Fairies for Grandma

Happiness (with a side of pumpkin)

Is she ever going to have a useful set of teeth?

Chris' Birthday

Sorry I am continually blogging things out of order. But, at least it's finally getting done so my girls will have some documentation of their lives. And, Chris and I will have some way of triggering our memories when we are old and suffering from Alzheimer's.

The second weekend in November found us in Portland to celebrate Chris' thirty-something-eth birthday. There are some things we'd like to remember about that trip, and a lot we'd like to forget. I'm also sure there's a lot that we've already forgotten about that we would've liked to still remember. . .

We left our camera in the hotel on our first day of the adventure, but I know we took the MAX rail (public transit) through Portland and out to the zoo. Cora would Ohh and Ahhh with her mouth (and eyes) wide open every time we saw a new animal. Ally enjoyed the monkeys, and had an especially fun time watching the orangutans. After a few minutes, the largest male walked right up to Ally and sat himself down in front of her with his back against the glass. He totally blocked her view of the enclosure, but also made her giggle very loudly. We checked in on the baby elephant, saw some hippos walking around on land, and got Ally another pressed penny for her collection. That evening, while riding the metro back to the hotel, Ally pitched an awful fit about that penny-- which proved to be the first of many breakdowns/tantrums/screaming episodes for the trip. Then she fell asleep until it was time to get off the train. We may or may not have gone to IKEA that night to shop and eat Swedish food.

Day 2 found us parking at the mall and catching free transportation to the downtown area. "Free" always seems to come with a price. We found an ice rink in the middle of the mall, and Ally was in heaven (Chris was not). We watched a group performance of Alice in Wonderland, followed by some solo skating by a blond Michael Jackson, a mini-jedi knight, a chimney sweep, and a bunch of princesses. (Definitely not on Chris' list of how to celebrate a birthday.) After an hour of watching, followed by an hour of fighting with our firstborn about leaving, we made it to the MAX and headed out to city center.

First stop was the Saturday Market. I'd first like to point out that it's actually open on Saturdays and Sundays. Within the past year, the market moved to a larger location in a park next to the river. I found it strange that the food booths are now set up directly in front of the Municipal Sewage Pumping Plant. We wandered around the booths to see all the eclectic things for sale-- clothing, carved wood, bracelets, incense burners, crafts, jellies, photographs, chestnuts roasted on an open fire . . . And with close to 20 different ethnic food options for lunch, it was Chris' turn to be in heaven. We settled on Polish sausage and a pierogi plate.
Then we walked a few blocks up the road to experience the next item on Chris' birthday list: Voodoo Doughnuts. This is a famous Portland business we'd seen featured on the Food Network a few times, so Chris wanted to give it a try. We recognized the line to get into the place well before we actually found the shop itself. We stood outside in the rain for 45 minutes before it was our turn to enter and order, but I'd say that sacrifice was worth the melt-in-your-mouth taste that is voodoo. Ally and Cora must have sensed they were in for a special treat, 'cause they were quite well behaved as we stood there on the street. After entering and procuring our pink box full of sweet goodness, we still had to walk back to the MAX and through the mall in order to retrieve our car. We were a walking, smiling advertisement for Voodoo-- and at that point we'd only seen and smelled the donuts. We couldn't wait to get back to the hotel and indulge our tastebuds.
At the center of the picture is the Memphis Mafia, the largest donut I've ever seen. It was bigger than Cora's head, and she's got a decent sized noggin. Then, left to right: a toasted coconut cake donut, a Bacon Maple bar, a Raspberry Romeo, a Miami Vice Berry, a Butterfingering. All of them exceeded our expectations. Ally loved them so much that she didn't even realize there's a skeleton on the box, and she's deathly afraid of skeletons or anything that vaguely resembles them. Needless to say, we didn't make Chris a birthday cake this year. After celebrating with Voodoo, you really don't need anything else.

Day 3 found us driving back home. We stopped off at Multnomah Falls to stretch our legs and take a few pictures. Ally and I climbed up to the bridge while Daddy and Cora stayed behind in the mist below. Last time we'd gone I was pregnant and barely made it to the bottom of the falls, so walking the 7 minutes to the bridge halfway up was a novelty (and extremely easy). Maybe next time we will all walk the full mile to the top.

