The Places We've Been...

Sorry its been awhile. We've been building up our social calendar and exploring our surroundings, which has left me too busy or too tired to blog.

Over the 4th and the last couple weekends, we've been exploring Oregon. We've driven the Mount Hood Scenic Byway and visited Mount Hood. Then we went the other direction and drove the Pacific Coast Scenic Byway from Cannon Beach to Florence. Chris' co-workers told him that we HAD to stop in Tillamook to see the Dairy Farm and cheese plant - "it's so neat!". Hmmm.... do these people know where we're from? Half the people in my home town work in a cheese plant, my grandparents owned a dairy farm, and Chris grew up with Sargento in his backyard. But, we stopped anyway. And yep, it was definitely a Dairy Farm. The cheese plant wasn't operating because of the holiday weekend - but we still got to sample cheese curds and buy ice cream cones! That was probably Gabi's favorite part of the trip - since the rest of the day, she was stuck in her carseat.

We watched the fireworks at Fort Vancouver. They had live music, which Gabi had a blast dancing to, and the fireworks display was set to music and a really great show. Unfortunately, they only held Gabi's attention for a couple minutes and she was ready to run off and explore the crowd. I didn't feel like trying to keep track of a little person, in the dark, in a crowd of thousands of people, so instead, I wrestled with her on our blanket, trying to keep her from wandering off, while Daddy sat and took pictures of the fireworks. ARGH! So, I didn't get to enjoy much of the show, but at least Chris had a good time! He hasn't been to a real fireworks display in 3 years, so this was a good year for him!

Another weekend took us to the Portland Saturday Market. The website calls it "A lively place where unique artists await discovery". Chris described it as "a bunch of nutjobs". Either way - it was another recommendation of his co-workers as "something you have to see". So, we saw it. There was some interesting artwork, but not really our scene. I might go back if I need a unique gift, or maybe to get one of these slings when we have our next baby. But, all the vendors are on-line - so maybe I can just get the goods and spare myself the atmosphere. I doubt if I'll convince Chris to take me back down there, anyway.

We've also been spending a lot of time at the pool at our gym. Gabi loves the water and the hot weather has been perfect for swimming. We are there every weekend - usually both days.

During the week, Gabi and I have been taking swim lessons and going to story hour at the library. I have also continued to take her to the daycare at the gym while I go to workout. She has done great at her swim lessons, LOVES story hour, and is getting better at daycare all the time. We're starting to get into a pattern and it feels good to finally have somewhere to go and a reason to get out of the house.

We've also continued the bike rides. She LOVES going on the bike. If we're sitting at home, and she's bored, she will bring my shoes to me and use sign language to tell me she wants to go for a bike ride. It's so cute - how can I resist. So, we put on our shoes and helmets, and off we go! Its funny, because if I'm feeling lazy, she usually comes over and makes me get off my butt to take her for a ride! I've got a 14-month-old trainer making sure I get in shape!

That's the update for now. Chris is gone for the weekend. He's here for a bachelor party. So its just us girls for the weekend. I think this calls for some shopping!!

New Set of Wheels

Check out what Chris bought for Gabi and me to drive around town during the day...

Generous guy, huh? Actually, Gabi LOVES riding the bike. She points at her helmet excitedly every time we go in the garage, and she is so content while we ride, she never makes a peep (but sometimes she hums). A couple of times she has fallen asleep, while I've been exploring the neighborhood. When we stop at the park, she wakes up, and when she sees where we are she gets the biggest smile on her face - its so cute!

Seriously, though, my husband really is a doll. Here is a pic of our REAL new set of wheels:

The first time I rode in one of these was the last night I had dinner with the girls before Gabi was born. In fact, my water broke that very night, on the way home. Happily, for Kelly, it waited until I was back in my own car, and out of Kelly's brand new Freestyle! But anyway, I LOVED the car so much, when we started looking for cars here, I made Chris take me to check some out. He did a LOT of research and agreed with me that it was a good purchase - so we finally bought a second vehicle, and I couldn't be happier!!

Exercise and Drama

This week, we finally got around to getting a gym membership for all three of us. We are now members of a local club with three swimming pools, awesome workout facilities and best of all, child care! Gabi and I tried it out for the first time on Thursday, and we both LOVED it! I brought her into the kiddie area and she was off and running - playing with the other kids and exploring all the toys. I kind of felt bad, because she didn't even notice when I left. Of course, when I came back she was happy to see me - but it seemed like no big deal. Awesome!! I get to have a distractionless workout and Gabi can have fun playing with the other kids and learning some social skills...

Yeah, right...

Friday we went back again. Same place, same time, same babysitters... NOT the same baby. She was excited about the toys and kids again, but as soon as I sat her down and kissed her goodbye she started bawling. I just kept going - getting sympathetic, but approving nods from the employees and other moms on my way out. I knew she would be okay and stop crying after a couple minutes. But it was still so hard to walk away.

I spent a half hour swimming laps in the outside pool and was headed back to the locker room when a lady from the daycare staff met me. She told me they had been paging me, but she had forgotten that I had told her I was going to be in the pool, and the pages don't go outside. Apparently, Miss Gabi had not stopped crying since I left. Poor thing. The daycare lady said they usually try to give it a chance with new kids, to try and get them used to it, but she wouldn't stop. I wrapped a towel around my waist and marched right into the kiddie area and rescued my baby. Tears and snot were just streaming down her face and she was so upset. She calmed down pretty quickly after I held her for a bit and gave her lots of hugs and kisses, but I sure felt rotten.

They told me to keep bringing her, don't give up, and I know that's what I have to do. I'm just not looking forward to taking her back. However, I NEED to get back into shape and I'm not going to waste this opportunity at this awesome facility - so we'll try again next week. Sigh...