BlaesFam Blog

LUKE CRAWLS!

2010-03-22T21:26:00.001-07:00

Jill was hanging at home with Luke today and he crawled for the first time. To get a lightsaber. Kickass.

Yummy Pesto

2010-01-15T21:08:00.000-08:00

A favorite of all in the Blaesfam household, pesto was on the menu a few nights ago. As it turs out, Luke is a fan as well!

Mmmm.. messy pesto.

This stuff is hard to wash off of squirmy babies.

Mmm.. garlic bread!

Laughing Luke

2009-12-13T21:56:00.001-08:00

Luke is getting laughier and laughier. This weekend Drew found out that he likes fart sounds. Yay for boys!

Christmas Trees!

2009-12-13T21:43:00.000-08:00

This weekend was cold, but dry. On Saturday we went out to Ridgefield and got our Christmas tree. Lisa, a co-worker of mine, owns a nursery and tree farm. If your in the market for a Chrismas tree I'll give you directions!

Lisa took this picture for us. Thanks, Lisa!

Jill and the Sta-Puft marshmallow baby. He was also referred to as Randy from "A Christmas Story"
He was warm and happy, and that is all that really matters.

Dad and Luke.

Mom and Drew.

Merry Christmas, everyone!!!

Miscellaneous

2009-12-13T21:31:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of Drew playing football. He has a small Nerf ball, he loves to paly catch with it. Here is what happens when it is his turn to catch. I think the ball hits him in th shoulder in this picture. He gets hit in the face quite a lot. He LOVES this game.

Talk to the hand!

Brothers!

Rawrrrr!

Mmm... bananas!

This is about how he feels about bananas.

Cereal!

2009-12-13T21:25:00.000-08:00

I have no idea why we had wax lips in the cupboard.

Luke has started eating dinner with us. He seems to like rice cereal.

Open wide!

I like Luke's eyes in this picture.

More Thanksgiving... (a little late)

2009-12-13T21:17:00.000-08:00

Shortly after arrival in Bend, Drew got sick. Luckily it only lasted Wednesday night. Right before bedtime, he andLuke were hanging out on the master bed. Luke looked a little concerned for sick Drew.

You'll be OK, bro!

Drew and Uncle Rob.

Uncle Rob and Luke

Thanksgiving Luke

2009-11-27T20:07:00.000-08:00

The weather in Bend, OR was clear and warm (for this time of year) so we spent some time on the deck. Jill's cousin Warren shot these pics.

Three Sisters mountains in background.

Earlier tonight

2009-11-15T19:39:00.000-08:00

Drew and I busted out the drag race track from Uncle Jarrod and Aunt Jenny. Of course, like any Hot Wheels tracks, the most fun occurs when you set up the track in a more challenging way. We decided that more air would equal more excitement and fun. We were right!

Mongo takes to the skies. It looks a bit like the General Lee.

Yee-Haw!

In the other room, Luke was having a great time on his blanket. Here are a few too many pics.

Drew's 4th Birthday

2009-11-15T09:43:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Drew's 4th birthday. Original plans had us going to Bend for the weekend, but potential mountain snows had us stay in town for the birthday this year. The day started with Dad and Drew heading to the mall to wait in a line for Drew's second swine flu immunization. There were at least a 1000 people there, and the line took about an hour to work our way through. Thanks to Mervyn's for going out of business and allowing a nice warm indoor place to have the vaccination clinic!

From the mall, we raced to the indoor soccer arena for Drew's second indoor game. It is like impossible to get good pictures in there, but here is one of Drew breaking away from the pack. He scored 2 goals.

After soccer we raced to the bowling alley for a little bowling action. We had planned on bowling in Bend, so we thought we should still go for his birthday. It was Family Cosmic Bowl. My God, "popular" music today SUCKS. I wanted to rip my ears off by the time we were done.

Drew drinking lemonade. He also enjoyed the nachos.

Drew did pretty well. He was to good to use the rack (which made the 8 year old on the lane next to us feel bad, so he stopped using the rack and started just bowling like a normal person)

Yeah...

Drew and his birthday hat. They made it for him at his preschool.

The Baskin Robbins cake he picked out.

Blowing out the candles.

Mmmm... ice cream cake...

And then he opened is presents. Jill, Luke and I got him a couple of Transformers and the game "Don't Break The Ice". Then he opened his present from Aunt Jenny and Uncle Jarrod. I only wih I had video of the following photo sequence. he excited yelling was TOO funny.

Hmmm... Beauty and the Beast paper. At least there is a Hot Wheels stopwatch on top.

The card, complete with hand decorated envelope. Qoute from inside card: "PS- Sorry about the dumb wrapping paper. Pretend the princesses are superheroes, OK?" Haha... Drew saw the big box and completely didn't notice the pictures on the paper.

Ummm... he looks a little excited. He loves Hot Wheels, now he has a drag race set. It is actually pretty cool, and one of the rare instances where it is een better that the picture on the box. The actual track has an unpictured loop in it... Sweet!

He then brought the box to the living room so we could play. I think he had a good birthday.

The tale of two Lukes...

2009-11-15T09:31:00.000-08:00

Actually, not a tale, that was just a title. Luke is a great baby. Here are a couple of smiling shots from 2 weeks ago.

He is definitely in a "shove the fist in the face" mood recently.

These next two pics are from yesterday morning. HE was happy, then he was crying, then he was happy, then he was crying... this pattern went on about 3 times a minute for about 5 minutes.

Notice his teeth?!? 2 of 'em! He's had them for about a month. He is barely 4 months old.

Halloween

2009-11-15T09:24:00.000-08:00

The big day finally arrived. Drew got to once more experience his Wolverine costume. The weather was good, and he is still working on the candy to this day...

Strike a pose.

The Blaesfam boys.

Making the rounds. We didn't remember where his pumpkin bucket was until we were just about home.

Dad and Drew... calling it a night.

Drew's last outdoor game of the year!

2009-11-15T09:19:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of recent updates... On October 24th, Drew played in his last outdoor soccer game of the year. I don't remember how many he scored this game, but I do know that his average for he season was 4.7 goals/game.

Getting ready for a kick-off.

...and he breaks away from the pack... he could... go... all... the... way...

...and does! GOOOOOOOAAAALLL!!

Luke bath

2009-10-22T22:05:00.001-07:00

Happy Luke in a bath

Fast Drew

2009-10-22T22:04:00.001-07:00

Speed, Speed, Speed...

Luke

2009-10-22T21:38:00.000-07:00

We have been lacking in he Luke posts recently. It has been a busy couple of weeks, and a lot has happened kid-wise. Drew has learned to ride his bike like a champ, he rides as well as if he has always ridden without training wheels. He has also turned into quite the soccer star.

Luke has been busy with his own news.... like 2 teeth! Both bottom front teeth have already come in. He has been a little fussy, and a lot drooly, but things are starting to improve now that the teeth are in. He has also started spending some time in his Exersaucer... MEGA!

Drooly, pre-tooth Luke.

Happy Luke. Luke is a happy-go-lucky mellow kid. He loves to just sit on a lap and watch what's going on. He is starting to do a big shy smile all of the time.

The boys.

Random Picture Update

2009-10-17T21:28:00.000-07:00

It has been a long dang time since I posted anything, so here is another flood of updates. Soccer, bikes, and randomness.

Sweet rainbow. The leaves are changing, so the rain has returned.

Drew loves to talk on the phone. Here he is talking to his Great Grandpa from Kentucky last week.

Luke loves Drew... Drew loves Luke.

Here is what happens when we leave Drew unsupervised for a couple of minutes with his stamp pad.

Soccer Update

2009-10-17T21:19:00.000-07:00

Drew is currently in his second session of soccer. This time, he is on the blue team... the "Soccer Monsters"

Something has clicked with soccer and this boy. He no longer gets crazy frustrated at missed gols, and he scores like a machine! He had a 4.5 goal average through his first 5 games with this team before he scored 8 today. These pics are from last week.

Go, Drew, Go! A common sight on the soccer field, everyone chasing Drew.

A different play from the one above. Same result.

So close Drew... better luck next time!

2-Wheeler

2009-10-17T21:09:00.001-07:00

We took Drew's training wheels off this week. Here is a one day progression of his riding. In this first video, Drew starts himself off, then rides and ends with a bit of difficulty.

So about 5 minutes later, Drew gets the hang of riding in a straight line. He also gets cocky and tries his first stunts, in this case, standing on the pedals. Still working on stopping.

At the end of the afternoon, Drew could start, ride straight, and stop by using his brakes and without falling. The next day (no video yet) drew could ride down the street, turn around and come back, turn around and basically ride back and forth without stopping. He is definitely taking to this 2-wheeler thing.

