"When I Man, I be Cowboy!!!"

"When I man, I be cowboy! Get on cow, run around, then fall down. Careful! Not be owie!"

That's right. I got to go to the Rodeo with my buddy Holden, his Mom Erin, and my Momma! It was a lot of fun. I got to watch big men fall off of cows! (my Momma keeps telling me that those were bulls, but to me they are all cows). I also got to see all the other animals at the fair with my buddy Ezra and his family. I got to touch goats, a chicken, sheep, and then in the reptile exhibit I completely fearlessly petted a boa, an aligator, and a large tortoise! I didn't want to leave that aligator, and the lady had to tell me several times not to touch its teeth... she didn't seem too impressed by my "I be very careful!"...

Anyway, here I am hiding in my "Mark house" (one of the empty kitchen cabinets) wearing my cowboy hat. Playing hide-and-seek is a new favorite game of mine. I have a strategy: I alternate my two hiding spots, one being this cabinet, the other being the hall closet. I then yell loudly to come find me, and after my Momma or Dad looks ALL over the house, they finally find me. I can be surprisingly patient.... and when I get found I laugh and laugh!

Typing "E-i"s (letters) on my Momma's laptop is another favorite passtime of mine. I recognize all the (capital) letters of the alphabet, as well as the numbers "0" "1" and "2"... and I can spell "MARK" and "DAD" all by myself. (On a side-note, doing things "all myself" is VERY important to me right now). Sometimes my name ends up saying "MRAK" or "ARKM" but I always get the right letters....hooray for the Leapfrog refridgerator magnet alphabet toy!

Of course nothing beats playing with good old "bwee-yas" (aka cars) and building houses and towers out of blocks...

Look at the Zoo my Momma and I built today! Please note that the dinosaurs live in the parking lot with the cars...


Oh yes! I almost forgot! 2 weeks ago, we went to the Wilsonville childrens' Fest with my friend Ezra and his family! That was great fun. Everything except the food was free! My Dad and I got our picture drawn, I got to hop on some really cool bouncing castles, got to get soaked while fishing for magnet fish, and participated in lots of other fun activities. The door prizes were great: I have some more dinosaurs, a ball, a rubber ducky, and some other fun goodies. Anyway, how do you like the cartoon version of my Dad and me?

Speaking of drawing, I really like to draw, too. I have moved on from random scribbles since I figured out how to draw circles and "bananas" (ovals) which I then meticulously color in. That is, when I am not too busy drawing streets and then commanding whichever adult is sitting with me to draw cars and trucks and ambulances and fire engines onto the road...

What else is there to report? Potty training is going well, I can go for a morning and/or an afternoon in big-boy underwear as long as my Momma or Dad remind me to go potty every 45mins to an hour. We've had a total of 4 (wet) accidents... one of them in the closet on my Dad's boots. Hey. I was practising my aim. My Momma and Dad always tell me that it is ok, that accidents happen. I am able to tell you "I need to pee!" and have successfully gone in the potty at friends' houses and at the restaurant, even though I still wear a diaper when we are out of the house. I have gone #2 in the potty 6 times now, too... but I prefer to do that in my diaper.

Oh yes, I almost forgot! The most important and exciting news of all! My Dad had his first day of work today at his awesome new job!!! He gets to play with computers, the Internet and other telecommunication technologies all day... lucky guy. We are so happy! Well, we are sad that Dad doesn't get to spend as much time with us during the day anymore... but we are happy that now we can house-hunt in earnest! And because the job is in Vancouver, we may even get to see Dad for lunch sometimes.

That's all for now, folks! We hope to have more news soon!

My Mah and I are potty training!

My Momma got tired of cleaning up after my Mah (also known as a sheep) and decided yesterday that now was as good a time as any to potty train him. She suggested that it would help the Mah to learn how to go pee or poop in his potty if I sit on my potty, too. I liked the idea. I tell my Mah to "pee now!" when he sits on his potty... and after my Momma dumps my pee into the big potty, I help by dumping the Mah's pee in, too. The best part is that whenever I pee in MY potty, I get a star on my chart! Eight stars mean that I get to pick a toy car from the basket of cars my Momma bought at Goodwill. After some initial confusion (over thinking I should get a car EVERY time and when I go in my diaper, too), I am happy with the arrangement. Just to make sure my Mah doesn't get jealous, he gets a small star on the chart, as well.

