William Nobles

Children's Storytime...or Mardi Gras?

2009-11-13T17:51:00.000-08:00

Will thought it was Mardi Gras at Library Group today:

No beads?!?! He must have learned this from Mom.Mom gets his attention to ask him to lower his shirt:To be fair to Will, the Librarian does give fun colored stamps on everyone's belly at the end of storytime.

Another Drum Set

2009-11-09T13:30:00.000-08:00

Will loves his drum set at home. He loves to bang really hard with the drum sticks, but he also loves pushing buttons that "beep". Well Auntie Marianne and her boyfriend Feelix got Will an electronic drum set that does both! We are keeping it Nana's and Grandpa's house for now. Will started out just banging on it wildly, like he does with his drum set at home, but once he found the buttons he got really serious. Thanks Marianne and Feelix!
He loves those beeping buttons. Yeah, hours and hours of fun!

Halloween

2009-11-01T13:05:00.001-08:00

Will was a monkey for Halloween. He really liked his costume. He especially liked the tail, and he got lots of chances to wear it. Wednesday for Music Together Class:

Thursday for Library Group:

Friday for Dad's work Halloween Party:

This is Dad's friend from work Karl, and his son Theo: And he wore it Saturday on Halloween Night:

First we went to the neighborhood shops that gave out candy:

Where we met our friend Roman:

That's also where Will ate his first piece of candy: There was a big inflatable Jack-o-lantern there that Will liked: After that we hit some neighbor's houses:

We spent the rest of the night giving candy out to older kids that came to the door. This is Will's little pumpkin out on the porch:

Train Set

2009-10-25T13:47:00.000-07:00

Will got a train set from IKEA last year, but never took much interest in it. That changed when Grandpa Sykes got him a Thomas train. Like most kids, Will loves Thomas. Now he plays with his train set even more.

He even figured out how to put the track together.

Will has not yet grasped the idea of a loop that the train can follow, but he is very creative with his layout.

The problem is that the train doesn't stay on the tracks for long and William can get a little frustrated.

Mom helped him make a loop with the tracks so that he could run the train around for a long time.

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-18T14:15:00.001-07:00

Will has noticed the bright orange pumpkins that have been showing up all around town. They are at the grocery store, on neighbors porches, in store windows, just about everywhere! Here is one Will found on the way into our favorite restaurant:

Today we took Will out to get his very own pumpkin at Lake View Farms in North Plains. The trip from the car starts with a train ride out to the pumpkin patch!Will quickly found the perfect pumpkin just his size.He even insisted on carrying it around himself.There is a hay bale maze just his size as well.You return to the parking area by train, or by boat. Here we are waiting for the boat with our pumpkins.The boat ride has some suprise halloween tricks. There is a pirate ship and a fake shark and dragon that pop up out of the water when you go by. We all had a really fun morning!

First hair cut!

2009-10-12T12:27:00.000-07:00

First, thanks to all those who voted in the April poll. It seems so long ago. Well we finally got Will's hair cut yesterday. We went to Little Clippers in Lake Oswego. They have lots of toys, movies, games, and car shaped barber's chairs to keep kids distracted while they get their hair cut.

Before: Will picked the red Lexus chair:During: It was a little rough at first, but he settled down:
After:

Nature walk

2009-10-12T12:16:00.000-07:00

We made another visit to the trails around the Audobon Society this weekend. It is so nice to have this amenity so close to the city! This time we took the 1.3 mile Collins/Founder's Trail. Here are some pictures:

N-O spells "No"

2009-10-12T12:06:00.000-07:00

Will knows his numbers up to 29 and his upper and lower case alphabet, so the next step is learning to read. Every child's favorite word seems to be "No" and that is the first word Will learned to read. He gets so excited and starts screaming "No, no, no!". Sometimes it can be a little startling. And the word is everywhere. Here are pics from a walk to the playground. Will found every "No".

Meeting a little puppy

2009-10-06T12:34:00.000-07:00

Will likes to talk about petting animals we see around the neighborhood, wether it's cats, dogs, coyote, etc. But when he actually gets close to them he shys away.

When Will was at the park the other day he met a baby chocolate lab. He was very excited to pet the puppy, but once the dog was loose and wanted to follow him around, Will just wanted to be left alone.
It was pretty cute anyways.

Tanner Springs Park

2009-09-29T12:45:00.000-07:00

Will likes to go to Tanner Springs Park in the Pearl District with Dad when Mom has a class at Barre 3.

He likes the spring where "the water comes out!".

He follows the stream to the pool where the fish live.

This week there was a strange little ladder that leads up to the lawn. Will climbed up it all by himself.

Hooray! Good job William!