Where, Oh Where Did Our Little Boy Go?

2009-09-28T21:12:00.000-07:00

Drew got a haircut and style today (thanks Mom!). He looks so damn old! Definitely not 3 (almost 4).

Smile, Drew!

Meet WOLVERINE!!!

2009-09-21T20:45:00.000-07:00

We went out and bought Drew's Halloween costume. It should be no suprise to Grandpa and Uncle Jarrod, it is a Wolverine costume, with muscles and claws! Yeah!

Wolverine strikes a pose.

And another!

Pics update...

2009-09-21T20:35:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I posted some pictures, so here we go. It has been very exhausting with work starting back up, but we have been taking some pictures, and here they are!

This is the character Drew calls "Ringhat" When he takes the costume down over his eyes, he becomes...

Mysterio!

Sleeping Luke

Family photo. We needed to bust one out for a lesson they are doing in Drew's preschool.

Luke getting ready to head out on a walk with Mom.

The beginning of a yawn.

Unfortunately, our oldest son Drew has regressed to an infant state.

Luke and Mom like the sling.

Gross...

2009-09-21T20:31:00.000-07:00

I think that anyone that knows me knows I like candy. It's made of sugar... what's not to like? I was at Walgreens last week (to purchase some candy) when I noticed some clearance candy. Hey... I like candy, and I can't turn down a bargain. So I purchased the Baskin Robbins Mint Chocolate Chip candy. Not something I wold ordinarily buy, but for 23 cents, worth a shot, right? WRONG! OMFG this was the most disgusting candy I have ever tried to eat (and I had some weird Norwegian candy that was made from salt instead of sugar... I swear). Do NOT eat this candy if offered. I felt nauseous for at least three hours, after only one piece... which I spit out. I threw the box away after taking this picture. B E W A R E!!!

Sleep Thief

2009-09-07T20:40:00.000-07:00

Up at 5:20 this morning (ideal way to spend the last morning of a 4-day wekend, right?) Couldn't help myself dressing him in his Sleep Thief outfit. This picture was taken at dinner time. Luke was having the best time hanging out in his bouncer, moving his arms and legs and making happy baby sounds.

Here is Luke chilling out after dinner tonight. Notice the background noise that is Luke's older brother, Drew. (Apparently he wants Cookies and Cream ice cream, and he'll get it when he returns to the table to finish his dinner). Luke had a great time hanging out and made tons of happy baby sounds for a solid 15 minutes! Of course, by the time I busted out the camera, he was pretty much done. Oh well.

Happy Saturday

2009-09-05T09:02:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been a while since we've taken any pictures, or posted any for that matter.

Luke has been growing like a weed, and he is smiling more and more each day. He is also increasing the amount of "Happy Baby Sounds" on a daily basis. It really makes it a lot of fun to hang out with him.

This morning, Drew and Luke were sharing some happy moments. Here are the pics!

Smiles a plenty!

2009-08-24T22:14:00.000-07:00

Mom caught Luke in a very happy and playful mood earlier today.

Hooray!

Brothers

2009-08-24T22:09:00.000-07:00

Drew has been a good big brother. He always includes Luke when talking about the family, and he is always wanting to pet him. We can't wait until Luke is old enough to play with his big bro!

After about 6 months of looking here and there, we finally found some Tinker Toys. Good old Target had 'em, right next to the Lincoln Logs. Tinker Toys are great because that means I get to build stuff, and Drew gets to play with/break stuff. Here is the plane that lasted about 2 minutes before it was destroyed and turned into an elevator.

Drew also like to hold Luke when given the chance.

It may not look like it in this picture, but Luke was smiling at Drew!

Smile!

2009-08-24T22:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been so long since I have had a chance to post. The lack of sleep has caused my free time to be of the absolute veggig kind, not the posting pics kind. Not to worry, pics have been taken and I am hoping to post quite a few tonight. Grammy ccame up and visited 2 weeks ago. It happened to coincide with Luke's decision to start to smile.

Smilin' at Mom.

Smilin' at Grammy.

Then about a week and a half ago, Uncle Jarrod and Aunt Jenny stopped by for lunch on their way to Bend. As you can see from this picture, Luke is apparently wary of new people. This picture also demonstrates the incredible amount of growth our newborn has been experiencing. He was 8 pounds at birth 6 1/2 weeks ago. Yesterday I stepped on the scale with and without him, and there was a 15 pound difference.... Whoa!

Harley Marie and his younger brother Swayze Express (Thanks for reminding me Jenny!). Jarrod and Jenny get the whole neighborhood looking when they roll into town!

Fair Time!!

2009-08-09T16:26:00.000-07:00

The Clark County Fair started Friday. With temps in the mid 60's, we took the opportunity for great cool dry weather to head out and ride some rides! Drew's third Fair, Luke's first.

Drew loves the pony ride. He gets to go pony ridin' on Tuesday with his preschool too.

Drew loved the big inflatable thingy. He said it was a workout.

Teacups! Notice, there is not a parent on the ride with him... no way. He loved to spin that thing around. I felt sick just watching him.

Drew's other annual favorite, the motorcycles!

Earlier this Summer, we went to Oaks Park and rode some rides (Fathers Day, I think). Drew fell in love with the scrambler. Mom was 9 months pregnant and was unable to ride with him. So yesterday at the fair... Haywire! As you can tell, both Mom and Drew had a fantastic time.

Here is the one picture of Luke from the fair. All he did was sleep, and take a short eating/pooping break. Because of this large amount of sleep, Mom and I only got about 4 hours of sleep last night. Yay!

Bear Affair.

While Luke recycled some breast milk, Drew ate a strawberry ice cream cone. It was such a soggy wet mess by the time he was done, it was definitely a sight to remember.

The carnival lights up at night. Here is the view of the midway from our spot in line for the Haywire (Scrambler). I like the contrast of the carnival lights with the blur of the ride in action below.

Dad has a turn with Drew on the Scrambler.

AAAAaaaahhhhh!

So instead of 1001 arabian nights, there was a ride 1001 Nachts. Wtf?!? Here's how I imagine a phone conversation must have gone.
Ride Manufacturer: Hello?
Carnival owner (in a STRONG southern accent): Howdy. Do y'all make stomach churnin' rides?
RM: Sure do.
CO: Awesome can I get one called 1001 Nights?
RM: 1001 Nats?
CO: No, silly... 1001 Nights. You know like with them Arabs?
RM: Umm... sure 1001 Nachts. Like the Arabs. Whatever. We'll have that out to you in about 3 months. Thanks for your business.

This was the year that Drew was finally tall enough to ride on some o the bigger rides. Including the biggest roller coaster there! And he was willing to ride it! And don't forget... EVERYONE MUST PAY! (The fair is a wonderful, welcoming place!)

Here is a pic of the Zillerator with the carnival in the background. Drew screamed in fear for almost the entire ride, but jumped off happy as hell and excited for another go 'round. Unfortunately, we were out of tickets and didn't have the chance to ride it again.

Overall, a great time at the fair. Looking forward to next year!

Grandpa!

2009-08-08T23:28:00.000-07:00

Grandpa came out for a visit last weekend. I got only a few pics, so here's hoping He and Uncle Jarrod will provide some of the many pictures they took!

WATER FIGHT!

Grandpa and Luke

Luke spent most of the time sleeping. (he spends most of the DAYTIME sleeping)

We hit up the Pearson Air Museum. It is ummm... quaint. WWI is their specialty. Here Uncle Jarrod poses before being strafed by professor upper arms.

Jarrod learned to fly a tiny yellow airplane.

Grandpa did too.

Some More Pics

2009-07-30T22:10:00.000-07:00

Drew the Lion (fresh outta the shower in his sweet lion towel) saying goodnight to Luke earlier this evening.

Luke... pre-bath.

Dr. Evil (aka Luke) post-bath.

Some Pics

2009-07-30T21:45:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week, Drew was a high flying Ironman. His incredible energy is exactly why we are hoping for cooler weather soon.
Then it will be safe to venture outside again!

Watch out!

Luke feeling sleepy (until we try to lay him down) a couple of days ago.

One activity Drew has done a lot of with this heat... watch PBS cartoons.

Heat Update

2009-07-29T22:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's total of 106 was a record ALL TIME high for Vancouver, WA.

Today's total of 107 was a NEW record ALL TIME high, breaking the record set yesterday.

In Seattle, the new ALL TIME record was set today. Their previous record was 99 degrees, but today they reached a high of 103, so our neighbors to the North were not spared the heat.

One more hot day to go...

Hot

2009-07-28T23:08:00.000-07:00

Day one (Sunday) 93 degrees.

Day two (Monday) 103 degrees.

Day three (Today, Tuesday) 106 degrees.

Day four (Wednesday) predicted 106 degrees.

