So very thankful

Last year on Thanksgiving I wrote in my journal about hearing the heartbeat of our growing baby for the first time.  This year I am so proud to celebrate my first Thanksgiving with my son and husband.  I feel so blessed to have a healthy and happy son who I am raising with my loyal and supportive husband.  Sometimes I feel like my heart is going to burst with love for Trey.  I had no idea being a mother would be this amazing.

I also wrote in my journal last year about the excitement and anticipation of celebrating holiday traditions with Trey and Randy.  My mom created so many special memories for me and my sister , and I can't wait to carry over some of those traditions as well as start some of our own.   I've been looking for a Baby's First Christmas tree ornament because my mom bought us special ornaments each year so we would have our own collection when we were adults.  You'd be surprised how difficult it is to find an ornament celebrating the baby's first year...maybe I am looking in the wrong stores.

This past week has been pretty damn cold in Portland.  We even had a light sprinkling of snow; I can't remember the last time that has happened in November.  Of course, it shut down most of the area schools and freaked everyone out.  I have to admit that I stayed in the cave for a few days...I wasn't as worried about the driving, but I didn't really want Trey out in the cold.  The past three days have been very lazy and cozy for Mama and Baby.  It has actually felt really special since I am already starting the mental countdown to my return to work (two weeks from today).  Cuddling on the couch, lounging on our bed, reading stories, singing songs, dancing, snuggling in the rocking chair...it has been a really nice Arctic Freeze.

 Patiently waiting for Randy to come home from work after
a long, yet wonderful, day at home

Some daddy bonding time before bed

Last weekend we celebrated Trey's five month birthday by going to a few wine events with Kris and John.  It was a great time and we came home with some good wine.  We visited Archery Summit, Barking Frog, Vidon, and Crowley Wines.  Crowley Wines is owned in part by a friend of mine; the wines were delicious and I will now be looking for them in the stores.

Tasting some expensive wines at Archery Summit

Happy family in wine country

Trey's first time wearing shoes 

At Vidon - Trey was such a trooper.

John, Kris, Randy, and Trey

At the end of our day at Crowley Wines.  

Trey wore his Rush hat in honor of one of their wines named Entre Nous.

The other woman in Randy's life...

I feel lucky to have a husband who has such passion for the important things in his life. Sometimes I tease him that if he had to choose between me and the Deschutes River, he might choose her.  Now that Trey is in our life, I think I might win.

Yesterday Randy went fishing with a new friend, Russ, who is a professional photographer and newbie fly fisherman.  Russ is the one I mentioned before who biked across the country and writes Path Less Pedaled.  It sounds like they had a great time, and Randy even came home with a steelhead trout!

Circuit Training

The weather is changing and it's time to bundle up!  We have not been outside as much as before but Trey has a new (used) coat to keep him warm.  Big discoveries this week include finding his feet (as well as other parts he has found during diaper changes making the poopy changes VERY challenging for Mama...his life as a male will never be the same!).

A friend of mine called spending a day with the baby circuit training and so did my pediatrician.  It is so true!  Trey and I spend our days rotating from activity to activity.  We also get out of the house at least once if not twice a day, so I will include those in our rotation.

Trey in his exersaucer

He is always trying to get anything and everything in his mouth.

Tango and Trey have started to become more interested in each other.  So far the physical contact has been one sided.  We shall see how Tango reacts when it starts going both ways.

Trey on his playmat.  This usually is where he goes for some "chill out" or quiet time.  It also seems to be a place that he often poops.  Weird.

An action shot of Trey in his Johnny Jumper

Tango seeing how close he can get without Mama intervening

Closer

Contact!  Tango loves licking Trey and also loves licking feet.  

What a great combination! 

Playing with toys in his Bumbo seat

Randy's new discovery - Trey loves watching the fish in the aquarium.

Getting ready to head out for a walk

Hanging out at Kjersten's house...actually, this was a quick pit stop so I could feed Trey inbetween social outings.  Thanks to Kjersten for letting us drop by!

Other activities on the circuit include reading books (right now Mama's favorites include Mouse Paint and Who Said Coo?), quiet time in the swing, and playing with toys.  It's a busy life in the Clark house!

My mind is totally blank for a blog title this week.

