Bathing Beauties

This past Friday was Sara's birthday, so Mom, Kate, Sara and I all went to Blue Lake Park to have some fun in the sun (and water). :)







Kate and I stuck together pretty much the whole time we were there. Mom even caught a few photos of us holding hands as we walked around the fountains. Neither Kate or I liked getting our heads wet in the water, but we sure had fun watching the other kids! I can't wait to go back again. In fact, I keep saying to Mom, "Kate Swimming! Kate Swimming!"

Later that day we had our first Merbabes swim class. Mom and Sara thought it would be a good idea to get us kids used to the water. I wasn't sure what I thought of all that water and pretty much clung to Mom the whole class. However, by the end I was having a little fun playing with a ball and enjoyed moving around the pool.






In case you are wondering if a ghost took all these pictures during our swim class, I thought I'd give a shout-out to my Aunt Mary who came along to take photos of my first swim lesson! Thanks, Aunt Mary!

Oxbow Park

Today I visited Oxbow Park with Mom, Kate and Sara. We packed up a lunch, sunscreen and our camera (the necessities in life) and headed out for a fun day. I had never been to this park, but Kate goes with her family quite a bit. The river was pretty high today, but hopefully next time we'll be able to play on the beach. I think we'll come a lot more this summer and will maybe even brave a night there to go tent camping. As long as Kate's there, I'm sure I'll have a great time. :)





I like to hand Mom all the 'icky' stuff I find. By the way, do you like my new hair cut? Mom decided to cut it with the clipper rather than taking me to the barber shop. If you remember, I didn't like that experience too much. But, I did great for Mom this time.


I had the most fun just running around the park with Kate. This place is a lot bigger than my backyard!


I got to dig in the sand too!

Kate and I had fun sniffing the foxgloves we found on one of the trails there. Aren't they pretty?

We saw a mama deer with her baby at the park too. I also saw a couple chipmunks but Mom accidently scared them away before she could get a photo. Next time.

What a Weekend!

Well, I have never been so busy in all my life as I was this past weekend. My dad graduated with his MPA on Friday and so Mom, Oma (Grandma Dyk) from TX, my great Grammy and Grandpa Moore and my great Grandma Dyk -all from CA- all came to Dad's hooding ceremony at PSU. After that we had everyone over to our place for a yummy steak dinner. My family and I are so proud of my Dad!! He worked extremely hard to get through school all while maintaining a full-time job and remained a dedicated father and husband. The university was so impressed with him that they gave him an award! Way to go, Dad!



Saturday was my big birthday party and so my Aunt Carrie and Uncle Mike came down from Seattle to see me and the rest of the fam. I had a great time at my party and enjoyed showing my friends my new backyard and even let them play with a few of my trains. My friends and family spoiled me rotten with gifts. I feel so loved. Thank you to everyone for making my day so special!



Mom made all my friends a fun zoo animal t-shirt to take home. Here's Bodhi in his! He loves monkeys!






Isn't this cake incredible?! Mom has a gal in her book club that volunteered to make it for free! Lucky me!

Then, on Sunday we drove over to Yakima to visit my great Grandpa and Grandma Northcott for Father's day. I don't particularily like long car rides, but I was sure excited to see my grandparents and their dog, Jill. I also got to visit with the horses their neighbors own.



Here I am with my great grandma Dyk and her RV that she drove up all the way from Sun City, CA. She and Dad drove the RV over to Yakima while Mom, Oma (Grandma Dyk), and I drove our car. I really liked my Great Oma's wheels!

Mom thought this picture looked cool in black and white. In this photo is me, Dad, my great grandpa Northcott and the nice horses I met while there. Happy Father's day to all the dads out there!

All I can say after being on the go non-stop for the last three days is, "Phew! I'm pooped!" I slept in until 9:30 this morning and then took a 3 1/2 hour long nap today. Gotta catch up on my zzzzz's!

My Oregon Zoo

Hi again. I wanted to share some fun photos of my most recent trip to our very own Oregon Zoo. I went with my friends, Kate and Bodhi, and we had a great time checking out all the animals. If you ever come to Portland and need something to do, I'd highly recommend visiting our zoo. It's getting better and better all the time!


I love those silly penguins!



Mom and Dad are throwing me a Zoo themed birthday party this weekend. I can't wait!

It's great to be 2!

I am officially two years old now and I can honestly say I feel much older and wiser than I did at one. Because I'm a kid and it's generally more acceptable for little kids to brag, I want to tell you about some things I've learned in my two years here on earth. I've learned my colors (though red is a little hit and miss), my shapes, and I can count to ten and say most of the alphabet. I've also learned that it's much more fun to play with friends when I share my toys and say 'please' and 'thank you.' Yep, I've pretty much learned all there is to know.

On my birthday last week we had over Uncle Bill, Nana and Papa for a barbeque dinner. We had steaks/hamburgers/hot dogs, mom's homemade mac 'n cheese, corn on the cob, chips, and cake (all my favorites!). My family sang 'Happy Birthday' to me and after they got done I ran over to my cake saying, 'cake! cake!' because isn't that the cue for cake? Mom suggested we wait a little while so I got to open a few presents from the fam first, which I didn't mind. I got a lot of great Thomas stuff and I am loving it all!

Look at all my Thomas loot! Thanks Nana and Papa!

I got Cranky the crane, a new addition to my train table!

I wanted to help Dad blow up my Thomas hopper ball!

I love to give kisses to say 'thank you!'

Dad's family is coming to town this weekend to see Dad graduate with his Masters of Public Administration so we are having another little get-together while they are here. I can't wait to celebrate some more! I keep singing the 'Happy Birthday' song to myself so I think I'll be ready to chime in this time!

My week hangin' with Nana

Papa was out of town this past week hunting with a buddy in Wyoming. So, naturally, Mom and I wanted to make sure Nana wouldn't be lonely so we we spent the week doing lots of fun stuff together.

On Monday, Nana, Uncle Bill, Mom and I went to Multnomah falls. I thought it was great fun and didn't mind at all getting wet.


One day we just hung out at Nana's and made 'Monster cookies' which consist of oatmeal, peanut butter, and chocolate chips (among other things). Yum!

And finally, we went to the coast and visited Lincoln City, OR. What a beautiful day that was! At first I was a little unsure of the sand, but after a short time I was digging in with my shovels and covering my feet and legs with it. I had a ton of fun playing with my new toys in the sand, watching the kites flying in the sky, and even tried to chase some crows down. I kept saying, 'Touch the birdie!' Mom told me birds don't really like to be touched, but that we could say 'hello' instead. So, then I ran after them saying, 'Hello! Hello!'