Day five (Thursday) predicted 99 degrees.

The last time the area had 3 100+ days in a row... 1981.

The all time record high for Portland... 107.

Average daily high temp for July... 79.9
Yee-haw!

Long Beach Trip

2009-07-25T16:33:00.000-07:00

SOMETIMES, it is best to just skip the trip. With 100 degree weather forecasted for today (at least when we watched the news last week) we decided it would be a good time to beat the heat. We had a recommendation for a decent cheap place in Long Beach, WA, so we decided to reserve a couple of nights and go for it in order to escape the impending hot streak. It was going to be Luke's first road trip, his first beach trip, and his first motel stay. I think we just should have stayed home...

For starters, the heat wave is still predicted, but not until Monday-Thursday. We were missing weather in the low 80's. Darn weather forecasters.

We left the house around 12:30 for the 2 1/2 hour trip.

20 minutes from home, there was an overturned camper
blocking all lanes on I-5 (If you watch the video, you'll see the fun line of traffic. We were near the front). We enjoyed a nice LONG time sitting on the freeway. Here is NOT a picture of your car you should want while traveling on the freeway.

Looking forward. The wreck happened JUST around the bend. About 1/2 mile in front of us. at least the traffic cleared quick when they reopened the freeway (about 1 hour later). We then ate lunch at the next exit. Time keeps ticking away...

About 10 miles down the road, there was a fire just starting in the median of the freeway. I was in the fast lane, nearest the fire. It was relatively small when we first saw it, so I saw no need to change lanes. The median was a good 30 yards wide at this point, and the fire was on the far side of the median. Then the wind caught the flames, and the fire RAPIDLY raced to the edge of the freeway before I could change lanes (as Jill was trying to get me to do for the previous 20 seconds) As it ends up, I think I might have driven through wind swept flames. Holy crap was it hot and scary. Next time I'll move WAAAAAYYY over... WAAAAYYYYY earlier. I thought the windows were going to break and the tires were going to pop.

About 1/2 hour later, we were witness to passive aggressive driver from hell, going 40 on the single lane highway, then 80-85 in the passing lane so that no one could pass her. Strike three... we should have just gone home. It was a sure sign that the trip was not meant to be.

The rest of the trip to Long Beach was uneventful. We made a pit stop in Astoria at the Oregon Maritime Museum (not to visit the museum but because we needed out of the car and Luke was hungry). We hung out on the dock while Luke ate. Here Drew points to some container ships anchored in the river.

On the dock we also saw a relic of the past... a phone booth! (and it worked! and FYI, local calls are now 50 cents) Here Drew impersonates a Dex salesman.

Hello... Hello?!? Is anyone there? Hello?

Drew and a boat looking East down the Columbia River

Drew and large anchor

Finally, 6 hours after we left for the beach, we arrived. Let's just say that if you find a room at the coast walking distance to the beach, and it is only $60, you get what you pay for. It was advertised as a 1 bedroom cottage, with a sleeper sofa and a 2 burner stove. Ok, that's what it was (in a VERY compact space) but the bathroom... so cramped. So small... Drew hit his head on the sink entering or exiting the bathroom 3 times (we were only there 18 hours). I was too bulky to fit in the disgusting shower. Pets are allowed. Am I painting the picture enough for you?

Drew did get his own bedroom though!

The night was hell... with the sleeper sofa extended, there was a 2 foot strip of room on all sides to walk around. This was unfortunately Luke's most restless night in quite a while. Trying to carry him around was NOT good. The only way off the crappy mattress was at the foot of the bed. The room was FREEZING. The blankets were thin. We got very little sleep.

Drew, on the other hand, had a nice warm double bed to himself. He (as always) awoke well rested. Here he is ready to go to the beach.

Mom, Luke (in a sling that Mom is wearing) and Drew head to the beach through the dunes.

We made it!

Drew loved going down the slippery sandy hills of the dunes.

We made it to the beach. It is HUGE, and it looks like an uninteresting alien landscape.

At least Drew enjoyed running from the waves, but not nearly to the extent that he did in Seaside on MLK day.

One of the few things this beach had going for it... birds. Seagulls, pelicans and terns. It was cool until a random tern started divebombing a completely innocent woman. Then it got a bit freaky. That's when we decided to leave the beach.

They're coming right for us!

On the walk back. Here you can see Luke as a bulge in the tan colored sling Mom is wearing.

Here is a picture that shows all of the excitement that is Long Beach. This goes on for 28 miles uninterrupted. Thrilling. (There is also a mini Mom, Drew and Luke in this picture)

The most fun Drew had all day... jumping over bushes near the dunes.

After being back at the hotel for about 10 minutes, we decided to pack up the car and head home 24 hours early. Mom and Drew were sitting on the couch eating peanuts when Drew decided to fill up the peanut bowl (there is a peanut bowl under the mountain of peanuts). Drew was so proud.

We are home now, 24 hours earlier than planned. We were never so happy to see our house as we were today. I don't know what it was that caused the trip to be so lame. We were so mentally ready for it, we were confident in our ability to handle Luke at this age. We had even been to Long Beach before. I think it was just a combination of a bunch of tiny things that made it too much to deal with right now... and we still have at least 7 days of 90 and 100 degree weather coming up. Woo-hoo!

We ARE looking forward to my Dad coming out from North Carolina next weekend though... can't wait!

Some pics...

2009-07-24T23:58:00.000-07:00

We are currently in Long Beach trying to escape the heat. Right before bed time, I thought I would post some Pics that I have been meaning to post.

Drew, in his new soccer uniform!

Luke

The Blaesing boys

Drew and Luke

New Helmet

2009-07-19T21:09:00.001-07:00

Drew got a new helmet today. I am jealous, and am getting my own first of August.

I also tightened the wheels on my skateboard(why didn't I think of that earlier?) so Drew can pretty successully ride it now... Yay Drew!

Luke's First Bath

2009-07-15T12:33:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, Nana and Noni came by to meet Luke and spend some time with Drew.

Noni meet Luke

Peaceful sleeping

Today was Luke's first bath... He LOVED it. No crying, he was very relaxed and easy going. The warm water probably reminded him of the womb!

Nice and warm after the bath.

Here is a video of a relaxed Luke chillin' after his bath.

Coming Home

2009-07-11T13:45:00.000-07:00

Early in the day on Friday, Dad and Luke got to spend some special bonding time.

Luke enjoyed the time too.

One of our favorite pics of Luke... Open eyes AND smiling!

Luke enters his home for the first time. No more hospital!

Luke Henry

2009-07-08T22:22:00.000-07:00

Today was the big day... 12:39PM (almost 1234!) on 7/8/9, Luke Henry was born by c-section.

Here's how the day started. We arrived at the hospital at 10:00Am to prep for surgery and a scheduled surgery time of 12:00.

Sweet duds for Dad!

Let's do it!

At 12:39, Luke was born. Here he is at 5 minutes old, 8 pounds, 0 ounces.

25 minute old Luke and Mom.

Another good 25 minute old Luke and Mom shot.

Luke was not a fan of his first bath.

Or his first hair washin'

The first picture of Luke and Dad.

Drew, meet Luke. Luke, meet Drew.

Drew liked to "pet" Luke.

Grammy, Drew and Luke.

After Drew had a chance to warm up to and pet Luke a few times, he was ready to hold his new little brother.

He likes his new brother!

Awwww... Drew showing his bro some love.

1st Soccer Game!

2009-07-07T21:16:00.000-07:00

Today was a big day for BlaesFam. It was Jill's last full day as a pregnant woman and it was Drew's first soccer game! It is a pretty entertaining spectator sport at this age, trust me.

Here he is ready to go play his first game!

Action shot!

Drew scored 2 goals today. Very impressive for a first try! Here was goal number 1. He ran the ball all the way up the field and made the shot.

A few minutes later, Drew was kicking off and got his second goal. He kicked the ball (seen below) right past the three defenders, and it rolled into the goal. Woo-hoo!

Here is a perfect example of a play in Drew's soccer league. As you can see, it is very entertaining. As you can also see, Drew was frustrated because he would have scored a third goal if the opposing team hadn't taken care of it for him.

Here is Drew taking a break on the sidelines.

Halftime. Here is his team (Little Lightning) and assistant coach.

A little more time chillin' on the sidelines.

The end of game cheer.

Due Date!

2009-07-04T23:21:00.000-07:00

Well, Newbie's due date has come and gone, and we are still waiting to meet the little guy. We will meet him on the 8th no matter what though!

We had a good 4th... BBQ at Jenn and Brian's house earlier in the day, followed by the annual ridiculousness of blowing up a small part of this great land of ours.

Here Jill and Drew sit to watch the fireworks. Drew was wearing the headband to help with the loud noise.

