Daddy writes,
It’s the return of the lazy blogger. Not much to say as I am (once again) horribly sick. My tonsils are the size of golf balls. Here’s a little something to make you all smile though:
February 19, 2011
Daddy writes:
Eileen and I had our first date together ten years ago on 2/16/01. She’s in Vegas right now so I made this video for her. Thanks for sticking through it all with me Eileen. I love you.
December 27, 2010
Daddy writes:
Whoops, one video I meant to include in my last post slipped through the cracks. I know you don’t want to miss Penny singing Jingle Bells……
December 24, 2010
Daddy writes:
The holiday season this year has been much like the rest of the year, very challenging. Penny has learned to crawl out of her crib and WILL NOT go to sleep when she’s told. Evie still seems to be anxious when it come to Christmas, which has significantly dampened the holiday spirit on more than one outing. To top it off, the stomach flu elf has paid us a visit (Eileen’s on deck now) and we’ve had one of the worst colds we can remember.
There has been quite a few very bright spots, which for me, has made this one of the best Christmas seasons ever. First of all, the girls are really into it this year. We got an advent calendar which magically dispenses chocolate drops each day. Both Evie and Penny sing Christmas carols, often together, which could be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. While on the downtown train yesterday on our way to check out the decorations at Macy’s, they both broke into the chorus of Jingle Bells very loudly. The best thing by far has been watching Evie overcome her holiday fears. In the beginning of the month we all went to the tree lighting ceremony for Multnomah Village. It was so cute. They even had horse drawn carriage rides, which Penny was very excited about. But Evie clung to Eileen the entire time and couldn’t wait to go home, even after we ran into her best friends from school. We had a similar problem when we all went to a “Christmas tree village”. Then as the month progressed she started to overcome it all. She went caroling with her classmates around town and really got into it. She enjoyed visiting Macy’s which was a bustling hive of activity. And I took her on the Polar Express. Mt. Hood Railway every year dresses up one of their trains and becomes the Polar Express. This was a birthday gift to her from Grandpa M, it was what she wanted. Eileen and I were very skeptical this would actually happen. Evie’s always had a love/hate relationship with trains. She seemed very excited the week leading up to it but the moment we parked the car in front of the train station she flipped out and just wanted to go home. We talked a little about it and she went through these “rules” of hers, such as; “there can be no snow on the tracks, and “there’s going to be a lot of other kids”. After about ten minutes of this she got up her courage and the rest of the day was wonderful. She even sat on Santa’s lap for a photo, which I truly thought would never happen. So it’s really been an amazing season. Oh, I almost forgot, I was fortunate enough to participate in a holiday variety show at Mississippi Studios with my ukulele group. The event was called “Queer Quistmas”. It was a lot of fun.
It’s now Christmas Eve and we’re hoping for a fun, tantrum free celebration. That’s really all we want from Santa. I have so many wonderful memories of Christmas from my childhood. I desperately want my girls to have the same. I want Christmas to forever be magical and warm and fuzzy for them.
We miss our friends and family terribly this time of year. It’s been hard meeting people and making new friends here. It’s slowly happening though. I wish you could all be here with us. To quote my dear friend Hans, “My Christmas Wish to all of you is simply to enjoy everything that this very special Season has to offer. The lights, the music, the decorations, the food, the nip in the air, the wonderful sense of peace”. Merry Christmas!
December 10, 2010
Daddy writes:
“I love you Daddy. You are my friend.” This is what Evie said to me today on her fourth birthday. My heart melted. Frankly, I needed to hear that. It’s been a rough week. Evie, bless her heart, has gone through a week full of tantrums and bad sleep. We had heard from some parents that three is much worse than the “terrible twos”, which I think Eileen and I can agree that is a true statement in regards to Evie. She has really come a long way this past year. She started a new school, got her first bike, moved to a new house, and started showing signs of real independence in areas she had previously resisted. There are times when I look at her and think “wow, she’s really growing up.” And then there are times I think “will she ever grow up?” She seems to have chosen her last week of being a three year to regress and drive us mad. But today was lovely.
Evie has always been high spirited. Her emotions have always run deep. She can drive you up the wall and then make you realize what life is all about in an instant. I love that little girl so much.
Today was clearly an important day to Evie. She said some interesting things. While talking on the phone to aunt Katie she said “three year olds push but four year olds don’t push.” Then later in the day, after we had talked a lot about turning four, she asked me “am I going to die soon?” This nearly floored me. What was she thinking to have asked this question and how do I respond? Last night she overheard Eileen and I talking about the passing of Elizabeth Edwards. We had also previously explained to her that a friend’s dog had died because he got old. Getting old makes you die. This is surely the thought process that was going through Evie’s mind. I tried to assure her that she is very young and that I and Eileen are very young and none of us would be dying for a very long time. I also explained to her that some people believe that when people die they are reborn and become a baby again. This seemed to cheer her up.
Evie, you are a wonder. You’re inquisitive mind and sensitive soul touch me deeply every day. I am so very much in love with you darling. You are my friend too.
Mommy writes:
I love asking Evie how old she is: she looks at her hands, fans out her fingers one at a time and counts them: “one, two, three, four.” All day today when I was charting at work I found myself writing “12/9/06,” the day she was born, one day after her due date. It’s amazing how much she’s evolved as a person in that time. For the most part, I’m happy to watch them get older–they get more interesting as they become the little people they’re going to be. But now, with my oldest 4 yrs old–no longer a toddler– I find I’m wishing it could slow down a bit. She’ll always be my baby, but she’s not a baby anymore–I think she officially became a Little Kid today. I absolutely adore her.
How is it possible that you could go from this........
to this in just four short years? How is this possible?
November 27, 2010
Evie said:
“Buns don’t speak English, they speak fart.”
November 25, 2010
Daddy writes:
I wanted to take a break from our painfully slow progress of catching up with our blog to wish our friends and family a happy Thanksgiving. I think I’ve only missed one Thanksgiving with family in my life. We profoundly miss being with our extended family today. We are so very thankful to have such wonderful people in my life. All of us here send you, our friends and family, our deep love and hope you all have a safe and happy holiday season.
Eileen, Evie and Penny have filled my life with gifts for which I could never properly express my gratitude. I am blessed in so many ways. Though we all would love to be with our family in California and Hawaii today, we are grateful for this quiet holiday, just the four of us. Thanks especially to Eileen for working SO hard to both provide for us and take care of us all in so many ways. You are a talented doctor, wife and mother. Thank you.
November 16, 2010
Daddy writes:
Once again, we are giving our blog another shot. If we don’t get caught up on this thing soon, we never will. Time waits for no one. In that spirit, I will keep this brief.
Below are our favorite pictures from our Portland “staycation”. In between the end of Eileen’s fellowship at OHSU and the start of her long awaited career, we decided to do a lot of travel. Make some memories. Our first plan was to go to California and visit our friends and family. You can read all about that in a previous post. After California we had planned to go to the Oregon coast and possibly the Bend area, but once that first trip was over, we felt like staying put, and we’re glad we did.
We tried to do a few new things every week here in Portland. It was wonderful for the most part. We rented bikes and rode along the river. We discovered new kid friendly cafes and parks. We went contra dancing at a farm. We took the kids to the local amusement park (which they still talk about and take pretend trips to). We went to the beach, on guided nature walks, to the local play fountains, etc, etc…
We had so much fun exploring just about every corner of the city we now live in. Summer is wonderful in Portland. Everything is green and the temperature is almost always perfect. last summer Penny was still a bit too young to really get much out of it. This year the kids were both having a great time (in between the usual tantrums of course).
That’s it for now. Enjoy the pics and stay tuned as we continue to try to catch up on this damn blog.
Contra dancing!
September 20, 2010
Daddy writes:
It’s about time we start this darn blog up again.
About a week ago, we were all sitting at the dinner table when I accidently spilled something. “Darnit!” I said.
Immediately we all hear the word “F**K!”. Eileen and I look over. It’s our foul mouthed two year old.
After Eileen and I exchange shocked expressions, she says “Sweetheart, Daddy said darnit”.
Penny comes back with “I said f**k.”
September 19, 2010
Daddy writes:
Well Eileen finally made it. She’s officially out of fellowship and into the working class. She has worked so hard to get to where she is. We couldn’t be more proud of her! Before starting her new job and taking on greater responsibilities, she had the entire month of July off to prepare for the transition. What better way to prepare than to have as much fun as you can jam into a month?
Our original intent was to travel a bit. We did go to California for a week. That trip alone put us off traveling for a while. It was wonderful to see our friends and family but difficulties in dealing with the girls on this trip made us long for a vacation, the kind in which you can escape from your everyday troubles and recharge your batteries. Don’t we all need that once or twice a year? It’s hard to imagine our recent CA trip being more taxing or stressful than it was. In short, Evie had a terrible time with transitions. Using any potty outside our own house (in Portland) or using a strange bathtub would cause enormous tantrums. Penny wouldn’t sleep any more than a half hour in the car (a far cry from her usual three hour nap). It was rough. We tried to pack in as many visits with friends and family as time would allow, which was great, but that gets complicated and stressful.
We really felt a great relief upon coming home to Portland. We had planned on taking another trip to the Southern Oregon coast but decided instead (due to lack of money and a great need to decompress) we decided to create the ultimate staycation.
PooPooFart: The Adventures Of Evie & Penny 
