after that it got a little uncomfortable for me. Was she convincing herself? Was she really happy for our family- now of four? I can only think she was just happy to see him again- healthy and growing, like we tell her in our letters. She did say it was funny to see what her kids would look like if they had hair- as she has a compulsion to shaving the boys heads in mohawks. Mary told us that they only get a couple of photos from William's family a year (Shilo and Dan's other son placed in an adoption) and that they are so happy with our letters and photo books. We'll keep it up (obviously) and maybe plan for another meeting in the future.

11th anniversary

2008-08-31T16:47:00.001-07:00

Michael golfed the course across the street from our rental house. The boys and I went to the beach, we walked and played and even napped. It was a sunny warm day with only a little breeze. Puffy white clouds skidded by, reflected in the wet sand of a nearly pristine beach. The hardest part of the day was climbing the dunes while pushing the stroller! Later, we went to dinner at McMenamins. While we waited for our check, a very nice man stopped by our table to say how good our boys were. Then his adult son came, too. Then the man left and came back with his wife- so she could see them up close. It was like a little celebrate the boys party. I wonder if- before dinner- they were saying to each other "Shouldn't those poor babies be in bed?" We did get started around 8:30. The boys colored their menus and ate in relative happiness and only hollered HI! at a few of the wait staff. When we got back to the house we closed our evening with a nice cup of organic whole milk and a trio of Thomas the Train videos.

state fair goodness

2008-08-28T23:36:00.000-07:00

So again, I found myself at the fair. Granted, watching the grands play music for the corn husking competition was inspirational- but, due to masses of cars on the road, we didn't tarry at the stalls of pander-ers racing balloon filled clown heads, offering flying tiger rides and presenting spinning Frisbees to paint or cubes to stand in and pose for a digitally printed sepia toned image dressed as whores. We didn't toss rings on soda bottles in hopes of winning a very 'lethargic' goldfish or indulge in garlic stuffed green olives or wonder mops. We did take the time to eat some fair food and check out some creatures dressed in feathers and fur. We clopped like blond draft horses, laughed at earless goats playing king of the mountain and admired the fluffy black ears of a cow who's alarm went off randomly- charging all in the barn to attention. We clucked with chickens, passed warily behind the hind side of taupe colored cows and were wowed by some mighty giant rabbits. Oh happy day, there were no screams this year, when sheep bleated or pigs squealed. Thanks to Sean, we enjoyed the close proximity of a handicapped parking spot- just past the blue gate phone-booth sentinel. We were sad to find we didn't take the time to explore the neon wonderland of rides the boys won't be tall enough to ride for years and missed the pageantry of viewing those dark haired beauties dressed in spangles and satin, the greasy afterglow of any number of fried concoctions or the fluttering ribbons of the 4H show. The scones are it for me. The scones and sitting on foot vibrating stumps with my grandma very near the 'lost parent' tent- that's what I missed. And Smokey the Bear and the giant sturgeon- that, I'm pretty sure, someone stole from the fairgrounds a dozen years ago. So again, I went to the fair. And I took the boys, and will again.

why you don't give kids candy

2008-08-23T18:01:00.000-07:00

Sour surprise anyone? This kid never knows what he's going to get! One day its salmon (YUM!) the next its some form of potato (BOO!) a nice brie (YUM!) a tiny sour candy (uh, mmmm, uhhhh, mama NO!) Remember, this is the kid that sniffs a very used diaper and says mmmmm! right before he says bye bye poo poo!

can't keep it a secret

2008-08-21T23:04:00.000-07:00

OK- I'm sharing. Take a look at whatareyouwearingtoday.blogspot.com I'm telling you, it doesn't get better than this. This world is made up of varied and amazing peeps. The time, the consistency, the fortitude, the complete comprehension of texture. Gad.
I have one more blog I keep checking, but after the comments I got from the smith family (earlier post) I think I'll hold onto it for a bit.

more thoughts on birthdays

2008-08-20T18:47:00.000-07:00

We had a fun day yesterday. The shorties were pretty well behaved, we went to the park and Costco prior to the RAIN. (OK, I am accustomed to a mild climate- and you may have heard me grumble lately of the heat, I am not ready for RAIN!) We sent some yellow roses to Shilo- Aidan's birth mom. Yellow are her favorite, so I hope she enjoys them as we (all) celebrated this little man and the choice she made in placing him in our family. What would we do without her and him? I've been wanting Shilo to see A lately. Dan too and the kids. But for her to see him and hear him be as awesome as he is. Every other day I ponder changing our agreement with them- will Shilo never see this beautiful boy until he is grown? Still, I have huge concerns, so, to try to keep her in touch, I've been making digital vid's nearly each week and will have to ask Cookie and TuTu for production help on our first ever movie for his mom. Of course we send them cards, letters and photos as required- plus some. :) We tried contacting the family that adopted Shilo's other son- at Christmas time, but no response. Are they as leery of us as we are of complications with his bf? Poor A. We'll no doubt figure something out.
The Grands came by bearing gifts in the morning. Well, one gift, and a giant green bag. Aidan loved watching grandpa blow up the beautiful blue Rody horse. So much so, he keeps recreating the event. The problem is, the 'valve' is in the horses a** and it looks like he's involving poor blue Rody in something illegal in most states.
A's been putting a ton of words together lately. Yesterday it was: open teeth, open door, open gate, open cup, open horse, open phone, and on and on.
At Costco one of the women at check out said (entertaining Henry) "Which of these babies looks like you?"
Hmm.

