Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Beautiful Princesses

If you aren't a regular reader of the Ericson blog, I highly recommend that you check out the video of the girls trying on the Princess Gowns they got for Christmas. So beautiful!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Tooth #4


Conan's fourth tooth came through last night, it's the second central incisor on the bottom. He took a long time getting started with teeth, but now it seems like they are coming in fast! He really enjoys chewing. He can reduce an apple slice or a cracker to confetti in mere minutes, and he's started leaving little indented tooth marks on his books and toys. He also likes to try and bite the buttons on my cardigans. We brush his teeth every night before bed, and he really enjoys it - it's the only time he's alowed to chew on my finger (protected by the rubber baby toothbrush) anymore. Those little teeth are sharp!

Monday, December 14, 2009

King of the Cosmos

Gabe sent this masterful peice of art for Conan's birthday card. I think it answers a lot of questions. For instance, global warming is probably caused by baby snuggles. Earthquakes happen when Conan giggles, and floods are caused by slobber.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Conan's 1st Birthday

We had a blast yesterday hosting Conan's birthday party. There were lots of kids, balloons, presents, and dinosaur-shaped muffins. Balloons were a big hit with all the kids, even little Chloe enjoyed playing with them.

Conan didn't take a nap before the party, so I was worried that it might be too much for him. He did great though, playing with the (mostly) bigger kids and being his sweet cute self. In fact, he was in such a good mood and having such fun playing with his new toys and books that he was able to stay up until 7:30. He was exhausted though - he's still asleep as I write this, 13 hours later. :)

Friday, December 11, 2009

A year ago tonight

It was cold and clear, and the moon was full. Storms were forecast, the wind was picking up, and I was in labor. The last few weeks had seemed like an eternity, I really wanted my pregnancy to be over and my baby to be born. And finally, finally! it was time. My attendants bundled me up in heavy winter clothes, and sent me out walking with Cary to the end of the driveway and back. I remember how vivid the shadows cast by the bright moon were, and how cold the wind was in my face. We had to stop every few feet for a contraction. I think it took an hour or so, just to walk to the mailbox and back. It was absolutely surreal, a moment I'll never forget.

Sunday, December 06, 2009

Crash & Burn

Yesterday morning Conan face-planted in the gravel driveway, scraping his nose and forehead. He wasn't badly hurt, but he was really, really upset about it. He hardly ever falls anymore, and he wasn't even trying to run or do anything dangerous, he just lost his balance and fell flat. Poor baby!We cleaned it up and put him down for a nap, and when he woke up it didn't seem to be painful but his whole nose was bright red. He looked like a little reindeer for the rest of the day. This morning the redness is gone, there is just a little bit of scabbing. He seems completely oblivious to his battle-scarred appearance:

I'm sure these scratches will heal up quickly, and Conan will be back to plotting world domination in no time. Bwahahaha! No one can stop me!
If you click through this picture to the large version, you can see his two new upper teeth. He's up to three teeth now!

Monday, November 30, 2009

Chanterelles

It's been an unusually rainy fall in Plain, which means monster Chanterelles! After lunch on Friday we went for a walk in the woods (to work off some turkey) and gathered these beauties:

This one is the largest Chanterelle I've ever seen.

Cleaned and trimmed, there were enough of these to give some away, eat a bunch, and STILL put some in the freezer for later. Delicious!

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Thankful

Most of all, I'm thankful for Conan: my dear, sweet, enthusiastic, charming, healthy, talented and beautiful boy. I'm thankful for my loving husband, my wonderful family, and terrific friends. I'm thankful for abundance, safety, security, employment, housing, entertainment and beauty. I'm resoundingly thankful that I was lucky enough to be born into a time (and place) where the ravages of war, pestilence, famine, natural disasters or zombie hordes have not impacted me or my family.

I'm thankful that we'll be heading to Plain for a delicious meal and I don't have to bring anything but this little boy and his sweet smile.
But you know, everyone says those same things. I got to thinking about it this morning, and I realized that I'm really thankful for all the mundane miracles of my comfortable modern life. So here's a shout-out to all the little things (in no particular order) that I'm thankful that I have in my life, but that I usually take for granted:
  • Soap Seriously. It kills germs, removes oil and grease, and makes things smell better. Soap is incredible, and we take it for granted all the time.

  • Refrigeration Keeping my food fresh and safe day and night. From the farm to the store to my very own home, it's amazing what refrigeration does for us.