Some fireworks from tonight.

More fireworks from tonight.

Here is a video that does an OK job of showing the sounds and sights of our neighborhood on the 4th of July.

Hot Summer Day

2009-07-02T20:16:00.000-07:00

It was another swim lesson/skate park day. The clingy parents were in full effect again this morning, only the kids were winning the battle a lot more today. It would be hilarious to watch if the parents were not blocking our view.

At the skate park Drew and I busted out our moves. Here you can see me watching Drew rip it up.

Action photo! I am jumping out of the 5 foot high quarter pipe.

Drew likes to skate around the big pool/bowl thing. Click to enlarge and find him. I actually attempted to skate it this morning. It is pretty fun, but will take a lot of practice to not look like a total idiot while doing it. The damn walls are 12 feet high. It's big and scary, all right?!?

With the 90 degree heat later in the day, we decided to bust out Drew's Slip 'n Slide from last year. As you can see, he hasn't quite figured it out yet.

After watching his attempt, I had to show him how it's done.

He still didn't totally get it (he got a little better) but I slid him down the slide so he could get the Slippin' and Slidin' experience.

Drew had some fancy moves coming up to the slide. JIll and I think he might make an Olympic diver. Whaddya think?

Doesn't this lok refreshing?

One Week!

2009-07-01T21:30:00.000-07:00

Jill is due on Saturday, but due to prior history, we are still pretty sure Newbie will be born on Wednesday the 8th, by cesarean. We are getting xcited, and a bit anxious. We bought the last of anything we need today, (the ast items were reusable diapers for miscellaneous rags, binkies, and changing pad covers). The nursery is stocked and ready. BRING ON THE BABY! We are ready already!

We have been keeping busy shuttling Drew around this summer. He has school on Mondays and Wednesdays, soccer Monday and Tuesday nights, and swim lessons Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

Speaking of which... two days ago was his first swim lesson of the summer. The way it works at the pool, the parents drop the kids off at the pool (haha), make sure the instructor knows the kid is there, and then retreats to a viewing area behind a huge glass window. This way the instructors can do their jobs without the kids constantly trying to get back with the parents. Tuesday there were three clingy moms that would not leave the pool area for whatever reason. They just stood in front of the damn viewing window so that we could not even see what Drew was doing most of the time. What the hell? Are these parents stupid? Do they not understand directions that were explicitly stated to them not minutes before? Talk about irritating... and their kids kept running back to them and interupting the class. I was so close to going in there and telling the people to get a clue, but didn't want to come off as a dick. At least Drew still had fun.

After swimming, we went to the skate park again. I brought my rollerblades and hit up the park myself. It was fun, but it was a bit tricky at the same time. I fell only once (so did Drew). I also tried the smaller of the two pools. That would be more fun to try if there weren't other people there watching me struggle.

Maybe we'll go again tomorrow.

Until next time...

Bam!

2009-06-30T20:34:00.001-07:00

We bought this ball at the grocery store for a buck. Drew loves to kick the hell out of it!

Soccer!

2009-06-30T16:46:00.000-07:00

Drew's first day of outdoor soccer started practice yesterday. He practices Mondays and plays games on Tuesdays. THere are 8 kids on his team, 5 girls and 3 boys. He LOVES to put on his cleats, shin guards and tall soccer socks. He also loves to wear the Mexico jersey we bought him in Cozumel.

Doing warm-ups.

Working on a dribble drill

Red light... green light!

Esther Short Park

2009-06-28T20:12:00.000-07:00

I have no idea what is up with all of these updates, but soak 'em in while you can... once Newbie is born (in about a week... yikes!) I doubt we'll have the time to keep it up (even though that's probably the time you'll most want the updates).

Today was another awesome day in the Pacific Northwest. After dinner on the back patio, we decided to head down to Esther Short Park to play on the playground and lazy river.

Drew loves swinging on the monkey bars.

Climbing the stones in the lazy river.

Taking a break.

Drew's new girlfriend.

Drew's girlfriend's pervert grandpa.

All in all a good day (we got Newbies stroller from Craig's List) and got outdoors to enjoy the day.

What a difference a year makes

2009-06-27T14:56:00.000-07:00

Last summer we all discovered a new skate park in town. We wold bring Drew there, but he was more obsessed with the playground than with watching the people on their scooters/skateboards/bikes. This year, things are a bit different.

Drew and his scooter arrive at the skate park with his scooter. Here he sizes up the layout.

It took him a while to get his bearngs and get used to people flying by him on all sides, but he figured it out soon enough.

Go Drew, Go!

Drew took a while to get going, here he is about halfway to his full awesomeness today. Not too shabby for a 3 year old and his first time!

Here is the best "run" that I got on tape. Notice that he got braver and rode right down th little hill later in the day.

Another Beautiful Day

2009-06-26T22:08:00.000-07:00

More sunny 70 degree weather today. While outside, Drew decided to be like Mommy.

Here Drew and Jill both use a ball.

On the way home from our walk after dinner. Drew stopped to think about what he wanted to drink before bed time.

Cool Summer Day

2009-06-25T21:47:00.000-07:00

On a nice cloudy cool Summer day (66 degrees at the warmest) Drew and I went out front to play soccer. While diving for the ball (I was the goalie) I fell on my cell phone and hurt my leg. I tried to shake it off and continue playing, but Doctor Drew insisted that he take me to the hospital to fix me up. I was a bit worried when he busted out his Black & Decker tools.

AHHHHHHhhhhhhh!

The diagnosis, apparently a defective leg. Civil War battlefield medicine at its finest!

I don't think I'm going to make it, son...

Back outside after the "surgery", Drew decided to bust out the skateboard.

Here's a sweet pose.

Here is the man in action.

Drew and Mom. 13 days to go... Wow!

Father's Day at Oaks Amusement Park

2009-06-21T19:24:00.000-07:00

Drew and Jill woke me up around 9 this morning with Krispy Kreme doughnuts and Starbucks coffee. That's a hell of a good start to any day! We then decided to brave the weather forecast of 40% chance of rain showers, and headed to Oaks Amusement Park for the day. They have a special on Father's Day. Buy a kids ride bracelet, and Dad gets one for free! Woo-hoo!

We were prepared for the worst. It was sunny in Vancouver, but there were clouds in our future! We actually went through some pretty good rain showers on the way to the park.

Here we are when we first arrived. It was a bit chilly then, but it ended up perfect!

Drew's first roller coaster ride. He was a little scared the first lap, but he loved the second lap!

Drew rode this ride like 5 times. It was like an airplane with a gun on it. When he squeezed the trigger, it made a little buzzer/horn sound.

Lunch Break!

Drew looks good in lederhosen!

Today was the day of Drew's first Scrambler ride. He LOVED it. We did it twice.

Ice cream break!

Oaks park is situated on the Willamette River just south of Portland. Here you can see Portland across the river in the background. as you can also see, the weather cleared up.

Down on the beach we saw the Portland Spirit. Drew and I waved. The boat blew it's horn and people waved back.

We also saw a bunch of adolescent geese!

Today was also the day of Drew's first go-kart ride. It was awesome. We passed 6 cars and got passed zero times. Have I mentioned that I am an incredible go-kart driver? (Because I am.)

Big Pink. Yeah.

Drew and Jill on the Midway.

As we expected, the 4 1/2 hour day wore Drew out. Here he is on the way home.

Overall, it was a great Father's Day... Thanks family!

Spring Show... the Video!

2009-06-10T22:34:00.001-07:00

And then there was the finale...

Dirty Mouth?!?

2009-06-09T21:28:00.000-07:00

This past Memorial day, we went down to Bend to see family. One night as dinner on the deck was nearing its end, Uncle Rob and Aunt Nikki started up a game with Drew. It's a simple name calling game that goes about like this.

Rob: "You are a melon."
Drew: "Well, you're a cantaloupe!"
Rob: "You're a tree"
Drew: "You're a tree!"
Rob: "Well, you're a rock!"
Drew: "You're a tree!"

So tonight as we are sitting down to eat some of Mom's birthday cake, Drew wants to start up a game of silly name calling.

Drew (to Mom): "You are a chopper."
Mom: "You are a dirty little piglet"
Drew: "You are a dirty whore.......se."

I ain't lying, he was saying "Dirty Horse" but there was a sizeable pause between hor and se. Flipping hilarious.

Spring Show

2009-06-09T21:25:00.000-07:00

Drew's preschool had it's Spring Show on Sunday at the local high school. He was involved in two performances in front of about 2-300 people. (It was a packed auditorium). He did fantastic. Videos to follow if you are interested.

Drew in his monkey hat waiting for his turn to go on stage. I was bummed that he didn't get to keep the hat.

