Monday, May 28, 2012

Camping with Kids

On Friday night we drove an hour and a half up to Mt. Rainier National Park to Ohanapecosh campground to meet all of Brian's siblings for an overnight campout. It was Thomas's first time camping, and I admit I was a little nervous about camping with a crawler, how the kids would sleep in a tent, and getting too cold. Maybrie was bouncing off the walls with excitement during the days leading up to it, and the joy carried on while we were there. Thomas actually was really good and loved soaking in the great outdoors too.
 Brian's sister Emily brought this little kid-size picnic table, which was perfect for Thomas to walk around. Though I tried to keep him clean, he did end up crawling in the dirt, and eating some too! That's all part of the camping experience, right?!

This is one of the only pictures Maybrie actually cooperated for. She is in a "turn away and refuse to smile" phase when it comes to picture taking. I caught this picture right after we arrived while Maybrie anxiously watched daddy put up the tent and explored our campsite. Don't you love how she brought her pretty purple purse camping?!

 Maybrie loved playing with the flashlight. In this picture she was lighting her face in the dark, but you can't tell because the flash was too bright. 

Both kids loved watching the fire. While Brian was away flagging down the last family in our party to arrive, I tried to roast Maybrie a giant marshmallow with Thomas in my lap. It turned out to be a bad idea. As soon as the marshmallow was ready I pulled it off and let Maybrie take one bite. Then Thomas, with his quick hands, grabbed the whole hot and gooey mallow. Thomas cried out immediately with a marshmallow covered hand, I frantically shoved the entire marshmallow into my mouth (this wasn't a regular big one, but one of those new huge ones they make) and called for help without realizing how funny I would sound! There was gooey marshmallow all over Thomas's hand, blanket, my coat, my hair, Maybrie's hair, and even on the tip of my nose! After many baby wipes, Maybrie patiently reminded me that she still wanted a marshmallow! I had forgotten that was what I was doing in the first place. :)

Thomas went to bed later than normal, but still really well. However, he must've been wakened by the campfire party, and woke an hour later. We ended up giving him an extra bottle before laying him back down, which led to him waking at 3am completely soaked through his diaper and pajamas. It was already freezing cold, so having to strip him down in a dark tent in the middle of the night was... pleasant. And I'm sure the whole family loved hearing him scream bloody murder during the midst of their peaceful slumber as well! Maybrie slept well except for the fact that her slippery sleeping bag caused her to slip off her mattress and get wedged between it and the side of the tent twice in the night. Brian and I had the makings a comfortable bed, but it wasn't warm enough, so I was up shivering most of the night. I was cranky to say the least, and don't remember the last time my night was so bad that I just wanted to the sun to come up and end it already!

Saturday was good. Though I was dog tired, Brian and I managed to laugh and joke about our miserable night and remind each other that we had a long weekend still with time help each other catch up on lost sleep. Everyone else there cooked and make a hot breakfast of sorts, while we enjoyed Costco muffins. While I may have been nice to eat a hot meal on a cold morning, I was more than happy to sit by the fire, eat my muffin, throw the wrapper in the fire, and relax while everyone else cooked and cleaned!

After breakfast we went on a 2.7 mile hike to Silver Falls. We had planned for Brian to carry Thomas in the back pack and have Maybrie walk, but she did not like that idea, and since there was an extra pack, Brian said he would carry her while I carried Thomas. I am in pretty good shape right now, but Thomas is a whopping 24 lbs. now, so I was hurting really quick. Thankfully Uncle Jon offered to take Thomas and save my back! The rest of the hike was much better. I love the lush vegetation in the western part of WA, and there were so many beautiful water falls on this particular hike- my favorite! 



 
Thomas sacked out on the last stretch of the hike. He was so asleep that he didn't even twitch when we took him off. We didn't want to move him and wake him, so he just sat there sleeping like this for a good 15 mins. when we got back to the campsite. So funny! What a cutie! After lunch we packed up camp and headed home. We had a good time, but boy did we all sleep well Saturday night in our own beds! Brian and I were asleep before 9pm! I think I may limit our exploration of the great outdoors to day trips until we are past the baby/ toddler stage... it is a lot of work!

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Mother's Day

Last week, after baths and just before bed, I had an impromptu photo shoot with the kids because I needed a picture of them together for Mother's Day cards for their grandmas. They were both in good spirits and I got so many fun ones of them together, I decided to share them all. 




 Motherhood can be very challenging at times and make me want to pull my hair out. But then at other times it can be the best, most fulfilling part of my life. I think that is probably how every mother feels. I am grateful to be a mom to these two beautiful children that continue to stretch me and bless my life each day. Thank you Brian for being such a wonderful and supportive companion and for spoiling me this past Mother's day weekend by letting me sleep in, cleaning the house, and surprising me with 2 dozen beautiful red roses! I love my role as mother and feel honored to carry that title with all of the responsibility and joy it holds.
Happy Mother's Day to all of the amazing mothers in my life!
 Cool Maybrie & Sweet Thomas


Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Look alike?

I have been meaning to post pictures of me and Brian as babies in comparison to Thomas for some time now, and keep forgetting. I just came across Brian's baby picture I snapped with my iPhone the last time we were down at his parents house, and realized I never did it. Like most children, we hear the "He looks just like you!" comment about Thomas... some in reference to me and some in reference to Brian. Lately, most people think he looks just like Brian. Now, here are some pictures for you to compare yourselves. What do you think? 
Do they look alike?
 Thomas
Brian                    Summer

Personally, I can see both of us in him sometimes, but most of the time I just think he looks like his own little person. He definitely looks like he belongs to us though. And I'm more than okay with that because I couldn't be happier to have his cute little face around! :)

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

10 months old

Thomas has been learning all kinds of new things this past month. He started to ween himself off of breastfeeding and is now drinking whole milk and is only nursing at bedtime, which is giving me a new found sense of freedom! He loves to eat and is getting more and more interested in eating real food and loves to feed himself finger foods. He is crawling everywhere and walking along everything... getting faster and stronger everyday. He is finally sleeping through the night most nights, hopefully it will be consistent soon. His hair is really coming in now and it looks like it is going to be blonde. His eyebrows and eyelashes are light too. He totally has his daddy's hair- same cowlick and curl in the back. He claps and drums/bangs a lot... two things he does when he gets excited which seems to happen often (he is a pretty happy, smiley little guy!). Our favorite new things Thomas has learned lately are how to walk with his lion walker and waving and saying hi, which actually sounds more like the letter "h" sound. Here are two short videos of his two latest milestones: