Roadtrip +

We went and stayed with some friends in Corvallis last weekend. Ila had never met Kiara and Sofia, but they were instant friends. They were the sweetest girls. They made a salmon dinner together, made "silky hair" in a hairbrushing train, and Ila slept on the top bunk snuggled in with Sofia all night.

We have been going for afternoon jogs and stopping at different parks along the way. Opal loves the swings.

Grandpa and Ila at Standing Stone. I'm pretty sure they were on pins and needles here waiting for the punchline of one of Gus or Vinny's jokes. Let me guess..."forks and knives, forks and knives."

We started feeding Opal some solid food this week. So far she has had rice cereal and acorn squash. She seems to like it, however she is always more interested in what her big sis is doing.

We woke up to a very light dusting of snow yesterday and of course Ila went straight out on the deck to build a "snowman". I love that she is a kid that will head outside as soon as she wakes up.

Last but not least, after Ila went to school yesterday I was cleaning and I noticed La-La was at the art table keeping busy. I liked the boosters.

No Training Wheels!

Ila is now riding her bike with no training wheels. She's really proud of herself!

Opal's New Friend

Opal has noticed Rio and she really gets excited about him. Yesterday I put her on the floor next to him and he was so sweet. She slobbered on him and pulled on his fur and he didn't move a muscle. She was entertained for quite some time. I feel like I finally got some pictures that really look like her.

The Girls

Ila got invited to a tea party at our neighbor Carol's house, along with an old friend who is visiting from Hawaii. As you can see it was pretty fancy.

Opal loved gnawing on Grandpa's bagel. She would get mad when he took it away from her. Maybe it's time to start some solid food!

This looks like a really sweet picture of Ila and Gus strolling at Lithia Park. What was really happening is they were yanking on each other and trying to knock one another down and being really rough, as they usually are when they are together. Carrie and I talk about how are kids bicker with each other as if they were all siblings. They are all so comfortable together.

Carrie being the sweet mom that she is and comforting Vinny after he smashed his finger. Didn't slow him down in his basketball game! He's a little firecracker out there on the court!

Ila and Vinny stopping at a rock garden in Lithia Park for some mid-day meditation.

I'm kind of surprised at how well Opal sits up already. She does still need some support. Look at her eyebrows. They are so expressive! She raises them up exactly like Ian does. Nobody but a mother would notice that, nor would anyone think it's as cute as I do.

She's Really Snowboarding!

Last weekend we went to Kena's (red coat) 5th birthday party up at Mt. Ashland. After lunch, cake and running around in the lodge everyone ventured outside for snow activities.

Learning how to walk to the lift line with her snowboard attached to one foot.

For some reason I almost cried watching Ian and Ila on the chair lift...disappear into the fog. It was her first time and it just made me realize how big and able she is. Ian said half way up she said, "Um, Dad...these chairs don't have seat belts." He told her thats why you never "horse around" on the lift. I think all dad's say "horse around". I think it was hard for me to watch because it meant letting go. Its hard to explain but I'm usually in control of her activities and now that she is becoming adventurous Ian is taking over. It's good for all of us.