A lunch time visit with Jill and Kate

I don't remember the last time Jill and I were able to together in person. It feels like it's been at least a year. We talk on the phone as we can and keep up with each other's life events through blogs and Facebook otherwise. But, actually in the same room together?!

Fortunately, today worked out and we were able to provide Jill and her daughter, Kate, with a lunch break on their drive to Salem to visit Jill's parents.

Saul and Kate are just 19 days apart. Kate born June 1 and Saul born June 19. As we walked to the local deli, it was so fun to look down on the kids in their strollers as they talked and sang together. Jill and I were able to talk while pushing them. Then the kids played together in the play area at the deli--rocking on Ikea rocking horses, talking on the phone, playing with all the toys--while Jill and I caught up. How crazy that without any effort our first kids are so close in age and our second kids will only be about three months apart - me due any day and Jill due in mid-May.

A few pictures of Kate and Saul playing a little before they continued on their drive:

Drawing together on the chalk board.

Jam session part 1: Kate playing the xylophone and Saul singing along.
Jam session part 2: Saul accompanying Kate's xylophone with his rooty-toot-toot.

Weekend adventures - bus and plane

Saul's been talking about buses for a number of weeks. When we see one he'll say, "Maybe we can ride on a bus someday." We've ridden on the MAX train, but somehow not the bus.

That 'someday' finally happened! Aaron had a special paddling clinic on Saturday and the bus was the perfect adventure to keep Saul and me busy for the morning.

Trying hard to hold back the excitement. If we made eye contact he would get the biggest grin on his face!

And here he is later in the weekend flying in an airplane!

January pics

Not that many pictures this month, but still some fun ones.

The easiest way to get Saul's hair wet in the morning.
This avoids needing to use the spray bottle to wet down the curls.

Finally sleeping...in our bed just 30 minutes before I needed to wake him up.
How is it that the last hour of sleep seems to be the deepest?
Saul and Claire sharing a chair at Jim & Patty's. It wen well for a few minutes at least.

Find Saul. This game never seems to get old.
Take all the animals out of the basket.
Saul climbs in and then we refill the basket with all of the animals around him.

Get the camera, please

Lately Saul's been looking all cute with Aaron on the bed and then asks me to get the camera. Here are few, with the best saved for last.

Aunt Mary Visits from Chicago

Aaron's Aunt Mary from Chicago came to Portland to visit Aaron's dad, Tom, for a long weekend. Her visit coincided nicely with Saul's Friday at Grandma Barbara's house. Breakfast together has become part of the Friday's with Grammy routine for Barbara and Tom with Saul. It was nice that my schedule allowed me to accept Barbara's invitation to join them with Aunt Mary. Before we left the house Saul asked Aaron, "Dadda, you like to come meet Aunt Mary, too?" Aaron explained that he'd met her already and was quite sure that Saul was really going to like her!

Saturday night Barbara hosted a very yummy dinner and chance for all of us to get together. Saul was a little off, which makes more sense now as he ended up with a cold and nasty cough starting up Sunday late afternoon. Below is a picture from Sunday, when Tom and Aunt Mary stopped by to admire Aaron's masterpiece, the front yard. Saul was very excited for the visit. And, as seen in this picture, there's no question that the Wieting genes are prominent. Notice the similarity in smile between Aaron's dad, Aunt Mary and Saul!

Blanket for the Second Taft Great Grandson

Aaron's cousin Jim (his mom's sister's son) and Jim's wife, Jen, had a baby boy in June. Baby Elliott is the second great grandchild for Grandma Ruby Taft. We've not had a chance to meet him, as he's on the other coast, but we've seen many pictures of the beautiful little guy. Here are some pictures of him with the blanket I made him. It's a little thicker than others I've made, as I was thinking of the New England winters.

Thank you to Jen for the pictures!

Christmas Tree Farm

Funny how kids cause you to embrace traditions and extra holiday season efforts. For many years we've had a live Christamas tree. Aaron brings it in the house about a week before Christmas and then hauls it back out only a day or two after Christmas. Oh, yes! And, in the meantime, we decorate it and enjoy it for a week but then we need to avoid over taxing the tree's system. After a few years of use, we plant the tree on the family property in Tillamook.

With Saul's enthusiasm seeing Christmas lights and his overall holiday cheer, we decided to go to a u-cut place on Sauvie's Island. Saul was very excited with the prospects of the adventure going to a "tree farm". We headed out Saturday morning and were preparing to start walking towards the trees when I saw a familiar car. Yes, Michelle, Jeff and Claire were pulling into the same exact tree farm. Completely unplanned. Not discussed at all. They had no idea we were going to get a tree on Saturday. And, how could we have known they had the same idea?! But, we had an great time all the same and the kids thought it was fun to get a tree together. How crazy is that?!

Here are some pictures from our unexpected family adventure:

Claire and Saul very happy to see each other. Their visits do often start this way.

Saul playing peek-a-boo around the tree branches.

Saul and Claire having fun walking around the trees while we all tried to select the best trees for our homes.
The beginning of the end. They were building bird nests with dead grass and debris...and they started arguing. "That's my tree." "That tree's just MY size." "No, just MY size." And Aaron thought there would be nothing to fight over.

Aaron preparing to cut the tree without getting his knees all dirty.

Saul watching Aaron and expressing a lot of curiousity: "What you doing, Dadda?... Dadda, what you doing?"

Somehow I didn't get a picture of it, but at the end of the trip, the kids each got a candy cane. Saul eats like a Simmons or Taft or a Wieting. He chewed his candy cane up in less than 5 minutes. And, Claire's pace appears more like Michelle and Julie's, which involved barely sucking on it and then trying to steal some from Saul's in the meantime. :)