Harrison is 4

My baby is four years old! We partied at Grandma's house and watched the Superbowl. The plastic backdrop is gorgeous. Harrison was so excited to open his presents. His favorite was a box full of chocolate coins and real cash. He loves money! We love him! For some reason Grandpa was so excited to wrap all the grandchildren in scarfs. He looked at each child and creatively wrapped them. The best quote of the night was Grandma observing his behavior and quietly saying, " It is so unpredictable what you find fun, Grandpa!" Who knew he likes to accessorize!

Blazer game!

Mikey is a great date! He won Blazer tickets at school by earning an award (thanks grandpa for the upgrade). We can not keep up with all the awards Mike earns at school. He has some kind of split personality. At school he is quiet and very obedient, however when he gets home the wild child comes out. He choose to go to the Blazer game with mom. Dad was a little confused but put a smile on and even drove us to the game so we would not have to park. What a good dad! We had a fun time and the Blazers won!

Harrison go to sleep!

It is 10:00pm and Harrison is not showing any signs of slowing down. He is in my lap asking me to write about him. Is this what motherhood is really about? I wish he would go to sleep but secretly I think he is so cute in my lap. Today it was a gorgeous Oregon day and on our way to Wilsonville we could see all the mountains, clear and beautiful. Harrison turned to me and said,"Is that Mountain Dew?" Leave it to aunt Gretchen to teach him the important Mountains!

4th grade is great!

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Mike had an Indian feast this month and he was so great. His Indian name was Cholisead which means, salmon rising from a mud mound in the forest. He made it up. He said the mud mound was because of his boyish stink and the whole class laughed. Just like his dad, Mikey loves to make people laugh.

Bird watching!

Our last day with Mandi and Ben we spent bird watching. We are a funny bunch of people. We got to the trail and it was closed because of the flooding. In typical Croft behavior, we tried to get around the closed signs and gates to get on our hike. No one tells us what is open or closed. We finally gave up when we realized the large herd of humanity we had created was really loud and EVERYONE was going to notice if we went past the closed gate. We all have a little Arnold in us!

Max the king of all wild things!

A happy day at Hebb park! Of course the Smith kids are in the mud.

After Max takes the big jump!

Give him some food and he is happy!


I love this story from last year. We were on a hike at Hebb park in late November and went down to the dock to see the river. The kids love to go out on the boat with Grandpa in the Summer time, so jumping into the river for Max is pure joy. One this day, however, his little brain did not know the water in November is not the same temperature as the water in August. Without warning, he jumped right off the dock! Mike and I heard a huge splash followed by a scream! He swam to shore screaming all the way and did not stop until we got his clothes off him. We did not know what to do but to laugh. Everything about Max is so wonderful. He is such a boy but at the same time he loves pottery. When he jumped into the river it was a perfect example of his personality. He did not ask for permission or wait around for the other kids to go. It looked good, so he went. The best part was we got him warm and gave him a bag of chips and he was the king of all wild things! Although having 3 boys can be very loud and messy, it is times like this that make it all worth it.

Should Grandparents play Guitar Hero?

Punk rock meets motherhood! You go Mandi! (One of my sisters)

How gorgeous is this girl going to get? (Julia 12) Mike will put her safely in a glass box for the next 10 years!

It was the year of the Guitar Hero! Even Harrison got in on the action. My mom really thinks she is a rock star! I asked Wendy if Guitar Hero was educational in any way and she reassured me we were learning our colors! So scary!