Lots of Photos

Photographer Amy Nieto (www.amynieto.com) took these photos of us on January 10th. Even with the cold, wet Portland weather and Soren's runny nose, the photos turned out fantastic.
 

New Year's Eve, December 31, 2008!

Yup. We were all very tired. In bed by 9:00 PM. We tried.

Christmas in Minnesota

New Skills

Soren has been acquiring lots of new skills. He's become quite a good kisser as you can see him practicing this skill with Maggie. And he's been a real handyman around the house. He loves to watch us 'fix' things and then will imitate what we're doing - including our facial expressions, which is quite funny. He's also talking more and more - new words have been 'ice, Dada, down, up, rice, cupcake.'

First haircut

Well, it had to happen. We wanted to wait until after Christmas for Soren to get his first haircut, but it just wasn't happening. Itchy eyes and snarls had taken their toll. The whole experience went much better than we thought it would. Soren was very brave. We went to a place outside of Portland and were really impressed with all of Gwen's (Soren's "stylist") gadgets and tricks to help him through the ordeal. There were tears and a bit of drama, but he made it through. And with the help of a Dum Dum and a big plastic pick Escalade to 'drive' around afterwards, smiles followed shortly thereafter.

It's COLD..........and SNOWY!!!!!!!!

'It'll maybe snow once a year and even then the snow melts within a day or 2.' How many times did I hear that? LOTS! It's now been snowing for more than 8 days. There is very little gravel, salt, or snow plows. The snow isn't melting and the city has been shut down since the first snow. It's been quite an experience. BUT, we have had some fun! Soren loves to point out snow in all of his books now. He's not a big fan of the cold, but we did go sledding around the block yesterday morning (Dec. 19th) and watched neighbors build a snowman. My friend, and Soren's babysitter, Kristen and I went snowshoeing through a big park (Laurelhurst) on the eve of the big storm (11+ inches - a lot for Portland!) and hiked through Peacock Lane, which is a few blocks of homes that all light up their houses with Christmas lights. We've also had playdates, dinners with friends, and played cards. I guess it hasn't been too bad!

Life as a Giraffe

The first time Soren tried on his giraffe costume for Halloween, he wasn't very pleased.


But then he discovered that giraffes have natural camouflage in the Oregonian fall.


By the time we arrived at the Halloween party, Soren was a happy giraffe (as long as we didn't have the hood/head up).

Fun at Laurelhurst Park

Our friends Samantha and Elianna came over yesterday for a playdate. We walked to Laurelhurst park to slide, swing, and picnic. Soren ate his first cashew. It was a fun afternoon!

Eagle Creek in the Columbia River Gorge

On Sunday, it was another beautiful fall day so we drove to Eagle Creek for a hike. To our surprise, the Salmon were spawning! I've seen it on TV, but seeing it firsthand was something else. Soren loves to be outside and he was in his element at Eagle Creek.

Mount St. Helens

The day after Sauvie Island, Cindy and I took a road trip to Mount St. Helens. After being given a firm directive to listen from a tourist guide named "Suzie," we were right on track to have a productive day. The volcano was worth the trek there and then some. It was a powerful thing to see. Note to travelers: it is much colder 4000 ft above sea level than it is down in the valley of Portland!

Getting ready for Halloween

To bring in the fall season, Cindy came out for a visit over MEA. We had tons of fun, as usual. During one of the really beautiful days, we took a trip out to Sauvie Island and ran around the corn fields, straw bales and straw bale pyramid, pumpkins, and tractors. We came home with the perfect pumpkin, ready to be carved!