party like a toddler!

2008-08-18T13:43:00.001-07:00

We celebrated Aidan's birthday on Sunday with friends and family. We did a craft, ate snacks and played outside in the not-so-sweltering-as-yesterday heat. We had special Helen Bernhard cake- white chocolate with lemon french cream between the layers and white chocolate frosting. Really the most fab cake on the planet! Aidan loved it so much he ate Victoria's piece too- and took a swipe at Henry's!
We dyed t-shirts for adults (and Mr. A). There were animals aplenty and two by two- just right for a young man's second birthday. Thank you to everyone that could come to our little party- and to those who wish our sweet Aidan well on his birthday. Your thoughts and acts of kindness toward this little person creates the gentle man he will become.

cheers papa- and those that work with him!

2008-08-18T13:24:00.000-07:00

Michael's group had their annual picnic on Friday so we got to do something special! We went to the country and played and ate and enjoyed the company of others. It was Africa hot, so it was a little uncomfortable weather-wise, still, everyone was in fine spirits. We had a great variety of food and tons of water to drink.

There were lots of little girls and boys for Henry and Aidan to play with and games to play resulting in babies to chase! There was a lake, hills, trees, airplanes, boats, fishing, bats (of the baseball variety) and golf 'mallets'- and a flock of peacocks-phew! We were ALL tired when we got home.

pilot to co-pilot, come in co-pilot....

2008-08-11T18:20:00.000-07:00

Our sweet friend Sandra got us passes for the air show- so we went! Arthur and William joined Michael, me and the boys. We had a great time in the free food tent, Arthur got a huge (small) Hawaiian ice, the boys got in/on all kinds of flying machines, Aidan got in (and immediately out) of a bounce house, Henry was brave and shook a blow up soldier's hand, at one point all of the adults wanted to run for cover- but since the boys were wearing borrowed, bright pink ear muffs (from Vi and Sasha) they didn't feel the urge of fight or flight nearly as much as we did. We wore our sunscreen, drank water, waved when told to (sometimes) and were happy to see the smiles and hear the screeches of our oh so happy boys seeing aer-planes and hell-cotters up close and personal.

aer-plane, hell-cotter!!

2008-08-05T13:23:00.000-07:00

I should start today's entry by saying Aidan loves transportation. He loves trains (tooh- tooh) and buses (buh- mama) and cars and trucks (also called cars) and he used to call airplanes cars- but then he saw them flying over JJ and Monique's house one night and now they're aer-planes. Boats are boats- but last week we had a breakthrough, there was a bad guy in our neighborhood- so SWAT was called- and everybody knows, when SWAT is called- the media follows. So we had helicopters overhead all day. So, Aidan now says hell-cotter. So sweet.
I got him a hell-cotter t-shirt the other day at the outlet- and its the only thing he's ever insisted on wearing- even with food on it.
OK, today (for fun) I went to our 'local' airport. Well, fun for Aidan and me anyway. Michael helped us get there (via phone) and we parked and unloaded and up to the big fence we go. "Aer-plane!" says blondie- and both he and Hen start pointing to all the aer-planes. Unsatisfied with our vantage point, I start walking. A is sad and its "Bye bye aer-plane!" about 40 times- until we turn the corner (inside the fence! hee hee) and nearly run into a pilot. And then from ground control, Aidan screams out "Hell-cotter Mama!"
((My heart just skips a beat when he puts two words together- sometimes three!)) Henry is nonplused and continues to suck away and cover his head with his arm. "How dare you take me out when I much prefer to nap!" he grumbles around his pacifier (I assume).
So we parked Bob on the 'runway' (!!), spoke to a few pilots and pilots-in-training. It seems they go up every day at 12, 2, 4 and 6. Just our luck to have arrived at 12. By 12:30 Aidan was pretty much as toasty as Henry so we left, having witnessed many hell-cotter depart. Hoorah! We'll do this again!

new presidential hopeful/bad guy

2008-08-04T14:31:00.000-07:00

I swear- if you pop a hat and glasses on this kid and stick a cigarette in his mouth he could be FDR for Halloween! Well, that is better than Smeagol!) AGH! I guess if you slap a hat, monical and cig- you get the penguin too! Decisions, decisions!

