Day 160...Happy Birthday Mama

Jun 29

Today is my Golden birthday, 29 years old. I have a feeling 29 is going to be a fantastic year....but if I were judging by the way today went, I'd be in bad shape. What a hard day!

I got up this morning and was soooo sleepy....and my left shoulder was feeling really creeky (not to be confused with creepy....) I was sure glad Eli got up with me. Martyn didn't wake up so I let him sleep in. I missed loving on him though. I missed it a lot.

When I got to work, I still had a bunch to catch up from yesterday. I was running all day, and when I left I still had a pile left to deal with, for tomorrow. My shoulder hurts when I take a deep breath, or move a certain way....all the way down to my rib cage, and all the way around my collar bone. Uhg. That made for a long day. I kept thinking about Martyn all day. It kind of caught me off guard how much I missed loving on him this morning. The plan this morning, was that I would come home and nurse Martyn, and then we'd take him to the babysitter and go on a "surprise" birthday date. But all day today, because I didn't get to hold my boy and love up on him, I just wasn't feeling right about going out tonight. Eli had texted me this morning, saying Martyn was a little congested. I figured it was just a slightly stuffy nose because it was warm in the room last night, and I had a stuffy nose last night. But that made me want to just come home to my boy, even more.

When I got home, Eli brought Martyn out to me and he had an odd look on his face. He said Martyn had just had a colossal melt down, and he was a little frazzled because he was trying to get a nice birthday dinner made for me and hadn't been even hardly able to start it. Martyn was having that tensed diaphragm reflex that makes you go "mmhhuuh hhuuh huh" after you've been crying really hard. Poor baby. But he lit right up when he saw me, and was all smiles and chatty. I took him and just hugged him and almost cried. I guess I was feeling a little emotional today, too.

He was pretty clingy for Mama the rest of the evening it seemed. I took a nice warm bath with him and he really enjoyed that. I stretched my lets out and put my feet together, and leaned him back against my feet. That was he was reclining in the water, but didn't have to hold himself up and could kick his feet in the water to his hearts content. It was pretty cute. I also curled his little birth hairs into a cupie-curl and it was really cute. Mary Jane was bugging me about that the other day.

Eli made a fantastic dinner for me, of Surf and Turf (Steak and shrimp on the grille) with a nice rosemary risotto, and a chocolate moose for dessert. It was fantastic, all of it. I love being married to a wonderful cook! He gave me a new blender for my gift, which is really cool because I needed/wanted that. He done good all the way around. Totally made my hard long day end wonderfully.

I put Martyn to bed a little after the normal bed time, and the poor boy was so tired he was fighting sleep and crying, but with his eyes closed...silly baby. I'm learning the good tricks to help him get to sleep though.

Now I think it's time to put this whole birthday to bed.

Day 159...see you later mama

Jun 28

I had a WIC appointment today, so I had decided I was going to go into work later, around noon. That also meant that Martyn and I were able to sleep in a bit today. I had started him in the crib last night, and then got him in bed around midnight (I think....I really have no concept of time in the middle of night, because the clock is on Eli's side of the bed) and then put him back in the crib around 4 or so. Then got him back in the bed right before the clock went off at 5, and stayed in bed when Eli got up. We didn't get up until 7, which was nice. Martyn is so cute when he wakes up.

He was being kind of quiet, but was talking to me to wake me up and grabbing my face, and kicking me in the bladder. When I would open my eyes, he would just grin real big at me, and joyfully kick his legs. He's a funny boy. He's really sweet and loving with me. I love love love it!

We got up and went to wake mom up, even though I knew she was already up. She heard us coming and met us half way.

Mom went to my appointment with me and that was kind of fun. I had quite a bit of time before I had to be at work, so I decided to take mom down to the Birth Center, and show her around, and hopefully one of or both of my midwives would be there. Only one of them ended up being there, and her apprentice, which was really cool to see them. I got to show mom all around the Birth Center, and the room where Martyn was born. Nicole, the apprentice stayed out and talked to us for quite a while and I told her about deciding I wanted to become a midwife. She was excited about that and said I should give her a call and talk about it, and come down to the Midwifery college and talk to someone. I agreed.

That was pretty cool....it kind of boosted my desire to get started on that again.

Work was crazy. It didn't seem like yesterday when I left in the afternoon, that there would be that much of a pile of work for me to deal with when I came in late today. My goodness. But I got most of it done, with the exception of a few things, by the time I left...a little bit later at 4:15. Bryan (my brother in law) was here to pick up mom when I got here. The plan was for him to stay for dinner, so there was time for traffic between here and Independence to clear up, for their drive to his and Rachel's house. We kind of all hung out till right before Eli got home.

I gave Martyn his first taste of Barley-meal....I don't know if he liked it. I kind of think not, but I'll try it again. He made some really unsure faces. I don't know if that's because it was something of a different texture in his mouth or what. He did that with the rice too. I let him put his fingers in the bowl, and on the spoon, but he never seemed to want to put them in his mouth. I spoon fed him a little, and then gave him the spoon and he put it in his mouth himself. Not so much to feed himself, but to just put the new object in his mouth. I decided to nurse him a little bit afterward, just to let him rinse his mouth a bit.

Dinner was good, and mom and Bryan left right away afterward. I liked having mom here, but I'm glad she's gone to Rachel's to visit her too.

Martyn will miss his grannie too though, I think. He'll see her again on Saturday when we go down to help Rachel and Bryan move. Grannie's job is to babysit him while we help with the heavy lifting, ha!

Day 158...babysitting grannie

Jun 27

Dragging doesn't even begin to describe how I was moving today. It was a really full weekend, and I am tired! All day I just couldn't pick it up.

Mom stayed home with Martyn today, which was a major blessing. She called me at lunch time because Martyn was having a bit of a melt down and wanted to know where the pacifier was. I told her where it was, but that he probably wouldn't be all that interested in it. I said he probably was still hungry (she had already fed him two little bottles). I was right.

He's a growing, hungry boy.

I wasn't looking forward to cooking dinner when I got home, because I was so tired. But I kind of pulled it together and made a really tasty pasta....it was a little on the heavy side though. Mom was asleep on the couch when I got home. She opened her eyes and kind of looked around while I was just standing at the door. I could tell she didn't know where she was.

Then she sat up and rubbed her eyes, and said "boy, I just couldn't remember where I was for a minute." Martyn was sound asleep on my bed.

It was cool to come home to my child and mother, both happy. I went and woke him up a little while after I got home because mom said he had been sleeping since about 1pm. That was a nice lengthy nap, and I was ready to nurse him! He was so happy when he woke up and looked me in the eye first thing. What a sweet boy.

What a blessed mama.

Day 157...all the grandparents!

Jun 26

Another fantastic day! I'm tired though. I took mom and Martyn up to visit with Walt and Mary Jane at their home. I figured mom would enjoy the drive up for one thing, but also the chance to visit with them, in a more intimate setting. I was right.

Mom and I went to church first, and that was nice. Then we came home and packed up a little, and headed up the Gorge. It was beautiful outside again...we had been wondering if we were going to get two nice days in a row and we did! It was just a lovely drive up. Mom and I had good conversation, and she tried taking pictures....which makes me smile.

When we got there, it was almost lunch time and Mary Jane had made some wonderful curry....it was mom's first time having curry and she liked it. I thought she might. We all sat around and visited, and took turns playing with Martyn after lunch.

Later, Walt, Mom and I went for a walk up to the spring, and Mary Jane stayed home with Martyn. Walt chatted mom up the whole time, it was cool. The weather was fantastic, over cast but a little humid and sultry....which kind of threw me for a loop. In the forest however, it was nice and cool, and sweet smelling, and I loved it...Mom enjoyed it too.

