Ryan's First Father's Day

What do you do when the months of rain and cold that seem to extend into summer are getting you down? Head for the river, of course!

To celebrate Ryan's first Father's Day, we enjoyed a couple of days and nights in the Yakima Canyon -- just over the Cascades in sunny and warm eastern Washington. By now you know that Ryan is an amazing father for many reasons, the least of which is his desire to be active and share his love of the outdoors with Arlo. Now that the home improvement projects are not on a pregnancy deadline, we've been getting out more and reconnecting with the reason we love living here: a remarkable landscape that has a little bit of everything in one conveniently located package.

Not only was it Ryan's first Father's Day, but it was also Arlo's first camping experience and river trip. All in all, Arlo was a fine camper and a superb boater, but he was so exhausted from the late nights and sensory overloads that he went to bed about an hour earlier than usual. Poor baby!

Ryan and I have a heightened demand for coffee.
Arlo has a bottle and a little extra time in bed to warm up to the day while camping.

A foot bridge at our campground to hike into the Canyon.

The view from camp. Pretty terrible, eh?

Moon-set in the morning.

Hangin' in the backpack while we get breakfast ready.

Our party on the river.

The trusty guide!

Me and my first mate (do you have first mates in river rafting?).

The best Papa in the world doing a great job making sure his little guy is comfortable on the boat.

Arlo even got a taste of his first whitewater rapids. We boated through a small class II rapid in the upper canyon. Unfortunately, he slept right through it.

We hope this is just the first of many family river trips. In fact, the main reason Arlo is in swim lessons is to help him feel comfortable on the river. It's time for us to buy our own boat (we usually rent) so we can take full advantage of the beautiful place we call home.

A day in the park.

Warm and sunny weather has finally decided to make an appearance in the Pacific Northwest, which means the start of the outdoor summer season. Locals can enjoy a range of activities from hanging out in a local park (our choice for today), hiking, swimming, going to the beach, or anything else you can think of.

We enjoyed the park at our neighborhood middle school. Arlo went in a swing for the first time and played in grass.

Safety First!
Arlo had to wear a sun hat and sunscreen on to protect his delicate skin.

Cutie Pie
(Please disregard the dirty face.)

"What's this?"

"Ok, wait. We were just enjoying the grass. Why ruin that beautiful moment by putting me in this scary thing?"

"Ok, this isn't so bad."

There comes a time in every baby's life when he or she grows enough hair for a mohawk hairdo. Today was Arlo's time.

Side View

Notice how he has a few long strands of hair making him look more like a Dr. Seuss character than a punk with a mohawk.

Arlo is a busy boy.

Arlo is 9-months old, and he's getting more and more fun with each passing day. Check out this video update!

The Best Memorial Day Weekend Ever

The Tuesday after Memorial Day stinks. Especially when your Memorial Day weekend was the best one ever.

For the last few weeks, we (well, our great carpenter, Zane, from North 47 Landscape Carpentry) have been building a new, child-safe deck on top of our garage. The job was finished on Saturday, and it looks amazing. I tried to find a picture of the "before" picture, but the best I could find was a picture of Ryan shoveling snow off of the old roof with planter boxes housing dried and nearly dead trees preventing you from falling off the side of the roof (click here).

Whatever it looked like before, it looks fantastic now, and we plan to spend as much time as possible out there this summer.

The view out to the garden and front door.

The deck is so large that we need to invest in lounge furniture to fill half of it.
I also added a massive livestock watering tank for warm season edibles like tomatoes, peppers, and basil. If successful, you may see more of these in the future.

Looking from the garden path toward the entrance to the deck.

And now, a garden photo break.

Lovely Columbine

One of my favorite shrubs for both appearance and fragrance, a Summer Ice Daphne.

Now that the deck is finished, Ryan was able to put up his hammock for the season. We have a great little side garden that is quiet, private, and surrounded with beautiful old roses and other plants. A fussy Arlo got to enjoy it for the first time this weekend during snack time.

A minute before this photo was taken, Arlo was crying and cranky.
The hammock, with a little help from his bottle, calmed him right down.

Now that's relaxation. What more could a baby need?

We also took Arlo on his first "real" hike this weekend. We chose a trail that is close to Seattle and is easy for a baby and his out-of-shape parents.

Shortly after taking this photograph, we talked about getting Arlo climbing lessons when he's old enough.

Peek-a-boo!

This is what we call "Zombie Face."
It's a sign that you have about 45 minutes until meltdown.

Arlo was great on the hike, and we're hoping to make up for not hiking at all last summer. In fact, Arlo will go on his first river trip in a few weeks with a flat water float through the Yakima Canyon and overnight camping in eastern Washington. We're very excited!

Happy Wedding, Alex and Kavita!

We've had a great month of May. We started the month with a fantastic wedding in beautiful Sisters, Oregon. I work with the bride, Kavita, and we've enjoyed river trips and soccer trash talk with her new husband, Alex. It was a beautiful and deeply personal ceremony. Kavita and Alex spent years in a long-distance relationship while Kavita went to school in the states and Alex worked in the U.K. For the last couple of years, they've lived in the same place, Portland, Oregon.

The reception had fantastic food and a live band. It was Arlo's first wedding, and he's decided that he likes them. He wore a super cute outfit with a white button down shirt from his cousin, Emma, in Nicaragua. Needless to say, he was a hit!

The beautiful bride and her parents.

They're hitched!

The breathtaking setting.

Me and Arlo with friends Leslie and Jessie
I'm bummed that you can't really see his outfit, so I'll have to get him dressed in it at home and take a picture.

The Nonericks

Congratulations to Kavita and Alex! We wish you a lifetime of laughs and happiness!

A visit from Ma and Pa Patrick.

Last week, Ryan's parents flew in for a visit from Syracuse, NY. (We have a joke about how everyone from the Cuse seems to say the full "Syracuse, NY" instead of just "Syracuse" when they talk about their fair city.)

It was a great week, and the entire Nonerick crew got a little spoiled. Arlo got all the attention he wanted and more. Ryan and I didn't have to change many diapers, and we got away for our first overnight without Arlo. We also celebrated Arlo's first Easter together with family and our good friends, Amy, Byron, and Wyatt.

Looks like they had a good time!

The sun!

Grandma reads from Yummy Yucky.
(Thank you Jill, Mark, and Sadie!)

Open wide

The center of attention and loving it.

Happy Easter!

Byron, Amy, Wyatt, Arlo, Me, and Ryan

Too much boring adult talk

Cutie Patootie Wyatt.
He's nearly 4 months old and already weighs as much as Arlo!

Amy's Easter Table

Wyatt and Arlo be chillin'.

Fun with Grandpa

Fun with Grandma

Soma is no dummy.
He knows where to be and when to be there.

Action Shot

Baby and Papa

Developmental Milestones - Here We Come!

It's amazing -- Arlo is turning into a little person right before our eyes. We can't believe that he will be 8 months old in a couple of weeks. The fact that he doesn't have any teeth is one of the few things that keeps him in the baby stage. He's starting to move (albeit slowly) by pushing himself backwards, physically interact and play with us and others, and practice basic speech (ok, that may be a stretch but check out the video below.

A not-so-high-quality video of Arlo moving backwards

Gotcha!






"Momma?"