Potty Talk

Owen has developed an interest in "The Potty". Probably a result of watching Cousin Nora work on her potty training and the fact that we all talk about it. A few weeks ago, Owen marched into the bathroom at Nora's house, sat on the potty, got up, removed the little bowl, dumped it into the big toilet, flushed... and insisted to wash his hands.

All righty then! Someone has figured it out.

We also have a book about potty training that he is very fond of...

So, we decided to get him his VERY OWN potty. After making a very big deal about a "secret, special surprise" we unveiled the molded plastic throne.



He was so excited... he knew instantly what it was. We helped him pull it out of the box, showed him how to open the lid and he climbed on it. Papa then taught him how to do the "victory dance" (climbing on top and pumping his fists, shouting "Hooray!"). The next hour was filled with much laughter, as you can imagine.

It will probably be a while before he will actual learn how to use it. But we are glad that we seized the opportunity to introduce it when we did. It's hard to deny his enthusiasm, that's for sure!

Rain Baby

Ah, The Pacific Northwest in Spring.... one day it's 72 degrees, the next it's dark and stormy and hailing like crazy. We've been having some crazy storms rolling through bringing all kinds of water down on our heads.

The other day brought one of those storms, and "You Know Who" stood at the sliding glass door to the deck and pleaded to go out.

"Ok..." we said, and put on his bug boots and off he went.


(Yes, that is our gutter overflowing... it was raining THAT hard.)





Soaked. Happy as can be. A true Oregonian!

Bawk! Bawk!

Spring is in full swing here in P-Town. A few sunny days and temperatures above 60 degrees (it's been a while!) is all that was needed to get things going.... and KABLAM!! We've got Spring. The cherry trees are blossoming, the tulips popping and the backyard chicken coops are clucking like crazy (we've got quite a few in our neighborhood...on walks you can here them from the street).

The "Tall Bunny" himself visited our house and brought Owen a basket full of goodies. A few fluffy chicks, a wind-up robot, a little brown rabbit, some whiffle balls and some stickers were all that were needed to keep The Dude occupied - at least long enough for Mama and Papa to make some coffee.





Thank You Easter Bunny.... (and to all his little helpers - you know who you are!)

Here Fishy Fishy....

Thanks to a generous gift from D & D, we now have a membership to the Zoo! We are totally stoked about this. Not only can we go whenever we want, we can stay as long (or as little) as we want! For The Dude and his short legs and tolerance level, this is HUGE.

On our first trip we brought along Cousin Nora and Nonna. We all learned some valuable lessons about going to the Zoo that will prepare us for the rest of the year. For instance, ALWAYS know where the restrooms are (especially important for the potty-training set), DON'T try to see too much in one day, and DO pack lots of snacks.

We look forward to many more trips and lots of animal adventures!

Sunny Play Day

On a day last week, when the sun was out and we were all feeling a little bit healthier, Cousin Nora came to play. We pulled on our hats and boots and ventured out into the backyard (aka "Mud Pit") where we unearthed trucks, balls for Penny to chase and we even performed minor surgery on a ceramic frog who was missing an eye.

It was a good day.

Filled to the Brim

We are gushing here on this Valentine's Day. The Dude (now 16 months old as of the 10th... *gasp!*) continues to become more and more of a heart-breaker. He says things like "Ciao!" and "Luv you!" and is more than willing to lay a big 'ol wet one on ya if you ask for one.

The following are a few photos from the last couple of weeks that Mama finally downloaded.....



(HUGE props to Auntie A for the AWESOME coat.... doesn't he look smashing?)



This next photo is one that Mama took after a double take... he pulled out that box that he is standing on, all on his own. He is getting very resourceful...



And here is an example of Penny's permanent post during eating time... we think that they have an unspoken agreement.



Happy Valentine's Day everyone.
May your own house be filled with as much love as ours.

UpDown

Here The Dude illustrates that he gets the whole "up and down" concept...



(Again, we apologize for the poor quality of the video. Mama's camera is the only video camera we have at the moment... We are, however, accepting donations for one of these! *wink wink*)