Happy Halloween!

Since Aoife decided she wanted to be a hot air balloonist for Halloween, Paul and I clearly had to dress up as the sky. Whatever it takes to support her dreams!

The Pumpkin Patch

Upon checking the weather yesterday, today was supposed to be sunny and mid-60s. Perfect pumpkin weather. Jen and I decided we'd take our respective children (Grover and Aoife) to the pumpkin patch. Wanting to head out before naps, we got on the road at the crack of 10:30 and were among the pumpkins by 11. The sky was cloudy and it was cold, but it wasn't raining, so out we went. We drove into the muddy parking lot and found the most pitiful pumpkin patch right behind us. There were several rotting, broken or green pumpkins to be had, along with an assortment of gourds, but no bright orange jack-o-lanterns-to-be waiting for us. Grover ran straight for the tractor and climbed onto the hay-covered wagon, which I thought was very smart as there were no good pumpkins and no point in slopping around in the muck any longer. After a quick photo shoot, the tractor started up, about three school bus loads full of children jumped on and we set off on the lamest hay ride I have ever been on. The whole ride lasted about four minutes and drove from one side of the parking lot to the other. One might think a farm would plan a hay ride through the fields so we could see what was growing, or the beauty of the surrounding area, but no, clearly these farmers thought it better to show off their small, muddy parking lot.

As soon as we got off the hay ride, we jumped in the car (and by jumped in the car I mean checked diapers, loaded two children into car seats, gave them something to eat) and drove off to find another pumpkin patch. We decided The Pumpkin Patch was aptly named and stopped there. They had a large haystack to play on, a barn with chickens, calves, pigs, ducks, sheep and a llama, and a much better selection of pumpkins. We chose our pumpkins, put the kids back in the car and by the time we got home, it was sunny and getting warm. Just in time to go inside for naps.

Mushroom Hunting!

I haven't been mushroom hunting in over 10 years. I don't know why I waited so long, as it is terrific fun! I only spotted one or two chanterelles, but found several types that would surely kill you if ingested. We stuck to the chanterelles.

Aoife had a great time ooohing and aahing at the trees. They put on their beautiful yellows, golds and reds for us--quite a show!

A Trip to the Coast

Each year, Paul leads a sea kayaking trip and this year, Aoife and I came along for some beach exploring and camping. Well, sort of camping, we stayed in yurts at Cape Lookout on the Oregon Coast. While Paul was kayaking, Aoife and I played on the beach, explored some small coastal towns and of course made a trip to the Tillamook Cheese Factory. I spent a long time showing Aoife the ins and outs of cheese-making, as it would be nice to have a cheese-maker in the family. She mooed to the cows as we drove out of Tillamook, which I am taking as a sign that she understands the delicate nuances of the art of cheese making.

Look Who's Standing!

Where's Aoife?

I know I set her down here somewhere!!

Family Shopping Trip

After Paul tore three ligaments in his foot, things slowed down a bit in our house. It also gave us time to do a lot of things as a family, since Paul was off work. Here are some photos of us shopping. Paul was whipping around the store in an electric cart at a breakneck speed of 1/2 mile per hour. Aoife sat in the shopping cart for the first time that day. It was a banner day at the ol' Smith household!

The cutest little bug ever!!

Peace Village

A highlight of our summer every year is Peace Village and this year was the best yet because Aoife was there! We camped in a beautiful spot overlooking the Salmon River meeting the Pacific Ocean. The kids were fun and everyone loved little Aoife!!

Don't mess with this cowgirl

Aoife at the Oregon Country Fair

What are you doing this Saturday?

If you have children and live in Portland, come to our first community playgroup to feed the hungry!! We will be meeting at Laurelhurst Park at 10:30am. Please bring something to donate to the Oregon Food Bank! Hope to see you there!!

Aoife eats a banana

Aoife has had her first taste of solid food--and it was a huge hit!! The night after I gave her a banana, I had a dream she was eating brownies straight out of the pan. I think we will keep her off chocolate a bit longer. Here she is with her spoon (which she might actually like more than the banana). What a cutie!!

Aoife and Daddy

Anytime Paul walks in the room, Aoife lights up (and so does Paul)!!! Happy Father's Day to a wonderful daddy!!
She is a lucky girl!

I wasn't kidding

When I said Aoife LOVES sitting in a box!!

Little Blue Riding Hood

Aoife's friend Tessa made this little cape and hood for the wee one. Good thing there are no big bad wolves around!

Able to leap tall buildings with a single bound...

Yes, it's the amazing Spencer and Axel! Aoife was quite impressed with her cousins on her recent trip to Colorado!

She can't wait to get to Northern Ireland and see what cool tricks her cousins there have to show her!

