A Field Trip!

Two Saturdays ago, we went on one of our first family outings to The Fernbank Museum. I chose the first Saturday of the month since it was a "Banks on us" weekend. If you are a Bank of America card holder you can get it for FREE. I thought only one of us could but we both did. On top of that, 2 and under is FREE too. So we had a fun filled day at the Fernbank and only had to pay for lunch. Yippee! I love good deals!

Josh's response to the dinosaurs. (jk!)

Inside the Toddler area

One of the exploration rooms.

Making shadows with Daddy.

BUBBLES- Josh's favorite!

Daddy with his mini clone, Josh.

After lunch Rachel got to crawl around on fossil tiles.

Getting ready to go Bye, Bye.

Check-ups and Updates

Josh had his 2 year check-up last week. The visit went very well despite other outings we have had recently that are sometimes challenging. I was reminded recently how important it is to prep Josh before we arrive somewhere or leave. This seems to help, and of course, is educational.

Josh is learning or saying a new word almost every day now. It's amazing! He still doesn't say many two words sentences which is supposedly a norm for his age, but will say these: "Milk peas (please)." "More peas (please)." "Go play." "Night-night." "Dee-da (The End)." Josh's favorite things right now are tractors and cars. He will let you know whenever he sees one!

At the playground, Josh loves to climb. He often wants to tackle the areas that are too big for him. I am amazed at how high he can climb. I hope he won't be a little dare devil when he gets older. I don't mind adventure as long as he is safe. Right now, he doesn't know all of his boundaries and will still fall down just running. Today for example, he face planted into the cement when running under the pavilion at the playground. It was so sad, but fortunately he's tough. I gave him a hug, kissed him, and he kept on playing.

Lesson learned: do not let your toddler eat a Gerber Toddler meal by themselves or this might happen!

Rachel has been such a great baby! She puts up with her brother and will go for periods of time with no attention. Not that I neglect her. I just can't always be entertaining her, you know? Josh and Rachel are doing well playing together these days. We just have to work on sharing and not getting too rough. Rachel is standing up and can cruise about two steps. She's still a great eater and loves to feed herself. Her favorite things right now are a blanket when it's time to go to sleep, toys (anything), and attention from other people.

• Rachel: height- 28 1/4 " (69%), weight 19lbs. 14.2 ozs. (65%), head cir. 17 3/4" (78%)
  
• Josh: height- 36" (83%), weight 29.5lbs (66%), head cir. 20.25" (97%)

Josh's New Do

Since this is what he looked like one day after getting up from his nap, I figured it might be time to get a real haircut (not to downsize the one you gave him Mom, but it was about a year ago). I had been wanting to go for months now, but was reluctant. I was worried about not having enough time with Josh and was afraid Rachel would need all my attention. I decide not to worry, packed some snacks, and headed to the kids salon last Friday. It went well.

Oh. I should mention the boo-boo on his face. No, he did not get this from the stylist or at the salon. This was an incident that occurred the previous day. Josh somehow drove his rhinoceros rider into the garage over two stairs into the cement. Fortunately this was the worst of the damage and he was fine. Praise the Lord!

What's this?

Rachel's crawling! But I have evening more exciting news than that. I'm just missing a picture of the really exciting thing. Rachel was caught standing up in her crib this weekend and has been seen standing up at least four times since then.

She's actually been crawling since Feb. 12th, just before Josh's birthday. I guess she didn't want him to get all the attention on his birthday ; ) I can't believe how fast this little girl is growing up. Oh my!

Trip to Portland

Last week, Jason, Rachel, and I flew to Portland for a trip. Jason had to go for work and we decided to go along for fun. Josh stayed with his Oma and Opa like a big boy. We all had a great time. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of Josh's trip , but I know for sure that he had a wonderful time. He got lots of one-on-one attention, played outside everyday, watched wood get chopped, and learned how to sing E-I-E-I-O.

As far as the rest of the Vinsons, we had fun too. I think my highlight was the beautiful weather (no pollen which I'm dealing with right now), lots of walking, and great food and beer. The hotel we stayed at was very nice (one of the reasons that tempted me into going!).Here's the link, The Nines. I took more photos but I figured theirs were better. Here's one of the atrium area. If you notice it is divided by glass walls; there are areas where you can lounge and then half of the area is the restaurant, The Urban Farmer. This is where we had breakfast about three times that week.

This is our floor.

We ate a late lunch Monday when we got in at Doner-Kobob; an excellent German restaurant just a block from the hotel. There we shared a Doner-Kabob sandwich, lentil sausage soup, and a Weiss beer. It was fabulous!

