Day 257: Nehalem Bay

June 10, 2011

Jacob just could not wait to get in the car today and head out. I know the feeling; thinking there's really not that much to finish packing up but still, it takes four hours before you're actually leaving. Finally, we were headed out!

Enjoying a foot long meat stick!

A beautiful drive through the coastal range mountains toward Tillamook and then up the coast to Nehalem Bay. Jacob did not nap but did great the whole time in the car. Once we arrived to check in, though, things got a bit hairy. Our reservation apparently was only for a campsite, not a yurt. To say the least, I was pissed. We had no tent, nothing but a sleeping bag to sleep on. Fantastic. I had reserved this online, following links labeled "yurt". Obviously it did not lead me only yurts in the end. Had Jacob not been with us, I might've lost it. But one holds it together more when her child is present and relying on her to be a grownup. So, we headed back to Tillamook to get a tent and air mattress and then back up to the campsite. Not how I had envisioned things, but in the end, all's well that ends well. 

Once out of the car, Jacob was on fire, running around in the grass and the trees, chasing crows, picking up rocks. He as ecstatic. I think we were all happy to be out of the car by this point.

 We settled in a bit, ate some edamame and macaroni and cheese before heading to the beach.
 The beach was cold and windy. Ah, the northwest coast! But absolutely beautiful nonetheless. And the boy sure didn't mind. In fact, later in the weekend, he was saying, "Gacob love the wind". Good thing.

One lesson learned: Do not wear fleece to the beach. When Jacob asked to wear his favourite red pants I didn't think twice about it, but I sure will next time!

Even without a nap, the boy did not want to go to bed tonight. Who would after all the excitement? I put him to bed (we brought the pak-n-play for him) but could still hear him talking up a storm in the tent. Then, at one point, I hear, "Mommy or Daddy? Gacob need help." I go in there and he's out of the pak-n-play, putting his blankets back in his bed and needing help to get himself back in. Too much. I get him back in but really, this was just not going to happen tonight. After I indulged in a couple s'mores, I got him out and he fell asleep in my arms around the campfire while we sang some campfire songs. Adorable.

Day 256

June 9, 2011

This morning Jacob and I headed downtown to meet up with some friends and to see some big ships that were visiting for the Rose Festival. We had gorgeous weather and a pretty big group of people. We went on a little ship first. I can't tell you what it was - although they did give me a card. Anyway, it was neat. Jacob liked it because he could feel it moving. That's what he kept asking about before we got there. We went on a big coast guard ship that usually does drug interdiction (a new word for me). It was cool to see. Definitely cramped inside. Jacob said he did not like that one. 

We headed back to a nice fountain area for a picnic and play time. Jacob had an absolute blast! I wish I'd had my good camera with me. He was running around in the fountain, laughing his little butt off, playing with his friends and having the best time. It was great.

When he was ready to go, he said so, and we headed home for a nap. 
We're also gearing up for some camping this weekend! I'm very excited. There are so many great choices, but we've decided to check out Nehalem Bay State Park, on the coast. We'll actually be camping in a yurt. We are die-hard tent people but it sounded pretty cool. We'll take lots of pictures and have tons of fun. I'll give you the update next week.

Day 255

June 8, 2011

Okay, so even though I'm getting distracted by "to do" list items and other people's very interesting blogs (Vintage Chica is a new one, lots of interesting thoughts on schooling I discovered today), I really am trying to work on my quilt. So..... onward! 

A much better day today for Jacob as well (and hence, everyone else). Not one tantrum. Phew!

Day 254: Approaching the 3's

June 7, 2011

Today was a totally crazy day with at least four total, hysterical fits from the boy. Not pleasant. I'm thinking I need some developmental books to learn more about how to handle this stage. Because, as is, I don't know if I have enough patience to ride it out. Or knowledge always to help him through it. I feel helpless sometimes when he's crazy like this. Anyone with suggestions, please, feel free to let me know. 


