High temps, and just lows

I spent too much time trying to photograph Theo's eyelashes. Aren't they pretty?

Saturday was the real first day of Spring, in other words, the one day where it is beautiful and 90% of Portland is outside, because they know it may not come again for two months. You know, when the temperature hits 70 and all the girls are sunbathing in bikinis in the park. I freaked out and thought we were all getting sunburned, but spending a day in the sun felt lovely.

Later that night we went to a food cart festival that we went to last year. I was all big and pregnant and loving it. And I quote, "Already looking forward to 2011 (without a heartburn causing, stomach-shrinking baby in my belly)". And yes, there was less heartburn involved, but that baby in my belly was now outside my belly. And the whole time he was fussy and squirmy and upset and I wished he was back in there for just two hours. And this year the festival's theme apparently was "more!" More people, more carts, more money, more long long long lines, more crazy meats. Less organization. I did have a couple high points--The fact that I tried a whole sardine and liked it. Italian ice at Oregon Ice Works. And for some weird reason, buffalo sloppy joe. Low points--the crazy, crazy long line to get in. When we started feeding Theo macaroni salad and vitamin water to stay happy. Trying to breastfeed next to a garbage can without a cover with a baby who wasn't having it, thereby exposing my nip to thousands.

I was so tired when we got home (we didn't make it to all the carts) that I went to bed at 9:15 and woke up at 12 with a crazy high fever, no doubt caused by all the rich and crazy meats. A meat fever.

Born with a love of clean teeth

The first time I used a Sonicare, I couldn't stop laughing (it feels really weird). Theo, however, was somehow born to brush with sonic waves.

Cake dedicated to Kenzie!

 Cake, I love you.

 Took some pictures in the adjoining Ace Hotel after dinner--pictures are much better with babies. (old pics from Kenz's visit in November, that flash sure did freak Theo out.) And, now you know what Jon's mug shot will look like if he ever decides to become a serial killer.

It was my birthday yesterday! It was a great day. I got some great things, including the same nail polish I gave Kenz from David and Vanessa, and they also gave me a thread holder/organizer, which was something that I had no idea that I wanted and needed so badly until I saw it. Kenz thoughtfully took stock of my lack of sleep and general state and bought me a floating session from Float On. I am very intrigued and excited to try this. It's how Portlanders relax I guess? Sounds awesome to me.

I spent the whole birthday day making a cake. Jon got me some cake pans, and I wanted to make myself a layer cake. I also wanted to use my new cake stand my mom found for the greatest deal ever ($8!). I have made very few layer cakes in my life, so I decided it was only rational to make a four layered lemon cake, filled with lemon curd and marionberry curd, frosted with a Swiss buttercream. All from scratch. I know. It was my idea of an adventurous day. If Kenz was with me she would have been all over this idea. With the two of us together, we get exponentially ridiculous. It would have been something like, five layers, salted caramel frosting, each cake layer different flavors of chocolate, with a hidden  miniature replica of our likenesses hand carved from an almond inside. My whole day made me miss that she wasn't celebrating with me. Twin pains. Anyway, it all went pretty smoothly--but my friend watching Theo for a little bit for the assembly probably saved me from a stress filled disaster. (Thanks Amy!)

David and Vanessa offered to watch Theo (and she washed all my cake dishes while we were gone! Saint!) while Jon and I had a fancy pants dinner at Clyde Common. I dressed up, but forgot to bring Jon a change of clothes, so he was in scrubs. It was so nice to have a little dinner date, eating what Jon deemed our fanciest meal ever. Clyde Common's menu is kind of mysterious--they list the ingredients of the dish but don't really explain how it's cooked or how the ingredients are used. I mean, you can ask the waiter but that takes away all the fun and risk. Trout, copa, greens, mushrooms, fried egg--did I know it was going to be the whole fish, wrapped in copa, stuffed with greens, topped with a fried egg and mushrooms on the side? Nope. But I loved it, and I love the idea of just trusting that they would bring something delicious to you.

Ok, one more bit about the cake. When I assembled it, the frosting was light and fluffy. After it was done, I popped it in the fridge to prevent the layers from sliding off of each other. Side note, seven sticks of butter went into this thing total, 3 in the frosting. So when we cut into it, the buttercream was...buttery. Like a hard, sweet buttery shell. I'm guessing the refrigeration was a mistake. But it looked good. I'm still counting it as a success overall.

winning! mostly

And a store gave me a tiny bag of tiny gummy bears with my purchase. yes please.

Today Theo and I ventured downtown to do a little birthday shopping for my twin sister. After visiting a few stores and making a few purchases (hope you like, Kenz!), I went to my third stop to buy her some ketchup. Yes, ketchup. Before you judge me as a horrible gift giver, let me explain--it's delicious ketchup from Little Big Burger, made with sriracha (which she loves), and is something uniquely from Portland and food related that I can actually send her. I thought it would be a fun little random gift. Turns out they aren't selling any right now until the summer. So, no ketchup. Kenz is probably relieved.

But it was lunchtime and I didn't want a burger/pay for lunch, so I walked to the Noodles and Co. next door. Understand, noodles really isn't a place I eat unless (a) I happen to be in the near vicinity (b) it is lunchtime and I am hungry (c) I have a coupon. All things applied to me today, as I got my free meal email yesterday for my birthday. But, I didn't have it printed out, so I asked if they would let me show them my coupon on my phone. They said no, (strike two!) so I walked away to go home to some PB&J. Suddenly, the girl stopped me by the door and whispered, "We would like to buy you lunch anyway." No catch--I got a straight up free lunch! So I ordered a Thai curry soup, and it was surprisingly really good., especially on a hail-y rainy day like today. It made me think of Kenz--the girl loves a good Asian noodle soup. Don't worry, I won't buy you soup for your birthday. I might have to go back and claim my second free birthday lunch.

I haven't even told you about the best part of my day--I parallel parked successfully on the first try with a guy standing on the sidewalk staring at me. (He totally thought I couldn't do it.) And it was the first time I have parallel parked with our new Subaru alone without Jon. Fist pump!

sleepy sammy

So as I hinted in my last post, Theo's not the best sleeper. In fact, in some reverse sleep bragging (Don't you hate sleep bragging? I do. And for me, sleep bragging occurs whenever anyone else talks about their baby's sleep.), I may be so bold to say that you may not find one much worse. (Well, I know that's not true--I can't tell you how much more normal I felt after reading a sleep book!) But, my doctor may have gasped when I told her how many times a night he woke up. I have to say that last night was his best in a while, and every night it gets better. So he's learning. And we are learning things too, like his preferred bedtime (7:00! Awesome!). I used to think he just needed an evening nap. Not so. I am so lucky to be humbled constantly by the things I don't know about parenting.

One tip offered by the book we are following was to introduce a "lovey," something to take to bed to offer some comfort. They suggest something cheap and easily replaceable, like a metaphorical pet hamster. I made him a lamb out of two tube socks from this book, which has lots of other cute animals, but I thought a lamb/sheep was appropriate for this situation. I loved making him. This will probably doom Sammy (full name--Sleepy Sammy the Lammy) to being ignored, but I will keep my hopes up that Theo will love something I made for him. My mom made me and my sister the most simple fabric dolls--kind of two stuffed fabric triangles with heads, arms, legs and button eyes--but I still remember them fondly. (I also still remember my Barbie doll that had roller blades that made real sparks, but you know what I mean.)

Me and my expectations. I already know I am going to be a weepy mess in the future when Theo deems himself too cool to take me to the mother-son dance. Prepare yourself, Jon!

forays with purees

Thankfully, most of Theo's total food aversion issues have resolved. Unlike most babies, he moved straight from finger food to purees... and I made him a special one yesterday, spinach-pea-pear. And today, he liked it! Ate it all up. I could have not been more happy.

Now that he's eating food like a real boy, we are going to focus on sleeping for more than 2 hours at a time. Actually, 2 hours at a time on a regular basis would be a dream come true. I'm not asking much, little Theodore!                            

san juan san juan

Sigh. Spring break is over. I am a little bit sad Jon has to go back to school. Well, a lot a bit sad. But we had a great week. We had planned on making a trip to Canada but in the end we decided to explore San Juan Island in Washington. We found a half off deal at a really great boutique hotel, as we were a few weeks shy of prime Orca whale watching season. After a scenic ferry ride, we explored the island, went on some nature walks (we Halls dislike "hikes") and checked out places like Smallpox Bay, Deadman Bay, and Smuggler's Cove. We also spent a solid amount of time eating dinners in our suite (so fancy) and enjoying complimentary breakfasts, one of my favorite things in life. This one had homemade scones.

We spent the rest of the week getting haircuts (Jon looks smashing, I got some butchered bangs) and ended with some General Conference. Nothing like some church while eating waffles and wearing sweats. Luxury!

Tomorrow, my twin and I go head to head, as our NCAA bracket scores are tied for first. Victory lies in the final score total--my 139 to her 145. Who will win???? da da da...