Is 2 a "baby" anymore?!?!

Look who turns 2 today!




The last 2 years have flown by so quickly!


















Happy birthday bug!

I hope you have a most fabulous day!!!

Family Dress Up

We have been packing boxes here and there and when we came upon our wedding pictures we took a couple of minutes to look through them. Maya and Finley were pretty intrigued. Maya could recognize Danny and I, but Finley couldn't quite figure out who Danny was without his glasses on! It was interesting.

Needless to say, looking at mom in her "princess dress" inspired Maya and Finley to partake in a bit of wedding dress up!

Their "costumes".



A more ethereal setting!


Even princesses sometimes have the sick-a-ness which makes them cough!



Even Dad gets in on the dress up play!!!

So Grown Up

Some days when the girls wake up I feel like they have aged overnight. This was one such morning.

Seriously!?!?! How did we become parents of a nearly 2 year old and 4.5 year old! Weren't they born yesterday?



There's the smile!


And here is another one!!!!


And just in case you missed it...Fin's hair is now long enough for a ponytail which she requests upon occasion!

Dad Strikes Again

Danny Gets Nerdy About Music
and Gushy About His Dad

July 7, 2010

by The Next Family

By: Danny Thomas

The beginning of this week I took the girls on a last trip to the ocean before we move to the midwest.

Some good friends came down to Eugene for a visit on their way out to the ocean, and we tagged along!

Partly, because of my soon-to-be distance from it, and partly because I’m afraid after this year, the ocean will never be the same, I’m feeling sentimental about my favorite ocean.

The ocean is perspective.

It is everything in proportion. It is macro. Meta-life…

Our trip was great – good company, nice digs.

I am still learning what it means to be a parent on vacation, tho…

I had a beautiful drive home – the kids slept for a good portion of it, and I was absorbed by the road, the scenery, and by Paul Desmond’s tone.

As I listened to The Dave Brubeck Quartet play Balcony Rock, the breathing of my sleeping kids echoing the tide an audible souvenir of ocean waves, with Father’s Day still in my head, I started thinking about my own dad.

I got home and started writing this, and while it may seem like a personal letter, I consider it to be a public declaration.

I drove home from the ocean I listening to The Dave Brubeck Quartet. I consider them masters of their craft.

I have a deep appreciation for Paul Desmond, I feel enriched by listening to his playing.

I feel enlivened by the fact that this belief is part of my identity.

I feel that my appreciation for his playing, his tone, his style, that of the entire Quartet for that matter, deepens and contributes to my appreciation of music in general, of melody… the Brubeck Quartet plays music that transcends. I know this so deeply that it seems encoded in my DNA, and I am glad – it feels right, as if somehow this knowledge and predilection is an indication of alignment, of something being or at least having the potential to be in harmony in my soul…

Dad, I think I’ve got to hold you accountable for this. In among all the many pearly bits of wisdom you have endowed me with, practical, poetic, cultural, and scientific, is this gem – The Dave Brubeck Quartet is definitive, all-time.

I hope I can enrich and enliven my daughter’s lives in as magnificent a way.

But I’ve told you that before.

You and Mom made my ears, and helped me learn how to listen and that is a gift I treasure above many things…

More than that, you inspired me to be a father. The tenuous relationship you had with your father was not a deterrent, in fact it moved you to do better, to overcome your environment and become a father that I am grateful for!

But I’ve told you that before.

Some things I may not have told you before;

I want to honor you with my life and my family.

I respect you.

I want to be like you.

I admire you and am inspired by you.

I wish I got to be around you more.

I believe in you.

I think you’re a great dad.

I love you,

But I have told you that a million times.

Happy 4th of July!

Let me preface this post by saying I'm not a big fan of personal fireworks. I adore the big shows put on by the professionals but the everyday yahoo sending up boomers are lighting off a multitude of firecrackers at inappropriate times just plain old piss me off.

Now that I've said that...Danny loves fireworks! :D I married one of "those" yahoos!

Our 4th was a bit strange this year because Fin came down with croup a few nights before and she was feeling a bit punky and under the weather. But she felt a bit on the holiday proper so Danny took the girls to get a little package of fireworks.

So off we went to the street to put on our little show!








We lit some off at home and others off at the theatre after dark while we waited for the big ones to start up.

The girls...well, the jury is out on whether or not they take after their curmudgeony mother or their yahoo father! :D

A Place to Hang our Hats

We made a decision on a place to live today. Granted we've never stepped in the place but thanks to the McThor clan we have a new place to call home.

For the past 10 days Mel has been going out to look at properties for us and calling immediately to report her findings. Oftentimes she had Odin along as her trusty side-kick! He had a specific eye to what he thought Maya would like in a new home! We had a bit of a letdown a couple of weeks ago surrounding the budget allocation for the new rental and it crushed us for a few days and then we bounced back.

We had definitely been hoping to have a single family residence. Unfortunately the single residences were either in the heart of 18-22 year old rental-ville or were out of our price range. So we started looking at townhomes or private entrance apartments.

This week we ended up with some major contenders. We had a newer building for less money but only 2 bedrooms, a detached garage and downstairs neighbors vs. an older building for a bit more money 3 bedrooms, 500 more square feet, attached garage and no downstairs neighbors. Danny and I went back and forth, up and down and around and around until we were dizzy in the head.

We had decided a while back that we would probably put the girls in the same bedroom when we moved since they are getting to an age where that would be "fun" for them and lord knows we won't probably have to large of a window for that attitude.

In the end, we decided to go with the 3 bedroom, 2 bath tri-level townhome. We did this mostly because Danny and I imagined the stress of having downstairs neighbors and it freaked us out. We also know that the townhome next to us has 3 kids between 3 and 7 and will understand the random explosions of kid noise that are sure to erupt from our house. The bottom floor of the townhome can also be a playroom for the girls and the 3rd bedroom will be a shared office for Danny and I which we have been desperately wanting.

All in all I think we made the right decision. I copied a floorplan so you can see what the place looks like. It is 1750 square feet and we are having fun imagining how we will make it ours!

Here is the floorplan:


And here is the complex map: