Sad Goodbye

Let me tell you about our friend Joe. Joe introduced our family to the MacKenzies and the Portland Scottish folks back in the early 80's. And needless to say it changed my life. It changed all our lives. For years Joe shuttled Jenny, Amy and I to Lake Oswego for dance lessons with My Marianna. He invited us to piping and drumming events. He was crazy tall when he put on his Clan Band hat. He was kind. He was kind and good hearted. He was a kind, gentle and good hearted man when I did not know that a father could be those things. Those are some of the things he was to me. A warm memory that I'll always cherish. He was a monumental figure in the drumming community. Not only extremely talented, but giving in his time and committment to the craft and to those who shared his passion. As I write this, there's a mass gathering back home of people that love him paying tribute through prayer, pipes, drums and drink. So I raise my glass to our dear friend, who bravely fought the brain tumor that took him in only 6 months, and thank you for the beautiful way in which you touched our lives. We'll see you again Joe.

The Gorgeous Gorge

Ian snuggling with his cousin Hailey.

View of Washington from the Oregon side of the Gorge.

View of the Oregon side.

Ian enjoying himself in this very fine weather.

Feedin' the fish at the Bonneville Dam fish hatchery. Also a big hit - Herman the 10-foot, 70-year-old sturgeon.

Chicken so good...

Let me recount Ava's experience with dinner last night. And I'll preface this with telling you that she's generally a pretty good eater (even if she asks for a peanut butter "samich" for lunch EVERY day.) She's a little less adventurous than she used to be, but she'll still eat goat cheese on a regular basis, which I find impressive.

Yes, we eat chicken a lot. Red meat is too unhealthy and I'm afraid the fish these days is so metal-laden it wouldn't pass through airport security. Hence, we eat a lot of chicken. Last night I roasted a whole bird, which Ava has had plenty of times before. Just recently though I started giving her a whole drumstick and letting her eat it unassisted, which she has found mildly interesting until last night, when the little carnivore within her was like a puppy with a treasured bone. She clamped on to it and wouldn't let go until it was practically bare. I had to reason with her and explain why she couldn't eat the knobby bottom end of the bone (where some of the crispy skin was still attached, for which she informed me she liked ever so much). After all the meat was gone, she proceeded to lick all her fingers, relishing every last bit. I wish I could have gotten it on video, but the whole thing happened so fast there wasn't time.

I can hardly wait for another winner, winner, chicken dinner (as we call it in our house)!

Shaggy little mop-top

Ian is 4 months old. 4 months and over 16 pounds. He tips the growth chart at 95th percentile. (That's my boy!)

What also grows fast is his hair. So Saturday night he had his first hair cut. A clipper cut for a big boy. He looks so cute. I've only trimmed Ava's hair once and cut her bangs, but now with a boy I must become more comfortable in my new role as "The Barber." He behaved perfectly. Didn't even wince. Now I have a nice, big lock of hair for his baby book.

Birdie houses

Ava, Ian and I went for a little nature walk last weekend. We have a greenbelt, complete with a creek from a natural spring, that cuts through our neighborhood. Walking through this area used to be the only way I could get Ava to go to sleep. But that was last spring and now we have little Ian to take along on our explorations. Ava and I enjoy looking for bunnies, kitties, birdies and bugs. It's big fun. After our walk last Saturday, I had her sit down at her table with her "colors" and draw a picture of what she saw. I drew the grass and bird, she drew the birdhouse. There are a few basic birdhouses along this riparian area and Ava is quick to point them out. I was pretty proud to see how much her drawing actually resembled the shape of the "birdie house" as she calls it.

Ava at school!

Here is a picture from a while back when the police came to visit Ava's school. This is Ava's class along with one of her teachers, Miss Melissa. :)