Adventures of a Family

WORD FOR WORD CONVERSATION WITH JONAH JONAH:   Daddy.  You know.  When I grow up I think I want to be a pirate but I don't know... it is hard DADDY:  Well, the best part is you don't have to decide today Jonah. JONAH: after a thoughtful pause   Daddy?  I think I want to be a ghost instead. Either that or a knight in a suit of armor. DADDY:  And what would you do if you were a guy in a suit of armor? JONAH:  uhhmm.  I'd probably fight. That's what those guys do right daddy?  Nevermind.  I want to be a king but I want to fight and stuff like that too.  Daddy, I want Mae to be my princess when she grows up and then I can protect her but I would miss you and I would have a horse and a shield.

A few days ago, Michael decided to do something a little different and shave off his always-present beard and mustache. I am usually convinced that this facial hair is actually something permanent that cannot ever be removed or his entire face will come off, but it's not true! The guy shaved and it was still him underneath. That skin hadn't seen the light of day for years, and of course, little Mae or Jonah for that matter, had never seen him clean-shaven. When Michael first presented himself to Mae, she was pretty upset and we thought she would start loosing it. All she kept repeating was "where are the pokes, bring the pokes back!" I was just about to leave for somewhere on my bicycle, but realized that she probably thought I was about to leave her with a stranger. So I had to snuggle up to the guy and give a few smooches in front of her, before she would accept that this really was her dad. She's still asking for the pokes back a few days later, but happi

Happy father's day to a wonderful dad and husband.

AHHHHH...such a cutie. And, my, how this year flew by.

Thank GOD for family who live close by. It's a win/win for everyone involved! Although grandma and grandpa Diltz live just 25 minutes down the road, the Clarks are about 3 1/2 hours away. And of course due to the distance they don't see the grandkids as much as they would like. So Michael and I, being the very giving people we are, decided to grant these two grandparents a couple of uninterrupted hours with the kiddos, while we had an outing to Tasty and Sons (YUM!) and then on to a very interesting "museum" called the Peculiarium near NW 23rd, where you can get ice cream sundays with real dried dehydrated worms, and see a display of an alien autopsy. AHHH, how romantic. Anyway, although now the grandparents admit they were a bit worried about my kids being total crazy, hyper devil-children, a good time was had by all. The photo evidence, complete with smiles, is displayed to the left of this post.

 "The best thing about mommy is that I love her." - Jonah Daddy:   What is the best thing about mommy?" Mae: I have a blue shirt. We love you.

Well the results are in.....Jonah is still officially in the 10th percentile for both height and weight. He weighs a whopping 32 pounds and is 38 and 1/2 inches (just tall enough to get into the play land at IKEA!).

Happy birthday to our big, big boy. He was a little sick with a fever, so Auntie Kealie and Deanna had to stay away, but both sets of grandparents were around, which was SO special. The day was pretty quiet and gave us a chance to hang out as a family. Jonah has made such huge changes this past year, it's unbelievable. He is continuing to become a thoughtful, caring, happy kid. We couldn't ask for more, especially with how well he's handling Mae and her TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE TWOS, which we are right in the middle of. Jonah even let Mae help him open a present and then let her play with his brand new toy. And all this while he had a fever. What a wonderful little man. Michael made THE most incredible cake for the little man. (and it even tasted good too!). We've posted photos of the results of his labor. We're so proud of you, Jonah, and you're happy, playful spirit. You have a way of making everything fun and show us new things about the world every day.

Strange that I am saying this has been a bittersweet day...but getting rid of the cloth diapers was a little bit difficult. I was a little sad to leave them at the shop where they will be consigned and used on another little bottom or two before they become car wash rags. No tiny little butts to diaper. I can't believe it. But MAN..those cloth diapers are amazing. We used them on both kids..so they were in constant use for at least 4 years, AND they were still in good enough shape to be resold at a children's boutique in town. Talk about green. Those little innocent looking pieces of material saved us hundreds of dollars and saved a few thousand diapers from ending up in the land fill. Not that we were at all purists. We still did a nightly disposable for Mae, and used them on vacations, etc. I'm so proud of us for sticking with them and doing the little bit of extra work it took. I really feel like we made a difference.

We love Portland snow!! Here for 2 hours of fun and then GONE!

So Michael and I are taking the kids on a ride on the tram at OHSU. Super fun for the kids and pretty low cost for such an amazing contraption. We went on a Saturday, which means there are no staff or docs riding, just a few tourists. Our cab had maybe 6 people besides ourselves. The view is spectacular...it is a gorgeous clear day and everyone on board is in awe. Mae, sensing there is an attentive audience blurts out very clearly "butt,........ poop,....... butt." To which we can only say "Mae, please be quiet" or something lame like that. Of course she continues to say it a few more times again to her silent, attentive audience, who are just trying LIKE CRAZY the enjoy the beautiful, serene view. Little do they know that MY foul-mouthed daughter would forever leave the imprint of "poop" on their brain when they think of Mt. St. Helens and the lovely Portland downtown skyline. UGG.

I'm making a commitment to start this again...no matter how long it takes to upload photos and how much of a pain it is. It is just too wonderful.