Looking over the Portland Rose Garden with K.

Yee-haw! Isn't that what sea-horses say?

Playing with B. while Mommy visits with the rest of the flock...

The rest of the flock joining in a group swing before the swings attacked B.

Thanks for including us in your visit, M., we really enjoyed getting to spend time with you!

On a weekend vacation, we stopped and hiked up Multnomah Falls, it's a gorgeous 640 foot waterfall along the Columbia River Gorge that you can stand below and take pictures in front of (i.e. Daddy Bird and his baby) and then hike to the top (notice our stretching so we don't injure ourselves, Flaminguito's idea, not mine, but I joined in, we got lots of giggles from passers-by) and play in little pools of water before looking down the long drop. At the end, you can enjoy some ice cream (or shall we say, ice peam, like the bird says) and share it with your Daddy.

Well, I had the baby bird's first feathers clipped, kinda sad, but she can see better now, I think. Here's the whole thing for everyone to see...to read captions for each photo, just scroll over the picture. Enjoy!

We're in our 2nd week of Swimming lessons now and she's starting to really grasp it now.

Today she almost did a bob, but didn't want to get her eyes wet, she'll put her head in and blow bubbles, but not go any further than that.

She loves to jump in, counting 1....2...."tree," as she says it, and then "jumps" into my arms and laughs so hard she can hardly climb back up to do it again!

It's a great experience for both of us, I feel much more comfortable knowing she's learning to be safe in the water, they teach them how to cough water out if they swallow it accidentally and how to float on their backs and tummies and I never would have thought she'd learn that before the age of two! I'm so glad we did these classes (thanks for the info, Monkey Mama)!

1st Camping Trip of the year...

We went into the Cascade Mountains, where it was chilly, windy and rainy, hence the tarp over the tent.

Flaminguito pecks for breakfast, she had cracked some eggs for Daddy Bird to cook and is holding them on that plate (even camping, she loves to "help" cook).

But she was still hungry, so she went to catch some fish, some real bird food!

Daddy Bird had to help her with the reeling a bit.

In true bird-fashion, her favorite part of fishing was playing with the worms...

and squeezing them in her fingers...

and running to Daddy to show him her new friends...

It was a fruit-less fishing trip, but we still had fun, it was the only time it warmed up enough to shed some layers.

Back at camp, we put the layers back on...and Baby Bird needed to brush her teeth, apparently, so she headed for her toothbrush (you have to look closely, but she went to brush by herself, then put the brush back in the bag, next to the toothpaste she'd tried to squeeze out and promptly dropped it in the mud, exclaiming, "oh man, oh no!").

At the end of the trip, she got a ride in the tarps and didn't want to leave.

We had a nice time, but it was nice to come home to warm, tank top weather again after freezing all weekend!

Question: While Mama birds are busy in the bird bath, how do baby birds keep themselves busy?
We sent one of our photographers to investigate. This is her report...

1.) They do "spring cleaning" (verb; to empty the entire contents of one's dresser as though everything "sprung" out on its own.)

2.) They try to clean their teeth to make Mama bird proud.

3.) This one, I felt, would be best expressed in poetic verse...

I'm ever so grateful my husband was home
on the day I decided to shower alone.
Not that I mind sharing the tub
with the splish-splashy toes of my little cherub,
but this day I'd decided my quick showering bliss
would be twice as fast without my little Miss.
I took my precautions, placing sharp objects up high,
and closed all dangerous doors to keep out curious eyes.
What I didn't do, that became an error not mild,
was tell my husband my shower would be without child.
With my green tea shampoo and peach-apricot gel,
I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
I joyfully listened to her giggles and laughs
knowing she was safe, just outside my bath.
Then I peered out, just in time to see, miniature toes...
two arms...two legs...she'd removed all her clothes!
"She's sharing my shower, " I quietly muttered,
but then she was gone with her little pitter-patter.
Potty-training as we are, my thoughts didn't stall...
she'd noticed the need to answer nature's call.
Yes, she was naked so she could sit down with ease
and not have to bother her mother with pee.
I was proud, I was clean and I smelled oh, so good!
So I reached for my towel and heard my husband afoot.
"You're a brave one," he said...no, more like exclaimed!
"Why's that?" I questioned, "please do explain."
"I came in from the garden to borrow the broom
when I heard water running and simply assumed
she was showering with you, not running afar
so when I left the house, I left the back door ajar.
But I heard noise near my workbench inside the garage
so I hurried back in to find this entourage;
our daughter's bare toes, her bare little legs,
bare arms, front and backside-not wearing any rags!"
She was naked, you see, and was ready to streak;
what's worse, she was headed straight for our street!
So we've learned our lesson and to other parents hope to teach:
DON'T SHOWER ALONE, WITHOUT YOUR TODDLER ON A LEASH!
~by FlamingoLingo

Wow, it's been a super-long time since I've blogged, but I wanted to put a quick note up. My bird-brained camera is on the fritz a bit, so I haven't loaded pictures lately. It tells me the camera batteries need changed (all of 5 seconds after I put new ones in, yes, correctly~I already checked that) unless I leave the LCD panel closed. Now here's the kicker, it will let me view pictures on the LCD panel to my heart's content, so I'm confused, but not really wanting to deal with my camera lately because it's being so loopy.
I'll put up some camping and swimming pictures tomorrow if the camera agrees with the computer and the computer agrees with the nap-schedule and the nap schedule agrees with the dishwasher repair man who's coming, "oh, sometime between 1pm and 5pm." So yes, I'll just wait, because I didn't really have anything I needed to do other than sit at home wating for a recall repair man to show up. I DO hope he comes early, but not too early so as to wake the baby bird from her nap.

Speaking of baby birds, I have to share the cutest little thing she says now... She used to call her milk gna-gna (with a soft "g" so it's sort of sounds like the bird called a "gnu"), we don't know why, but it worked for her and we knew what she meant. Not being ones to use baby talk, we'd just repeat "Yes, Mmmm-I-L-K." sort of emphasizing the "M" as the starting sound and slowly prounouncing the rest of the word. So the other day she looks at the 'fridge and says, "Mommy, "Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmillllllllllk, pease (still struggles with "please")." Since then, she'll be talking away asking for things or showing us things, but when she hits that word, she stops and almost goes in slow motion saying, "Mmmmmmmillllllk." I guess it sounds cuter in person than it does in writing, but isn't that the way with so many stories? (of mine, at least)

A rose at night in our backyard, lit up by the greenhouse lights and, obviously, my flash.