today at the park

2008-08-04T14:18:00.000-07:00

Our boys had a lot of crazy fun this morning. We were at the park at 9:25! Yikes. The trick to the park is.... get there early! We met a nice woman there. She was sweet and supportive of the boys- without knowing they were brothers. Eventually she asked me who my kids were. "That one (pointing to Henry) and that one up there (to Aidan)." Are they twins? No", she answered herself. "They're close in age", I told her and then filled in with "They're adopted". Was it hard to adopt? No, I explained a bit and we had a nice conversation about adoption and her other kids that were 16 months apart- and how it made her crazy. "You know what's funny? You got a kid with blonde hair and blue eyes." "Only as funny as getting a kid with brown hair and eyes." I said. These comments irk me no end- as most of you have probably heard. Should I tell you she was african american? Does it make a difference? NO. Everybody has got something to say. I've decided to keep a list- to see if that helps me to let it go. We'll see.

23 months 1 day

2008-07-20T22:08:00.000-07:00

Sorry if this grosses anybody out- but you know who you're dealing with!

merry men et all

2008-07-20T08:21:00.000-07:00

We went to the Robin Hood Festival! It was tiny and cute- and maybe it was the time we were there- but it didn't feel very Robin Hood-y. We watched kids climb a rock and 'bounce' on a trampoline, walked amongst vendors including dentists, McCain supporters and people selling power drinks. Oh there were artists and kids promoting their teams with a raffle- and we ate a hawaiian ice (lemon and pina colada). The local museum had a sign for strawberry shortcake- but Little John must have been there with his rag-tag crew long before we arrived. We found a nice guy in period fur and watched a mini circus act- but the highlight for me was the knightly cutout we found under a tree. I wanted to take that thing home.... I think overall, if we wanted to see people in 'garb', we should have headed to the Highland Games- but we had fun.

friday with arthur

2008-07-19T12:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, as Henry spent a fun-filled day with his grands, Aidan and I hit the road in search of Uncle Arthur in the Pearl. We found him near PNCA- parked and loaded up the SINGLE (ah me) Bugaboo throne. We hit Cheeky B (where A picked up a new Sigg water bottle and two handles) and REI (where A got his first pair of Crocks). We stuck there for a bit and watched kids climb the rock wall. Then we found our way to Green Frog Toys. Have you been there? Gad- its a kid dreamland! All the best and most gloryific toys I've been reading about for our boy's future fun times. Aidan surprised me by delving deep into his Freudian wonderings... Thomas the train goes in the tunnel... Thomas goes out of the tunnel- and back in - and back out.... there were these flocked foam cars ( I must admit, I want every color, size and shape for them someday) blow up bouncy horses called Rody (want & want), plastic shells (Bilibo!!), PlasmaCar, PLAYMOBILE. Arthur indulged the little prince for a day with his first Playmobile toy. A farm set up complete with sheep, pig, cow, pear tree, girl, boy, cart and HORSE!

Wham- we ran into Little Urbanites and found a fab cardboard play house (which we didn't get- and some oh so cute clothing options. Then we stopped by Sip and Kranz for our mid day meal of turkey sand's for the big kids and grilled cheese and apples for the little. We showed A's sweet bottom to the world as he changed into his swim gear for his adventure at Jamison Fountain/Park/Square. He had a blast and Uncle Arthur rolled up his pant legs and joined in as the tide was low. Towel off, remove 'lovely' poopy swim diaper and change into dry clothes- and off for more baby shopping at Posh Boutique where Aidan got a cutie-pie hat for his blonde noggin. And then to get some ice cream at Cool Moon to finish up the day.
Can you tell? I actually had fun shopping. Sometimes I let the voices in my head rule- and sometimes I let Arthur! What a fun day. Aidan had a blast- I don't think he minded being a singleton one little bit!
Henry was happy as a clam when we got to the grand's, yo. He was sleeping in his nappy tent- but got up to cause a little havoc before we left.
On the way home we stopped at Albertson's and visited with Kristy (Carissa's mom) and had a few "bitey cold" (which means popsicle in Aidan-speak).
The end.

weekend update

2008-07-16T23:26:00.001-07:00

aidan does it

2008-07-16T23:04:00.001-07:00

He ate his whole meal by himself. Agh! A's growing up-a righty and a lefty. Henry plays with spoons too- he'll have his own slideshow soon...

corn!

