Some of Trey's favorite things

I really should blog more often so that these blog posts aren't as long, but I just can't seem to find the time.  There are points inbetween blog posts where I think, "I should write about that on the blog," but then the time comes when I sit down with the computer and I can't remember any of those things.  They probably are as pointless as my Facebook posts, so I guess it is to your benefit, dear reader.  

We are smack dab in the middle of spring break, and I am way more exhausted at the end of the day during spring break than I am when I am working.  Trey and I have been having a lot of fun (minus nap hell - more on that later) but he wears me out.  On Tuesday I was at the Woodlawn Swap n Play listening to Mr. Ben play music, and this woman I know who has a son the exact same age as Trey walked in hugely pregnant.  My first thought was "Oh my god, she is going to have TWO???"  I wanted to tell her she was very brave but instead I just said congratulations (see, I can bite my tongue at times...).

Here are some of Trey current favorite things to do:

Stand at the sink and rub soap all over his hands.  He doesn't even really like the water.  He just says "sooooo..." again and again so I will give him more soap, and then he gets mad at me when I rinse his hands off at the end.

Our budding chore boy...

Whenever I put Trey on our bed, he immediately climbs over to Randy's side, gets under the covers and lies back on the pillows.  Sometimes he puts his hands behind his head.  If I give him some books, he will read too.  I think it is the sweetest thing ever. 

We got rid of the high chair and got this little table and chairs.  Trey LOVES it.  He loves to eat here and he especially loves to use his markers.  It takes a bit more supervision on my part because I keep forgetting he has the markers and I walk away.  Then I find him wandering around the house with his markers which has the potential to be really dangerous.

Trey's favorite thing to do right now is TALK.  His number of words is increasing exponentially which is AWESOME but he mostly talks in jargon.  Today I video taped him while he was in his crib and I got the tail-end of his monologue.  You might not want to watch the whole thing (about 2 minutes), but if you're interested try to get past the first 30 seconds because that's when he gets going again.

On St. Patrick's Day we went to Jen and Trent's house for a party.  It was fun to watch Trey run around with the other kids since the last time we were at their house for a party we had to hold him the whole time.  It was also fun to catch up with friends, take advantage of their kegerator, and eat some tasty food.

Trey and Maclyn, Kathleen and Bruin's son, hanging out

I can't wait for Trey and Maclyn to become good friends! 

A rare family shot

This past week has been spring break and I feel like we have driven all over the northwest...and we still have more driving to do!  On Saturday we drove up to Seattle to visit Randy's parents who were visiting Randy's brother's family.  Randy's grandma and his aunt and uncle also came to his brother's house, so there were a lot of Clarks running around!  

Trey and I at breakfast in Centralia on the way north

Trey loved Amy's baby and stroller, much to Randy's chagrin

Grandma Carmen and Trey at the park

Grandma Carmen, Cousin Amy, and Trey

Amy was such a love with Trey and wanted to play with him and take care of him the whole time we were there.  It was so sweet, and I wish we lived closer together so the cousins would see each other more often.

Grandpa "Bapa" Doug and Trey

Doug and Carmen brought some more oranges from their house in southern California.  For some reason, Trey gets a real kick out of these oranges and loves taking them out of the box.

On Sunday we went to Kris and John's house for cocktails and pizza.  I was a little worried about Trey due to his 17 minute nap, but he rallyed and was in a pretty good mood.  I so appreciate Kris and John who have accommodated their schedules and our social outings so we can continue to hang out with the wee one.  I'm sure it's annoying to have to start our evening at 4pm, but due to their flexibility and understanding we continue to see them on a regular basis.

Trey really enjoyed sucking on the lemons while the rest of us enjoyed Kris's cocktails.  

Speaking of good friends, our friend Steve came to visit Portland for the weekend, so I was super excited to spend Monday with him.  Steve, Trey, and I went to the beach for the day and the weather was perfect!  It was sunny and in the mid 50's and couldn't have been better.  Trey enjoyed walking on the beach and especially liked Steve's foot stomping.  We finished out the night with dinner with Randy.  It was so awesome to spend the day with Steve.  We miss him and Jen a lot! 

It's hard to hear on this, but Trey is getting a real kick out of Steve.

You also might notice that his shoes don't match.  

He refused to let me put matching shoes on him.  

What is that all about?  

Today Trey and I had the perfect spring break day.  We started out having breakfast at Muddy's with Kellie and chatted with Dyer.  

