Thanksgiving 2010

this year we were lucky enough to spend thanksgiving with family down in half moon bay. here's the pictures for proof. they're pretty much self explanatory.

Happy Halloween

here's a few pics from this years halloween!

carving the pumpkin


decorating the costume


testing the costume


finished product


pre-trick-or-treat candy


not so sure about asking strangers for candy


maybe it's worth it


what next


HOT CHOCOLATE!

update

so it's been a long time since we posted last, and we've got a lot of photos to share, but I wanted to get this quick vid out. It's a good update to helio of today.

on the weekends helio usually naps for a couple hours right after lunch. this sunday, though, we gave up after listening to him talk, sing, bang, chant, whatever for 90 minutes.

More Camping Pics

Camping in the Skagit Valley

helio screen test

here's a new helio movie for everyone to enjoy. Here's a couple links that explain the inspiration.

Andy Warhol Screen Tests
Dean and Britta

party one!

just returned from half moon bay for helio's two year party with the california family. it was a quick trip but lots of fun. we didn't get many pictures, but here's a few.


helio helping to prepare corn for his party.








this recycle truck made by helio's aunt mei was the cake of his dreams. he liked the cake itself, but he liked the cake dirt more. But more than that he liked that it was a truck!

It's August

wow, time flies. helio turns 2 in just a couple weeks. we can't believe it. he's pretty much oblivious, except that he knows he'll be having cake. birthday cake is not just birthday cake it's "cake birthday", even the morning cereal is stirred into birthday cake, and his memory really shines when it comes to the party that had...cake. needless to say there will be cake.

we've been spending lots of time outside in the sun. helio asks to eat almost every meal outside on the deck. we're planning on trying to get a sandbox in for the last remaining days of dryness. we'll see how that actually goes.

here's a few photos from the last couple weeks.


this is helio enjoying a birthday cupcake. he managed to get most of it down until it crumbled into a thousand little pieces and fell into the sand. we had to assure him several times that you couldn't wash it off.


waving the ol'pirate flag. next time you see helio ask him to say "aye aye matey"


today helio was lucky to get an early birthday present. all I can say is why costco? why did you make the box so big and the price so low? although, it didn't help that it was spotted from across the isle. we're learning how quickly a toddler can fall in love with something.

camping cat

when we were getting ready to hit the hay, that night in the rainy cold pacific northwest campsite, a surprise guest made his first appearance. "mew, mew," he said. then, he jumped out of bed! helio laughed and shrieked and shouted, "cat, cat!" many times. and hugged him and chewed on his nose a bit.

Summer has arrived.

the day after our camping trip, where it rained all night, the temp rocketed to 80 degrees and then 94, and today I don't even know. cooler I think, but it was hot enough to whip out the kiddie pool I've been packing away for several years.



it made someone happy.

Happy 4th of July

for the fourth of july, we all went on a quick camping trip. it was the first one since last september and helio's second time.



this is the start of our adventure. we got a new "rocket box" for the car since last time there really wasn't enough room for all our stuff. this time things fit much more comfortably and things like tents and sleeping bags could be stored without getting in the way all the time.




first stop was Snoqualmie Falls. this may have been helio's favorite stop. he's still talking about the waterfall.



besides going to school, helio also got to take his new backpack out for the first time. he didn't want to wear it until we told him he could be like a turtle.



second stop was to see the trains. helio had another excited moment when we got to see "thomas the train" parked a little down the line. we were searching for food and didn't have the camera handy though.



after we got to the campground we went out for a quick hike. helio managed to walk almost the whole time and enjoyed saying he was a hiker.





banana slugs and eating berries were the highlights.



the campground had lots of old moss covered trees and sported a sand bed to pitch your tent. plus plenty more berries and rocks to load into your trucks. the only bad thing was...we forgot our camp chairs and then it rained.



but, our neighbor left and then the other neighbor got rained out so the campsite ended up being fairly secluded.



the morning was still wet and cold, but we all survived the night.




it was then off to hike number 2.

it was all fun and games until we were swarmed by mosquitoes and I got bit, swore, and helio repeated it.







all in all it was a super fun trip. we're all exhausted even though it was only one overnight. here's a couple bonus pictures of helio on the slide that I was going to post but never did.