2008-07-16T22:43:00.000-07:00

We had dinner at Oty and Steph's house the other night. Anna, Sammy's cousin was there- and Aidan loved her. Sammy said, "Aidan this is Anna!" Aidan said "Anna!" right off the bat!
His first, first name person greeting. Then he'd say Anna cup, Anna eat, Anna foot. Later he said Anna night night (and now at home he says Anna poo poo?) This kid is all about poo poo. But that's for another entry.
Henry and Aidan had their first risotto and first corn on the cob! A loves corn- and calls all food corn if you let him. Sometimes he asks for corn for breakfast!
The highlight of our visit though was bouncing on the TRAMPOLINE! Henry was the trampoline inspector and A- well, he jumped, bounced and tried to flip like Sammy. He even summersaulted with some assistance. Nice hair.

camp visit!

2008-07-11T13:30:00.001-07:00

fourth of july goodness

2008-07-05T15:17:00.000-07:00

So, Henry loves a good batch of fireworks. Aidan decidedly doesn't. He could only get out a quiet "Pretty." if there was no noisy rash after the fizzle of 'failure' from last year's 'works. Hank though, he was a wildman. Dashing, weaving and prying between 'rocker' neighbors and those reported to be pirates (we have bumper sticker proof). Sean followed him about for a bit and then neighbor Carolyn took the reigns while Aidan sat glued to my chest, monkey grasp, pinching with each rapport. Next year I think we'll try earplugs or maybe puppy prozac. Still, we all had a good time- and by the looks of it, we'll be remembering the fourth for the next month or so of clean up.

new hair, toes too!

2008-07-04T15:38:00.000-07:00

We all got hair cuts the other night. The boys were mostly good and they ended up getting airplane gifts from Sandra too! Michael was good too and me- well, I swore like a sailor and planned world domination. Woo-hoo!
The only issue with Henry getting his hair cut is there aren't any curls to hide his GIANT boo-boo. He got hit in the noggin with a baby tupperware cup. I wasn't watching, the boys were playing in Aidan's crib whilst I moved their room around- so when he started spurting blood, I was a little surprised. His new nick name might have to be Harry Potter. I guess I'll have to break out the Mederma again! (never fear- he's still pretty) ** Uncle Arthur- I guess you're right- his eyes are super dark! Oh, and we're both trying to use ngs now. (ngs=spoons)
Hope you are enjoying your fourth!

wet, hot and busy

2008-06-30T21:16:00.000-07:00

one more girl in the world

2008-06-30T16:11:00.000-07:00

OK, almost one more girl in the world. I just spoke with Matt and he says Mel's Doctor is suiting up and she is getting ready to bring that baby into the world! So exciting!
Her Horoscope:
Right now your brain is wide open to new ideas and new ways of doing things. Stepping out of your comfort zone has never felt so good, so take a walk on the wild side and remind yourself what it's like to feel a little out of your element! There has never been a better time in your life to explore a new hobby or interest. How about checking out a career opportunity that you have been thinking about pursuing for a while? You are about to enter a very sweet and worry-free time in your life.
***UPDATE!***
Wren Shiori is here! 7 lb 7 oz 18 3/4"! Mel had 15 minutes of pushing and out she came- "the right color and everything!"

when boredom reigns

2008-06-28T01:53:00.000-07:00

I check out the 'next blog' option on blogspot. So, I ask you- please take a look at rick-thesmithfamily.blogspot.com and tell me what you think about the direction they're heading. I honestly can't read it- the photos are all I need to get me going. Their header is actually all I need. I think I could dedicate a paper to the site's photos. On another note, I read a book! Sammy (our 12 y/o neighbor) her mom Steph and I are having a book club this summer. This is for Sammy's brain (and evidently my own!) Our first book selection is titled Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. I finished it tonight. 498 pages of high school vampire love. Dare I suggest it to you all? It went surprisingly fast and fun. Decidedly for girls- or those of us that love looking at impeccably dressed beautiful boys with topaz colored eyes. OK, these are the words from the book I had to look up; dint, circuitous, seraphic. Know 'em- want to? Look 'em up! You never know when you'll see them in upcoming posts.

pool daze

2008-06-27T11:31:00.000-07:00

We got a little pool for the boys- since they love the one at the club so much. This way we can take a dip any time we want! Here are a few pics from our time with Sammy yesterday- She's got a good set of eyes and can snuggle with the best of them.

You'll notice in last photo the boys have "Ariel butt"- this is not ok with Sammy- so its a good thing we have big boy suits too! "They're not girls you know!"

We're hoping for a little more at home time with friends this hot weekend. We've got the pool and the pad now- so come on bye - the ice cream men make their trips through the neighborhood between 1 and 4! We have a wide variety. Crazy rapist vans, guys peddling on bikes (ding-ding!) and the greatest, smiling seik gentleman in turban and bright yellow ice cream truck! I'm hoping to take his photo.

fun with papa

2008-06-27T11:20:00.000-07:00

Michael came home to some crazy happenings. We rough and tumbled him back into shape though! We've been enjoying the nice weather. We visited the Heirloom Rose Garden, played in the grass and Aidan helped to clean house for summer's arrival. Who am I kidding? This kid is a cleaning machine! Every day is a sweeping day! Henry is walking like a pro (a professional stunt man- Little Hen can take a licking!) Aidan has learned nearly five words in two days. He's all about coookies right now- and saying Wow! Yay!

happily, one!

