Portland Adventure: Day #2

After arriving in Portland late on the afternoon on Day 1, Liam and I got settled at the hotel, walked around town a bit, and had some pizza at Hot Lips. There was a band setting up in the corner as we left, and the drummer had long dreadlocks. As were walking past, Liam slowed down a bit, then walked up to the drummer and said "You look like Captain Jack Sparrow!" The rest of the band started laughing.

The evening was challenging. Lots of screaming for Mom and milk, but eventually, we both fell asleep, and rested (fitfully) until about 7:00 the next morning.

On Day 2, we were picked up by our friends Jen and Carl and we went for a fantastic hike along Eagle Creek in the Columbia Gorge. Unfortunately, Liam was quite tired so we only made it in a little over a mile. This was far enough that we saw some great scenery and were able to traverse an extremely narrow ledge carved into the side of a cliff, with (naturally) a waterfall dropping directly onto the trail. Walking along slippery rocks on the edge of a cliff under a waterfall is thrilling and exciting even by yourself, but for an extra special dose of stimulation, I highly recommend carrying a sleepy three year old. YEAAH!!

After the hike, nap time, then exploring downtown Portland, and dinner at Kell's. It was a good day, and the night was a bit easier than the first, with far less screaming in the middle of the night.

The Portland Adventure: Kick-off Party and Day #1

This past Friday we had a weaning party for Liam. After nursing him for 3 1/2 years, through her pregnancy with Lochlan, and tandem nursing two boys for the past 9 months, Amy decided she was done. Since Mr. Little Guy has shown no signs of quitting on his own, we decided to give him a firm but very supportive, festive nudge into the land of big-boyhood. The Weaning Party was a rockin' affair for the preschool set. We had vegan chocolate cake, featuring a photo montage we put together of Liam nursing at various ages (and printed with edible ink on edible rice paper by the Erotic Bakery)--which I decided not to include an image of here on the blog for the simple reason that Amy would kill me. Liam's buddies Colin, Darby, Audrey, Max, Amelie and all their parents were there, and it was a lot of fun.

Liam's pediatrician recommended that I take Liam elsewhere for the first few days of the weaning period, so the next day, Liam and I headed south on an Amtrak train for a four day adventure in Portland.

A Clear Day at Carkeek

We've had really clear, cold weather here in Seattle up until yesterday. About a week and a half ago I took the boys to Carkeek park for a play date with our friends Audrey and Heather. It was cold, but we still spent some time on the beach. There were some beautiful views of the Olympics, and a green fishing boat plying the waters just offshore.

Brothers

Liam and Lochlan, January 2007

Will Dance for Food

Amy went snowboarding with some of her buddies from work today and I had the boys. Liam wanted to go to the library, so the three of us hopped on the trusty 44 and took it to downtown Ballard. The bus stopped right in front of the Great Harvest bakery, and the tempting aromas were impossible to ignore so we headed inside to grab a snack. The folks working the counter were playing some god-awful 80s station, and the particular tune we heard upon entering was "Rock Steady" by the Whispers. Well, despite the vacuous lyrics it *is* a dance song, and upon feeling the beat Liam began dancing in the astonishingly uninhibited manner that can only be attained by three-year-olds and the clinically insane. He was cutting some mad dance moves, and before long he had the two women working the registers dancing too, and just about everyone in line laughing. When it was our turn to pay, the woman gave him the cookie for free for being so entertaining. The guy behind us heard that and started dancing, and said "can I have my cookie for free too?!?" It was awesome. I love being a dad.