Outdoor Baby

When we got home today it was still 60+ outside, so we headed out to make the most of the remaining daylight. There is so much for a kiddo to discover outside, even just in our own back yard.

Like Daddy's planters.

Mmmmm, this clump of dirt looks yummy.

I suppose I could have stopped him from eating dirt, but where is the fun in that?

Amidst all the distractions he still manages to give me a few smiles.
Look at that toothy grin!

Then some goofy antics.

"Look, Ma! I can do a pushup!"

Finally, a serious pose for Mommy and her camera.

Take Me to the Emerald City

In preparation for our travels to Quincy and Seattle last weekend I was totally in my organization element. I started packing us up mid-week, and even had a list to check off items as I packed. It was fantastic! And I didn't forget a thing. I got the okay to leave work at 4pm on Friday, and by 5pm we had the car (and kiddo) packed and were pulling out of the driveway. I took this ease with which the weekend was starting as a good omen for all that lay ahead.

I should have known better. Perhaps I should have yielded more to my maternal instinct when, an hour into our drive, I kept catching a whiff of something that smelled a bit sour. Mind you, our kiddo was a major spitter-upper for the first 6 months of his life so this was not an unusual smell to us. And we have found that when Kendry is teething he regresses to spitting up again. His daycare provider had sent him home in a bib that day, which I took as a sign that he was spitting up a bit. I figured the sour whiff was simply from his bib. I figured wrong. You see, Kendry was also wearing his second outfit of the day due to a blowout at daycare. Maybe I should have considered that fact as well. But nooooooo - it took me another hour to discover Kendry's second blowout of the day. Terrific. No wonder he wasn't falling asleep like he usually does in the car. I wouldn't be able to sleep sitting in that either. Ahhh...the many facets of the teething stage are so wonderful, aren't they?

Without another town for twenty miles I had Justin pull over to the side of the road. Poor Kendry was not a happy camper. Neither were we. (BTW, see Red Bag sharing in this adventure?)

And no sooner do I get him in his new, clean outfit than he spits up all over it. Just peachy.

"I don't know what all this fuss is about Mom. Now could you please put some clothes back on me cuz its getting cold out here?"

We finally made it to Quincy where Kendry enjoyed an evening playing with his cousins, Paxton and Ava, and got to stay up way past his bedtime.

Fast forward to Saturday morning. I was on the road to Seattle by 9:30am, all by myself. I made it to Amanda's house by noon. We chatted for a bit - let's face it, she and I could probably talk for days and still not be done - and then we headed to Alki Beach for some rollerblading. It was gorgeous!

It doesn't get much better than a beautiful, fun day in Seattle with a girlfriend.

Bust out the cameras cuz its photo shoot time!

See the Space Needle poking up atop my head?

Seattle helps me find my zen. Now if only I knew what zen really is...

Hold that pose, chica. You look fabulous against the Seattle skyline.

Now on to the next stop(s): Target and pedicures

Look at those pretty little piggies!

Time to get glammed up for our dinner at Black Bottle.

Finally, Sunday arrived and it was time for the main event of the weekend: Seattle's Big Climb 2010, tackling 69 flights of stairs in the Columbia Center. WHEW! Talk about exhausting. We don't have photos of this because who wants to carry a camera with them up 69 flights, right? But we took a picture of our climbing team, Step It Up, as we dined on a delicious breakfast at Fado afterwards.

The unidentified male sitting with us is Amanda's boyfriend, Chris, who I finally got to meet this weekend.

After the climb and stuffing myself to capacity with an Irish brunch, all I wanted to do was take a nap. Alas, I still had a 6 hour drive home. I picked up my boys in Quincy and we arrived home safely around 6pm. Much to our surprise, our basement door was standing wide upon when we pulled in our drive. Guess we forgot something after all: closing and locking the basement. Thankfully, everything was just as we left it.

Red Bag Does Seattle

Red Bag destination #3: Seattle

Date: March 20-21, 2010

Occasion: Hanging out with Amanda and tackling the Big Climb once again.

From here on out I will be referring to Red Bag as "she". I figure such a glamorous and reliable traveling companion deserves at least that much recognition.

Here we are at Amanda's house at 7:30am on Sunday morning, all decked out to climb 69 flights of stairs. Not that Red Bag actually did the stairs with me. I had a hard enough time lugging my own LB's up those stairs; there was no way I was tacking on her 10 too. Although she probably could have helped me body slam a few stair hogs out of my way. Me, competitive? Never!If I'm really honest here, 10lbs might be a bit optimistic. I'm not sure I have ever successfully packed an overnight bag under 10lbs. But my determination to use Red Bag has definitely got me packing a little lighter so everything fits. Or I just squeeze a few items into Justin's bag when he isn't looking.

