Jamison Square

Jamison Square Park. Maybe I liked this park because of the name similarities. Maybe I liked this park because it was in this part of Portland. Or, maybe I enjoyed this park because Ms. A had an afternoon play date.



Regardless, it is always great to get away from Vancouver and experience a few of Portland's fine treasures and gems. And if you did not know, Jamison Square Park was named as one of the hot spots on Bugaboo's website for day trips. For Portland to be highlighted among some of the other elite cities across the world is phenomenal, and to be able to share in some of these experiences with my daughter is absolutely wonderful as well. Now, we'll have to work on getting Vancouver added to this list.

In regards to the park, the focal point of the park is a fountain which simulates a shallow tidal pool. The tide comes in and goes back out, which is completely fun for little ones. Plus, if you have bigger kids they can play in the "deep" (ankle/knee height) and little ones can splash in the puddles. Plus, how can you resist the fabulous shopping, boutiques and restaurants surrounding in the Pearl District. You simply cannot.





And, after seeing such a fun park and enjoying our afternoon ... you probably could only imagine that little A was more interested in the leaves on the ground than the water from the fountain. We could have been in our own backyard for all she knew. Toddlers. That will have to be saved for another post at another time. At least we had fun. Or shall I say, at least I had fun.

A Week w/ My Parents

A week of fun filled festivities. Our week was non-stop from morning to night and filled with kid friendly adventures for our littlest A. She loved every minute with her grandparents and cannot wait to see them again in 2 weeks.

Our week started off with a second "1st birthday party" celebration full of prizes. My parents were unable to attend A's 1st birthday so we had a belated celebration. She enjoyed the wrapping paper a little more than last time and was thrilled to add four more baby dolls to her growing collection (two are mini dolls for travel). You can only imagine the delight in her face.





A bit of sentiment for my blog as well. When I was a little girl, my dad built a wooden cradle for me. This cradle has been through the years and put many dolls into a sweet slumber night after night. As a surprise for not only me, but for little A, my dad took apart my cradle and repackaged it for A. Definitely brought a few tears to my eyes. To see my daughter play with the baby doll cradle that I loved and treasured so much as a child - and that my dad made for me - brings absolute delight to my face. 'A' enjoyed using her new Fisher-Price tool set to help grandpa put the cradle back together.



Is this possibly a little curl in her hair? The Iron Chef and I were planning to chop off her baby locks and even things up a little (at the hair salon), but the ends are starting to curl. My mom convinced me to keep it a little longer in case it does start to curl. This may be the only time she'll have a little "curl" to her hair. We shall see.



We went on a little adventure every single day. Our first trip included: Portland Saturday Market and Portland's Rose Festival and then in Vancouver, we went to the Farmer's Market and visited the historic Ft. Vancouver. The fort was the equivalent of the biggest open play area Ms. A has enjoyed and beautiful gardens that caught her attention as well. She loves the outdoors and gardening. Who knew? Good thing I only spent money on a few marigolds and pansies for my potted plants this year because A is quite a helper and loves to pick bouquets for her mommy. How nice! Actually, the fort was quite nice and we learned a bit of history about the Vancouver area. As for the farmer's markets, not so nice. Ms. A had a little meltdown. Too many people she didn't know and didn't like was not the equation of a relaxing afternoon that she was looking for. Needless to say, we didn't stay long.







We also headed out to drive along the scenic highway in Portland, which is absolutely gorgeous. The Chef Family has already been to this area several times this year already, but it never gets old. The natural beauty of the area simply cannot be ignored. We also ventured to a few new falls this time and hiked a few new trails as well. Thank goodness for our backpack for little A because she definitely wouldn't have made it walking.





Another mini-adventure day was to head out to the zoo. Bad, bad, bad decision. Being the last week of school AND $2 Tuesday at the zoo meant hundreds of kids all over the place. We found a parking spot (after a 20 minute traffic jam into the zoo) and stood in line only to watch bus after bus pull into the parking lots. After 20 minutes in line and barely seeing the ticket booth, we decided to go with plan B - the Children's Museum. Actually, we didn't plan on going there at all, but were willing to take the chance. We thought 'A' would be too young for the museum, but she had a blast!





'A' had a meltdown after this picture (see below) because she didn't want to leave the baby dolls. :( This was the imaginary hospital and we put the babies to "sleep" back in the nursery. That was definitely not what she wanted to do. We're learning to share babies. Although she's not too good at it yet.



We also visited the International Rose Test Garden in Portland's Washington Park. This park is absolutely amazing this time of year with 10,000 roses! And apparently rhododendrons as well. Mostly roses, but tons of beautiful foliage and greenery as well. Just plain and simply one of the prettiest places in the city.







Goof-ball, goofy and goofier! Bunnies by the Bay has one of the best blankies for babies on the market. This bunny was given as a gift to 'A' when she was born and has become an absolute favorite. The bunny is silky on one side and soft on the other and (obviously) has a bunny on top. And, as can be seen, she enjoys this blanket for more than just naptime soothing.



And this post wouldn't be complete without a picture of BOB! Yes, this is a favorite addition to the Chef Family and our day to day activities just wouldn't be the same without this stroller. 'A' and I use this stroller almost every day. Whether at the park or for a run, we've definitely put the miles on this one.

Multnomah Falls

The Iron Chef's college roommate was in town this week visiting, and what a better way to enjoy the scenery of the Pacific Northwest than a trip to Multnomah Falls (the nation's second largest year-round waterfall). A quick trip after work and before the sunset, but well worth it. And yes, this is already our 2nd trip to the falls this year and will soon be our 3rd when my parents are in town this week.





If you take a closer look you can see the beautiful rainbow in the middle of the falls. The light and the water were just perfect!



Littlest 'A' has a cute rocking chair but decided that a bin was much better for reading. Apparently sitting high on books in a small bin not usually used for books was a bit more comfortable. I'm not sure how, it just must have been. And, her book recommendation of the week is just an author - Sandra Boynton. We love her cute, children's books and have read almost all of them.



I know I've already posted a picture of the flowers from my backyard, but I decided to cut a few and put them in vases. First of all, if anyone has any tips on arranging flowers, please let me know. I'm horrible! But, I was able to make 3 lovely arrangements, including one for our guest bedroom so all our guests can sleep soundly with the scent of fresh flowers on their bedside.

Rain, rain, rain.

The rain did not seem to bother me when we first moved to the Pacific Northwest. Only because, it did NOT rain. Moving to the Portland vicinity seemed too good to be true. We had a mild winter with barely any rain. Now however, it has been raining like cats and dogs. Literally. Ms. A will stare out the window and point to our yard and the grass and the kids walking to and from school bundled in their rain gear.

Rain, rain go away.

At least Ms. A has learned the new silly song, "It's Raining, It's Pouring" this week.

Hopefully our weekend outlook will be full of sunshine. Maybe, just maybe.