When we came back to the house, we had some strawberry rhubarb pie and ice cream. Mary Jane was sitting on the floor with Martyn. He was sitting on the floor, facing towards her leg and he would lean over and pretend bite her leg and then sit up and look at her really fast....she would carry on and make a big fuss, and say "oh the baby is getting me!" or "oh the baby got me!" Martyn totally understood that him "pretending" to bite her let, would get that response from her....he understood the playing. It was soo stinking cute, and funny, but mostly just amazing to see his comprehension. He just amazes me more everyday.

Day 156...party hardy!

Jun 25

What a fantastic day!

Mom is here, and we woke up earlyish, and took her to the Beaverton Farmers Market. We had decided we would all have breakfast there. While we were looking at what they had, we came across a cart that does pulled pork and bbq pork and biscuits and gravy and things like that. Mom took one look at that and said "I'm having biscuits and gravy, I never get to have anything like that at home anymore!"

It was cute. Eli and I shared a monster sized Mexican omelet which was amazing. Martyn was a happy happy boy in the stroller and it gorgeous out.

Mom had never been to a farmers market, like this one. I had been telling her for a while she would really enjoy it, and she brought her camera along to take pictures to show to Jack when she gets home. It was fun!

Some random lady came up to me at one point, looking at Martyn in the stroller, and said very excitedly, "I'm going to be a grandmother for the firs time in the fall!" I told her congratulations and she was smiling at Martyn. He was very chatty and happy, and just gave her a big flirty smile. She was pretty excited about that, it was kind of funny.

When we got home, we had a little while for some down time before Rachel and Bryan got there. They brought Tucker's high chair for us, and a basket of toys and things left over from Tucker, and put them out in the garage. We figured we'd better try Martyn out in the high chair right away, and quickly found that he LOVED it. He was so happy to be sitting up right, at a higher level, and sitting on his own. What a cutie-pie!

I put him down for a nap before Walt and Mary Jane showed up, hoping that he would take a nice long nap before the party, so he would be friendly and happy and sociable while everyone was here. He only stayed down for about a half hour, but seemed content enough with that. Everyone started showing up, and he started getting passed around.

With the exception of two friends, all of my friends I wanted there came and it was awesome! I missed my other two friends, but it was ok....I'll just have to make sure I spend some more time with them anyway, ha! But what a wonderful way to celebrate my birthday, and Rachel's birthday! And what a beautiful day to celebrate on, it was just lovely! I felt so good at the end of the day. So loved by all my friends and family, and so full because I ate way too much....it was worth it though.

In the evening after everyone left, Eli and Mom and I were sitting down to watch a show on Hulu...Martyn was sitting in the highchair, and playing with this really cool fabric ball Mary Davis (Eli's best friend's mom) had made for him. He was just cracking up! I would roll it to him, and it would bump his nose and roll back to me, then I would hide behind it, and play peekaboo....he was screeching so loud, Eli turns to me and says "babe, I'm trying to watch the show.....!" It was just so funny, I couldn't help myself.

day 155...finally friday

Jun 24

Today totally dragged by, because I was really wanting to get home to see my mom. She came into town today. You know how it is, on the days you really want to get home it just drags. Oh well.

I decided I wanted to by my techs coffee next week, we'll see if I do it, ha!

It was cool to come home to mom and Eli and Martyn, and enjoy spending time with Mom and Martyn (and Eli).

Day 154...meet new babysitter....again

Jun 23

Another fabulous day, as far as weather was concerned....even sprinkeled a little bit (I have not one problem with that.) It was one of those good days, where I was kind of busy, but not overwhelmed all day, and just stayed steady. That really helps the day go by nicely.

I'm getting excited, my mom is coming up tomorrow morning. I know I just was just down at her house a couple weeks ago, but I'm really excited for her to come and stay with us for a bit....and see our whole lives here in OR. The last time she came up was for our wedding in May of 2009. She didn't stay with us at all, and just had the time to come over and see our appartment once, she and Jack were pretty much only here for the weekend of the wedding.

Well we don't live in the appartment anymore, and we have a lot more room for her to come visit. She gets to stay in the man cave....I'm smiling.

When I got home tonight, I had a plan for us to go over to the potentially new baby sitter's house and meet her. Martyn was asleep on the couch, and I guess he had just gone to sleep. We didn't need to leave right away, but I didn't want to wake him up either. He looked so peaceful sleeping there. I could watch him sleep like that, for hours. I just love his sweet little face. Thankfully, I didn't have to wake him up, he heard me talking to Eli and woke up on his own. He was happy, I guess he just needed a little cat nap. Seriously though, he was just all smiles and bubbles....Eli said he was really chatty all day today.

We went and met the lady, and we both like her though we're also a little concerned because she is planning on having several kids who are older (like toddler age, and a little older) and if she took Martyn, he would be the only baby she had. The concern lies in that I am choosing to wait until he's 6 months to start him on Vaccinations. Which has been totally fine, since he's not in any kind of daycare setting....but that would be kind of like daycare. I'm not terribly worried about it, but the idea did give me a bit of pause. I think Eli was more concerned about it than I was. It's not set in stone that she will take him either. We're going to do another test run/date night next week on my birthday, and see how it goes.

I like her, and I don't want to keep looking for a babysitter, but we shall see. Mom will be here to watch Martyn for next week, and the following week I have monday off so that's good. We have a bit of time to figure it out.

Eli cleaned up the living room fantastcially yesterday, that was really nice to come home too. It's amazing how good it feels to be in a room that is clean and neat and (semi) orderly. It totally made me feel like a big burden was lifted off me, and it was relaxing to hang out in the living room. Now that makes it sound like our house was just a big awful mess....which it kind of was, but mostly just cluttery (and dog hairy). We have hardwood floors, so the dog hair shows, but it's easy enough to take care of....we're just lazy, ha!

Martyn was so happy tonight, it was refreshing. I didn't nurse him in the bed to sleep, but I did in my lap. He was just so peaceful sleeping in my lap. I read a bunch of stuff about co-sleeping, and switching over to the crib after co-sleeping, and kind of realized that I had been feeling rushed a bit, to move him out of the bed. I decided like with the rice meal, that it's not a big rush. I think he will benefit more if we just take our time in moving him out of the bed. He's doing really well with it so far, but I think he'll do better if he isn't rushed. I also decided I'm not going to try any more ricemeal or anything until we get a highchair....which we will get from Rachel this weekend. So maybe on Saturday, at our birthday bash, I'll give him a little something more. We'll see.

Day 153...this is why I moved to Oregon

Jun 22

Today was what I consider to be perfect weather. It was overcast most of the day, but the temperature was hovering right around 70. Perfect. Not to hot, not too cool, not too bright...just right. It sure does make the day go by better when I'm not super hot, or when I go outside and it's just gorgeous, which makes me want to not be at work. But when the weather is as it was today, it makes the day just feel good.

For whatever reason, I had to restart my computer at work several times today and every time it would come back up there would be my picture of Martyn, just staring me down. I always say "oh my boy...." every time I see that picture. Sometimes it catches me off guard, and I just feel overwhelmed by the sight of that sweet little face looking at me, with a little smirk. I love that boy so much....I don't think I could ever do justice to how much I love him, to try to explain it to anyone...I know other moms (and dads too I'm sure) understand what I'm talking about.

When I got home, I decided to try him with the rice cereal again. He was more interested this time, a bit. He's not spitting it out, no tongue thrusting reflex which gets me excited. He's trying to gum and chew, and roll it around in his mouth a little bit. He just had a very little bit again. I don't want to force it. He'll get it when he gets it, and he's moving in the right direction. I think a high chair will be a huge help....I'm glad Rachel is bringing one over on Saturday.