His first appearance on stage. He was a bit shy, but he got over it.

One of his dance routines.

The finale. Can you find Drew?

New Skillz

2009-05-31T21:47:00.000-07:00

Drew has some new skills. Here he shows them (and his sweet Spongebob Squarepants underwear) off.

First... the face.

Then the trick. (He does this all by himself)

The combo (face and trick... closeup)

Ta-Da!

Starlight Parade

2009-05-30T23:40:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the annual Rose Festival Starlight Parade. The weather was perfect (high of 87 today, and not a cloud in sight). It was Drew's first parade, and I was really itching to take him. It is called the starlight because it doesn't start until 8:30 PM, and it ends around 10:30.

People start arriving around 5:00. The local news stations were saying 250,000 people were expected, and I bet they got that and more. we were in what is probably the least busy spot on the entire route, and it was pretty crowded.

We got there about 7:00, got a front row spot and busted out the sidewalk chalk.

Here's Jill and Drew waiting for the parade to start, about 1 hour before showtime.

Drew scored a police badge sticker from this guy.

At 8:00, before the parade gets started is the Starlight Run. People tend to dress up and have a good time running in front of thousands of people. Here we see Spiderman.

High 5!

Mom and Drew check out the action.

Schonely, baby! (looking all presidential!)

Drew liked the drums.

Drew stayed awake and behaved pretty well the whole time. I was impressed.

Vader!

I was mildly entertained that we were surrounded by thousands of families, watching a very family friendly parade, with a cabaret across the street that had a bright animated light up sign advertising "Dollar Dances" and "2 Girl Shows"

One last picture near the end of the night.

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-30T23:34:00.000-07:00

We went to Bend to visit family this past weekend, but all we came back with were these pix. Looks like the camera spent a lot of time in the camera bag!

Mt. Hood. On the way to Bend.

Shortly after we arrived, there was a thunderstorm. As the last of it was leaving, we got a pretty sweet view. I actually saw a bolt of lightning in this small thunderhead about 2 minutes before I took this picture.

When the sun cam back out, Summer resumed... Watermelon!

Last Weekend

2009-05-23T08:22:00.000-07:00

We had some great weather last weekend, and I am just now getting around to posting this.
75 degrees, frehly mowed lawn and a hose. THIS is how you enjoy the good weather!

Helping out the Burning Bush.

This was a very detailed watering job. Drew left no spot unwatered!

All that watering made Drew hungry, so into the kitchen for watermelon!

NOOOoooo, daaaaAAD!

Back Outside we had Drew: The Attack Of The Cones

After kicking some cone butt, the Energizer Bunny of Children - Drew, wanted to play some soccer. He has the most awesome faces when he plays ball.

This pose reminds me of the kids I used to see at Uncle Jarrod's shows

Drew almost kisked the ball over the fence. Pretty impresive. He he shows uss his form...
BAM!

The next day, Drew was helping me wash the truck when he quit about 5 minutes before I was done. He went inside. When I followed him inside a few minutes later, he was at the table eating a peanut butter and honey sandwich! (Jill wasn't home, so this was a pretty interesting sight to come upon)

The mess left behind on the counter. It was stickier than it looks.

He ate the whole thing.

32 Weeks

2009-05-14T21:52:00.000-07:00

Jill took this picture about 2 days ago. Here is Newbie and Mom at 32 weeks. She still looks damn good if you ask me!

It's People!!!

2009-05-14T21:47:00.000-07:00

We have been waiting and waiting for Drew's art to finally take shape. Last night, this happened. He has been drawing faces for some time now. Yesterday, Jill asked Drew if he wanted to draw one of his faces some arms. He responded by drawing arms (first time ever), then drawing hands (first time ever) and the he continued with legs and feet (also both first times). The result is the ghostly dude you see pictured here.

Here Drew draws another person. When he was done he told us that this one is laying down.

He's already working on his variety. He drew this one with hair, you can also see the ears I asked him to draw, and then he added some feet and legs.

Yeah.

2009-05-13T21:30:00.000-07:00

New room!

2009-05-10T20:31:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day brought cloudier weather than the previous 2, but temps near 70 made it a sweet day overall. Drew and I started the morning running out to Albertsons to get Starbucks and cinnamon rolls for Mom. We went home, and Drew delivered the goodies to her, not in bed as we had hoped, but she was at least still in the bedroom! We then went out on the front porch (it was sunny an beautiful at 8:30 this morning) to see the rocking chair we bought for the special day. It will stay on the front porch and play an excellent role in our sanity this summer.

Later in the day we hng up some godies in Drew's room, a chalk board, a white board and a couple of bookshelves. We set one up as a little desk for him. We are really happy with the way it came out. His room is almost all done (finally!)

Another view of Drew's new workspace/activity center

Washin' the truck

2009-05-09T21:31:00.000-07:00

The weekend is shaping up as nice as predicted. 70 degrees and sun always means it's time to wash the truck. Lucky for me, I had a helper.

Here we see Drew learning that "full blast" isn't the best idea when you are so close to your target.

Sudsin' up

Warshin'

Sun?!?

2009-05-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

It's looking like a nice weekend ahead. After dinner we headed out front to soak up some rays.

Drew rockin' Dad's old skateboard. (I learned today that I can still ollie!)

Dad rockin' the beard. It's fun and all, but I think it is going away this weekend.

Ballocity

2009-05-06T15:45:00.000-07:00

Today was a Daddy and Drew day. Drew's daycare provider was out of town, and there was no one to watch Drew while Jill and I worked, so I took the day off to hang out with my son. We had a great time. We baked cookies and went to the kids club. It was my first time there, but I gotta say that it is damn impressive. They have a HUGE indoor playground/jungle gym thing. It has tubes, slides and LOTS of padding. Just recently opened was the part of the play area called Ballocity. It is basically a 3-level room full of air cannons and foam balls. It is totally awesome.

Here is Ballocity.

So here's how it works. First you enter to bottom of Ballocity. Grab a yellow bag and fill it up with as many balls as you can, all the while getting hit by balls being shot at you from all sides, falling from bins in the sky, and launching out of the ball volcano.

"I got my balls dad... let's GO! (ball volcano in background)

Once the balls are collected, you climb your way up to a nice high level and approach an empty cannon.

Here Drew demonstrates the proper technique for aiming the cannon.

In his picture you can see the killing floor, as well as the loading chamber for the cannon. If you look in the lower left corner, you can see a kid collecting balls.

Badasssssss!!!!!

Here dad tries to line up a shot at his young son. What a touching moment.

As we were about to leave, I hung out on the floor so that Drew could take a few shots at me. He and I both had a really great time.

Swimming

2009-05-03T22:44:00.000-07:00

As you can see, Drew is improving in the water. He is ready for the next level (he was at this level for two months). Go Drew!

Springtime House

2009-05-02T21:11:00.000-07:00

We had some funky weather today. Sun, clouds, severe thunderstorms (thanks Emergency Broadcast System!), more sun rain, clouds, sun.

Here is a picture taken during one of the calmer moments today. It's definitely looking a lot like Spring.

Here is a better picture of the sweet Wisteria.

Update...

2009-04-26T21:09:00.000-07:00

"Dad? Dad. Hey Dad. Daddy? Dad."

"Yes Drew?"

"Hey Dad. Daddy? Um... Dad? Hey Dad."

"What's Up Buddy?"

"Hey Dad. I was going to... Hey Dad? Daddy?!?"

"AAAARRRRGGHHHHHH!!!!!"

SO this is Drew's current phase, actually underexagerrated. HE constantly strives for attention from either one of us parents, and even when he has our full undivided attention, he still tries to get it. It is exhausting and it is driving us CRAZY! He is also eating us out of house and home. I am expecting a big time growth spurt, starting about now.

On a happier note, I have some new pics of Drew from the past couple of weeks. As you can clearly see, Spring has sprung, and we are spending more time outdoors. Drew has been spending more time with the neighbor, Isaac. He now rides on his scooter to either corner from our house all by himself.

Drew is following Isaac.

Still following Isaac.

Drew's first Gatorade. He loves it. That's my boy!

This was earlier today in the front yard. Drew brought one of his tubes outside, and showed it who's boss. Here, drew stares down his victim.

Take THAT!

Drew get his kicks.

Drivin!

2009-04-17T21:19:00.000-07:00

After I got home from work today, drew wanted to hop in the truck and pretend to drive. He had me buckle him in and everything. I haven't updated the blog in a while, so I busted out the camera and snapped a couple of pics.

"Close the door, Dad!"

Rollin' down the window

Through the front windshield.

Rock Star!

