Plumper Pumpkin Patch 2009

Turns out we picked the perfect day to visit the pumpkin patch. Actually, somehow we get lucky every year! We've been visiting the Plumper Pumpkin Patch for years and years. (So many years now I've lost track.) We started going there because Gabe's boss was involved in the trebuchet launching. So, all the engineers (who were all really good friends) went up to check it out. And they've been going every year since. Over the years the guys have slowly split up and moved to other jobs but the tradition hasn't died. In fact, Joe even made his own pumpkin launching contraption. Here he is this year shooting pumpkins in his cannon.This is a tradition I hope continues for years to come! Especially since all 4 guys had new additions to their families this year. Here are all the new dads with their little ones. Hopefully we'll have a picture like this next year. We may have a lot more trouble keeping all the little ones in the picture!From left to right (starting at the bottom): Joe with Finn, Enzo is in the stroller, Aaron with Taya. You know the boys at the top left (at least I hope you do!), and Josh with Weston

Can you find my little jack-o-lantern? I lost him in the pumpkin patch!

Found him!

Our Little Cowboy

Isn't he cute?!
His grandparents (being typical grandparents) couldn't come up empty handed. Tom and Joanne gave Levi his first (and probably only) pony when they came up this weekend. I think it's adorable. Gabe isn't to thrilled about it because when you push the years he neighs and moves his head and tail. Levi doesn't need to know about that for awhile. I think we'll just let him discover that one on his own.
This was his first ride last night and as you can see...he loved it. What I think he loved most was trying to get the mane into his mouth!
So...I'm thinking a cowboy hat maybe under the Christmas tree this year.

We're off to our last sign language class today so I better get in the shower quick while the little guy is still napping.

A Visit With Grandparents

Gabe's dad and Joanne came up Saturday afternoon to visit. It was really nice to see them and watch them enjoy their time with Levi. I just love watching other people love on our baby. He's such a lucky guy!
Shortly after arriving, Tom got to work making dinner for all of us. Levi got to help make dinner too! It was nice to talk and laugh while someone else did all the work. Plus, the meal was delicious.Sunday morning Levi (and Grandpa) were up bright and early. I'm use to waking up to Levi's crying...the smell of bacon was a pleasant surprise. After enjoying our waffle bacon breakfast we headed over to the Portland Nursery for their yearly apple tasting. They have a ridiculous amount of apples to taste. I wanted to get some apples to make Levi's first baby food, but since it was the last day they were pretty sold out. We did pick up about 4 lbs and I'll test out a few recipes and get them in the freezer this week. Unfortunately, we won't know for several more months how he likes them!
I hope he likes the apples more than he did his experience at the tasting. This is how he spent his time at the festival.

Our 5th Anniversary

Gabe and I got to take a little time away (by ourselves) to celebrate our 5th anniversary this weekend. Before we went to Las Vegas, Gabe was putting in really long hours at work trying to get a project done. So he decided to take Friday off. We dropped Levi off at Grandpa & Grandma G's house and then took off on our own little wine tour. We wanted to stop and taste at several wineries here in the northern part of the Willamette Valley. We ended up only making it to 4 wineries (Copper Mountain, Oak Knoll, Elk Cove, and Patton Valley) but that really ended up being enough. One can only taste so much Pinot Noir (the specialty of the valley) in one day.

We ended our special day in Forest Grove and stayed the night at the Grand Lodge. We drank some more wine and went down to the basement bar where they had live music. It was fun to spend time together, but I have to admit that we did spend a lot of our time thinking about Levi and wondering how he was doing. We knew his grandparents were taking good care of him...we just missed getting to snuggle him and give him kisses. We enjoyed our time together but were happy to see him Saturday afternoon.

2 Months!

How is it possible that our little guy is 2 months already?
And he's not even little anymore. He had his 2 month check up at the doctor yesterday and he's weighing in at 14 lbs already! He's 24 3/4 inches long (that's over 2 feet!) and his head is 16 1/4. He's our big baby now.
We decided to take a picture like this one every month for the first year. I found these cute little stickers that can just go on any shirt. It will be a nice way to follow his growth and see how much he changes. Plus, it also forces us to get out the camera at least once a month. Overall, I think we're not taking as many pictures as we should be. And I haven't yet captured his talking and smiling on video.

