Hazel and Henley in ACTION!

I am procrastinating this morning, I have work to do, but uploading videos of the children sounded like more fun....

Hazel enjoying the TREAT of watching Sesame Street this morning. The opening song was her favorite part. DVR makes it possible to watch the opening song over and over and over and over...Times like this her DELIGHT makes it hard to put an end to the JOY.

(She also loves the new DOVE commercial of women who sing a variation of "Do your ears hang low?" We watched that one about 10 times the other day and she danced all around the living room. Simple pleasures.)

Henley snores like Papa?

I was trying to get a video of Henley smiling this morning, and Hazel popped right on as she thought I was taking a picture. Therefore, her many CHEESES for the camera. I love how he lets out the smile just as his "adoring" sister flutters off.

Cows everywhere are running for their lives. Apparently all of Hazel's little piggies eat beef!

Six weeks old, already?

Hard to believe that our little guy has been with us for six weeks already. By the looks of him, you know that he is well-fed and growing exponentially!

He has just begun to smile at us, what fun that is. Aussie Michelle was best at getting the smiles out of him last week when she was visiting. Here are some photos of Henley at six WHOLE weeks old.

Full of smiles during his bath today.

Did someone just pee in his bath?

(Yup, so we went through two rounds of sudsy water today.)

A (rare) tender moment between Hazel and her brother. She has been struggling with the concept of GENTLE lately. Henley is growing tougher every day!

Our wild and zany Hazel.

I loved this expression from Henley -

Hazel had just released her grasp on him!

Hazel carries a tune?

Hazel was cracking us up yesterday at my parent's house with her singing abilities. American Idol, maybe not. A happy girl, most certainly!

Aussie Michelle's visit went by so fast...

Aussie Michelle is back safely in her native land, and Hazel and Henley are missing their new friend with the great accent! Henley grew quite accustomed to Michelle and her "no worries" attitude, he loved cuddling with her and she had quite a way to soothe him when he had tummy troubles. Hazel keeps looking for her supplier of yummy smelling lotions and cell phones. I miss having her company and my excuse for getting a Starbucks!! Thanks for the visit Michelle, we all hope to see you again, possibly Down Under? :)

Here are some photos from the past week and our visit with our Aussie Michelle...

We took a lovely walk on the Eugene/Springfield river path - thanks for that Femeke.

Femeke walked us through campus and on to the University of Oregon Bookstore. Michelle found some Oregon treasures to take back to Australia.

We took Michelle by Hayward Field - her oldest son Grant has reminded me of Pre at times when he sports a mustache!

Care to take a run?

Michelle in one of her MANY cuddles with Henley. I double checked the Baby Bjorn when she left Saturday, making sure she didn't stow him away in her bag as she has threatened.

If you know us, you know that we HAD to take Michelle to experience COSTCO!

The pretty view from a home in our neighborhood. A kind woman took us back behind her house to take this photo of her with the lake in the background. Our car broke down a few days, leaving us stranded in our tiny town. We made the most of the time and spent one afternoon swimming Bella in the lake and taking photos of course! I love this one of Michelle with the kiddos.

What a beautiful fall day!

Hazel loved playing at the park in the sunshine.

A view of Oregon in the fall without RAIN! See, it doesn't always rain in Oregon!

Hazel loved her ride to the lake in the wagon, Henley preferred a snugglier ride.

I made Michelle drink this beer - she always calls me Beck. I found out later it wasn't a novelty as they have this kind of beer in Australia too.

We headed to my folks on Friday so that Michelle could meet them, and vice verse. Here is Hazel telling her Papa she wants just ONE more chip.

Joy after that ONE chip.

Hazel helped Nana with the salad, she loved stirring and her perch on her little yellow chair.

Henley snug as a bug. He is getting so big...sooo fast.

Just before heading to the airport Saturday, we took some quick photos on my parent's deck. Here is my Hazel who loves to give a CHEESE for the camera.

What a visit we had, we miss you Michelle!

Michelle, the kids and my parents. My dad and mom enjoyed meeting this friend of mine that up until now they had only heard about.

Michelle snapped this one of me and the fam. Beau couldn't make the trip up, so I will have to paste him in later. :)

***

We took Michelle to the airport Saturday afternoon. Hazel gave her a big hug and kiss and Michelle walked off to the security check. We stood and were watching her go, Mom, Henley, Hazel and I...and then Hazel took off running towards Michelle saying "more hugs." The security guards looked at the running two-year-old fearfully...how were they to stop her? Luckily, I raced after her and got to her swinging arm just in time. She was distraught, but I brought her back and we waved one last time to Aussie Michelle as she headed off and out of view. Hazel did recover, but she asks me often, "Shell go?" I tell her that Michelle went back to her family and the kangaroos on the airplane. She settles for that answer and we move on...until I get another, "Shell go?" Michelle you are missed, and we are very grateful for your visit!! Thanks to your husband for making it happen.

Our Elephant and her Peanut

Hazel was quite agreeable to getting photos taken the other day in her elephant costume as you will see below. I do have a little ham...likely next year she will be Miss Piggy!

Getting photos of my elephant with her peanut was difficult, but we managed a couple. Crying photos are endearing as well, right? They are REAL children after all!

What a REAR! :)

Ready for the hat to come off I suppose.

Beau's MEMORABLE Halloween...

Was GREEN & YELLOW!

Beau was fortunate enough to have two tickets to the BIG game in Eugene this past weekend. His Halloween night was spent with my brother at the Oregon vs USC football game. THE DUCKS BEAT THE TROJANS in a historic game and they were quite hoarse after from all the yelling.

What a memory for the two of them, and I must say I was quite nervous as the game began as I knew how desperately the entire city of Eugene was hoping our DUCKS would come out on top! They did with an incredible showing, defeating the Trojans 47 to 20. Here are some photos from the game that Beau took on his cell phone (therefore the poor quality).

GO DUCKS!!!

View from their seats - not bad!

My brother Patrick at the game - I am so happy that he and Beau were able to go together!

A very happy Beau after the Ducks won the big game!!!

The final score - a big victory for our DUCKS!

Halloween with Aussie Michelle!

My friend, Michelle, from Australia arrived for a long-awaited visit last Thursday!!! She and I met just shy of four years ago online, and had never met. It was a nerve-wracking day for both of us, but we were quickly made comfortable as we started chatting and realized that though thousands of miles separate us, we do really have MUCH in common.

Henley and I were at the Portland airport with a sign that said, "Welcome Aussie Michelle," awaiting her arrival. She darted quickly right past us in the airport (not giving us a glance) and we then had to scurry off after her!! Thankfully, she heard me the second time I YELLED "Michelle!" I was relieved when she turned, not just that I was to meet her finally, but that it really was her I was YELLING at!

We got out to the car, and she proceeded to go to driver's side of the car. Silly! In Australia they drive on the other side of the road and therefore the driver sits on the other side of the car. We headed south, but before taking her to the house we had to make a pit-stop at the Woodburn Outlet Center for some necessary shopping!! Her boys had sent her to America with specific requests for gifts - Nike was top on the list.

After shopping, we came home and Hazel loved meeting her mommy's friend. She has since, thoroughly loved the attention from Michelle, cell phone, camera, lotions, perfumes, treats, and GIFTS she brought for us all. Here are some pictures from our visit thus far, and especially last night as Michelle celebrate Halloween with us at home.

Michelle's first taste of American shopping - and Halloween decor.

Henley enjoys having his Auntie Michelle hold him - the feeling is mutual I believe!

Hazel models her new Aussie hat - such a cheese ball!

We HAD to take Michelle to an authentic pumpkin patch for the full MUDDY experience!

Since we had been to this patch only a few weeks prior with her Grandma and Grandpa, Hazel was quick to take Michelle by the hand and aid in the pumpkin hunt.

They both found great pumpkins!

Happy Halloween!

Hazel was ready for a ride after the walk to the pumpkin patch.

Later - Hazel kisses her precious pumpkin.

Our pumpkins are MUCH easier to carve (apparently) than those found in Australia. Australian "blue pumpkins" are much harder and are gray in color.

Here we are working hard on our pumpkins - Hazel being the assistant with great ideas!

Fuzzy, but you get the idea. What fun!

Can you believe Hazel's skills with a knife at two! Wow!

Bring on the trick-o-treaters!

Henley got into the festivities as well.

Halloween night - my elephant was just a little unnerved by the ninja that came trick-o-treating (aka Donald).

We didn't take the kids out trick-o-treating this year, and instead opted to stay home and hand out candy. Hazel was very excited by all this, and was quite the helper. She rushed to the door when a child would knock and dished out candy (sometimes it made it into the child's bag). Here she is pretending to be a trick-o-treater at our door. :)

My cutie pie elephant!

The rear view of this costume is priceless, and bound to make you smile! (The photo doesn't do the elephant wedgie justice!)

Michelle with our peanut, he is missing his elephant however. We hope to get a photo of the two together when Hazel is more agreeable to the idea. We didn't want to force the idea - our peanut is still rather fragile and not ready to be cracked!

Hazel on the lookout for more trick-o-treaters. She was great at this task!

I had another costume for Hazel from last year - a pirate! AARGH!!

She donned the pirate costume all morning and enjoyed spending time in Bella's crate.

I hope to have a post telling you about Beau's SPECIAL Halloween soon...he was missing from our festivities for a good reason. :)

Happy Birthday Grandma

Hazel called her Grandma this morning to wish her a very happy birthday. Calling Grandma was so important to her that she even gave up eating her bagel and cream cheese to make the call! I don't have a video clip of the call, but here are some pictures of Hazel taken just after she made the call and was headed off with daddy to school for the day. You can see she didn't want to give up my phone once she made the birthday call to her Grandma...

Hazel wearing FUN striped tights today to celebrate her FUN Grandma's birthday!

Family Tradition...

Family is very important to Beau and I. We both come from supportive and loving families and feel strongly that it is important to honor those family ties. My family has a bassinet that has been passed down through four generations. Beau's family has a cradle that has now been passed down to it's second generation. The bassinet and cradle are two tangible items that symbolize the connection to family that runs deep in our new family of four.

My dad's mom, Henley's great-grandmother, slept in the bassinet below. My father and his three siblings slept in this bassinet. Years later, my brother and I took our turn as well as our three cousins. Two years ago, it was time to introduce the family bassinet to it's fourth generation when Hazel joined the ranks. Below is Henley in the bassinet. Fits like a glove!

Beau's father, Henley's grandpa, made the cradle (below) for his own children. He crafted it by hand for his children. Two years ago, it was Hazel's turn. Now, Henley rocks to sleep in this cradle.

Our children also carry names that come directly from our families.

Hazel Elizabeth was named after Beau's great-grandmother Hazel, and my mother Elizabeth.

Henley Roland was named after Beau's great-grandfather Clayton Henley (whom Hazel married and thus became Hazel Henley), and my father John Roland. My dad actually is the 3rd in a line of John Rolands, so Henley shares his middle name not just with his Papa, but also his great-grandfather and late great-great-grandfather.

Weekend at Nana & Papa's House

We headed north this weekend and stayed with my parents. Beau had a conference in Portland all day Friday, so the kids (sounds funny still) and I spent quality time with Nana and Papa. Uncle Patrick was able to come visit as well, though we missed Aunt Bonnie! Patrick hadn't been able to meet his nephew yet, due to illness, so it was great to introduce Henley to his doting Uncle!

Uncle Patrick holds his nephew Henley for the first time.

Hazel enjoyed a visit from her friends, Nathan (above) and Ryan...as well as their mothers, Patti and Angela. Hazel and Nathan played chase out on the lawn!

Ang holds Henley.

Papa with Henley.

Hazel always up for a photo-op!

Hazel sharing her special box with Nathan.

Ang & Ryan, Patti & Nathan, Hazel, me & Henley.

Henley tuckered out after a weekend with Nana and Papa.

Peeking out at mommy.

My little peanut.

Hazel LOVED assiting Nana in bathing Henley this morning.

Henley relaxed in the warm water and enjoyed getting his back scrubbed.

Hazel reaching in to assist. Such a little mommy!