portlandia

I just returned from a wonderful (and calorie-filled) trip to Portland, OR to visit my good friend and college roommate, Grace.  Our other college friend happened to be visiting from the East Coast also, so I took the opportunity to take a kid-free mommy trip (my first since E was born) to catch up with girl friends and indulge in many a delicious meal.  I mean, seriously, we ate the whole time.  Shopping and a hike accounted for exercise to help burn off some of the food, but we just really based our day on all the amazing restaurants Portland had to offer.

First meal after getting off the plane: the Sausage du Jour from Chef Paley's restaurant.  Grace knows how to treat a girl right.

E has a strange fascination with mule deer (thanks to "Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?") so I snapped this photo for her.  Can't say that's an actual mule deer, but it's in the same family.

You know it's Portland by the Prius cabs.

No sales tax = waaaay to much shopping.

Had to get these for G so he can cheer on the Seahawks in style.

My bed buddy.  I adore this dog.

Evidence that there was some effort given to burning off the calories. 

The Fruit Loop.  Made me want to move to a farm, grow my own produce and make jam and bake pies.

My favorite meal might have been the buiscuit sandwich from Pine State Buiscuits.  Fried chicken, cheese, bacon and a fried eggs sandwiched between two fluffy buiscuits and drenched in (amazing) sausage gravy.  We had some collared greens to make sure we had the vegetable component.  This was followed by lavender honey and IPA upside down cake ice cream.  All consumed before noon.

We walked off our lunch with a tour of the rose garden overlooking the city.  Very pretty, and I now want to grow these.

It was a really good trip and a nice break from being a mom (though I still had to pump throughout the day).  It was tough letting go of the responsibility of taking care of lots of little beings, but I enjoyed being able to just take my time with things and not worry about naps and meals and nursing.  It was also nice for Adam to spend some special time with the kids, and he was an awesome stay-at-home Dad while I was gone (though he still had to work a lot).  And I know I couldn't have taken this trip without the help of Donna and Ashley.  So I am very grateful to my village for an amazing early birthday gift.  We will definitely have to visit Portland again.  There is still just so much more to be eaten!  

month seven

HAPPY SEVEN MONTHS, G!

Oh, Gavin.  Your seventh month was a milestone month, most notably because you are now consistently sleeping through the night (6:30 pm - 6:30 am) in your crib in your own room.  This has done wonders for you and for your parents.  Not only do you sleep twelve hours, you also nap four hours a day and fall asleep on your own.  It is wonderful and rejuvenating for us all!

You have also started to go from sitting to a crawling position, though while you can scoot around a little here and there, you haven't quite started to be mobile.  You DO love to be pulled into a standing position, and are so determined to take steps, that we're starting to think you'd just rather walk and run around (just like your big sis!).  You are learning to self-feed, though your pincher grasp still poses a challenge.  But you love to eat and snack--your favorites being puree carrots and peaches, and yogurt melts and mum mums (still).

You are so happy and jolly, Little Boy.  You laugh and giggle when we nibble you, you absolutely love peek-a-boo and being sang to, and you can spend all day banging on things (tabletops, toy instruments, our arms and legs).  Everything goes into your mouth and you definitely like to grab at whatever you can.  You favorite toys of late are a wooden scooter you love to chew on and anything Ella plays with.  While you still rather eat books, you do love story time and being read to.  You can't get enough of playing outside, and are happy to just lay and swing on the hammock or splash about in the pool.  You are one active guy and we are pretty sure we'll have to be on our toes once you really start to move around.

You are talking more and more and love to gurgle laugh and shout.  (You definitely speak in all CAPITALS.)  I absolutely cannot get enough of you breaking into a brilliant grin when you catch me looking at you.  Your joy is infectious and we love you so, so much!

zzzzzz

Oh, sleep.  The one thing I wish I could totally change about parenting.  I mean, if we were given the luxury of a full night's sleep from the moment a child arrives, I think a lot of the parenting frustrations and mishaps could be avoided.  Or at least dealt with in a more energetic, positive, and enthusiastic manner.  I can handle the tantrums and the messes and the total overhaul of what life used to be life pre-kids, but the change in sleep patterns is the one thing I have a hard time dealing with.  And I can't really complain.  Ella learned to sleep through the night very early on, and still clocks an average of 10-12 hours a night.  Both my kids stopped having to nurse during the night by 2 months.  So it's not like I have had it really hard.  I actually think we sleep a lot for being parents of such young children.  But Gavin posed a challenge I wasn't expecting--needing a pacifier at night, which led to needing comforting every time he woke up.  So by the time we came back from Hawaii (where he slept by my side every single night), I was ready to make a change.  Before Hawaii he had been going down in his crib every night, but would always end up in bed with us by 2 am.  It was just easier to get him and have him next to me than to keep going to his room every other hour to replace his lost pacifier.  But I had had enough.  I wasn't sleeping well, and I definitely did not like the idea of co-sleeping this long (even though I did love feeling his little hands hug my arm every night).  So I asked the pediatrician, and per her recommendation, buckled down, downloaded the above book, and committed to 14 days of solid sleep training. I was definitely doubtful it would work, and was overwhelmed by the challenge of consistent napping (something I haven't been very good at implementing with E).