2009-04-17T21:14:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago, Drew got some books and a shirt in the mail from Jen in Reno. The books are awesome (anyone remember the Mr. Men and Little Miss series by Roger Hargreaves?) but the shirt was definitley the most fun. Drew was walking around all day saying "I'm a Rock Star" and striking a sweet air guitar-esque pose.

Popsicles!

2009-04-05T20:58:00.000-07:00

After horrendous Spring Break weather, the sun came out for the weekend. Today was 73 degrees and beautiful. In between washing the cars, Drew started walking out to the street to wait for the ice cream truck. We kept telling him that it wasn't going to happen because we haven't seen it all winter.

A couple of hours later, Drew heard the truck coming down the road. He FREAKED out and we ran outside to make a purchase. Drew waited patiently at the truck as the other kids made their orders, then he ordered one for himself. "Spiderman" he said. The guy in the truck handed over the popsicle with the gum ball eyeballs as Drew gave him the $1.50. As you can tell, Drew enjoyed it very much.

You can't quite tell from this shot, but Drew was wearing a lot of this popsicle on his face.

Drew has a kick-ass sun hat, too.

Cozumel: What about Drew?!

2009-04-05T20:51:00.000-07:00

While we were vacationing, Drew got to hang with his Grammy and Nana. While we were gone, we certainly kept Drew in mind as we did our souvenir shopping.

Here is Rey Mysterio Jr. A Mexican wrestling mask with a cape. He is also wearing the light-up Superman shirt that his Nana got him while we were away. Drew loves it.

Here is another Mexican wrestling mask. Spiderman!

Drew's Mexico soccer jersey!

Cozumel Day 3: Tulum!

2009-04-03T21:44:00.000-07:00

The next day was the last full day in Mexico. The plan was set. Take a 30 minute ferry ride from Cozumel to Playa Del Carmen on the Yucatan Peninsula. Once there, rent a car, and drive south to Tulum. Then, reverse the process, hang out in San Miguel for one more night, and head home the next day.

Once on the ferry, we had a new view of our hotel. We wisely found seats on the outside of the boat, as it travels over open ocean and rolling seas. These aren't your Puget Sound Ferries!

From the ferry we saw the same flight landing that we had been on only days before. From here it looked like the plane was going to land on some shops downtown!

My beautiful wife Jill looking back toward Cozumel. We found it best to focus on the horizon to prevent seasickness. While we were at Coconuts a couple of days prior, we heard of some people who had just come from the ferry during high winds, and they were describing a lot of people throwing up all over the place.

Finally across the sea, Playa Del Carmen and her bright blue waters greeted us. Here is a cool looking hotel near the ferry terminal.

Once off the ferry, we are greeted by nice big welcome signs, and tons of people selling tons of CRAP. mildly entertaining and annoying at the same time, we only wanted to find a place to rent a car.

So after we found a rental car (Dodge Avenger with A/C) we drove the 30 miles or so South to the ruins at Tulum. Rumor told of some cliff side ruins overlooking a nice sandy beach. We were SOOOOOOOOooooo looking forward to swimming in some nice clear, warm water.

Here Jill follows the path to the ruins. I know there must be a beach at the end of this path!

There was not a beach at the end of the path. The temperature did seem to increase, nearing 85 degrees by my estimates, and also quite humid. Once we entered the ruins, we made a beeline for where we thought the beach must be. Here we found some cool looking ruins overlooking the sea.

We seem to be getting closer. We found a nice sandy beach, but it was fenced off. Dammit, doesn't it look inviting?!? What cruel people designed these ruins?!? Must... go... swimming!

Still looking for the beach, we found a totally sweet photo opportunity. This is the biggest building at Tulum. We have no idea what the building was used for, we were pretty much exclusively looking for the water at this point. I am surprised we took the time to take this picture!

The Iguana is looking at the entrance to the beach longingly. Even after we went down to the beach, swam, hung out and people watched, dried off and came back by, the Iguana didn't move. Maybe it was a prop.

Woo-Hoo! Cliffs.. beach... water!

Jill strikes a pose as we prepare to drop off our stuff and take the plunge. We picked this spot because it was in the shade, yet VERY close to the water. Beaches we saw in Mexico aren't like the cruel ones in the Pacific Northwest that make you walk 300 yards across the sand to ice cold water.

Here I am swimming. I think I was trying to body surf some small wave. Maybe I was just swimming while looking behind me. Who cares, I was swimming in the Caribbean Sea!

Jill dries off in the nice shady spot we found.

Back up on the cliff, another view of the beach. The building on the upper left is the same one I am pictured in front of in the pictures above.

On the way out. It has been a great day so far, and I wanted to get a shot of a beautiful woman in front of some beautiful ruins. Success!

Tulum, from the exit hole we found in a wall.

Back on the ferry, here is what Cozumel looks like from Playa Del Carmen. (when zoomed in on a camera... it is much smaller to the naked eye)

We saw these two every day we were in San Miguel. During the day, the dog followed a pair of cops. At night, it followed the security. It received no attention from these uniformed people, yet it always stayed within 50 feet or so. It seemed so loyal, so content and so cute!

Me at our last dinner. We ate at La Choza, a restaurant we had eaten lunch at the day before. Awesome food at great prices. Jill had the shrimp chile relleno and a coke, I had the shrimp fajitas and a margarita. Tasty.

Last night on the balcony of the hotel. Jill is looking at the view, which included a smallish cruise ship playing the worst Karaoke style music. We just hung out and listened and watched the ship leave. From the balcony, we could also hear the sounds of everything going on in the street below. Every night, a cruise ship leaves. Every morning, a new cruise ship arrives. Every day except Sunday.

When we awoke to prepare to leave, this monstrosity had arrived. Good Lord. Obnoxious.

Cozumel Day 2: Electric Boogaloo

2009-04-02T21:00:00.000-07:00

As we said, Day 2 was a mellow day. As you can see from the first picture, taken the evening of Day 1, we were sun baked and ready for some rest. The day was warm like the rest of us, and there was a fair amount of cloud cover. Thankfully, this allowed us to get out in the town to explore.

Tired but happy, we get ready to check out San Miguel after dark.

The view from the hotel lobby looking across the main road to the sea.

Some of the local kids playing in the water in front of the sea wall.

Every time we left our hotel, we walked past this shop with the kick-ass wheelchair ramp. We saw some people on our trip in wheelchairs (all overweight tourists) but unfortunately, we saw none try the sweet ramp seen here.

The town square, with bell tower. It was a rare cloudy moment that didn't last.

The bell tower. About 1:45 it appears. This is a good a time as any to talk about the time in Cozumel. They do not observe daylight savings time, so this time of year they are only 1 hour ahead of Vancouver, WA. This makes it interesting because the island is as far west as Chicago, IL. It would be pitch black dark by 6PM, and light outside by 5:30AM. It was actually nice, because the evenings were so warm that we would spend quite a bit of time walking around or hanging out in the square with the locals.

Our hotel from the sea wall. Our room was in row 2 column 2. (of the 4 in the middle, we were the upper left one).

While Jill collected beach glass, I was on the sea wall watching these two boys playing in the water. Here one flies backwards Matrix-style and lands in the water. They looked like they were having a great time.

We were walking along past a cool looking church right before a service started. As you can see, there were a lot of people inside.

Day 2, after dark, town square. As you can see, shorts and a t-shirt were more than enough to battle the comfortable temps, even with the wind blowing and ominous clouds surrounding us. They all blew away by morning, and we didn't even get the rain storm that seemed imminent at sunset.

Jill checking out the scary looking clouds. Behind her you can see the gazebo that housed a 12 piece band the night before. A lot of people in town hang out here at night. While the band was playing, we had a great time watching people dance and simply enjoy the evening. Behind us there were 3 fire dancers with 2 drummer accompanists to entertain the ADD tourist types. AS initially interesting as it was, it got boring fast.

Here is a panoramic video of the town square a little after sunset. What I notice about this video (and why I am bothering to share it) is the sounds of the birds. They were a constant reminder that we were not in Washington anymore. They were these black birds with slightly long tails, they were loud (in a good way) and they were everywhere.

After hanging out in the town square, we walked South past our hotel and checked out Mega. We had no idea what a Mega was, but a lot of locals were going in there, so we walked on in like we knew what we were doing. As it turns out, Mega is simply a Fred Meyers. Clothes electronics, toys, sporting goods, automotive and groceries. I thought stores like this were an American phenomenon!

On the way back to the hotel with some Haagen Daas ice cream we saw some kids seem to be really excited about something on the sidewalk. They had their cell phones out and were taking pictures. It turns out that they were checking out the Mexican Redrump Tarantula below. This is the only good picture I got of it before it went too far out in the street. (The traffic in San Miguel is INSANE) so I didn't follow it out there to get more pix. As we walked away, the tarantula got run over by a motor scooter. You should click the picture to get a good look at its total creepiness up close.

