portland

we had a great trip to portland.  we decided to go away for the long weekend at the very last minute (like Friday), and we were lucky enough to get a great hotel for the weekend.  portland is a short 2.5-3 hour drive from seattle, and we're so glad we made the trip.  it was fun to experience a new city and do new things together as a family.  we went climbing at a bouldering gym.  we introduced the kids to many new modes of transportation including the bus, light rail, pedicab and taxi.  gavin was in heaven!  we explored the city by foot, had lunch at deschutes brewery and took the short drive out to the willamette valley for an afternoon of wine tasting.  we enjoyed the little things, too, like sharing beds and eating out.  sometimes it's just good to break out of your normal routine.  i think it was good for all of us.  portland was a colorful city with tons of diverse neighborhoods and people.  the city is very liberal and very green, even more so than seattle.  i found the city to be very beautiful with gorgeous buildings on every corner.  and while it didn't rain a drop while we were in portland, kevin and i both said we'd take seattle over portland any day :)

g-man

you're 22 months old and so full of energy!  you run around the house like a crazy man, and you've become a lot rougher over the past month.  i often find you tackling your sister, and it's so hard to know who provoked whom.  you and brooke are starting to have little sibling squabbles.  you both like to aggravate one another by taking each other's toys.  i think brooke has even taken it to another level by hiding your toys, especially hippo.  he often goes missing, and it takes us forever to find him!

your vocabulary has completely exploded in the past couple of months.  you try to say just about everything, and you string multiple words together to form a complete thought.  i love to hear what's going on in that mind of yours.  you especially love to call things by the noise they make, like "nee naw" for fire truck, "neigh" for horse, etc.  your daddy has taught you how to make some really good car sounds.  i catch you doing it all the time :)  you also like to pinch our noses and say "honk," followed by "beep" as you tap our noses with an open hand.  when you talk to family on the phone, you say "hi" so clearly that everyone always mistakes you for brooke.  another word i hear a lot is "wait!"  you don't like to be left behind :)  you are also starting to sing songs, and you're very good at picking up on the last word in a verse.  your best song is "wheels on the bus," and your little hand movements that go with the words are adorable.

your love of transportation vehicles is like nothing i could have ever imagined.  you really love all cars, motorcycles, trucks, diggers, trains, buses... you name it.  i can't help but smile so big to see your excitement over the garbage truck.  you come running to me to take you to the door and open it so you can watch them take away our garbage.  your little hand waves so big at the garbage man, and i love it when he waves back to you.  on our trip to portland you waved and yelled "hi" and "bye" to every train (light rail), bus and truck you saw.

you are asserting your independence more and more each day.  you yell "mine!" when you want to do something yourself.  you insist on putting your own shoes on and climbing in and out of the car by yourself.  you especially love to pick things out yourself like your clothes and vitamins.  you will say "picking, picking!" if i start to do it without giving you a choice.  you also don't like it when mommy or daddy tries to show you how to do something like hit a ball with 2 hands on the bat/club.  you insist on doing it your own way.  you are still quite the show-off.  you will yell, "mom!  me!" when you're doing something that you want me to see.  with your new independence also comes a lot of frustration.  you are quick to get frustrated when something isn't cooperating with you (when your toy isn't doing what you want it to), or when mommy or daddy tell you "no."  i've found that putting you in a quick time-out gets you to settle down.  you say the cutest little "sorry" when you've misbehaved, and it's impossible to be upset with you for long.

i find you getting into harmless trouble all the time.  you love to clean the toilets for me and vacuum the floors :)  you also climb on and jump from every piece of furniture.  i had to take your stool away because you learned how to climb up onto the countertops. you also know how to open all the doors in our house now, and it's hard to keep you out of the garage.  you would spend hours in there if i let you.

you have such a warm, fun-loving personality.  you love to laugh, and you have the most amazing smile.  you're not even 2 yet, and you're already flirting with brooke's friend hanna. you love to be silly with her, and it makes me see 15 years into the future.  i can see it so clearly... perhaps, in part, because i've lived it :)  for the past 5 weeks you've been spending wednesday afternoons with ms. anastasia, hanna and hudson while i take brooke to ski lessons.  you've done so well!  you are completely comfortable with ms. anastasia, and it's nice to know that i can leave you with her and not worry about a thing.

some things you love right now include: music, music videos, movies (especially when cuddling under a blanket on the couch with the fireplace on :), being tickled, jumping, climbing, running, bikes, balls, anything with wheels, hot dogs, juice, hot cocoa, soup, grapes, raisins, suckers, cookies, green beans, black olives, garbanzo beans, pizza - you even like the salad at pagliacci's (one of our favorite pizza places)!

some milestones and other things i don't want to forget: you are learning your colors and somehow you know the color brown better than any other - you pick up brown play-doh and say "brown" and same with brown markers and crayons.  you started mumbling your abc's, and you actually get a few of the letters in there :)  you now announce when you have a dirty diaper.  you fully understand the concept of sharing and will say "my turn!"  you love to count, and it usually goes something like this "one, three, one...."

in two short months you are going to be 2 years old!  brooke had just turned 2 when we found out we were moving to seattle.  it's hard to believe how quickly the time has flown by.  it's hard to believe how fast you are growing up.

my little valentines

my sweet little valentines sure were spoiled this valentine's day.  i made them heart-shaped "muffins that taste like doughnuts" for breakfast, uncle danny bought them candy sticks and big chocolate chip cookies, they each got to have a marshmallow pop that i made for brooke's party and brooke got lots of little treats along with her valentines from school.  stella even got to have a marshmallow pop :)  they also received cards, stickers and gifts in the mail and even a special e-greeting.  i'd call that a pretty good day :)