The girl cousins

Piper, Aoife,and Tuesday

My baby in a box

A Little help from my friends

I have lots of updating to do, but first I wanted to take a minute to ask a favor of you. If I haven't already sent an email, would you mind taking one moment to click on this link and vote for the Amani Education Project to be listed as a project on givemeaning.org, a website set up to help non-profits fundraise. This is NOT a request for money, only a click of the mouse to get us on the website. Thanks so much!



www.givemeaning.com/proposal/amani

Buses

The topic for today is...buses!! Why, you must be wondering, would Wintry choose to blog about buses? Because buses have played a prominent role lately. Take, for example, the bus trip Aoife and I took yesterday. So, here we are with our three cars--and only one of them drivable (anybody want to buy an overheating VW Golf?) which Paul took to work. Mondays are our Mama and Baby Yoga days, and if we don't go, I feel like the whole week is thrown off. So, I decided we would hop on the bus and take it to the other side of town so we could do some downward dog stretches. By the time we walked to the bus stop (and missed the first bus) Aoife was asleep and she slept the entire bus ride, which was great. Then, post-yoga, I headed back home with a very awake, very agitated baby. We got on the bus, got ourselves situated, and Aoife began to cry. Loudly. The entire bus ride home. Fortunately, we were surrounded by several very drunk men and a few mentally ill women, all of whom were giving me parenting advice. "Ssssiinng, you gotta siiing to yer baby." "She's a-hertin', I know, that's a hert cry." "Is it a girl? Why's a girl makin' such a racket? Girl's don't cry." Well, apparently, this girl does. Perhaps it was the scent of Olde English and old socks wafting through the air. Maybe it was because the woman who was talking non-stop to her photo of Jesus was making Aoife uncomfortable. Or maybe her gums just hert.

The other reason I write of buses is because we need to move our 1947 International school bus out of Mosier. The problem is that it's tucked back pretty far into the woods. It seems the easiest way to pull it out of its current location would be an airlift. Anybody got a spare helicopter they're not using next weekend? Anybody have a few acres of land we could put the bus on? Because, if not, our neighbors might be a little miffed when a giant, moss-covered school bus with a chimney sticking out of it takes up all the parking on our small street.

Things That Need Cutting

1. Aoife's fingernails
2. My hair
3. Our lawn
4. Military spending

Motherhood

Despite the endless loads of laundry; the countless times I've been peed on, pooped on, spit up on; irregardless of the 2:00am crying, the days of no naps, the not sleeping when she was sick; even with the 45 hour labor, the search for a trusted doctor, the endless decisions regarding her needs, there is NOTHING I would rather do than be Aoife's mama!

Our Child Prodigy

The Great Balancing Act

with a cup of coffee to boot!

Name Change!

As some of you may have noticed, I changed the name of the blog from "If I had a blog, I'd blog in the morning" to "the Aoife blog." I did that because:

1. I do have a blog and I have yet to blog in the morning.
2. This blog is really all about Aoife, so let's call it what it is.
3. Every time I looked at my blog I would be singing "If I had a Hammer" for the rest of the day.

So, now that I will be able to blog without the pressure of trying to get it done in the morning and without the annoyance of having that song stuck in my head, I will try to post more often.

Do you think I could say blog a few more times??

Tongue Twister

Aoife has recently discovered her tongue and boy, what a fun body part that is!! She is constantly sticking it out, curling it up and best of all, licking things!!

In other "Amazing Aoife Tricks" news, she has also learned that she has all the parts required to scream very, very loudly. And I'm not talking about crying, just screaming for the sheer joy of producing such loud sounds. Her favorite places to perform this new feat are quiet coffee shops, libraries and most any place people are trying to concentrate. That's my girl!!

My Little Yarn Ball

Handmade Mama

It's 9:30 on Saturday night. I'm still in my pajamas. There are piles of laundry everywhere and Aoife needs a new diaper. Sure, I could wash her diapers...or just knit her some new ones!! It only took me three days, but she's in a fresh, handmade diaper now!! Who says cloth diapers are a pain??

Happy Easter!

Erin Go Bragh!

Paul has been teaching Aoife the Riverdance. She performed it at several venues yesterday for St. Patty's Day. Paul and Aoife are wiped out now, and both sleeping on the couch!

Hope you all had a great St. Patrick's Day!!

The Big Issues

Aoife has recently found her voice and LOVES to talk. All the time. Last night she woke up to nurse at 4:00am. Normally, she would go right back to sleep, but she must have remembered that she could make sounds and so she spent the next hour cooing and squeaking her little heart out. At one point, Paul and I looked at each other and in unison asked "did she just say health care?" I swear it sounded just like that. So there you go, Hillary isn't the only one up in the wee hours of the morning answering the phone and dealing with those big issues.