Cozumel Day 1

2009-04-01T20:56:00.000-07:00

Lats night around midnight, our journey finally came to an end. We spent 4 nights in San Miguel, on Cozumel Island in Mexico. We escaped temperatures in the low 40's and rain to a sunnier place with temps in the mid 80's with lows in the 70's. Our timing couldn't have been better.

Once the long layovers and travelling were complete, we were treated with the following view from our private oceanfront balcony. Not too shabby.

Here is a stretch of shops that housed the first ATM we could find, as well as the car rental place we finally elected to use. Finding a rental car is not difficult on Cozumel, renting from someone who you trust at all is another story.

Here is the sweet interior of our awesome rental car, the "Mexican Ferrari". Those are rusted out holes by my feet looking right at the pavement. (yeah, I dove in bare feet on a rusty floorboard in Mexico... what of it?)

We had 2 objectives on our car rental day on the island. Number 1, find a place to swim. Number 2, explore the island, and do the full loop (it's actually a half-island loop). Here is Paradise beach. Here we succeeded in completing objective number 1. We went swimming in the Caribbean Sea. It was a very windy day, so the water on this side of the island was a bit murky, but it was warm and super fun anyways. We didn't stay long, there was more (less touristy) places to see.

Here we are as the road meets the wild East coast of the island. The waves are much larger, the rip currents are much more dangerous, and the views are mush more scenic. I can't tell... are we sunburned yet? It happens somewhere on this drive. That's what we get for renting a convertible and using Hawaiian Tropic 40SPF sunscreen. Our advice to you... stick with Banana Boat 40SPF. It works wonders.

The East side of the island is quite remote. We found a beach with NO other people. The sand was super soft, the water was warm and beautiful... I could not resist.

He runs... jumps... and...

...sweet relief. I didn't go any deeper than you see here, this is the East side of the island, and I didn't want to do anything stupid. Farther up the road they had a swimming beach closed due to rip currents and high wind.

After the little break, we headed up the east coast of the island until we came to Coconuts. This is a restaurant and bar that the rental car guy (and our trusty guidebook) highly recommended. It is situated on a cliff overlooking the sea, surrounded by palm trees and sand.

Apparently, we were close to Cuba.

My first Mexican beverage of the trip. Also the best one. Maybe it had something to do with location, location, location...

2 random bar dogs at coconuts. Jill noticed that all of the dogs in Cozumel were exactly like these. Squat mutts. Very independent. Very cute.

The "Attack Parrot" at Coconuts... not as cute.

Here is the view of Coconuts looking south. You can see the tops of the umbrellas and the thatched roof of the bar.

Our road trip ended with a visit to San Gervasio, 1000 year old ruins in the center of the island. Here we see Jill and the sweet rental in the parking lot. Notice that we had placed the top UP by mow. enough sun is enough in one day!

Here Jill walks from one ruin to another along one of the crumbling roads.

One of the sites at San Gervasio.

I could see most of the island from here!

Iguanas like San Gervasio.

Turkey Vultures like Mexico. Here are three we saw flying around and hanging out at the ruins.

My beautiful wife in a beautiful setting.

The giant Mexican flag. It was only flying for the first couple of days of the trip, but it was a cool looking landmark while it lasted. It is on the sea wall in front of the town square, where this photo was taken.

After a long sun-exposed day, we make the 3 block walk back to the hotel. Stay tuned for Day 2: Electric Boogaloo!

Feeling Better

2009-03-18T20:52:00.000-07:00

Overall, the Fam is feeling much better than a week ago. Not yet 100%, but better. Here, Drew demonstrates just how much better he is feeling.

TIMBER!!!!

Air Drewbie

Super Drew!

Candy Land Part Deux

2009-03-18T20:47:00.000-07:00

As you can see, a week later, Drew is still not exactly excited to lose at Candy Land. It is also really hard to "let" Drew win at this game. He knows the rules!

Candyland

2009-03-09T20:00:00.000-07:00

Drewbie got Candyland today. He did a pretty darn good job playing it. He won on his first try!

Here we see Drew at the start of the second game. It was just a Drew and Daddy game this time. As time went on, I was in the lead, and Drew was not too happy about it. I was about 10 spaces from the candy castle at the end of the game when his piece got stuck on licorice (he loses a turn). He started crying and getting mad when he landed on the licorice. He started flipping out and throwing pieces when I won on my next turn. He was PISSED. Needless to say, that fed perfectly into bedtime. We'll play again tomorow I'm sure.

Sick

2009-03-08T22:25:00.000-07:00

Drewber is sick. Jill is sick. I was sick, and may be getting sick again. Yay Winter! Took Drew to the doctor yesterday, he had an ear infection, fever, cough, runny nose and a right lung that sounded like early pneumonia. He is now on Amoxicillan and Ibuprofen. He's feeling much better now.

Here is a picture of Drew a couple of weeks ago when he was first starting to get sick. He loved to play with the "smoke" coming out of the frog's eyeballs.

Mmmm... celery!

2009-03-08T22:19:00.000-07:00

Last week, Drew was first exposed to the wonders of... the celery stalk! He loved it. (especially after Mom introduced the wonders of celery with peanut buter!)

Smile!

2009-02-19T20:19:00.000-08:00

For the longest time, we have been trying to get Drew to draw something... anything, that looks like anything. He has been drawing for a long time. His most recognizable thing to draw in the past has been lines all over the driveway with sidewalk chalk. He also likes to draw circular scribbles. Tonight, Jill decided to draw a smiley face and asked if Drew could copy it. He did it! I was then called to the room to see what he had done. Drew erased the board, and drew the smiley face below from scratch! His first recognizable drawing! Of course, we had to have him pose with his dry-erase board art!

Immediately after the above picture was taken, drew erased his picture and drew another one. Here's the video...

Newbie

2009-02-17T20:03:00.000-08:00

Newbie is coming right along! We went in for the 20 week ultrasound this afternoon. This is the big ultrasound, where they take tons of measurements and pictures. Here is Newbie's progress.
Weight: 13 oz
Age: 19 weeks, 6 days (but he is measuring a week older)

We saw hands, feet, arms, legs, 4 chambered heart, kidneys, stomach, spine, ribs, nose, lips and head. All of the things we were looking for. We were NOT looking for a gender, but both of us thought we spied some little boy parts at one point.

Profile. You can see Newbie's nose, lips, chin, spine, and maybe heart/stomach.

Here's looking at you, kid... Here is Newbie's face, looking right at you! (tilt your head 90 degrees to the left)

Drew sings.

2009-02-15T16:24:00.000-08:00

Well, Drew likes to sing. Unfortunately for us, he loves to do it after listening to Rage Against The Machine, The Melvins, The Darkness, White Stripes and The Strokes. I think that the sounds he is making at the beginning are drums. Later in the video he mentions The Darkness and "you can't stop us now" from his favorite song, "Renegades of Funk" by Rage Against The Machine.

Enjoy.

Bike Ride

2009-02-15T16:22:00.000-08:00

It was sunny, cold and it looked perfect for a bike ride through the neighborhood. This was the first time that we all rode seperate bikes together, a day that I know I had been looking forward to for a long time.

Unfortunately, reality set in shortly after we left the house, Drew's legs got "tired" and the trip ended up being extremely frustrating. Drew cried all of the way home. Man, I was looking forward to going on bike rides with the fam!

Happy Birthday Nana!

2009-02-09T17:23:00.000-08:00

This kid will learn to smile one of these days!

Memory Game

2009-02-08T20:02:00.000-08:00

After Drew's bath tonight we al played Memory before his bedtime. It was a lot of fun. Drew still needs a little help with the rules, but he does really well.

YES! A match.

Drew celebrates finding a pair of octopi.

Grab up that pair of rings!

This is February?!?

2009-02-08T11:01:00.000-08:00

We got hit with a day of sweet weather yesterday. Mid 50's, sun, no wind. We just HAD to go outside, and once there, Drew insisted on playing soccer. We started in the back yard, and moved to the driveway for a little more sun.

We are predicted for a possibility of snow Tuesday and Tuesday night.

Drew gets wy into every kick that he makes.

As you can see, he can kick the ball pretty hard.

HE reminds me of those kids at the hardcore shows I used to go to with my brother.

Rockin' the shades out in th driveway.

Finally!

2009-02-04T20:28:00.000-08:00

Jill and I have been together for about 12 years. In that time we have dated, lived together, gotten married, gone to college and graduate school, gotten real jobs, bought a house, and had a son. We have even had the time to drive to the coast for a few weekends throughout the years.

In the time we have known each other we have NEVER had a real vacation. We have never been on a plane together. We have never left the country.

