I forgot to include the clean-up

After the hike, Darcy needed a bath, he didn't appreciate it.

Keith tried putting the bucket at the bottom of the stairs so Darcy would have to jump in it to get to the back yard.  Not really so successful.

Boeing Creek Park

A million years ago, Parker & I took a walk through the Boeing Creek Park.  It's a great park, but we didn't see much of it since only so many of the trails are "stroller-friendly".  So, nine months later, we finally went back to see the rest of the park.

We hiked down to the creek & found the hidden lake.

Darcy was so excited to run in & out of the water.

I was not so excited to have this muddy mess in my lap for the drive home.

Yogurt Attempt #2 ~ Total failure

I decided to make another attempt at yogurt today.  I've seen several options for the "heating" process, one was to set the crock-pot to warm & let it sit, the other was to turn the crock-pot on, let it sit a while, then turn off, wrap with towels, and cross your fingers.  The 1st option seemed easier, so I gave it a try.

I wasn't certain if it would keep the yogurt at the perfect temperature (115-120), but I tried it out for several hours with water & it seemed to settle at a close-enough temperature.

To make thing even easier on myself, I microwaved the milk (far less mess & dishes to clean).  I poured my hopefully-yogurt in the container, set the crock-pot, and headed out the door. 

I came home to find the "yogurt" temperature to be 175, that's not so close to 120, huh?  So, that whole batch went straight down the drain.  My one consolation is that we don't really drink whole milk, so my options were really to send it down the drain now as burnt yogurt, or send it down the drain in a week or two as spoiled milk, so really, I'm just being efficient.

Guess we'll try a different process next time.

Parker's First Bike Ride

One of the things that Keith has most been looking forward to as a father, is taking his kids for bike rides.  We got a chariot for Christmas and Keith has been eagerly waiting for biking weather so he & Parker could try it out.

Parker got Keith this helmet as a Father's Day gift (following the long Hamilton tradition of buying your loved ones a gift that you personally plan to use).

Parker did not like the getting-ready process so much.

Actually, not at all...

...although this process might have been slightly less painful if we hadn't been trying to do it less than an hour before bedtime.

But once they started moving, he stopped screaming & he enjoyed the trip.

Zoo!

It's a sunny day in Seattle, we have to go to the zoo!

I think this was the first time Parker has ever realized that they have animals at the zoo.

He loved watching the elephants.

Parker did remarkably well keeping his hat on today, previously he's really only used this hat for chewing on and peek-a-boo.  Although, about half-way through the trip I had to start giving him crackers to keep his hands busy & away from the hat.

Parker's 1st Fourth

We spent the 4th of July weekend up at the cabin with my folks & Jared.

This was Parker's first stay at the cabin, although his first technical visit to the cabin was last week when we went up for the day with my family.

Parker had a great time experiencing nature, Darcy just loves to run free while we're up there.

In a break with tradition, we actually had a beautiful weekend, and it was even sunny on the 4th.

I think he's had enough nature for now...

The back porch takes quite a beating with 5-8 feet of snow sitting on it every winter.  Keith took the hammer to several nails that were attempting to make a run for it.

Parker helped out.

Sorry about the pants "situation".  Parker's pants all fit great when he's wearing his cloth diapers, but when he's wearing disposables, he tends to leave them behind when he gets moving.

Berries are currently Parker's favorite food.  Raspberries and Blackberries are his current favorite favorite, but he really loves anything with "berry" in the name that stains well.

Parker loved being up at the cabin, lots of attention, plenty of room to move around, and lots of new toys.  However, he did seem to take an instant dislike to the cabin crib, and pretty much went on a sleep-strike for most of the weekend. 

We got home in the afternoon of the 4th and discovered that our neighbors actually do fireworks.  So, for most of the evening we were hearing (and sometimes seeing) bursts coming from every corner of the neighborhood.  I found several firework carcasses in our back yard today.  ...and yet Parker slept right through it all, he'd been saving it up, I guess.

Bed time

Part of Parker's bedtime routine is jammies and a bottle with Daddy.

Recently, Parker's learned to hold the bottle himself, occasionally with the assistance of his feet.