Walking & Playing!

4th of July

We had a grand time with our good friends Greg & Ellen at their beach house in Lincoln City, OR. Aoife got tons of attention, played in the sand & Pacific, and walked like a maniac! She was showing off her new skills left and right. Greg & Ellen's dog, Gigi, even provided some entertainment and a twist to walking around obstacles! The temperature was nice, but we rarely saw the blue of the sky. 

The fireworks display was not disappointing, just unique. The fog rolled in around 8:30 pm. By the time the fireworks were set off just before 10 pm, we could scarcely see the cars across the street. You know how, in fog, the light is reflected and everything just seems to alight? Well, that what the display was like. We could hear the fireworks being set off, but instead of seeing green, white, and blue sprays we'd just wait and suddenly the entire sky would turn green (or white or red). It was entertaining and added a little mystery to the traditional fireworks show. Whatever, I'm sure there were people who were pissed, but we enjoyed it nonetheless.

Yep...scooping up saltwater and sucking it off her rake.

Oh yeah--Lamont & Greg went for bike rides. The first day they went north near Tillamook. Mmm...that's right! The Cheese Factory! He brought back 4 bags of cheese curds. So delightfully squeaky and chewy. Aoife like's 'em too! We have cheese coming out of our ears now, but it's totally worth it! 

The ladies had a fabulous time commenting on passers-by. Lamont referred to us as "The Peanut Gallery." You've rarely heard such witty banter between the 4 of us! The afternoon champagne hours probably made us a little brighter than usual, but we're all pretty sharp cookies. Cute, too!

BUBBLES!

Baby Steps

Sorry--no video as of yet, but Aoife is taking more and more independent steps. She's been toddling back and forth between Lamont and I on the floor. Yesterday, we were at the park playing in the fountain and she was so excited to get in the water, she let go of the bench herself and took her first steps towards the water! I promise to get video soon!

We'll be spending the weekend at the beach so I'm hoping the sand will build up her muscles! Happy 4th of July everyone!

Ze fruits of ze gods....

BEFORE I FORGET--IF YOU'RE READING THIS--COULD YOU PLEASE LEAVE US A COMMENT? WE LOVE TO HEAR FROM THOSE OF YOU WHO KEEP TABS ON US! IT'S REAL EASY--WE PROMISE! COME ON! SHOW A LITTLE LOVE, WILL YA?
My dad used to, quite passionately, say "Ze gods have been good to us." whenever he ate something sweet & tasty. Well, a better quote couldn't have entered my mind recently while berry picking with Aoife. We went to a great little farm on Sauvie Island the past two weekends to pick strawberries. Lamont and Aoife sat in the rows eating everything they picked. Aoife is a berry eating monster. She became quite astute at picking the ripe ones and tossing them promptly into her mouth. I, on the other hand, labored over the plants picking and choosing. The first weekend we came home with 4 1/2 lbs (cost only $9). The second weekend I picked a 1/2 flat of strawberries and a bag full of blueberries (just opened the blueberry patch that morning). On a side note, I could do little but reminisce about out summers at Lake Michigan picking blueberries. I remember my parents giving us each a bucket while we ate and picked our way through the bushes. I loved it there!

Anyway....here are some picks of Aoife enjoying her berries. It was so great. She was covered in berry juice and her pants completely stained. She had the time of her life. It's so hard not to go back every weekend just to provide her the thrill of it.

Can you tell she's learned to say, "Yummmmm!"?

Learning some tricks from....

Kelly is sure having a blast on the slide, but I am not too sure Aoife is. Hang on Little Munchin, the terror is almost over.


I caught Kelly and Aoife chowing down on some string cheese together. Looks like our little one loves cheese as much as her parents. The question is, who loves cheese the most in our family? Kelly, Lamont, Aoife, Buddy, or Zurby?

"Don't even think about it."

I also caught Buddy and Aoife hanging out by the back door together. I am not sure if Buddy was teaching Aoife how to get out, if Aoife was teaching Buddy how to get out, or if they were working together and devising some sort of plan to escape together. What do you think?

"Buddy you go left at the bottom of the stairs and I will go right. See you out front."

a fun weekend

We took off for Kelly Point Park this Saturday. It was mid-70s and sunshine all about. The park borders both the Willamette River and Columbia River. We found a nice, sandy beach to enjoy to ourselves. Aoife got to see some speed boats, fishing boats, and barges making their way past the park. She had a BLAST running up and down the beach in the water. She got soaked and then crawled all over in the sand. Since we're so great at this parenting things.....we didn't even thing about bringing extra clothes. THAT was fun, alright. After a bottle, Poppy let her crawl across the remains of a campfire. Yep, that's right. Crawling right over soot covered logs. Strangely he "didn't think they were dirty." Um, hello? They were jet black and ashy on the ends!!!! We used up ALL the wipes in the diaper bag trying to get the soot off. Did you know that shit smears? Surprising, huh?

Aoife is also tearing up the driveway and Avenue trotting along with her Ikea walker. She loves this thing. She will walk up and down the street, waving to neighbors that drive by, tottling along. It's great!

Lastly, she found her way into the bathroom just in time to see me flush the toilet. It took all of 2 seconds for her to get over to it and begin testing it. I caught the actual "first flush" on the video below. Is that something that should go in the baby book?

Dear Aoife,
So many things have happened in your little life

since I last wrote in your baby book. What? Were you three months old

the last time I wrote in it? Oh well, anyways, to make up for my motherly

inadequacies, I've forever marked this latest milestone in cyberspace

for all people to see (including future employers, boyfriends, and such).

Here it is my little love:

"First toilet flushing 06-02-09."

Love, Mommy

Oh, I almost forgot. Someone has been teaching her to eat like an animal. She now must lick things off of surfaces. This does not bode well for the pagaent circuit.

"What's that, camera? Oh, that's right. I feed myself now and will

shatter the eardrums of anyone who attempts to do it for me."

Kelly Point Park, Columbia River side

Not to dirty yet. But more surprise await!

Aoife splashing in the water and me in mid-hair shake!

**So I'm not techie enough to get the videos on here where I want them so I'll have to do another post with them. The post should be the one just below this one. I hope!

walking and toilet videos

I love the onry grin on her face in this picture. Will she just keep getting cuter?