I got a little quilting done this evening. Not much. One square, really. BUT.... it was a really difficult one. First of all, this is my first really big quilt, so I have a lot of things to think about and learn. Also, I am, of course, not doing a simple quilt that has easy blocks to sew together that are all the same (and correct) size. No. I'm taking all sorts of oddly shaped t-shirts and piecing lots of them together to make blocks to sew together. Lots of my pieces are not the correct size so there's a lot of measuring going on. And it's a lot easier to measure four (or five or six) times and only sew once than to be ripping out stitches several times. So.... patience. I am having fun, though :)

Day 253

June 6, 2011

We took a nice walk to the park this morning, had some playtime and fresh air.  

I (finally) laid out my t-shirt quilt again today. I've been hesitating because, as much fun as it is, it's also lots of work. And the thought of spreading it out and then putting it away again only to have to take it back out and lay it all out again does not sound like fun. I'm thinking that I'm going to try and leave it out. This way I'll be inspired (read: forced) to work on it more often until it's done.

Jacobisms:


"Mommy think about dat. Think about you having more cherries. And Gacob think about dat too. (pause) You can have some."


"Sometimes you like it. Sometimes not. It depends."


"Doing my muscles." This is his exercising.


Talking about his water marbles: "They're huge. They're massive."


He had four silver marbles on the floor near each other. He said, "Looks like.... looks like a constellation."


In the car, listening to classical music, "Sounds like when you're watching the animals." (When he watches Planet Earth - "the animals")

Day 252

June 5, 2011

Jacob had a hard day today. He's been having more Daddy issues recently, not wanting Fraser to do things for/with him. It's just hard on everyone, and I don't really know how to make it better except have them hang out more and trust that time will get us through this phase. But it is exhausting, an uphill battle, at times, and certainly not fun on poor Daddy.

Jacob is also entering the time of his life when he starts having lots of emotions about things and resistance against situations where he doesn't get what he wants. That calls for lots of patience and understanding and guidance on our parts, as the grownups who are helping him learn about these new feelings. Patience is sometimes hard to hang out to, though, when your driving down the road and your child is screaming bloody murder at the top of his lungs or when you're trying to change a poopy diaper and he's struggling to get out of your grip - every time he has a poopy diaper. Sigh.... Patience only looks virtuous. It's really a difficult internal battle that consumes your energy until you decide to accept that some things just are going to be what they are for awhile. We'll just try again tomorrow.

 

Day 251

June 4, 2011

Saturday. We headed over to the Beaverton Farmer's Market. Whoa! It was incredible. Dozens of vendors selling so many wonderful fruits and veggies: asparagus, lettuce, tomato starters, strawberries, pears, fava beans, gorgeous flowers, fish, beef, lamb, eggs, cheese, homemade sweets like pies, cheesecakes, oils, wines. And there was a little craft section too. Even better, there was a great fountain and playground there too underneath some huge cedar (I think) trees. The weather was wonderful, Jacob had a chance to play and we were very happy about finding such a great place. There are farmer's markets all over here - just incredible.

We enjoyed some strawberries and snap peas on the lawn before having some play time, a bit of lunch (a crepe and a frankfurter), and buying some cherry and grape tomato starts. Fun!

Topping off a wonderful day, Fraser and I went out on a date. It's been since February, I think, since we've been out together, alone. Much needed. We had some dinner at Veritable Quandry, a delicious restaurant near the river. We then headed to OMSI to watch an IMAX show about the Hubble telescope. They have a dome IMAX which Fraser had never experienced before. That kind was what I grew up on at the Detroit Science Center. It wasn't until I was older that I saw an IMAX that was just a gigantic screen. Kind of cool, still, but not as good as having your entire peripheral vision filled with the show. It was neat. Best of all, it was just nice to have some time to talk to each other and reconnect without being interrupted 18 times or being utterly exhausted. A nice way to spend the evening.