2008-06-21T16:08:00.001-07:00

Today we went to Hasini's first birthday party. What a beautiful day for a birthday celebration! Sunshine and the smiles of over a hundred party-goers! ((Unfortunately, I didn't take the camera- so I'm hoping for some pic's from her family.)) All of us ate TOO well. The food was fabulous and the company too! Aidan filled up on naan and the spiciest food he has eaten to date. He kept asking for more- and then he drank a half a bottle of water before he took a breath! Henry was our social butterfly. He was passed to many of Michael's co-workers and their families. It was so nice- off would go little Hen in the safe hands of friends so Michael and I could enjoy our meal. He fit right in- A was surprisingly shy- but I think its because he only took a tiny nap. (Though he was shy at camp yesterday too, so hmm.) What a great celebration. We also took home the most amazing bag of tricks for the boys! Sweets, books, toys and some nice gifties for Michael and I too! I have to apologize to anyone thats come to Aidan or Henry's parties. Next time around, I'll now how to make gift bags for the guests! Hope you are all enjoying your day- the boys are down and Michael off with JJ, so I'm going to weed the garden.

no shrinking violet!

2008-06-18T21:08:00.000-07:00

Well, here she is wrinkles and all- and if you haven't seen the other pics- just wait 'till you see her chin!
***UPDATE***
I spoke with Libby for a while today. Violet is doing very well. Libby and Mandy spent the day connecting, bonding and teaching each other things. Mandy signed her papers so Violet has been signed over to CC and they in turn are assigning her to Ken and Libby for the two weeks Violet is in foster care. Violet's birth father showed up at CC and expressed interest in seeing Violet prior to her leaving the hospital- but he hadn't showed this afternoon and they're leaving early in the morning- so we'll see. Libby sounds great and happy and it sounds like Mandy will spend the two weeks she has to change her mind recovering and putting her efforts toward her family. They're approaching the adoption openly and are making plans for the future together.
My green eyed monster moment was when Lib told me about Violet's birth and how she got to cut the cord. I'm so sad we missed both out boy's births due to c-sections. ((But VERY happy for her!!))
Last night Violet took a big poop and had some lovely mucus happening- that only promises to continue- its about a foot long- and just keeps on coming! Her hair is short and dark and though she was described as brick red at birth, her color has balanced out. Little Vi has steel colored eyes (now) and Libby asked Mandy if she was sure she hadn't hooked up with John Travolta- due to the beauty of a divit to the chin. We can't wait to get more pictures and stories of the new girl on the block! Ken, Libby and Violet will be home in the afternoon on Friday. HOORAH! Welcome to the world baby!

waaaaaaaaa- she's here!

2008-06-17T19:57:00.000-07:00

Violet Lenore Rowe, Mandy, Libby and Ken are all doing well!

jabber jaw on gummy bears

2008-06-17T17:53:00.000-07:00

This is me after a few too many sugary treats. Thanks to Jennifer for this fab idea.

if you were born today

2008-06-17T14:49:00.000-07:00

June 17, 2008 *** GEMINI *** May 21-June 21
You pride yourself on your open mind and today you need to make sure that it's ready for anything. New ideas come your way from all directions and even the crazy ones deserve a bit of attention.
UM, like being born!?! Libby's baby mama is at three centimeters and just got an epidural. Ken got back to the hospital (from watching Mandy's boys) and Libby had to hang up. Boo! (Its happening!) More later.

where have all the fathers gone?

2008-06-15T22:15:00.000-07:00

Long time passing.... Miss all you guys today and often! Papa have a good flight home, Bapa have fun in Idaho, to the two great gramps- we miss you and what you brought to our lives and families. Here's a little of what makes them good candidates for fathers this Father's Day!
I love you my sweet. I can't wait to see the father to our babies! For all you do, I thank you.

last two days of beachy fun

2008-06-15T18:09:00.001-07:00

We played in the sand, ran after Aidan and picked Henry up so he could try to make it to his brother. We ate at a restaurant I won't go to again and put some tired boys down for the last time in the closet tent and in the middle of the queen size bed. Jennifer and I watched SNL and tidied up for the final sweep this morning. Gad! What a disaster you can make in a tiny house in six days! The weather was great and we didn't see anything scary on the way home this Father's Day- with no fathers in sight. We stopped and got Pronto Pups, Starbucks and gas for our long journey back to the valley of the beavs. As trips go, it was great! Thanks Auntie Jennifer for all the lap time and the shower time and all the back up you gave me as I blew gaskets and smoke tooted out my ears. I can't wait for you to start your very own Pronto Pup franchise at the coast!