  • Hot Water Ooh yeah. I love hot showers. And we enjoy hot water at the touch of a lever, any time. No building a fire, no messing with kettles, it just comes right out of the tap.

  • Indoor Plumbing Often overlooked, but I dare any American or Canadian to live without it for long. Outhouses (even when well maintained) are not warm and pleasant. Having to melt snow to make your tea is only fun a couple of times.

  • Antibiotics An incredible medical breakthrough. Penicillin was only discovered in 1928, and in less than 100 years we have already begun to take for granted and abuse these amazing medicines.

  • Electricity I don't know how it works, but I sure do like having it available. Reliable, consistant, plentiful electricity makes so much of our modern lifestyle possible.

  • Tea Not too long ago, people spent years on risky treks and voyages around the globe in order to obtain tea. Now all I have to do is walk to the cupboard to enjoy a cup.

  • Telephones People complain about not being able to get away from their phones, but think about what it used to be like before they existed. If only there was some way to let the neighbors know that you needed help!

  • Public Schools Free education. I know, College isn't free. And some public schools are better than others. But still, we have a system in place where all kids are eligible to learn to read and write, and the basics of math, science, literature and more are taught. That's pretty amazing.

  • Washers & Dryers I'm so glad I don't have to spend hours down by the river, beating my clothes on rocks and hoping it won't rain until they dry.

  • Sugar I know, it's not good for us to eat a bunch of sugar. But it is sure nice to have available to put in my tea, or make cookies with, right there in my pantry.

  • Computers Seriously, how did people every get along without these? Just in my lifetime they have changed and improved so much that the old ones are nearly unrecognizeable. Why, I remember when a 14.4 external modem was a sweet peice of hardware!

  • Baby Formula It's come a long, long way. Like sugar, it has its drawbacks, but I am SO glad that safe, nutritious, balanced infant formula was available for us when breastfeeding didn't work out as well as planned.

  • Comfortable Clothes Boned corsets and hoop skirts, anyone? Powdered wigs and ruffled collars?

  • Fresh Produce all year long I *like* being able to go to the grocery store and buy Mangos and Avocados and Bell Peppers and Oranges in November in Washington.

  • Spices Like tea, people used to risk their lives for spices. Now I just go to my pantry when I want nutmeg, cloves, or cinnamon. Can you imagine not having pepper at your table?

  • Wood Stoves There's nothing like a nice fire NOT filling your house with smoke, or burning it down, while you enjoy its cheery warmth.

  • Books It wasn't too long ago that books were items of extreme luxury, available only to the weathiest few. Teen vampire romance novels might not seem like that much of a blessing, but there's also Calvin & Hobbes collections, The Joy of Cooking, and the Audubon Field Guide to North American Birds, to name just a few.

  • Water-proof boots I don't like getting my feet wet.

  • Sippy Cups How DID parents ever teach kids to drink out of cups before sippy cups? I mean, without having water spilled all over everything?

  • Garbage Pickup For a very reasonable fee, people come to my house every week and take my garbage & recycling away. All I have to do is remember to put it out at the end of the driveway. How amazing is that?

So... What are you thankful for?

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Birthday

Another year gone by; they just keep going faster and faster.

I had a lovely day. Dave and Anita took Conan for the evening so we could go out on the town kid free. Wooo! We started with beer & appetisers at Boundary Bay, then dinner at Pepper Sisters, and finally fancy cocktails and a free birthday desert at Nimbus. :)

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Double Baby Day

Yesterday having both Conan and Chloe together all day was super fun. The cuteness was nearly deadly. They had lots of fun together - Looking out the window at the dog...

Climbing into the toybox together...

and of course playing with Grandma!

Here's a video collage of some of the day's activities.


In the evening we drove Chloe home for a pre-birthday gathering with several of her little friends. The highlight (at least for the toddlers) were the balloons. Jon got Chloe four helium balloons tied in a bunch with a clip that attached them to her shirt. She loved them; so did all the other babies.

