Monday, December 31, 2012

A warm day in December

Today was a very pleasant 20 degree above zero, so after Philip's nap we went outside with the dogs to play. Philip hasn't liked snow in the past, but he's starting to warm up to it and loves stomping around in his little Sorels. He got a snowsuit from the Rusts earlier this year that fits perfectly and is great for playing on days like today!
Here's the house with a very happy Dawson!
One leap and he was across the entire front year. I think he was running off some cabin fever.
I hope we have many more days like today this winter!

Happy New Year!

In 2 days we welcome 2013. We'll be revisiting our blog and keeping it more updated than in months past. 2012 was an incredibly busy year with many, many changes. We're all looking forward to a quieter and more predicatable year. So, we wish all of you a wonderful year ahead!

Monday, September 24, 2012

Creamers' Field

Today Brian and I took our crew for a walk at Creamers Field. The temperature is unseasonably warm and we wanted to make sure we enjoyed what might be our last nice weekend of the year.

The dogs were very happy to be out and about.
 We had Philip's stroller, but he was sure he should walk most of the way. This made for a very slow pace. But it was great practice for him!
 And he's finally walking on his own! He sure isn't a baby anymore.



Funnies with Grandpa

Mom and Dad Platt come down to visit this weekend (briefly) and stayed in our guest room. This morning (Sunday), Dad introduced Philip to the funny pages.
 Important life lessons, right?


Wood Family Visit 2012!

At the end of the summer some of our best friends in the whole world came to visit- the Woods! We spent a lot of our time hanging out in Valdez. It took us much longer to get there and back, but there was a lot of fun had once we arrived.

The Wood kiddos enjoyed the puddles. There are always puddles in Valdez.

Ryan and Louise rockin' the Outback like true Alaskans.


We hauled down 4-wheelers, which contributed to the amount of time it look to get to and from our destination.
The boys got acquainted with a box at the Whitney museum at PWSCC.
Wood family photo with a moose.
Down at the Valdez dock.
4-wheeling adventure.
Beautiful day!
Me.
Philip is still a little too little for 4-wheeling.
Black bear feasting on salmon.
Salmon.

On the Lu-Lu Bell in Prince William Sound.
Columbia Glacier.
Cascades.
The rockstar couple!
Thanks Mom Platt for watching the kids!
Ice, Ice, Baby.
At the UAF Botanical Garden.
Playing in the sluice-box. Hours of fun!


Getting HotLicks before the Woods head to the airport.
Driving lessons.
Final rides with Dad.

Until next time...THANKS FOR COMING!!!!!!!

Sunday, August 26, 2012

16 months

Today Philip is 16 months old. I'm told that he looks a lot like Brian, but I don't often see it...to me he just looks like himself. Except when I see pictures like this one where Philip is the spitting image of his father.
                      
We're working on new words to try and expand Philip's vocabulary past "truck". I think we're close to hearing "shoe"...or at least he knows what a shoe is. Once he uses them to actually walk, we'll be ecstatic!
                       


Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Truck!

Philip's first real word (after Mama and Dada) is truck. I thought it might be "dog" or "Mattie" or "cup", but nope, it's "Truck!" When we go into his room in the morning the first thing he says is "Truck!". The same is true when he gets up from a nap, during meal times, bath time, and play time. "Truck, Truck, Truck!"

Whether he's at daycare or home, he spends the majority of his day pushing a truck around on the floor. When we go shopping he has a matchbox truck in his hand, proudly switching it back and forth describing it "Truck, Truck, Truck."
When we're in his room reading books on the floor, he won't sit still for any books unless it has pictures of trucks in it. (So, Laura, "Little Blue Truck" is incredibly popular.) He points to every picture of a truck and explains "Truck!" He's very proud of this skill.
So, I'm pretty sure that we have a future diesel mechanic on our hands. Brian has been trying to get him more interested in jeeps than trucks, but so far his dad's efforts have been unsuccessful. "Jeep" seems so much more difficult.
Truck!

Father and Son

He still has some growing to do, but Philip is starting to catch up to his Dad. Cute together, aren't they?


View from our front porch

This was the view from our front porch this past weekend. Rainbows here in Alaska are spectacular and I never get tired of seeing them.


Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Date night with Jeff & Laura

Brian's folks came over last weekend to babysit all the kiddos so that Jeff, Laura, Brian and I could have a date night. Easy decision on location- we went to Lavelle's.

So fun hanging out with Jeff & Laura!
Okay, so we chose Lavelle's mostly for the French Onion soup, which was wonderful as always. Yum!
And the wine was tasty too. Good food, good conversation, and even better company. Can't wait to do it again next time we're together!