christmas tree

We decided to change our tradition this year, and we got a fake tree. We travel during lots of Christmas's and we come home to a very dry tree which seems to be a big fire hazard. So this year, since we are flying out before Christmas, and we wanted to maximize the time we could enjoy the tree, we went to Costco instead of the tree lot. We picked out a 9 footer- it looked pretty small in the warehouse, but takes up a majority of our front room, and grazes the peak of the ceiling. And we've been burning a Yankee Candle to make the house smell like a fresh tree- yes, a new fire hazard.

jingle bells

christmas list

Owen is catching on to this whole Christmas thing. They decorated a tree in front of the courthouse with ornaments they made at daycare. Owen loves singing Jingle Bells, and yesterday sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. He even told Richard he had a gift list, which he has kept consistant for a few days:

- a Frosty the Snowman book (they read that in school)

- a purple present and

- a purple ball.

We aren't sure what he means by the "purple present"- when we've asked for more details, he explains that it is a circle.

thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, joined by Kristi who drove in from Washington with her sons Jackson and Henry and a friend, my parents, and my sister's family. Richard cooked a great turkey, we had the usual starches for side dishes, and pie for dessert.

Kristi spent the weekend with us and we did our 2nd annual post Thanksgiving pilgrimage to the Newport aquarium. It was great to have our families together.

Owen loved spending time with Jackson, who is 4. He doesn't usually have the opportunity to play with an older boy, and followed Jackson everywhere. Henry just turned 2- he has grown so much since we saw him in the spring.

My parents DROVE out to Oregon from Virginia in a rental truck full of things from our childhood, plus some furniture for Owen and Laurel. They flew back home after the weekend, but will be back for Christmas and all of January (long enough to help unpack some of those boxes).

dress-up

Lots of dress-up in November. Owen tried on Dad's biking glasses- the first pictures are from before we cut his hair and I think he is so cute!!

Owen had renewed interest in his monkey costume from last year after seeing Laurel in it. He wore it around the house several days in a row. Which is appropriate because we call him the "monkey boy." (We will say, are you cute?, and he says, No! I'm a monkey boy!)

Laurel tried on Owen's Halloween costume from this year- a little Elvis suit. Owen has yet to wear it. My dad also was Elvis- he tried on Richard's Elvis suit, in preparation for a 60's themed birthday party.

The final pictures are with Owen and my mom- Owen is wearing Paddington Bear's yellow hat.

busted

So I bought a couple of pairs of new shoes last week- one that Richard knew about- a pair of flats, and one that he didn't know about- a pair of heels. Owen and Richard were reading the paper, and Owen pointed to a picture of shoes and said- those look like Mom's new shoes! And Richard said- yes, her new shoes sitting over there- pointing to my shoes on the floor. Owen said- no, not those shoes her OTHER new shoes, and walked around on his tip-toes, demonstrating how you walk in heels.

I was busted by my 2 year old son. I bet a daughter would have kept my secret.

a holiday message

I have a lot to update from November, but first, here's a holiday message from the McManus family:

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1129604763

abc's updated

pedal, pedal!

Owen and Richard have an agreement that Owen has to wear his helmet outside, but can ride in the garage without it. Since Owen hates his helmet, he only rides in the garage, and this weekend he really did a great job pedaling from one side to the other. I captured this pass- not his best one, but he's not thrilled about the camera, so I get what I get.

but he doesn't like halloween

Halloween turned out to be a tough holiday for Owen. We usually get friends together to carve pumpkins before Halloween, but we ran short on time, everyone seemed to be sick, and Owen is apparently afraid of carved pumpkins. Owen would not let us carve the pumpkins- he was OK with us scooping out one, but he screamed and cried when we got ready to carve a face. He painted on one, and we left the others "natural."

We have been trying for a month to convince Owen to put on his Halloween costume. Both Owen and Richard were going to be Elvis this year (actually, we were all 3 going to be Elvi, but we ran out of time and inspiration and energy). Last year we had an issue getting Owen into his monkey costume, but after forcing it on him through tears, he ended up loving it. I had assumed he'd outgrow that issue by this year. Instead, he has just grown bigger and stronger and more stubborn and WOULD NOT try on his blue jumpsuit (with a cape, gold details, and gold sunglasses- sideburns attached). On Halloween afternoon Richard gave a big effort- when Owen got home from day care, Richard was there, in his Elvis jumpsuit, with Elvis playing on TV. But it didn't work. Owen would not put on his costume.

So we went to the playground instead, and took a nice walk together and later Laurel came over to trick or treat at our house. She was a very cute butterfly, and became a flying monkey girl when she tried on Owen's costume from last year.

Maybe Owen's costume will still fit next year, or maybe Laurel will want to be a flying Elvis.

i've BEND to london

So all week we've told Owen that we are going to go to Bend this weekend, and he kept reciting the line "I've been to London to visit the Queen." (It's a line from a nursery rhyme.) We tried to understand why Owen thought Bend sounded like London, then we realized it was "been to".

Anyway, we went to Bend this weekend, on our annual Anniversary trip, this time bringing a miniature chaperon with us. It wasn't a romantic weekend, but a fun family get away. Bend is on the other side of the Cascades from Corvallis- about a 2.5 or 3 hour drive. We saw Tumalo Falls, went to a great museum, drove up Pilot Butte, and walked around town. Owen said that his favorite part was the waterfall, though I suspect he also liked sleeping in a King bed together and watching TV in bed. The weather was crisp all weekend- a little too chilly this morning but perfect fall temperatures the rest of the time.

the view

Here's a couple of pictures of the view of Sisters from our porch. It has been a beautiful and clear couple of weeks, and it has been a nice treat to get to see Sisters. One is at sunrise (a small concession for having to get up so darn early now that I'm back to full time!).

san diego

We had an anxious week, listening to the news about the fires in San Diego. The area hardest hit was in Rancho Bernardo- where the HP site is located and where many of our friends and colleagues live. We kept reading emails and web sites- hoping to get word that everyone and all their houses were safe. Luckily, as far as we know today, everyone at HP appears to be safe and accounted for. Their houses are not so lucky. Several of our friends have lost everything. It is hard for us to internalize what they are going through right now- our thoughts are with them.

The first picture on this link below is Henry and Adriana D'Souza's house- our good friends who watched Owen when he was 6 months to 1 year. Their house actually didn't burn down.

http://www.pbase.com/ahuse/image/87701744

a walk on a perfect fall day

i want to do the dishes!

Owen's current favorite activity? Doing the dishes and helping in the kitchen. He likes rinsing the dishes and putting them in the dishwasher. He likes to pretend to make dinner- usually eggs and birthday cake, sometimes pancakes.

toys for the boys

Owen and Richard got new toys. Richard's came from Home Depot, Owen's from my friend Wendy in Japan. Both are very pleased.

pumpkin patch

We went to the pumpkin patch last weekend while Gramma was here- my mom flew in for the week to help out while I went to San Diego (again!) for work. It was a beautiful fall day and we had a great time at the farm. We took a tractor ride down to pick out our pumpkins. We went through a corn maze and got only a little lost.