My Momma got me some big-boy diapers (they turn COLD when I wet them), and for a few hours a day she is being very very brave and is putting BIG BOY UNDERPANTS on me! The bean bag chairs, the mattress, and my stuffed animals all go away during that time... no idea why.


Good job, Mah! What color star do you want on the chart this time?

I'm getting pretty good at this peeing in the potty thing, and so is Mah. I can't wait until I am allowed to pee standing up like Dad! They will put cheerios in the water for me to aim at... but first I have to be ALL DONE using diapers... at least during the day.


Ah yes. Here is the famous chart! We decorated it together, and now I have lots of stars for peeing in the potty! The right side of the chart is still a work in progress... I plan to earn myself LOTS of bwee-yas soon.

Oink, oink!

Courtesy of "Dah"


Mark has this great sense of big things vs little things Big things all seem to have deep, scratchy voices and little things have high, squeeky voices Take pigs for example...

Arrrrgh, I'm a pirate!!!

Arrrgh, it is FUN to be 2!!! My Momma and Dad had a pirate-themed party for me today, and I got to invite my friends Holden, Ezra, and Tori!

My Momma made my very own pirate-invitations...

...and baked a pirate cake... which turned out to be delicious but very messy to eat...

...we went to the park because the weather was very sunny ...and I got to dress up as a pirate! Ezra and Tori even grew a pirate-moustache for the occasion! We decorated T-shirts with fabric pens, we played and ran around...

...and finally, we ate pirate-watermelon, and then went home to play inside, where it was nice and cool. What a fun day this was! Thank you for coming, Holden, Ezra and Tori!

Happy 2nd Birthday to MEEEEEEEEE!

Guess who is 2 years old? That would be ME!

My Gramma and Grampa Griffing came to celebrate with me! And for my birthday I got my very own cake, and my very own candles to blow out...

...and presents, too! Meet Gary, my dinosaur (or, to be more precise, "Gary dadoah"). I named him myself. He comes to bed with me. And into my bath. And everywhere else, at least for the moment.

Drawing with my new pens is fun... and I got scissors! I like to "dut" the paper with my "dizzers"....

And I really really like my monkey towel! Gramma and Grampa gave me a wading pool for the balcony.
























That's all for now, folks, I need to go ask my Momma and Dad to sing Happy Birthday for me one more time.

Fountains, giant sweatshirts, and graduations...

Hi again! My Momma and Dad have a few new pictures of me to show off!

Look, see? My Dad's sweatshirt fits me JUST RIGHT! What you can't see is that I am "all nated" underneath... after peeing in the big potty!

This weekend, we drove to Spokane to celebrate my Grampa's graduation from seminary, and my Aunt Tirsti's graduation from Highschool. We had a really nice time, and we remembered to have some family pictures taken. Oh, and did I mention that we got all the way from Vancouver to Spokane on 8 gallons of gas with our hybrid?

These are my Momma and Dad, and my Aunt Kirsti, my Aunt Hanna, and my Uncle Brian.

Today my Momma and Dad took me on a walk through the forest on the WSU Vancouver campus. I walked for a long time all by myself, and then when the forest started getting muddy, my Dad put me into my backpack carrier.

Don't you love how GREEN the forest is?

The branches were covered in moss...

...and there were lots of different greens! ... although I have to admit that the forest was the boring part of the walk...

...because on the way back home, we walked across the campus, and there was this AWESOME fountain right in the middle of it! At first I just stomped around in the puddles, and the water only sprinkled. Then ALL OF A SUDDEN the water SHOT up into the air, and I got SOAKED! Boy was that fun! Yep, that is water dripping out of my sleeve. Yep, my hair is sopping wet.

Only my feet inside my boots were dry... the rest of me was drippy, soppy, soggy, and very wet!