It turned into a real mob scene, until Chloe retreated behind the dining room table so she could enjoy her balloons in peace. Conan's birthday is coming up soon, and I think I know what to get him! I had a good time as well, visiting with Jon and Nadege and the other parents, catching up with some old friends as well as meeting some new folks.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Visiting the Family

Conan and I are in Plain for a visit with my family. (Papa stayed home, he had to work.) It's really nice to be here, just kicking back enjoying a relaxed visit. Yesterday we went down to Wenatchee and had lunch with (L-R) my Uncle Kenneth, Aunt Eleanor, Aunt Patty, and Cousin Joyce. It was the first time Conan had met any of them, and I think it's safe to say he charmed the socks off all of them. My mom & dad and Nadege and Chloe were also there, at the other end of the table. We had a really nice meal, and afterwards moved outside into the restaurant's yard where the babies played in the flowerbed and the adults chatted and enjoyed the sunshine.
Chloe doesn't walk yet, but she doesn't let that stop her! She climbed all over the rocks, very bold and determined; not to mention cute. She will be turning one on Saturday. It's hard to believe it's already been a year!

Conan was a pretty tired boy by the time we got home. He and Grandma Debbie enjoyed some some nice snuggle time together.

Today Chloe is here at mom & dad's place; mom babysits her on Fridays. She and Conan had fun playing together for about and hour and then both went down for their morning naps. So now it's just me and mom, enjoying a quiet cup of tea and watching the snow fall outside. What a perfect way to spend my vacation!

Sunday, November 08, 2009

Busy Weekend


The Taylor family came up to Bellingham for the weekend, and the Ericsons surprised us all with a Friday night visit as well. We had a wonderful dinner party over at the Guzstiltzman household. Conan and Kiah had fun playing together and baby Morgan was her cute cuddly self.

Luckily Aimee had packed some jammies so before we left we got Conan ready for bed and he fell asleep on my lap before we could even get him in the car. He was super tired, just zonked. I love that floppy warm baby cuddle time - I get so little of it with this busy little guy.
I have some more pictures but I'm just too tired to mess around with downloading them from the camera. The two above were both taken by Gabe; there are more on his site under the heading "Week 16, Nov 2009".

Update- I downloaded my pictures from the camera at last and I had to add this one of me and Morgan:

Sunday, November 01, 2009

First Halloween

Flight of the bat-baby:

Conan dressed up as a bat for his first Halloween. Mama and Papa dressed up as bat Biologists (Chiropterologists) and followed him around. We all went downtown and trick-or-treated in Bellingham with Brian and Chloe and some other friends. Chloe made a very convincing Yoda. Later we met up with Abby (Leia) over at Grandpa & Grandma Mapes house.

We all had a lot of fun. Conan didn't really get the trick-or-treat aspect of Halloween, although he enjoyed seeing all the kids and being downtown. He had a little basket and he sometimes waved it in the general direction of the person handing out treats, so we still managed to collect some candy. Of course as a good parents we took all his candy away and dutifully ate it ourselves. :)

Friday, October 30, 2009

Baby Kisses


Conan is an enthusiastic kisser. Wet, sloppy, open-mouthed kisses which occasionally turn into attempted hickeys are his speciality. What a sweet boy!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Signing


Conan has started using the sign for milk. I'm especially impressed because I didn't really think I was doing a very good job teaching it. I probably only remember to show him the sign about 30% of the time I give him milk. But aparently it was enough, because he really has the hang of it.

Of course now the dilemma is what to do when he asks for milk and I don't want to (or can't) give him any right then? The entire 15 or so minutes after his shower while I was getting him ready for bed last night he was signing milk - which he does get at bedtime, but first we have to get him dried off, put on a night-time diaper and jammies, and brush his tooth. Milk Milk Milk Milk Milk, he said. I guess I need to learn how to sign "Yes I know you want milk - just a minute"! That's a little advanced though. We're still working on "more" and "food"...

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Still sick, but getting better

Conan and I have both come down with the flu. Or maybe it's a bad cold - hard to tell for sure. In any case, it started on monday night with a headache, tiredness, and a scratchy throat, which by Tuesday morning had developed into a sinus fire, stuffy ears, and sore throat so bad it hurt even to breathe. Wednesday I was feverish with a racking cough, but at least the sore throat went away and congestion put out the fire in my sinuses. Conan has a runny nose and a little bit of a cough, and Tuesday and Wednesday he was cranky and had a low appetite. Today we are both feeling better, Conan's appetite is back and I am not feverish. He still has quite the snotty nose and I am still achy and have bad coughing and sneezing fits, but I feel like we are both on the mend. Whew! I'll be glad when we are healthy again.