looking out

2008-06-14T18:33:00.000-07:00

Today I stood, looking out at the ocean. I was taking a breather. A deep breather- after some misdeed, misstep or injustice proclaimed that was about to put me over the edge of bad parent precipice. As I looked out, the sun shining the wind blowing, the feeling of my own breakdown flying away from me on the breeze that challenges the flight of gulls- I feel a leghug. I don't look down. I try to figure out who is who. Who am I and who it is standing next to me letting me breath in the ocean. Then I know who it is, because Henry arrives and sits on my right foot. These boys- who play hard sometimes, and sometimes kiss each other tenderly, open mouthed and laughing are breathing too- and looking out.

fifteen- or, one hundred and five!

2008-06-14T12:39:00.000-07:00

Our sweet old man. Happy Birthday Hammy Spammy! Today we celebrate your grey hair, stinky breath, man boob and scrunchy flat top noggin! Snuggle up, take a break from washing Arlo's face, elbows, hips, etc. You have made our lives so happy! Tap, tap, tap, scratch, scratch, scratch, sniff, sniff, sniff! Bring on the doggy cake! Hey, who packed the candles?

two more days at the beach

2008-06-13T23:12:00.001-07:00

Hi! We've had another great couple of days here at the beach. Our little cottage is filled to the brim with kids, dogs, toys, food stuffs, two adults and a plethora of sippy cups. Today we went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium, a new grocery store and out to a mexican feast for lunch. Tonight Jennifer (with Aidan's help) made a great pasta dinner which the boys (and we) loved! Hope you are all enjoying your Friday the 13th!

beachy days

2008-06-11T23:54:00.000-07:00

Today we had a fun and beachy day. We enjoyed the non-rainy day near Yachats on the deck outside Blue Bird Cottage. Aidan and Henry played with the dogs and refused naps for the most part. Still, we had a pretty fun time- eating too much and going to the store (again), staying up late and no bath. "Caw-caw!"

aidan and henry's top five count-down of fun things to do on the weekend- rain or shine

2008-06-08T12:50:00.000-07:00

1. Go to the FESTIVAL OF THE BANDS @ PGE Park with your friends. (OK this one's for mama.)
2. Go to the Farmer's Market- always a good choice!
3. Go to the Pow Wow in our 'hood!
4. Go for walks and explore!
5. Go to the park with your g-pa, grammy and uncle Scott!
On a special note, Aidan says Scott now and Henry was all smiles with him this visit! I guess he ranks up there considering Aidan still calls me Guy!

carissa graduates!

2008-06-05T23:15:00.000-07:00

Tonight we went to Carissa's GED Graduation celebration. It was held, aptly, in her school's gym. A rash of Beatles songs were sung by a local HS choir and well wishes were offered all around. Aidan and Henry both loved all the clapping! I never saw so many graduates with babies, or babies on the way- of course I graduated in the dark ages when pregnant girls didn't dare walk the halls once they started 'showing'. We had cake and punch in the cafeteria edged by high chairs and booster seats. (The boys were right at home!- they climbed, crawled, ran and screeched to all corners of the building!) Carissa seemed very happy and showed Henry off to her friends. Hen walked happily with Carissa and her pop while Kristy took photos. Considering the event took place during the same timeframe as the boy's nap, all went very well! We are so lucky that schools like Carissa's provide adjusted day and evening classes and a wonderfully supportive GED program. 45 (very varied) kids graduated from her high school this year! We say WAY TO GO! It has long been my fear that Henry's birth would lead to Carissa's undoing. We are so proud of her great accomplishment and we thank her for including us in this awesome event!

crazy, wet and wonderful

2008-06-03T22:18:00.000-07:00

Today was awesome! Aidan turned into a sensitive, spastic stunt man. He drops and dives and climbs as usual, but now he cries, cajoles and tantrums his way into a sucky and a seat on my lap. Sweet sensitive boy- he hits Henry on the head and then when Henry cries (and boy howdy, he cries) Aidan starts to wail- so Hen cries harder and then we all end up in a pile of tears and buggers on the floor. On the bright side of things- Henry and Aidan do play well together, more often than not. They share toys, switch toys and have taken to working together to reach things they are NOT supposed to be near.
Also, for the past few days, Aidan has been taking off all his clothes when he wakes up from his nap. He's quiet when he gets up- and then he starts talking with Henry- So thats when I spring into action making lunch and preparing the milk and fruit brigade- only to go in and find Aidan- demurely sitting in the corner of his crib, stark naked, legs dangling. Today, pee all over the floor and his freshly laundered pre-nap clothes and diaper. He jumps up fake crying and jumping all over the crib like some sort of hairless howler monkey. Gad. What stage is this?