Trey making himself at home in the restaurant which is luckily kid friendly and was also sort of empty.

Then we met Mindy, Bill and Camille at the library for story time and went to lunch.

What impressed me about Trey was that he didn't stay glued to my side like he normally does in a new setting but ventured out on this carpet as soon as we arrived at the library.  I think it's because the carpet had animals from Brown Bear, Brown Bear and Polar Bear, Polar Bear by Bill Martin and Eric Carle which are his current favorites, but it was still great to see my cautious boy be a little brave.

I'm not sure why Trey was being so shy in this picture.  It might have been because he thought Camille was going to snatch his Blue's Clues dvd or maybe he just didn't want to look at the camera.

Trey and Camille have been "hanging out" since they were just a few months old.  There is this spot in my baby book for "First Friend" and I can't decide whether to put someone there now (my choice for his first friend) or to wait until he's older and chooses someone on his own.  But every time I flip through the baby book (as I did today to compare Trey's weight to Grady's - Grady is as big at 6 months as Trey was at 9 months!), I see that page and think of Camille.

The thing I love about this picture is that these kids are IN MOTION!  They were running around and happy as clams.  It is so fun to see this compared to when they were so little (post zoo pictures). I can't wait until this summer...I have images of Mindy and I lounging on the grass in a park while our little monkeys run all over.

Now my blog post wouldn't be complete without a few complaints about naps.  Trey has refused to nap in his crib for the past four weekends and I haven't been able to get him to nap in his crib over spring break either.  I am so sick of (and sort of over) reading about  naps/sleep in the books and on the web because the advice sounds great until you put it in practice.  I know I'm supposed to let him cry until he falls asleep.  I get it.  But I just feel that when he escalates to the point of screaming where he has trouble calming himself down that he's not going to lie down and all of a sudden take a nap.  And it's even more annoying because he naps great at daycare.  No crying, no fuss...two hours every day with the comment "he fell asleep as soon as he lied down."  Great.

So I feel as if we are resorting to the car nap.  It's easy.  He goes right to sleep.  I don't have to listen to the crying.  But, Jesus, gas is over $4 a gallon and I honestly can't afford it.  On Sunday he cried for 40 minutes, took 8 minutes to fall asleep in the car, slept for 17 minutes, and woke as soon as I stopped the car in front of the house.  OH MY GOD.

On Tuesday he was really screaming in his crib, so I got him out and decided to forego the car nap.  We sat on the couch and he was watching some Blue's Clues (I'm a weak mother when it comes down to it), and the next thing I knew he was asleep in my lap.  This has never happened before and I don't expect it to happen again.  But it was really nice to not have to drive...

In other news, our dog has been under the weather.  Last week he did a lot of puking and minimal eating, so we took him to the vet.  We thought his tumors/growths on his body had finally gotten the best of him, and we were both pretty worried about the outcome.  The vet thought it was something intestinal (maybe due to the large piece of plastic he puked up that morning), so $400 later I am feeding him bland food and trying to keep an eye on his poop.  Awesome.

Tango getting the royal treatment by getting 

to sit in the front seat on the way to the vet.

When we first started driving, he wouldn't even put his head out the window (one of his favorite things), so I was extra worried.  He managed to enjoy the wind a little bit on the way...

I see that I have over 3,000 views on this blog!  I don't know if you read it from Google Reader if Blogger counts that or not, but 3,000!  And I don't even really know who looks at it.  But if you do, thank you and thanks for caring about the Clarks!  

Another uncomplicated blog post

Trey has been so much fun the past few weeks. He's been in such a great mood and makes us laugh all the time!  Here he is giving Big Bird and Cookie Monster kisses.  Ardis, my former secretary at Nellie Muir who is like a fabulous mother to me, gave us a whole bunch of toys.  Amazingly, she had several Sesame Street figures from her kids (this means over 30 years ago) that Trey LOVES.

Randy and I have been marveling over the past few weeks how Trey is such a little boy.  He is using more and more words every week, learning new things constantly, and just acts like a boy.  On one hand I can't wait for him to talk more and more, and on the other that is just a sign that he is no longer my baby.

Trey riding his trike at the park

Nothing says little boy more to me than this. 

