Summer 2010 Highlights - Part 2

The end of the break continues....

What summer would be complete without a visit to the zoo where you can even ride the hippos (bet you can't do that at your zoo),

and comparisons to bears are inevitable.

One of the major highlights of the summer was a week long visit with Nan and Uncle Ted in Newport, OR. Now the sun may have refused to shine on the beach for more than five minutes at a stretch but we persevered through the rocky shoals (sandy beaches) in search of quarry.

When reality grew stale we headed
to the Newport Aquarium to tussle with star fish.

Is that the sun,
why yes...quick everybody outside and get on your whale.

Much tasty food was had by all.

Dessert please.
(Please ignore hand of papa that is making a move to "clean" the cone which looks in danger of dripping. Thanks mom for the tip).

Followed by a walk home in the arms of your uncle.

Summer number three draws to a close.

Perpendicular to the ground

The day started innocently enough.
Momma and Sylvia went for a walk,
Poppa left for work,
and, uncle Ian came over to play.

Then things got interesting...

To me she is somehow transformed.
From a simple shift,
as we become perpendicular to the ground.

Working the Back 40 (square feet)

Ian's interest in urban farming inspired us to expand our backyard garden. Last weekend we added new 32 square foot bed, bringing our productive area up to about 56 square feet. Here's a few images of the assembly.

Ian delivers one of 11 bags of fine soil that contains, among other things, bat guano.

White fencing added to disabuse any feline invadess of the idea
that we are interested in any other type of guano in this box.
(According to wikipedia, guano originates in an Inca word, "wanu", that was adopted by the Spanish.)

Planting begins with tomatoes, squash, peppers and flowers.

Ok, ready, set, grow!

Party Girl

A few days after Sylvia's official birthday, she was host to her first party. After much cleaning of house (I'm always sure the guests will be inspecting our upstairs back closet) and baby we (Aurelia, Linda, Ted, Ian and I) greeted Sylvia's buddy Akio and his adults, Nina and Jake. The group quickly got down to the important business of blowing bubbles and eating puzzle pieces.

Just minutes later the party really got started with the arrival of Lena and her adults, Dana and Brett.

During the party ted and Lena took time out to discuss the relative merits of balloons versus puzzles,

(Lena clearly prefers balloons)

Linda and Sylvia enjoyed the crowd,

and Ian perused our increasingly large collection of sleep propaganda, this one titled, "I'll See You in the Morning."

Our generous friends and family gave Sylvia some sweet gifts. Thanks!

Here Sylvia models a new dress that will fit this summer.

There are many birthday cake legends in our family. Some follow the mode, first perfected by the Greeks, of "My birthday cake was so natural is had no sugar, was made from raw oats and water and the icing consisted of tofu and sad songs." Others consist of various recollections about how, in our youth, we managed to strike our cakes with blunt objects (Ian-Hammer), had allergic reactions to an ingredient (Fidel-Strawberries) or ate twice our body weight in one sitting (Miguel-no just making that up).

I am happy to report that Sylvia's cake contained sugar (not too much), flour and nary a shred of tofu. As the movies below show, she seemed to enjoy it. Happy birthday sweetie!

Moving on up...

It's been a busy few days at the dinnertable. Sylvia, Aurelia and Miguel moved their bedrooms upstairs with the massive help of uncle Ian. All went smoothly except for the brief period of time when the momma chair was wedged in the stairway (no pics 'cause we were busy). Sylvia seems to like her new digs, evidenced by the longer stretches between waking up at night. Knocking on wood, etc.

When not moving up, Sylvia plays with her little, tiny soccer ball
(perhaps with a bit of parental coaching),

gets her neck washed (so much for those banana chunks for later),

reads with momma,

and plays "stick out your tongue" at the dinner table with poppa.

Movie time.

