Rocking Baby to Sleep

When Chase was younger, say a year and more ago, I wanted so badly to sit in a rocking chair and rock him to sleep. That wasn't Chase's style. He wanted to be bounced, nursed, carried in a sling, and/or walked to sleep. Eventually we got to the point where we could do a little story/hug/song/prayer routine and just lay him down and he would fall asleep on his own. And now, Sunday naps are in the jogger. But never could I cuddle him in a rocking chair as he drifted off to sleep.

Well, just over 2 weeks ago, he started a panicked scream at nap time. After a few days of struggling, and then a few days of putting him in the back pack and wearing him until he was out, I was frustrated. Note, he did just fine at bedtime on his own (well, with his meow kitty). Crazy kid. On a whim, I tried rocking him in the chair. He fell asleep in 2 minutes. Since then, after stories before nap time, he says, "wock, wock, wock,.." for rock. He and I love rocking to sleep. My wish finally came true and I'm one happy mama.

Waffles!

Sauvie Island

We went to Sauvie Island today for a romp in the mud. We had a great time and even managed to miss most of the rain.   

Here is the google map of the maze we completed…

 

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Below is Chase’s costume for this year. He wore it to a Halloween party near our house.

 

PA Visit

Chase and I(Megan) went to Pennsylvania for 2 weeks in August to visit my parents. Chase got to meet his younger cousin Ethan, and be reunited with a whole bunch of other family. Here we are with Aunt Kate and her 2 now one-year-olds, Connor and Ethan.


Connor and Chase liked running together in my parents brand new sun room.
Chase and I were the first to track mud in there.

We visited my aunt Sharon a couple times. As usual, she was prepared with toys - rocking horse, puppy, bubbles, and more. We also did some finger painting at her place.

We went to the zoo with my parents and Kate's crew. Chase got up close and personal with some animals.

Chase and my dad are good buddies.

Some male bonding

As soon as Dan realized we were in Pennsylvania, he hopped in his convertible and made the four hour drive up to see us. Our parents took us to a kid-friendly science museum.
We went to our favorite duck creek.

Chase spent a lot of time playing on my parents' stairs.

Cuddling with Grandma H.

(They wouldn't both look at the camera at the same time.)

A family gathering.


We made our way to Central Pennsylvania to visit my best friends, Corynn and Tami, and their sons, Ryan and Fynn, as well as some family and possibly some family-to-be. ;o) Chase loved having free range on the farm, especially on a tractor.

Darren, Fynn, Felicity, and Ryan anticipating the rocket launch by Tami's boyfriend and kids.


The saloon and outhouse.
The bunk house where we slept.


We had an unforgettable time in Pennsylvania, but we were thrilled to be reunited with Daddy back at home.
We've had a few adventures since our PA visit, including a sailing trip. More on that to come.

Two Nights

We went camping this past weekend at Beverly Beach. This trip consisted of two nights away, a first since Chase’s arrival.

There was ample beach time (Oregon beach time is unique)…

And lots of of just relaxing in the campsite…

We slept good, we played hard, what more could you ask for?

I can fly!

Weekend Getaway

We went on our first camping trip of the year two weeks ago. We considered going two nights but thought it better to start with just one. The whole idea started in my head when I found out the Oregon Trail Rally was starting on a Friday night near where I work. I figured, if we’re going to be out late anyway, why not go camping?

Friday

Gates at PIR opened at 3 pm and we got there around 4:30. The actual race wouldn’t begin until after 7 pm so we walked around and visited with the participants and watched as they made last minute adjustments.

While walking up and down the rows of cars, trailers and crew I spotted a unique last name that I recognized from a training class I went to. The last name belonged to a girl I met in Ohio and was really into racing at the time (2004). At that time she had attended some rallies but never drove or co-drove. Turns out, she now has a rally car and travels the west coast driving sideways! We spend quite a bit of time talking with her. She let Chase sit in her car.

After making a few rounds we found a shady spot (the weather was gorgeous) and relaxed until the racing began. Once it did, Chase was very interested in watching the cars. During one of the stages we stood so close we had to cover his ears whenever a car drove by. The whole event was fun for the whole family which was a relief.

At around 8:30 we started heading for the campground. We camped at Seaquest State Park in Washington about 45 miles west of Mt. Saint Helens. We were all asleep shortly after setting up our tents.

Chase slept in a tent inside a tent…

Saturday

One advantage to getting up early with Chase is you get to all the busy spots before other people have had breakfast. We ate breakfast, packed up the tent and were at the first view point at 7:45 am, and we moved pretty leisurely

First view point…

The other advantage is you get to take pictures in really good light…

We stopped at many of the viewpoints heading towards Mt Saint Helens. And also went on a few short walks. We ate our lunch near the Johnson Ridge Observatory which is at the end of HWY 504 and started our trip home shortly thereafter. We took our time getting back to Salem stopping at rest area and IKEA for at least an hour. The trip was a lot of fun and it was nice to have Sunday as a full rest day.

May

Our little farmer:

 
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Chasin’

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Muscle Beach

We travelled south last month for my sister’s wedding and took a few days to see some sites around Los Angeles. Our first stop was the farmers market to get some good kid food. We knew that eating out a lot would be expensive, especially if Chase was being picky so we stocked up on fruits and vegetables that we knew he liked. As far as farmers market’s go this one was pretty terrible, but it accomplished what we needed ( they did have California strawberries for $.88/lb).

The first “touristy” thing we visited was the Getty Center. In our guidebook it was listed as kid friendly and free (admission was free, but parking was $15). Chase had a great time climbing up and down the stairs. The entrance had 50 or so stairs to climb so we didn’t actually go into the center for twenty minutes while he played on them. Once inside, Megan and I enjoyed the exhibits, gardens and pools. The tricky part was trying to get Chase to nap when there was so much action going on. One nice thing about the Center was that the had strollers for families, unfortunately even these couldn’t get Chase to fall to sleep.

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From the Getty Center we headed back towards Beverly Hills via Mulholland Drive. It is one of those iconic roads that you see in many movies. It has beautiful views of the valley and the ocean. Chase slept through the whole thing :)

On our second day in LA we headed west, to the beach. Parking is sparse near the beach but after looking for awhile we ended up parking right in front of Muscle Beach which happened to be one of the highlights to our visit. Very kid friendly. Very parent friendly. They had rings…

Tight ropes…

Segways…

Ok, that part wasn’t a highlight, but funny none the less. There were a few stereotypical ‘muscle dudes’ which was also fun to watch. Chase really enjoyed all the sun. We would stayed longer but were afraid of too much sun exposure for our little guy (we did lather him up every two hours).

Overall, our experience was really fun. Chase was happy most of the time and because we drove so much he also napped very well.