So last night, Martyn slept pretty well in the crib, but when I got him out to nurse him in the middle of the night, I totally fell asleep in the bed and so did he. So he ended up staying in the bed for half the night. I did put him back in the crib and he didn't protest. We'll see how it goes tonight. It's a good sign I think, that he's totally willing to start out in the crib and not be nursed to sleep. I gave him an extra blanket tonight to see if that makes a difference for how long he sleeps....I've noticed a couple times when I go to get him out of the crib, his hands are cold so I'm wondering if he is cold and that's why he's waking up. I know he wants to nurse in the night too, hopefully that will cut down too....though I think he's having a growth spurt right now.

Day 152... so start the solids

Jun 21

Summer solstice, longest day of the year. In Oregon that doesn't really mean as much as it means in Alaska....but still it's kind of cool that it's a quarter to 9 right now, and the sun is still in the sky. Summer begins, and it was a gorgeous day today.

I had to go to court for my ticket, so I didn't drop Martyn off at the babysitter until 8. I thought I was going to be late getting to the court, but the line was pretty long so it was ok. I had to wait in line to see the clerk, and then go see the judge. The judge seemed to be a very reasonable man to me. That was my first time having to go into a court room, and appear before a judge, even if just for traffic court.

He reduced my uninsured driver charge, to failure to provide proof of insurance, and I thanked him. I didn't know that in the state of Oregon, if you are convicted of driving with no insurance, you're required to carry an SR-22 for three years. That's harsh! Thankfully, that did not happen. I gladly took a reduced charge and fee, paid the fine and left.

I'm tired, and was some today....but it was such a nice day out, that I actually felt pretty good. Martyn slept in the playpen for most of the night last night, and this morning (probably around 3 or 4 I got him in bed to nurse him for the third time, and decided to just let him stay there. He made it most of the night though. I'm hoping for a little better and a little better as we go. I think for the first real attempt, that wasn't bad at all.

My baby sitter sent me a text message today around 2:30 saying Martyn was basically having a melt down because he was hungry and she was trying to conserve milk, but every time she would take the bottle away from him, he would scream. I replied saying he could have all of it, and gave her a few tips on comforting hurting teeth. When I got there to pick him up, he had just woken up from a nap, and seemed happy to see me.

When we got home, I decided Martyn needed some naked time....after all, I always enjoy naked time on a warm day, and he is my son. I set him on a towel on the floor, with the boppy behind him, and some toys in front of him, and let him got to town. He really liked it. By the time Eli got home, Martyn was just as happy as could be....I think because he got to be naked for a bit. Naked time is good for everyone, I think.

I decided to make some rice meal for him and give him a taste. But when I had finished with everything, and got the rice meal made, he was tired and ready for bed, and not really that interested in it. I just smeared a little on his lips and let him have a little taste of it. He got a bit in his mouth, and didn't spit it back out, so that was a step in the right direction. I put a little on my finger and let him taste a bit more like that, and he still didn't spit it out. Now, he only got just a tiny little taste of it, but still I'm hopeful. I think he's ready. Now I have a little rice meal already made up, I can offer it to him earlier in the evening, or morning for that matter...though not tomorrow morning.

I'm a bit at a loss on how to start him with the cereal. This is new territory for me. I've been around babies starting solids, but I don't remember exactly how the process works, and I don't think I've ever been directly involved.

Well, here's hoping. Tonight is round two of sleeping in the crib, so far so good.

Day 151... 5 months!

Jun 20

Martyn is 5 months old today!

So here are his milestones for this month.

His best trick right now, is that he is sitting up unassisted really well. He can sit for a long time, on a flat surface and balance himself. He can put his arm out to catch himself or balance if he starts to fall, and he can use his leg and stomach and back muscles to right himself when he starts to tip over. He can lean all the way forward and practically suck on his toes, and then straighten himself back up to a sitting position.

He can roll over, either from back to belly or belly to back, but he doesn't do that very often still. I've only seen him do it either way a hand full of times. When he's laying on his belly, he can hold himself up in a half push up for quite a while....with his head, shoulders and chest all the way off the ground. He can put his face on the ground and bring his knees up to his chest, sticking his butt way up in the air, and scooch forward like an inch worm....but I don't know if he is conscious of doing that yet.

Any time he is laying flat on his back, he will do little mini crunches....working on those baby abs of steel I guess. When he is nursing (not in the bed) he will stop and "have a conversation" with me. He can reach his hand out and direct it to touch my face if I put it close enough for him to reach, and will almost caress my face. If he is sitting down on the floor or in the playpen, or in his little rocking chair and wants you to pick him up when you go by, he will reach up with both hands. When you are holding him, he will give little baby hugs, and back pats to show affection.

He's a funny boy, and the best part is he is starting to get little jokes...like if we make faces at him, or funny voices, he will smile and laugh...and try to get us to laugh too. He's very very chatty. Still no understandable words but he's experimenting with many different sounds, and imitates mouth movements, that he sees me making. He turns towards sounds that are new to him, and if you say his name he turns and looks at you.

He can pick things up from the ground, or suspended objects, though they take a lot more concentration and aim than things off the ground. He's able to grasp rings and rattle pretty well, but it's still hard for him to pinch with his thumb and forefinger. He can bring toys to his mouth, and chew chew chew away on them for quite a while. He still really likes fabrics of all kinds, to touch and to put into his mouth and chew on.

He doesn't have any teeth showing, but I can feel two bottom front teeth, and his gums are raised and white there too. He has a really strong bite, and whenever I massage his gums he always wants to bite down on my finger....better that than the nipple, ouch!

I think he's just about ready for homemade rice cereal. At least to give it a try.

He's not sleeping through the night yet, and tonight is going to be the official start to trying him for sleeping in the crib, not our bed. I'm going to be tough tonight, even though I'm beat. I have it firmly in mind that he's going to stay in his bed, except to nurse...which means I may be in for a long night tonight....he's already in bed and has been for the last hour and half. I tried to keep him up until 8, but he just wasn't having it. So here's hoping.

Day 150...Actual fathers day

Jun 18

Today is Fathers day and Martyn is 150 days old, seriously? I had these big plans to get a bunch of stuff done, and was mostly successful, hurrah!

Martyn and I slept out in the man cave last night, and this morning Eli came in there all in a rush, saying he turned off his clock instead of just hitting snooze and now he was late. I was thinking it was like 6 and he was really late, and I even stayed in and nursed Martyn for probably ten minutes. When I went out to help get ready, it was only 5:20....he wasn't late yet. Silly man. I got him some coffee and sent him on his way, and went back to bed with the boy. It was so nice that he stayed asleep after he nursed, and I was able to go back to sleep for a few hours. Martyn woke up and wouldn't go back to sleep around 7:30 or so, but was laying quietly in the bed with me, entertaining and talking to himself.

Finally, he decided it was time to wake Mama up and started kicking me in the leg...I could not ignore that any longer.

We got up, and got started on the day right away. Made the grocery list, went to the store (which for groceries consists of three stores) and got Eli's fathers day gift, of a new grille! Martyn fell asleep about half way through that whole excursion, which left me to lug him in the car seat, in and out of the car. He's going to be too big for that pretty soon, sheesh.

I had started the laundry before we left, and was ready to switch it and stayed on top of it (except for folding) when we got home. Got the groceries put away, and Martyn down for a short nap. I got dinner made, and even special desert of strawberry short cake, with home made whipped cream....one of Eli's favorites I know. I saw those strawberries in the store and they were just calling my name.

Eli was pretty tired when he got home, as expected. But he was happy to see his little family, and really appreciated his fathers day gift, and special desert. It felt good to honor him a bit, as a father. I already enjoy honoring him as a husband, it's double the pleasure to honor him as a daddy too....and he is a wonderful daddy to Martyn.

