Today is my birthday and I haven't really got anything planned. There is a heat advisory in Portland with 100 temps set for the next three days. We broke down and purchased an air conditioner unit for the window in our kitchen to keep the downstairs cooler. If Gabe were older and in school and I was at work all day, we probably would just ride it through. Or if he were in school and it were just me, I'd just go spend the day at the mall to keep cool.
But I think he's too young to be lugged around town to stay cool, so that's why we got the unit. It's small and works well so far; keeps the kitchen/dining area cold and the living room cool. Haven't hatched a plan for upstairs. During the day it will get very hot, but at night it cools off OK.
Anyway, back to the birthday. No plans. All I am doing, is getting a cheesecake and maybe some take-out Thai food, not sure yet. But not going out anywhere, no major plans; really concentrating on keeping Gabe and myself cool these next few days.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
Oregon Zoo Trip
This past Monday, after getting back in town from visiting friends in Washington State, we took Gabe to the Oregon Zoo, courtesy of Grandma Deb (was part of his birthday gift). One of Craig's friends, Tina, and her daughter Mary-Ellen, was in town from Salt Lake City, and they joined us, too. Fortunately, Monday was nice and cool (versus the rest of this week which was very hot).
It was really fun. Gabe was totally fascinated with things like "Exit" signs, lights and other children. Oh yeah, and the animals were okay, too, lol. What I like about the Oregon Zoo is that there is not a lot of concrete; you feel like you are hiking in the woods, looking at animals. Or at least they do a pretty good job of making it seem that way. Many of the exhibits feel very open (except for the elephants, big cats, bears, etc.)
At one point, I had to go nurse him and then I put him in the carrier. He fell asleep for probably a half hour. We made our way to the stage area, where they were having a show of owls and music was playing. They just so happened to be playing "Thriller" by MJ and I felt Gabe dancing in his carrier before he even fully woke! The boy LOVES music.
Here are some pics:
Mom and Gabe looking at Polar Bears.
Meri-Elen, her mom Tina and Gabe.
Seals.
Zebra. Doesn't it feel like we were practically
in the enclosure?
Meerkat
Right before naptime.
It was really fun. Gabe was totally fascinated with things like "Exit" signs, lights and other children. Oh yeah, and the animals were okay, too, lol. What I like about the Oregon Zoo is that there is not a lot of concrete; you feel like you are hiking in the woods, looking at animals. Or at least they do a pretty good job of making it seem that way. Many of the exhibits feel very open (except for the elephants, big cats, bears, etc.)
At one point, I had to go nurse him and then I put him in the carrier. He fell asleep for probably a half hour. We made our way to the stage area, where they were having a show of owls and music was playing. They just so happened to be playing "Thriller" by MJ and I felt Gabe dancing in his carrier before he even fully woke! The boy LOVES music.
Here are some pics:
Mom and Gabe looking at Polar Bears.
Meri-Elen, her mom Tina and Gabe.
Seals.
Zebra. Doesn't it feel like we were practically
in the enclosure?
Meerkat
Right before naptime.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Sunday Play Date
Yesterday, another couple from our childbirth class, Amy and Steve, brought their son, Silas, over for a playdate and much needed catching up between the adults. It was great fun!
I made artichoke and sun-dried tomato quiche, Craig made a fruit salad, and we bought poppyseed and almond muffins. Gabe and Silas played together well. Silas is about 2 weeks younger than Gabe, but he is already walking. They both seemed to drift between being tired and getting bursts of energy. We were kind of worried about Gabe, because he seemed to getting really cranky and tired right when they arrived! But after some cuddlings and holding him, he got a second wind. During lunch, he sucked on a lot of fruit; he was quite taken with the watermelon and cantelope. Silas is not as picky with foods and ate some of the quiche (in fact, Amy joked that she think he may be eating too much, lol).
It was great to compare notes on parenting with another couple that are first time parents. I took a few pics:
Gabe looking at Silas over near his parents.
Tried to get Silas to smile big. I think there was a
little smile there.
I made artichoke and sun-dried tomato quiche, Craig made a fruit salad, and we bought poppyseed and almond muffins. Gabe and Silas played together well. Silas is about 2 weeks younger than Gabe, but he is already walking. They both seemed to drift between being tired and getting bursts of energy. We were kind of worried about Gabe, because he seemed to getting really cranky and tired right when they arrived! But after some cuddlings and holding him, he got a second wind. During lunch, he sucked on a lot of fruit; he was quite taken with the watermelon and cantelope. Silas is not as picky with foods and ate some of the quiche (in fact, Amy joked that she think he may be eating too much, lol).
It was great to compare notes on parenting with another couple that are first time parents. I took a few pics:
Gabe looking at Silas over near his parents.
Tried to get Silas to smile big. I think there was a
little smile there.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Father's Day
Craig's first Father's Day started out interesting.
