Anniversary

Yesterday was mine and Jason's 8th wedding anniversary. It was pretty low key which is how we roll. Auntie Fe came over and watched Niko and Jas and I went to Maiden in the Mist for a drink and dinner. This is the first time we left Niko with Auntie Fe. I knew they would do just great but we hurried home without lingering non the less. Niko was a perfect little fella for Fe. It's so nice having family close by that can watch him when we would like to take a break. Thanks Fe Fe Fang!


Tonight Jason's mom, dad, brother, sister in law and two nephews come into town. It should be a wild ride the next two weeks. This time is bittersweet for me because I've been looking forward to their visit but it also means that my time at home is drawing to a close. In less than two weeks I have to be back at work and Niko will be going into daycare. It's bumming me out and I know the first couple of days of dropping him off at daycare will break my heart.


If you don't see anything on the blog for a few weeks don't be alarmed--we will be busy with house guests, work and daily living!


Here are a few random pics to get you through :)

Recent Pictures for the Parents

Here are some recent pics of Niko for all the family out there.

Wedding Bliss

Saturday Jason, Niko and I attended Dawn and Doyle's wedding. It was held out at Pendarvis farm, the same place Nicki and Dan got married. The wedding was being held outside and the day was threatening rain. Thankfully the clouds never really let loose and the ceremony was mostly dry.


Dawn looked radiant in her gown coming down the aisle and Doyle was beaming seeing his bride coming towards him. Nicki was one of the bridesmaids and I didn't even recognize her coming down the aisle without her glasses and in full makeup. She looked lovely as well.


Doyle's grandmother read a blessing in her native tongue--I'm sorry I don't know what language it is--it's Native American and I have heard it pronounced several times but cannot remember it. It was very special.

The reception was very nice. The dinner was catered by friends from Dawn and Doyle's work-Whole Foods. It was wonderful. There was plenty of yummy food for vegetarians and meat eaters alike. The cake was beautiful and tasty as well.

We knew quite a few people that attended the wedding. Trisha was there, Corrie and Matt, Nicki, Dan and Anna, Jim and many more. Trisha takes the prize for most fabulously dressed. Only she could pull off this class act ensemble:


The band that played at the reception was excellent and we all had fun dancing--especially the kids. Anna especially liked playing in the hula hoop while grooving to the tunes:


It was a fun night but I could tell it was starting to take it's toll on little Niko. With all the excitement he didn't have much time for a nap and he was starting to get glassy eyed. I decided to leave early and take him home and put him to bed. It was a nice end to a good day.

Congratulations Dawn and Doyle (and Kaiden too!)

Dawn and Doyle's Wedding

Coming soon an update and pictures from Dawn and Doyle's happy day! Stay tuned.

More Country Fair Pictures!

Updates

I've been a bad, bad Mommie and haven't updated this blog in quite some time. Luckily Dan has been kind enough to remind me everytime he sees me that he is waiting for my version of the Country Fair Weekend :)



So, here it goes. We headed down to Venita, OR on Thursday of last week to start our Country Fair experience. We were the first to arrive and immediately went about making sure Niko was comfortable. We put together the pack and play and let him play and look up at the trees while we put together the tent (the Erving Mansion) that they let us borrow. Later that evening Mike arrived and then Nicki, Dan, Anna, Trisha and even a little bit later Corrie and Matt arrived. It was a mellow night around the campfire. Niko and I went to bed early and I spent most of the night tossing and turning worrying if Niko was sleeping or if he was too cold. He slept great but I woke up in the morning not very rested.



The next day was Fair day! We had a very good breakfast and then set off for the Fair. We decided to set up our blanket at Chellow Mellow or Mellow Chella or whatever it's called this year instead of mainstage. We were hoping for more shade, less people and a little bit more chill time for the kids. I'm glad we did because it was the perfect spot for the wee ones to rest but the adults could also catch some entertainment on the nearby stage as well. We didn't move around too much but I made sure to hit all my favorite food spots before leaving the fair. I got my frozen banana with almonds--YUM!