A typical day for Rachel and I consisted of walking her in the stroller. I can't tell you how many miles we got in, but it was fun! She was a great trooper.

One evening when we were waiting for Jason to get home, I gave Rachel a bath and decided to take some photos of her. This is one of the best. Don't you just love naked baby photos? I do.

Rachel exploring our room some more.

The first night their we had dinner with our friends Jed and Nyco at The Bridgeport Brewery. Rachel was infatuated with the menu. She was laughing out loud at it for several minutes. Kids are entertained by the simplest things.

On Tuesday, Rachel and I explored the area, first heading to Finnegan's, a local toy store. We had lunch at The Purple Elephant, and headed home for naps soon after that. That evening we joined Jason's co-workers for dinner at Henry's Tavern, one of the best pubs in Portland and known for their extensive beer list. Can you guess why they wanted to go there? Dinner was good but the beer was better. Rachel was a trooper once again and feel asleep at the restaurant. Fortunately I had the stroller with me so she got to snooze in there while we continued with the evening. This became almost customary for the week. Thanks Rachel!

Wednesday morning we headed to Vancouver, Washington to Sip-n-Play with Natalie and her two kids (they used to go to our church here in GA). What a GREAT place! I wish Josh would have been with us because he would have loved it too! Below are some pictures of Rachel playing in the crawlers section and here's the link for more photos. It was a very kid-friendly place with great food too. Natalie and I sampled hempmilk there. It wasn't that good, but we tried it : )

As I said, I really enjoyed the weather even though Portland is known for rain and gloomy days. Ours there were great. This is the view from our room.

That night we went to Higgins for dinner. This was definitely our nicest meal of the week and once again Rachel fell asleep. Higgins is known for their beer list, Northwestern fare, and is one of the best pubs/restaurants in Portland. I would agree.

Thursday began with Jason still having to work, but he got off early. So, we began our day as usual with an early breakfast, nap for Rachel, then a walk. We ventured all the way to 23rd Ave. from 5th which included a nice big hill. This was definitely the most walking thus far. Our destination was The Goodwill. Yep, that's right. It had been highly recommended from a friend so we decided to go. I really wanted to find something for Josh's room (something, somewhere in Portland), but didn't. Instead, I did find an Adidas jacket for me and a nice Brooks Brothers shirt for Jason for a total of $15. Worth the walking I would say.

On our walk back we met Jason for lunch at Jake's for some yummy seafood. Rachel caught the waiter's eyes and was able to get a free crawfish (a stuff animal one that is).

Thursday night, not too be forgotten, we attended Ignite Portland. This was an event that Jed and Nyco's company's were both helping sponsor. In a nutshell, there were several speakers their who each had five minutes on stage with 20 slides that rotated automatically after 15 seconds about a particular topic of intrest to them. As the website states, "Around the world geeks have been putting together Ignite nights to show their answers" like this for several years now. It was very enlightening. Some topics were enjoyable, some laughable, some boring, and some reflective, and some sad. It was a neat venue and show.

The next day was our one day to explore and we did. Yeah! Friday morning began with breakfast at Mother's Bistro and Cafe. Their we enjoyed migas, an excellent egg dish with chipotle sour cream, and salmon hash. Both we equally yummy. Rachel, of course, enjoyed her puffs, applesauce, and oatmeal as usual.

Next, we headed east of the city on I-84 to see Multnomah Falls. The views were beautiful. The interstate followed the Columbia River which divides Oregon and Washington. In the distance to the left you could see the Cascade Mountains and to the right glimpses of Mt. Hood. Along highway 30 were the waterfalls. We were able to see Wahkeena, Multnomah (the second largest falls in the nation, 682 ft. high) and Horsetail Falls. It was very cold that day in the mountains so we didn't venture off too long on any hikes though I would love to in the future!








After the falls we stopped at The Boneville Dam. Their we saw a huge sturgeon fish, fish ladders and the dam, of course.


Our next destination was Full Sail Brewery in Hood River, Oregon. We caught lunch their, sampled some beers, and attended their brewery tour. It was educational but not the best beer around.

Back in Portland, Jason went beer shopping, Rachel and I packed, and then we headed out for our last night of eating. Our first pick wouldn't let minors come, so our second pick was The Rogue Alehouse. Their beers are always good!


Saturday we flew home without a fuss. Then on Sunday I met Dad and Erika in Chattanooga to see Josh. As you can see from his precious face, he was glad to see us too.

It's good to be home, but I do always love to travel!
'Til next time.