Happy Ween!

That's what Brett's been saying today...that, and "tick-o-teet!" The little man has definitely decided that he likes this fun fall holiday...what with dressing up like his favorite character, Larry the Cucumber, playing all sorts of fun games at the Athey Harvest Fest, staying up late to visit neighbors and get candy...and watch the duckies stick it to USC...it's been a fun day!

Thankfully daylight savings ends tomorrow, so the fact that our lil' cucumber went to bed after 10 p.m. might not totally mess with his schedule tomorrow...I hope. :) Even so, it was worth it!

Brett shows off his happy-face pumpkin...which he made with a little help :)

Brett and Grandma at the H-Fest

Shootin' hoops for candy at the H-Fest with Daddy

Enjoying a cookie to celebrate the ducks - this must be his "game face." ;)

Wow, both Bob the Tomato AND Larry the Cucumber attended the Harvest party! How cool!

Fall Photo Shoots - then and now

Yesterday we took advantage of a brief sunny moment to head outside and snap some photos of Brett in all the beautiful leaves. We did the same thing almost exactly a year ago, and I thought it would be fun to compare photos. Boy, it sure was different trying to photograph a rambunctious toddler on the side of a busy street, as opposed to last year when Brett wasn't walking yet! I wonder what next year's photo shoot will be like!


Then


Now


Then


Now

Then ............................ Now


Then ............................ Now

Recommendations?

Hip Hip Hooray! Here's the good news: As of January 2010, we will no longer be stuck with our Kaiser Permanente health plan, meaning we get to go back to our old doctors, we won't be stuck in the cattle-call system anymore, and have a lot more control when it comes to healthcare. The bad news is that we won't have ANY HMO...it's a more expensive plan (for us...not for the employer, of course), and it carries more financial risk than a flat-rate Kaiser plan.

Anywho, it leaves us with a choice of pretty much any pediatrician we want. Woohoo! I have no idea where to start...ever since I was pregnant we've been stuck with Cattle-Call-Kaiser, so there's never been much of a choice in anything. Anyone in the Portland area have an absolutely outstanding pediatrician or ped office you'd like to recommend?

I have another need for a recommendation too...for our home theater system. It needs a tune-up. Anyone know someone good, that would appreciate the business? Thanks all!

Can't post without a cute picture...so here ya go:

Someone is getting really good at his cheesy school picture smile.

Fall Fun Day

This weekend we ventured out to Lakeview Farms for some pumpkin-patchin' fun. Wow...this might just be the best pumpkin patch ever! They really know how to put on a good show for the kiddos: a train ride, boat ride (complete with a resident shark, lochness monster, and a pirate ship), tons of pumpkins, hay bale mazes and pyramids, horsey rides, face painting, a corn maze, a farm animal zoo, lots of goodies to snack on, and (Brett's personal favorite) a tractor-pulled caterpillar ride! Whew...we were all pooped after the hours upon hours of farm fun. I still had just enough energy left to throw some photos up on the blog, though...so enjoy!

Brett's first horsey-ride courtesy of Cherokee

First train ride too!

Cousins Mike, Tracy, Taylor and Sage joined us for some fun. The girls were so sweet with their little cuz!

Side note: for some reason, Brett has associated pigs with the food they produce. I think it was pure coincidence, but he actually started calling his stuffed Piglet toy "Ham." We all got quite the laugh out of it.

Brett's fave: the caterpillar ride. I wish I had photo proof of how tiny he was in there, compared to all the other kids. You can sort of see it in the next photo - all the other kids were at least as big as the one behind Brett.

noise

Thankfully, we're not like most parents who prefer quiet toys over loud ones. Grandma and Grandpa Brown blessed us all with a gift for Brett - his very first drum set! Now he can really rock out with Daddy. I'm afraid Brett's destined for a career in heavy metal drumming...he has already banged on it so much, and so hard, we've had to repair it...twice! Last night I cracked up because he was watching Daddy seal up a paint can by banging it with a hammer, and he excitedly pointed and said "Daddy drum! Daddy drum!" I wonder if it's too soon to start music lessons? :)

hangin' out

How many 30-pound 21-month-olds can do this?


Yeah...his feet are at least 18" off the ground. He wanted to do this over, and over, and over...and would just hang there for several seconds, laughing, until he dropped and I caught him. Had to set the camera timer to capture this one for all eternity! :) The funny thing is, the first time I discovered Brett's little hanging ability was at the store, pushing a shopping cart. I was holding him in front of me while he pushed the handlebar, and I had to put him down on the floor to grab something. He just didn't let go, and hung from the handlebar. Talk about muscles!

So he may be a little young...but I'm pulling for Brett to win a gold medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio...either in gymnastics (parallel bars), or weight lifting (chin-ups...if that's even an event). His big sisters can be there to cheer him on! :)

Go Brasil...Go Brett!

Happy Meal

Who needs McDonalds when you can have oatmeal and whipped cream?