Dougan Falls

My all time favorite spot on the Washougal River is Dougan Falls. Usually I head up there with my little sister Mary on hot summer days loaded with a cooler of cold beer to relax in the sun and the freezing water. Since Mary seems to like California better than Washington these days, I've had to find different river companions (I'm trying to make you feel guilty here Mary). So, last week, a couple of new friends of mine (mamas from a parenting group I attend), their babies, Esperanza and I all went up there. We packed lunches, beer and more baby paraphernalia than we really needed and headed up there early. We got there about noon when very few people were there and left about 4-ish, just as it was starting to get busy.

All of our babies seemed to be a bit fussy at times but we all still had a great time. The babies weren't up for going all the way in the water since the water was super icy. Us mamas though took turns in the water and loved every minute of it.

Visit From Cousin Mary Gill

Yesterday, Cousin Mary Gill (not my sister Mary Gill) stopped by for a short and sweet visit. She traveled by car from Ohio to Washington to visit her daughter in Tacoma then is heading south to Arcata where she lived until recently before she heads back home to Ohio. I was so happy when she called to say she was in the area and could swing by to say hi and meet Esperanza.

During her short visit, my cat Lucy attacked her dog, we ate leftover beef soup, we sipped fresh lemon verbena and tarragon iced tea, we snapped some photos in the back yard and Mary had fun playing with and entertaining Esperanza.

First Tooth

This photo was taken a few weeks ago. Esperanza's first tooth started coming in the same week she began crawling and I just realized I hadn't shared it yet. Now, both of her bottom two teeth have broken through and they sure are sharp. Today I gave her a partially eaten apple of my'n and she was using her bottom teeth to scrape pieces of the apple off. She's been teething for many, many months now and we've finally been rewarded and relieved.

And just because I have an obsession with taking picturea, here are a few recent ones...

My sister Cyndi, her son Roman & Esperanza My mom holding Esperanza before we took out her dread extensions and she got her own hair dreaded
My mom with her newly dreaded hair, her pups and EsperanzaEsperanza eating off of the floor Posing and looking cute as can beIt's not all fun and games

Nighty-Night

Last night was night 4 of Esperanza learning how to soothe herself to sleep. If you read the post My Pulsatilla Baby several months back, you'll know we tried this before and it was a disaster for all of us. Esperanza is very strong willed and will fight going to sleep even when she has what she wants. She's never been a thumb sucker, or taken to a binky even after we tried numerous kinds hoping she would. She also hasn't become attached to any specific blanket, toy or doll that would provide her comfort and help calm her to sleep. She has always needed me to nurse her to sleep. I do love nursing her and will continue to for who knows how long, yet I know that I won't be nursing her forever and that she needs to figure out how to fall asleep on her own or else we're going to be in big trouble some day. Plus, I'd kinda like to free up my evenings and have the option for someone other than me to put her to bed at night.

So, I altered the method we used last time a smidgen and gave it a shot. So far it's gone a lot better. I haven't given up. It is still difficult for all of us though. The first night she was very vocal about being uncomfortable with the new routine. The second night was better. She got to a point on night 2 where she was 'talking' to herself for about 20 minutes and it sounded like she was actually having a pretty good time by herself before she finally fell asleep (as you can hear in the video below). The third night was questionable. She wouldn't fall asleep for the longest time! One of the times that I checked on her I noticed the room was stinky. She had decided to give me a poopy diaper (she NEVER poops at night). So that kind of altered the routine and probably confused her about what was going on, but eventually she fell asleep. Last night went pretty smooth and it took less time for her to fall asleep than all the other nights. Wish me luck for all our future nights!

Even though I got the crib all set up in her bedroom and ready for her to sleep in, I ended up putting her in a mini pack-n-play in our bedroom cause I figured the familiar surroundings of the room would make it easier on her since she's never slept in that other room...hey, this is hard on me too and I have to take baby steps. The real challenge is going to be getting her to stay asleep.

Below is a video I took on night 2 of her chatting away, in a repetative sort of way. There is nothing to see but you can hear her. It was so funny, I had to capture it somehow and I wasn't sure how to use just a voice recorder on my camera...so black screen it is.