I'm looking forward to Fathers days in the future where Martyn understands the concept of honoring his father....For that matter, I'm looking forward to him doing that on a daily basis, but fathers day is extra special fun.

Day 149..Fathers day (observed)

Jun 17

We took a nice little trip up the Gorge last night, to spend the night at Eli's parents' house, so we would be there all day for "Father's Day"....even though that's tomorrow. I love spending the night up there! I just like being there altogether, it always feels like I get my batteries recharged, and am able to just rest.

We had a nice family breakfast with his folks. Even though we were there for Father's day, Grammie got to spend a little more time with Martyn since she hadn't been able to in a long while. It was really cool.

We even brought our other play pin up for him to take a nap in, and he went down for a nap pretty well. I was pleased with that. Our other play pin is much smaller than the main one, I think I can even fit it where the bassinet is in our room, and won't have to rearrange the bedroom after all. We shall see though.

Some friends of Eli's youngest brother Jon, came by to visit/get a little direction on where the best place to go Kayaking around there was. They were from New Zealand, and Martyn was really interested in their accents. He seems to be pretty good at noticing things that are different from what he's used to, which is really cool I think. He's a pretty bright fellow.

As usual, he was also really interested in the dogs. It's fun to bring Sheba up there, because she loves it so much. Now that they have a new puppy, she was just in even more dogie heaven. We had a regular pack of dogs, that all looked kind of related. It was funny to watch Larry, Walt and MaryJane's Lab/Malamute mix, run around and play with "the puppies"....Sheba is 2, and Sissy is only like 4 months, Larry is the old man of the bunch.

When I got up this morning with him, we came down stairs before anyone else was up. He really wanted to look out the big front window, at all of Mary Jane's pretty flowers. He's just getting so big, I had him sitting propped up on my knee so he could look out the window. He was holding himself up for a long time. I decided to take him for a little walk around the property, and to see the dogs outside, up close and personal. I zipped him up into my hoodie and carried him face out, around the yard for a little bit. We went over to see if Eileens horse Augie, was out and to say hello to him like I always do when I come up there. He wasn't. Oh well. Martyn was very quiet and observant the whole time.

Later in the day, Walt, Eli and I took Martyn for his first walk up to the spring....first of many I'm sure. It was overcast but not raining, and comfortable out. Again, Martyn was very quiet and observant...just taking everything in. When we got back home, he was ready for a nap. I think he just had to processes all of that new environment. He went down in the play pin pretty well.

We ended up staying pretty late, much later than we had intended to. We didn't get home until around 11pm, which is really late when you have to be up at 5am. I ended up taking Martyn out to the man cave to sleep, so Eli could get as much sleep as possible.

That was kind of nice I have to admit.

Day 148...such a little baby

Jun 16

Goodness, this day was busy at work, and my brain was pretty broke. I was kind of distracted with work nearly the whole day and forgot we were going to visit our friends Jill and Steve, and their brand new baby boy, Oz. So that was a cool thing to remember when I got off work.

Eli cooked them a lovely dinner, or was in the process of doing so when I got home, and Martyn was fussing. I took him and decided he would like a little bath in the little tub before we left....I was right!

That boy is so cute! Now that he can sit upright for the most part, with out toppling, and can even right himself when he starts to tip over, a shallow bath is super fun for him. He really enjoys splashing with his hands. If he fit a little better, he would also have been trying to kick his feet, which was really funny. That seemed to do the trick in calming him down, and making him happy before we left.

I hate traffic. We happened to pick the most traffic-filled time of the day to drive to the other side of the world as far as we're concerned, which was rather annoying....it all worked out though. We made it in one piece, and enjoyed our nice dinner with our friends. I admired little Oz at the dinner table, and then after dinner took him off Jill's hands for a bit. He smells SO good! I think Martyn still has a very appealing baby smell, but it's not a new born smell. Oz's little downy hair was so soft and his skin so smooth, and he's like half the size of Martyn. He's just awesome. I'm so excited for my new friends, as new parents, and they just have a beautiful baby boy.

It was kind of a strange feeling for me, holding this new born (2 weeks old) baby, and looking at my nearly 5 month old baby. Kind of surreal. I do want another baby, but still not yet. I still have a pretty little baby to take care of!

I'm looking forward to Martyn, and Oz getting to be buddies and grow up together. They are only 4.5 months apart, so technically they would be in the same grade in elementary school. They are also sort of connected by birth, as Jill used the same birth center as I did, and Oz was born in the same tub as Martyn....Jill's midwives were even the same as me, except in reverse. For some reason, that makes me really excited.

Martyn really likes dogs. A lot. Jill and Steve have a BIG dog, and all she had to do was just walk over to me, and wag her tail, to send Martyn into a huge giggle fest. It was cracking me up. He had this really crazy, funny look on his face and he was just belly laughing. He just really really likes dogs. What a cutie!

Day 147...back to the drawing board

Jun 15

It is the middle of June. What the heck? Boy, this is a busy month for us. We have something written down on the calender for every weekend. I'm kind of glad it's half way over, ha!

I've just been draggin' booty this week so far. Apparently, Martyn used up all of his good boy mellowness while he was with me this weekend, because Eli sent me a text message this morning around 11, saying Martyn had only stopped crying since I left this morning, to eat and take a nap, and he would only sleep on Eli's belly.

Poor baby, those "toofs" are hurting him pretty bad. I can feel them when I massage his gums, but they're not breaking through the skin yet. He also has a massive production of slobber, and the teething slobber rash all around his mouth to go with it.

When I got home tonight, I still had my sun glasses on when I walked in the door. Eli was sitting in the recliner, with Martyn on his lap facing the computer. I said "hi baby" to both of them, and Martyn took one look at me, and just burst into tears and started wailing. I took my sun glasses off, and he recognized me right away, and then stopped crying and smiled at me. Poor boy, he's feeling emotional. He pretty much just wanted to snuggle with me the whole evening, or nurse. I wish I could help him out a little more with the pain. I gave him a really good back rub with his shirt off, and that seemed to soothe him pretty well.

While I was doing that, it occurred to me part of the reason he's so big, is probably because we both (Eli and I) have touched him skin to skin, a lot in his short life. It's proven that touch is a major contributing factor in a child's physical development....isn't that amazing?

Martyn was very ready to go to bed at 8 o'clock, right on the nose. I put him to bed and came out in the living room to check my email. I had an email from my new babysitter, saying she can't watch Martyn any more....basically she got a better offer than what we gave her. I understand that, especially in this economy. It still sucks though.

So I'm back to the drawing board. She said she would watch him next week, and then my mom will be here the week after that, so I have a couple weeks to find someone but still....boo!

I keep thinking about staying home with him myself. I told Eli I would commit to staying at my job for at least a year, and reevaluate our whole situation then, but dang....maybe I'm supposed to stay home with the boy, and take in someone else's baby. I don't know. I guess we'll just have to see how it goes....like mom said about the first babysitter (who I totally loved!) "baby sitters are not forever." Well said mom.

Day 146...time to spend the day with Grandpa

Jun 14

Why is it so hard to come back to work after being off a couple days? Man I was dragging today.
Walt picked us up from the airport last night, and then spent the night and took care of Martyn today. So Martyn got to spend the day with Grandpa. I like that.

When I got home, there was a bottle being heated in the sink, and the baby was laying in the play pin in the living room, kind of fussing but not freaking out. Apparently, Grandpa was working on his second shirt change, ha! He told me they had a pretty good day, except that around 11am when Martyn woke up from his morning nap, he had some harsh words for Grandpa....he really wanted a bottle. We all hung out until Eli git home and then took Walt out to dinner as a thanks for taking care of the boy.
I feel very blessed to have such wonderful family, who is willing to help us out in a pinch.