Snug as a bug in a rug!

Look at me! I'm as snug in this rug as a bug!
My Momma invented this game. I lie down on a blanket, and then she wraps me into it as tightly as possible. To get out I have to wiggle like a catterpillar. It is lots of fun. When I want to be wrapped up like this, I say "bug IN rug!"

My buddy Holden had a birthday, and we went to his Gramma's house for a BBQ. It was fun to run around and play in their yard! Happy Birthday, Holden!

...Holden wasn't the only one to get presents... they gave me a hat, and some sandals, and some fun books! Thank you Erin, thank you Gail!!!!

...and just about one month until I have MY 2nd birthday, too!

Uncles, Espresso and Free Puppies

My Momma and Dad took me to my uncle Brian's concert yesterday evening (I call him "otoh Bain")! It was fun to hear the really good "tunes" (my word for music) that Brian played, and it was especially fun to run around the cafe.

Can you say "cheeeeeese" ...louder than this cheesy, cheesy grin? Naw, this one is all natural. I have NOOO idea there is a camera pointing at me.

This sign was hanging in the cafe. I tried SOOO hard to look unattended, but with my Momma or Dad running after me all evening, how the heck was I going to get a chance at that puppy?

I'm a monkey! Swinging in a tree! Ouh-ouh! Woah, chair almost tipped over... wow, that was FUN! Let's try it again!

I got my first shot at a really good episode of BRAIN FREEZE after gulping down more than HALF of my Momma's blueberry smoothie in one big huge slurp...

After that my Dad kept forgetting that I was already sitting IN the chair he wanted to sit in. Help! Squishing-my-belly! Can't-breathe..... Daaaaa-aaaad!

Ok! Back at the appartment! Up! Dad! Up!

Here my ohto Bain is building a really cool tower with me! It was fun to have him visit. He's a really cool guy.

Ok, now, did you know that my Dad and Momma are crazy? Well, I have the proof: they decided last week that it would be a good idea to drive from Vancouver to Bozeman, Montana, in order to surprise my Grampa Bradley for his birthday! We drove as far as Spokane on Thursday, where we surprised my Gramma. We spent Thursday evening and Friday with Gramma and Grampa Griffing, and I got to see my aunt Hanna, and my aunt Kirsti, too.

And here is my green dinosaur! You are probably thinking, "who???" ...well, this is my uncle Rob, my Dad's older brother. As you can tell by his patches (which I re-arranged, in case you were wondering why they are velcroed all crookedly to his flight suit), he is an Air Force pilot. In stead of calling him uncle Rob, I decided to call him the "green dinosaur." Don't you wish I had given YOU such a cool name?

After visiting everyone in Spokane, we took another looong drive to Bozeman. Grampa Bradley had no idea we were coming, we had told him that his birthday gift would be delivered to him on Saturday evening. And there we were! It was a GOOD surprise! We had lots of fun. We spent Saturday evening with Grampa, and then had brunch at my Great Grandparents Sunday morning, and then had a nice visit with my Momma's uncle Dan and aunt Carolyn, and cousin Diana. After that we spent more time with Grampa Bradley. We drove back to Spokane Monday morning, and then on to Vancouver on Tuesday. It was very fun to see everyone, and except for the last hour of each 7-hour-drive, I was a very very good little boy. But please, please, please don't make me ride in a car for 32 hours within 5 days! Ever again.... ever!

Here we are, back at our apartment (spelled with ONE "p" just for my Gramma), in Vancouver. It is still empty, but the first shipment of our "stuff" arrived. It had some pots and pans, and a bunch of my toys in it. I am a happy camper.

Especially when I get to tank up hugs in my Dad's arms!

My Dad took this picture of my Momma while we were driving to Spokane. Look at all those freckles!

Well, that is all for today. Here is one last picture: this is the Columbia river, as seen from a viewpoint just past Camas, about 30 minutes from where we live. My Momma made my Dad stop the car so she could take this picture on the way to uncle Brian's concert yesterday.

Climbing walls!

