It is hard to believe we are only halfway through the month (okay, a little more than half) and so much has happened. Okay, so not as much as the changes I described in my last post, but it still feels like a lot. Trey started his new daycare at the beginning of January, and Randy turned 40! Those are the two big events...but does it get any bigger than that?
Trey always seems to be playing with dolls when I pick him up at daycare. I was about to give away my cradle and dolls (sorry, Camille), but since Trey is interested in them I got them out for him. It has been such fun to watch him playing with my baby dolls and also to watch his interpretation of their roles. The boy Cabbage Patch doll is always Daddy, and the girl is always Mommy. That makes sense, right? But in my literal head I keep thinking, "They're babies; they're not mommy and daddy!" Of course, I don't say that to him. He became most interested in my Strawberry Shortcake dolls and my Ken dolls. I am so glad I held on to these toys.
What I love about watching Trey play with the Ken dolls is that he has no (and will never have) concept that two men can't be "together" in his role play. My dream is that when he grows up anyone who loves each other will be able to marry each other, and he will look back on this time period as if we were all crazy to enforce restrictions (sort of like how people in my generation look back at the 1950's and 60's and the Civil Right Movement).
Meet 'Rika and Adam (Trey's old daycare providers)
Trey hasn't figured out the gender thing yet. I think that's awesome.
Saturday, January 12th, was the day of Randy's 40th birthday party. It was also the day of the Broncos' playoff game. We tried to get a shot of all three male Clarks in their Broncos gear, but we were faced with a major lack of cooperation.
I have about 8 other shots that pretty much mirror the ones above (this last one was the best one), but I thought I'd spare you the misery.
Kris and John were gracious to host Randy's party at their house. We created a Clark Birthday Brewfest and had several beers to taste and wings from Buffalo Wild Wings with a variety of sauces. Beer and wings - two of Randy's things. How could we go wrong?? (Well, the Broncos pulling out a win in double overtime would have really helped. I was VERY impressed with how Randy held his tongue as things went south since there were many young ears around at the time.)
Randy, Trey, and I are blessed with such good friends, and the pictures below show just a small sample of the important people in our lives. Thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate!
Whenever you need to put someone in charge of something, you need to turn to John. I asked him to make a ballot for our voting for best beers, and I was expecting a simple list with lines next to the beers to vote. This is what I got. He is amazing.
The kids' table/beer tasting table for IPAs, pale ales, stouts/porters, and lagers.
Northwest beers (aka anything brewed here that didn't fit in a different category) and international beers
The wings and sauces
More food and friends
How did people entertain kids before the iPad?
I think this was Garland and Maclyn's first experience with the iPad
and they may have fallen a little bit in love.
Pregnant Julie and Grady (15 months)
Julie's due date is in four weeks!!!
Sweet Grady
Adam, Kennedy, and Sarah tasting the non-alcoholic beverages.
The hard cider was also in this section...hopefully, the girls didn't get mixed up!
Elinor and Tim
Randy and some of his OHSU ladies (Nicole, Kris, and Elinor)
Declan, Garland and Trey playing with Sesame Street
(I guess the iPad doesn't always rule...or maybe we put it away.)
Family shot - I love how Trey has been mashing his face to mine in pictures.
Sarah, me, and Kathleen
Randy and Grady doing some important tastings
Sarah, Randy, and Grady discussing IPAs
Sarah and Neil
Our plan was to spend the night so I wouldn't have to leave early with Trey to do bedtime or worry about driving. Needless to say, when I finally started bedtime at 9pm (after most people and kids were gone), we discovered that the packnplay was broken. I rushed down to Julie's house (about 2.5 miles away) in the thick fog to grab hers. Came back (after getting lost due to the fog), did bedtime, and at 10:30pm Trey and I packed up and went home because going down was NOT happening. Trey went right down at home but was up from 130-230am crying. I eventually brought him to bed with me and we both slept until 630am. As I was lying in bed, feeling whiny about how the night ended, in the dark with Trey's face right up to mine, I said, "I love you, Trey." And he responded in his sweet little voice, "Love you too, Mama." Okay, kid. You're forgiven.
