December 15, 2010
Downtown this morning. Stopped at Powell's to get some Christmas books for Jacob and some Christmas presents for him too. I could go crazy in that place. I restrained myself though. I got a scratch and sniff Christmas book for Jacob (all the scratch and sniff books we have now are from my childhood and they either don't smell anymore or you have to find just the right place to scratch hard to get a scent out) and 'Twas the Night Before Christmas . And I got three other books for him, two of which are compilations of stories.
We then headed over to meet a friend and her son at a store called Kitchen Caboodle which is a great place also. Jacob and I didn't have anything to get there but we did head over to Pottery Barn. We still have a gift card from our wedding for that store. I had wanted to get some 12 days of Christmas plates, but then got indecisive once there. They have such beautiful things: linens, towels, pillows, etc. So, I didn't get the plates but something else a little more practical (but still very nice).
I also got a ridiculously large ticket for being 10 minutes late to my car after having lunch at Pizzacato. Damn those ticket misers. They already charge an arm and a leg to park if you can't find street parking. And I'd much rather just pay for what I've actually used at the end of my time instead of having to juggle time with my child and shopping and eating and paying attention to the actual time. That put me in a bad mood for awhile. I will not be parking at the NW 23rd and Glisan lot again unless absolutely forced to. And I will not encourage others to either!
Tonight, I put Jacob to bed. We read stories and I sang him his songs. But tonight was the first night he didn't ask for "mama milk". He just sat on my lap, touched my nipple and sucked his thumb. I thought for sure he'd remember at some point in our routine, but he didn't bring it up. And I didn't either. It makes me sad because I love it so much. It's such a special experience and part of me doesn't want it to end yet. At the same time, if he's fine with it, I'm not going to push the issue and remind him. He's doing what he needs to and that is okay. He still nurses in the morning. And this could just be a fluke. We'll see.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Day 78
December 13, 2010
Gym. Errands. A little Christmas shopping. Pretty much a Monday. It's actually Friday when I'm writing this because the computer was on the fritz so I have no recollection of much more than this.
Gym. Errands. A little Christmas shopping. Pretty much a Monday. It's actually Friday when I'm writing this because the computer was on the fritz so I have no recollection of much more than this.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Day 77: Santa Claus is coming to town
December 12, 2010
Time to visit Santa! We headed out to a different tree farm where they also had Santa visiting. The funny thing about Jacob's age is that, even though he's really excited about the tree, he has absolutely no idea what Christmas really means. I'm not talking about Father Noel/Jesus being born parts even, but just the presents that have come to be such a huge aspect. And it's weird taking Jacob to a man in a red suit, telling him to tell Santa what special treat he wants for Christmas. I can only imagine what's going on in Jacob's head. I'm all about the magic of Santa and remember many lovely Christmases. At the same time, it seems a bit odd without giving Jacob more of a story than just "this jolly guy comes down your chimney and gives you stuff." Fraser and I have talked about this a bit but need to have a better plan for next year when Jacob might very well remember what happens at this time of year. I almost feel like Doris from Miracle on 34th Street, not sure what I want to tell my child about the whole thing.
But we went. We talked to Santa. And by we, I mean Fraser and me. Jacob sucked his thumb and gave Santa a curious look. We got a picture which is what matters at this point. Jacob wanted an apple from the little store so we got that and walked around looking at animals. Calves, piglets, goats, chickens. This went over well, for sure. It was raining slightly but Jacob would've stayed out there for hours. It didn't bother him one bit. He was also fascinated by the tree shaker.
So, I won't keep you in suspense any longer. At least we look better than Santa :) And no, he didn't smell like booze.
But we went. We talked to Santa. And by we, I mean Fraser and me. Jacob sucked his thumb and gave Santa a curious look. We got a picture which is what matters at this point. Jacob wanted an apple from the little store so we got that and walked around looking at animals. Calves, piglets, goats, chickens. This went over well, for sure. It was raining slightly but Jacob would've stayed out there for hours. It didn't bother him one bit. He was also fascinated by the tree shaker.
Day 76
December 10, 2010
Nothing like hanging out half naked in front of the fire. Gotta love life!
Fraser and I went to see Harry Potter today! I was so excited to go somewhere with Fraser but not Jacob. I love the kid immensely but that rare grownup time is SO wonderful. Even though I enjoyed the movie a lot simply because it's Harry Potter, I thought it was a bit slow in parts. It's like they were trying to add drama where they didn't need ot. Let's face it, we all have read the books. We know what happens. Let's go. But really, I enjoyed our outing immensely. And Jacob had a great time with the babysitter.
This evening I finally had a chance to finish decorating the Christmas tree. Yes, it took a whole week. Jacob and I would do a few ornaments one day, a few another. Definitely a lengthier process with a two year old helping. He got to hang all the "candy candies". And he enjoyed seeing all the ornaments that were his.
I had a really nice time looking at all my ornaments too. Pretty much all of them have been given to me over my life so they have sentimental value. And lots, I was reminded, came from my aunt and uncle who lived here in Portland. It was an interesting feeling thinking about that as I now live here. What a nice tradition, too, of giving a nice, unique ornament from someplace special. It makes it feel a bit more special being out here.
Fraser and I went to see Harry Potter today! I was so excited to go somewhere with Fraser but not Jacob. I love the kid immensely but that rare grownup time is SO wonderful. Even though I enjoyed the movie a lot simply because it's Harry Potter, I thought it was a bit slow in parts. It's like they were trying to add drama where they didn't need ot. Let's face it, we all have read the books. We know what happens. Let's go. But really, I enjoyed our outing immensely. And Jacob had a great time with the babysitter.