Finally, these things are happening. With a new baby on the way in July, the time is urgent for us to take a trip of some sort to somewhere. Soon. SO we jumped in and did it. We are going to Mexico!!! Cozumel, to be exact. We are flying down for Spring break for a few nights. The warm weather, the warm Caribbean Sea, the few day break from parental responsibilities... Yeah!

The difficulty primarily lay with the dilemma of what to do with Drew while we were away. We knew that a vacation would NOT work with the boy in tow. We need a break. Then a bit of luck. Even though we live 3 1/2 hours away from our parents, (most of the time) , we were able to negotiate a plan that gets Jill's parents and my Mom involved, and we get to get away! Yahoo!!

For those of you as unfamiliar with Mexico as I am, here is a map of Mexico with the island of Cozumel clearly labeled (thanks MS Paint!).

Life's a Beach

2009-01-18T19:12:00.000-08:00

It's a 3 day weekend, and we needed a vacation. Fortunately, the Oregon Coast is less than 2 hours away! We took off this morning for Cannon Beach Oregon, hit up the beach really fast, got our salt water taffy, ate lunch at Ecola Seafood Market and headed on over to Seaside for the rest of the day. With temps above 60 degrees (we reached a whopping 48 degrees at home today. We haven't seen 60 in months!) and no wind or clouds, it was an AWESOME day.

Jill, Drew and Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach.

Drew is as happy as a kid in a candy store. Actually, he IS a kid in a candy store!

Drew heads toward the ocean in Seaside.

Of course, the most fun game at the beach, running from waves! As you can see from our attire, it was plenty warm to play in the water. (though the Pacific water in January feels even colder than usual, if that's possible)

Another silhouette picture of Jill and Drew.

Run, Drew.. Run!!

I really like this reflection picture. I call it "Drew Fetching Shovel"

This is another cool reflection picture. I call it "Drew Picking Up The Shovel He Was Fetching"

Mom and Drew running from the waves.

Brrrrr... the waves won.... this time.

Drew "Surfing"

Drew "Surfing" again.

Warm and dry, with hot chocolate in hand, we all sat at the sea wall at Seaside to relax and watch the sun sink toward the horizon. Drew is wearing thermal pants and a coat. It's all we could find in the car that was dry. We had no change of clothes, who knew the weather would be this nice?!?

The View.

About 5 minutes outside of Seaside on the way home We knew he would sleep, but we had no idea it would happen so fast.

Roller Skating!

2009-01-18T18:55:00.000-08:00

I am sorry in advance for the poor picture quality, but they were taken hastily with my cell phone. Mom, Dad and Drew all went to Oaks Park skating rink on Saturday morning for the learn to skate session. After we tightened Drew's skates down, he had a pretty good time. He gets easily frustrated with trying new things that are hard, but after a while he was warming up to it a bit.

Here is the roller rink. It is really old school, with an old Wurlitzer pipe organ suspended from the ceiling. There are pictures on the walls from as early as 1928. Mom and drew are just above the center of this picture, Jill is in white, Drew is in dark grey.

Go, Drew... Go!

Are you kidding me?

2009-01-18T18:46:00.000-08:00

I took this picture before one of Drew's swimming lessons last week. I was very disappointed. I was thirsty. Damn you, reclaimed water!!!!

Cold January Day

2009-01-04T14:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we just had to get out of the house. We decided to go to our favorite walk along the Columbia River. There has been some flooding on the smaller rivers and streams recently, so we thought the river could be an interesting choice. The river level ended up not being too high, but the weather sure was cold.

Mom and Drew and the Mighty Columbia

Drew takes a break.

Drew walks out toward the river, fishermen in the background.

Mom and Drew... piggyback!

Mommy and Drew

Meet Newbie Blaesing

2009-01-04T14:19:00.000-08:00

Meet Newbie Blaesing. We had the nuchal trans ultra sound on 12/30/2008. All looks well. The Newbie is measuring almost a week ahead right now. Can you see the smile?!!

Christmas Day

2009-01-04T13:43:00.000-08:00

Surprisingly, Bend had much less snow to offer than home, but there was still plenty of snow to be seen. The sun peeked up and left us awaking to a beautiful view from the safety and warmth of Grammy and Grandpa's living room!

North Sister, partially shrouded in clouds.

Black Butte, looking not so black.

Now to the good stuff. I was really bad about taking pictures of this, but hopefully Grammy will send me some I can post.

Here, Drew reaches deep in his stocking, looking for the good stuff.

Success! Grammy and Mom look on with approval.

Drew's favorite Christmas present BY FAR... his Batman and Joker Battle Stations Playset, or as he calls it, his "Batmobile"

Mount Bachelor, after we opened presents.

The day after Christmas we had another beautiful morning view. North and Middle Sister in a lovely shade of early morning orange. The mountains are beautiful this time of morning.

See? I told you the mountains were beautiful this time of morning!

Snow Storm! (Part 2)

2009-01-04T13:34:00.000-08:00

Well, the freezing rain arrived, left 1/2 of ice on everything, and then the snow resumed. We received about 3-4 more inches on top of the snow and ice already on the ground for a nice total of about 11-12 inches by the time we left for X-mas. Here are some pics from the day before we left for Bend.

As the snow flies, Jill pulls "Adventure Drew" on the neighbor's sled.

Dad's turn.

We ended the day at the playground. It is ridiculous how fun the slides are in the snow and cold. Possible video to come soon.

Here is a short video of Drew and Mom going down the slide. It is dark, but still hilarious.

Snow Storm!

2008-12-20T21:52:00.000-08:00

We awoke this morning to snow falling, and the promise of a few inches of snow throughout the day. The forecasters had been pretty wrong earlier in the week, so why should they get it right this time?

It is now 10:00 PM and it is still snowing. 7 1/4 inches at last measure. We have also been told that we can expect freezing rain and sleet (2-3 inches worth) tonight. The news is actually reporting that the freezing rain has arrived right this second. Yay.

Here is a shot of Drew earlier in the day.

When the Drew's away (sleeping) the parents will play. Jill and I had a great time playing in the snow and snowboarding in the front yard for a little more than an hour after Drew went down for the night. It was snowing hard and the snow on the ground made it BRIGHT outside. THe next picture was taken without a flash as an example.

Jason snowboarding.

Jill can snowboard, too!

Jason again. (It's more fun than it looks)

Jill saw the snow on the slide of Drew's clubhouse and couldn't help herself. Here you see her crashing to the ground. Action photo!

Here is the super snowman I built yesterday. He's got a lot of snow making his appearance very cone-like. Jill uncovered his face for your viewing pleasure.

Okay freezing rain... we are waiting.. Do your worst!

More Snow!

2008-12-18T22:55:00.000-08:00

So this morning we awoke to 33 degree temperatures and SNOW!

It didn't take Drew long to find some friends to play with. Here he chases Emily in an attempt to hit her with a snowball. He later resorted to throwing them at me, as I don't run away too often.

Drew and Emily sledding.

Snowball fight.

Later in the day, the sun came out and began melting everything away, but not before we made a snowman.

As the afternoon wore on and evening neared, the snow began to fly again. Here is a snowman that I built in the backyard. He is in the shade if the sun comes out, and with cold temperatures predicted through Christmas, I'll keep you updated on how long he lasts.

Before bed time, we all headed outside to play in a snow shower. Here Drew practices the art of catching snowflakes on his tongue.

As you can clearly see, the snow returned. In the background you can see the first snowman pictured above.

Our house tonight.

Snow Day!

2008-12-18T22:48:00.000-08:00

Wednesday was the second snow day of the year, but it was the first one where we actually got a tiny amount of snow here in Vancouver. Following the ingenuity of the kids across the street, I swept the snow into the middle of the driveway for a little sledding action. (it is really flat where we live, so we do what we can). As you can see, we all had a pretty good time.

Drew, kinda having a good time.

Here you witness the Drew sledding propulsion system getting ready for another launch.

The launch was a huge hit!

Moms can have fun too.

Driveway sledding... so fun, it's creepy.

7-8-9

2008-12-10T18:03:00.000-08:00

Karen's Korner

2008-12-08T19:46:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday we went on the hunt for a nice innocent Christmas tree to slaughter. After barely surviving the ordeal at an extremely overly busy tree farm last year, we were looking forward to slowing down the pace a bit. We found a nice sized local farm called Karen's Korner that was only about 3 miles from the house. The weather was sunny and cold (notice a light frost in the picture below) but the sun heated up the farm quick enough. We found a good tree and had a good time.

Mommy and Drew exploring the selection of trees.

The old barn , Drew and long rows of Douglas firs.

Drew relaxes while Dad cuts down the tree.

Drew helps Dad carry the tree back to the car.

The Blaesingmobile loaded and ready for the trip home.

The perfect end to a fun day...