Seattle was gorgeous and wonderful! More on that later...

TOW

1. Here is my little snaggletooth. Tooth #4 is just about to break through.

2. I am so excited to visit Amanda in Seattle this coming weekend! I hope Seattle has decent weather cuz I am dying to do some rollerblading on Alki Beach.

3. Justin has worked incredibly hard the last few days getting his rose garden started. This is a picture of his progress as of Monday night. On Tuesday night he planted the last few bushes. They are going to look beautiful! If his extended hours outside over the last few days are any indication of how much work these things are going to require, we could be in for an interesting summer. But I'm sure Kendry will love keeping daddy company while he works, so long as we can keep Kendry out of the thorns.

4. It was 70 degrees here yesterday - perfectly gorgeous! We may have roses before too long.

5. These days Kendry climbs or pulls himself up on whatever he can. This day it was our patio door, where he enjoyed licking the nice clean window. As OCD as I am, I have come to terms with the fact that this window will consistently wear fingerprints and mouth marks for years to come.

Kendry has yet to master letting go and falling safely back onto the cushion that is his rear end. I think it still scares him a bit.

So after awhile he lets us know when he is ready for help getting back down to level ground.

"Umm, Mommy? I think I'm stuck up here."

6. I'm going to be an auntie again! Hooray! I'll let you figure out which of my many siblings or siblings-in-law is the lucky prego.

7. HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!! Did you remember to wear your green?

8. This weekend's road trip could prove to be quite the challenge. We have not taken Kendry on the road since our Christmas in Quincy three months ago, and that trip home was a bit trying. Since then Kendry has become more willful and opinionated about being confined to his car seat. Our driving schedule should accommodate Kendry in that it will be nearly his bedtime when we leave on Friday, and naptime when we return on Sunday. Just in case though, I am putting together "Kendry's road trip bag" to help keep us sane in the event of a meltdown. Expect the best but prepare for the worst, right?

9. I am sick of March Madness already. Is it really necessary for each individual ESPN sportscaster on every single ESPN program (on every ESPN channel) to analyze every possible bracket scenario? I think not. The horse is dead, people!

10. My new mantra this week is "simplify". But I'm pretty sure I picked the wrong week to start. :)

Breaking in the Kelty

One of the activities Justin and I enjoy doing together is hiking. Shortly after moving to the LC Valley in the summer of 2006, we embarked on our first backpacking trip: the Milton Creek Trail. I see no need to revisit the painful details of this hike, and by painful I mean the loss of at least 5 of my toenails; instead, I will simply point out that the photos below were taken in the first 2-3 miles of the trip, before the trail dropped all the way down into the farthest reaches of the valley. Notice how we are still all smiles at this point?

Smiles were a little hard to come by the next day when we had to climb all the way back up the mountain in 80+ degree heat. But, we made it out alive, no thanks to the millions of tiny little bugs that ate at us the whole drive home too... oh, right, I said I wouldn't revisit these details. Sorry. Seriously though, in spite of getting in a little over our heads on this hike, we came out of it with a new hobby we both enjoyed, and battling through the adventure together made me feel like we were even stronger of a team.

The following summer we tackled our second trek: Oregon Butte. This time I had the proper hiking boots (oh how I love my Merrells) and we were just all-around more prepared. We even enjoyed some bacon for breakfast. Thats what I call camping!

Unfortunately, we haven't backpacked since. The summer of 2008 quickly gave way to our IVF journey, and in the summer of 2009 Kendry was just a newborn.

With the warm weather arriving, Justin and I are both getting excited to do some camping and hiking. Naturally, we intend to take Kendry with us, which is why we recently purchased a Kelty carrier for him. Yesterday I took him for his first ride.

Hear me out before you laugh at the thought of me trekking around my neighborhood like a lost hiker with a 23lb kid on my back. I am, after all, still training for my Big Climb this weekend and figured walking some hills with the extra weight on my back would be a great workout. Sure enough, it was.

I did feel a little like a pack horse, with the shifting sounds emitted by the Kelty reminding me of a saddle squeaking lightly with each step of the horse. And Kendry grabbing my pony tail like reins didn't help. I suppose its unfair to expect a 10 mth old not to grab the pony tail bouncing up and down mere inches in front of his face.

It hit 70 degrees here today, so Kendry's first real hike isn't too far off. Possible hiking sites: Clearwater National Forest or Palouse Falls.