On a different note, the fall (or should I say winter) weather we've been having the last few days has really made me want to curl up and hibernate. It's also made me want to make soup. I love soup in the fall! During Levi's nap this afternoon I started some beef stew. I can't wait to enjoy it, and the beer bread we got from Trader Joe's a few weeks ago, for dinner tonight. Although now that I look out the window I see the sun is shining. Oh, well. I'll still enjoy our nice fall meal this evening.

Las Vegas Adventure

Our trip to Las Vegas was a vacation for Levi and me, but work for Gabe. So, unfortunately Gabe missed out on lots of the fun we had. Becky got to take off the first 3 days we were there and join us for some fun adventures. We spent the first afternoon (Saturday) showing Levi around Hoover Dam. He has now been to 3 states. Arizona counts since that's the side of the river we parked on right?Gabe had Sunday free so we had a big breakfast at Becky's house and spent the rest of the day exploring Red Rock Canyon. There's a nice scenic loop you can drive and lots of trails to hike. Gabe and I didn't think to wear our hiking shoes so we only did one short "hike" in our flip flops. Next time we'll make sure we're prepared. It was really windy and Levi wasn't really sure what to make of the whole thing.The rest of the trip Gabe was busy at the conference/trade show. Monday us girls (and Levi) went down to Bellagio. The garden was all decorated for fall. And we enjoyed some gelato while we waited for the fountain show to start.

Monday evening my mom stayed with Levi so that Becky, Gabe and I could go out for dinner. Gabe really wanted to try the Burger Bar. It's the only Hubert Keller restaurant really in our price range. His french restaurant in Mandalay Bay is really spendy. I still didn't feel great about spending $20 on a hamburger. It was a good burger but not that good! They do have a $60 hamburger on the menu. Insane! That's food on the strip for you.
On Tuesday Levi, mom and I went out for lunch and then toured the Shark Reef Aquarium. Levi was awake to see the golden crocodile, komodo dragon, and the reef sharks. I think he fell asleep half way through. He woke up at the end and was ready to eat so we had to make a pretty quick exit. We did pick him up a stuffed shark in the gift shop to help him remember his trip.
Wednesday, our last day, we went to the pool. Mandalay Bay has a really cool pool. I'd go back there again, when Levi's a little older, just for the pool. The wave pool looked really fun but Levi wasn't quite big enough yet to enjoy it. Plus the real sand is a pretty neat touch. Levi did enjoy putting his toes in one of the other 3 pools. And here he is smiling while we relaxed and danced to the music.

It was a fun trip. We all came back pretty tired. Levi has been sleeping in really late and taking long afternoon naps. I know the trip wore me out and I think it wore him out too. We loved seeing aunt Becky but I think everyone is happy to be home. It was great to have my mom with us. She watched Levi several evenings so that Gabe and I could have some time to go to dinner without him. Although the one dinner we did take him to he totally slept through.
My goal for this week is to see if we can get Levi on a schedule of some kind. He pretty much eats and sleeps whenever he wants, but it would be nice to have some routine and a consistent bed time. Seems like he might be getting ready for that now.

First Flight

As it turns out, Levi is a great traveler. All my worrying was for nothing. He did great!
We got to PDX super early and had to wait around for quite a while. I figured it was best to be early the first time I tried this whole flying with baby thing.

The first picture is Levi's first time on an airplane (the trip there). The second picture shows what Levi did the whole flight to Vegas and the whole flight home. (The picture is on the return trip...I think that's why I look so tired too. It's exhausting vacationing with this little guy. I now need a vacation from my vacation. Good thing Gabe and I are going to get away for our anniversary next weekend.)

I'll share more about our adventure in Las Vegas later. I'm still working on the 6 loads of laundry we brought back with us.

Ready or not...

Here we come!
We're heading off to Las Vegas tomorrow afternoon.
Gabe has to go for work (some sort of trade show) and his boss said he could bring the family. When Gabe first told me about it my reaction was...no way. I wasn't sure traveling with a 7 week old was a great idea. But the more I thought about it (being off work now and never being able to go with him like this again, seeing my sister, and not wanting to spend the week without him) the more it sounded like a great idea. As we tossed the idea around my mom said she wanted to come with us too, and that just sealed the deal.
So, tomorrow Levi is taking his first airplane ride and I have to admit that I'm super nervous. It could go really well and he could sleep the whole 2 hours. Or it could go really bad and...enough said. I think we've all been on those flights with the screaming child. I really hope it's not my child.
We'll share all about it when we get back next week. Wish us luck!