Westmoreland Asays

Aaron discovered that he can fit in the cabinet (with closing doors) underneath my old entertainment center that we keep in the bonus room upstairs, and which he enjoys playing in, on, and around. He dubbed it his sleeping hole and was determined to sleep in it through the night. So the two of us brought his pillow and blankets from his bed and went through his normal nightime ritual. When it was time to say good-night, I closed the cabinet doors and left the room. Not two minutes later--to noone's surprise--Aaron was screaming with fear and would not calm down for several minutes. We walked down the stairs back to his room, and he slept peacefully in his bed--at least till 2:00 a.m., or some insanely early hour of the night.

Meg and the boys picked me up at the office after work (both fell asleep before I got in the car), and we drove to SE Portland for drive-though Arby's and Christmas light viewing on Peacock Lane. Having grown up in the midst of Keizer's Miracle on 14th Street, and having heard this display compared to Peacock Lane, I thought it appropriate to finally see what it was all about. Let me tell you: it doesn't really compare. The street is short, and the displays, while nice, were nothing like I remember from Keizer. But the real joy of the evening was when the boys finally woke up: Edward crapped his pants and then barfed all over himself (his last barf of his brief bout with some strange virus that only he contracted), and Aaron cried endlessly, even though we offered him a strawberry milkshake, fries, and chicken strips--his favorite meal of all-time. He got over it eventually, and Edward went back to sleep until we arrived home.

Edward Crawls During Thanksgiving week, Edward mustered the courage to trainsition from sitting position to crawling position, where he rocked back and forth for a long time before realizing he could move forward. His movements are still slow and archaic, but he can get anywhere he wants. Aaron is Toilet Trained Ignoring the occasional accident, Aaron seems dedicated to using the toilet on a full-time basis. We are all overjoyed and relieved, but no one is as excited as Aaron, who loves to celebrate each successful trip to the bathroom. Oak Hills Turkey Bowl 2005 Michael sided with the young men (he is one of their leaders, you know) as they took on the older men in a Thanksgiving morning football game in the Oak Hills common area. Michael eventually gained the confidence of his quarterback and pulled in about 10 receptions, with 4 of them going for touchdowns. The young men's team won by a touchdown, even after fumbling multiple kick returns on pathetic "trick" plays. Tr...

Last week or so we started putting Edward in his crib (in Aaron's room) at night, instead of our bed or the bassinet in our room. Ever since, the boy has slept through the night. It felt magical because it happened so fast and so easy. And Aaron decided to do the same last night, sticking it out from 7:30 p.m. to 5:10 a.m. (his allowed time to get up, because that is when Michael gets up to run--so he can take Dad's place in bed). Aaron's eczema and crazy dreams usually keep him pretty occupied at night, but he has been doing better as his eczema has become less severe. So a new first: both boys sleeping in their beds in their room for the entire night. Yeah boys !

This year was the boys' first year trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. Meg took them to her friends' houses, and Michael finished up the rest of the neighborhood (carrying Edward his arms, and dragging Aaron near the end of the evening) plus Trenton (the large and expenseive houses adjacent to our Surrey Pines). Edward was a pumpkin, while Aaron donned a Thomas the Tank Engine costume. After our 8:30 p.m. return, Meg counted all of Aaron's booty to number around 250 pieces; several houses were dumping handsful of loot in Aaron's bag as the evening moved on. Aaron showed his maturity by asking for only two pieces before bed. It had rained all day, cleared up for a few hours during the evening (the weather coopoerated perfectly) and it began pouring again right after we fell asleep.

Family Zoo Trip Meg, the boys, and I visited the Oregon Zoo on Friday morning. When we left Beaverton, it was covered in a fall fog; when we crossed the county line into Portland a few short miles later, there was nothing but blue skies and warm sun. Even though it was an inservice day, our early arrival allowed for a very quiet--almost private--tour of the park. Aaron kept up a torrential pace, moving from exhibit to exhibit, while Meg and I ( hauling Edward on my back) lagged behind. We headed home around noon and parted ways: Meg and the boys to the Booren's in Sherwood, and Michael to the coast for a campout with his scout team . . . Camping with the Varsity Scouts Five of my six boys ended up coming (the last had a football game that evening), and one of the boys' older, married brother played my adult sidekick. Although it rained much of the drive to the coast, by the time we parked the cars at Camp Clark , the rain had subsided and we were able to set up our ...

Aaron, Edward, and Meg all have differing levels of illness at the moment. But Aaron seems to have it the worst. His fever has peaked around 103, making him somewhat delirious. I'm used to dealing with Aaron's middle-of-the-night-wakings, but he came into our room around 2:30 a.m. to announce that he had found his sock, which he had lost during his 12:30 a.m. waking (and which I had refused to look for, despite his incessant crying). He was completely alert, apparently happy and fever-less, but I led him back to his bed and said good-night again. He made his final appearance to our room around 4:30, hot with fever again. This time he wouldn't stop talking about the white and pink elephants (never mind this image's page source) that were in his room (no, we haven't read any Dumbo stories for several months now). But they weren't the scary part: it was the mom and dad monster that drove Aaron to our bed. Even though he said they left through the door, he ...

