Yachats Vacation Pictures

The guys on a bench behind the hotel in front
of the Pacific Ocean.


Overleaf Lodge in Yachats, Or.



Playing on the bed at the hotel.



View outside our room up close.




The Coast at Heceta Head.



The Brewsters on the trail to the Heceta Head Lighthouse.



At our hotel window. I thought this was really cute.



The giant Japanese spider crab!



Gabe looking at a crab. He laughed a lot at it.



Jellyfish! I can't remember what kind.

Yachats, Or Vacation

It's funny...as soon as you get back from vacation, you feel like you didn't have one! But we are thankful that we got to spend a few days traipsing around, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful places in the old USA - the Oregon Coast. Specifically, Yachats, Or.

The Sunday drive down there went pretty well. We only stopped twice; once for Gabe and once for us (coffee). He slept during the last hour or so of the drive.

The hotel we stayed at was extremely affordable (with the help of a coupon) and had a wonderful view of the ocean. There was also a tasty continental breakfast provided in the mornings, which helped save on the food budget. They also have a spa there, where I got a facial and Craig got a massage. Very relaxing atmosphere. The hotel staff was very nice, too.

The only thing about Yachats is that it is a very small town (we're talking several hundred) and only have a few restaurants. Most of which are quite good because it is a tourist town, but you could go through them in a day. Nearby Newport, Or is about 30-40 minutes away, has a lot more places to eat, but that seemed a bit much to drive for dinner with a baby. Well, to us anyway, lol.

The highlight of Yachats was the Heceta Head Lighthouse. After parking, you have to hike half a mile to get to the lighthouse. It seems smaller when you're standing right under it. Because it is so old, they only take about 4 people at a time to tour it. It has four levels, but you don't go up the fourth level because it really serves as access to the light up top. I have to admit it was a bit scary going up those rusty, winding stairwells. It's very narrow once you get up on that third level, too. Our tour guide was a very nice older man who thought Gabe was the cutest thing.

On the way back on Wednesday, Gabe's naps were messed up. We planned to check out the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport and he fell asleep on the way there. However, he woke up when we took him out the car and never drifted back to sleep. He loved the aquarium; really got a kick out of all the different colored fish, jellyfish, sea otters, sea lions, sharks (tiny ones) and shellfish. We saw Japanese spider crabs; they are huge! We're talking as big as Gabriel, maybe bigger. It is considered the world's largest arthropod. Reminded me that shellfish are basically BUGS, people. Not fish, but bugs. Yuck. But cool to look at, though!

So after the aquarium we went to lunch and Gabe was very fussy now because his sleep time was interrupted. After we ordered our food, I took him out to the car to nurse him, thinking I can come back into the restaurant when he is done. But he fell asleep. In the process of going back to the restaurant, he woke again. So that set the stage for about an hour and a half of fussiness while driving, in addition to stopping twice. So we stopped for a third at a rest stop about an hour from Portland where I walked around with him until he fell asleep. Whew! He slept until we got home.

I am going to post some pics shortly! :)

Tummy stuff, the Coast, etc.

Yesterday, Gabe had a little constipation. Babies usually grunt when they go, but he seemed to be grunting more than usual. I got some prune juice (mixed with water) and that really did the trick by the end of the day.

We are preparing for a three day beach trip to Yachats, OR; leaving on Sunday and coming back Wed. It's about 3 hours away so this will be Gabe's first long car trip. Lately, he's been excellent in the car seat; even looking forward to going out! We've never been to Yachats, so are looking forward to seeing how different it is from Cannon Beach, OR. And we'll take lots of pics!

This weekend, we're also preparing to have some friends over for brunch on Sat. This was our rescheduled brunch from last month when we all started getting sick.

Some photos of Gabe above playing in the laundry hamper.

Now mom is sick!

After Craig and Gabe caught and got over colds, I thought the bug might bypass me. I should have known. Viruses are persistent little suckers.

Last Friday, my throat started feeling funny. By Monday, I felt horrible! Stuffy nose, cough, head aching. After getting up and preparing breakfast for Gabe and myself I was wasted. Just dealing with the fatigue was a challenge because while trying to take it easy, I had to keep up with a newly crawling 10 month old. Which means, haha, I pretty much did not take it easy.

However, the clouds are lifting. Today, I am still stuffy, but only slightly. I still have a little cough, but the last of the cold is easing its way out of my lungs. And I would say 95 percent of my energy is back.

Fortunately, Gabe never got too sick. The extent of his symptoms were a runny nose, a cough and one day of changed behavior. I worried about him getting sick again since I, the person he spends the most time with daily, is hacking all over the place. But antibodies from my cold gets into the milk so if he gets sick again at all, it will mostly likely be mild. Then I remembered that by the time cold symptoms appear, you've already passed them on. And Gabe did seem like his runny nose increased again just a day or two before I got sick. So, hopefully the worst is over.

The Neverending Runny Nose

Man, I hate illness!

About two weeks ago, we had to cancel a visit with a fellow childbirth class couple because Gabe was getting a runny nose and their baby was just getting over one. It seemed to clear up, but then started again yesterday and is now accompanied with a cough. In the process, Craig got sick too but seems to getting better.

Gabe also has two new teeth coming in: one the top and one on the bottom which will make a total of 7 teeth. I've been taking his temp, which has remained normal. He is also acting normally, too, so I am not too concerned, but will keep a look out to make sure he improves and does not get worse. I am giving him plenty of saline drops and suctioning afterwards.

But I just hate hearing him cough. Primarily because that means mucus has drained into his chest. But on the bright side, that also means he is coughing it up, which he needs to do.

In the midst of all this, he's beginning to master the art of crawling. It's mind boggling how quickly these babies get good at a particular ability. Just one day they can sit up, crawl, walk, etc.

So what are people's plans for holiday? Like I mentioned in a previous post, we're celebrating Passover, but not in the right way (i.e., having a Seder, Feast of Unleavened Bread, etc.). I think we will progress to that in coming the coming years. However, we're having a dinner and will focus on the Exodus and how that relates to Christ, etc.

I need to send a shout out to my aunt Bea, who sent a lovely e-card to us, thanks much!!

Oops, forgot pics!

Sorry, here they are!

Drinking water, chunky foods, Passover, etc.

Once or twice a day, I let Gabe drink a few ounces of water a day. Here are two photos. He holds the cup very well himself and seems to get the idea that he has to tilt it up for the liquid to come down. He likes doing this very much; when I get the cup out to pour water in it, he sits forward to opens his mouth; it's really cute.

A few days ago, I tried giving him a few pieces of banana to eat himself and he just played with it! :) He eats thicker foods consistently now, though the only chunkier foods he will eat are chunky apple sauce. About a week or two ago, we tried giving him some chunky chicken with little pasta stars and he gagged himself to much that he threw up. That was surprising, but he was totally fine afterward.

The easter holiday is coming up fast. It seems March came and went really fast. This year we are going to focus more on Passover than easter; I've been reading about the pagan origins of easter and it disturbed me quite a bit. Sometimes I think I read too much for my own good.