For lunch today I made us grilled cheese sandwiches. It was Conan's first ever sandwich, and he was a little hesitant at first. He loves toast, but this was clearly different... I dunno Mom.  It looks kind of burnt.
The verdict? Yummy! I want grilled Cheese for dinner, too!
He ate almost the whole thing, and now is happily playing in the living room. I'm so glad to see he's feeling better. There's hardly anything sadder than a sick baby, unless it's a sick mom with a sick baby.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Walking


Yesterday Conan started really walking. It's been less than two weeks since he took his first step (Sunday Oct 4). Early this week he started taking 2 or 3 steps at a time. Wednesday he had a couple good bursts of walking, 5 to 7 steps at a time. Today he is walking from place to place, no more couting steps - it's about distance now!

It's hard to get on camera, because when he sees the camera he drops to his knees and crawls to me as fast as he can to try and get ahold of it. So this isn't his best walking but you get the idea. :)

Thursday, October 15, 2009

A tooth at last!

Conan has finally cut his first tooth! It's just barely poking through but it's definitely, finally, there. It's the lower right center tooth. I was getting a little worried - most kids get their first tooth between 4 and 7 months of age, and by 10 months nearly all of them have two teeth, some have quite a few more. The books say not to worry unless they don't grow any teeth by 12 months, but I was starting to anyway...

Monday, October 12, 2009

Ten Months Old

Hearing Protection is very important when operating power tools.
And more fun than ever! It's hard to beleive how much he's changed. All the things he can do now - sit, crawl, stand, even toddle a few steps, go up and down stairs, say mama, clap, wave hello and bye-bye, bang things together, look at books, play games,SLEEP ALL NIGHT - all these things seemed so far away as to be nearly unattainable just a few months ago. It seems like just the other day I was all excited because he found his toes! :)

Monday, October 05, 2009

Standing, Playing & a first step



Conan took his first step last night! He stood up, reached towards me, took a step, wobbled for a moment, and then sat down. :) Of course I didn't get that on video, but I did get several instances of standing and some very cute playing with his favorite red ball.

Sunday, October 04, 2009

Fall Fruit Festival

We attended the Cloud Mountain Farm Fall Fruit Festival yesterday. It was cold, but we were well bundled up and had a great time. They had so many delicious varieties of apples to sample! There were also lots of varieties of pears, asian pears, grapes, and berries on hand to sample. For a fruit geek like me, it was a perfect way to spend a saturday afternoon. Conan enjoyed trying the apples, but he liked the ice cream (from Mallard) a lot more. He was mesmerized by the hula-hooping kids, and also enjoyed petting, patting, kissing and talking to the pumpkins, squash, and gourds. We picked out one particularly knobby gourd for him to bring home; it's nature's own teething toy. We also brought home a 20 lb. "Sweet Banana" squash, several "Sweet Dmpling" squash, some grapes, garlic, and fresh pressed apple cider. Yum!

Saturday, October 03, 2009

Summer's end


The grass is still green and the sun is shining, but it's definitely not summer anymore. We had our first light frost a week ago and a killing frost last night. I'm relieved, frankly; no more trying to keep up with the beans, tomatoes and cucumbers in the garden. I will miss the sunflowers though. It really was an amazing year for them in my garden. This spring when I was laying out my beds I just didn't have the heart to take out very many of the volunteer sunflowers that had popped up. As a result, by mid-summer my corn was stunted from growing up in the shade of so many sunflowers, but I enjoyed the luxury of giving away huge bouquets of dazzling blooms all summer long. Now this year's flowers are dropping their seeds (the ones the chickadees miss, anyhow) all over the garden, so next spring I will face the same choice: the garden I've planned, or the garden that volunteers?

Another sign of fall that I am enjoying is the finches foraging for thistle seeds. Among the clover and vetch that we planted as a cover crop on the someday-to-be orchard grew a large number of big purple thistles. All summer long as I drove down the driveway I would look at them and think "Man, I really need to get out there and cut those before they go to seed." But, I never did. Inevitably, the thistles went to seed. However, I had not counted on the army of finches which has descended upon the thistle patch and is just loving those seeds. Now when I drive by I enjoy watching the finches spook and fly off, and I love knowing that my laziness actually resulted in a bonanza of seed for these birds. There's probably a pithy saying that sums this up, but I can't think of it.

It's very very windy today, and cold despite the sun. Still, it's not raining so Conan and I are going to bundle up and go over to the Cloud Mountain Farm fall fruit festival. I expect it will be a lot of fun! Perhaps I'll have some pictures tomorrow...

