Oregon Newt

Some more photos from our camping trip. Jake & Ollie found an Oregon Newt in a pond near our campsite. Of course he wanted to bring it home. Being as the newt was so cute and frankly who wouldn't want to have it as a pet, I struck a deal to avoid a meltdown on Ollie's part when I said no. Show me you can take care of it, you know what to feed it and a place for it to live and then you can have one. I told him they had books about newts at the library and that's where we would gain our information. He agreed and I was sure it was something he would forgot about over the next couple of days. When we arrived home he went straight to the plastic container drawer in the kitchen. "Why?" I asked. "For the newt" he replied. The next day we went to the library and what are the odds our small branch of the Portland Library system would have a How to Care for Newts book? They did and we've been reading it almost every night before bedtime.

And here's my advice for other mommas who strike deals they are sure they'll win - newts eat chopped up worms, newt have toxins in their skin (this is only harmful if you decide you want to eat one), they need a cool environment so your refrigerator would be an ideal place to keep one and little boys never forget when it comes to small animals or bugs.

yodel-lay-hee-hoo

We're so pround to announce that Leo was born with a hidden talent...yodeling.

Shark Week on the Discovery Channel

"Psst . . . you missed Shark Week"

"What?! Damn, not again. I wonder if Brad and Annie Tivo'd it?"

"Nom Nom Nom."

Daddy's little helper

Recently Jacob and I finally finished the drywall in our bedroom. We had knocked out the closet wall and closed up Oliver's closet so that we could also gain that space in our room. Regretfully the exposed sheetrock and mudded tape has been there for about a year. Nothing beats being reminded that you haven't finished a project, that should have been done months ago, like having it be the last thing you see every night.

It entailed copying the texture on the existing ceiling to the new drywall ceiling. Let me also point out that this is the WORST possible texture choice you could make and the previous owner made it. I found that taking a handful of plaster and slapping it around created the same effect. The more ugly peaks the better. And we were able to find cans of orange peel texture that we could spray on the walls.

Finally we painted the room. Jacob said he wanted "blue" and he picked one from our swatch book. He got to pick the color and I said I get to decorate. I'll be making it as girlie as possible.

Oliver loves when we work on projects because we usually find something he can help do ... like painting. Notice the oversized latex gloves! We also have him paint in his underwear because he doesn't have clothes dedicated to home repair like mommy & daddy do.

Baby Leo Video

Oliver turns FOUR!

These photos are from Oliver's fourth birthday party. Jacob was getting the boys to show him different emotions, maybe for their modeling careers? At first I think Ethan didn't know what to think about it all but as you can see from the photos he got into it.

Angry: Curious:

Surprised:

Scared:

Sad:
Blue Steel:

Bed Head

These photos are from the morning of Oliver's birthday (June 25th). He woke up at 6:30 a.m. excited that it was his birthday and wanted to make his birthday cake. Hence the bed head. When his hair is like that I usually ask him if a cow had been licking his head in the middle of the night. He loves when I ask him that.

Fishing Trip

These photos were taken during a recent group fishing trip. It was just Father and son catching salamanders, trout and salad fish (aka seaweed).

Photographer

Ollie's school is having a Art in the Park Celebration next month and the kids have been busy making artwork and taking photographs. This has been very exciting for Oliver as he and his classmates have been toting around their disposable cameras looking for interesting things to photograph. It looks like little brothers and fruit trees top the list. Hope you enjoy these photos from Oliver.

Lake Oswego Fountains

This past weekend was hot ... very hot. We all got up early Saturday morning to set up my booth at the Lake Oswego Farmers Market. The reward for my helpers was breakfast at Saint Honore Boulangerie where we ate Almond Croissants, Chouquettes, and Mirliton de Rouen. Breakfast was finished with multiple refreshing dashes through the fountains.

I love seeing Ollie give some karate chops to the water

Cookie Monster Baby

Leo Babble

Father's Day Dinner

These photos are from Oliver's Montessorri school. The children made a potato & rosemary soup dinner for all the dads. They also showed the dads some of their favorite activities. I finally put two and two together -- Oliver has been picking rosemary from the bush in front of our house and suggesting that we make potato soup for weeks now.

I love this photo of father & son enjoying dinner that Oliver made!

Sauvie Island Beach

These last few months have been busy and we've really enjoyed having our families show us their support by coming to visit. It meant a lot to us to have them meet Leopold and connect with Oliver more. We are on our own again as I just dropped my mother off at the airport yesterday. I'll miss the help but it will good for me to figure out and develop a routine for the boys.

One of the things I've been meaning to do is post some pictures that have been piling up in our camera. So for the next few days here are some older photos. They're still good though!

This was one of the last beach trips we had before the birth:

First Dentist Visit

Last week Oliver had his first dentist visit with the amazing duo of dentist Dr. Garcia and hygienist Alene. Oliver was very nervous about going to the dentist despite my efforts to assure him that it wouldn't hurt. Alene had a great way of making Ollie comfortable. After a few rides of going up and down in the chair, playing with Alene's super cool tools (vacuum & water pic) and getting sunglasses to wear while tasting bubblegum flavored fluoride I think he'll have no problem going to the dentist in the future.

Dr. Garcia gave him a thumbs up for his great tooth brushing skills and good looking teeth. He now shows off his teeth when you ask him how he liked the dentist.

Nana & Papa

Nana & Papa came to visit us and cuddle with their newest grandchild. They spent a week taking Oliver to great places like the Japanese Garden, Oregon Zoo and the movie "How to Train Your Dragon". Which really helped out mommy because in the evenings he fell asleep before his head even hit the pillow. Unfortunately this is the only photo I have from their trip (mommy FAIL) but hopefully we'll get some copies from Nana to post later.

Baby Leo joins our lives

Jacob and I are really surprised to hear ourselves say this, and a little cautious, but we think this time around may be a little easier than the first time. And what I mean by that is we don't have the anxiety that we did when we were new parents. We've realized we don't have to stress over all the decisions that come with having a baby like: which brand of diapers, bath or sleep, is it ok to wake him up, is it ok to make noise when he's sleeping, and all the little things that can add up fast. So far so good and seriously it's only been one week but we look at each other and I know we can see how much fun each other is having.

A picture of Ollie flexing his super incredible big brother muscles.

We've noticed he's been sensitive with his feelings this last week and if you know Ollie you know he's already a sensitive little guy. I'm trying to find ways for him to express these new feelings. And as always we treat him like the great little boy that he is.

This is little Leo before we put him in the car seat for a quick errand across town.

And this is him after, he's just a little pile of baby mush when he's asleep.

Here's a baby Leo cam video: