Sydfix: Thanksgiving 2016

So I'm a bit late to post, but never late than never right?

Joe & I hosted Thanksgiving again this year, although I use the word "hosted" loosely. Everyone else cooked, my parents bought turkey from Whole Foods, and Joe & I just made sure there were enough seats. I love having both of our families at our home for Thanksgiving. When we bought our house, holidays like Thanksgiving were just what I had in mind. Anyway, the day started out with my dad for our annual turkey trot. Luckily we avoided rain this year, and Syd and the dogs were content as ever.

Later on in the day, Joe's family joined us and we ate, watched football, and enjoyed watching Syd play with her cousins. It was so fun to give Syd real food this year - and of course she was a champion, chowing down on everything we put in front of her.

The next day we went to Blanco & took our annual family portrait.  I am obviously biased, but I think we make a pretty cute family.

Sydney Turns One!

Our little baby bear turned one!

Yay! We all made it to a year!! That means it's time for cake! Cake cake cake cake cake...

"More smurf please!"

 

Ta-Da! I'm a sugar-eating rockstar! 

We did throw Syd a small family party the weekend before her birthday. Her cousins helped her smash her smash cake - it was pretty cute. We're lucky our families are so involved and so close - it was a blast.  This little bear is loved by so many!

 
Happy birthday little girl!!!

Sydfix: Eleven Months!

How is my baby girl almost a one year old? She's really becoming a little person lately - one with a big, happy personality. 

Just last week Syd stood up for the first time.  She's crawling all over the place. She loves to walk around and point at things. She loves to read, and is constantly giving Joe and me books. She'll patiently sit while we read to her, and then she flips the page, and then claps when we're all done.  She's full of party tricks: clap hands, wheels on the bus, high five, wave, and touchdown! She loves to sing with us and she's doing her best to turn her squawking into words. She has a big appetite and she will eat just about anything.

She is the center of our world, and we couldn't love her any more. 

Oregon Vacation Part II: Portland

Here we go with Oregon Vacation Part II!

We left Florence on Monday morning and made our way in to Portland.  Since we were returning the rental car, we stopped at a Whole Foods on the way into town for a beer run. For Joe, the struggle was real.

Since we didn't have too much time to explore that afternoon, Joe's parents graciously offered to babysit for us. The evening included beers at Bailey's Taproom and dinner at Deschutes. The beer portion of our vacation official began!

The next day we wandered around downtown, spent a few hours at Powell's, had lunch at a food truck, and then headed to Commons & Cascade breweries.  That evening we sat at Pioneer Square for a while, ate Italian food, and conked out.

 

Our last day in Portland was focused on food and beer.  We went to a french bistro for breakfast, a farmer's market for a mid morning stroll, and lastly to the other side of the river for a pub crawl of sorts. (I say that in the only way one can speak about a pub crawl with an eight month old.)

We hit the Kennedy School, Hopworks, Ecliptic, Base Camp, Pips & Bounce (for a ping pong break), and Cascade once again.  Since Joe's parents weren't drinking much, and I wasn't drinking much either, we entertained ourselves with some rousing games of Pass the Pigs. It was really fun, and I'm already looking forward to coming back for more breweries.

 

Overall it was such a fun trip. I'm so thankful I get to spend so much time with Joe's parents, see a new part of the country, and get so much uninterrupted time with Syd.  I feel like her personality was on full-blast during the trip and it as such a joy to be with her. 

Oregon Vacation, Part I: The Coast

Hello blog! I am delighted to log a few entries in the travel category, and I am ecstatic to report that Syd's first vacation was a huge success.

When deciding if/where/how we would vacation in 2016, Joe and I agreed that Oregon was at the top of our list.  However, we didn't want to be away from Syd for more than a few days, and we also didn't know how taking Syd for an extended time would go. We talked this all over with Joe's parents, and they decided to join us. This made me very happy because 1) I love Joe's parents, 2) having vacationed with them before (England 2011) I knew this would be a great trip, and 3) I love that they got so much time with Syd and vice versa.

Joe and Sally immediately got to planning and decided we would spend five nights on the Oregon coast and three nights in Portland. Before I knew it, we were off. Syd was such a champion traveler - I couldn't have asked for a better travel experience.  Please stay that way forever, Syd!

And now for the details:

First stop: Cannon Beach
Hotel: The Waves Inn
Food: Tom's Fish and Chips, Lazy Susan, Old Oregon Smokehouse; Driftwood; Pig & Pancake
Highlights: the Haystack at Cannon Beach, morning walks with Syd and Sally, Ecola Park, the drive to Tillamuk, Joe @ De Garde Brewing, fresh cherries, being on vacation during my birthday

 

 

Second stop: Newport
Hotel: The Comfort Inn
Food: Pelican Brewing, Rogue, Local Ocean Seafood, Tidal Raves, Ocean Blue @ Gino's
Highlights: stop at Hug Beach, the Newport Harbor, salt water taffy, Devil's Punchbowl, Yaquina Lighthouse, watching the Newport Marathon, Syd's reaction to sea lions

 

 

Third stop: Florence/Bandon Beach
Hotel: The Old Town Inn
Food: Bandon Fish Market, Bridgewater Seafood, Facerock Creamery
Highlights: Face Rock in Bandon Beach, buying toys for Syd and fudge for us, giant scoops of ice cream at Face Rock for $2, fun car games

The Oregon coast - amazing! We'll definitely be back. But first, onward to Portland!