While Esperanza soothed herself to sleep one of the nights, I took the free time to make more strawberry jam. I was always intimidated with the idea of canning that I never even attempted it until recently. It's so easy though! While I did use a water bath canner (well, last week it was just a stock pot), apparently you don't even need to do the boiling process with jam even though ALL the pectin recipes say you do. My mom (and a really old cook book I have) tell me that it isn't necessary. I'm a little OCD though and decided to do it, just in case. I'm also looking forward to canning a lot more things this year as the season continues and various fruits and veggies become available.

I Wanna Stand Up

The other night before bed, I felt like just sitting back and watching Esperanza for a bit before the bedtime struggle routine began. It was worth it! Since she didn't start crawling until past 10 months old, obviously she's not what you'd call a motivated crawler. She'd rather sit and whine, hoping someone will pick her up or get her whatever it is she wants - usually attention. She does however really want to be able to stand up on her own. There have been a few times in the past couple of days that she's been standing without holding onto something for a couple of seconds before her balance gives way. As my mom mentioned today, she'll probably skip walking and go straight to running.

Here she is playing on the bed and trying to stand up while watching herself in the mirror on the headboard. Of course, the bed isn't the easiest place for her to actually be able to stand up, but it sure makes for some cheap entertainment. The messy hair, oversized t-shirt and super padded wool diaper cover make it extra cute...

~Scroll to the bottom of the page to pause the music before playing so you can hear her~

Look Who's Crawling

Yay for mobility! This past week Esperanza has been teasing us with a little knee movement here or there and then this morning she crawled across the room!

Sorry for the long silent pause part way through the video. I should have been cheering her on but I'm not a fan of my own commentary caught on video. She gets lots of cheers when the video camera is off.

Immediately after I got her crawling on video, I made an appointment to get the carpets cleaned tomorrow (they smell like dog poo). And now I'm going to have to get a vaccum cleaner and mop and actually clean the floors on a regular basis - dang. It's also time to baby proof. If anyone has a used baby gate they no longer are in need of, please let me know. I'd be willing to barter for something or buy for a cheap price.

Bamboo Adventures

You know that park in our neighborhood I mentioned a few posts back? Well, it just so happens that it is a little neater than I originally thought. We found bamboo trails! At the edge of the manicured lawn at the far end of the park is bamboo. Lots of bamboo. At closer inspection, we found an opening in the bamboo which led us into what felt like another world, surrounding us from under our feet to above our heads with bamboo. The ground is covered with layers and layers of bamboo leaves and the bamboo has been arched above our heads leading explorers like us from one bamboo clearing through skinny bamboo trails into other bamboo clearings. There are all kinds of different sizes of alcoves off of the clearings, most of which are shaded and covered completely overhead with the bamboo, but some which are open to sun rays.
Aside from the smell of the sewer and mill, noise from the freeway, energy of the BPA powerlines pulsing through our bodies and all the other ghettolicious benefits of the area, it really was a treat to find this hidden oasis.

May Gardening

It's been a busy month in the garden thanks to this beautiful weather we've had. Some of the early Spring starts are almost ready for harvest - lettuce, radishes, arugula and maybe even broccoli.

I've also put in warmer weather veggies including zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, basil, sweet and hot peppers. And I've got more kale seeds germinating in the window.

In addition to the goods in my home garden, I'm trading labor for harvest at a friends house who has a large farm in the rural backwoods of Camas. Last week we spent a day up there planting seeds and starts - corn, pole beans, zucchini, several varieties of squash, beets, carrots, lettuce, swiss chard, several varieties of potatoes, tomatoes, and lots more I can't think of at the moment. Below is a picture of the gigantic garden area. Just wait till all the veggies are grown. I did a garden up here with these friends a couple of years ago and we had way more than we needed.

On the farm they have two reindeer (I know, almost as odd as the camel in Hockinson). I'll spare you images of the sheep, goats, chickens, horses, alpaca, llamas, lambs and other ordinary farm animals, but here is one of the reindeer that was friendly enough to come up to the fence for Esperanza and I to say hi to.

The Cutest 10 Month Old

I've decided at 10 months old, Esperanza is at my favorite age. Of course I keep saying that at every age but I can't help it, she just keeps getting more and more entertaining and amazing as the days go by. There is not an age that I miss yet because it just keeps getting better.