Once There Was a Snowman

Two pictures from our second (and last?) snowfall of the season, the one that messed with everyone's Thanksgiving plans because of snowed-in mountain passes. Five days later, the snowplows came down our street to remove an inch or 2 of slush and to finally spread some salt on the ice beneath. It was so cold that Mr. Snowman stayed in pristine condition for 2 weeks, except for a broken celery arm.

November Odds-and-Ends

By looking through my collection of pictures, I can tell we did a lot of stuff in November. I have already blogged some of it, but here's the remainder of the rundown (minus Chris' V.D.):

The beginning of November, before the snow and freezing temperatures hit, we enjoyed very mild weather and some beautiful leaves. Although we still can't say we like to rake them, this year was more fun 'cause we had some "help" from Ally and two little neighbor girls. They jumped in the piles, threw leaves at each other, ran screaming through the yard. . . and occasionally tossed some leaves into the bags, too. Cora enjoyed all the commotion from the comfort and safety of her carseat.


A week or two before Chris' birthday, Ally and I let him open this mysterious package. We had purchased it in early October, thinking it'd be a Christmas present, but we just couldn't wait any longer to give it to him. I was a little short on wrapping paper, so I pieced two kinds together and then told Ally she could decorate the blue part. Too bad I wasn't paying attention when she delved into our sticker collection and used all my mint-condition, out-of-production Dutch Wonderland stickers. So much for saving them for posterity. Watch the video to see all of Chris' wishes and dreams come true. . .


My brother Mark and his family moved from Florida to Seattle in November. They were welcomed to the Pacific Northwest with some major snowstorms that blanketed Washington and the surrounding states. Definitely not the best time to experience the Cascade Mountain passes, so our plans of getting together for Thanksgiving were thwarted. We went with plan B, as did everyone else around here. We hosted a Thanksgiving lunch/dinner and played games with our good neighbors the Barringtons (who couldn't make it to Montana) and the Merrills (who couldn't make it to Idaho). Sometimes friends can be family, too.

Chris and Ally started making cookies in November and stashed them in the freezer until Christmas came. Then we pulled them out and gave them away to some local friends and neighbors. (If you didn't get any, maybe you should think about moving a tad bit closer to us for next year.) In the tradition of Grandma and Grandpa Hoffman, they made all sorts of cookies. The unlikely favorite turned out to be the pfeffernusse, with the magic peanut butter middle cookies coming in a close second. Ally wants to make sure I mention that her favorite were the candy cane cookies.

For quite awhile, our smart Ally thought that molasses was made from bunnies. I wonder what would've ever given her such an idea?

If You Give a Cora a Toothbrush. . .

A day or two after Christmas, Cora's very first tooth poked through for its long-anticipated grand entrance. (This picture is of her tooth as it exists today. She now has another one just barely appearing next to it, and a large lump in her upper gums above that. I'd say she's 100% in the throws of teething now. Poor child.) Santa was perceptive and had placed a toothbrush and toothpaste in Cora's stocking, and she was very excited to try them out.

Of course, I didn't remember she had a tooth to clean until the evening of New Years Day. So, on January 1st 2011 at 9:35 pm, I snapped this picture of Ally with Cora brushing her teeth for the first time, and then Cora took four steps forward. She'd taken one or two steps on occasion over the last few months, but never enough to qualify as walking. She's preferred to walk on her knees or just crawl. Ally and I got very excited and tried to coerce her into doing it again for the camera. After a few failed attempts, we did end up capturing video of her mobility skills. Of course, not wanting to be normal, Cora chose to walk sideways for her first visually-documented walking adventure. We've known that she was capable of walking for quite some time, and now we have the proof. Happy New Year, Cora! You're days of being carried around are numbered!



If I'd known the key to getting Cora to walk was as simple as distracting her with the joys of tooth-brushing, I would've given her a toothbrush long ago. Thank you, Santa, for providing her with such a fabulous gift.