Dec 20-26 (Merry Christmas)

Merry Christmas!

We celebrated Christmas in Oregon.  On Christmas Eve Day we went cross country skiing at Teacup Lake at Mt. Hood.  Stacey pulled Cadel in the ski trailer, while Justin skied with Senja strapped to him in a front carrier.  After our ski, Cadel tried out Justin's skis.  We think he's ready for his own pair.

Christmas Day we enjoyed a delicious breakfast, opened gifts, and went for a long walk up to Mt. Tabor.  We brought Cadel's push bike along and he biked up to the top.  Many of you have asked, after seeing him on his bike in our Christmas card, "Is he really riding a two-wheeled bike with no training wheels?".  Answer is "Yes".  However, if you look closely, you will notice that there are no pedals.  He scoots along with his feet and once he gets up to speed he lifts his feet or props them on the frame and coasts.  His balance is getting quite good.  He crashes once in a while, but so far has always gotten back on and continued happily on his way.

Senja and Cadel opening their gifts.

Happy First Christmas, Senja!

On a non-holiday note, Senja got her first tooth this week!  Her bottom right tooth poked through on the 22nd, at 4 months and 1 week old.

Dec 13-19 (Senja 4 mo)

Senja celebrated her 4 month birthday this week on December 15th.  Her latest trick is laughing.  So far, Justin is the expert at getting the best chuckles out of her. At her 4 month doctors appointmentment she weighed in at 16 lbs and is 27 inches long.  In this photo her face is looking especially round -- as you can tell, she seems to be storing much of her weight in her cheeks!

We spent our week getting into the spirit of the season by baking lots of Christmas cookies.  Stacey was glad she didn't splurge on the fancy decorations when she turned around to find her little blond elf experimenting with the law of gravity and pouring the entire contents of the red sugar crystals on the kitchen floor.  Senja watched in quiet amazemet at how many crystals are in one small container. 

Look closely and you'll see Lyle the sheep snacking on a clementine while Cadel works the mixer.

Senja practices for her spot in our Christmas photo.

Dec 6-12 (Cadel 2.5 yrs)

We got our Christmas tree this week.  Here are Cadel and Senja in front of our tree before we cut it down.  Senja can't really sit as well as it appears in this photo, but when stuffed into enough layers, she pretty much stays in whatever position we set her!

Cadel and his favorite sheep, Lyle, helped out with the lights.  Various little friends help out with all our household tasks lately.

Cadel celebrated his half birthday this week on December 7th.  We celebrated with homemade corn muffins -- he was thrilled to be eating 'corn cakes' just like the moose in "Annie and the Wild Animals".  When going through animal sounds (a cow says 'moo', a sheep says' baa') when asked "What does a moose say?" Cadel responds, "A moose says, 'May I have another corn cake, please?'"

Nov 29 - Dec 5

Senja, 3 1/2 months now, practices holding her head up.  Our week was full of our ordinary outings to the library, walks, and other adventures.  Having the extra help with Gimpa around made things much easier.  As you can see below he has quickly become and expert!

 Justin makes sure he keeps his skills up and doesn't get too spoiled by having Gimpa around.

Nov 22-28 (Happy Thanksgiving)

Happy Thanksgiving!  We started out Thanksgiving week with the arrival of Gimpa Luoma.  We were all happy to see him.  Cadel and Senja wasted no time putting Gimpa right to work (or, maybe it was Stacey that put him right to work!). 

Senja's first snow on Monday, November 22.

Cadel by the Willamette River, showing Gimpa the sights of downtown Portland. 

Senja oversees the Wednesday night making of the stuffing.  (Turns out, we made plenty!)

Family photo on Thanksgiving.  Our plans to head up to Aunt Carol and Uncle Nelk's for Thanksgiving were foiled by a snow/ice storm (so much for the rainy Pacific NW!).  We made the most of our change of plans.  Stacey and Justin started off the day running in the local Turkey Trot while Gimpa, Senja, and Cadel cheered us on.  The finish line was in the Zoo, so we spent a few hours visiting the animals.  Cadel was in gales of laughter watching the Saki monkeys jump from branch to branch and the Gibbons monkeys swing from the branches.  We were also impressed with the baby elephant playing ice hockey with a chunk of ice on a frozen patch of water in his area.  We returned home and had a full Thanksgiving dinner.

 Lighting of the Tree in downtown Portland on Friday night.

Nov 15-21 (Senja 3 mo)

Senja celebrated her 3 month birthday on November 15th with lots of smiles.

 And on the 16th she rested.