Day 145...homeward bound

Jun 13

Martyn is seriously the best traveling baby, ever! I already knew that, but even after this busy weekend, he still was just perfect on the trip home.

I sat next to a younger couple on the first flight (to Sacramento) and talked with them the whole way, about world travel. Martyn fell asleep and slept nearly the entire way. It was quite an enjoyable flight.

On the second leg, an old couple sat with me, and they were also very friendly. When they first came to sit down, they sort of gave me a little sideways look about having Martyn, and I said very cheerfully, "don't worry, he's a great traveler." They were very courteous and friendly and gracious, but didn't look too convinced.

Martyn was awake the entire flight this time, and a little squirmy here and there, but still very very good. I got out some toys for him to play with and chew or suck on, and he was happy enough with that. When I got off the plane and went down to get my bags, I saw that old couple at the baggage claim. The lady came up to me and Walt, who was holding Martyn and said "oh your baby was just wonderful. You said he would be good, and he really was." Right as I was getting off the plane, the old man said to me "you are a wonderful mother....is this your first baby?" I said he was, and then he said to me "well I hope he is the first of many, because you are just an excellent mother."

That just made my evening. What a nice thing to say! Makes me smile just thinking about it. We stopped by a place on the way home from the airport, to have dinner and meet up with Eli's cousin Heather for her birthday. It was cool, but Martyn had had it by then. For all his being so good on the flights, he was done being held, and ready to go to bed. I was able to calm him for a bit, and we had some really good pizza, but then it was just time to go.

It was so nice to give Eli a kiss when I got there, and a hug when we all got home. I missed him, even though I was only gone for 5 days. He said right as we were going to bed, "I'm so glad you're home, the time went by a lot faster this time than it did last time...." I said that's because it was a lot longer that I was gone last time, ha!

It felt SO good to climb into my own bed and Martyn slept the whole night through, whoo hoo! Starting Tuesday night, we're going to really start training him to sleep in the bassinet or crib. The time has come.

Day 144...visiting is fun

Jun 12

Well, now it's time to relax the next couple days, now that the wedding is over....NOT! I went to visit my cousin Caleb, and his lovely wife Jaquelin (I don't think I spelled her name right), and got to see their new house, which was very nice. Even though I got to see Caleb when I came down to San Diego in March, but I didn't get to meet his then fiance'. I had only seen pictures of her.

After meeting her, I have to say she is just a lovely girl. Beautiful, and very sweet and I wish nothing but the best for their marriage to each other. I'm excited for them, as they start this new chapter of their lives....being a newly wed is a lot of fun!

After I saw them, I went over to my friend's mom's house, from high school, and visited her and her husband. Martyn was wonderful, as usual. He was tired by the end of the night though and ready to go to bed again....it has been a pretty busy weekend for him, after all.

I'm leaving tomorrow, and ready to go home. It's been a good trip but I want to get back to my routine, and be done traveling for a bit.

Day 143...Wedding time!

Jun 11

It's kind of frustrating when you don't have to be somewhere until later in the afternoon, and your baby still wants you to wake up and be up, at 6 in the morning. So what's a Mama to do? Well, get up and be up with the baby of course, ha! Actually, I don't mind so much, especially since mom was up and I could visit with her a bit...although I kind of interrupted her morning quiet time.

I was hoping Martyn would want to go back to sleep for a bit and I could too, but no such luck. I had told Nicole I would be over at the church to start getting ready around 2, the wedding wasn't supposed to start until 4. Mom worked out her schedule conflict, so she could still come and help me with Martyn for the getting ready, and the ceremony. So we had the whole morning and early afternoon to just hang out. I had a good visit with mom, went to the store and got diapers and Starbucks, came back and helped mom lavage her ears, had a shower and then got Martyn up from his early afternoon nap.

I didn't want to put him in his little outfit until right before the wedding, so he stayed in his little alligator jump suit. I forgot to eat something for lunch before we headed over to the church, and by the time we got there I was pretty hungry. I knew it was only going to take me a few minutes to get ready, I needed someone to do my hair and makeup, which also wouldn't take long. Both the hair and makeup stations, as it were, were full when I got there, so I just milled about for a few minutes and then decided to check the kitchen for something to eat.

When I went over there (the kitchen was kind of next door to the nursery where all the ladies were getting ready) some people were cleaning up from some event they had had there, I think they have like a Hawaiian church family who shares the building with them. I went in and saw they had some watermelon and other things, and I was kind of standing there, and this one lady who was like that Mama of everyone, saw me and said "you want something to eat? we're packing up but you're welcome to have anything." So I helped myself to some watermelon and some bean dip. It was awesome!

I went back over to the nursery and milled around a bit more, waiting for the "hair station" to be ready, and had Nicole's aunt Brenda curl and pin my hair for me, then went out and had Nicole's friend do my make up, very lightly for me. Mom had to help me get my corset on, and my dress, and pin the sides for me so the bra wasn't showing. I got poked by the pin. The last 10 minutes of the girls getting ready, was utter chaos....also awesome! When we were all finished, man we looked good! I went up to the chapel and they guys were already there and waiting, and they looked pretty slick.

Mom had taken Martyn up there a few minutes before we all came up, and by the time I was walking down the isle (and I was third to last before Nicole) Martyn was asleep in Mom's arms. I breathed a little sigh of relief.

The whole ceremony was great. They had a lot of good stuff to say, the pastor preached a bit, Nicole and her friends sang a song, the pastor surprised everyone (including Nicole and Marvin) and sang a special song for them....it all went off pretty smoothly, and I made through the entire thing with out crying. I was prepared just in case though, and had a little tissue tucked away in my hand under my bouquet.

Jack came and picked mom up afterwards and I had Martyn for the pictures...I just handed him over to Nicole's aunt, and he was totally fine. Then we all headed to the reception, where Martyn got passed around quite a bit. He fell asleep again right after we got there, even with the loud music playing. I had nursed him just before putting my dress on, and I brought a bottle with me just in case he got hungry before I could take the dress off, but he was totally fine. He was so good in fact, that a lot of people came up and talked to me, saying "oh what a good baby," or "he is just darling"....things like that. He didn't fuss once the whole time, and stayed up well passed his bed time. There was loud music and he wasn't afraid. I think he even liked it some of the time. I was dancing with him and I held him up, and he just had big smile on his face, and kicked his little feet as hard as he could. It was very cute.

When we got home to mom's house, he finally had a melt down. I nursed him, and he crashed hard. He went to sleep and slept for a 7 hours before waking up to nurse again....which I greatly appreciated, because I crashed hard too.

What a blessing, to have such a good baby. I know I say that a lot, but it's true. I just can't help but be excited about it. I wonder if he's always going to be this mellow and well behaved? I know he's at a really easy age right now as far as behavior goes...he isn't mobile yet for one thing. His little personality is coming out more and more. He likes people a lot. Most of the time, he's pretty chatty and interested in interacting with people, even if he doesn't know them. Sometimes though, like tonight, when there are a lot of new people, and a new environment of sights and sounds and smells, he's very quiet and observant. Just wants to take everything in, before commenting on it.

I like that. I'm looking forward to seeing more of it.

Day 142...a little time to show off

Jun 10

Since today is the day before the wedding, Nicole and her family were all going to be working on the flowers. So I wanted to come over with Martyn for a bit, and let him get introduced to everyone.
I had to pick mom up from Ruth's house (Ruth is one of Jack's daughters) because she needed a ride to the pregnancy center and had gone early in the morning with Jack to his granddaughter's 8th grade graduation.
So Martyn got so say hello to a few family members, and he totally spit up on both of my legs while we were at Ruth's. Oh well. I also got tricked by the "June gloom" in the morning, and wore jeans thinking it was going to be coolish today. By the time I had picked mom up, it was totally sunny and kind of warm out. If I had remembered about the cloud cover burning off by 11, I would have worn shorts!

