First Day of School

Not exactly the photo shoot I had in mind.

Sun(lazy)river

We celebrated the end of a glorious summer as we did four years ago, with a trip to Sunriver with our friends Andy and Laurel. Over time, our hosts have seemingly forgotten what it's like to vacation with our family and, so, invited us to their vacation home once again.

After an epic drive--during which Ava asked "How much longer?" no fewer than a gazillion times--we arrived in Central Oregon. Perfectly timed with rush hour, we got there late enough that the children went right to bed, but early enough that we could still fit in plenty of drinking.

The first day was spent discovering that James has pushed past his healthy mistrust of water and is now dangerously fearless of the pool. He practiced jumping in while his parents weren't ready to catch him, charging away from his parents into the deep end of the pool, and running on slippery pool decks (there's a good reason the lifeguards tell you not to do this--James has the head injury to prove it).

On our second day there must have been something in the air...Laurel came down with a horrible migraine and the children came down with the being-horrible-little-shits.  Frightened for everyone's safety, we threw both children in a bike trailer and enjoyed Sunriver's network of bike trails. The fresh air reset their crazy, and we were able to enjoy the rest of the evening without undo harm.

Resetting their crazy

Oh, no thanks! I'm going to need something a little bit stronger.

We couldn't have asked for a more enjoyable final day. Laurel and Andy took us to one of their favorite Central Oregon spots for a morning at the the lake. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, the lake was gorgeous, and Ava was kind enough to drag each of us around as we relaxed on our inner tube of choice. Order was restored in our world.

Thanks, MacSchweitzers, for another great visit! 

Ava, earning her keep

Sally and Brada

We just found this post in our drafts file from this time last year and figured it was high time we bring this one out of the vault.

Sally and Brada have been with us for going on two years now and Ava has no end of stories about them. Sally and Brada are Ava's brother and sister from another mother and another father. They have exciting adventures--a given, since they have houses all over the world. Their father works on the Hawthorne Bridge, raising and lowering it when tall ships go by. He recently transferred to the Steel Bridge for training but was soon back at his post in the house atop the Hawthorne Bridge.

What follows is a typical episode in the lives of Sally and Brada. Transcribed here, verbatim:

You wanna know what Sally and Brada LOVE to eat? Their favorite food is crabstems. 

How do you make crabstems?

You go to the beach and pick up some crabs--pretend crabs--and then bring them home. You cook the crab in the fish fry and then hold it in one hand and push the stem in.

What's a stem?

A stem is chicken on a stick. Brada makes the best crabstems but Sally doesn't cook them because she is too young. She can just help Brada because he's older. Sally gets a stool and stands on it and uses a really long spoon to help him stir.

So crabstems are pretend crabs with chicken on a stick?

Actually Brada makes his crabstems with cake.  They are WAAAY better with cake.

Goin' Nowhere Fast

Good thing we're not trying to get anywhere or anything.

August 2013

August 2013 Album

Shortly after Layne and Gary departed, we experienced the moment we've been waiting for for months...James finally stringing words together in a sentence.  He woke up one morning and said, "Ava's sleeping" and then didn't stop narrating for the rest of the day. His next phrase was "Light on!" and then "Light off!". Man were we excited. But then he just kept on saying it, and saying it, and saying it -- in a way that only a toddler can -- until we realized that he was actually asking to turn the light on and off. And for the rest of the day and EVERY DAY SINCE he has filled every moment of silence with the request to play with light switches. It's like we have our own seizure-inducing toddler-powered strobe light. Add in some house music and James's pacifiers and we'd have our very own rave!

High on the success of Ava's biking skills, we decided to join 23,000 Portlanders in the Portland City Parkways with Ava on her own bike instead of in the bike trailer. A few rainy blocks into the 9-mile route, we realized we had overestimated our daughter's cycling prowess and underestimated James's need for a friend in the trailer. With James screaming and Ava refusing to leave her bike locked up on the route, we loaded Ava into the trailer and Brian pedaled home with her bike in one hand and the two kids in tow. After drying off we lit a fire and drank some tea while watching the rains pour down. Much more our speed.

Today in Ava

On the front porch with Brian...

"Really, dude? You're really gonna drive down our street that fast?"

Tight Quarters

If you've ever wondered why parents of young children don't travel very often, this should clear things up for you.

