Ruby Beach, WA

August 12, 2013August 12, 2013 ~ Crystle ~ 9 Comments

Spontaneity is not lost on us, I’m happy to report. After lamenting all the lost travel opportunities in Washington that we are up against, we decided to pick a couple locales and go for it.

Highest on the wish list was a camping trip to the Olympic National Park, but you’d need to reserve a campsite months in advance; an impossibility since we weren’t sure how difficult life with a newborn would be. Travelers come from all around the world to camp in the old-growth rain forests and backpack in the steep mountains of the sprawling park. Steep cliffs? River crossings? Snowy trails? Ai, ai, ai, not with a baby.

So, a day hike: the perfect solution for a young family. We chose Ruby Beach, because it was the closest in scenery to the Giants Graveyard, which is what we really wanted to see. Doing so meant we would have had to check tide charts and risk a rocky traverse across a receding shoreline with a baby in a day pack. I was particularly keen on seeing a foggy seascape, freckled with sea stacks– from a safe vantage point. Overly-cautious mom reigns in the adventure, again.

Visibility maxed out at one mile, so the highly-anticipated infinity horizon of the Pacific Ocean was a no-show.

Fog obscured the tree-tops while a cool, misty breeze reminded us that the ocean churned nearby. Driftwood and boulders, littered with Cairns, dotted the shoreline.

From a wind-swept branch high above the cove, a bald eagle sat, calmly watching the shoreline (can you find him in the following photograph?).

Landscapes like this are a dime a dozen along the Oregon and Washington Coast. For however long, or short we live in this region, the novelty of such beauty will never wear off.

Margot + Bananas

August 10, 2013August 10, 2013 ~ Crystle ~ 3 Comments

Margot - Five Months | Yea Yea Pueblo

We couldn’t ask for more when it comes to our baby girl. Margot is healthy, easy-going, and beautiful. She’s hitting all her baby milestones rather early and our job as parents has been as smooth as silk. At her four month appointment, her pediatrician approved a slowly-integrated menu of solids, a welcome change.

Margot - Five Months Old | Yea Yea Pueblo

Margot - Five Months | Yea Yea Pueblo

While I was still pregnant, my sister-in-law Anna and her fiancè Jonathan were gracious enough to gift us the Baby Bullet to help our transition into solids further down the line. It sat on the shelf until this glorious day when Margot was finally ready to sample solids.

Of course I was there with my Canon, ready to document the auspicious occasion.

We pureèd bananas with water and hoped for the best, and the best it was. Margot absolutely loved her soupy bananas, and grabbed for more any time the spoon was in her reach. It was adorably messy and incredibly time consuming.

Bottles feed her much quicker, but we all seem to enjoy the novelty of a new phase.
Margot - Five Months | Yea Yea Pueblo

To bring her into the world was amazing enough, but to see her eventually initiate tummy time on her own and unsteadily hold her head up by herself–that was inconceivable! Now she can sit up and eat semi-solids. We are but quieted wallflowers. Our Margot is growing up in a flash and there is nothing we can do to reel it in. Her teeth are coming in! She loves bananas! She loves Radiohead lullabies! She giggles and crawls after our elderly Beagle, Yango. With every new day of life she becomes more animated.

Is there anything else to do but resign ourselves to the inevitability of growth? But I suppose, as she grows, we do too. Vicariously and metaphorically.

Margot - Five Months | Yea Yea Pueblo

We were lucky enough

Four Months Later

July 22, 2013July 22, 2013 ~ Crystle ~ 8 Comments

Here we are, four months after bringing Margot into the world, and we’re still adjusting to the new family dynamic. As soon as we find our groove, Margot changes…and off the balance is thrown.

She’s learning how to crawl.

She brings her knees to her belly, then face-plants onto her quilt on the floor, unable to push her chest up and forward at the same time. She screams in frustration, then rolls over in exhaustion. This carries on until the frustration escalates into a tantrum, or she distracts herself with toys. Right now it’s the former. Don’t let the charming photos fool you, this sweet baby has regular meltdowns, too.

Lucky for us, she’s sleeping through the night, waking only once at around 5 am for a bottle and a diaper change before sleeping in until 8. It’s been a nice advancement in the baby game.

Her personality is beginning to shine through, too. Margot is effervescent in the mornings, clingy in the afternoons and playful in the evenings. Getting work done around the house isn’t always possible, but I’ve been told that’s to be expected.

While Margot attempts to crawl around — usually trying to chase after the dog, Isaac and I have been planning our move to Fairbanks. We’re still debating whether or not we want to buy a house or live on base.

It’s almost impossible to structure a plan around living in a land of such extremes. Many people we run into here in the Pacific Northwest have had some experience up there. Their opinions vary greatly, which muddies the water even further.

We’ll be leaving Washington in seven weeks, just before Margot turns 6 months old. Her first winter ever will be in Alaska. It should make for an interesting first Christmas, and at least an awesome Christmas card.

Until then, we’ll get used to our temporary routine and savor our last season in Olympia.