Playing in the snow

While in Bend, we drove up to Mt. Bachelor for a morning in the snow. It was beautiful and crisp. Here are a couple of pictures from the day.

Someone else's snowman....but we enjoyed him anyway.

A family shot....could this be our Christmas card photo???

Emma, Calvin and Liam in the snow.

Liam and Calvin.

Mama and Liam hiking across the snow field.

Thanksgiving in Bend, OR.

We spent Thanksgiving weekend visiting our friends, Emma, Ethan and Calvin (2 yrs.) in Bend. It was a long drive, but very worth it. The boys got along very well and we had a nice mix of outings and quiet time to catch up and visit. Here are a couple pictures from the weekend.

Liam and the ducks on the river that flows through downtown Bend.

Liam and Calvin.

"Come on, Mama, I don't want to take a pictures...I want to run!!!"

Emma and me at the playground near their house.

Playing with legos.

Some November moments

Liam has quite a few animals. We collect them wherever we go - most of them are second-hand and we have found some wonderful additions lately. Liam loves to stack them and make them do all sorts of crazy adventures. Here is "Hippo" and "Orangutan" doing some balancing on the tub's edge.

One of our favorite outings is to our great local public library. We enjoy their storytime and, of course, checking out lots of good (and sometimes not-s0-good) books.

Reading at the library.

What is THIS look???

Helping Mama pick out some fruit at our local food Co-Op.

Art in November

Liam and I have enjoyed exploring art together this month. Fingerpainting, playdough, and watercolors. Here are a couple pictures of the little artist!

"Look at my finger, Mama!"

Exploring with fingerpaints.

Making a painting for Noni's 60th birthday (the roller was to make some wrapping paper).

Liam's painting.

Good times in November

As November comes to a close, (and due to the fact that I have not been keeping up with our blog), I wanted to highlight some things that we have done this month.

We had a very nice visit with our friend, Chris Henry, who braved a stormy evening to drive up from Seattle (where he was staying for a work conference) to Bellingham for dinner. He got to meet Liam and they spent some time together reading and playing. It is obvious that Chris has two little boys at home...he and Liam really "got" one another!

Chris and Gabe in the kitchen.....where the men should be! (ha ha)

On the couch...stories before bed.

Saying goodbye. Thanks for coming up Chris!

A little northwest rain

The other evening, Gabe, Liam and I went out for a walk down by Bellingham bay. It was blustery and rainy - the perfect November afternoon. Here are a couple pictures from our walk.

You can see some of the San Juan islands through the clouds behind us.

Halloween

Here are a couple pictures from Halloween. Uncle Reuben and Lucia stopped by to see Liam get decked out in his duckie costume. Here are the "boyz" before hitting our Halloween party.

Don't be scared....by the mama, that is!

Liam, picking the perfect "treat"

Heading to the next house.....

The Joker

So, continuing with the theme of silliness.....Liam enjoyed a blackberry shake the other morning. I took a picture and showed him what he looked like on film.

He decided to do an even better one!

What a ham!

Tonight, in the bath, Gabe gave Liam quite the "Do" and Liam thought it was great fun.

This is Liam's smile right now...at least the one he gives me when I ask him to smile for the camera.

Gorilla climbs the barn and Baby Wearing

Liam has a gorilla that he loves. This week, it has all been about Gorilla climbing....the chair, the barn, the bedframe....Liam says, "Look, mama!" to show me what Gorilla can do!

"Look Mama!"

Liam giggling.

Liam wanted to wear his baby this week. It was short-lived, but very cute.

Liam and Baby

Being Silly

We are all about being silly these days. Liam has a great sense of humor (toddler-humor, that is). We do laugh a lot. Here are a couple pictures from the other day. I went on a run (with a bandana on my head) and came back to Liam, who was determined to look like Mama and "ham it up".

Being a goof ball.

Smile for the camera!

"You want me to what??!!?"

Visit to Davis and Woodland

One of the highlights of the wedding weekend was seeing my good friends, Jackie and Eric and getting to meet their daughter Emily (finally!). It was so fun to walk around Davis with Jackie, Emily, Susan, Ben and Ella and to see the beautiful performing arts center where Eric works.

Here, Emily shares her toys with Ella. Mama Susan looks on.

Emily and Ella share some "tub time" and some giggles.

After bathtime, it is storytime with the mamas, Susan and Jackie.

What a treat! Arlene and her girls drove to see us the morning I had to leave. We had a nice visit and it was wonderful to catch up with Arlene and see her beautiful girls.

Saying goodbye to sunny California and dear friends. Let's start planning our next family get-together!

Jodie's wedding and visit to Davis

Two weekends ago, I flew down to Santa Rosa for my friends, Jodie and Steve's wedding. It was a great weekend of wine tasting, delicious food and lots of "girl-time". I got to catch up with some very dear friends and was footloose and fancy-free without Liam in tow.

Me, Jodie, Michele and Isabelle on the dance floor.

Susan and I show our pearly whites.

Davis friends - Susan, me, Michele and Isabelle.

Playing with the egghead at Davis the day after the wedding. Susan, Ben, Ella and I all walked around our Alma Mater. It brought back so many memories....oh, those college days!

One more wedding photo - adorable Ella and I have a little dance at the wedding.