I know my husband looks at my blog (aka photos), but I am pretty sure he doesn't actually read it. We shall soon find out. Below are two pictures that demonstrate one difference between men and women. Or maybe just a difference between one man and one woman. I asked Randy to put the recycling from the garage in the bin because we have A LOT of cardboard and paper from moving and the holidays. Later he told me he couldn't get very much to fit. WHAT?? Recycling only comes every other week here, and my piles are overflowing. I go outside later that day, and this is what I find:
I know it's hard to tell, but there are basically three boxes in the bin NOT broken down filling up the majority of the space so nothing else can fit. (I just rolled my eyes AGAIN as I typed this.)
It's also hard to tell in this photo, but this is what it looked like when I was done and the contents are MUCH different than they were before. (I just shook my head as I typed this.)
One thing (out of many) I was very excited about in our new house was the fireplace. We have had three or four fires so far, and it is so cozy! Below are pictures from our first fire. Love it.
Monday, January 14th, was Randy's official birthday, and I surprised him with a babysitter (Kris) and a dinner out at
Ringside Steakhouse. Neither one of us had been there before, and it was absolutely delicious. We both still felt sick when we went to bed because we were so full, but it was totally worth it. I found myself thinking about the meal multiple times the next day. Every bit of it was amazing.
Randy, his Guinness, and the really delicious onion rings
(although what made the onion rings better was the dipping sauce -
apparently French dressing with gorgonzola cheese???)
Randy and I with our dessert and wine
He had an apple pear crisp with cinnamon walnut ice cream,
and I had bananas foster which I'd never tried before.
I guess they do theirs differently there, and it was divine.
Meet Super Trey...or Super Steve...or Super Joe (depends on the day)
Grandma Carmen made him a cape with a T on the back that he loves,
although he will only wear it if he has these glasses on.
Nice look, eh?
Now my last point of discussion has to do with daycare/preschool. Our new daycare provider, who I will call L, was planning on transitioning Trey to the preschool house in June when he turns three. He started at the infant/toddler house this month with other kids his age. I think he had only been in the daycare for 3-4 days when L said she wanted to transition him right away because he had adjusted so well. It made me very proud to feel like we have a well-adjusted boy. Starting this week, he is going to the preschool house three days a week (they don't have space the other two) and spending his entire day with other 2.5-5 year olds.
Yesterday when I picked him up, I asked the teacher a few questions about what his day looks like. I feel weird asking a lot of questions (like I am "that" mom) so I try to space it out to one question a day. I felt justified asking about how the day goes because I literally had no idea (since when we chose the daycare we were pretty much choosing the infant/toddler house). She told me that among free play time, meal time, nap time, etc. they also have circle time where they do songs and sharing and they have three different rotations ("centers") where they do preschool/kindergarten curriculum. They mix the ages together in the centers and modify the content to each individual's age/skill level. I think this is going to be really awesome for Trey, and I am thrilled that he is with older kids.
On the flip side, it is starting to really hit me that we are at that next stage. You know, the stage when you pretty much have no idea what goes on during your kid's day. I feel like it is going to be like this from now until the rest of my life. I know I can ask the teacher how his day was and I know they send home a monthly newsletter, but, seriously, I have no real idea what his day is like or what he is learning/doing. And I can't rely on him as a reporter because apparently today he swam with whales and rode horses. O-kaaaaay....
I'm okay with this change (okay, I'm not 100% okay with it) and I obviously know it's natural and a move towards his independence, but it just feels really sad that we are officially done with the baby days. (As Randy pointed out we are still experiencing the baby days since Trey is waking up 1-3 times a night....)
Here's an example of what came home today.
It's an igloo, if you were wondering.
As of this moment, the fire has died down and my electric mattress pad is warm and ready for me to climb in. I've been thinking about going to bed and reading my awesome book,
My Berlin Kitchen, for hours now. Looking forward to a fun weekend and hoping we all get some rest around here and our sniffles and coughs don't turn into anything bigger (hope I didn't just jinx it).