It took all of 4 days for G to be sleep trained.  He cried a lot the first couple of nights, but by the third, he cried for 2 minutes, rolled over, and slept from 7 pm to 7 am.  He also started taking 2 hour morning naps, 1 1/2-2 hour afternoon naps, and was weaned from taking a pacifier.  I am a convert.  And I feel like a new mom.  It's amazing.  And it's still going strong.  I know there will be off nights, especially when milestones are hit and the little guy goes through some growing pains, but all in all, I am one happy customer.  So much so that I just had to share.

Aloha

Our computer went wonky so it's taken me a while to finally upload pictures of our recent trip to Hawaii.  It feels like it took just as much time for the kids to adjust back to "normal" life and our regular routine.  I have to say, traveling with Ella at nine months old was a great deal easier than traveling with both kids.  Thankfully, we had help from Grandma, Ashley and the kids' godparents, as we attended my good friend's wedding, survived a tropical storm, and validated Adam's fear of shark attacks.

Our first leg of the trip was mainly for Denise's wedding, which was beautiful!  I attended to bridesmaid's duties, while everyone got to do some activities like ATV riding and kayaking.  Ella was a flower girl for the first time, and while I was nervous she would be nervous with all the attention, loved every minute of the festivities.

Buckled in and ready for take off!

Our journey begins with G's first play ride (LAX --> Honolulu).  He did great!  Slept a lot, and woke up to play a little, shout to make his presence known, and ate to fall asleep again.

While I had packed a kid-sized suitcase full of toys, books and activities to occupy her for the 5.5 hr. flight, E mostly slept, ate and watch videos on my iPad.

We stayed near the wedding site, which was on a more secluded side of the island.  So we got a lovely, lush view of Chinaman's Hat.

I love Hawaiian food and was happy to find a shrimp truck very close to our hotel.

Going for a stroll outside our hotel.

This girl loves her accessories.

Taking a tour of the hotel grounds. 

While everyone went ATV riding, Donna and I took the kids to a local beach.  It was a perfect afternoon on a secluded little strip of sand.  The waves were gentle and E LOVED splashing in the water.

She thought it was hilarious that the waves were tickling her toes.  She kept asking for "more waves!" and I was happy to oblige.

We saw people land on the beach.

My kids LOVE their Mimi.

I woke up to this face every morning.

Denise & Tristan had their rehearsal dinner on the beach.  It was a picturesque backdrop evening.

E in her flower girl outfit.  She ended up walking down the aisle with a cone of popcorn (while I held her flowers).  Go figure.

A quick family picture before the wedding began.

One of the best parts of the trip was spending time with our friends.

Two of the handsomest men I know!

E exploring the wedding site with her Lala.

 After the wedding we flew to Maui for a family vacation.  We loved having our friends and the kids' godparents along for the ride.  Many hands made light work, but toddler meltdowns definitely made traveling a little tougher this time around.

On the shuttle to the airport.  I didn't realize how much luggage and stuff came with two kids.

E has developed a love of planes.  She also made sure to do some yoga in the airport to help with the flight.

We had a VERY lovely welcome gift waiting for us when we arrived at the hotel.  The kids were thrilled to open up their goodies!

Last year, it was just Ella's name in sponges.  Hard to believe we have another name in our group.

Traveling is exhausting.

Making prints in the sand.

Beach bum.

No trip to Hawaii is complete without a fruity cocktail served in a pineapple.

So blessed to be able to still vacation with my oldest friend. 

Heading out for a shopping excursion.

It was really hot during our trip, so we made sure to stay hydrated.

We were going for "Lion King" but got "Totem Pole" instead.

G and his Mimi waiting for the sunset.

"Where's the sun going?"

We braved the heat to make a trip to Lahaina for shaved ice.  It was delicious.

Ella loves her breakfast buffets.

Our favorite memory from the trip ended up being a visit to the Maui aquarium with just the four of us.

While in Maui we were hit by a tropical storm and alerted of two shark attacks (!), affirming Adam's long-seated fear.

Learning about the marine life in Hawaii.

Upside down jellyfish.  I have a strange love for them.

Being the neat-freak that she is, E was fascinated by the scuba diver cleaning the tank.

Stingray encounter.

We think this fish looks like G when he was first born.  It's all in the puckered mouth.

Maybe it was the heat or the exhaustion of traveling, but E spiked a fever the last night we were there.  Fancy sorbet was what the doctor ordered.

Getting ready to head home.

A successful and memorable family trip.

Airport bound.

Aloha, Hawaii!  'Til we meet again!