This past Memorial Day weekend I ventured over to Virginia and Washington DC sans husband and babies. Instead I flew over with my dad, and met up with my aunts from California and aunts from Virginia. In total there were … Continue reading
So a long time ago (roughly 5.5 years) Ben and I planned (or really just wanted) to go to Hawaii for our honeymoon. But since I was in school, and we were living off one salary, we decided to postpone … Continue reading
The past year has obviously been unlike any other. On this day (New Year’s Eve) last year, we found out that Baby B (Mason) had stopped growing and would need to get delivered within the week. The news that the babies were coming early was not surprising, but the reason why was unexpected. I remember being so scared, basically since the doctor said that the reason they had to come early…and I quote… is “because we don’t want your baby to die.” The fear of the unknown, the anticipation of their birth, wondering who they were, what genders we would be raising, and everything else made the last day of last year one I will never forget. Yet, here we are one year later and now we are anticipating the boys walking, their first birthdays, and all the other things yet to come. We will ring in the new year with the boy’s first birthday and also a trip for mom and dad–a celebration of the past year if you will.
Two days after the boys turn 1, Ben and I are off to Hawaii. This is something we have been talking about since we got married, and now five years later we are finally going. When we booked the trip (oh, 8 months ago), I knew we would be ready for a week to ourselves. However, I never imagined how tough it would be to leave the boys. My original thought was that they’ll be one, it will be perfect, and it will…it’s just that they are so darn cute and fun right now. But I know once we get there it will be great. The boys will be well taken care of (with the grandmas) and Ben and I will have a nice time to reflect, connect, explore, relax, and then be the only two people ever happy to leave Hawaii and come home to snuggle the boys. And after one year, 6 six days will fly by like crazy (at least that is what I keep telling myself).
Christmas was great-full of love, family, and friends. The boys loved, LOVED, the trees and lights. Pointing, hoping, and I swear saying “tee tee tee” were so great…as was their trip to see the big guy. I could see the picture before we even took it. Mason hamming it up and Elliott in hysterics. Elliott started out crying, but warmed up…kind of:
They made out like bandits and love their new car. It was a great end to the year and a prelude of great things to come.
Happy New Year and Happy 2014.
Elliott and Mason were born in the Year of the Water Dragon. I was pretty excited when I found this out, because 1) I thought it sounded so cool to have little dragon babies; and 2) according to Chinese horoscopes, it is supposed to be lucky (both to them and the household). However, also according to Chinese horoscopes, dragons are fiery, temperamental, and all other things associated, with, well dragons. The water element is thankfully, supposed to calm them…I guess. For a more in-depth description see here:
The Dragon is a sign of energy and power and has a special place in Asian mythology. In the East, the Dragon is a symbol of luck and authority. People under the influence of the Dragon are considered charismatic, independent and resourceful. In astrology, the Dragon corresponds to the sign of Aries. People born in this year tend to be fearless and confident in their pursuits and are often successful. They need to be careful not to make decisions too quickly and be aware of not being too arrogant. The element of water has the most calming effect on the Dragon and cools their fiery tempers. Water is said to bring out patience and sensitivity in a Dragon’s personality that is often overshadowed by their fiery need for attention. This influence tends to help them make wiser decisions and work better with others. (According to this website).
Anyways, not that I’m really into horoscopes or anything–again, mostly I just thought it sounded cool. The reason I bring this up, is that we started (with no connection to their horoscope) saying “don’t wake the dragon” when Elliott is sleeping. As a reference, Elliott in general is a little louder, feistier, and harder to calm down when he gets upset, so we like him to get as much sleep as he wants.
I bring this up because this past weekend the four of us (Abby had a doggler date) went to Long Beach, WA with my dad for Ben’s first clam digging. The boys were amazing on the way over there (they slept the whole car ride…2.5 hours), but when we got there, things started to change. For one, neither baby had pooped in awhile…how long you say? Elliott was rocking 6 days strong–and that would make anyone upset. We stayed in a motel with paper-thin walls, and you can see where this is going. The dragon…the poor dragon…woke up at 5:45 AM and 7:30 AM howling and breathing fire. Nothing was calming this boy down. And because he felt so bad for him, the other, smaller (but amazing just as loud sometimes) dragon started up too. Ben was gone clamming for the 2nd bout, and when he returned at 9:15 AM, I was pretty sure we were about 10 minutes away from getting kicked out. And of course, 5 minutes before we leave, both babies were silent and cashed out. Why? Monster poops. Well at least it happened before we got in the car. Overall, their 2nd trip to the beach was good, even if our neighbors didn’t think so. But I’m sure if they saw them, they would forgive us instantly…because honestly, how cute are they?:
and to add to our growing number of beach self portraits:
Yes the babies are with us, but it was so windy they are covered up.
Let’s just say, overall, the beach was fun. However, I apparently had grand illusions about a relaxing, rejuvenating weekend, and although it was fun to get away, the rejuvenating part was exactly that…an illusion. Ben and I have gone to the Oregon coast almost every year we have been together. It was our first actual trip that we ever took together, when we were much younger:
Circa March 2005
On a sidenote, this is also when Ben told me he first knew he loved me (or so he says)…when I was running around the beach like a fool flying a butterfly kite (awww :):
Anyways, like I said, we have gone back almost every year, around the same time (off-season, terribly cold and windy), and typically do the same things: walk on the beach, eat at Bill’s Tavern (Cannon Beach), take naps, watch movies (the vhs ones you get in the bed-n-breakfast lobby), play Skee-ball, air hockey, and ride the bumper cars at Seaside, eat a Pronto Pup’s corndog, stroll through the shops, eat a waffle cone, etc. etc.
Circa 2006
So this was my vision again. And yes, we did many of those things (minus the trip to Seaside), but things change when you have babies. I know this…I knew this…but for some reason, I thought the babies might realize we were on vacation and not need 24 hour care. Fool. The babies were great. They slept in the car, slept good at night, enjoyed being carried around everywhere, had fun seeing Auntie Booie and Gladys, but again, they are 11 weeks old, and have yet to fully appreciate taking a long nap, or watching episode after episode of Kitchen Nightmares. We came home happy to have gone, happy to be back home, and are excited about the future memories we will make with them when they’re older and can fully appreciate a Pronto Pup and a good game of Skee-ball.
Circa March 2013
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