Pumpkin Patch at Kruger Farms

We went to Kruger Farms to go to their pumpkin patch with Per, Gabrielle, and Tycho. I intended to get a couple of photos of the little cousins together, but Phoenix was not happy about getting his picture taken (or wearing "uncomfortable clothes), so I decided it wouldn't be a good idea to introduce a baby to the "photo shoot"!

But, here are some pictures of us looking for some carving and decorative pumpkins as well as some "photo shoot" pictures (after we made Phoenix change clothes - yes, in the pumpkin patch!).

Pony Rides!

We went to Sauvie Island and Gabrielle suggested that we go to Kruger Farms (instead of the Pumpkin Patch). They also have hay rides, pumpkin patch, corn maze, and market -- just on a smaller scale, and a little less crowded than the "original" pumpkin patch down the road (on the same island).

Here is Phoenix riding a pony at Kruger Farms. He enjoyed it, but I think we waited too long (too close to his nap time) to do it! 

Visit with Cousin Tycho

We went up to Portland to visit with Phoenix's uncle Per (Lisa's brother) and Aunt Gabrielle and their 9 month old son, Tycho (Phoenix's cousin).

Tycho is quite large for his age, so Phoenix was a little confused why he wouldn't "talk" to him or play more! But, here they are playing on Tycho's "rocking boat"!

Phoenix is also still learning about the words "mom" and "dad". We think he thinks of them more as "titles" not "names". As he often calls random women "mom". And now, for the first time, he's called a man "dad" (because we told him that Per was Tycho's dad). He could say "Per" but kept calling him "dad". Poor kid... I think he'll be confused for a while. It makes it difficult to understand when you have TWO "moms" (and no one to call "dad")!

Feeding the Ducks

We (Steph, Lisa, and Grandpa Chris) went to take Phoenix to feed the ducks for the first time at a small (man made) lake in Albany last week. Steph went all out and bought 5 loaves of "cheap" bread from the Franz outlet store. There were a lot of ducks and geese, so they had no problem gobbling it all up! Phoenix thought is was a hoot watching all of the ducks fly over from the other side of the lake and land like sea planes, en mass, to eat the bread he'd already been throwing into the water. He even let some of the ducks and geese eat out of his hand. And, then as we finished off the last loaf, he shouted out "GO GUCKS!" (That's what he shouts out during Oregon Ducks football games... "Go Ducks" or as he says, "Go Gucks"!). I laughed out loud!

Picking Blackberries

Mormor (Phoenix's grandma, Lisa's mom) came to visit and help us unpack / organize, as we have moved to a much smaller house than we were living in and seem to be "stuck" trying to figure out where to put things!

She was of invaluable help and on the second to last day she was here, we (Mormor, Steph, Lisa, Phoenix, and Bobbi, Steph's mom) went to pick (thorn-less) blackberries at a u-pick farm. Here are some pictures... I also included photos of Phoenix leading his Mormor through a small hay maze at the same u-pick farm. We also visited the market and bought other fresh vegetables to take home. And, Lisa's mom bought us a nice bouquet of fresh flowers to grace our dining room table that we can now see and use!

Dinosaurs at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle

Phoenix and his Mor (Lisa) went up to Seattle for the weekend to visit with Mormor and Morfar and go to the Woodland Park Zoo to see the dinosaur exhibit before it left town. Now, Phoenix thinks we can go to the zoo any time to see the BIG T-REX. We'll have to let him know they don't always live there... that sometimes they need to migrate! He was very excited to see all of these dinosaurs. They had animatronics to make them have movement and there were sound effects piped in, too. And, one of the sets even spit water at the people walking by. His favorites were the big Brontosaurus, the mamma and baby styracosaurs (he noted on his own that this one matched the hand stamp he got at the gate), the Edmontosaurus eggs hatching, and the big "mamma" T-Rex.




Unfortunately, Mommy (Steph) couldn't come because she had to catch up on her studies / tests at work! Hopefully we can catch the dinosaurs when they return to the Portland zoo (next year?).

I couldn't find my camera, but tried to take video of Phoenix and his reactions. I only got the first 2 dinosaurs recorded before I tried to change the settings on the camcorder to try to capture still shots, and somehow it changed the way the normal video recording changed, and I only recorded "in between" dinosaurs (the ground!).

Thankfully Mormor (Lisa's mom) took pictures on her camera! Here are some photos of us at the dinosaur exhibit and at other parts of the zoo, too.

Phoenix was holding his stamped hand in a fist very carefully throughout the rest of the zoo, making sure nothing happened to his hand stamp. We went ahead and made a second trip through the dinosaur exhibit when we were done with our walk through the zoo. It was just as exciting the second time through! Phoenix talks about it still every day!

Balloons over Bend

My Mor (Lisa) has always wanted to go to watch the hot air balloons take off during the Balloons over Bend festival, but since that means we had to get up at 5 am to get ready and then drive to Bend, to get there by 6 am to watch, she said she didn't think she'd ever go... she is like me (NOT early morning people!).

But, since Mommy (Steph) was home for the weekend, we decided to give it a shot! I thought it was SUPER COOL! I was very tired... but, once we got there and I saw what was happening, I LOVED it!

We even went back that night for the "night glow" event where the balloons are filled with hot air, and then they blow "yellow" flames to make the balloons glow! My Mor took some pictures with her cell phone, but she needs to find her USB cable to download the pictures onto the computer... but, she will post those photos when she can!