Poppop

This morning Hudson talked on the phone with my dad for a little bit. They chatted about the usual things: tractors, bat’n'ball, and doughnuts. After Hudson said, ” Bye bye Poppop, Lova,” he turned to Ollie and said in a touching voice, “Miss Poppop, Ollie. So sad.” For only being 2, he sure has a tender heart.

Poppop & Hudson last August

I Super Duper Love Portland

C’mon. Is Portland for real? There is no way that a city should be so rad. Aside from missing my wonderful family and friends, I am thrilled to call this place my new home. We are having such a great time exploring new place to go- but mostly spending an unprecedented amount of time with Chris, Stace, Malia, Bright and of course Sweet Daisy.

Jono and I have been going to Pearl Church for the past month or so. We have yet to year a sermon preached from the head pastor, so we haven’t decided if that is where we will call home yet. It is located in the heart of downtown Portland. We started a Sunday tradition that enables us to spend time as a family, get exercise, as well as get to know the city a bit better. This is how it goes. We park near the church building, attend the service, try and meet new people, then we pack up the boys in the stroller and we are off! Typically we get our of church at noon, and I don’t think we have made it back to our can before 4:30. We have the best time! We either pack a picnic or pick up lunch somewhere, find a park (different each week so far), eat and let Hudson play, then we hit what feels like every street and shop. Its so great. The kids sleep while Jono and I talk, shop, and eat treats. I love Sunday’s!! GREAT family day. Nice to have some time after church to talk about the sermon and what we learned too.

I have been going on my own adventures too. Since moving here a month and a half ago, here are some of the things that we/I have done:

Gone to the Oregon Zoo 5 times

Surfed the Oregon Coast- Yes I put on my wetsuit for the first time is THREE years and actually caught waves

Gone to the Children’s Museum 2 times

Taken the boys on the MAX (train) by myself to different locations in Portland 3 times

One day this week I got on the MAX at 9:30, got off at the Zoo where I met Stace and the kids. Said hello to various animals and had lunch. Got back on the MAX, got off at Pioneer Square. Shopped at Nordstrom (abused the uber nice ladies room for diaper changes and feeding), hit See’s Candy next where I bought too much chocolate and ate nearly all of it. Walked from there over Burnside Bridge. Sat at Starbuck’s and drank a Sweetened Iced Tea and water, all while my kids slept. Walked way up to Lloyd Center where I shopped and let Hudson watch the kids ice skate. Walked to Jono’s work. Walked with Jono and Chris back across the bridge. Bought pizza. Went to park near river and met Stace & Co. Had picnic. Walked another mile to meet them again for Gelato. Walked way more to MAX station while Jono road his bike. Walked off the train then into my house at 9:30pm. Phew. I have to say I was tired and sunburned! Sorta funny. I planned to be gone 3-4 hours, and was able to squeeze 12 hours out of it. God truly blessed me with mellow, go-with-the-flow kids. They weren’t at all phased length of the excursion.

Here are some pictures for you. Lots of family in town lately- so great!

Uh-Oh!

Apparently I should have been watching the news lately. But no! I was to busy feeding Hudson the forbidden fruit! Not just last night but tonight too! Oops. Jono and I were recently talking about how impressed we are with Hudson’s palette. Little did we know, he would have done himself and us a favor by refusing to eat his tomatoes! Ugh.

Last night: rice, salmon, broccoli and roma tomatoes

Today at lunch he ate homemade spaghetti sauce by the handful

Dinner tonight: burritos with a whole tomato

There is Ollie thanking me for not feeding him tomatoes

And last but not least, Ollie looking as concerned as I did when I heard about the Salmonella outbreak from various tomaotes. Wah-wah.

Promo Code

For anyone who felt prompted to sign up for LifeLock, the promo code for a discount is RD3.

LifeLock anyone?

I just finished registering all four of us for LifeLock. Have you heard of it, or do any of you have it? Basically, it is to protect us from identity theft.

One of our family members is in the midst of trying to straighten out his ‘identity.’ There is a shameless theft out there who has messed up our this persons credit, opened new credit cards in his name, and as of late has been trying to hack into his bank accounts. Major crisis. Major frustration. Super difficult to recover from. My heart goes our to him (and his wife) as they continue to try and get to the root of the problem.