The Ducks really fooled me today . Aaron and I were jumping up and down with every exciting play, at the sight of USC's confusion and frustration, and with the thought that this could be their day again. But you could feel it slipping away during the second quarter, and I knew it was over once USC got in front. I just hope they don't let this get to them, that they come out again next Saturday and beat the crap out of Stanford .

I was walking to the bus stop, headed home for the work week, when I caught the backsides of Meg and Aaron walking to the same place. They had gone shopping at Pioneer Place and decided to surprise me--and pleasant treat indeed. I directed Meg to drive to Jamison Square ; it's a neat park in the Pompous_Pearl, perfect for the kids to splash around in during the warmth of summer, and awesome for watching all the silly people walking their even sillier dogs; it's amazing how many GenXers prefer dogs to kids, and how much money they blow on their animals.

Aaron usually wakes up at 6:30 a.m. and eats breakfast with me. He came out to the kitchen just as I was finishing up, so I got his breakfast ready before gathering my things and heading out the door for the big_city_office. When I said good-bye to Aaron, he went ballistic: screaming uncontrollably, shedding streams of tears, and chasing after me in an attempt to prevent me from leaving. I tried to calm him down, but nothing worked. He's NEVER done anything remotely close to this before. This outburst woke up Meg, of course, and she was just as unsuccessful at calming Aaron. I questioned whether I should hang around for a few minutes, but I ended up leaving the situation unresolved. Meg called around 10:30 a.m., and she said that Aaron still hadn't calmed down yet. I don't think I was listening very carefully, though, because I just said, "Oh." I don't think Meg could have fooled me with such trickery (which was of course the case--Aaron had long since ...

Friday We started off by watching a dumb movie, Sahara . Avoid it like the plague it portrays. Saturday Aaron and I ran to the nearest MAX stop and rode out to Hillsboro for our morning run. Boy, what were we thinking. Hillsboro? There's a reason we live in Beaverton. We cleaned out Meg's car (while taking inventory of our food storage) and installed Aaron's booster seat (and moved gave Edward Aaron's seat). Aaron and Michael later attended the Portland Beavers game at PGE Park ; we had to go because how often can you see a major leaguer on the mound ( Shawn Estes --and boy, was he good)? It was a pitchers' dual the whole way, with the Beaver's man taking a no-hitter into the 6th. The Beavers lost it all in the 9th, just as Aaron fell asleep in my lap. He woke up as I carried him to the MAX stop, and he denies ever falling asleep. It was a great night. Next year (I've already been building Aaron up for it) we'll head down to Eugene for Du...

Today in Nursery, one of Aaron's teachers asked him if he helped out at home by washing dishes. He said that he doesn't help (which is untrue), because Dad always does it. Apparently, this was deemed funny and unlikely. But Aaron simply calls 'em as he sees 'em.

With the last touchup of paint, our house now sits idle (for the moment) for improvements. The color, Banyan Tree (a little green, a little olive), looked a little bright going on, but once it dried, it looks super--especially when compared to when we first bought the house two years ago. Michael took two days off from ADP and helped our friend (and professional painter) with all the work, so we finished a lot faster and under budget (I think). Aaron is spending Monday through Wednesday with Grandma Asay in Keizer, his first extended absense from us since Edward was born. Sounds like he's having a good time, except for when he cried before attempting to ride the carousel in Riverfront park--but I cried too when I learned it was being built. And after having him back (it's now Friday), his speech seems more refined and clear; I guess he had to take his language to the next level in order to be understood with G&G. Edward (who just cut his first two teeth in the last...

Aaron has Pee'd twice in the toilet today. His motive may be skewed, but the end-result is what matters at this stage. You see, he tells Meg that he wants some candy, so she replies that he needs to pee in the toilet first. And to our surprise, he heads to the bathroom and pees in the toilet--and then demands his candy, of course.

While changing Aaron's diaper before bedtime, he began farting--almost like he was trying to push something uncomfortable out. So I asked him, "Do you need to poop?" to which he replied in the affirmative--much to my surprise. So I quickly carried him into his bathroom, sat him over the toilet, and began coaching him--Push it out Aaron! After a few seconds and many grunts, I heard a little plop. I lifted his buns from the seat to behold a tiny poop. We were all so excited, even Aaron.

Grandma Asay, Little Megan, Elaina, Ethan, and Aurora drove up to see us and experience swimming in a real municipal pool (sorry, Salem: it's one of your few flaws) on one of the hottest days this summer. We took them to the Connestoga pool (part of the THPRD hegemony,and one of the few things I happily pay my taxes to), which was built recently and has a great family-oriented play area. When the boys get older, I think we will enjoy our neighborhood pool more, with all of its crazy-high (10-meters) diving boards and platforms to lauch from. Proudest Moment Aaron is so comfortable in the water now. He went down the water slide all by himself each time (with Michael or Meg to catch him at the end, of course), and he no longer minds his head getting dunked. Although this happened at a different pool two days later, Aaron moved even further along by jumping off the diving board into nine feet of water--all on his own whim. Meg didn't even get there in time to catch him, but fo...

