Tuesday, November 07, 2006

A tree falls in Portland....


A tree falls in Portland....
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
While Dave was cleaning the gutters yesterday, he noticed this tree was moving a bit too much for comfort. So he called the arborist, who said he'd be here this morning. Well, after all the rain and wind we've had, apparently last night was the breaking point. I was awakened in the middle of the night to a huge crashing sound. I thought Dave might have fallen down the stairs, or perhaps it was thunder. I called out to Dave, who I thought was pacing the halls with a sleep-averse Eloise. I swear he answered back "everything's OK". I tried to go back to sleep. Well, actually, Dave had put Eloise to sleep in her crib, then climbed into Sebastian's bed to get some rest, as Sebastian had moved into our bed and was kicking in his sleep (are you following all this?!). He doesn't remember waking up for that particular disturbance, but lo and behold, there it was when I got up this morning. And my voice is gone, a nice case of fall laryngitis. Luckily though, the tree did not cause any damage, and has been an endless source of entertainment for Sebastian. I feel VERY LUCKY. The tree is right over Sebastian and Eloise's room, where Dave and Eloise were when it fell....

Firewood anyone?


Firewood anyone?
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
If I still had a voice, I'd be calling all the moms with little boys I know---there's a man with a chain saw in our back yard chopping this tree up and cutting another precarious one down. Sebastian is glued to the window. Since I'm not feeling well, it's nice to have some distraction for him. Although it is funny to listen to him--since I can only whisper, he's started whispering back.....

What a sweet little dragon/crocodile

So all this time I'd been calling it a dragon costume, but there are no wings. So I guess he's really a crocodile, or maybe an aligator. Whatever. He is cute. Look at that smile....

Little Ladybug


Little Ladybug
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
Sebastian really got into Halloween this year. After a stop at Nana and Papa's in the afternoon, he realized that looking cute, shouting trick or treat, then having Eloise act the decoy while he stuffed his bag with candy was lots of fun. I have enjoyed eating most of his candy; for some reason, Dave is experiencing some guilt about this. Maybe it's the hours and hours I've spent making the costumes, but I feel like I've earned it.....and I know once he learns to count, it's all over....

Bebe you look different


Bebe you look different
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
Did you change your hair? a little dental work perhaps?

Happy Halloween


Happy Halloween
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
Hangin' out at the halloween party.

Daddy's Little Girl


Daddy's Little Girl
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
So I had this huge dilemna this year about what to do for the kids costumes. With copious amounts of help from Bebe, we made a monkey costume for Sebastian's first Halloween. Last year, I bought a glue gun and created Elvis. This year, the idea of creating 2 scratch costumes was a bit daunting, so I settled on a homemade lady bug for Eloise, and a steal of a deal dragon from a thrift store for Sebastian. Eloise's costume turned out pretty cute, not the best sewmanship, but who's looking that closely, really?

Decorating pumpkins


Decorating pumpkins
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
Our dragon artiste.

Nascar Otto


Otto
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
How darling is he? Otto shows off his pearly whites, and his kick-ass pumpkin

Anne and Luke


Anne and Luke
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
Dave's cousin Anne and her son, Superman.

Sarah and Zander


Sarah and Zander
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
We had a Halloween Party for the kids this year--all the kids came in costume, and we even had some pumpkin decorating--thanks to Teletubbies for the idea! Here is Sarah Kopplin with her little monkey, Zander.

Auntie Lala and little e


Auntie Lala and little e
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
Jacqueline has been taking advantage of our guest room every now and again when she's working in the area---little E just loves hanging out with her Auntie!

Touching baby sharks


Touching baby sharks
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
I think that's a baby tiger shark...

Saying hi to the ray


Saying hi to the ray
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
Besides the cool underwater exhibit, they have a number of pools where you can touch some fish too. Here's Sebastian petting the baby ray.

Under the sea


Under the sea
Originally uploaded by MommyG.

Dave and Boris


Dave and Boris
Originally uploaded by MommyG.

Jellyfish


Jellyfish
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
I love the jellyfish.

Checking out the fish


Checking out the fish
Originally uploaded by MommyG.

Entranced


Entranced
Originally uploaded by MommyG.

Sebastian and the Diver


Sebastian and the Diver
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
At the Aquarium by the Bay, they have a huge underwater tunnel (like in one of the Jaws movies) where you can walk under the water and have the fish swim all around you. Sebastian liked the fish, but it was the diver we followed around for what seemed like hours...

Chad and Karin


Chad and Karin
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
There's trouble....

Cousins and wives and husbands and babies

It took some doing, but here we all are---captured on film for an instant.
What a magical evening....

Walking tour of Santa Rosa


Walking tour of Santa Rosa
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
The big score of our walking tour were some old t-shirts for Nat's chatty d project (www.chattyd.com), and Sebastian $5 dragon costume. Yipee!!

