Henry doing a walkabout

Henry is experimenting with this walking thing. We had this walker toy in the side yard, one of the many treasures left by the family that owns this house. I think we would get along with them if for no other reason then we have a mutual love for this house. The song is You Have known by the pneumatics.

Grammi is Here!

Grammi Kris is here and her way back from Hawaii. Portland is an acclimation area that is the mid way point, weather wise, between warm Hawaii and freezing Indiana. Today though is pretty cold here with a dusting of snow this morning so I am not sure it is really a mid way point. We are all excited to see Kris but Finn is super jazzed. He snuggled with Grammi this morning on the couch while we had our coffee. I am home with the sickness that has been going through our house like the plague. I guess when you have four kids in the house all day you will get some bugs now and then. hopefully Kris doesn't catch anything on her trip through. With Kate's birthday coming up soon her and her mom are out on the town shopping the day away. They have no sympathy for me being sick and have left me with the boys while they stimulate the economy. Really I am just napping while the boys nap as well but I want sympathy anyway, some one feels bad for me right? Anyone? Em? Lins? Aunt Jamie?

New Math

There are some funny new math equations here. I have this friend that came into our well established group of friends a bit late and he tried like the dickens to fit in. He was and probably still is a real good tennis player but he had never played ping pong and we were playing us a lot of ping pong. So this guy practices and practices and become consumed by the game. We have come to learn that consummation is M.O. for our friend, but at the time it was pretty funny to us. He would start a conversation with a ping pong challenge and not give up until you played him. I am a terrible player so he beat me pretty soon after starting and then worked his way up the ladder. I am not sure if he ever beat Kyle, our undisputed ping pong champion, but my guess is he is still practicing if not.

Waiting to live

I was riding home one night a few days ago and I was mulling some things over that I had been feeling for a while without fully fleshing them out. I feel like I am waiting to live. Like I am making plans for the things I will do, places I will go, experiences I will be a part of in some mysterious future time. I am waiting for that time when I have more money to do this or that. When summer comes and I can get out and explore the neighborhood, city, Northwest. I am waiting for that time when Kate goes back to work and I come back home with the boys. When I will fully present in my boys lives and in my own. Waiting for X to happen so that I can enjoy Y. I was thinking how these thoughts are just traps that limit my world. They aren't plans for the future they are just excuses to justify some not living in the moment. Some other excuses like it's late when I get home from work, our money is tight, or there is nothing to do and no time are not untrue but they don't justify apathy. What ends up happening is that my world becomes TV shows, fantasy basketball and other limited escapes that end up taunting more then they satisfy. I am not sure how you break out of this really because there are some valid reasons for waiting. Also waiting is part of life, but i don't want to be waiting for something new when I am meant to be doing the things I was waiting for last month. This doesn't make any sense does it?

Finn's weekend

This weekend was a good one for us but a great one for Finn. It started with a couple nights spent with Grandma in Clatskanie. Papa came home early and he got to spend some time playing trucks and eating crackers. Then Tom Tom and Grandma Sue stopped in on their way home from Hawaii. We went to Multnomah Falls and Finn had his rain boots on and all the puddles he could handle to splash around in. He hiked up the short way to the bridge between the falls and then him and I ran down, dodging hikers and finding puddles. We came back and got a fire going while Finn slept for 3 hours. The next day we took the train downtown for breakfast and found some more puddles around the waterfront. Finn went with Kate to take Tom Tom and Grandma Sue to the airport after a too short but great visit and when he got home Papa was soon delivering a truck load of fire wood. Finn helped us unload and got to hold Papa a little before going down for his nap. Two grandpas, a great grandma, a hike, a train ride, and too many puddles to count, it was a good weekend indeed.

A fist full of payback

Henry is getting more and more mobile and Finn's picking on him is starting to come back to haunt him.

A more Super Sunday

On super bowl Sunday we had some folks over for the game. We had some great snacks, a decent chili and a chaotic house of kids and football to liven up the joint. but long before the game started there was an even more important contest to be won. A local artist was making space in her studio by giving away some paintings from her blog. She put the word out and it trickled to me through this blog. There was some great stuff on there and I wanted in on the action. I debated which painting I wanted, thought of where they would go and why, and what story they would tell about us and our space. Everyone in the house was in on the plan and with the comments opening up at noon that Sunday I picked my peace and got the computer ready. At 11:45 Jesse yelled down from upstairs my 15 minute warning. I went to the computer and brought up the page. Kate told me to type out my response and and copy it so I could paste in as soon as the comments opened and not waste time writing out the particulars. Good Idea! I got my comment ready and refreshed like a madman until the comments opened up. It was exhilarating, my heart was pumping as I scrolled down to what would soon be my piece and clicked on the link. I pasted my comments and saved and that 2 seconds it took to pull the page back up was an eternity. I had done it, mine was the first comment. I got high fives and pat on the butt from Jesse like I had "scored a homer at the super cup" as Esse would say. There was genuine excitement and the game wasn't for another couple hours. There was a comment after mine that was a lovely story about a lady and her son picking out the one they wanted and I hoped the artist wasn't swayed by cute stories. I mean I could say that this was a piece that we wanted for our boys room but it wasn't who had the best story, it was who was first. A couple days later I got an email letting me know when and where to pick up the painting. The artist was great and seems to have had a good experience with the whole process. you can read other accounts here. The painting is not hung in it's new home yet but it is in the third place already. We aren't sure if she will live above the boys train table or above Henry's bed. Maybe in the downstairs family room or maybe in a place as yet unknown. Where ever it will live it will be with us and we are all still pretty excited about that.

Mr. Messy

There will be more to come but here is Henry in the midst of enjoying his birthday cake.

Happy Birthday Henry!

You are 1 today and we are so lucky to have you in our lives. Your a funny baby and have been really easy to raise so far. Your hair is crazy and you dance when ever the music comes on. You like to carry things around in your mouth tilt your head back and forth when you crawl. You tell me in depth stories with the few sounds that you have mastered. Your not walking yet but you say ball. I love you little man and I am so happy that your my boy. Happy birthday buddy.