I dropped mom off at the pregnancy center, and then had to go get my shoes for the wedding. I just went to Payless. Martyn was asleep. Then we headed over to Nicole's house and hung out with her and her family for a few hours, while they worked on the flowers. I only was able to do my bouquet, because I was taking care of the boy. But everyone seemed to appreciate seeing him all smiley and awake....when we were down here in March, the one night that I got to visit with that group of friends, Martyn slept the whole time. It was fun to show off his little personality a bit.

I picked mom up, and had her drive the rest of the way home because I had been having a nagging headache all day. It was nice to come home (to mom's house) and just have a nice quiet evening in with her and Jack. I like being able to relate to mom now, as an adult and as a mother. It's a totally different dynamic in our relationship, and it's pretty cool. I'm always going to be her baby, but it's really nice to finally feel like we're on the same playing field.

Day 141....seriously? best traveling baby ever

Jun 9

I thought Eli had set the clock for 7, because that's the time in which we said we needed to be up by. My experiment with Martyn trying to sleep in the bassinet resulted in Martyn being back in the bed with us around midnight, which resulted in me hogging the middle of the bed and jack knifing my butt into Eli, which resulted in him scooting to the edge of his side of the bed, which resulted in getting up about a quarter after 5, and storming out to the man cave.

See why I'm ready to have the bed back from the baby? (I'm smiling though.)

He came back to bed around 6:30 saying "nature keeps waking me up out there...." I had taken the Styrofoam down from the windows and opened them up, so it was really bright, and you could hear the birds chirping loudly.

We got up and started getting ready....I was very glad I took the time to pack last night! I had everything pretty much ready to go. Eli was a little cranky because he didn't get much sleep the night before. On that note, I decided to drive since he would be getting out and coming inside with me anyway. He made us a good breakfast, good way to start the day. We needed to be at the airport by 9 or so, my flight was supposed to leave around 10:30. Last time, we made the mistake of taking 26 from Cedar Hills Boulevard, where we normally get on the free way, and it was a parking lot. That was also part of the reason I decided to drive. So I went up and over the hill, rather than straight to the freeway and that was much quicker.

We got to the airport with plenty of time to have to wait in line to check my bags and the car seat (Southwest has the first two bags fly free, and the car seat is always free) and get Martyn's boarding pass. Then over to the security area, where there seemed to be a lot more people than the last time I went down to San Diego. Still it went pretty quickly. There were a ton of people traveling with little ones...lots of babies, lots of toddlers, lots of strollers and lots of car seats.

The girl who sat in the middle of the row, next to me (I was in the isle) was really cool. We ended up talking the whole flight to Sacramento. She was a couple years older than me, and a business professional, heading to Southern CA for some much needed relaxation, with a friend of hers whom she was meeting there. Martyn, always the little charmer, won her over it seems. She held him for me when I was getting readjusted after nursing him. He was just wonderful!

Then when we got there to Sacramento, I had to change him in the airplane bathroom, and when I came back I was trying to put my changing pad and wipes away, and balance him in the middle seat at the same time. The guy in the window seat, who was also going to San Diego (no getting off the plane) just reached over and picked Martyn up, and held him for me, while I went to the bathroom. Martyn was very happy to just look out the window and watch all the goings on down on the tarmac.

When we left, the lady who filled the middle seat had a little dog in a carry on bag, that went under the seat in front of her. Martyn was better behaved, and quieter than the dog the whole trip....the dog wasn't that bad, just got a bit restless and whiny for a few minutes. At the end of the flight, when we were all parked at the gate and deplaning, and I had to wake Martyn up so I could get up with my bag, he started crying....I heard a lady behind me say in surprise, "oh, I didn't even know there was a baby there, he was just so quiet the whole flight!" That brought a smile to my face.

Martyn is just the best traveller ever! When we got to San Diego, I met mom and Jack at the baggage claim and quickly found my two bags. They usually put the car seats and strollers at the back wall, but I didn't see mine back there. I waited for a few minutes, and then asked one of the airline people there. The told me my car seat had accidentally been taken off the plane in Sacramento, but they were sending it on the next flight. They had a loaner one for me to use in the interim. That was slightly inconvenient, but at least they had a loaner for me, and since I came back down to pick mine up when it came in, they gave me a $50 travel voucher, good for a year! Awesome.

I hadn't brought any "nice" clothes with me, except for my bridesmaid dress, so I had to borrow a skirt and shirt (and purse) from mom to go to the wedding rehearsal tonight. That was pretty cool, and kind of funny that mom just totally dressed me. The rehearsal went pretty smoothly, hopefully the actual wedding does to. I'm totally going to cry I think, especially watching Nicole's mom, Julie, walk her down the isle....makes me a little teary just thinking about it. I'll have to keep a tissue handy in my bouquet or something. I think it's going to be a beautiful wedding. Very much looking forward to it.

Day 140.... I'm sorry Ocifer...

Jun 8

Oh my goodness! This has been a heck of a day. Not too busy at work, until about 3, and then I was slammed for the last hour. Trying to keep everything in order since I'll be gone for the next few days.

When I left to pick up Martyn, I decided to try going a different way to the new baby sitter's house, to figure out the most efficient way of getting there. I was slightly speeding, and got pulled over for a tail light being out. The cop was very friendly and said he pulled me over initially because of my tail light being out, but I was also speeding and he noticed I had a big crack in my wind shield.

He asked me for my license and registration and proof of insurance. I had two of the three, ha! I gave him my license, and got out my registration and handed it to him and didn't say anything. He said in a not mean sounding voice, "do you have your insurance card with you?" I said no I don't. Then he said "are you currently insured?" I hesitated, and decided to tell the truth, I didn't have insurance. He pauses for a moment, then says, "thank you for being honest. Did you know it's a crime in Oregon to lie about having insurance? If you had lied and I ran your information and found that you were lying, I could take you to jail for that".... good thing I decided to tell the truth.

He gave me a ticket for the tail light being out and for driving with out insurance. No speeding ticket, just a warning. He said go home and get insurance on this car, because if I see it driving around I'm going to run the plates and if it's not insured I'm going to have it towed. I was like thank you so much! I called my baby sitter, and she was gracious enough to come and pick me up (I wasn't all that far from her place) and then let me use her Internet to get quick insurance while I waited for Eli to get off work, and then come and get me, and then watch Martyn for a little while longer (at no extra charge) while Eli and I went and got my car. The cop had made me leave it in a parking lot, and didn't have it towed.

So, much to my dismay I am now insured. I hate insurance so much, but it is the law and I've been skirting it for quite some time. It's been hanging over my head, and I'm glad that's lifted now...even though it cost me a ticket. Not too hefty of a ticket though, thankfully.

That whole rigmarole messed up my plans to visit my friend who just had a baby, though. Which I'm sad about. But we'll visit after I get back from San Diego.

On that note, Martyn and I are heading back down to San Diego tomorrow morning, for my bff's wedding. I'm so excited....and terribly exhausted! It's time for bed.

Day 139...comunication malfunction

Jun 7

Communication break down! Uhg. I won't get into all the details of it, but today at work my boss and I had a major communication malfunction. I was pulling my hair out practically trying to figure out what the heck happened, still am not entirely sure, ha!

It got worked out and was fine in the long run, but boy it was frustrating. I hate it when people are frustrated, and just raise their voice instead of actually trying to figure out, or work out the problem....."Raising your voice, the next best thing to being right." Anyway, I'm over it.

