California

Ra, TJ and Vince went down to Northern California to visit Rasa and Craig in June.  More pictures were taken than I would ever want to count, but these gems are the product of thousands of monkeys banging on their thousands of photo-typewriters...

TJ and Grandma above Sonoma Lake

 

Flora identification starts early in our house.

Everyone loves a shoulder ride!

TJ rocks the rocks.

 

One-footed levitation trick.

 

Winery lunching.

Water games at the winery.

May Highlights

More goodness from the springtime...

TJ got his first haircut.  Ra thinks it makes him look like a conservative zealot.  I think of it more as military casual.

TJ is walking back to the barber for a touch-up.

Pensive swinging.

Flower inspection

Splashdown!  (yes, that's a salad spinner bowl)

Alternative mini-pool (dog flavored)

...and this, my friends, is how you eat yogurt:

Check the goods.

Spread the goods

Finish the goods.

Double-mugging.

April Highlights

Paleo TJ eats Paleo-style.

TJ at the Portland zoo.

This may be an unusual expression, 
but he's cute pretty much all of the time these days.

TJ performs all of his own stunts.

TJ also takes great pride in performing his own action scenes.

 

TJ's typical camera smile: lots of teeth and plenty of squinting.

Spider is quite tolerant of aggressive hugging.

Alaska

In late February, Ra and TJ visited friends in Alaska. Highlights included visits to an aquarium, a water park and a few days in a remote cabin.



TJ at his first aquarium.


Making friends...


As fascinating as the seals and other aquatic life may have been, this nightlight in the corner held TJ's attention even more firmly.


Crab attack!


TJ and Zaiden outside the Anchorage aquarium.





Zaiden and TJ are packed for the cabin.


Ready for a sleepytime story.


TJ, Ra and Zaiden hanging out at the cabin.


Time for a hike at the cabin.


Sleeping hiker.


Snowstuck.


Matching jammers!




Anchorage water park.


Another, albeit smaller water park in Anchorage.

Catching Up - Bouldering and Hiking

I've been working through what seem to be the last of my computer woes, so it's definitely time to catch up on my TJ blog updates. The goal is to post about a month of his delayed activity weekly until we're caught up with current happenings. Here is the start of that...



TJ and Shiv prepare for a climbing session at The Circuit Bouldering Gym.


TJ earns his climbing time with some light cleaning around the gym.


This kid knows what to do.


Auntie Chelesa is TJ's primary climbing coach and spotter.



TJ shows off sticks collected during a hike in Forest Park.


Coming next ... Ra and TJ's visit to Alaska in late February!

Skijouring

Although TJ doesn't make an appearance, this family outing was a fun adventure for everyone. (We have witnesses who will attest to the fact that TJ was indeed riding along in the Chariot trailer.)



We've been excited to try skijouring ever since we got Oz, and he turned out to be a serious pulling machine, pulling both JT and TJ up even the steepest inclines practically all by himself. (Note that Olive's lead is often slack, clearly showing that she's just trotting along while Oz does all of the work.)

First Birthday & G-Ma Visit

Computer issues have delayed our regular updates, but we have them somewhat under control. With this gizmo stable, we'll share our long-overdue first birthday weekend pictures!



Captivated by balloons.


Nifty gifties!


Xy-la-ma-phone!


Carrot cake cupcakes courtesy of Ra-Mama.


Obligatory finger-mashed mess photo.



While G-ma was visiting for the big party, we took her on our family's favorite hike in Forest Park.


TJ packed.


JT with stick.
Instead of walking long distances or quickly to tire our mutts, we just toss sticks into the woods and let the pups trample down to fetch them. Well, Olive fetches, and Oz plays defense.


Family photo with G-ma.


G-Ma and her baby boy.



...and a few days after the festivities, we unboxed the biggest gift, a train from Aunts Carrie and Amanda.


TJ was very interested in every step of the unboxing process.


Big yellow box. What could it be?


TJ caught on to the push toy part of the train immediately.


Riding is still a bit of a challenge until he grows a bit more, but he loves pushing the train around the room and inserting and removing blocks from the seat compartment.