Videos from Miles's Party

Birthday Dinosaurs

Other than Miles turning a year older (for the first time), the other exciting part of the dinosaur party was freezing the little buggers in ice. The idea was Sarah's (to give proper credit). We filled empty half gallon milk cartons with water in a three step process and buried a dinosaur in each. During the party the ice blocks kept our drinks cold and later we let them out to melt in the sun.

Sean and Paul with non-frozen dinosaurs.

A Birthday For Miles

The dinosaurs have come back just in time for Miles's birthday!

Miles's birthday party was on Sunday August 21 at Washington Park in Portland. It was a beautifully warm day and the theme was thoroughly dinosaurs. There was volcano lava cake, stegosaurus cupcakes, dinosaur ice blocks keeping the beverages cold - and a pinata that could probably cause dinosaur extinction if it were just a little larger. Thank you to all our friends, and all the little babies, who came out to celebrate Miles with us. A special thanks to Sean McKeever for taking most of the good photos, and to Sarah for making the cakes and most of the pinata.

A volcano cake for the Birthday Boy!

Stegosaurus Cupcakes for everyone else (with almonds).

Miles blows out his candle with a little help from Mom and Dad.

What do I do with this?

Miles eats his cake.

A wee brontosaurus wanders up and asks for a bite of cake.

Miles lets him clean the plate while he moves on to the pinata.

Whoa. What is that?

Paul and Sarah made the pinata - it took days!

Miles thinks it is pretty funny that we're hitting the big blue thing.

Next, everyone else takes a turn. Anders gets a little help from Weston.

Ezra takes a swing with David.

Faye has done this before, but still needs a hand from Donna.

Miles likes to be busy

Miles is a very busy boy! From birth, he never liked to just lay on a blanket and look around at stuff; he always had to be in motion, even when sleeping. Before he could crawl, this meant we had to be in motion all the time, but now he happily zooms around the room on his own and gets his hands into everything (you may remember that he loves the tupperware drawer in the kitchen).

Many of his first toys were simple, and play consisted of manipulating the toy in his hands, mouth, banging it on things, shaking it to see if it made a sound, etc. Nowadays, Miles will give a toy a good shake, bang, and then THROW it if it doesn't do anything else! For example, he loves the mini tire pump that came with our stroller; pumping the handle to make air come out. Our growing boy sure could use some interesting playthings in his environment to help him learn about his body and develop his mind.

So here are the types of toys we like that Miles can use the most in the coming year:

Wooden Rainbow Stacker
In addition to working on coordination and organization, Miles can learn about colors, order, and choices. This one is sold at Babyworks, our favorite local baby shop where we've gotten cloth diapers and other baby supplies.

Wooden Thread Beads
This is another great toy for hand-eye coordination. The large beads are a great introduction to threading, as he won't be able to use lacing cards for another year or so. Another one from Babyworks!

Alphabet Blocks and Number Blocks
Not only are these blocks perfect for stacking and organizing, Miles can begin to learn his letters and numbers.

Wooden Rocking Horse
Being an active boy, it won't be long before he's ready to climb up on a horse for a ride. This one is low to the floor and very sturdy--perfect for a toddler still learning about gravity and balance.

Building Blocks
Great for learning different shapes and how they can stack.

Duplo Blocks (from Lego, of course!)
We both played with Legos when we were young, which helped us develop our creativity and sense of order. The baby-friendly larger Duplo blocks are even great second-hand, and the collection can be added to over time. Miles currently has only two Duplo Blocks, so he can't stack them very high!

Weekend Confessions

1. Sometimes I make chocolate cake for breakfast. And eat half of it by mid-day. In my defense, it's low-sugar, whole-wheat, vegan, and I'm breastfeeding a ravenous wolf cub who eats all of my calories.


2. I still haven't finished most of these projects. Some will become gifts now, but that's ok. Miles has everything he needs.


3. Like supervision.


4. Portlandia is totally true. This flier is about to get covered by another flier.


5. I think I get more excited about the zoo than my kid does.


6. I'm a very slow knitter. It took me 4 months to knit these socks. I'm never going to finish knitting a sweater for you, so please don't ask.


7. These two men bring out the best in me.


Have a great weekend!

A Wish to be Generous

photo credit: RevelationSpace

A little poetry is always soothing. On days when I can't put things into words, when everything seems like a failure, when I'm on the verge of becoming numb, it helps to get outdoors and connect with nature, with life.

A Wish to be Generous

All that I serve will die, all my delights,

the flesh kindled from my flesh, garden and field,

the silent lilies standing in the woods,

the woods, the hill, the whole earth, all

will burn in man's evil, or dwindle

in its own age. Let the world bring on me

the sleep of darkness without stars, so I may know

my little light taken from me into the seed

of the beginning and the end, so I may bow

to mystery, and take my stand on the earth

like a tree in a field, passing without haste

or regret toward what will be, my life

a patient willing descent into the grass.

-Wendell Berry

Berry has long been one of my favorite authors. In addition to poetry, he has a few great essays on economics and agriculture. The man fully understands and articulates what it's like to feel God in His creation, and how valuable that creation is to people like him...and me.

Camping

Wild men!

This past weekend was our annual church campout. A bunch of people from our church essentially take over Metzler Park and have a great time playing, relaxing, singing, and eating together. This year we had an additional camper in our tent...

So which tent is mine? And where's my hammock?!

Teaming up with another small family really made things run smoothly.

Camp management team: Sarah and LaVonne.

Cooking dinner: salmon and grilled broccoli.

The boys loved playing together. Anders is walking already so he was always on the move. Miles was more content to sit and look around.

Hanging out with friends in the field. Push faster, Anders!

Noticing the natural world.

The boys meet Murray dog.

Tag! You're it!

I guess this grass stuff is all right.

Enjoying outdoor church on Sunday morning.

On a little hike to the swimming hole.

I'm so glad we're bringing Miles into nature this early. He clearly loves it! I can't wait to go camping again!

Memorial Day Hike

We rode the MAX light rail just two stops east to the Portland Zoo stop (which is hundreds of feet under ground and you have to take an elevator to daylight) and began our hike through Hoyt Arboretum, passing through the Rose Garden and back home by Washington Park. We visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial which honors Oregon soldiers. Next, into the forest passing sequoias, redwoods and plenty of other beautiful trees and bushes. Miles slept half the time, but was awake to see the Rose Garden and crawl around in the grass. Unfortunately, most of the roses have yet to bloom. I love that this is all just a mile away from home!