Baby It's Cold Outside

For all of you who are not in Oregon or haven't heard, there has been a lot of snow in the past couple weeks. Most Oregonians are terrified of snow. We can brave through rain on a daily basis without an umbrella (I never even had one until I went to Utah) but the slightest bit of the white stuff and schools are canceled and news is showing 24 hour coverage.

It all started last week, sometime Saturday, maybe Friday. It's all a snowy blur now. So of course Sunday we only did one hour of church, which was fine with everyone.
Levi's first 'real' experience with snow. We did have a lot of snow in Utah but he was so little we didn't take him out much in it and when we did he didn't react too much. He was quite astonished at it all. He liked steping on it.

Jason, cleaning off the car for church. You'll notice there isn't too much snow accumulated. At first Levi loved it and started running in it, but he didn't stay out too long. He and little Eli, who was visiting, lasted all of 5 minutes when they simultaneously began crying as they ran into the house.

So for the past week schools have been closed a number of people stayed home from work. At our house it was insane because we had 'snowed in' 5 extra people. Talk about cabin fever. I finally made Jason go with me to the craft store just to get out. We also made a couple of trips out to some friends house. But even with all the snow and ice it's nothing to what happened within the past 3 days.

More to come.....

Live for today...plan for tomorrow....party tonight!!!

Recently we had our annual Vial Fotheringham 'Christmas Soiree'. For all of you who don't know what "Vial Fotheringham" is, it is the law firm I (as well as my mother, sister and now older brother) work for. I believe everyone in my immediate family has worked here and now I am back, working from home a couple hours a week. It is very family friendly and we have known the owners for years and years and are good friends.

So this year they decided to hold the annual Christmas party at the Oswego Lake Country Club (probabally to save Paula Vial and the Vial homestead, where we usually go, a lot of stress). Levi did a great job throughout it all, even though it was during his nap time. By white elephant exchange Levi was out of it, while everyone was fighting over the Victoria Secret bags, which was halarious by the way, becase even a bishop and ex-bishop got into it. One did have a set of boxers and the other I have no idea. We came home with fun crossword puzzles and a nice set of candles. Oh, and grandma gave Levi her barrel of monkeys game. He mostly liked dumping them out. Still does.

Levi showed some remarkable restraint when he saw the huge Christmas tree decorated with all sorts of fun things.
Uncle Isaac and Levi having a moment, over a cell phone. You have a cool cell phone, you have a new best friend. He'll also take keys with fun keychains on them.
This is probabally one of my newest favorite pictures of Levi. For the past month or so he would make what I call his "bitter beer face".
Levi.....at 70.

We'll see you all next year!

And Then There Were Two.

So here is a fun video of my crazy little one on the stairs. For some reason he thinks balls bouncing off his head is funny. Hummmmm. Thanks dad.




And today I found out that we are expecting another boy. We're way excited! I mean, who wouldn't want two crazy little boys like this???

Turkey Day

This year we went up to Moses Lake, Washington to spend Thanksgiving with Jason's dad, step-mom and three little brothers. It was a very much needed break from life.
We had Thanksgiving dinner at the Starrs (Jason's step-mother's parents, we have a crazy family). Levi adored the larger than life dog they had in their fireplace. Maybe we should just get him one instead of a toddler bed.

I didn't get much pictures of the actual dinner, there was too much going on and I forgot all about it. But there was a TON of food (no joke-4 turkeys). Levi, to the disappointment of grandpa, didn't care much for the meat but loved the fruit platter.
Not too long after dinner, Levi freaked out because he was exhausted. We took him to Jason's dad's house and while diapers were being changed he ran off the bed and hit his eyebrow on a box. I'll spare my mother the details but it was not fun to deal with. It was all down hill from there. We just before had found out he had a terrible diaper rash and on top of that after he woke up while running and crashing he cut his gums somehow. What a crazy day but Levi was quite the trooper. Jason says he is much tougher than I am, which is probably true but if I had Jason for a dad I'd be pretty tough too.
I love this picture because you can see just how much Levi adores his three uncles: Philip (11), Alex (9) and Willy (6)
Though he proved he could take on any one of them if they messed with him too much.

What a fun trip. Thanks Goodrichs!

It's Cider Making Time!!

This year we got to make fresh apple cider while visiting Jason's family in Washington. We made a few gallons last year but I'm sure Jason's dad Larry, was just humoring 'the city folk'. This year was INTENSE!!!

Step 1: Wash the apples. We were lucky and had a pressure washer to speed up the process.That bin was completely full when we started.
Step 2: The grinder! We hand cranked all those apples.
Step 3: Squeeze....we sort of cheated and used a air pressure pump thing (Larry rigged it up)

Step 4: Bottling. We made a total of aprox 70-80 gallons in 7 hours. It some dang good cider though. You just can't buy that stuff in stores. Levi was wonderful. I thought he would eventually freak out and have to go home. But he hung out in the John Deere wagon aka "traveling crib". The uncles were great babysitters and pulled him around when he wasn't watching everyone else in action.

Excuses

So it has been almost a month since I've posted, but I feel I have some pretty good excuses. So here they are:

1.) My camera charger went missing and I hate to post without pictures. I am a very visual person.

2.) I have more 'responsibility' at work. Though I do my work from home, I now have certain times I need to get work done instead of whenever I can.

3.) I am pregnant. Need I say more? Anytime I am not with Levi, working or whatever, you can usually find me sleeping. (I haven't been sick at all so it's a trade off I suppose)

Good news though: I found my charger, I getting the work timing thing down, and I am in my 2nd trimester and have gone from being tired ALL the time to just being tired MOST of the time. Hopefully a couple more weeks and it will go to SOME of the time.

Halloween!

This was Levi's first real Halloween. I don't really count last year because he was only 2 months old and I was too dazed and exhausted to do anything resembling Halloween.
A very Goodrich Halloween. Levi the Sheriff, Jason the Outlaw, and Kendra the cowgirl, wife of the outlaw. Sheriff Levi always has us on the run.
He looked SO cute. It would have been even better but he refused to have his hat on. Despite the fact that he was a bit grumpy due to tiredness he loved the whole getting candy thing. In this pic he got his hands on a kit kat.
At church people decorated the doors while kids went trick or treating. The Morin's went a little crazy with the decorations, but that's how they roll. My door decorations consisted of a spiderweb with a spider. Spooky huh?

Driving School

Another trick dad's teaching Levi.
Be careful on the roads there everyone, he's still working on walking.

A Beach Birthday

This weekend I celebrated my 26th birthday. I am now OVER a quarter of a century old and can hardly believe it. This year Jason and I went to Seaside for the weekend. It was our first night without Levi and I realized it was our first trip alone when we were not visiting family since our honeymoon.
It was freezing at the beach but what else would you expect in Oregon at the end of October? Or in July for that matter?
I introduced Jason to a Jensen/White family favorite. Camp 18 off Hwy 26. It has great breakfast. Sadly we missed the breakfast, but the other stuff was good too.


We went to an aquarium right next to our condo. It was small but they let you feed the seals. Also they had a stuffed lobster that was humongous! It had died because a drunk guy tried to steal it and when confronted he dropped it on the ground and walked away. It died shortly after. How sad. What WAS that drunk guy thinking?

A special thanks to:
Scarlett and Preston Rencher for watching Levi for the weekend and keeping him alive.
Brook Carter and Morin Clan for babysitting and letting us leave earlier than planned.
Denese Jensen (mom) for assisting with babysitting duties and keeping everyone in line.

Toddler Tricks

Though Levi has not said anything other than 'dada' and the occasional 'mama', you can tell just by watching him that he knows what is going on around him and is quite smart. Recently he has been started to do follow directions. We'll see how long that lasts. Here are some of the latest.


My mom and many other mothers have told me the reason why they had children was to do the dishes, the laundry, cooking and other chores. Levi's new job, for now at least, is dusting. He loves it.Down the stairs. Once Levi started crawling, he started going for the stairs. Only now has he begun to understand how to get down. Afterwords he then proceeds to shut his gate.


One of the few times Levi pays attention at church is when people are singing. A favorite thing to do is to copy Brother Rodemack and lead the music. He has transferred this skill to other music moments, most especially, the Office theme song. For some reason he loves it. It's catchy I guess.

More Toddler Tricks:
-Putting his diaper (or other things) in the garbage, but usually brings something back. Hmmm.
-Laying down.
-Clapping hands.
-Summersaults. He just needs a little help getting all the way over.
-Kisses. Sometimes.

It's Harvest Time!

Since Jason grew up in the "country" I have learned a lot about what living in the country is all about. And I have learned one of the best times of the year is harvest time. This year I was actually able to go and help. I think I was being trained for the first three years, a sort of waiting period I suppose.
Levi with Uncle Willy in a fire truck at the Fireman's Breakfast in Moses Lake, Washington.
Levi, playing found some of the lawn, wind things (I have no idea what you call them) at Aunt Chris's house. Very entertaining. Maybe we should get some.

