visit from sam

yay! we love it when sam comes to town.

gelbrich/payne family extravaganza!

what a weekend! g&g payne's 60th wedding anniversary, dancing on Friday night and brunch on Saturday. Birthday dinner for Ron & Travis on Saturday, and mother's day breakfast on Sunday.

just a couple photos....

wrestling with nathan & aidan

giving nannie a big hug

uh...a little too tight, emily. :-)

O loves this.

cracks me up. :-)

minus the pacifier...

and my baby isn't such a baby anymore! is it just me, or doesn't he look like a little BOY in these two photos. ...sigh......

this one really gets me.

San Diego trip

Last weekend we had some fun in the sun, let me tell you! Oren got his first chance to swim around in a pool, and we certainly enjoyed a break from the wet oregon spring we've been having. Intending to surprise Ian's sister, the full Gelbrich clan descended on southern california. We can't thank Ian's aunt and uncle enough for hosting us, in grand style, no less, and we hope to return the favor someday soon (although at this point I'm not sure what would possess them to visit our rain-soaked state...well, perhaps a little pinot noir....and maybe a son at the UofO). :-) It's always nice to be home, of course, but I have to say, this trip made me reconsider our choice of residence, if even for a moment....

Nannie and Papa hanging out with O in Old Town.

and more pool time...

happy easter!

there just hasn't been enough time the past few weeks. we've had quite a lot happening, and at the same time dealing with a never-ending spring cold (passed around between all three of us). but this weekend gave us a little time. Saturday was an amazingly beautiful day - the sun was shining and we had a nice drive to ian's parent's house. Spent a relaxing evening playing with the dogs and hanging out outside. Oren is obsessed with water these days - in it's every form. As you can see from this photo, pouring water from containers is his current favorite activity, regardless of temperature (the water or the air outside). Luckily nannie is super smart and filled the bowls with warm water. :-)

and a side note...you can barely see it in this picture, but nannie and papa bought oren the CUTEST little adirondack chair to sit between their own chairs on the west porch. so sweet. oren loves to back his way into it, and perch on the edge. it will be perfect for our visits this summer.

again - it's all about the water. bath time is happy time.

just playing with the dogs. poor lucy - when we were leaving this evening we found a serious cut on her leg. to play it safe we took her in to dove lewis (the local animal hospital) to get checked out. apparently the wound is a puncture - 5 INCHES DEEP! i'm so glad we took her in. luckily it missed all vital organs (coming close to her spine), and seems to be a clean wound. close call!

sweetness

Oren is loving lucy so much these days. He is constantly giving her hugs and pets. and he's figured out how to climb up on our (low-to-the-floor) bed to give her hugs on his own.

Unfortunately oren and I are home today. he's sick with a fever and cough. He's definitely feeling better today - much more energy and fever is down a bit. Yesterday it was up to 103 at one point. poor little guy... we're checking in with the dr. today too, so that will make me feel better. :-)

oren reading daddy a story

oren is loving books these days. he'll go to the shelf and pick out several to read with me, or sometimes he just sits down alone and enjoys them by himself. i sure hope we can give oren the gift of a passion for reading. he's also really into our iphones right now, so i guess this could go either way....

oren and ian after our less-than-successful camping trip last weekend.

zoo animals!

oren's daycare is on spring break this week (aligned with portland public schools) so ian and i are splitting the week to be home with him and still get some work in. ian took him to the zoo this morning. again, it was cold so they didn't hang out too long. oren really loved the gorilla and elephants. and then they came downtown for lunch with me! best part of my day, for sure.

and speaking of animals and entertaining kiddos: this series of peek-a-boo apps by night & day studios are pretty awesome. if you've never seen them, check 'em out! we have the 'wild' version and the 'forest' version. the latter has images by charlie harper. oren giggles like crazy every time we play them.

apologies - blurry phone photos:

oren says 'ba - boom' hehee!

on the waterfront

I had to put a couple hours in at work on sunday, so ian and oren hung out downtown a bit, including a little walk around the waterfront. it was pretty cold, but i think they both enjoyed it.

oren's school & current stats

In case you're interested, Roots was featured today in a blog about educating young children. Oren isn't mentioned directly, but you can see some photos and read about how he spends his day. I love this place. link:

http://educatingforlife.wordpress.com/2011/03/15/in-home-montessori-part-iii/

We also had oren's 15 mo. well-child visit today with dr. chrissie. and he had his first full-on melt down in public (if her office counts as public--we were the only ones there). for some reason he really hates getting dressed/undressed right now. I guess one good side...i don't think he even noticed the vaccine shot as he was already so mad. :-(

i'm sure hoping it's a phase... whew. a short phase.

otherwise all is great. He's 26 1/2 lbs., and unfortunately i didn't catch his length as i was distracted by the screaming. that boy's got some pipes. sorry i don't have any new photos tonight...i'll get some this weekend.

first hike for 2011!

Latourelle Falls, just east of portland a bit. It was an easy hike, and fun to try out oren's new pack! There are actually two falls. One right near the road (below) and another about 2 miles into the forest...the trail went right up to its base...and was it ever intense! There was so much water pouring over, it really took your breath away.

beautiful historic bridge, all board-formed concrete. This is part of the historic gorge highway, built in the early 1900's.

crazy tree. love all the moss.

this is just past the 2nd falls, far enough down the trail my hair wasn't blowing all over from the falls. Lucy literally pulled me over this bridge to get away from the noise/water/wind.

cuties.

a little mealtime video

Oren is just excited about mealtime as ever! perhaps even more now that he's using a spoon and drinking from a cup...so much independence.

february snow!

We got a little bit of a snow storm last week. Didn't really stick around at our house but ian, oren, and lucy did get out for a walk. and yes...REI sale = we are ready for hiking season!

garage band

oren and his buddy annik have started a band. they are still working through who will play what instrument...we'll keep you posted on their first gig.

valentine weekend at nannie & papa's

Lucy's valentine - Reggie.

christmas!

long overdue - photos from oren's 1st birthday!

Here are a few photos from oren's bday back in december. apologies for the long delay...

not a baby anymore...

oren is walking. he's been tentatively taking steps for a few weeks, but last week he just started going from room to room like it's no big deal. and he gets a big kick out of this new skill...it's super cute.

Playing piano with grandpa garriott

this is the best.