new look

2008-06-02T13:08:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd try something new for our blog- something pretty and green- inspired by our fresh spring surroundings. So many things have been changing lately. Libb and Ken are adopting a baby girl that is trying to come out, and has been for the past week! Mel and Matt are having a baby soon so Nola is going to have a new sister (name yet to be disclosed) and a new house all at the same time! Arthur is well in the midst of Rose Festival hoopla and William is working on his Neighborhood Committee. Deb and Mary, I'm sure are busy busy with family and work. Bri and Sara are readying camp for hundreds of new and returning kids. And us, well, Carissa (Henry's BM) is graduating from her GED program- so we're celebrating with her this Thursday! Michael is off to the UK Friday and the boys and I are going to the coast with Jennifer soon after. Our yard and garden are looking better than they have for the past two years (hmmm, wonder why?) and the boys are growing as fast as the weeds we're pulling. Here's some happy proof! I've given away the last of the baby items to Libb and a co-worker of Michael's so I'm looking at life with two babies (not three- Michael says). It's been an emotional week for me- saying goodbye to all those little clothes and the tiny toys that accompanied our boys through their first months. So, sad and green is how I'm feeling. Sappy-I know! Our boys are so full of potential (but I so wanted three).
OK- enough of that, the Kracken awakes. I've got to make lunch, take the boys for a bike ride and get out of this funk!

my sweet, slurry, bucket o' kids

2008-05-28T17:03:00.000-07:00

These guys are being super sweet. All Aidan wants to do is "Go?- GO!" We are going to the beach with Jennifer as soon as she returns from her trials in MO. We picked up a few plastic (big surprise) toys to take with us. Now A picks up his bucket or scoop and says "Go?" Do babies understand "Soon!" ? (UM, the answer to that is no.) The other favorites right now are "caw-caw" and howler monkey calls and "woof woof". They both try to do the elephant call- but it sounds like "pfffht!" Cows say "mmm" at our house and kitty kitties say "mow" (as in rhymes with how).
Henry, well, Henry walks across the room now, falls and splits his lip, climbs into his birthday chair and wrestles Aidan for ownership of the big cardboard box I had intended to use to ship things to Libby. Grandpa (Bappa) got down and dirty and stole their little kiddy condo right out from under their little piggies!
We've started using cloth all in one diapers- better late than never. They're so easy and pretty too! We're using Thirsties and Bum Genius. The best bit is no more guilt surrounding 500 years in a landfill! Here are our little models exhibiting said diapers as well as Henry's newly acquired climbing skills demo.

Michael holding A in his lap as thunder rattles our whole house and lightning breaks the darkness surrounding all of western Oregon.

A got to hear stories about Iowa storms and the porch at his grandparent's place. So sweet!

One thing I didn't get a shot of this week.... I put the boys in one of those dreaded (giant car) shopping carts. We three were at Home Depot and my plants kept tipping over under the basket (holding Aidan, his blanket and his toys)- when we got inside, I saw a monstrous orange shopping cart decorated with what I can only assume were nascar stickers. Fortunately, it came complete with two steering wheels (and two seatbelts)- so I switched gears and 'drove' them around the outdoor plants for like half an hour. My plants were safe and there was a nice place for the diaper bag. Boo- I suppose I'll have to do that again sometime. Maybe you'll get my picture of shame with trip #2.
For now, here's our first dinner outside this year!

dear semi-chocolatta wonder kid

2008-05-26T20:12:00.000-07:00

Dear baby, are you coming out to play?
Little one of the South with lungs so new-
won't you stay inside for a week or two?

Cross your fingers folks, Mandy (Libby's baby mama) is having (as-yet-unstoppable) contractions! She's about six weeks early-
but has had her injections to get her lungs boosted. Libby just flew back to her home town from NYC to be in the mix. Good luck to all!

ahhh crows!

2008-05-19T18:29:00.001-07:00

Who doesn't love crows with their loud voices and heavily beating wings? Check out why we should love them more- here! http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/261

hey chelsea, back off the salsa

2008-05-19T10:42:00.000-07:00

We've had a few busy weeks around here. Aidan is talking more and more, Henry took six steps this morning and is spouting a few new words himself! Michael, Sean and I have been working on home improvements, the boat is out of the water (thanks Vince!) but not before a good number of fishies were caught and bonked and et- and not before our littlest man got to take his first boat ride. Our bikes are ready to ride and now our babies are ready too- thanks to the city for providing a fitting of free bike helmets- we got some super cute ones! We picked up a shiny new bar-b-q so now we can grill up some good grub. Oh yeah, I had my second Mother's day with these wonderful boys and the sun is shining- what could be better?