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Hank & Silas turn 2

We went to Hank & Silas' joint second birthday party yesterday. It was great fun. There were lots of kids, toys, yummy cupcakes, finger paints, and to top it all off a rocket-ship piñata!

Conan didn't take any swings at the piñata, but he crawled right in with the rest of the kids to grab some loot when it burst open. What did he get? A small plastic skull, of course. No playdoh or bubbles for this little barbarian. He had a great time chewing on it for the remainder of the party. :)
Alas! Poor Yorick.  I knew him, Horatio.
Conan was so tired after the party, he fell asleep in the car on the way home and I was able to just put him straight to bed. It's hard work keeping up with the big kids!

Friday, September 25, 2009

Music & Measurements

Here's a little musical interlude for you...


Conan had his checkup on Tuesday. He weighs 19 lbs and is 30.75 inches tall. He's still exactly 25th percentile on his weight, and 100th percentile for his height. Statistically speaking, there are no babies his age who are taller than he is.

Or, to put his height into perspective another way: I am only 61.5 inches tall, so he's exactly half my height. Wow.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Eating


I'm really enjoying making baby food for Conan. He is a great eater, gobbling 4 to 5 ounces of food at a meal, washed down with a couple ounces from the bottle or sippy cup. Some things he likes better than others, but he's generally very accepting of new flavors and textures. He's starting to get really interested in feeding himself, he loves toast and crackers and little bits of soft fruit. He's very quick with his little spoon-grabbing hands, to the point where the easiest way for me to feed him is to give him two spoons (one for each hand) so that he will let me put the third spoon in his mouth.

I recently introduced Sunflower-seed butter and Tahini (sesame butter) into his diet. Both of these are high in iron & minerals & protein, and they work great to thicken vegetable mixtures. Tahini-banana and Sunflower-pear-plum were both great hits with Conan. Oatmeal with Figs & Wild Blueberries is a very gourmet baby breakfast. Avocado is still a favorite; Avocado-Banana-Apple is always a good choice for lunch. Pear-Mango-Cucumber is a delicious desert or snack. Roasted Tomato-Zucchini-Garlic makes a great dinner, and so does Chicken, Yams & Carrots. Besides the blends, I freeze a lot of single-vegetable purees, and then combine 4 or 5 cubes and thaw to make new flavor combinations.

One thing I have learned is that foods thickened with either rice or potatoes change texture once they have been frozen and thawed. They get sort of a lumpy, grainy texture, and Conan doesn't like them as well. Oatmeal works much better to thicken and add some starch. For vegetable & fruit mixtures that are runny or watery after they've been thawed, I find it works well to add a lttle instant baby cereal to thicken them before feeding him. It's just got to be thick enough to stick to the spoon long enough to make it to his mouth!

Saturday, September 19, 2009

A frog on a fig

This little guy has found a great perch.

Last year we planted a fig tree on the south side of the house. It's a super hardy variety, and a good sheltered spot, so we thought it would do well. However, the winter storms we had in December brough extreme cold temperatures; I thought the fig was done for. Our rosemary plant and a couple of blueberries did in fact die. But lo & behold, late in the spring a few little shoots appeared at the base of the trunk on the fig. Now it is doing great!
I probably ought to prune several of these branches off of it, but they are all covered in figs so I can't bring myself to do so. I'll trim it next spring, after we see what makes it through the winter.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Baby Gate Fail

I was working the other morning when I realized that it was quiet - TOO QUIET. Conan had been playing in the living room, which was all baby-gated and secure, or so I thought. But when I checked he was not in the living room, but rather had managed to squirm through the cat-opening in the kitchen baby gate and was happily playing in the cat water. I snapped this picture before he knew he'd been caught:
It doesn't show that well in the photo, but he's soaked and there's water all over the floor. The thing I find the most amusing is that he was being completely silent - sneaky baby! When he's playing with something he knows is alowed, he squeals and burbles and jabbers. Aparently he knows to keep quiet when he's doing something he knows he shouldn't. Such a smart little guy. :)

We've since increased the baby-gate security somewhat. We do have to leave an opening for Iggy to get through (geriatric three-legged cats don't jump!) so there will always be a weak spot in our baby-proofing. I'll just have to keep my ear tuned for the quietness of trouble!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Mama!

