The Swifts

Growing up in Portland, I had never heard of Vaux's Swifts at Chapman Elementary School until a couple years ago. Suddenly they were all the buzz. I kid you not, I thought people were talking about a band or something. Then I learned the Swifts were indeed swifts, as in those black birds that fly in formation. Apparently every September as many as 12,000 swifts roost nightly in the chimney of Chapman Elementary School in northwest Portland.  It's a massive event with crowds gathering on blankets with picnics to watch the birds. Apparently it was a pretty cool free show. Last year, I planned to go but got sick so this September I was determined to make it.

We went with Mike's parents to have a picnic and I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Would a bunch of birds flying into a chimney really be that interesting?

We got there an hour before sunset to eat and wait. Apparently the fun stops when it gets dark. There was a mass of people sitting on the hill ready to watch the show with kids squealing as they slid down on flat pieces of cardboard. It was a perfect night, just cool enough to wear a light sweater but clear and beautiful.















At first a few birds started flying and I hoped it wouldn't be a let down. But then the magic begun and black specks filled the sky. The crowd whooped and hollered as a hawk would try to grab dinner and the little birds teased it and drove it away. The crowd also cheered for the predatory bird who snagged one. Nature at its best.

The birds looked like clouds as they swirled and dove into the chimney. We watched until the last group disappeared.

Awesome. Would I do this again? Most definitely. Except next time we'll bring wine to enjoy the show.

Growing up

7 Months

It was once again a struggle to take a photo of Milo without trying to eat the paper.





Collin's 7 month photo is pretty similar (except he had a lot more hair)



Milo you have to stop growing so fast!

He's still doing his army crawl though likes to rock on all fours too. And today he sat by himself for the first time. The biggest bonus yet is that he has been sleeping through the night consistently. Being in his own room and crib probably helps. He loves exploring our new house and the soft carpeted floors. And of course also tries to kill himself by going for anything dangerous such as tiny toys, electrical cords and Hurley's tail. We've scooped cat food kibbles out of his cheeks a couple times now too, sigh.

Our little babbler is making da da da sounds. He loves solid food and has tried everything from the standbies of bananas and avocados to black beans and cauliflower and chicken. I was also told by my pediatrician that apparently babies need a lot more iron once they taper down the breast milk so the new recommendations are to give them red meat. The idea of pureed red meat grosses me out but I guess I'll try it mixed with some veggies. Apparently it's common in Europe and the rest of the world! She also said once he's about 8 or 9 months he can basically eat everything we're eating (with the exception of nuts)  just chopped fine enough to eat so he gets exposed to lots of different foods and maybe...once he's older, he wil want more than chicken nuggets and mac and cheese!

Milo also started a French immersion daycare while his big brother is in the pre-k program. Of course we don't expect him to start chatting up in French anytime soon, but we figure if he stays here through pre-k, he might be close to fluent by the time he heads to kindergarten. And we can go to France with our kids as interpreters. The school seems great with diverse, caring teachers. They also make baby food purees for him to try.

Collin also likes his new school and has been practicing his French with ipod flash cards. Sadly, J'ai oublié françaises so whenever he asks "what does this mean in French," I'm pretty much of no help.