Let me tell you about our temporary appartment:
it currently has LOTS of space for me to run around in! The bedroom has my parents' queen size air mattress, and my travel bed in it. The dining room has a card table and three folding chairs. We eat off of paper plates, and cook our food either in the borrowed pot or the borrowed pan. The living room is empty, except for my toys, and the pillows and blanket that double as a couch during the day. I like it this way, but I think my Momma and Dad are looking forward to our stuff arriving. I remind them that it will every now and then by saying "my stuff, HUGE boat, wa-wi, Dammah" (which means, "our stuff is coming on a huge boat across the water to the country where Grandma lives").

Because staying inside too much makes me misbehave, my Momma and/or Dad have to take me outside every day to climb and run. There is a little playground near here, but I enjoy GETTING there more than playing there: there are all these really cool walls to climb on! I can get up on top of the wall by myself now, but usually want someone to hold my hand for balancing once I am on top ("uP! wall! hand deeese?"). Pictures of me on the wall bellow!

Grrrr... put that camera away....

Hahah! I can balance here WITHOUT holding your hand, Momma!

Climbing the big-kid jungle gym is lots of fun, too!

The NICE bathroom rug...

Hi again! I realize that it has been a while... between job searching, house hunting, church hunting, and getting settled in otherwise, my Dad and Momma have been busy!

This post is dedicated to a very special household object. We bought it at Cosco. It's a cream colored bath rug. I looooove that rug! Several times a day, I take off my socks, and walk on the rug, curling my toes into its delicious softness... my comment: "Nice!"
Ok, Momma, time to change my diaper! (I say that by saying "Maw, dapoh eww!")... do you think this NICE rug would be a good place to change me?

*giggle* oh no, Dad, don't blow any more rasberries on my belly! Please! Please! It tickles!

Oh yeah. Have I mentioned that I like lying on this NICE rug?

Towel? What do you mean, dry me off with a towel? I'll just wiggle around some more on this NICE rug!

On another note, we drove to the beach on Sunday after church. This is haystack rock, by Cannon Beach. The weather in Vancouver was beautiful and sunny... but on the other side of the mountains, down by the beach, it was pretty cold and rainy... we still went on a walk, and picked up a few rocks, and a sand dollar...

Anyway, that's all for now. More news on jobs and houses to follow!

In Vancouver!!!!

After a very busy week of cleaning our appartment, wrapping up military paperwork, and finishing packing our stuff, we left Germany on a HUGE airplane. The flight was a direct flight from Frankfurt to Portland, and I slept for 4 of the 11 hours... except for the rather annoying bus rides from the airport terminal to the airplane and the airplane to the terminal, the flight was uneventful, almost pleasant.
Grampa, Aunt Hanna, and Anna met us at the airport in Portland, what a nice surprise!
We spent the first few days at Steve and Anna's house - thank you for sharing your home with us! The day after our arrival, we got cell phones, and found a cute, small appartment we will live in with a month-to-month lease until we move into our house. We bought a 2001 VW jetta wagon, which will be my Momma's car as soon as our Honda arrives from its trip to the US from Germany. My Dad jumped right into job hunting, too. He has a few interviews this week, we will see what comes of those. My Momma looked at lots of houses with the realtor, and found two or three we would be very happy to call our home... for some odd reason the bank wants Dad's letter of employment before they will give us the money to buy a house though.
ANyway, we have been too busy visiting friends and family and getting settled to take many pictures, but my Dad has a Blackberry that takes pictures, so here are a few:

Here I am in the inside of our new car. The outside is dark blue. I like it.

At Steve and Anna's house, I escaped from my Momma while she was putting on my nighty...

Here I am having dinner in our (empty) appartment. It was yummy! My Momma made me a real burrito! I even managed to eat it without making too much of a mess!

Because we don't have many toys in our appartment, my Momma and Dad have to be creative. Letting me type letters (I call it "type e-i's") is one of my favorite new hobbies. I know the letter "eM!" and like typing lots of it!

Here the most recent picture... of me drinking "moo-juice" and eating breakfast.

More pictures and news (hopefully about a house and a job) to follow soon!


Greetings from beautiful, green Vancouver!