Paint it Black.

Vake and I have been talking more and more about Baby Gil. If you ask him, he knows that we are having a baby and that the baby's name is Gil but that's about it. He knows that the room next to his is the baby's and that we have some clothes in it that the baby will wear.

So today, with the hurricane day, I took him with me to look for a dresser at the thrift store- I don't need anything fancy- just something I can pop a changing pad on top of. So Vake and I were talking and I asked him what color we should paint Baby Gil's room.

Vake looks at me and says, "Baby Gil's room: uuuummmm. We should paint it black."

Silver Lining

to Hurricane Irene is that I have the day off tomorrow! Yippeee!!!!

Irene...really?

Sort of unbelievable. First the earthquake and now a hurricane. Is it possible that the universe is trying to tell us something?

But on the positive side of the ledger, it is so dark in Vake's room that he's liable to sleep for the rest of the afternoon.

Earthquake?!?!?

What was that shaking Richmond this afternoon about 2? It was Vake Martin, tipping the scales at 41 pounds and 41 inches tall!!!! Yikes!





Great visit to the pediatrician this morning- he's hit all the developmental milestones. Go Vake!!!!

By the way - according to one totally reliable internet source, Vake is expected to hit 6"8" by the time he's 18.

Transformation

Does anyone remember this room from our house and the Mother's Day House Tour 2010? I LOVED this room- I thought it was so pretty and would be SO perfect for a little girl.

Ha!!!! Fate does have a way of laughing at you- and I've started to take this room apart for baby Gil.
As it just so happened, Mom needed the bed (which I love- and love in its new location at her house, too) for a guest room- so since about April, this room's been a wasteland of toys, books, a crib, a really depressing playmat "rug", etc., etc.

But today, everything started to change. Finally tackled this closet, with its melange of too big clothes, items leftover from various house projects, etc.

So the weirdest thing about this room (I think) is that it has the two carve outs for closets- one for Gil's closet (on the left) and one for Vake's closet (obviously accessed from the other side) on the right- it's part of the original design- and the rooms actually open up onto each other.

Ha! The empty closet! Thanks Mom! Mom's been helping Anne out in Baltimore- I've forgotten how great it is to have someone who is a huge fan of helping you with unpleasant chores like closet cleaning.

Oregon Vacation Day Eight

This day was definitely the highlight of Vake's vacation- in fact, he's still talking about when he saw a train "on Oregon" and "got to touch the wheel."

On Friday, we took a one way train ride (about a half-hour) down the Pacific Coast- it was an absolutely gorgeous day and I really think my little pumpkin believed that he had died and gone to heaven. All aboard!!!!!

We got to sit out in the open air. And I am not kidding when I tell you that this was his expression for the vast majority of the trip.

This outing made the whole long journey to the West Coast totally worthwhile!!!!!!

Tree Climbing

We needed some help from Daddy, but look who climbed a (very short) tree tonight at the Fan concert.

Oregon Vacation Day Seven

So on day seven, we awoke to rain...too bad for us.

We headed over to the town of Seaside to check out the sights- the first stop was at the local aquarium which is cut from basically the same cloth as the Richmond Zoo. The highlight was that you got to feed sea lions some fish- the net effect was somewhat reduced because you had to feed them through wire...
And then we checked out the touch tanks.

The next stop was the indoor mall, where the highlight was a pretty old restored carousel. Loved it. Vake picked an ostrich to ride on- I was surprised by that...

And fortunately Daddy was willing to ride along!

Boys 4: Girls 2

It's official. As of December 2011, the tally at the Martin Household will put the boys ahead even more.

Baby Gil is definitely a boy.

Oregon Vacation Day Six

By the time that Wednesday rolled around, we were feeling a little more like getting back into the car- so we did- to take the self-guided tour of the Tillamook Cheese factory. Believe me when I tell you it was the perfect toddler activity. We got there about 11:00, took a quick look around the factory, bought some cheese and then settled in for ice cream by about 11:30.

What we didn't know was that our friend Brad would order the "38 flavor special." For about $25.00, you got a "golf-ball sized" sample of every flavor of ice cream that Tillamook makes. So there was root-beer flavored ice cream next to peanut butter and chocolate. I only wish that I had brought my camera to capture the moment. Suffice it to say that I felt like a big sticky piggy by the time we got up!

Oregon Vacation Day Five

On Tuesday, neither Vake nor I had any desire to get back in the car- fortunately it was a nice enough day that we spent a lot of time doing this... ...and getting hugs from our friends....

...and digging in the sand...

And I got the best pedicure I think I've ever had at the Spa Manzanita in town- it was awesome.

Day 4: Voyage to Manzanita

On Monday, we headed up the Oregon coast to Manzanita, where we rented a beach house with some of Eric's best friends from law school.

When we left it was raining and probably 55 degrees- I was freezing- wearing a sweater and jeans in July for goodness sakes!

But we persevered and we were rewarded with Manzanita, Oregon- a wonderful little beach town- not touristy at all- just a great little downtown street and tons of rental houses and of course, the beach!!!!

If you look at this pic, you can see the stretch of beach where we were all week.

And how amazing are the views- I mean, the combo of the mountain ranges and the Pacific is stunning.

It probably took us about 4 hours to get from Florence to Manzanita-and the trip was beautiful. We arrived at the house shortly after lunch and got settled there- that's one thing that I am learning about traveling with toddlers- you can do maybe one big activity per day- but that's probably it.

Oregon Vacation Day Three

This picture was taken on day three of our vacation, Sunday- it was relatively late on a very relaxing day, complete with naps and trips into downtown Florence, Oregon- a trip that meant clam chowder at a local chain, Mo's, for me and a Thomas the Tank Engine playset for Vake.

When we got back, the family had decided to scatter Vake and Milly's ashes. I am so glad that Eric could be there.

If you look in the picture, I am on the right- looking 5 months pregnant- because I am...well maybe not quite 5 months, but 19 weeks! That's right, people of the internet. I've been trying to tell all of our friends, but having a hard time getting it done. I owe so many people calls to tell them the good news but, as with Vake, I just haven't been feeling like myself (see e.g. the absence from this blog) and I am just trying as hard as I can to stay afloat. So please don't be offended if I didn't tell you personally.

On another note, Vake's now decided that staying in bed is for suckers- a cute trick he picked up on vacation. If anyone has any surefire way of getting a toddler to stay in bed that does not involve a bell and a rope, please weigh in!