Nice warm stroll


Nice warm stroll
Originally uploaded by MommyG.

Window shopping in old town


Window shopping in old town
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
For our last wedding of 2006 we travelled back to Santa Rosa for Dave's cousin Vicky's wedding. It was so nice to go somewhere warm (the rain has begun in Portland). It was a quick trip, but we had a great time playing miniature golf after the rehearsal dinner--Sebastian, with help from Oma, putted 2 holes-in-one! He was a riot and had a blast. Saturday was the gorgeous wedding at Dave's aunt Jean's newly completed home, and then Sunday we headed down to San Francisco to check out the aquarium with Gina's cousin George, and Dave's foreign exchange student Boris. What a whirlwind!

First Cereal


First Cereal
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
Well, after weeks of lunging for our dishes everytime she got close, Eloise is finally getting a dish of her own. So far, she's accepted rice cereal, oatmeal, pears and banana--all mashed to a runny sloppy consistency. She LOVES to eat, and cries whenever her dish is empty. Contrary to EVERYTHING I've been hearing, this is NOT making her sleep through the night. Or sleep at all really. She has started to crawl, and doesn't like to spend much time not on the go. She's happy. I'm exhausted!

"Playing" with Eloise


"Playing" with Eloise
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
It would be much easier to get Sebastian to stop being so rough with little E if she didn't LOVE it so much!

Hats


Hats
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
and mischievious little faces, for sure....

Faces


Faces
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
My what big eyes you have, Eloise!

More faces


More faces
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
My friend Heather has a friend who makes these great hats. Miracle of all miracles, the kids even keep them on! Aren't they cute?!

Pumpkin patch with Bebe


Pumpkin patch with Bebe
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
Checking out the corn maze from a good vantage point--above!

I like this one...


I like this one...
Originally uploaded by MommyG.

Let's get pumpkins!


Let's get pumpkins!
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
It's not a trip to Spokane in the fall without a trip out to Greenbluff for some pumpkin hunting, pie buying, and even a hayride. We missed the farm that had the catapult set up for pumpkin launching. Apparently somewhere they've even got a cannon for the poor punpkins...

Auntie's baby shower


Auntie's baby shower
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
Lots of oohing and aaahing over cute little pink things...here Auntie shows off her growing belly

Napping with Grandpa


Napping with Grandpa
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
Auntie Lala and Auntie Jen and Mommy G and the kiddos went to Spokane for a weekend of fun--and a baby shower for Auntie Jen. Here Eloise takes a little nap with grandpa while we get ready for the festivities.

Bathtime is fun!


Bathtime is fun!
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
He loves his towel with the hood....ah the simple pleasures of childhood....

Aren't I just a cutie?!


Aren't I just a cutie?!
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
Eloise and Sebastian are just starting to be able to take a bath together. Eloise loves to splash, but hasn't quite figured out she can't breath underwater.

Friday, September 29, 2006

Happy Birthday to You!


Happy Birthday to You!
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
Happy Birthday to Cinzia!! We're actually a little early on this one--wish we could be there with you!!

Little America, WY--sharing a cone with Daddy


Riding the dinosaur in Little America

There is this weird place in the middle of Wyoming on your way back to Salt Lake called Little America. It's basically a crazy weird truck stop, but after seeing about 500 billboards advertising $.50 ice cream cones, I just had to stop. They also had this odd dinosaur for climbing all over...

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Our families


Our families
Originally uploaded by MommyG.

Boy in the tube


Boy in the tube
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
Girls took kids to playground to play, boys went and shot guns at strawberry fanta.

Naked girl!


Naked girl!
Originally uploaded by MommyG.

Sleepy guy...


Sleepy guy...
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
Sebastian too...

Carolyn, Court and Sebastian


Carolyn, Court and Sebastian
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
While Kelly, Ethan and I head back to get dinner going, Courtney and her mom, Dave and the kids go in search of the Big Horn Sheep. Elusive at first, they surface later in someone's front yard.
Sebastian is so excited!!

The Kelley/Rudd yard


The Kelley/Rudd yard
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
Enjoying the day. We picked corn, garlic, onions, potatoes, and squash and made them into a soup for dinner that night. Marvelous. My number one what I miss most from Kelly and Court being here in town is getting together to cook and just share an evening together.

Ethan and Court


Ethan and Court
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
In Courtney and Kelly's new backyard.

Little E and Mommy G


Little E and Mommy G
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
After Bebe and Grandpa left Sunday morning, Daddy D, Sebastian, Mommy G and Little E walked some more around Lander. Here we are taking a little break in a coffee shop so Eloise could have a snack. We could have been in Eugene or Arcata....

Riding the caboose with Bebe


Riding the caboose with Bebe
Originally uploaded by MommyG.

I think he might like it!


I think he might like it!
Originally uploaded by MommyG.
There's an old caboose near the end of town, and Sebastian had quite a nice time climbing all over it with Daddy and Bebe.