National day of digestion

With the family spread among the four corners of the country (and the world), thanksgiving was a simple affair. Aurelia, Sylvia, Ian, and I sat down to our feast of turkey, gravy, stuffing, potatoes and pecan (pronounced p'cahn, not pee-can) pie. Instead of baking the turkey we decided to grill the bird. This actually turned out easier than expected and had the added benefit of placing the turkey at an easy height for basting and inspection. Below, Aurelia prepared the bird for action.






Then the chef de la cuisine prepared the onions of the stuffing. Dried cherries and more pecans joined the party soon after.










As every internet article insists, we waited 15-25 minutes before slicing the bird. This allows the scent to fill the room and heightens the appetite. Whether it has the purposed benefit of the letting the juices within the turkey to come to rest is debatable. I believe this custom was invented by puritans who believe waiting is good for you. Sylvia and Papa pick at the resting bird in non-puritanical anticipation.











Aurelia and Ian have suggested that the image below shows Sylvia looking on dubiously as her father mangles the golden carcass. I disagree and see a doting child looking with awe upon her papa as he carves the holiday beast. (And as blogmaster I get the last word).








The day after thanksgiving is a national day of digestion. We worked off the pecan pie by walking through the Oregon Zoo. Sylvia enjoyed watching the dangerous critters that ran through the zoo, clutching plastic dinosaurs and coloring books. And she liked watching the caged animals too. Below we find my ladies gazing at the Oregon coast exhibit.






The Oregon Zoo, built in the 1950's on a former golf course, is the home of Packy, the first elephant born in captivity. He's now 66 and the father of two. It is also the home of numerous bears who are much larger than yours truly and the noodle.





Not everything was larger than Sylvia. Here we find her making friends with a tolerant bronze squirrel.





Due to Sylvia's ability to maintain her composure for about an hour and a half, we only managed to see a small part of the zoo. That means we will be enjoying our membership for a long time to come.

Avuncular Adventures

Sylvia can place another stamp in her family book this week with the visit of her uncle Chris.






Continuing his longstanding tradition of providing crustaceans with the opportunity to hit the skies, Chris brought along a box of beautiful blue crabs from New Orleans. After a refreshing swim in our cooler the crabs made for an aromatic and enjoyable evening.

To the bipedal and warmblooded go the spoils.

The next day uncle and niece enjoyed the early morning sun.

As mentioned before, Aurelia and I find our many guests draw us into new and interesting Portland adventures. This time the gang, including the noodle, attended a tour of a local brewery.

Beer well protected from thirsty Portlanders. (Probably empty kegs but just imagine all that beer).

Sylvia found her uncle more interesting than the tour.

A very clean brewery.

Vast conditioning tanks ready to launch if the President needs to initiate a world party.

Dos Locos

Come back soon uncle Chris!

Los pojitos dicen tio, tio, tio.

While casting about for a blog title I recalled the Spanish childrens' song "Los Pojitos-The baby chickens". For those unfamiliar with this song it goes like this:

Los pollitos dicen "pio, pio, pio",
cuando tienen hambre,
cuando tienen frio.

La gallina busca
el maiz y el trigo,
les da su comida,
y les presta abrigo.

Bajo sus dos alas
acurrucaditos
hasta el otro día
duermen los pollitos.


(Baby chicks say "pio, pio, pio,"
when they are hungry.
when they are cold.

The hen looks
for wheat and corn,
she gives them their food,
And she keeps them warm.

Under her two wings
tucked in and snuggled tight
until the next day
they sleep all through the night..)

Link to acoustic version.

I remember this song being sung to me as a child and have heard it in Ecuador being used to entertain children. There is something satisfying about being both a pojito and a gallina, or gallo as the case may be.

Unfortunately, the link between this song and the pictures below (showing two of Sylvia's five aunts and uncles) is a bit tenuous, relying almost entirely on a rhyme between pio and tio (Spanish for uncle). Perhaps a broader connection can be made that the gallina, or gallo as the case may be, in question does not have to be your mother or father but is in fact the wings of your family extending over you, bringing warmth and sustenance. I'll let you decide.

tio, tio, tio

tia, tia, tia

I had to add this one.
How are them fontanels?