Rabold Garden (Work) Party

Gary and Layne joined us in August for a week-long visit. Though we don't plan it this way (honestly, we don't) we, again, happened to have a rather large project on our hands while they were visiting. This time it was laying sod in our backyard and we gladly put both of our visitors to work right away either moving the sod into place or running around after our little rascals so that they didn't inadvertently "help" us lay the sod. And that was just their first day.

The rest of the trip was nice and relaxing, oh, except for that playhouse we began building in the backyard. With Rod as our contractor, Brian and Gary assisted in building the base of the structure, while Helen planted plants in the beds surrounding the new grass, and Layne took care of our mischievous duo.

Okay, then it was nice and relaxing with some walks and a visit to the park. We even got a date night--but I suppose that was only really relaxing for us. Thanks for all your help, Layne and Gary!

July 2013

We have been dreading the month of July since last year when, horrified by the sound of fireworks, Ava spent the night in our bed (not so bad) and then the next SIX MONTHS asking to sleep in our bed in case the fireworks started up again. We had completely forgotten that she misunderstood the concept last year and believed that fireworkers (firemen) were making the noise up in the sky, until she brought it up this year and we had to explain the concept all over again.  This year, we prepared Ava well in advance by watching videos of fireworks online. She was the picture of confidence until the first yahoos started setting off fireworks a week before July the 4th ("It's not EVEN July 4th!" as she pointed out).  Then it was a good three weeks of quietly cursing fireworks everywhere as our child trembled in fear, wearing a knit hat to protect her from the fireworks.

At the end of July we fit in a quick camping trip. After our last somewhat-failed attempt we decided to again only go for one night. This time there was less puking, fewer gunshots, and more sleeping. Success all around. Ava tried her first s'more, said "Mmmm...I LOVE it!", kept the whole thing (minus a nibble) in her hands for a few hours, and then asked if we had any Tupperware so she could save it for later. We dutifully placed it in a protective dish until the morning when Brian decided it was just time to eat it on her behalf.

Cape Crusaders

At the beginning of July we packed up the whole family and headed to the east coast to meet baby Leo Edwards. Rod and Sue also flew out and we made it an Edwards family reunion on Cape Cod.

To start off, having five children--ages four, three, two, one, and 12-weeks--all under one roof was crazy. By crazy, we mean Lord of the Flies crazy. At least Ava was bossy assertive enough to keep some semblance of order by declaring early on, "No shooting the zeros (as in babies, under a year old)." And at least Emily was organized enough to make lunch for us every day. Make no mistake, we wouldn't have eaten anything if it were not for her.

Grandad and Nana, surrounded by 4, 3, 2, 1, & 0

Look, not Lord of the Flies at all

Also crazy? The heat. The humidity. The bugs. Cape Cod really outdid itself there. But fear not, we came with liquor and made the Dark and Stormy our official vacation drink. Heat? What heat?

Bedtime brought to you by Becks

The children simply couldn't contain their excitement for the Cape. As in, they either never wanted to go to bed AND/OR they rose two hours before the sun to greet the day. But, what better way to get the most out of your day than to get up at 5 am! We took turns getting quality morning time with Caleb, our resident early bird, which generally meant the early riser would take a luxurious stroll to get donuts for the group. Donuts every morning for a week? This is vacation planning that we can get behind.

Base camp

Once the group had devoured a dozen donuts, we set out for the beach, only a few short blocks away. There we set up camp for the next few hours. And when we say "set up camp," we really mean it. With so many children, we rolled in 11-deep with a pop-up shelter, two umbrellas, three wagons of toys, seven (or so) beach chairs, an over-sized beach blanket, a cooler or two of food, two strollers, and then, of course, a pee-wee football team worth of children. From our base camp, we then spread out and took over the whole beach. We buried the children up to their chins in the sand, tossed the kids around in the ocean, walked hundreds of feet out on the sandbars and dug for crabs, and built sand castle cities aplenty. We were in it to win it.

Everyone who slept in past 5:15, raise your hand

Speaking of crazy, for kicks we thought we would attempt to get Ava on a boat for some whale watching. For those of you who haven't spent much time with Ava, she is pretty much scared of everything, so we thought it would be highly unlikely that she would ever board a boat. Unless, that is, her bestie, Ian, was planning on going whale watching too. For good measure, we threw in two of Ava's newest favorite people, Sophie and Julia, Ian's cousins (per Ava: "WE HAVE NEW COUSINS!"). There was a pre-boarding pep talk and she never looked back. I guess that will teach us never to assume we know anything about our child. As a reward for her bravery, a lady humpback breached a few feet away from Ava.

