Ode to Puppy

Great Uncle Tom (great in the height sense, and also as in fantastic great) showed up at our door last weekend with a few surprises for Owen... one of which was this little brown dog. Now, The Dude has a special place in his heart for puppies - he has one of his own, it was the first animal sound he could mimic, and he can spot one a mile away - but this one he has fallen hard for.



Simply, he is called "Puppy". He MUST accompany Owen during all the important rituals of the day, particularly story time and sleeping time. Puppy gets a special hug and a little pat on the back before we turn out the light.



Sleep on, Puppy and Dude... we'll see you on the flipside.

In search of Sun

We decided it was time to seek out some sun. The low cloud cover, plus all the snow and cold has been cramping our style. We loaded up the car and headed over the mountain in search of some blue sky.

It was also long overdue for us to finally meet our newest little baby friend, Madeline. She was born in September, and we could no longer stand it... we had to get us some of that "new baby smell".

And what a sweet-heart she is!! A bright little ray of sunshine, that melted our hearts and charmed our socks off. Owen loved her too... he kept saying "Bay-bee!" and "Mwah!" (which is his expression for love... usually followed by a kiss).

Here is our favorite picture of Sweet Madeline...



After hanging with them for the evening and the next morning, we packed up and headed downtown. We wanted Owen to stretch his legs a little before stuffing him back in his carseat for the drive home. We took him to the park to get an up-close and personal view of some ducks... little did we know just how close and personal.



The Ducks of Drake Park are not afraid of humans. They are beggars... and parents have to be protective of little fingers. Owen was in Heaven. He hasn't been that close to a duck recently (he was at this same park back in August, but wasn't walking yet) and he was all about it. At one point he tried to get through the fence to get a closer look.



But mostly, he observed.



And they observed him...



In the end, it was a good trip. The Dude lost his cool a few times on the ride home, but wouldn't you if you were strapped into a seat for 3 hours while your parents made you listen to "Journey"? Um, right.

Happy 2009!

We are filled with optimism this January. This is going to be a good year. The Dude is now fifteen months old, walking like a champ, talking and communicating with everything he's got, and growing like a weed (well, a short little weed....). Mama and Papa have come to the realization that there is no way that we can keep up. He is developing too fast.... the new things are hitting us over the head faster than we can recover from the previous. All there is left to do is sit back and enjoy the ride.

For instance, just this weekend he's started mimicking words that we say (yes, even the not-so-nice ones!!). And all be darned if he doesn't nail them, pretty much every time. Last week he sat with Nonna and put together puzzles (the wooden ones that you match up the animals or shapes) like he's been doing them for months. Mama did an experiment in which she told him to go in the other room to get a specific item, and he marched into the room, looked around for the item, then brought it back to her... so proud. His comprehension is pretty amazing. It seems like all of a sudden a light has turned on in him, and so much is just "clicking".

The Dude is also..... a total goof-ball. He's got a sense of humor, and knows how to ham it up when he has an audience. We happily oblige. And so do all the ladies in the supermarket or store. He seeks them out and gives them that big toothy grin.... it's all over from there. We try to not be in a hurry, because we are usually there for a while.

Yep. It's going to be a good year. So much to learn, so much to see and do, and so many adventures to be had.

We're glad you're here for the ride too. Cheers!

Arctic Blast 2008

We're a little behind in posting... but thought it mucho importante to document the now past, big snow event of the winter (as of yet). For those of you that were not in the midst of it yourselves (especially those of you who are enjoying their summer right now!), here are some photos.





Luckily, Auntie Em and Uncle D brought Owen a sled... he quite happily sat on it and let Mama pull him around in the deep, deep snow. It was pretty much the only good (safe) mode of transportation.

Waiting for Santa....

We've been regularly checking the progress of Santa throughout the day today...

Tonight we will be traveling over the river and through the woods to Nonna's house, then home to get nestled into our pajamas and have a hot cup of cocoa....

The Dude's stocking is hung with care, and the tree lit and twinkling...

Merry Christmas to all! And to all a good night!

Choo Choo!

The Dude inherited the coveted Brio train set from Cousin T and Nic Nic recently. Just in time for Papa to set it up around the base of our (very) little Christmas tree... much to the delight of Owen and Cousin "No-Rrah".

Snow Day(s)

Mama can't remember the last time that Stumptown has seen so much snow. For days now it has been coming and going, falling then melting, piling up and blowing around. The forecast shows the flakes hanging around for the next few days... white Christmas? Who knows.

We've been trying to take advantage of being without wheels (Papa has been taking the AWD to get to work) by suiting up and venturing out to the store, but it's pretty cold out there, so we usually only make it to the end of the block.

The Dude has been loving it. He loves to wake up in the morning and look out the window to see if it's still there. He loves gearing up with his "Ya-ket" (jacket) and his "Boooots!" and going "OUT!!".



The fluffy flakes we had yesterday were almost as big as his hands, and he liked to look up at them falling down...



Until...





We tromp up and down the street, visiting all the festive decorations that the neighbors have in their yards. He especially loves the big blow-up snow globes (yes, we have more than one on our street). But he's also very fond of these snowmen... they have "HAT(s)!".



The snow continues to fall today and should throughout the afternoon. We will venture out into it at some point, we're quite sure.