This evening I finally had a chance to finish decorating the Christmas tree. Yes, it took a whole week. Jacob and I would do a few ornaments one day, a few another. Definitely a lengthier process with a two year old helping. He got to hang all the "candy candies". And he enjoyed seeing all the ornaments that were his.
Day 75
December 10, 2010
Nothing too exciting today. Jacob and I wasted our morning driving out to the mall but the store we wanted to go to wasn't actually in the mall but 10 minutes farther down the road so we came back home having accomplished nothing of our intended errands. Lovely.
When it's time to change Jacob's diaper, he's obsessed with doing it "under tree. Change diaper under tree."
No, we did not get another tree. This is just a picture I didn't put up the other day.
Nothing too exciting today. Jacob and I wasted our morning driving out to the mall but the store we wanted to go to wasn't actually in the mall but 10 minutes farther down the road so we came back home having accomplished nothing of our intended errands. Lovely.
When it's time to change Jacob's diaper, he's obsessed with doing it "under tree. Change diaper under tree."
Day 74
December 8, 2010
I mentioned that we might go to the museum this morning and after that word, "museum", Jacob wouldn't let it go. So we went. He kept talking about the balls that he remembered playing with at OMSI. I told him this was a different museum but that they might have balls here too. This was the Portland Children's Museum which is next to the zoo and close to our house. This place was awesome too. Lots of different rooms for all kinds of play: water, grocery store, vet clinic, twilight walk with nature, stage with dress up clothes, room for playing with clay (some days you can even try throwing a bowl on a wheel), a house with pipes and "walls" to build and, thankfully, balls. You put the balls in a hole, pressed up a button and they were sucked up a tube into a high container. They'd roll around in there and then come back down another tube. Of all the things to do, this was Jacob's favourite.
We had a great time. I was exhausted at the end but it was a great thing to do. We will definitely go back there. Definitely better to start early too before tons of kids get there and the constant monitoring of behaviour begins: of Jacob and others.
My family has an old recipe for sugar cookies, and it's tradition to bake a bunch of cookies at Christmas time. Jacob helped me make the dough, roll it out and cut out the cookies. He was more interested in eating the sugar than decorating with it, but who can blame him.
There's nothing like a homemade sugar cookie at Christmas!
Other Jacob words:
candy candies (candy canes)
La lu (love you)
I mentioned that we might go to the museum this morning and after that word, "museum", Jacob wouldn't let it go. So we went. He kept talking about the balls that he remembered playing with at OMSI. I told him this was a different museum but that they might have balls here too. This was the Portland Children's Museum which is next to the zoo and close to our house. This place was awesome too. Lots of different rooms for all kinds of play: water, grocery store, vet clinic, twilight walk with nature, stage with dress up clothes, room for playing with clay (some days you can even try throwing a bowl on a wheel), a house with pipes and "walls" to build and, thankfully, balls. You put the balls in a hole, pressed up a button and they were sucked up a tube into a high container. They'd roll around in there and then come back down another tube. Of all the things to do, this was Jacob's favourite.
We had a great time. I was exhausted at the end but it was a great thing to do. We will definitely go back there. Definitely better to start early too before tons of kids get there and the constant monitoring of behaviour begins: of Jacob and others.
Other Jacob words:
candy candies (candy canes)
La lu (love you)
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Day 73
December 7, 2010
Definitely sore from yesterday's class. Nice. It feels good. And my knees actually feel great which is amazing, actually.
Play date this morning. This house was in NE Portland and totally the kind of house I envisioned living in when thinking about moving to Portland. Totally reminded me of my aunt and uncle's house. Old. Big, spacious rooms with tall ceilings. Wooden floors. Big windows. And it had that great natural smell to it when people keep all their food in glass jars and have organic everything. I love that smell. And that feel. The whole neighbourhood was like this. Sadly, we cannot live that far from Fraser's work. It'd be an hour commute, at least probably. There'd be no point in him having children because he wouldn't see them but on the weekends. Also, the hard part about those houses is that they usually need more maintenance which I've learned from experience we cannot do with a child and might not have money for. This family also obviously has a knack for decorating because the house had a definite artsy feel to it which I totally envy but cannot recreate for the life of me.
The play date was super fun, though. Good food, a white elephant exchange and some Christmas craft time for the kids. Such a nice group of ladies. I'm so glad to be in a group so quickly and more and more feeling like I'm getting to know people. It was a very nice morning.
Definitely sore from yesterday's class. Nice. It feels good. And my knees actually feel great which is amazing, actually.
Play date this morning. This house was in NE Portland and totally the kind of house I envisioned living in when thinking about moving to Portland. Totally reminded me of my aunt and uncle's house. Old. Big, spacious rooms with tall ceilings. Wooden floors. Big windows. And it had that great natural smell to it when people keep all their food in glass jars and have organic everything. I love that smell. And that feel. The whole neighbourhood was like this. Sadly, we cannot live that far from Fraser's work. It'd be an hour commute, at least probably. There'd be no point in him having children because he wouldn't see them but on the weekends. Also, the hard part about those houses is that they usually need more maintenance which I've learned from experience we cannot do with a child and might not have money for. This family also obviously has a knack for decorating because the house had a definite artsy feel to it which I totally envy but cannot recreate for the life of me.
The play date was super fun, though. Good food, a white elephant exchange and some Christmas craft time for the kids. Such a nice group of ladies. I'm so glad to be in a group so quickly and more and more feeling like I'm getting to know people. It was a very nice morning.
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