 

Besties

In a stroke of genius, we sought out the airline, flight, and seat numbers of Sue and Rod for the return to Portland and booked our whole crew right next to them. We chuckled when we saw them pull out their 500-page novels, and then laughed out loud when we saw them place earbuds in their ears as they settled in for the long trip. Then we offered them their choice of lapchild for the duration of the flight.

We've put more reunion pictures in our July album (coming soon) so you can see even more shots of Ava and Ian palling around, Caleb being his mischievous self, James following Sue around like a lost puppy, and Leo being a perfect little giggly angel. 

Camp Paula - Last Day

Guest Post: Auntie Paula recounts her week with Ava

After making it through the stomach bug, Ava was full of energy and Paula was relieved! We decided to take it easy by shopping at Kohls. Among the clothes that Ava picked out, she found a purple Hello Kitty tutu dress. Several attempts were made by Paula to redirect Ava's attention away from this dress. However, the moment Ava saw the dress her mind was made up - it was HER dress! (Editor's note: This outfit became Ava's summer uniform. She wore it EVERY day it wasn't in the laundry hamper.)

After Kohls, we went home for lunch, quiet time and then arts & crafts. While crafting, Ava and I divided up some stickers to use as we saw fit while making our art. Paula got one sticker and Ava got the rest! When trying to negotiate for a second sticker, Ava exclaimed to Paula "Hey! But we made a plan!" Immediately after that she shared all of the remaining stickers.

Joe returned from his trip and we had dinner together followed by several hours of Candy Land, Chutes & Ladders, Hide-and-Seek and reading books. It was a great night!

Camp Paula - Day Four

Guest Post: Auntie Paula recounts her week with Ava

Day Four of Camp Ava/Paula can be summed up pretty quickly - Strawberry Pedialyte!

During the night of Ava getting sick and the two of periodically napping, Ava mentioned that Strawberry Pedialyte would make her feel better. After confirming this with Helen, I contacted the local pharmacy and placed an order for the magic elixir, saltines and applesauce. Since Joe was still on his business trip, the pharmacy was gracious enough to bring these items to the drive through for us to pick up. I wrapped Ava up in a blanket and carried her out to the car with a bucket in case she got sick during our trip to and from the pharmacy.

As advertised, the Strawberry Pedialyte worked! Upon returning home, we set up a little bed in the basement for Ava. She slowly drank the medicine, napped, watched a couple of videos and we read some books. Rather than jump on the mini trampoline, we journaled and did some arts and crafts. Rice for dinner and then we both went to bed early. Feeling much better than when the day started!

Camp Paula - Day Three

Guest Post: Auntie Paula recounts her week with Ava

Day Three of Camp Ava/Paula started off well. Joe was home for most of the day. We had waffles for breakfast and then packed a picnic lunch for later in the day when we went to the community park and playground. Before going to the play ground, Ava and Paula worked on the Hello Kitty puzzles and played Candy Land.

Then we went to the park were we had fun exploring every square inch of the playground, blowing bubbles as well as playing drive thru restaurant. However after a couple of hours, Ava started to lose her pep and asked to go home. Once home, Ava went to her room and decided to take a nap. When she woke up a couple of hours later, Ava told me that she didn't feel well. We both laid in her room, read some books and watched a couple of short videos on the computer.

Joe left for a business trip while Ava and I were relaxing in her room. Had he not booked this trip several weeks in advance, I would have found his departure a bit suspect given the timing of Ava getting sick! Since Ava wasn't feeling well, she and I decided to go to bed early. I asked Ava if it would be ok if I slept in her room since she wasn't feeling well and she thought that was a good idea. After a three hour nap, I woke up to Ava running to the bathroom to get sick. We were up pretty much the rest of the night. Poor thing - how awful to be so sick when you are supposed to be on vacation. She handled it much better than I did .... every time she was sick, I would cry for her. We were quite the team!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Camp Paula - Day Two

Guest Post: Auntie Paula recounts her week with Ava

We felt blessed to have Ava visiting and every day with her was great, but Day Two of Camp Ava/Paula was perhaps the best day! Ava and I packed a picnic lunch and took Lily to the National Zoo. About three-fourths of the way to the zoo, Ava decided that perhaps going to the zoo was not what she wanted to do. Since I live about 40 miles away from the zoo, turning around and going home wasn't as appealing to me as it was to Ava. We compromised and decided to have lunch at the zoo and then head home if Ava didn't want to stay!

