Maiden Votage

Windy and Gunnar both took their first road trip this weekend as we went to Seattle to visit Nick's brother and sister in law.

Here we are getting out of the starting gate:

Here is all our stuff in the back:

Here is the source of all our stuff in his car seat:

As Uncle Josh so perfectly put it - "Thanks for bringing the entertainment". Here he is in the great shots from Aunt Shanna:




The trip was quick but really a huge success. On the way up Gunnar slept from Portland to Tacoma where we went to Cabela's so everyone could stretch their legs. He thought all the taxidermy animals were pretty cool but the walk through fish tank was his favorite.

We went for Vietnamese in Seattle and it was delicious! Gunnar discovered his love for tofu and pretty ladies with sparkly dangle earrings. Thanks to Windy we only had to take one car.

It was Gunnar's first time to sleep away from home but we did manage. It was not the most restful night and he made up for it in the van on the way back as he was out from Seattle to Portland.

The van's small oil leak turned into a more pronounced leak so Nick has a part ordered to hopefully fix that before our next trip. The van really did well though and it was so nice and roomy! Great ride.

Belated Valentine

Things have been crazy busy so it is belated but here are my valentines:

Hope yours was wonderful!

In The Bag

A few weeks ago I was perusing a chicken magazine gifted to us by our neighbor when I stumbled across the coolest article. The article was a how to on making reusable totes from poly chicken feed bags. Luck would have it that our girls just went through another bag (even pink for breast cancer awareness) so I thought I would give it a try.

Let me preface this with the disclaimer that I do not sew. I wear heels to work because I am too lazy to try and hem my pants as well as too cheap to pay a professional to do it for me.

The article said it would take an hour. It took me a day. Not the most beautiful thing ever but it does appear functional and just from the experience I am sure the next one will be a little more clean.

I thought to take pics in progress a little late so here it is under construction:


The finished product:


Gunnar LOVES how it crinkles (the blur in the above picture is him making a go for it):

Bubble Boy

This week Nick finally found the frame backpack baby carrier we had been scouring Craigslist for. A quick rendezvous in NE Portland and it is ours! Gunnar, Truck and I went for a hike on Saturday and it was wonderful! Due to his small stature Gunnar rides very low in the seat which allows him to lick the support bar the whole time. One of his favorite activities!

It has a rain shield that attaches to the sun shade and gives him a wonderful bubble boy look:

Diddle!

Gunnar likes to do what we refer as "diddle" a lot. Small objects (buttons, zipper tags etc..) really intrigue him. He can sit and fiddle with them for several minutes at a time.

To satiate his diddling needs last night I sewed up a piece of cloth with tons of fun diddlable things on it. There are buttons, beads, a key, a dog tag, a cloth tag, a bear, a ribbon etc.. Great way for him to diddle under supervision.

It has been a hit:


Please note the BEAUTIFUL quilt he is playing on. That was an anniversary gift from my mom a few weeks ago that she made herself! It is the perfect size to help keep him off the floor.

Action!

Nick has captured some really cute video of Gunnar lately so for those of you who just come for cuteness brace yourself!

Gunnar and his bestest friend Truck. He LOVES Truck (and his big ears)!


Here is more of Gunnar on the go. He currently "crawls" like a mix between a zombie and an inch worm.

He is already so FAST! We are going to be in even more trouble once he gets those legs coordinated.

Very Big Day

Nick and Gunnar were very honored to be invited to our close friend's wedding this week. It was a small affair held at their home.

Here is Gunnar and the groom:

And here he is trying to steal the bride:

Tom and Kim we are so very happy for you and wish you nothing but days full of love!

Windy!

Nick repaired the bumper on the Vanagon beautifully! Here are a few shots of her in all her glory.



We have named the van Windy as she is part sailboat with the way the wind pushes her around time to time.