Ode to Gilbert

gilbert feeding the babies and singingso happy in the cradle

So, now that we have so much SPACE I'm unpacking things I've had packed since I literally left my parent's house...I know I'm kind of a pack-rat. This is one of them, a doll cradle I had as a kid now is in Evelyne's room. Gilbert has really taken a fancy to it though. He loves getting in it and feeding the dolls their bottles and rocking himself back and forth. He even sings, loves to sing, loves music, doesn't say words we understand but definitely has melodious sounds coming from is mouth it's so fun. One of his favorite songs is "rock a bye baby" which we sing many times during the day.

Thanksgiving Back-Tracking

Evelyne's Thanksgiving Feast at school...as she is one of the smallest "turkeys" she is front and center

sitting next to her friends Katelyn and Avery

gilbert desperate to join in!!

Of course a group of 3 year old turkeys is too cute for words! Gilbert and I watched the Thanksgiving program at Evelyne's school, Valley Christian, here in Wilsonville. Everyone had to sign up to bring something for the Feast at the end. The teachers did such a great job. They had the tables all set for the children, and each table even had their own real live candle...LIT! There are about 30 or so 3 year olds in her am classes (3 classes of 10 - 12) so I was really impressed! The kids sang a couple of songs and then enjoyed turkey rolls, apple juice, cranberry sauce, cheese cubes, dinner rolls, pumpkin cupcakes, popcorn, and fruit. They were so excited most didn't eat much, just had a couple of bites and talked to friends and mom & dad. Gilbert loved watching the whole thing, just kept trying to be a part of it all!

Some house photos

Kitchen and Family Room

Family Room

Dining Room

Stairwell

Breakfast with Santa

Evelyne 3 1/2 Gilbert 13 months

We took a break from unpacking and had breakfast with Santa at the YMCA in Sherwood. It was a great time. The kids ate pancakes and sausage while Santa made his appearance. They had crafts for them to do afterwards. Evelyne made a bracelet which she calls a "wrist" of course it's blue. Gilbert was a bit afraid of Santa but once big sister joined in on the other knee he was alright, not sure about it though. Evelyne asked wanted to ask Santa for swimming goggles but she said she forgot and just said yes to a doll which later she told me she didn't really want. I think she got nervous. So, Grandma Gigi and her wrote a letter asking for the goggles and now all is well.

...and now we OWN it!

So, we've neared the end of our jouney. We're planning on moving to our new house this weekend. The painter is finishing up inside and there are a few things outside to finish. We closed on it last monday, the 26, to the exact day they'd said...crazy huh?



more later....

Gilbert's Baptism

Gilbert Evelyne and mom before we left for the church

In the pews with family

Gilbert running around at brunch!

After being baptized; he clapped for himself!

We finally had Gilbert baptized today! We decided to go back to our old church in NE Portland as we haven't yet found one around here to call home. We enjoyed going back and seeing old friends. The baptism went really well, Gilbert even smiled and clapped for himself at the end it was so funny it was like he was really proud of himself.

Afterwards we came over to Bruce and Joni's for a brunch with family, it was nice to visit and eat yummy brunch food!

Knights down

Things have been rough on the Knights this past week; Evelyne had bronchitis, gilbert is finally getting over his cold, I have a cold and Nathan broke his arm while mountain biking. Perfect timing for our anticipated move in a couple of weeks. Yikes.
Good news on the home front...our house should still be ready by the end of this month.

Organized Child

No, this is not an attempt at selling diapers on craigslist. This is Evelyne organizing diapers all in a row; first in one layer, then in two layers all facing the right direction and all in a line. I walked in her room thinking she was playing with toys and this is what I found...what does that say about mom and dad???!!!???

Happy Birthday Gilbert!

Gilbert as a skunk and mom as Medusa

Fun halloween treats: ghost marshmallows

Evelyne is a snake!

Gilbert eating his cupcake with "flower child" grandma gigi and "cowboy" grandpa larry

yummy cupcake!

We celebrated Gilbert's first birthday with his cousins, Brantley and Spencer who turned 7 and 4 one day before Gilbert's birthday! We partied at Lindsey's clubhouse in Lafayette with a costume party since it was just before Halloween. We gave a prize for the best adult costume which was won by Grandpa Bruce who came dressed as a Grandma.

The kids enjoyed playing traditional Fall games like bobbing for apples and a "prize walk" which was kind of like musical chairs.

Gilbert started walking about a week before his birthday and is now getting everywhere and getting into everything. He's starting to climb and hop like his sister and loves taking things out of the cupboards only to get himself in!

Adventures in Whitefish

So much fun and so good to see our friends again! We had a great time in Whitefish Montana visiting the Peppmeiers. The kids got to play, dads got to play, even mom's got a bit of a break and we all got to feel like adults again; if only for one evening. It was overcast for most of the trip and we had a bit of drizzle, rain, hail, and a few moments of sunlight now and again but all in all it the weather didn't matter, the town was so cute and felt really liveable. Doug and Kelly's house is adorable and their view from the front (to the mountain "Big Mountain") and from the back ("Whitefish River") is amazing.