Here are a few things she's learned over the past month...

• How to pull herself up to a standing position if there's a sturdy/stable piece of furniture or body part close by.
• Can get into a sitting position from a laying position (easier for her with no diaper on - the only disadvantage to bulky cloth diapering).
• How to garggle breastmilk
• Says Ma-ma and Da - though I'm still not sure if she associates those words or sounds with me and 'Da'
• Scoots and kind of crawls backwards, slowly
• The 'temper tantrum' - she arches her back and stiffens her entire body when she doesn't want to be set down. She doesn't start screaming though until she's actually set down, arched back and all.
• She can wave hi and bye
• She plays peek-a-boo

These are things she loves...

• Kitty's - and oh how we have LOTS of kitty's in the neighborhood in addition to our own
• Oatio-s (Like Cheerios but made with oats)
• Frozen fruit (blueberries, blackberries, peaches, etc)
• Being upside down
• Pulling hair, even the kitty's hair
• Older kids
• Wind chimes
• Mirrors - looking at and talking to herself with smiles and laughs (uh-oh)

And my favorite thing lately are pigtails! Super cute but also super hard to do cause she won't sit still for even a second.

Herb Festival

On Saturday Armando, Esperanza and I met my friend Brandy and her daughter Roree at the herb festival in Yacolt at The Pomeroy Farm. The weather was perfect, the place was beautiful and the people were friendly.
While we were there, we took a hay ride

fed the goats, Lewis and Clark

and bought some yummy herbs (pictured below are hops and lemon verbena)
Then, we drove down the road to Multon Falls to picnic and enjoy the scenery

A Camel In Vancouver?

On the way home from the herb festival on Saturday, we took some back roads and we passed a CAMEL! Yes, a camel! In Vancouver - in Washington - on this continent!
A couple of months ago I drove that same road to pick up some free moving boxes I found on craigslist and saw it too. When I told Mando about it though I think he just thought I was crazy and sort of blew me off, in a nice sort of way I suppose. I started to think I was crazy too until we saw it again, together. As we were driving along the road last weekend, I told him to slow down as we approached the area I saw it last. We passed once and saw him (or her) then turned around and parked in front of it to get a closer look. Sure enough, even Mando agreed it is a camel. Neither one of us can think of a time we've ever seen a camel in real life (I don't think zoo's even keep them) so we took several pictures. You tell me, is this a camel or some strange breed of a llama on steroids?
If you want to see this camel, it's on the west side of the main road you take that goes through Hockinson. Mabye 2 miles south of what I think would be considered downtown Hockinson.

Compost, Sunshine, and Relaxation

Yay! I finally got pictures uploaded. Below are several new posts with pictures and stories from the past few weeks, beginning from the most recent...

This past Friday and today (Sunday) Esperanza and I spent the day outside enjoying the beautiful sunshine. On Friday I did a lot of gardening while she played on a blanket in the yard. After a couple of unscary, but not fun choking events, I decided this isn't the year for her to dig in the dirt with me. Too many rocks and other objects that she wants to put in her mouth. So, since she's not entirely mobile just yet, I'm able to set her on the blanket while I garden. The mini baby jail (aka - the portable pack n play we never use) will come outside with me when she can crawl.

Since I did very little gardening last year due to my excuse of being pregnant, hot and unable to bend over or get up easily in the garden during that time, I've had some compost sitting in one of my bins for probably almost 2 years now getting yummier and yummier by the day. Even though the soil here is already great, I thought I'd beef it up in a few areas with my compost. If I remember correctly, it was mostly veggie/fruit scraps, shredded paper and leaves. The only thing that didn't compost were some 'compostable plastic bags' (which obviously didn't do what they said they would), shredded plastic (probably from the plastic film on envelopes you get in the mail), and avacado seeds (are they really called seeds? Maybe pods?). The rest of it composted very nicely. See for yourself.

Happy worms

The last little bit of it

Spreading the Love

Today, we sat in the front yard in a shady area and just relaxed. Because I wasn't in the mood to garden (or burn my shoulders more than I already did on Friday), I got the camera out and took some lovely pictures of my adorable little girl.

Don't ask, I have no idea what she's doing here.