Playing with Winslow

Winslow and his family (Rebecca and Andy) live across the street from us and both Soren and Winslow have a great time hanging out, walking around the neighborhood, and running around yelling!

A trip to the zoo with Alix & Olivia

 

 

 

 


One of Soren's favorite things to do is going to the zoo. He loves watching the sea lions swim up and down the glass tank, feeding the goats, watching the fish, riding the train, the list just goes on.

Fun at the duck pond with Eliana

On a rainy afternoon we bagged our corn and took off for Crystal Springs Rhododendron Gardens to feed/pet/watch/chase/run from the ducks and geese. Despite one very scary looking (and sounding) goose, it was a great afternoon!

Friday night dinner

Soren had a good time Friday night when our friends Sam and Carlota and their daughter Eliana came over for dinner. Soren and Eliana have become good buddies.

Lost in the packing!

What we thought was going to be a relaxing evening was turned upside down when the FedEx truck pulled up with a lamp we had ordered, and more importantly, lots of packing!

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!