Grandma Kathy and Keith visit

Here we are on the ferry making our way across Puget Sound toward Aunt Jayne's house on Vashon Island.


Erika can't believe what fun it is to take a ferry boat ride!

I think those cooking mits are too small.

Here Grandma Kathy and Erika share some play time. I don't think Keith is still awake at this point.
 

More fun with water

This weekend we visited grandma Gladys and Ernie. Erika had a tremendous time with the fountain and the kiddie pool which Grandpa Ernie had the foresight to obtain. She set about emptying both with a 1/3 cup and made a good deal of progress.

 

Happy Labor Day

We are visiting G'ma Gladys in Portland, OR this Labor Day Weekend. I'm sure some cuteness will occur there, and I'll be able to document it for all of you soon.

Also this is our 13th wedding anniversary. Amazing! It seems like only 12.

-Jason

Erika's "60 Minutes" style clip

Did Erika Morgan make a stinky on Aug 20th? The evidence points to yes. We'll let you be the judge.

Erika Deception Pass West Beach

This video is not so interesting, but it exactly captures what was going on. Erika would never face the camera. And when she did, she wanted to see the pictures, not stand there and look cute. Kids!

Camping at Deception Pass, WA

This past weekend we went camping with the Hayatsus. Here Erika and Ilene discussing the importance of camp ground furniture.

Decpetion pass is on Puget Sound north of Whidbey Island. It was nice and cool there. Acutally, it was really cold at night; 45F-50F. We kept thinking, isn't this August? but alas, Puget Sound is nice and cool. It keeps the northwest from getting too warm or too cold. Pack accordingly.


The water was too cold for Erika to go wading, but she enjoys a good dig in the sand.


Erika has a lot on her mind. She's thinking about all the dirt and sand she ate on this trip. Nothing like dropping a piece of carrott, digging it out of the dirt and eating it. Or dipping your potato chip in sand before munching.
 

Suburbian fashion

Here Jason moves another step closer to becoming his father by wearing black socks with sandals. Erika doesn't yet mind.

Summer hiatus

Sorry that the frequency of posting pictures of Erika has slowed down. The summer is proving to be very busy. It's picnic after picnic around here; followed by camping. Check back later!

In the forest wearing "guy"

Erika's favorite jumper is called "guy". She can't seem to go a day without it. Her other favorite shirt is the red one with the race car which she was wearing in the previous beach video. It's called "go-go".

What could be more fun than body slamming stuffed pal, Katzenfutter, to the dirty ground again and again!? 

Erika at Cannon Beach, Oregon

Erika at Cannon Beach, Oregon

Erika Meets the Pacific Ocean

We just returned from visiting the Oregon coast. Erika's big cousin Andy got married out there and a fantastic time was had by all. While the rest of the US was scorching hot, it was about 70F the whole time on the coast as usual for the summer. We enjoyed it greatly.



Erika is really enthusiastic about trying on sandals. Yours, mine, hers, it does not matter. Over and over and over again! 

Meet the hose

What better time to get acquainted with hydrodymanics than a lazy summer day? Here Erika appears to have violated the laws of physics with a stream of water.

Happy 4th of July!

We explored Marymoor Park today. It's really large, but cupcake was not much interested in plowing it with this tractor. In one area, dogs are permitted to run free of leashes, and we thought cupcake would like to see all the doggies jumping in the river and all that, but nope.Being sniffed by two great danes (they looked like small horses!) and hearing other dogs bark with joy while fetching (lots of fetching going on everywhere) she was rather overwhealmed and so we moved on.
Tonight's fireworks will be throwing stuffed animals out of the crib and shouting "boom!" She's been practicing for some time at this. 

Eating, sleeping, etc

Here Erika shares a meal with Meah-Meah as she calls her favorite stuffed animal. She not only will try to feed it with a spoon as expected, but also try to get it to nurse from mommy. If this weren't enough, Erika will attempt to breast feed Meah-Meah herself! Now that's nurturing.

After a hard day of trying to nurse inanimate objects, cupcake demonstrates how to fall sound asleep in her bed. And yes, she's the one who picked out the color. I think she went with bright orange only because the store was out of hot pink which is her usual first choice.
 

Nature 'n stuff

Today was a very pleasant day for a walk on a farm. 65F is just perfect if you ask my opinion. Erika and her stuffed favorite, meow meow, have a grand time.

Little tiny goats? hmm.


We moved on to the Chateau St. Michelle for a change of scenery and less goats.

One crazy-looking pigeon.
 

Visting Ohio Summer '06

Although it took us an insane amount of time and effort to get there (never, ever connect through O'Hare at any time of year) the company was worth it since Erika bonded with everyone. Below is 4-generations of bonding.

Grandpa Keith keeps a watchful eye out for cupcake.


Here we are in udder paradise. My only regret is that I'm not in this shot.
 

Cousins in Ohio

Great aunt Eileen prompts Erika to say, "ooooh"
Uncle Chuck was the first to get Erika warmed up to an assortment of people which Erika will be shocked to discover she's related to.

Cousin Maura and Erika enjoy each other's company.

A very Garveny moment.

Visiting grandma Gladys and Ernie

This Mother's Day weekend, we took advantage of the great weather and drove to Portland to see grandma Gladys and Ernie. Here Erika demonstrates how she can reach thing on the table. Ernie is not so sure it's a good idea.


Erika and Tashi the dog attempt communication.

Nothing quite as fun as running around in the grass!


What a toddler we have!
 

Cupcake meets more friends

This weekend we invited the Mathises and the Karteses* over just to make it hard for me to form the plural of names already ending in s. We had a great time and Erika is happy to explain it all.



Here, Erika exclaims "oooh!" while Keetra Kartes, Mia Mathis, and Zoe Kartes pose for a picture. What can be cuter than this? I submit - nothing!

Mr. Phil does me a favor by climbing on his roof to remove a large branch which had fallen there a week ago. I'm too uncoordinated to do such climbing and affraid of heights - not to mention widths.


After a hard evening of socialization, Cupcake relaxes by talking to a video of all sorts of interesting things, for example this cat. The cat seemed to respond at least as well as the late great Bippy Cat; and without soiling my sock drawer.
*Note these plurals are now correct. The Chicago Manual of Style told me so.