Bouncy Party

CJ had a blast at a bouncy party tonight. Luckily I was able to find a few shots where she wasn't hopping and sliding around. She loved play and also the pizza and yummies followed by a beautiful princess cake. What fun.

Pop-Ups

CJ does a ton of work at school, but not much makes it home for our enjoyment. These are two "pop-up" cards she made recently. Love and the family are common themes in her work.

No Stone House

We started today's hike at the same place as one of our last hikes, but instead of heading left towards the stone house, we headed right. We were on a fairly muddy and mostly uphill hike for a long time, before joining one of the major trails in Forest Park. CJ had a few bouts of tiredness on the hills, but loved finding this woodpecker and tracking our miles with the tree markers. I'm betting she'll tell her schoolmates we hiked 8 miles since we did pass that marker.

A Long Day

Today Mama got to school to pick CJ up, but there was still some painting going on. Once CJ cleaned up, she wanted to stay for a while to watch the other children Morris Dance. We were just about out of there when CJ's friend reminded us on the school board meeting that evening. CJ wanted to stay and play and Mama was interested, so we ended up staying at the school until almost 6 pm. What a long day.

Colors

CJ's school has been doing a lot of work with colors. Much of it has to do with painting and when Mama went to pick her up today, I saw notes on a board about value, tint, shade and hue.

Tonight after dinner, CJ surprised Mama a bit by asking "Mama, am I white or black?" Mama replied with "What do you think?" And CJ thought long and hard before she said "I think I am black."

I guess it is a conversation we've never had before. We just introduce people by their names. Mama wasn't sure how to continue the conversation. We talked about the self portraits they made at school a while back. Each child mixed their own paint for their skin colors and they still have some of each saved in little containers. There's a small group of children, but a wide variety of paint colors.

Later Mama found out that they've also been doing some reading about Martin Luther King, Jr. (don't forget the junior!), civil rights and equality at school since the recent holiday. It must have had a big impact on CJ.

Sunny Day Sale

CJ made a sign (copying Daddy's spelling of the words) and set up shop in her room. We actually had blue skies and sun so she wore her glasses and played the harmonica. Her shop is pretty pricey - musical instruments were $60 and a pez dispenser was $13!

Card Art

CJ's Ballerina Drawing

After a full day of school (which included painting a color wheel and painting several illustrations of a story the children were told), CJ came home and made this ballerina drawing. Beautiful.

Time for Updating

Tonite was Daddy's company's holiday party. Yes, we are past holiday season and yes, it is a Tuesday night, but that's the way they do it. It's great for dress shopping (especially if you are last minute) as many places have markdowns. Mama was dressed when the babysitter came over. She commented how she liked Mama's new shoes (bought from a discount store as Mama doesn't wear heels more than once or twice a year), but when Mama came out with her coat on and the babysitter asked if it was a bathrobe, Mama thought maybe she needed to do some updating to her wardrobe.

Playdate PDX

We took advantage of the MLK school holiday to check out a new indoor play space. Luckily one of CJ's school friends was there and she showed her around. The place was packed. It's only about a month old so it was cleaner than some of the other similar places, but it was different. For one thing, the whole play area was together and actually it was quite difficult to see the children when they were playing. The cafe had more food options (although they were out of soft pretzels) and Stumptown coffee. CJ had a blast, but I think that was mostly due to her friend being there.

The Artist in her Studio

If you can't find CJ, there's a good chance she's in the office making some art. She started with snowflakes and then moved on to a drawing. Today she was excited that her cousins are going to visit next month so she drew a picture of them walking up to our house.

Recent Masterpieces

(Full disclosure - Daddy drew the ladybug and butterfly, but CJ colored them and drew the grass).

Back to The Circuit

Today was a rainy, rainy day so Mama dropped CJ and Daddy off at The Circuit while she ran a few errands. Then she was able to check out the new location and CJ's climbing skills. We might have to investigate purchasing a punch card for this place.

Good Report Cards

No, not for CJ, but for the pups. We made our annual family trip to the vet for their check-ups. Big B hated the slippery floors and Little B was fanatically waiting for cookie after cookie, but overall it was a good appointment and things are going as expected when you have 2 senior doggies in the house.

Silly Sigg

Long ago, we swapped our Sigg drinking bottles for new ones with the BPA-free liners. But recently Mama noticed that CJ's was starting to peel at the bottle neck. We talked to Sigg and they are sending us information so we can send this back and will receive a new one. If you only knew how many drinking bottles we've gone through in the last five years...

A Sad Day

Then:

Now:

Today Mama sold "the Bob". It was a happy day because we made some room (and some money), but also a bit sad as we'd gotten a ton of use out of it since its maiden voyage above. Mama had major stroller obsession while pregnant, and all her late nights of research paid off as this worked out to be a great choice for us. CJ was still willing to sit in it while Mama and Daddy ran together, but lately Mama felt a bit funny about having her ride in it, even though she's well below the 70-pound weight limit. This was probably our favorite and most-used baby purchase (the Ergo baby carrier was #2). The only thing Mama wished she would have done differently was to get a strollometer. It would have been interesting to know how many miles we put on this thing. Plus, someone on Craigslist seriously emailed asking what year it was and how many miles it had.

The New Gym

CJ and Daddy headed to the new rock climbing gym. Luckily they decided to open a location closer to our house. It sounds like it was very fun and that CJ did her best climbing ever. Daddy took some pictures on his phone so maybe we'll get those posted eventually.

Chuck-E-Party

CJ and Mama spent a few hours at Chuck E Cheese tonight, celebrating a friend's birthday. CJ really enjoyed the carousel ride the most of all, but she did break for pizza and cake and to play a few games. She was happy to count up her tickets and exchange them for a shiny necklace.

Year of the Rabbit

We took advantage of CJ and Daddy's holiday and the sunny (but cold!) weather to hop on Max and visit the Chinese Garden during their free admission week.

CJ loved doing the scavenger hunt and locating all the special items:

We all selected fortune telling sticks:

Daddy: Use your best talent to guarantee success in life

Mama: An event will soon bring you money

CJ: You have made a deep impression on someone dear to you

A New Trail

We got out of the house late, but had time to fit in a short hike around the Audubon Society. No Little B today because pets aren't allowed on these nature trails (and we thought she might need a rest after yesterday). CJ loved skipping ice on the frozen pond and the 3D map complete with lights. Are you getting tired of all the "family pictures"?

Nutty

CJ and Mama were looking outside the kitchen window when we noticed this unusual sight.

It had been a while since we'd had a squirrel visit. This guy appeared to be trying to take a nap on top of the fence post. Maybe he was trying to get out of the wind? CJ named him Nutty (thanks to a puppet show we'd seen recently) and Daddy went out to give him a few walnuts, but that activity caused him to wake up and head on his way.

New Years Hike 2011

It was cold, but clear and dry so we headed back to Lacamas Lake. The trail was closed by the dam so we ended up going around the other direction. CJ was wishy washy about hiking when we left the house, but once we got outside, she had a blast.

Although we would have preferred some snow, CJ enjoyed finding little ice crystals. This one looked like a princess castle:

We also came across another decorated tree. How fun!