We headed back to camp that night and quite a few more people showed up from Portland and Eugene. So many people that the next day we got a visit from the park ranger informing us that, "Things were going to change this evening!" We had a yummy dinner that evening and again I turned in early with Niko. This evening was a little more raucous with people sitting around the campfire and playing drums into the wee hours. Again I woke up not very well rested. Niko and Jason both woke up happy though and I got to catch up on some zzz's while they hung around the campfire.



Saturday was spent hanging out at the reservoir swimming, eating and having a good time. We had an awesome dinner that night provided by Abe, Vanessa and Jason H. There was some drama early on in the evening and Niko and I retreated to the tent to avoid getting tangled up in it.



Sunday we awoke and had another great meal and then started to pack up to make our way back to Portland. It's always very daunting to see the amount of stuff around the camp and to begin the big push to pack up.



All in all we had a good time and I have learned some stuff for next year. Jason is saving his hair net and practicing his, "Kiss my grits" line. Next year will be a little bit more organized and hopefully without drama. I love Country Fair weekend and hope the tradition will continue on better than ever. Both Jason and I would really like Niko to grow up in the tradition and have it be a collective memory for him, Skyler and Anna.



Here are some pictures of our time at fair:

It's official!

Niko is turning over from his back to his stomach--regularly! I can't believe how fast Niko is learning to do things. He's only 4 months old and it seems like he is growing up way too fast!


We are dealing with hot, hot, hot weather here in Portland. Tomorrow it's supposed to get to 102 degrees and the weather isn't going to break until Friday. Country Fair may be very uncomfortable this year because of the heat--we will need to take extra precautions to keep lil Tater hydrated.

Here are some recent pictures of Niko--I will post more after Fair--there should be some good ones!

Here are more pics from the beach!

Beautiful Beach Trip

Niko, Jason and I headed down to Cannon Beach early Friday to attend our friend Carlo's wedding. It was raining buckets the entire ride there and when we reached the beach. We stopped at Bill's Tavern and had lunch and rushed to the hotel to get ready for the wedding. Miraculously an hour before the wedding the sky cleared and it turned into a beautiful day. The sky was bright blue and the air was warm. Lucky thing too since the wedding was being held outdoors! The ceremony was in a pretty little garden with the reception right after. Niko did wonderfully! He was chill the whole time.

After the wedding and ceremony we hurried back to the hotel and changed into warmer clothes. We wanted to get down to the beach before the sun completely set. We made it just as the last light of the day was leaving the sky. It was beautiful. We could of stayed longer but we thought it was about time to get the little guy to bed.

Sleeping overnight in the hotel was a little bit of a challenge. Niko was a little freaked out by the unfamiliar surroundings and woke up often. I didn't sleep very well knowing that he was waking up a lot. By the morning I was exhausted and needed a couple of hours of uninterrupted sleep. Jason got up around 7:00 and took Niko for a nice long walk-giving me plenty of time to rest. I love that man!

We had to be out of the hotel at 11:00 so we got to work packing up (which was a chore since we brought everything but the kitchen sink with us) and headed out to the Pig n' Blanket for breakfast. I forgot my diet during this trip and had eggs and pancakes. The pancakes tasted so amazing! YUM! After breakfast it was to the beach for us! We packed up little Niko in the Bjorn and headed for sun and sand. Niko did pretty good for about an hour and half and then he reached his limit. He needed to sleep. I think he really liked the ocean though. He stared and stared at it and it seemed to soothe him. He is a Pisces you know!





We finished the day by going to a small cafe and having a lovely sandwich. This is my favorite picture of Niko and Jason--The caption I would put under it is: "Jeez Dad, enough already I've heard this story a thousand times!".


We had a very nice trip to the beach and feel very lucky that it was so beautiful--it's the first time I've actually been to the Oregon Coast and had such nice weather. We headed home around 5:00 and put little Niko to bed around 8:00. The little guy crashed hard and is still sleeping this morning--(it's 10:30). We wore him out.