The family headed home from the park

Julie had to start taking Grady to daycare this week and the transition has been tough.  It reminds me a lot of how I felt a year ago when Trey started daycare and how hard that was.  It also makes me realize how far I've come as a working mama.  I think that being a full time working mother will always be difficult; however, I'm lucky in that I have a teacher's schedule and still get the breaks and summer with Trey.  I do feel that the drop off at daycare has gotten easier and I know how much Trey likes it there.  The last two days he has been playing outside when I've arrived and has actually cried when I picked him up to take him home.  This is supposed to be a good thing, right?

I was drinking wine and catching up with a friend last night and she said something about life being complicated now that we are grown-ups.  I don't think it's complicated as much as not very fun.  And by not very fun I don't mean that there aren't fun moments, especially with a 20 month old in the house, but it sure is different than the old days where you had a new story to tell every week.  I know there are times when life is complicated, and right now I'm lucky in that life is pretty much the same old shit every day.  I told her the main thing that changes for me is my meal plan.  Sad, but true.  I suppose I should be grateful right now that things are calm because I know there will be days when it is really stressful.

I have been trying to do things that are just for me and not centered around Trey, our home, and my job.  I had the opportunity to go to a Walla Walla wine event with Bianca, a friend from college, last Monday and it was super fun.  Walla Walla wines are so delish, and I can't wait to go back for more tasting with Julie and Tim some time in the next year.

 

Me and Bianca feeling a little blurry

What follows are just some random pictures over the past two weeks.  We have been having a lot of fun with our happy boy and I feel so lucky to have such a sweet son...

You know how when you start dating someone and you end up dressing the same by accident?
Lately the same thing has been happening with Randy and Trey and it is pretty hilarious.
Also, notice Trey standing in Randy's shoes...one of his favorite things to do.

Last weekend Trey and I went down to the Pearl to meet Sam and her son for coffee.
Trey and I walked around one of the city parks while we were waiting and this picture is from that day.

Sunday we tried to go hiking with Kris and John, but Trey fell asleep on the way.
Randy ended up going hiking with them while I sat in the car and read my book.
I look forward to the day when naps don't rule our life.

Wednesday night Adam and his girls came over for dinner and I had Trey in his high chair while I was getting food ready.  Adam said to me under his breath, "Blue face.  Blue face."  I kept swiping at my face thinking I had something on my cheek.  Nope.  This is what an unsupervised child looks like.

Here is Trey and one of his favorite people, the daughter of our daycare provider.  They LOVE each other.  It is so sweet to see them together, and if you have 30 seconds watch the video below.

Trey and evidence of his early kisses

Today we had a great day as a family.  Breakfast at the table (hard to eat together with our schedules), a trip to the park, a trip to the reptile store, some errands while Trey napped in the car, and then happy hour with Adam and Jenny and their girls.  It was finished off with a great Skype session with Grandma and Grandpa Clark and Trey showing his true personality to them.

Trey and a very large snake 

Looking at some friendlier looking tortoises 

Playing at Hopworks

Tomorrow we get a visit from Grandpa Gerts and Sanny.   Hopefully, we will also get to see Julie and Grady.  Two more weeks until spring break, and we have some fun things planned.  Can't wait! 

Is 7 o'clock too early for bed on a Saturday night?

We have had a pretty busy few weeks.  Valentine's Day, a quick visit from Grandpa Doug, and a weekend down in Leaburg with Grandpa Gerts have been the highlights.

So far we have kept holiday celebrations pretty mellow because I figure that Trey is too young and a) doesn't get it or b) won't remember, so why bother?  But as he is getting older I feel that it is time to start celebrating the holidays and creating traditions.  I got Trey a few little things for Valentine's Day (his favorite is the stuffed Cookie Monster) but didn't do anything crafty or sentimental.  I figure I'll do this when he can appreciate it and/or remember it and/or react sufficiently to my efforts.

Trey and I made Randy some brownies for Valentine's Day.  

Trey really loves mixing things (thanks to Amy E.V. who unknowingly let me know that Trey is not too young to do this) and watching me cook in the kitchen.  

I gave Trey a piece of brownie and some whipped cream that night after dinner.  He was only interested in the whipped cream and wouldn't even touch the brownie.

Below is a series of pictures that was taken in a very short time period.  If anyone doubts me when I complain that Trey is being moody, just remember these pictures:

Loving his whipped cream

 Really wants the can of whipped cream on the counter

 Happy boy

GIVE ME MORE!!!!!

