Down by the river

Hazel spent her last day in Sunriver hanging out by the Deschutes River and going to the pool.  She was sad to leave but ecstatic to see Noah the dog and her daddy upon her return home.  We'll be back again next year!

Spectating in the heat

Hazel has watched her mom and dad race in many, many bike races, but she has never watched mom race in a triathlon. She always sleeps in. Today, Hazel got to watch her mom complete the Olympic distance race in Sunriver. The weather easily topped 90 degrees, but Hazel took it all in stride. All she wanted to know was, "WHERE IS MOM?"

Hazel doesn't discriminate. She claps for anyone who comes by- fast or slow.

Hazel is still not over the fact that Mom spent all morning racing. What a silly sport, she says.

She was over it, though, as soon as Mom gave her a finisher's medal. Medals are pretty fun to chew on.

Race cheerleader

Hazel has spent her day in Sunriver cheering like the expert fan she is. She started with the marathon and half-marathon runners.




And then finished with the half-ironman triathlon racers. While she waited for today's favorite racer, LeAnne, to come by, she worked on devouring a plum. For someone with only two teeth, she is quite adept at eating the whole plum.




Unfortunately, by the time LeAnne came by, Hazel was inside taking her nap. Had she been there to see LeAnne run, however, she would have clapped her hands and vigorously shaken her clapper.

Tomorrow, Hazel will hone her cheerleading skills for Mom, who will be racing (and suffering) in the Olympic distance triathlon.

On a mini-vacation

Mom and Hazel are in Sunriver for the Pacific Crest Triathlon (Dad is coming later) and they have been thoroughly enjoying the pool. Hazel has turned in to quite the water baby and you can't get her to stop giggling when she is in the water, or even stop moving. She'll be back in the pool, practicing her swimming skills every day this weekend.

Hazel makes a new friend in the pool.

Practicing her world championship swimming moves. From this to a very happy baby- under the water or on top of it.

Hee hee- swimming is just so FUNNY.

Hazel Conquers Mount Tabor

Yep. You guessed it. Hazel attended another bike race Wednesday. This time she hung out with Team Ironclad while mommy and daddy suffered around the extinct volcano.
She loves watching busy bicyclists. Mommy and daddy were too tired to take any pictures of her smiling, but she smiled a lot!

Hazel Tries to Stand, Gets Distracted

Hazel's New Toy

Thank you!

Father's Day

For Father's Day, Hazel decided she wanted to stand up.  All afternoon long.  And while this may not be an issue for the average adult, a 10-month-old needs a little support.

This meant no nap for Dad OR Mom.  But it did mean lots of smiles for everyone, and Dad thinks that was a pretty good Father's Day gift.

However, next year?  He would really like a nap.

The Hizzle figures it out

Someone around here finally learned how to drink out of a sippy cup and it wasn't Mom or Dad.

That same someone won't be seeing a bottle again anytime soon, because when it comes to stubborn, Mom's got Hazel beat...for now.

You know life is good when you wake up like this every morning

Breaking hearts at Alpenrose

Mom and Dad woke up on Sunday morning a little shell-shocked from the past few days and decided to take it easy.   Everyone headed out to watch a little bike racing at the Alpenrose Velodrome.  Hazel likes bike racing...A LOT.  She watched the racers go in circles over and over again, all the way through her nap time, with nary a yawn or eye rub.  Of course, it's exhausting being a fan, so a 3-hour nap was on the schedule as soon as she returned home.

In the absence of a cow bell, a pink rattle will do.

Hazel and Mom think that Meg is a rad bike racer.

Being a track racing fan is serious business.

Graduation

Aunt Ailey graduated from the Masters in Public Administration program at the University of Washington on Friday.  Hazel thought it was only appropriate to take part in the festivities and congratulate Aunt Ailey on her awesome accomplishment.  Also, she doesn't like to be left out of anything.

Left to right: Almost-Uncle Ritchie (Ailey's fiance), Aunt Ailey, Uncle Clayton, Uncle Nate, Mom, HAZEL, Grandpa, Grandma

Hazel thought she would show Aunt Ailey how big she was, but Aunt Ailey had other ideas.  GIVE ME THAT BABY! said Aunt Ailey.

Hazel had just finished crying when this picture was taken because Aunt Ailey told her that she will be spending the summer in Tajikistan and the fall in Kyrgyzstan.  "But Aunt Ailey", Hazel said, "I will be SO BIG when you get back!"

Congratulations Aunt Ailey!  We are so proud of you!

Busy Babies Have Places to Go

The Hizzle on the Hood

Mom, Dad and Hazel all played hooky on Monday and spent their three day weekend on all sides of Mt. Hood.

On Saturday, Mom and Hazel ate chips and salsa while Hazel helped choose a hiking trail.  She chose the trail to the fire lookout on Five Mile Butte.  But only after she had her fill of chips and salsa, of course.  Hazel has been eating everything in sight lately, including Indian lentils, salsa and ice cream.  

The fire lookout was awesome.  Unfortunately, Dad whacked Hazel's head on the stairs on the way up.  She screamed and Dad wasn't very happy either.

The camera batter subsequently died and we were left with the Blackberry as a backup.  The next morning, Hazel was like "whatever" while Mom and Dad rode their bikes from FR 44 to the Dalles (Mom) and from the Dalles to Hood River via seven mile hill (Dad).  Then, she was all YAWN again when Mom and Dad dragged her to the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic crit race.  She was more interested in playing with the yellow caution tape on the sidewalk.

Once at camp that night, she thoroughly enjoyed the trailer.

The next morning, Mom and Dad woke up and said, "Let's go skiing!"  Great idea, except that Mom forgot the lift ticket vouchers back at home.  "Amateur", Hazel said, and then suggested that everyone go for a hike instead.  So, off to the White River Glacier we went.

Hazel wore her version of Oakleys.  She really was too cool for school, since she was playing hooky.

Lunch with a view.  SO MUCH BETTER than school!

And then Hazel went home, took a much-needed bath, and collapsed in to bed for a long nap.  But not before asking if we could do it again next weekend.

Days with Dad

Dad's been stuck on night shift this week (no, it's not a permanent thing and yes, his job is fine, so no need to email us), which means Dad and Hazel have been having a lot of fun together.  Hazel thinks the setup is pretty rad: 4 hours with Dad in the morning, 6 hours of daycare and 4 hours with Mom in the evening.  

Dad was about to drop Hazel off at daycare, but he just couldn't do it, so he pulled out of the parking lot and took Hazel to the park instead.  Hazel was pleased.

Dad also likes to steal Hazel's toys.  She always has something to say about that.

Get well Kmac, from Hazel

What Dad forgot to mention in the last post is that on Tuesday night, his team rode in tribute to Kristin, who had a horrible crash in the women's race on Monday night. Mom was in the race and saw it all happen and Kristin is a member of Dad's team. Hazel and Mom came to support the Ironclad team and their race in tribute to Kmac, who remains in the hospital with a long road to recovery. Unfortunately, baby-size bike jerseys were not available.

Hazel had these words for Kmac: ba ba ba ba wa ba ba wa wa wa wa DA. Da da da da ba. Wa. WA WA! BA!

Translation: Get well soon, Kristin! And I mean it!

Hazel's Teeth (and another bike race under her belt)

Hazel marched out to yet ANOTHER bike race with mommy to watch daddy suffer with his team.  She is very popular at bike races.  People love her.  And her smile now includes visible teeth.
Hazel carefully inspected daddy's helmet after the race to make sure that it's good for another ride.
And she's happy to show off her toothy grin!  It's hard being so popular...