Train Adventure

Cooper and I woke up at 6:30am this morning to start our train adventure day. We took the bus/Max to Union Station to catch the 8:30am Amtrak to Seattle. There was a lot of build up to today, Cooper's asked me everyday if today is the day we are taking the train. All in all the train ride was great, Cooper loved it, it was quiet and relaxing. However, there was one not so fun thing that happened. We went to the dining car, bought some snacks for breakfast. We went back to our seat and started eating, Cooper had to go potty. We got up and went potty, came back and three minutes later had to go poo potty. He got up rather quickly and started toward the bathroom, I followed and could tell he was coughing/gagging. Well sure enough right as we got to the bathroom he heaved, all over me and the bathroom floor. We spent a good 15 minutes in the bathroom. I called Sharon while in the bathroom, and she said it could be from the movement of the train. Cooper has never had motion sickness before so who knows. After all that we went back to our seats and he was fine the rest of the ride. (This happened an hour into the ride, we still had 2+ hours left). Cooper was fine, acting fine, telling me he wasn't going to gag anymore. I, on the other hand, was constantly worrying that he was going to hurl again. At the end of the ride, the man next to us told me that Cooper is a great traveler. He really is a great traveler and he was incredibly well considering he "gagged" numerous times.
We arrived in Seattle a little late, Sharon picked us up and we spent an hour at her store so she could finish working. Then we drove to the Whidbey Island Ferry to take the ferry to Anancortes, our final destination. I have never taken that ferry so it was another great adventure. However, once we were in the line about to board, Cooper said he had to go potty.....can you see where this is going? I took him and he started gagging again. Sure enough he gagged twice outside before I got him in a bathroom at a restaurant. He peed and said he was fine, "I don't have to gag anymore." Great, can I now! (my internal dialogue). Again, he was fine, Sharon was fine and safe from vomit in the car and I was worrying about the cause and if it would happen again. The wackiest thing is that my worry is 1. for him, wondering what he has but also 2. for the innocent bystanders that may witness a kid hurling. I know that is a strange thing to worry about and useless. I cannot stand seeing someone vomit in public and so I guess was projecting those feelings on the strangers around me on the train and ferry.
The ferry ride is about 20 minutes, we got some great pictures and went back to the car, Cooper with french fries and some milk. He has been fine and hungry all night. I have no idea what the gagging deal was today. He is not acting sick, he doesn't have a fever and he has an appetite. I am the mom that wants/needs an answer, whereas Sharon is not concerned based on his behavior. She is also the more nurturing mom when it comes to sicknesses.

We made it to Rosey's and are all excited to start our weekend with take it as it goes plans!!

Public Transportation

Cooper and I have been taking public transportation a lot lately.  Coincidentally, Portland was rated  #1 in the nation for public transportation this week.  This new trend started with a friend we met through a parenting group, she and her son take public transit all the time.  We started weekly adventures with them a couple weeks ago and are now making it a standing weekly adventure date.  Cooper and Emory are really cute together. Emory will be three this April and I am hoping they attend the same preschool in the fall.
We have been to the Zoo, the airport which also has a playground and Clackamas Town Center.  I am also incorporating public transit on the days I watch Larkin.  Cooper and Larkin and I have been to the Children's Museum, Lloyd Center and Pioneer Place, downtown.  They are also really cute together and often scream WEEEEEEEEEEEEE the whole time on the train and bus.  Most of the adventures include a bus and train ride.  Cooper wanted to take the bus to preschool yesterday so we did.  We rode two buses there and one home.

Bathroom

We started the demolition for the upstairs bathroom today.  Cooper was super excited to start hammering the wall, he was very patient while Sharon and Dory designed the bathroom.  After all the design talk finished they started smashing out the wall.  Cooper did quite a bit of work, taking breaks to play and read with me also.  He was a big helper today.  He also enjoyed telling me that, "the workers are coming downstairs," and "Mommy this is a workzone, you can't be in here."

Hoyt Arboretum

We took a great hike today with Anna and Elliot.  The kids had a blast running and exploring the woods.  It was pretty long hike and I only brought the one stroller knowing one of the three would want to sit a bit.  They all walked most of the time which was pretty great.  Toward the end of the hike we found a creek and they spent a good half hour throwing rocks.  We also found a fairy and white picket fence in a tree base. 

Elliot yelling at Cooper to keep his hands off her rock (or something in that vein).

Cooper's Picture Taking

This morning Cooper was interested in taking some photos by himself.  Here are his snapshots.
Cooper's Feet

Riley

 The carpet

 The grate (this is his favorite spot to sit when he is cold and/or tired).