Randy's parents have several orange trees in their backyard.  They have named each one after a grandchild and haven't let us forget that there is one tree left to name.  Last week we got a shipment of oranges in the mail, and Trey loved them!  He took them out of the box, lined them up on the couch, and when he saw them back in the box (darn Mom!) he took them back out and lined them up again.

Randy's dad was in town on Friday for a few hours between his drive to Portland from Walla Walla and his flight back to Riverside. He stopped by for a quick visit and got to have an early dinner with us.  I wish I could have captured the expression on Trey's face when he got up from his nap to find "Ba-pa" sitting on his couch...a mixture of shock and awe.  I think he sort of thinks that Grandpa Doug lives in the computer due to our Skype time, so to have him live in our house threw him off a little bit. 

 Playing "catch" with the basketball

 Discussing the important things in life - Elmo and Cookie Monster

 Lining up the oranges again

Bapa and Trey practicing their counting skills

One of the new things Trey loves to do is dump out all of his blocks and put the bag over his head.  He thinks it is hysterical.   Randy cut some slits in the bag because we read somewhere once that you aren't supposed to let your kid play with their head in a plastic bag...

On Saturday morning we drove down to Leaburg to see my dad and Sandy (and also for me to get a haircut and Randy to go fishing, but those were secondary, promise).

I am proud to say that this is Trey's first time eating in a fast food restaurant (proud because he hasn't done it before) and even prouder to say that he refused to eat any of the food.  That's my boy.

Trey and his other "ba-pa" cuddling in the man chair

Now Trey has a thing for chickens and ducks.  I have no idea why but "ka-ka" (duck) was one of his first words, he loves the chicken and duck puzzle pieces so much from his wooden puzzle that he carries them around, and he loves pictures of chickens and ducks in books.  I think he might be drawn to them in part because he has seen them in real life.  Heidi and Kelly live next door to my dad and Sandy and they have a shitton of poultry.  I honestly can't think of a better way to say it.  This picture does not do justice to the amount of birds they have in their hen house.  (And I am pleased to report that Kelly is supposedly going to get rid of a few of the roosters because they woke him up in the middle of the night.  Finally.  I hate those f-ing roosters.)  

Julie, Tim, and Grady came down on Sunday for the night.  Here is sweet Grady at 4.5 months.  I only got to hold him a little bit, and I felt a little deprived.  I seriously need to find a way to spend more with this boy.  

So some final thoughts for the week....

I don't really get Pinterest.  I know a lot of my friends really love it and rave about it, but I can't wrap my head around it.  I think that this is because I am a little limited in my web browsing and I don't look at the right stuff.  When I'm on the computer I do email, Facebook, news, and blogs.  I really like reading people's blogs.  But when I look at my friends' Pinterest pages, they have all this really cool stuff pinned and I think "Where in the hell do they find this stuff?" I wouldn't even know where to start.  And, to be honest, looking at those things (especially the crafty kid stuff) is just another way to make me feel like a deficient mother.  

I'm in the middle of a phase where I feel a little bit like a bad mom (and this isn't even related to my guilt about things like fluoride, vitamins, baby sign language...).  I feel like I spend my entire week counting down until the weekend so I can spend time with Trey, and then the weekend comes and I feel like I spend my day counting down until naptime or bedtime.  I love being with Trey and he makes me laugh so much (lately his tiger growl gets me every time), but he is being so whiny and can't tell me what he needs or wants.  I know this is his age and not being able to express himself, but I honestly feel like I spend my day trying to read his mind and not being able to meet his needs.  It's very frustrating and very exhausting and makes me feel bad.  

I get really annoyed with bikes.  I think it's great that so many people ride bikes around town for transportation.  Great.  Really, I do.  But I think if bikers want to be treated like cars, they need to act like cars.  Today Randy and I were driving in Multnomah Village and these two bikers were riding directly in front of us on the road.  Like right in front of us where there was nowhere for us to go.  I'm thinking "Oh, they think they're a car."  But then we get to the stop sign and they blow right through it. "Wait a second," I think, "I thought you wanted to be a car!!!"  We then saw them blow through another stop sign at the bottom of the hill.  I'm sure they went from there to continue riding their bikes down the middle of the freaking street.  Makes me crazy.  

I mentioned above that I like blogs.  I really like reading Mom blogs.  Makes me feel a little more normal.  I just discovered this one and really like this post.   I also liked this post on urbanmamas from last week: Working Mothers, Hipsters, and What We See When We Look At Other Moms.   Wow, and while working on this blog post, I just read this post: The Sanctimommy and I like it too.