 Cadel learned how to make bread this week (thanks to Auntie Sarah for the recipe -- Cadel and Andreas are going to have to have a baking contest at Christmas time).  Senja looks on suspiciously.

 Cadel lines up against Portland's finest youngsters in his first cyclocross race.  He got the full experience complete with mud, rainy weather, and chest-high barriers.

 

 Well, we seem not to be any better at this parenting thing the second time around.  Justin keeps Senja at a distance carrying her upstairs for a much needed diaper change.

Nov 7-13 (Senja 12 wks)

Senja celebrated her 12 week birthday with her first view of the ocean and then later in the week she got to meet her Auntie Kerry!

We took our first family trip since her birth to the Oregon coast.  We "enjoyed" a hike in the rain on Saturday and then a beautiful walk on Cannon Beach on Sunday.  Senja was fine, our biggest challenge of the trip was our 2 year old monkey who figured out how to climb out of the pack-and-play making bedtime in a hotel room rather difficult!

 

We had a fantastic visit from Auntie Kerry.  Quite a change of roles, to have Stacey with kids and Kerry being the full-time Aunt without her own kids!

Cadel shows Auntie Kerry the sights of downtown Portland, complete with a good Pacific NW drizzly day.

 

Ryan and Alishia visited for a west coast reunion of Topper cousins.

Oct 31-Nov 6 (Senja 11 wks)

Senja spent the week working on sitting.  She's getting close, but not quite there yet...

In other news, negotiations didn't go the way we wanted on the house, so we are not home owners yet.  Disappointing, but there are lots of houses our there, so we'll keep looking.

Oct 31 - Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from Cadel the Dragon, Senja the Puppy, and Crowder the Dog!

 Thank you Auntie Marissa and Uncle Niall for the fantastic costumes!

Oct 24-30 (Senja 10 wks)

We started off the week with Justin's first "real" Pacific Northwest cyclocross race...until now the skies have been blue and the course dry.  Today was a different story.  Stacey, Cadel, and Senja were hearty fans and cheered on the riders at a particularly entertaining and muddy section of uphill barriers.  Stacey is not sure who impressed her more: the racer who tripped over the barrier and went face-first into the mud or the photographer who dove across the wet grass and mud to get the shot.

Senja is adding more and more sounds to her coo-ing repertoire.  She is starting to figure out her hands and feet, kicking and wiggling with abandon.

Oct 17-23 (Senja 9 wks)

Senja had her 2 month appointment this week.  She weighed in at 13 lbs and is a nice even 2 feet tall, putting her at the top of the curve in both height and weight.  In this photo it appears as if most of her weight is in her cheeks!  She is holding her head up very well and enjoys being on her belly at long as we are on our belly's too, keeping her entertained. 
Cadel (at 2 years , 4 months old) weighed in at 33 lbs and is 35 inches tall.  He is in the middle of the curve for height and just above average for weight (he is holding onto his chubby cheeks, hands, and feet as long as possible!).  He may now surpass his three year old cousin Andreas, and is making progress towards catching 5 1/2 year old cousin Zach.

The infamous Augusta (aka "Gus") causing trouble, and always eliciting grins from Cadel.

We put an offer in on a house is SE Portland this week!  We are excited to have a place to call our own but it also makes this crazy move out west seem a little more real!  We'll keep you posted on whether the offer goes through.

Small challenge of the week was that our washing machine broke, overflowing with water and leaving us without a washer, and with clothes and diapers piling up.  (Crowder was unaffected by this incident.)

Oct 10-16 (Senja 8 wks)

Senja's main accomplishment for the week was figuring out that she can maximize the attention she gets from Stacey if she naps in the morning when Cadel is awake, and then is wide awake and ready for playtime during Cadel's nap.  This does not bode so well for giving Stacey a much needed afternoon nap...

Senja's second accomplishment for the week was holding her head up.  Here is a shot early in the week.  By the end of the week she was a pro.

Cadel and Justin enjoy some music time.  Cadel is becoming more and more interested in music, shouting out lyrics of his favorite song (not quite in tune yet...actually, not quite any tune yet, but all in good time).

Ah, Portland.  We packed up the gang to cheer on the runners in the Portland Marathon.  Not exactly the inspiration Stacey was hoping for to encourage her to race next year!  (Yes, Senja is with us, tucked nicely inside Justin's rain poncho.)

Oct 3-9 (Senja 7 wks)

Justin raced in his first cyclocross race of the season and his first race ever in the Pacific Northwest.  If you have a keen eye you can pick him out in the crowd..

 Stacey, Cadel and Senja cheer on the racers.

 Cadel helps Justin with his gear after the race.

Senja demonstrates her current favorite sleeping position.