This was the coolest thing ever. We moved the truck right under the digger. Now THAT'S farm fresh.
The back of the truck getting filled. We had to unload some of it at a family members house to make room for.......APPLES! Jason found me some of the hugest apples I have ever seen!
It was a good day. Now.... what are we ever going to do with this much potatos, apples and onions? If any of you want some, ask. Please. We have a ton.

A Day With Friends

As all mom's know, there are those days when you want nothing more than to leave the house, preferably without the kiddos in tow but you can't just leave them on their own, right? When that happens, one of our favorite places to go is the Morins, some family friends. While the kids go crazy, us moms can have a normal conversation for a change, instead of doing like I do and having a conversation with a one year old where I not only talk to him but respond for him as well.
Jackson, Levi and Cameron. Three fun, crazy boys with a TON of energy.
Cookies. Courtesy of Grandma Morin (is that what you call yourself Kate?)
I got this shirt several months ago and was more excited than any normal person should be when picking out a child's shirt. I just couldn't resist it when I dressed him in the morning. His clothes did not match at all (what goes with orange anyway?) but I was thrilled. Levi could care less.
His shirt says: "I'm skin n' bones...need more CANDY"
The firetruck. A favorite toy. Levi's getting the hang of it and is getting better about not letting Jackson roll over him or push him around too much. I forsee in a year or two Jackson bossing around both Levi and Cameron and getting into all sorts of trouble. Mark my words, mark my words.

At Grampy's House

At Grampy's house life is always just a little more exciting. A little bit funner toys, new adventures, better treats. It's always fun to go to Grampy's (and Gram's)
Levi during conference. This was about the only time he sat still. This rocking chair was sat in by my grandfather when he was little (Levi's great grandpa).
A new favorite toy, Grampy's golf clubs.
Looks like a professional huh?

Did You Know?

Levi is going to be a big brother?
Yup he is. The end of April. We'll let you know specifics soon enough.
It was quite a surprise for us but we are all very happy about it.
Pregnant. See? (FYI two stripes are positive)
I'm REALLY pregnant. No joking. =)

He's got the look!

There comes a time in every boys life when he just needs to make a change. For Levi that time was last weekend when dad insisted he get a hair cut. It was quite shaggy I'll admit. Here are the before and afters. Don't worry, I kept a lock.
Before After

No Boys Allowed.

This weekend my sister Scarlett, step mom Rhonda, Aunt Kathie and I went to a scrapbook retreat up in Washington at the Great Wolf Lodge that just opened. It has a HUGE indoor water park, which none of us went in because we had quite a jam packed weekend. It was pretty hard core scrapbooking, even for me. We did six 1hour 15 minute classes each day. Towards the end my mind was mush and I had to take more than one break.

This was my first weekend without Levi. It was good but I missed him. When he 'talked' to me (when I say talked I mean pushed buttons and hung up on me) I got a bit misty.
There were tons of women. A whole room full of crazy women scrappers.

Scarlett showing off some of the stuff we made. Aunt Kathy and Rhonda did a great job and got quite creative though they hadn't scrapbooked much. I was very impressed.
We got ton's of 'free' stuff and took home lots of supplies and projects and ideas to work on. It was great!
Four girls. No boys allowed. We'll I think we would have allowed them. Weather any male would ever want to join us is another matter.
Sassy Ol' me.

Portland Children Museum Adventures

This week Levi's Aunt Rose (my sister) had the week off so we decided to take Levi to the Portland Children's museum. Last time we went he was only crawling and though I'm sure he enjoyed it, didn't get the whole effect of it all. This time was MUCH better.

I couldn't decide which pictures to put so I put a TON. Sorry. But I know all the grandma's will thoroughly enjoy them all.

One of the 'exhibits' is a child sized grocery market and deli. Levi helped Aunt Rose put things away.Levi was sorely disappointed when he kept biting into the very real looking food and it was all hard and rubbery. He got this very confused look on his face. Luckily he didn't get too upset.
The 'Dig Pit" was probably one of his favorites, at least I think it was. One of the ways I could tell he's being growing up is that he didn't stick the 'dirt' in his mouth the minute it was in his hands.
I taught him how to use the 'Ambulance' phone.
Apparently I am a GREAT teacher.

This was the construction site. Levi could not figure out just how to get the water out of that sink.
Playing with Auntie Rose.
We didn't stay long playing with the trains. Levi kept destroying the track and the other little kids didn't like that much.
WATER!!!! We got good and wet. A couple of times.