Annual Golf Outing Skip, Phillip, Josh, John, and Michael spent the late afternoon putting around the Meriwether National Golf Club . I look forward to my yearly golf experience, even though I spend most of the time wondering where my ball landed. I held my own on maybe three of the nine holes (read: I didn't take the maximum score), and John, to the surprise of all, played the best game. Camping in Cascade Locks Even though we set up a tent and slept in sleeping bags, we really weren't camping at the KOA in Cascade Locks . But we did learn that it isn't much fun trying to camp with a three-month old baby, and with loud trains belting down the tracks ( only 100 meters away ) at all hours of the day/night. We ended up coming home late Friday night to salvage some sleep. Wind-down in Sherwood We spent the majority of Saturday and Sunday at the Booren's place in Sherwood for more eating (Navajo Taco's, baby--the real spark that drove my interest in Megan Booren...

The Georgia crew (sans Matt) are in town for the month, so the BeavertonBoys (and Meg) stopped by KeizerCentral to visit. The surprise highlight was the impromtu soccer match on the front lawn. Aaron and Grandpa had stolen away to practice kicking the ball. Ethan and Aurora joined shortly thereafter, and the war for the ball begun. and The action-packed, super-high-resolution video is available upon request .

Saturday Hike to Silver Falls State Park The four of us hiked about 2.5 miles--much of it uphill along the Mapleridge Trail--on a loop around South Falls and Lower South Falls . We arrived to the park early, so we enjoyed most of the hike in solitude. Aaron happily walked the entire distance--he even raced and beat me up several of the switchbacks near the end--and Meg carried Edward the whole way--what a bunch of dedicated troopers. This year marked the 6th annual independence day hike (all of which have been in Oregon). The list so far includes: 2009: Silver Falls State Park (Silverton) 2008: Cottonwood Canyon, Solitude Lake (Utah) 2007: Champoeg State Park (Newberg-ish) 2006: Shellburg Falls (Mehema-ish) 2005: Silver Falls State Park (Silverton) 2004: Wahclella Falls (Columbia River Gorge) 2003: Pittock Mansion Area (NW Portland) 2002: Mary's Peak (Central Coast Range) 2001: Opal Creek (Santiam Wilderness Area) 2000: Smith Rock State Park (Redmond, Orego...

Aaron and Michael spent Saturday in Hood River at the Day Out With Thomas event. Aaron's intense interest in Thomas has been strong for well over a year now, and it has helped him build his vocabulary; learn concepts such as numbers, shapes, and colors; and it has enlivened his imagination with all things industrial. The event didn't seem too commercially-centered, and we had a good time without spending any cash save for gas and parking. Watching Thomas depart and return on the tracks sufficed Aaron, and he didn't once ask to ride on the train (he can ride for free with Michael anytime he wants on MAX-the-light-rail); but he loved playing with the trains and tracks set up on six different tables and running through the simple hay maze looking for Thomas and his friends. And Aaron still enjoys watching the videos in re-run. Perhaps next year the four of us will go together . . .

Aaron pee'd in the toilet for the first time today. Well, if the trash can in the bathroom counts, then, yes, he did it--all on his own, all under his own judgement. Meg was changing Edward in the other room while she thought Aaron was in the bathtub playing. But Aaron suddenly entered the room, dripping wet, announcing that he pee'd. Meg asked if he had to pee, but he said No, I pee'd in the toilet. They went together to inspect the deed, and sure enough: there was pee in the trash can (thank goodness Michael emptied the trash just the night before). Will this be the end of changing Aaron's nasty diapers? Do we now prepare to do even more laundry from all the accident-soiled clothes? Stay tuned . . .

After a few months of research, negotiation, lots of shopping--and a new baby inbetween--our house is finally done--for the moment. It's been two years now, and here's what we've completed to date: New windows and external doors New garage door w/opener New interior paint New kitchen appliances New heat pump New water heater New white leather sofa/recliner/love seat New kitchen lighting fixture/ceiling fan New living room furniture We will paint the exterior this summer and consider replacing the rotting deck in the back with stone pavers, if money remains.

After spending 38 weeks in his dark but blissful heaven, Edward Michael Asay has arrived. Labor and delivery were relatively quick and smooth, and Meg and Edward are both doing well and feeling great. The Stats Birthplace: Portland, Washington, Oregon (Providence St. Vincent) Birthdate: April 1, 2005 Time of Arrival: 6:45 p.m. Weight: 8 lbs. 12 oz. Height: 21" APGAR: 9.0

No foolin: the bloody show appeared this morning, so #2 might be ready to come out (if history teaches us anything, as Aaron was born the night of the show). Meg is off to the doctor for an AM appointment; maybe we'll learn more then.

Discomfort contiues without relief in site . . .