My mom has been suggesting to me for quite sometime to sign up for LifeLock. After hearing a personal account of what a disaster it turns into- I finally got the smarts to do it. I have to say…it is a sad day when we have to pay a monthly fee to be secure and free from identity theft. How lame. And though it will sting a bit to pay to prevent something that may never happen….there is that piece of me that knows how mad I would be if I didn’t sign up for LifeLock and had my identity stolen.

So there you have it. What do you think? Do you think it is a dumb move? Is it another ploy that I fell for that is only based on fear? Is it wise? Please share your thoughts with me…whatever they may be. Jono and I have differing opinions on this subject, so I am curious if you do too.

www.lifelock.com

Whirlwind past 2 months

Jono & Hudson on the MAX

Aimee & Ollie enjoying the weather

C’mon, seriously? Is he really that radical?

Walking to hospital to visit Jake, Talia & Maggie

Firetruck Date

The Haircut

We discovered that he has a forehead

Being a mommy is the coolest

Last family picture before the move

Ollie’s newest challenge…stairs!

The older cousing enjoying cocoa and marshmallows

Our sweet, sweet babe

Too wonderful for words

There’s no foolin’ Hudson

I just got back from taking Hudson and Ollie to the Children’s Museum. One station they offer the little one’s to play in is a mock grocery store. For those of you who haven’t been to this museum, here is how this portion of it works. They have adorable miniture grocery carts, 2 check out stations (complete with a cash register, a scanner that beeps, and the belt that moves the checked food down to be bagged), and very organized ‘food’ items. The food on the shelves is all from packages that once contained food- from cracker boxes, to tomato sauce cans, to egg/milk cartons, to frozen juice cans. You name it- if you have seen it at Safeway, most likely it is at this store too. Anyhow, as Hudson shopped he would pick up an item like cereal, shake it, then put it back. This went on and on…ice cream, crackers, canned goods…he reluctantly put back each item and looked confused and semi disgusted. By the time he went to pay at the cash register, all he had in his cart were the following (looked and felt very realistic, might I add): bagels, bananas, apples, peaches, and potatoes.

He must already know that his daddy doesn’t part well with money when the product doesn’t seem worth. And obviously, empty containers aren’t worth buying…even with pretend money.

Geegees

I hope that those of you who a) read my blog  b) love Jesus know, know that no irrevervance is intended by the title.  You will know what I mean as you continue reading.

Every night Jono and I sing to Hudson after he is tucked into bed.  Quite hilarious.  If you have ever heard me sing, you would understand why it is so funny.  Anyhow, Hudson’s favorite songs are: Jesus Loves Me, Jesus Loves the Little Children, The B-I-B-L-E, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Bah-Bah Black Sheep, and The Alphabet.  He always asks us to sing the “Geegees” songs.  I think that Jesus delights in having wee ones talk about him, even if they can’t pronounce His name.  He sings almost all the words to each of the songs listed.  It is music to my ears to hear our little 2 year old sing about Jesus and the Bible (I would say singing to Jesus, but I don’t think he really gets that part yet).  Since our move, we haven’t been able to find our USB cable to download our pictures, so my memory card is full.  But in the event that I get my camera up and running- I will surely get him on video and share it with you .

Hudson is truly a little miracle.  Jono and I are continually shocked at the things he says and does.  The phrases he says, and his little expressions that are so ‘grown up.’  He says new things out of the blue, and we think….When did he learn that?  Or…How does he know to say that in context?

Real quick update on Ollie.  He is crawling EVERYWHERE!  He is trying to figure out stairs and has even started pulling himself up on furniture.  How did he get to be 9 months already?  He has not been fond of eating up until this week.  I had previously been feeding him baby foods, but after 3 months of him spitting our nearly every bite- I tried a new plan.  I have been taking parts of our meals and blending them in my Magic Bullet (which I LOVE).  Since then, he has eaten like a champ!!!  Things like, sloppy joes, italian chicken, zuchini, squash, carrots, broccoli, pasta, lasagna…you name it!  If it is REAL food, you can count on him to eat it.  So the Earth’s Best baby food and Zwieback snacks in the pantry…going, going, GONE!

Daisy Noelle Erickson

So forget about our move…she is way more important.  Born on May 28th, weighing in at 8 pounds 8 ounces.  A little angel, we love her so much already. Welcome to the family, Daisy.