Walking, Walking Everywhere!

On February 8th I went into work a bit late and spent an extra hour in the morning hanging out with Emily.  I'm glad that I did because I witness her first (I think) step!  One week later she had already started "toddling" everywhere... I can't believe how much can change in just 7 days!  Now, two weeks later, she is regularly walking for place to place.  She's still not 100% sturdy, nor has she figured out how to turn around (she tried it once, stepped on her other foot and fell over), but she is definitely getting better and better, stronger and stronger each day! I highly expect that by the end of the month she'll be RUNNING after the cat!  (I swear that's why she became mobile so quickly... she wanted to grab that tail!)

We've had Emily in our lives for less than a year... less than 10 months in fact... and I can't believe how much of a little PERSON she's become in that time.  Tonight I was feeding her dinner, watching her drink out of her sippy cup, and couldn't help but get a little sad (and excited at the same time!) that she was growing up so fast.

As the (next) rainy season is about to hit Portland, I am now stalking the Internet for cute, affordable, baby rain boots.  I'm looking forward to a little puddle jumping with my daughter this year.  ;)

Beautiful Day for a Groundhog Sighting!

I can NOT wait for spring and some nicer weather!  During the summer time I find myself looking forward to the cooler temperatures of the fall, but I am never begging for the rain that we get in Oregon all winter long.  Yesterday the weather was amazing (and it looks like next weekend may be as well!) and gave me a small glimpse of what the spring and summer may look like for me and my new little family this year!  Excited!

Getting ready for some fun at the park!

Oh the anticipation!

Here we go!

 

Weeee!

More happy baby!

So stinkin' cute!

Exploring "grass" for the first time. ;)

And meeting some new friends along the way!

And the fun begins!  ;)

How Not to Soak an Infant (on a budget)

Oregon weather sucks.  As many of you have heard, there are only two seasons in Oregon: rain and construction.  Unfortunately this year, the rain has WAY out lasted its season... which means, as a new mom, I now have to think about how to keep the little one dry.

I started shopping around for car seat canopies and, like all other baby-item purchases, balked at the price tag ($30-$50 for a blanket with straps??  Really??) so, I got all "I can so make one of those myself" and set out for the fabric store.

One thing that you should know about me (if you don't already) is that I have some pretty good problem solving skills... but I'm not so keen on following other's directions.  I tend to try to come up with my own way/idea and see how it pans out.  Which is exactly what I did with the canopy.  I knew what I needed to make (a blanket with straps) and knew how big it had to be (enough to cover a car seat).

Did I measure the car seat?  No.... which caused all sorts of problems.

I figured that a yard of two pieces of fabric would be big enough (one for the front side and another for the under-side).  So, that's what I bought.  When I brought it home and actually laid the fabric out over the car seat, I realized that it was probably going to be just a little too short when the seam was actually done.   Problem.

Solution?  Sew another piece of fabric as a border around the outside, adding a couple more inches.  And I just happened to have an old curtain lying around that matched!

Problem?  I am NOT a skilled sewer/quilter and my simple solution of "just sewing a border" was a bit more complicated than I anticipated.

But, in the end, I have a final product.  It's functional... but just don't inspect it too closely.  ;)

Total cost: $13
(Could have made it cheaper had I bought fabric that was on sale/clearance, but I wanted something pretty. lol)

P.S.  I used ribbon for the straps rather than velcro... figured that this would be easier.

My First Mother's Day!

Last week I was looking at the weather forecast for the weekend and saw temperatures in the high 80s!  This was VERY unexpected as our wonderful Oregon weather has kind of been crap recently.  Since I've been, pretty much, confined to the house the last few weeks, I wanted to take full advantage of the gorgeous weather so I asked Jacob if he'd be up for a day trip to the coast.  He told me that, since we was Mother's Day weekend, we could do whatever I wanted.

Mother's Day!  I hadn't really expect to do anything in celebration of Mother's Day this year (in fact, I had kind of forgotten that it was even coming up).  Jacob and I are both pretty sleep deprived and, with Emily only being 3 weeks old at this point going anywhere "special" is a little iffy and we're not yet comfortable leaving her with a babysitter.  So, I was more than a little excited, and grateful, to make my first Mother's Day celebration a trip to the coast on a gorgeous, sunny day!

We got a bit of a late start (I was trying to catch up on some sleep from a rough night before), but we finally pulled into Seaside around 3 PM.  I don't think that I've ever been to Seaside before (I've always stuck around the Central coastal cities), so I was excited to explore a new area as well.  And I was shocked!

This is what I'm used to in terms of Oregon beaches:

South end of the Seaside Prom

 This is what we saw:

The beach was so crowded!  So many people building sand castles and laying out in the sun.  I saw more people in swim suits than I think that I have EVER seen on an Oregon beach before! lol  That's how nice of a day it was.  =)

Jacob wheeled Em down to the sand and we took a stroll down the beach, then up to the Promenade where we got some ice cream and headed back to the car.  It was a short trip, but it was great to get out in the sun, take a walk in the sand, and just relax.