may day revalee

2008-05-01T18:20:00.000-07:00

The western tanager is a long-distance migrator. Every year it travels between its wintering grounds in Mexico and Central America to its breeding grounds in western North America. AND they're here in our walnut tree. Ten at last count- so they are making a beautiful May Day display! Thank goodness our government can't build walls to keep them out.

a nice sunday visit

2008-04-28T14:17:00.000-07:00

Hey friends! Did you have a good weekend? We visited with Carissa (Hen's bm) and her family for a bar-b-q yesterday. It was a nice visit and we ate well. Saturday we went to the park with Michael and played on the swings and that was great fun too! Here are some pics.

a bottle feeding, rocking, wiggling night

2008-04-21T21:33:00.001-07:00

Tonight Henry found a new love. Dancer, your name is Kristie Y. He loves you. Yes, on TV. He was so enthralled while consuming his last bottle of the night we had to capture his enthusiasm with this pic. We can't wait for RIVERDANCE on Tuesday! Yes baby, she's #1!

sunday matinee

2008-04-20T23:31:00.001-07:00

oh so famous!

2008-04-15T19:30:00.000-07:00

Check out my famous husband (oh and famous Uncle Jay Jay too!) So fancy! So sporty! Good work guys! What a nice way to celebrate getting old.
http://www.davidjohnsonsguideservice.com/

snuggled up

2008-04-13T22:32:00.001-07:00

These boys are so cute sleeping- should I tell them its time for bed? We worked hard this weekend- and played too. Michael weeded and started planting the veggie garden (!) and I worked in the front flower beds. Aidan and Henry went out to dinner, played, walked/crawled around, wrestled, argued, read, laughed, invented a new after bath game involving stuffed animals and screams of delight- oh and they talked our ears off! Aidan has started talking like a demon and Henry raw-ers like a tiger! Yippee! Oh yeah... Aidan got four molars this week. I thought it was just one- but as I explored his oral cavity today, I found four little molars coming out to play.

first boo-boo

2008-04-12T22:39:00.000-07:00

Well, technically, its not his first- lately, Aidan 'leads with his head'- but its still cute. What a trooper. He loves taking walks and visiting with our neighbors. Today, he tripped on the driveway while leading us on an exploration of the boat trailer.

papa went a fishin'

2008-04-12T22:35:00.001-07:00

Michael caught some deelicious dinner today! Here's some proof! See how he's smiling?

three steps to making baby soup

2008-04-12T22:24:00.001-07:00

First you take two babies and stick them in the broth. Mix well.

Then you add some BLUEBERRY Easter Bunny bubbles! Don't forget a dash of uproarious laughter!

Presto! Baby soup is what you've got! (Now, clean up the entire kitchen!)

first festival of the season!

2008-04-06T20:15:00.001-07:00

Henry and Aidan talked about it and they decided we should go to Amity Daffodil Festival 2008! Here are some of the highlights from my perspective. Aidan and Hen had fun tossing their suckies and water cups- and watching us take turns running off to clean them. We had fun on this rainy day with Grandpa and Grammy. Thanks for lunch!

first birthdays are fun!

2008-04-04T09:59:00.001-07:00

Henry had his first birthday yesterday! Celebrating his day were his brother, parents, uncle Sean, grandparents and sweet friends galore! He spent a 'quiet' day at home with Aidan and playing 'Owl and the Pussycat' in a laundry hamper. He ate and snacked and changed clothes a few times due to copious amounts of Spiderman DROOL. He tested Arlo and Hammy and patted Max (also known as 'Moww'. He loves it when we sing Happy Birthday- so we did it about a million times. Aidan says Happy Day!

another milestone passed by a tiny, bushy-bushy baby

2008-04-03T08:37:00.000-07:00

Well, as you can see, Samson met Delila this week. Yep, Henry has a new do- and after the "He looks more like a Henrietta than a Henry!" comment at the Social Security Office (by a snoopy old lady!) the other day- well, he looks like a little man now. Curly locks to mamas and bye bye baby.
Thank you Sandra! You did another great job! What a nice way of breaking another baby in- I suppose now we'll have to keep on mowing!

learning to knit...

2008-04-03T08:27:00.000-07:00

Sunday we celebrated the adults March 26th birthdays! Three in total. We went to house of Louis and ate dim sum- a favorite in our crowd! Aidan and Henry had a good time- especially with so much attention! Mary defended herself against the dark art of 'grab all your stuff' and William and Arthur dropped food bombs on tiny Henry to appease his appetite. After all that and a fortune cookie to boot- we checked out the fresh flowers on the street!

everyone everywhere should do this

2008-03-28T16:23:00.000-07:00

http://improveverywhere.com/2008/01/31/frozen-grand-central/

Thank you Nicole for passing this on. What a beauty! WATCH THIS VIDEO!