Zoo day

2009-09-24T13:46:00.001-07:00

Today Will and Dad went to the Oregon Zoo with Roman and his Dad Erkie.

The boys seemed more interested in the sculpture than the real animals. The first stop was the bird tent and Will did not like all the loud squaking.Will really liked the Leopard. He is a big cat and you can get really close to him.The penguins were neat. The Zebras were pretty cool too.

Maybe not as cool as all the yellow fire hydrants with blue numbers on them though.

The train ride was the highlight of the day.

The last stop was at Great Grandma Elaine's memorial bench. She was a big fan of the Zoo.

Corn Maze

2009-09-24T13:21:00.000-07:00

This weekend we took Will to Sauvie Island and went through the Corn Maize and the Hay Bale Pyramid. We also got some fresh fruit at their market and hung out in the garden. Here are the pics:

Entering the Maize.

Taking a break half way through.

Looking out from the bridge.

Getting our picture taken at the finish.

Thinking about going into the Pyramid.

Still thinking about it after Dad went in.

Will decided to conquer the outside instead.

Spinning with Mom in the Garden.

Mom taking a break from spinning.

Dad's turn for the spinning.

Stopping to smell the flowers with Mom.

Fun with the snap dragons.

Eating a fresh pear.

Dad taking part as well.

Fun Clothes

2009-09-20T10:03:00.000-07:00

We thought we'd post pics of Will's favorite clothes:

The brand new Robot hat!

The new rain boots.

The concrete mixer truck shirt.

The Hawaiian swim trunks.

The bike helmet.

His paper boy hat.

His old paper boy hat.

And of course... His is Canada cap!

Children's Museum

2009-09-15T12:13:00.000-07:00

Last week Will got to go to the Children's Museum. If you go, check out a member pass from the public library or go for free on the first Friday of each month.

We had a lot of fun. Here are some pictures:

Playing in the Water Works.

Playing in the Clay Studio.

Driving the Ambulance and turning on the siren.

Driving the City Bus in the Vroom Room.

Will's favorite thing was the Dig Pit, but we had so much fun we didn't get any pictures. Here we are recreating it at the park today though:

Scooping bark chips into the DumpTruck bed,and tipping the bed up and dumping the chips out. What a blast!

Oregon State Fair

2009-09-08T13:59:00.001-07:00

We went to the State Fair on Monday. We met up with Aunt Kelly and her kids Jack and Jamie.

Last year Will was really interested in the farm animals. Upto that point he had only seen them in picture books.

He liked them this year too, but it was much more about the farm equipment. He even liked the little fork lifts that deliver supplies to the food vendors. Here are some pictures of Will from the fair:

Here he is sitting in a brand new Mustang Convertible. It is identical to two toy cars he has.

Will did still enjoy some time with the animals though. Particularly this friendly little goat:

We also watched Jack and Jamie go on some rides. Will should be able to next year, maybe.

Boats- Will's favorite thing, part 10

2009-09-01T14:54:00.000-07:00

Will loves boats. Here he is playing with two bath toy wind-up motor boats. We sing a little song, "motor boat motor boat goes so fast, motor boat motor boat step on the gas!"...

Today Dad took Will down to the River Place Marina. We looked at all the boats; row boats, crew shells, sail boats, motor boats, and yachts.
There was also a great view of the Willamette River from down on the marina docks.
Outside of the marina, in Tom McCall Park, there were hundreds of Canadian Geese. Will liked chasing them around. You have to be careful of their droppings though. Will's new shoes got very messy!

Tractors - Will's favorite things, part 9

2009-08-24T12:29:00.000-07:00

Tractors are one of Will's favorite things. We went to a going away party at the farm behind Grandpa and Nana's house and there was a little orange tractor/front loader. They were giving rides around the farm, but Will was a little scared while the tractor was running. Once it stopped though he wanted to climb all over it and drive it!

Busy weekend.

2009-08-17T15:49:00.000-07:00

We had a very busy weekend.

Saturday morning was the FFA office picnic. We got there little early and Dad's co-worker Hai Luc was there with his daughter Veravonne. She is 11 months older than Will. At last year's picnic she gave Will a kiss on the cheek and he was a little smitten.

This year he shared his toys with her, but he would not let her give him a hug even. They did follow eachother around though!

Theo and his parents were also there for the picnic. We went to the picnic before Will's mid-day nap, and Theo didn't get there until after his, so they only had a little time to hang out before it was nap time for Will.

On Sunday we did the Sunday Parkways Bike Ride , like we did on Father's Day, but this time it was in Southeast. At Sunnyside Elementary School they had bunch of toys from a local toy exchange. Will liked the see-saw and a fire engine best.