Upon entering the zoo and looking for a place to have a picnic, Ava was quite excited to discover a chipmunk. He was behind a fence and appeared to have his own habitat for viewing. However, much to our surprise, he was able to get through the fence and move about the zoo just as we did! After our picnic lunch, Ava decided she wanted to stay. First stop - the Asian Trial and Giant Pandas. We were able to watch Mei Xiang enjoy her lunch. Little did we know that Mei Xiang was pregnant when we saw her. She gave birth to a girl on August 23rd! As we wandered through the panda habitat, we tried to find Tian Tian, the male panda. Although he seemed to be hiding that day, Ava did find a cute statute to pose with.

Next, we were off to see the elephants in their new habitat. Although we were able to see one of the elephants, we were on the opposite side of the habitat from where they seemed to be hanging out. Ava and I decided to walk to the other side for a closer view. However, along the way Ava decided that having a snow cone and doing some people-watching may be more exciting than seeing the elephants up close. So, for the next hour and a half, we sat on a bench and watched the people at the zoo! After that, we packed up and returned home. Upon leaving, Ava decided that her favorite part of visiting the zoo was seeing the chipmunk!

On our way home, Ava did something I was told she rarely does anymore - she napped the entire way home. While driving home, I started thinking this nap thing was a great idea. I would join her when we were safely home. That was quickly thwarted as we pulled into the garage and Ava said "wow, I took a nap. I guess this means I don't need my quiet time this afternoon!" 

Once home, Ava and I decided to journal and then paint our nails in preparation for meeting Joe and Chick-Fil-A for dinner. Ava Lily, and I arrived a little early so that she could hang out in the Chick-Fil-A playground. When Joe arrived, we ordered dinner and then ate outside in the picnic area. Ava and her charm were on fire this evening. The Manager was a sweet lady who became Ava's buddy while we waited in line for a Hello Kitty sparkle tattoo. The Manager even offered us a free ice cream cone as well as coupons for dinner later in the week - although we didn't take advantage of this kind offer, we thought it was quite nice that Ava's good behavior was finding such favor with the Manager!

By the way, Ava felt that Joe was better suited than I for taking care of Lily while she got her tattoo! Joe felt quite honored and I felt quite relieved! Next stop - Swirlies for dessert. After enjoying our ice cream, Ava and Joe ran around and checked out the theater park area, playing tag and looking for treasures in a conduit. Ava was certain there was a mouse in the conduit and shared this discovery with Joe! We were having so much fun at Swirlies, that Ava found the owners and declared "Swirlies is the best!" This nearly brought tears to the owners' eyes as they are striving to create a fun and family friendly place for kids to develop cherished childhood memories. A couple of moments after making this proclamation, the owners presented Ava with a tie-died Swirlies t-shirt! 

After that we went home for a couple of rounds of Candy Land. What a full and fun day!

Camp Paula - Day One

 

Guest Post: Auntie Paula recounts her week with Ava

After having breakfast with Brian and sending him off on his business trip, Ava and I officially kicked off Camp Ava/Paula with a trip to Target. Our mission was simple. The shopping list was short. Ava needed a new toothbrush and we were going to make a special dinner for Joe. Ava was quick and decisive in selecting her Hello Kitty toothbrush and toothpaste! Ava selected spaghetti with meatballs and salad for Joe's special dinner and Funfetti cupcakes for dessert.

This was looking to be one of the quickest shopping trips to Target...but then we entered the toy department! Hello Kitty items were everywhere. Puzzles, coloring books, games, and stuffed animals. Initially, Ava had a difficult time narrowing down what to get. However, that quickly changed the moment Ava turned down the baby doll aisle. Hello Kitty who? After spending nearly an hour becoming acquainted with each and every one of the baby doll options, Ava selected Lily, some baby accessories for Lily and four Hello Kitty puzzles to work on while Lily would nap!

Once home, we had lunch on the patio and then both had some quiet time. After resting, I "helped" make the cupcakes by placing them in and taking them out of the oven. As you can see from the pictures, Ava is a professional baker! We wrote in our journals and played Candy Land until Joe came home from work. After dinner, the three of us played Candy Land, Chutes & Ladders as well as Hide-n-Seek in the basement.

Day One - sweet success!