So today was Martyn's first day with the new babysitter. He was sleeping pretty soundly on her when I got there to pick him up. That's a good sign. I said "how was your day?" She says, it was pretty good. Martyn was a good boy for her it sounds like. He woke up when she was putting him in the car seat, so I picked him up and he smiled at her.....sometimes I'm a little jealous how much he smiles at other people. Then I remember how much he smiles at me too though. He started giving me little baby boy hugs when I hold him up. It is a serious heart melter.

When we got home, I decided Martyn needed and would like a little bath. I didn't feel like taking a bath with him though, and giving him a bath in the big tub with out being in with him is a pain in the back. So I got the little baby bath out, filled it up and brought it out to the living room and put a towel under it. I decided he could sit in it, since he's been sitting up so well. He really liked it! He got a little excited and splashed a bunch of water out.....so I took him out for a few minutes and poured some of the water out. That was much better. He was diggin' it. Splashing his hands, and kicking his feet, all while sitting up. Then he spit up in the water, and really grossed me out, so I took him out. It was still cool though. I had to really make sure he didn't lean over too far though. He wanted to lean forward, and grab the little baby sponge I had for him, and kept nearly sticking his face in the water. Mostly he sat up well, and splashed the water out of the tub.

Tonight I'm conducting an experiment. Martyn was totally ready for bed at like 7:30, so I nursed him and put him in the bassinet. I switched sides of the bed with Eli, so I can get him if he wakes up....I know I said I was going to wait until we got back from San Diego, but it just struck me that tonight may be a good night to try. We'll see how it goes.

Day 138...free roamin'

Jun 6

Eli sent me a text around 2:30, saying he just got a message from our neighbor D.J., that Sheba was out of the yard. It wasn't an emergency, but I still felt a little uneasy. I didn't think she would run off, or even go near Thompson, but I just didn't like it.

When I got home at 5, there was a note on the front door that said "7:30, you're dog is out, couldn't catch her." Which I'm assuming was from our next door neighbor D.J. Sheba is totally scared of him, so it was no surprise to me that he couldn't catch her. I walked in the house, and there she was! I had left the back door open this morning, and whoever caught her, had put her in the house, and shut the back door. I was kind of shocked. There was a note on the table, from my neighbor across the street, the one with the blue berry patch, saying she was able to catch Sheba and shut the back door because she wasn't sure how she got out of the yard.

So I decided to do a perimeter scan, and when I got to the back corner of the yard, I found her escape route. There's a space at the end of the fence, where we have three cinder blocks stacked up and tied in place, and the rope has rotted, allowing the blocks to fall over. Also, all the bits of concrete and a couple other cinder blocks, we had stacked along the bottom of the back fence have washed down a bit from the rain, so I pulled those all up and set them back at the base of the fence.

I'm so glad we have good neighbors, who watch out for us and our dog. As annoyed as I get with living in suburbia, it makes up for it having great neighbors. I'm looking forward to teaching Martyn to be a good neighbor, one of these days. It was nice to go down to the blue berry patch, and say thanks for catching the dog, in person....and visit with them for a bit. Martyn enjoyed it too.

That was about all the excitement we had for the day. Martyn was so happy this morning when he woke up...boy letting him wake up slow really makes a big difference in him in the morning. He was happy when I picked him up too, but looking pretty tired. He seems to want to go to bed earlier and earlier every night.

Day 137...kickin' it wit the boi

Jun 5

Slept in until 6 this morning, and it felt good!

Martyn was happy and just a lot of fun for me today. We had a good nap around 9:30 until 12:30! It was warm out, but not super bright and sunny all day. I took Martyn out in the yard and laid him on the blanket under the tree, so he wasn't in the sun when it came out from behind the clouds. I kept having to move the blanket under the tree a little more. I decided to fill the kiddie pool up for Sheba, because she was pretty hot. She pretty much hung out under the tree all afternoon.

Sheba seems to be snitching anything and everything that gets left on or near the back fence by the park...or people are tossing things over I don't know. But today she had a knit cap, that she was so proud of. She was running all around the back yard, and tossing it into the air...she's also loving the part of the yard that hasn't been mowed yet, it makes her feel like jungle dog, or something. I brought Martyn out to say hello to her, and as I was squatting with him in the grass, letting him stand barefooted on the grass (which he really likes) Sheba runs over to the grass pile on the side of the yard, and digs a hole in it, throws the hat in, and noses the hole over and covers up her hat. It was like she was showing me where her special prizes were buried, really cute.

Martyn really likes watching Sheba. He likes dogs in general it seems. All day today, he would catch sight of the dog calender we have up in the dining room, with a picture this month of a dog that looks very much like Sheba, and just give it a BIG smile and chatter. It was so cute!

He's also sitting up really well, on his own. He can even balance himself when he starts to topple, sometimes. Not every time. It's his new big boy trick....which makes me smile.

I just love spending time with Martyn, even if I can't get much done around the house during the day. I just love spending time with him. I have a short weekend, he makes it worth it to me, to go to work all week just to be able to spend the weekend with him. He makes me laugh, and I love watching him grow.

What a blessing he is!

Eli was really happy when he got home, for the same reason. He said as soon as he saw Martyn when he walked in the door, and Martyn was laughing at me because I was playing "hey" with him, that just made Eli's day and he was happy. I like that, too.

He only has a little while to spend with Martyn in the evenings that he has to work. So I usually try to let him spend as much time with Martyn as possible before bedtime at 8. Tonight when I was putting Martyn to bed, it started Thundering. Martyn was completely indifferent, Sheba however was freaked out. She almost jumped on the bed with us.

Right now, she is laying on the couch with Eli, still freaked out but seems comforted somewhat. Silly dog.

Day 136...HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDPA!

Jun 4

What a wonderful day it was today!

Just to clarify, today was not Walt's birthday, it's on the 8th....but we celebrated today because it's Saturday and that was the best time for everyone to get together, and because Martyn and I will be gone to San Diego next Saturday.

I'm glad we chose today too, because it was absolutely gorgeous outside. 80 degrees, and bright and sunny all day. Martyn let Eli and I sleep until 6 (whoo hoo!) and then we both got up, around 6:45 or so. Martyn was ready to go back down for a nap around 8:30, so I laid him down in the bassinet and he slept for 3 hours! He's learning how to do that I suppose, which makes me happy.

Eli's parents got here to our house around noon, and we piled everyone into our car and went down to the MAX station, and rode MAX downtown. We kind of forgot that tonight was the Star Light parade, and the Rose Festival was going on down at the water front, so there were just a ton of people downtown....add to the fact, that it was such a beautiful day, and it was just a little hectic and crowded on the MAX, especially with the stroller. It was still pretty cool though.

I was feeling cranky all morning and really trying to get it together, and be pleasant because we were celebrating Walt's 60th birthday. We were a little early getting down to the restaurant (Dan and Louie's) so we sat at the outdoor table of the bar across the street, in the shade, and drank some water and people watched. That was cool.

When it was time to go into the restaurant, we went over and got our table and waited for everyone else to show up. It was a lot of fun to visit with family we haven't seen in a while, and some of whom haven't seen Martyn in person yet.

After we ate, we walked back up to the MAX, road up to and transferred onto the Street car, and road through downtown, all the way down to the tram that goes to OHSU. Walt had never ridden it before, and we decided it was such a nice day to do it. I had never ridden the tram either, and it's been on my bucket list of things to do since I moved to Portland, so that was really cool. It goes right over the Birth Center where I had Martyn too, so both ways (up and back down) we pointed it out which was kind of fun. What a great view of the City of Portland, and surrounding area, too! You could see Mount Hood, Mount St. Helens, and the tip of Mount Adams. If someone had shot off a rocket while we were on the tram, from Walt and MaryJane's house, you could see right where they lived too. It was beautiful!