After Will's mid-day nap, we went to Roman's birthday party. He is two years old now. It was a really good time! Roman's parents took lots of pictures and we did not, so we'll have to see if we can get copies for the blog.

Kraus Family Reunion

2009-08-10T12:38:00.000-07:00

This weekend was the Kraus family reunion (Will's Dad's Mom's family). We met at the old homestead in Aurora and some of the family were in the "Colony Days" parade. They won the blue ribbon for best float!

Will loved all the old firetrucks and tractors in the parade.

People threw candy from the floats, but Will is young for most candy, so Dad ate it. Here's Aunt Zan giving us a hard time!

Will's distant cousins made a pirate ship float that he also liked.

Will was overwelmed by all the people at the reunion. He was a little shy. Here he is stepping on the roots of a tree. He likes that.

Staying cool in the record heat

2009-08-03T11:29:00.000-07:00

With a string of consecutive days over 90 degrees, we decided to spend our Sunday afternoon out in the Columbia River Gorge. It is typically 15 degrees cooler out there and it was wonderful.

Will was in awe of the waterfalls. It was difficult to get a picture of Will looking away from the falls, and when he did he looked distracted or disappointed.

Will really liked the telescopes up at Crown Point, but he thought they were see-saws and wanted to ride them.

Vacation at the Ocean Beaches

2009-07-26T20:39:00.000-07:00

Here we are headed down to the beach in Manzanita. The house in the middle is the one we rented for the week. We had the ground floor and the owner lives on the upper floor.

The wind was really crazy the first few days, but it seemed to weaken as our vacation went on.

While we were in town we spotted a concrete mixer truck.

When we went down to the beach later that day, we drew a concrete mixer in the sand.

Will thought it was hilarious when Dad brushed the sand off him.

The beach was really foggy in the mornings.

Will oversaw the construction of a sand castle. Half way through he decided to tear it down though. He is one tough little architect!

Will thought it was a lot of fun to sit at the top of the sand dunes.

Here Dad is making him slide down the dune by displacing the sand below him on the slope. Also a lot of fun.

We took Will to the spot in Cannon Beach where we were married.

During low tide, the tide pools around Haystack Rock were full of anenomies, crabs, and starfish.

Will wanted to thouch them, like Dad was doing.

Back in Portland we had a relaxed Sunday. We took Will to C.H.A.P. in the Pearl District where he could paint anything he wanted, unlike at home where there are some restrictions.

Off on vacation!

2009-07-17T16:35:00.001-07:00

We are off to the beach for a week of vacation. We will post lots of pics and stories when we return.

<- Until then, enjoy the new slide show feature!

Pics from the weekend

2009-07-13T20:45:00.001-07:00

Will is talking up a storm now. He is asking for things he wants, also saying please and thank you. He has the alphabet nailed and counts to ten. He knows his colors (Red, Orange Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Black, Brown, White, Grey and Pink). He has also behaved very well at our last few meals out. All at 19 1/2 months. We are very proud of him!

Here are some pics of our nice weekend.

The pigs at NW 23rd and Lovejoy:

The playground at Chapman Elementary:Watering the house plants:
We are on vacation all next week, so expect a delay until our next post, but it should be full of great beach pics and stories!

4th of July weekend.

2009-07-06T12:27:00.000-07:00

Our neighborhood has a couple of 4th of July events. We started the day meeting up with Uncle Daniel, Aunt Lissy, Cousin Timber, our neighbor Roman and his Mom Angie, at the school for a kiddie parade. Will and Roman rode on their matching bicycles.

One of the Police motorcycles that closed the route to cross traffic, was sporting a stuffed toy racoon with a Canada shirt on it? We didn't find out what this was about, but got a picture of Will checking out the motorcycle.

After the parade we had lunch with Uncle Daniel's family and took a long nap. In the afternoon Nathaniel, Todd, and Todd's mom were our guests at the dessert in the park and fire works show.

The next day we watched the Tour de France at St. Honore Bakery, and went to the playground at Chapman Elementary School. Here's a picture of Will on the slide:

It was a busy and fun weekend!

Fun weekend!

2009-06-28T12:33:00.000-07:00

The weather has been beautiful this weekend. We have been trying to spend as much time outside as possible. First we cleaned off the deck on Friday and have had a few meals out there.

We also had Roman and his parents over to Grandma and Nana's house to play in the kiddie pool and in the water table.

Will and Dad spent sometime in NW Portland while Mom got her hair cut. It was nice of Will to take a break and sit down a few places to watch the world go by and give Dad an excuse to rest his feet.

Today we went to the Audobon Society near our house and hiked the Jay trail and saw the Salamanders in the pond.

We hope there are a lot more weekends like this this summer!

<--We are also awaiting our 4 millionth visitor. Check out the (inaccurate) counter in the side bar.