Conan called me Mama! He's said it a couple of times before that were a little ambiguous, but this time there was no mistaking it. He looked right at me and said it. I don't have any words for how happy this makes me.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Stair Climbing


Conan's current favorite activity is climbing the stairs. If the gate isn't up, he's on them, fast! We let him climb them with supervision, and he loves to go up again and again. He's a pro at going up, but hasn't figured out going down. He especially loves to play "chase me" and try to get away crawling down the hall at the top, giggling like crazy. He was a bit confused by me following him with the camera, instead of trying to catch and tickle him, so I wasn't able to get top speed & giggles. You'll have to come over and see it for yourself! :)

Monday, September 07, 2009

Long Sleepy Weekend


He must be getting ready for another growth spurt, beacuse we're getting 3-4 hour long naps all of a sudden. Not that I'm complaining! I've taken a few naps myself this weekend. :) In the true spirit of Labor Day, we've done very little all weekend long. I'm actually very thankful for the rainy weather - without it I would have felt like we needed to get out and either recreate or work on some projects. Instead we stayed inside, cooked, ate, and rested. Perfect!

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Garden Harvest



It's harvest time! The tomatoes are ripening, and I'm overwhelmed with cucumbers. No time to make pickles with Conan on the scene... maybe next year. Luckily the beans are winding down now, they've been tremendous this year. My corn crop has been pretty small - I was relunctant to weed out very many of the volunteer sunflowers this spring and the corn really didn't like growing up in the shade. The plants got about 2.5 feet high and the ears range from 1-5" in length. Perfectly sized for Conan! They are so tender and delicious. On the other hand, I have never had so many sunflowers; I've been able to pick and give away big boquets of them all summer long and it is such a luxury. I can always buy corn. :) My zucchini crop mostly failed (I know, I didn't think it was possible either!), I just harvested the first - and probably the only - zuc I'm going to get from the garden. Not that we haven't been well-supplied with zucchini; between the office zuc pool and Dave's garden, we've still had plenty.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Heather Meadows

This past Thursday Conan and I joined Great Grandma Joy, my cousin Fergus and his fiance Svea, and my cousin Heather and her two girls Hazel and Hannah for a picnic and hike up at Heather Meadows. It was an absolutely beautiful day, and we had a great time. We had a delicious lunch, and then set off down the trail to Bagley lakes to explore.
The snowfield in the middle right of this picture is where we hiked to, we went around the upper Bagley lake, across the snowfield at the head, and came back up the meadows at the bottome of Table Mtns scree slope. The blueberries and huckleberries were ripe and abundant, we ate them by the handfuls as we walked. The lowbush berries were just thick, and sooo sweet.

Conan really enjoyed his first time in an alpine environment. What he didn't enjoy was getting slathered with sunscreen every couple of hours, but mama insisted. Got to keep that pale baby skin protected!

Hazel, Svea, Hannah and Fergus crossing the stone bridge at the lower end of the lake.
Grandma Joy, looking back from the head of upper Bagley lake.
The wildflowers were surprisingly abundant for as late in the season as it was. There were thick, beautiful stands of Grass-of-Parnassus, asters, and arnica along the lakeside trail. Up close to the snowfield where the ground had just recently been exposed we found monkey flowers, waterleaf and marsh marigolds.
Conan rode in the Ergo on my back most of the way, and seemed very comfortable. He fell asleep for about an hour in the middle of the hike. Other than it being a bit hot to hike with a warm sweaty baby pressed up against my back, it was really comfortable for me, too.
Hannah and Hazel eventually waded in to this small pond. It had newts!
Hannah really wanted to carry Conan, so for the last leg of the hike we let her pack him in the Ergo. They both thought it was really fun.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Walkin' Scooter Toy


Tombi showed us that Conan's little scooter toy reconfigures into a walk-behind toy, and boy does he love pushing it around! He hasn't figured out turning around yet, but no matter - ramming it into things is fun too.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Day at the Park

The Ericsons came up for a visit this weekend, so we went to Fairhaven park and met up with Brian & Chloe for a fun Saturday afternoon picnic. The park has a great playground and even boasts a water spray park. Moira didn't care too much for getting wet, but the other kids thought it was great. Conan enjoyed the water, but the highlight was definitly the swingset.
Cousin Chloe also tried the swing. She's a little small for it yet, but she enjoyed a little gentle swinging nonetheless.

What a cutie!

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! He's such a little daredevil.

We'll have to go back to the park again soon. And hopefully we'll be seeing Nick & Tombi & the girls more frequently too. :)