On Saturday afternoon, Gabe came down with a temperature of 101. Now I am freaking out because he had showed no signs of illness before this. He just woke up from a nap warm. And while this is not the first time he has been sick, this was the first time he has ever had a temp. Yikes! So, I forgot how much Tylenol to give him, so we call the on-call nurse. Meanwhile, I give him half a dropper of Tylenol, knowing we're going to be told to give him at least that much. The nurse calls back, tells us a whole dropper is ok, so I give him another half-dropper. Temp drops by evening, he sleeps ok through the night.
He wakes up with a temp again, but it is 100. At this point, he's acting sickly, but not totally lethargic. Still smiles, etc. So it seemed like in the afternoon, he was totally fine. Temp went back down, he was playing like normal. I put him down for a nap. Then he wakes up crying. Ok, not totally unusual, sometimes they wake up cranky. But this time, he was like inconsolable! I'm like, is he in pain or something? Freaking out again, I am. We take his temp again, and its like 96 something, seemed a bit low. At the time, Craig had it in his head that it was too low, like ER low, but later I realized we were not thinking very clearly because he just woke up and your temp goes down during sleep.
Anyway, I was more concerned about out of control crying. So we called the nurse again, and she said that if his temp was too low, he'd be shivering, etc. So, she just said that he is probably coming down with a cold virus or perhaps teething. His nose started running a bit, so I am inclined to believe that there was a cold virus in him.
Eventually, Gabe was fine and nursed and calmed down. And he has been fine ever since; fever stayed down and his nose stopped running.
Whew! So Father's Day didn't start off very well, but it ended well. Craig wanted to go to Five Guys Burgers and Fries for dinner (he really wanted to go to Red Robin, but since Gabe was getting over sickness, we didn't want to push our luck; We did take-out for 5 Guys). Their burgers are pretty good and you get a nice helping of fries for two people from one serving.
On Saturday afternoon, Gabe came down with a temperature of 101. Now I am freaking out because he had showed no signs of illness before this. He just woke up from a nap warm. And while this is not the first time he has been sick, this was the first time he has ever had a temp. Yikes! So, I forgot how much Tylenol to give him, so we call the on-call nurse. Meanwhile, I give him half a dropper of Tylenol, knowing we're going to be told to give him at least that much. The nurse calls back, tells us a whole dropper is ok, so I give him another half-dropper. Temp drops by evening, he sleeps ok through the night.
He wakes up with a temp again, but it is 100. At this point, he's acting sickly, but not totally lethargic. Still smiles, etc. So it seemed like in the afternoon, he was totally fine. Temp went back down, he was playing like normal. I put him down for a nap. Then he wakes up crying. Ok, not totally unusual, sometimes they wake up cranky. But this time, he was like inconsolable! I'm like, is he in pain or something? Freaking out again, I am. We take his temp again, and its like 96 something, seemed a bit low. At the time, Craig had it in his head that it was too low, like ER low, but later I realized we were not thinking very clearly because he just woke up and your temp goes down during sleep.
Anyway, I was more concerned about out of control crying. So we called the nurse again, and she said that if his temp was too low, he'd be shivering, etc. So, she just said that he is probably coming down with a cold virus or perhaps teething. His nose started running a bit, so I am inclined to believe that there was a cold virus in him.
Eventually, Gabe was fine and nursed and calmed down. And he has been fine ever since; fever stayed down and his nose stopped running.
Whew! So Father's Day didn't start off very well, but it ended well. Craig wanted to go to Five Guys Burgers and Fries for dinner (he really wanted to go to Red Robin, but since Gabe was getting over sickness, we didn't want to push our luck; We did take-out for 5 Guys). Their burgers are pretty good and you get a nice helping of fries for two people from one serving.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Gabe's 12 month appt.
Yesterday, Gabe went in for his 12 month appointment with his new doctor, Dr. Gibbons. We were not satisfied with the doctor we had, so we decided to try another one, who happens to be an ND.
Gabe is 30 inches! He is 19.5 pounds, so he gained 2 pounds since his 9 month appt. He seems to be tall and lean, like my brother.
We asked about his eating habits, which have been all over the place lately. He just started, within the last day or so, eating a lot of yogurt. Dr. Gibbons suggested offering him more complex flavors. She said yogurt was a good one, and any meat, bean, veggie mixture. He has improved some with his gagging on lumpy foods. If it's lumpy and soft, he's okay with it. I know some kids gum stuff, but with others, I think they don't get super comfortable with lumpy foods until the molars come in.
Anyway, that's the update!
Gabe is 30 inches! He is 19.5 pounds, so he gained 2 pounds since his 9 month appt. He seems to be tall and lean, like my brother.
We asked about his eating habits, which have been all over the place lately. He just started, within the last day or so, eating a lot of yogurt. Dr. Gibbons suggested offering him more complex flavors. She said yogurt was a good one, and any meat, bean, veggie mixture. He has improved some with his gagging on lumpy foods. If it's lumpy and soft, he's okay with it. I know some kids gum stuff, but with others, I think they don't get super comfortable with lumpy foods until the molars come in.
Anyway, that's the update!
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