The train ride was totally worth it with this age of kids and we loved eating our breakfast this morning riding through the Gorge. We can't wait to go back again, Nathan can't wait to ski. Here are some photos of the kids playing in the park near Doug & Kelly's house and of Gilbert bundled up on our chilly hike through Glacier.

On to Mon (tana)

Today we leave for our trip to see the Peppmeiers; we're all very excited! We leave this afternoon and get in tomorrow morning. A bit of a problem has come about with the train which we're really bummed about....

So we booked a sleeper car for us thinking that would be the easiest and best for the kids. Last night amtrak called and said the entire car with all the sleepers in it has mechanical problems and won't be there until Spokane, which is 1am in the morning when we arrive there....so we all have to sit in coach w/bags etc. until then..ugh.

We'll let you all know how it goes!

School field trip

The first school field trip for Evelyne was to the pumpkin patch. We went to Lee's Farms in Tualatin, rode the school bus with about 40 kids, teachers, and lots of parents. It was a hoot. We were assigned Kohl as a buddy so the three of us stompped through the mud together looking at pigs, chickens, cows, watched how apple cider was made (and had a sample) rode a hayride and got to pick out pumpkins.

Luckily, the rain stayed away for our time outside. Evelyne loved the beginning of the trip, honestly, I think riding the bus was the highlight. She started to get hungry and wanted a snack, of which I didn't pack any thinking they would have one there with the school as they usually do. So, a bit of whining happened about 1/2 way through the trip. But Kohl, Evelyne and I marched on.

Singing Lady

Evelyne loves to sing, thought i'd write an entry about it. We've been spending a lot of time in and out of the car lately and one thing that keeps the troops happy in the back seat is singing. We sing everything, christmas songs, hymns, nursery rhymes, and lately evelyne has been making up her own songs. They are so cute, always to the same tune, kind of like talking to herself, no real rhythm but boy is she proud of them. Gilbert and i clap when she's done. Here's an example of one of her favorites..."You better watch out you better not cry, i am playing outside and i like to eat lunch, when mom comes and it's time to go; a school day sometimes, rock a bye baby on the tree top and the baby falls and cries, sometimes babies cry and mommies come back...." etc. etc. they never end, its a stream of consciousness style of song.

Cousin sleep over

So, the great thing about living out here in Newberg is that we're closer to cousins for Evelyne and Gilbert. Evelyne loves to play with them and we had a sleep over with cousin Spencer last weekend. We had fun playing in home made forts, riding bikes to downtown for hot chocolate, and doing finger paints which Evelyne and Spencer aptly termed "hand paints"...you'll see from the photos.

News from the new house front; all is going along as planned, still scheduled to move in at the end of November. We're really getting close now. The outside looks like a real house and the inside is all painted, tiled, and waiting for flooring.

Gilbert's First Haircut

Gilbert got his first haircut this week. He did pretty well and was aptly distracted with toys and bubbles. We went to Little Clippers in Lake Oswego, he sat in a red car.









Sister Evelyne got her hair cut, too...it is picture day at school this week, so we had to get cleaned up!









Gilbert is now 11 months old and almost walking, he's standing on his own more and more and loves to walk with his walker toys. Both kids are adjusting fine to all the moving around, at least so far.
Here he is with his haircut!

Some events and family

Dianne's Birthday

Our house, getting closer

We've officially moved to Newberg

Hello from Newberg! Sorry it's taken so long to let you all know we've survived! my computer isn't up and running yet, so I don't have my contact information....but...you can call my cell 503-888-4119 or nathan 503-432-3081. we're staying with nathan's parents and their number is 503-625-7972. We have a new email dianneandnathan@gmail.com as our comcast account has ended.

hope you're all doing well, we'll talk soon!

Sale Pending

We are in sale pending on our house, I feel like it's just in the nick of time! The anticipated date of closing is Wednesday, September 12th but we'll probably move out the weekend before. As Nathan says "we're livin' the dream; moving back in with my parents" they have been gracious enough to let our crazy lives invade them. We'll most likely be staying there in Newberg until our house is done in November.

Let's all hope for the best on the inspections which are happening on our house soon. We don't anticipate any major problems but you never know in these old homes.

Here are is a recent photos of our new house...it's getting there!

Domicile Debrief

Update on our house...these photos were taken a week ago...but here's our house and the lonely lamp post next to it. Front of the house is where the sign is, back of the house is the last photo with the garage and our small compared to now back yard.
As for our current house, no offers yet, still a lot of lookers. As we've all understood, the market has taken a down turn. We've reduced the price a bit to see if it'll entice new blood. All for now...more to come.