4.5 months old and all bundled up to meet Aunt Julie and Uncle Tim

 at the Moon and Sixpence

Trey and I just got home from music class, and I just love the effect that music seems to have on him.  It is amazing to me that at four months of age, he already recognizes and responds to songs.  When he is crying, I can often sing Eensty Weentsy Spider to him and he will calm almost immediately.  Twinkle Twinkle Little Star does it too.  When he hears Hello Everybody (a song from music class), he always gets a huge grin on his face.  When he is crying in the car, we can turn on the cd from class and he stops crying almost every time.

We go to a Music Together class every Tuesday and it has been great to learn new songs, chants, movements, and dances with the other parents.  I am certainly the student in these classes and Trey is the happy participant.  I love watching Trey respond to the shakers, the drum, and the bells.  We have also met some really nice parents and babies.

Trey and I also try and go to Book Babies at the library every week.  We have found that the Monday afternoon session at the Hollywood branch seems to be the easiest to get to.  Sometimes we meet up with friends there, and it is a great opportunity to "talk shop" with other new moms.

I love checking out books from the library and try to read books with Trey every morning (I find that his attention span before bedtime makes reading books really tricky).  We all have hopes and dreams for our kids, and I just really hope Trey loves books and reading.  It scares me that he may/will/could grow up in a world where schools do not use books anymore and they rely on computers, Ipads, Kindles, electronic textbooks, etc. to get information.  I love choosing new books to read, starting a new book, and marking it with my bookmark each night when I can barely keep my eyes open putting the book away until the  next day.  I enjoy thinking about what I will read next and love talking about books with people.  Trey may not love reading as much as I do, but I hope he likes it a little (okay, let's be honest...more than a little).

Randy and his fishing buddy, Jason, acquainting their sons - future flyfishermen unite!

Saturday Randy and I went for a walk in SE Portland with the idea that we would end up at Coalition Brewing.  I had read in the paper that they had one of the best IPAs around.  It was delicious!  Can't wait to go back!

Trey wore jeans for the first time on Sunday.  We were invited to a brunch at Kellie and Ethan's so Randy could talk shop with Ethan's friend Russ.  Apparently, Russ and his girlfriend Laura just rode 10,000 miles around the country on their bikes.  Russ has taken an interest in flyfishing, so Randy talked to him about some places he could go while he is in Portland.  Their website about their bike trip is pretty cool.  Check it out:  Path Less Pedaled

Trey seems to be in a better mood this past week.  I'm not sure if his sourpuss attitude, frequent tears, and seeming discomfort was from preteething (I got some great advice from friends on Facebook), crappy napping, or what.  This past week we have been working on naps.  It's not going well.

My child has been invaded by a monster...

...and, no, I'm not talking about Halloween.

This past week Trey has seemed somewhat like a different baby.  He's hard to please, tired all of the time, super fussy, cries while eating, and just not himself.  Everyone mentions teething which I suppose it could be.  I asked the pediatrician about it at his appointment a few weeks ago and she said that drooling and chewing on everything in sight is just developmental.  Developmental characteristics for teething perhaps???  All I know is that my sweet baby has put his mother on edge.  I know I'm extra emotional when I get teared up at my much beloved Top Chef marathons.  It feels a little like week 3 or 4 when he cried for no apparent reason and we had trouble soothing him (or when I cried for no apparent reason and Randy had trouble soothing me??).

Trey dressed up by Dad and ready to go on a nap-inducing walk 

while Mom was away at work

Last week Randy and I had a role reversal for two days.  I went to a work conference and Randy stayed home with Trey.  I think it was a great perspective-taking activity for both of us.  I remember vividly coming home on Tuesday to find Randy crashed out in the recliner looking exhausted.  I was so eager and anxious to see Trey and cuddle him for the rest of the night.  Trey proceeded to fuss and cry for most of the evening making it hard to hold him, play with him, and, quite frankly, enjoy him.  I know this is often how Randy feels when he gets home at the end of the day.  For me, being away from Trey was not as difficult as I thought it would be.  It was actually sort of nice to spend some time talking and thinking about something other than the baby or the house.

This is about as Halloween as it got around our house this year.  We stopped by Kellie and Ethan's party for a little bit and then came home, turned out all of the lights, and hid from the trick-or-treaters (to be fair, our ghetto neighborhood doesn't get many trick-or-treaters anyways and I refused to have a bag of leftover candy sitting around to tempt me).

I can't believe it is November already.  Now when people ask me when I'm going back to work, I have to say, "Next month..."  Despite Trey's fussiness, he is such a delight.  Today I actually got teared up looking at him because he is just so freaking precious and had the cutest expression on his face.  Man, I love this baby!