 The door

 Donee and Larkin

 Riley

Tram and Streetcar

Cooper and I took an adventure on the OHSU Tram today and the Portland Streetcar.  We had a great time, Cooper loved the sights on the Tram.  When we got to the hill we walked around and explored the different sky bridges.  We also found some cool tunnels to explore.  I used to work at OHSU years ago and I knew some of the cool tunnels and areas to explore.  We had a great time.

Cooper was even more excited to take the Portland Streetcar, he loves watching that train.  We took it from Riverplace to Central Library, stopped for some books and reading time and then back to our car.  He had a blast, was able to see and say thanks to the conductor too.

Sunshine

We took a great walk with Erin, Teo and Ciaran yesterday. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, it was a great day.  We saw lots of birds nests, birdies and ducks.  Cooper loves exploring so he was checking out the nests and watching the ducks and investigating where the water comes from that goes into the creek.  I think he was pretty cold because he didn't ride his bike as much as he usually does.

Happy Chinese New Year

It is the year of the rabbit, my year. I read somewhere not to expect a warm, furry, sweet rabbit. We will see.
Here is a picture of the lanterns Cooper and I made for the new year.




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Newport Pictures

I posted a couple pics on the Newport post and here are some more.

Silver Falls

I took the kids to Silver Falls a few weeks ago and wasn't prepared for how cold it was.  It was pretty icy on the way out there and it was snowy and freezing once we got there.  We stopped at the North Falls because the kids were tired of being in the car.  The trails said no dogs, but we brought Riley and only walked for about a half hour.  The kids had a great time eating snow, running and throwing rocks in the falls.

Pictures

Cooper's first day of school pictures.

We went to Yo Cream after his class and he ate some chocolate ice cream and made silly faces.  He had a great day at school.  He had an accident so he was in some cute girl capri pants when I picked him up.  I forgot to talk to him about telling the teacher when he had to go potty, oops.  The teacher said he did great, snuggled her a few times, did a ton of finger painting and played with the pink and blue flubber. 

Newport

We took an impromptu trip to the beach this weekend. I think the rainy weather started affecting me and when I woke up Saturday, before yoga, I asked Sharon if the beach sounded like fun. We had enough hotel points to stay for free so we upgraded the room to a jaccuzzi suite. We had a standing date with Grandma Lindsay to see the Beaverton Model Trains at the Lake Oswego Library Saturday afternoon. Cooper loved the trains, he didn't want to leave. He didn't even want ice cream. He was allowed to run one of the trains and really liked watching them go around. There were three tracks and many different types of trains: freight trains, steam engines, etc. We headed to the coast around 3:30pm. We stayed in Newport, the weather was awesome. Saturday night was clear, stars were out, it wasn't cold. We ate at Local Ocean Seafood and had an excellent dinner, fish tacos and a crab po'boy sandwich. Sunday we went to the beach first where Riley ran like a crazy dog, Cooper got soaking wet playing in the sand and tide pools. The sun was shining and it felt like spring. We then hit the Hatfield Reasearch Center where an octopus lives. It is a free center, they ask for donations, located down the street from the aquarium. It was perfect, Cooper touched the sea stars and anenomes and also saw other fish and exhibits. He loved the octopus. We walked along the boardwalk and Cooper rode his bike for awhile. Sunday afternoon we came back to the hotel and we all took a nap. We had a low key dinner at The Chowder Bowl, not nearly as great as Local Ocean. It was a great getaway, we used the jaccuzzi both nights, there was also a fireplace in our room. It was a great weekend.

First Day of Preschool

We signed Cooper up for a preschool adventures class at our local community center. This afternoon was his first day and I am typing this after I dropped him off. The teacher is super nice, I liked her right away. When I left they were running in the gym and jumping on the trampoline. The class is two hours, one or two days a week. We are starting with one day to see if he likes it.
He has been excited about it all day. He was convinced he was taking the yellow school bus there, so I had to tell him that he will take the bus when he is in kindergarten. He asked to bring his backpack and we filled it with a couple things.
We attend Montavilla Community Center for indoor playpark and tumbling class and when we pulled up Cooper said, "This is not my preschool. It doesn't have a school thing." I think he was talking about a playground. We are planning on the Mt Tabor Co-Op this fall and he knows where that school is so I think he was thinking we were going there. I told him that we are going to this school for now. He was cool woth that. I hope he had a fun time!


















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What's in a date?

Our anniversary came and went yesterday. We both really didn't remember the exact date. When we think back to our dating days we both remeber the time of year and the day of the week and details of our first date.
The cool thing is we went to yoga together in the morning, while our friend Janet watched Cooper. We had a great evening with our friend Erin and her two boys. Sharon made us an awesome shrimp and cod dinner.
This is our seventh year, we have a great life and partnership and we look forward to watching Cooper grow.



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