An Oregon October

Every once in awhile I forget why Oregon has such a vice grip over my soul. Usually on days when the cold and drizzle and cabin fever have set in, because I have fair-weather fan tendencies of discontentment, (currently applying to my Fantasy Football team as well), and the complaining begins. 

Note to self: When the complaining begins, read this. And the Bible. That's probably a better choice. 

Ok, picture it. The summer heat wave is fading and that inevitable bitingly crisp air rolls through. For a moment it's panic mode. Not the "it's snowing!" level of panic mode on the Oregonian scale, but close. We light candles. Make soup. Dig out the wools socks and beep up the thermostat arrow. Up up up. 

And it's ok. This is what happens. The army boot/legging/chambray combo is always a good choice, especially in Portland. Plus, Trader Joes begins stockpiling pumpkin flavored everything on all the shelves.  From October-December I'm habitually flipping pumpkin spice pancakes on the stove at least twice a week in a programed consumerism daze.  

Then one morning, instead of a dim 8am light alarm through the bedroom window it's full on sun power beams. 2pm light at 8am. Enough to take the edge off the lack of coffee in the house. Almost. 

Feels like Summer and looks like Fall. 

There's fire-colored leaves scattering our walk into town for that "almost not needed, but who are we kidding as parents of a two year old, we totally need"  caffeine 

and even a couple minutes to splash tiny toes in the freeeeeeezing river. 

We just might never leave. 

...

P.S. Do you Love where you Live? 

xoxo

{Bon Bon}

Bean's Birthday Gift Guide

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11

   Bean's 2nd Birthday is rapidly approaching, (November 29), and then quickly followed by Christmas, (lucky duck). Here are a few special/fun/useful things that would be squealed over, (this is the year where toys will outweigh the excitement of cardboard boxes?).

   These are merely suggestions + heads up for my Craigslist-ing-Garagesale-ing family members + reminders for Daniel and I to not procrastinate so we don't find ourselves wandering the fluorescent lit aisles of Toys "R" Us on either Birthday or Christmas Eve. *shudder*



P.S. I had thought long and hard about if we should encourage the Bean's love of the drums or not. What if it becomes his THING in life. Are we destined to the sound of crashing cymbals for the next 18 years? Right now he uses xylophone sticks and a spatula to beat on my metal mixing bowls. Which sounds awful. I'll gladly embrace a drum set now, (even after living under our Rock-Band turned real band self-taught via YouTube videos drummer wannabe neighbor in our old apartments who held live band practice complete with amps during the week between the hours of any.time. in an APARTMENT complex). Maybe the guitar is a safer choice?

P.P.S. As always, any and all trains/cars/trucks/books/bikes/balls/puzzles/clothes/etc. are fantastic: Shirts/Pants: Size 2t & Shoes: Size 6 going on 7!


Check out Bean's 1st Birthday Mustache Bash {here}

xoxo

{Bon Bon}

Bauman Farms

   Like most of the general public, (general public=on Instagram or in Oregon), we went to the pumpkin patch this past weekend. Not just any pumpkin patch though. THE patch of all patches, (p of all p's=Bauman Farms), basically: Oregon Disneyland.

   Want to know how distractingly fun Oregon Disneyland (Bauman Farms) was?
   We didn't even buy a pumpkin. 
(Unsolved mystery: Does the patch of all patches have the pumpkin of all pumpkins?)

   The baby farm animals, apple tasting, apple cider donuts, apple cider, apple slingshot, apple cannon, did I mention APPLES, bug train, swings, tractors, mazes, and slides, pleasantly distracted us all morning long. (Grabbed a $.48 pumpkin at the grocery store afterwards, because, I'm a consumer who can't let it be October without an orange squash rotting in my house).

   All of us were hot, sticky, sugar glazed, and tired as we made our way back to the car. Just in time to see an enormous crane hoist up two gigantic pumpkins, release to the crowd's 3-2-1 countdown, and smash down through the roof of a beat-up van target.

   Three days later, and the Bean is still talking about it.
"The crane! The pumpkin! And the car! Ka-boooooom!"

   (If he needs therapy later in life for an irrational fear of either cranes, pumpkins, or cars, we know why)

Happy October Traditions! 'Merica!

xoxo

{Bon Bon}

Bean: 22 Month Update

   This space hasn't seen too much Bean action as of late, not.ok. The man is almost two, eating like a teenager during football season, and keeps us on our toes all the live long day. I try to snap photos and write each and every sweetly hilarious anecdote down, (This Fall: Instagram is the new Blog?), because this whole childhood thing is a BLUR! I barely have time to filter that face before he's off to the races again. 

   As a child of the late 80s, I have a baby book, some toys, special clothes, a few VHS tapes, and maybe 32 good-ish photos of myself from the ages of newborn-18 years old, to encapsulate my formative years. I'm also a 2nd child, so a few of those "photos" might just be hand drawn pictures of my face... 

   I guess following Bean in his moments of discovering life and the world has made me appreciate those fleeting moments. Even in the mundane. 

   He has a talent for making the mundane exceptionally exciting. 

   For example, farting in the middle of a quiet Target aisle yesterday morning and then loudly exclaiming, "TOOT!!!!!!" Just in case anyone was wondering who did it or hadn't actually heard the loudest fart ever in the first place. No shame in this family. 

   (Kind of reminds me of one of those "Convos With my 2 Year Old" YouTube videos. Reenact with a full-grown man...not cute anymore)

   His first memory might not be of that one rainy afternoon where we sat in a homemade tent full of twinkle lights, 

(my 1st memory is watching the Indiana Jones show at DisneyWorld when I was three. Seriously. The earliest recollection that my brain can piece together is a giant ball rolling after a Harrison Ford look-alike), 

but I hope he will always remember how loved he is. 

xoxo

{Bon Bon}

Bean is 22 Months old. 

This is what he's like most days: 

PLAY: Trucks and trains and anything with wheels! Books, puzzles, music, painting, sports, etc. He's a jack of all trades. A man's man. 

SAY: Recognizes full ABC's, Counting 1-20 (every time up AND down the stairs), points out several colors, loves saying names of things, stringing together words. 

Some new favorites phrases: 

"What is that?" 

"Where'd "insert name" go?" 

"There "insert name" is" 

"C'mon! Let's Go!" 

"Ready! Set! Go!" 

"Oh man! Awesome!"

"Ooooh, Nice!" 

"Mmmm. Smells Yummy!"

"How are you?" 

He knows so much. Blows my mind. When he gets focused on learning something, his brows will furrow and he'll ask you over and over to repeat something until he learns it. 

Example: Thomas Train Book/Bird Book. Names like "Skarloey" and "Kookaburra." Outrageous. 

EAT: Knows what he wants, when he wants it. Still loves meat, cheese, bread, fruit, pasta, etc. Became super picky with vegetables, (always a fan of squash, zucchini, potato, sweet potato, tomato, lettuce) a recent victory was telling him that broccoli are "little trees!" He will eat "little trees!" 

FAVORITES: DEEDEE!!!! (his lovey, I'll have to blog about it), playing hide-and-seek with DaDa, drums, dancing, (especially to Eric Hutchinson: "The People I Know"), slides, sandbox, tools, bubble baths, books, firetruck footie pajamas, closing doors, being "helpful," kisses, getting into everything! 

DISLIKES: Brushing teeth! It is usually a battle, right before bedtime, (How are kids so strong?!), sharing toys, (only child much?), if Dada or Mama hold another baby, (only child much?), when a train becomes disconnected and he can't fix it, (future engineer?), if his pants are too long, (that's a new one thanks to a summer full of shorts), and getting into his carseat.