Emily's first "picnic lunch". =)

Didn't appreciate her surroundings near as much as mom did! =)

Anniversary Stay-cation: Day Two

Day Two of our anniversary stay-cation was spent lazing around the hotel... and it was AWESOME! The temperature in Portland got to roughly 95 degrees... we Pacific Northwesterners are NOT used to that.  Jacob and I were perfectly content to spend the day inside, vegging in the air conditioning.  But, we did have to eat.  So, after a shower (and taking full advantage of the hotel bathing amenities),

Jacob and I left in search of a Big Ass Sandwich.

My co-worker convinced me a few weeks back to try one of these monstrosities, and, though it was delicious, I felt like a fat, greasy cow afterward. lol  But, after telling Jacob about it, he just had to give it a try.

I, on the other hand, opted for a felafel sandwich... little did I know it would make me feel almost as gross afterward (but, what can you expect from cart food, eh?)

Felafel and Strawberry Lemonade

Big Ass Sandwich

After lunch we cruised around downtown a little bit, and then, when we thought we were going to die of heat exhaustion (or the food we just consumed!) we headed back to the hotel... which was serving complimentary fruit juice with grapefruit slices in their lobby.  LOVE IT!  Then, back to the room for more vegging before we ventured out for our next meal.  =)

As hotel guests, we were given a discount at the hotel's restaurant.  So, for dinner we gave it a go.

I'm not so great with the food photography (I want to EAT it, not take pictures of it!), but I do love any place that serves dinner by candlelight!

After dinner, Jacob and I headed out to Staff Jenning's Marina to board a sailboat for a 90-minute sailing expedition up the Willamette.  I found this deal several months ago on Groupon and have been waiting for this weekend.  I was really excited about seeing all of the gorgeous downtown lights from the water.  here's a couple of photos... but be pre-warned, it's REALLY hard to take long-exposure photography from a moving boat!

We had a great time this weekend.  Even though we didn't go anywhere, or really do much more than sit in our hotel room, we appreciated the opportunity to relax without distractions... and a quick drive home. =)

What is THAT Thing?

What is that round yellow thing?  Is that... could it possibly be?  SUNSHINE?

After a long, wet spring-ter (the season after Christmas that is never really one or the other) we may FINALLY be seeing a little summer foreshadowing in the Pacific Northwest!  I am SOOO happy!  Today I came home from work and thinned my garden, planted flowers, weeded and watered... all in an hour!  I never have that sort of energy!  I'm actually sitting here thinking about what else I can do this weekend in the yard. =)

I used to hate yard work.  I was not an "outdoor" kid.  I would have rather stayed inside reading a book than hang out in the garden helping my dad plant tomatoes, but I have recently discovered that something changes when it's YOUR yard.  Suddenly, I'm concerned about how tall the grass is, and how many weeds are in the garden.  I am thinking about all the things I'd like to do with the landscaping and what kind of vegetables I want to plant in my garden.  I am no longer satisfied spending time inside reading a book.  I want to be outside with my gardening gloves on DOING something.

When did I become a grown up?

One of our gifts from our housewarming/Memorial Day BBQ last weekend

Our front door

Another floral housewarming gift

I LOVE Color!!

Look at my garden grow!

My lettuce is starting to look like lettuce!  Soo excited!

Oh Oregon...

Oregon weather is ridiculous.  We like to joke that we only have two seasons over here: rain and construction.  It, quite literally, rains for about 8 months out of the year.  By April we HOPE to have more sunny days than wet ones, but this year is not cooperating.  Yesterday parts of the state had snow.  Yes, SNOW.  And I'm not talking only in the mountains!  Last weekend we had clouds, with peeks of sunshine, then rain, then sun, then hail, then a down pour, then sun, then more clouds and wind.  I think Oregon weather is somewhat bipolar... and it does not help with the moods or health of those of us who live here.  I don't know any stats, but I would be willing to bet that depression is probably more prominent in this state than some, due simply to the weather.  And I know that Oregonians suffer from a lack of vitamin D (via my doc) which can cause problems with the immune system and certain diseases such as breast cancer (this comes from my vitamin D supplements that I take every day!). 

After saying all this, I would like to note that days like today (sunny and beautiful) make me VERY happy, which leads to me feeling more productive in my day to day life (and, the fact that it's Friday just adds to the whole fantastic mix).  So far today I have been to work, gone shopping (got some awesome new clothes on clearance at Freddy's), done/finished 3 loads of laundry, baked cookies, and am now cooking dinner.  I am seeing tons of stuff that needs to be done/cleaned around the house, and it ISN'T making me want to crawl into a whole to avoid it... I think that's the best thing of all! =)

I'm just hoping the weather forecast for the next two days ends up being wrong (more rain... of course) as I have lots of great stuff planned with family and friends, not to mention softball practice (Jacob and I put a city league team together).  I am sooo ready for the summer!

My new shades! =)  Sun, stick around!  I'm ready!