We just barely caught the last ride of the tram of the day, too. I'm so glad we made it, it was worth the $4 round trip fare, especially on such a beautiful day.

We all rode the Street Car, and MAX back to Sunset transit, where my car was parked and came back to our house....Robin and Miriam met up with a bit later, and had cake and ice cream for Grandpa.

Martyn was a trooper all day, and such a good boy. He was tired of being in the stroller by the end though, and I took him out on the MAX....there were way less people in the evening because everyone was heading into town for the Star Light Parade.

I think Walt had a great birthday, I know I had a great day....and I was even cranky to start with. It was just a wonderful, beautiful day altogether.

Day 135...date night!

Jun 3

What a beautiful day it was! I think I had an extra little spring in my step all day, because it was just gorgeous out. No clouds to be seen, bright and shiny, and warm....but not hot.

I spent the latter half of my afternoon at work, looking for a certain kind of draw string khaki pants I used to have, because I have to wear pants to work, shorts are not allowed. But it will be too hot for my normal pants, so I need something a bit lighter, and cooler, but still full length.

We had decided to give our new baby sitter a test run tonight, and go on a little date. Nothing super fancy or anything like that. We ended up going to McMinnamans Corneilius Pass Roadhouse....which neither of us had been too. It was cool. McMinnamans are all the same as far as the food they have, which was fine because we like their food. Then we went for a walk around the grounds, there were a lot of people eating outside there.

We went for a walk at the park by the library too and that was nice. I love being outside when the weather is nice....it just felt so refreshing!

When we went to pick up Martyn, and walked inside, he was just cracking up laughing at Christine's little dog. It was super cute. It's always reassuring to pick your baby up from the baby sitter, and find him all happy and laughing. She said he was a little upset when he woke up (he was asleep when we got there) but she fed him, and then he was fine. I think it will work out well.

I don't know what my deal was this week, but I was just dragging all week. I'm glad it's supposed to be super nice out tomorrow and the whole weekend actually. It's summer time!

Day 134...little charmer

June 2

I brought Eli's little digital recorder to work with me today to conduct a little experiment. I would push record, and leave it in my pocket and record conversations with my coworkers. It was kind of cool, but ended up being a lot of long spaces of background noise, and no talking.

We went out to dinner for one of Eli's coworkers 21 birthday, and Martyn just charmed all the ladies....like he always does. All the ladies had a pass at him, and he was content for the most part. He was pretty tired though.

We went to this restaurant called Chevys, which is like mexican applebees. What is wrong with Americans that they actually enjoy going to restaurants like that? It was way overpriced, and the food wasn't that great, and drinks were WAY over prices....I didn't drink any booze, but it was kind of the whole idea, since it was a birthday party for someone who was turning 21. I just don't get it though.

Perhaps my taste has just changed over the years, because I used to enjoy restaurants like that, where the masses could get generic food, and it would be the same no matter what state you were in (if that was a chain restaurant). Since I've met Eli, I've been a lot more willing to try different kinds of food, and have learned the wonder and awesomeness of good food...and different is good when it comes to food.

I want to teach Martyn the goodness of good food.

Day 133...the day drags on

Jun 1

June 1st already, what the heck?

Today dragged. I woke up and just knew it was going to be a day like this. Not bad exactly, I just had no energy whatsoever, and it was pretty slow for me at work. The day just dragged.

I found myself really missing my fellows, and just wanting to crawl back into bed with both of them and snuggle up, and go back to sleep. I also woke up thinking it was Thursday, when it was actually Wednesday...boo!

Oh well though, it wasn't so bad. It's probably good that it was slow at work, because I really didn't have any energy, or brain power for it to be busy. The thought occurred to me, that this is kind of what I felt like when I was first pregnant with Martyn. I'm not pregnant, but it kind of got me thinking....I want to be pregnant again. I mean, I want to wait, but I'm looking forward to being pregnant again. I'm looking forward to it being a new experience, different from my first pregnancy, but hopefully similar in that it was great.

I had told Eli I didn't want to get pregnant again until Martyn was about 18 months old or so....what if I got pregnant when Martyn is younger than that though? The only thing that gives me pause on that idea is that I will still be nursing/breast feeding Martyn until he's at least a year old, maybe longer. If I get pregnant before I'm ready to ween him, then I'll have to be pregnant and breast feeding at the same time, and that's hard on the body.

I know I've been over this before. I'll leave it at that for now.

Eli was very cranky and tired when I got home tonight. He had been expecting to get a nap in during the day, but Martyn just wasn't allowing for that I guess. He went and took a little nap when I took the baby, and Martyn and I just snuggled in the chair for a bit. That's the best part of the day, is coming home and snuggling with one or both of my fellows..."fellers" as my mom would say (which brings a smile to my face.)

Martyn is just getting so big. I see him everyday, and it's shocking to me how different he looks in the morning, just from the night before. Apparently a good night's sleep does a body good, because I swear the boy grew an inch in his sleep, ha!

When I picked him up from Janelle's on Tuesday, she said he was sitting up really well by himself. He is too. I mean, he still needs a bit of help, and can't do it for a long period of time, but he can sit up on his own. If he starts to topple, he will put his arm out for balance. She said her baby was laying on the floor on her belly, and she and Martyn made eye contact, and smiled at each other....just the cutest thing.

I like that.

I think when the time comes, Martyn is just going to be the best big brother.....get's me excited!

Day 132...thoughts about upbringing

May 31

I just want to clarify, before I get started on this subject, that I love my mother very much. I loved my father very much too, and I believe they both did what they could, to the best of their own upbringing and ability, in raising three kids....mom especially being widowed with a 10 year old, and a 17 year old still at home.

That being said, I know we always have our own ideas before we have kids of how we are going to "rear" them. I remember thinking as a kid, or teen, when I have kids, I'm going to teach them.... insert whatever lesson you thought your parents did a poor job on, here. Kids think and say things about life, of which they have no idea what they are talking about....most of the time.

Occasionally however, their spout offs about how they would raise their own children, have a hint of wisdom attached and they stick with their convictions when the time comes to train their own kids. Not to sound big headed, but I think this has happened with me. It feels strange, coming from an adult perspective, though.

Today, I read two stories from my mom's blog, "A Grannie's memories" (which I highly recommend even if you don't know my mom, but especially if you do) that prompted me to recall a childhood/teen/young person with no kids, spout off I have had, that I still feel strongly about. Strong enough, that I feel I can't pass up the opportunity for a little accountability from my own blog readers, friends and family, to stick with my convictions since I am now a mother....though the time has not yet come, and will not for quite some time, to put this conviction into practice.

What the heck is she talking about? You may be wondering to yourself.

I am going to do a better job at teaching my kids about sex, than my parents did with me and both of my siblings. When I say I, I mean both Eli and I. We have talked about this before, and we talked about it tonight, and I'm sure we'll talk about it more in the future. I do believe it's good to shelter kids, especially young kids, but only to a certain extent. I don't ever want my kids to feel like that can't come to me with any questions they have about anything, but sex especially....I don't want them to feel like it's a shameful topic, that should never be discussed in the home. So I intend to be open with them, when they have questions.

I have some friends who have kids approaching the age, in which they will have to have "the talk" with them. I don't know how they intend to handle that situation. They have however, been open I believe, if any questions have come up, and have encouraged their kids to learn about human anatomy, which I think is an awesome idea to start with...partly because I myself find that to be an utterly fascinating topic.

In addition to being more directly involved in teaching my children about sex, and all that that encompasses....I also hope to instill in them the desire to "know" things. If they don't know what something means, or how something works, to want to know. To ask Eli and me questions. To ask their teachers, and other adults whom they trust questions. I know I can't make them do this. But I want them to know that it's ok to do so, and we encourage them to do so

I suppose that's all I have to say on the matter for now.