Camping, Valentine's Day and Cheek Poop - 189 Days

It's been a little bit since the last entry, sorry baby bear. Of course a lot has happened since then.

We took a nice trip up the coast to the NW tip of Washington state. It just so happened that Portland got a lot of snow that week so the streets were covered as we left Portland. It was slow going but once on I-5 nearing Longview, the rode cleared up a bit and normal highway speeds were possible.

That's when we got a flat tire.

It was scary changing the tire on the side of I-5 with the shoulder barely useable because all of the snow. I had to open the back of the car for a long time to un pack everything and get to the spare. Cold wind right in your face but you didn't make a sound. Just kind of watched me as I frantically moved things around.

Thankfully a state trooper stopped behind us to provide a safer place to stop. From there it was just a matter of getting new tires and heading to Neah Bay. It was a long drive but you did so well. The cabin was nice, right on the water (in a long line of other cabins). It was a fun trip and makes me look forward to the future when we can all go camping for real.

Roadside diaper change!

That's the Pacific Ocean in the back...somewhere.

Sleeping with mama in the cabin.

We also had Valentine's Day last week. It was our second Valentine's day together in Portland and the anniversary of our engagement..and the first time with you. You were a little fussy but finally you fell asleep and mama and papa enjoyed some nice Italian food and wine.

Valentine's Day was also your 6 month doctor check-up. 6 months! Really? I am not sure if I feel that time went by fast or slow. Both really. You are healthy and that makes us happy. You're a big boy for sure (almost 22 lbs) and in the 97% for weight (84% for height). You did need to get some vaccinations though and you were not too happy about that, but when the nurse was finished you stopped crying and became a big boy again. The next day you had a slight fever, but even that didn't last long.

6 Month check...before the vaccinations!

Valentine's dinner at Mama Mia.

A final update…from this morning. Lately, after waking up, you do something strange. As usual, you are happy and chatty, but you seem to have added a strange behavior to your morning routine. Laying on you back, you raise both your legs and pound them into the mattress in quick succession. It makes a loud sound, like a bass boom. It's funny and I can hear it downstairs in the shower.

This morning though, i think this new technique made a small problem worse. You see, yesterday was a good poop for you. You pooped 3 times (2 is usually the max), so mama was feeling good that you did all your business. Usually in the morning, before I leave for work, I don't change your diaper. You are not usually awake and I don't usually have time.

This morning however, you were wide awake and I thought I would help mama by putting a fresh diaper on you. I soon discovered that you had poop #4 waiting for me. No big deal really, I could change the diaper and get to work. The more I looked though, the more I saw poop had made it's way up your back. This has happened a couple times. It seems though that the banging feet technique helped the poop make its way all the way up the back, just below the neck. Crazy, but ok. I asked mama for helped and we got you cleaned up with fresh clothes and a new diaper.

I laid you down in your crib, as I was getting ready to leave, but noticed poop in yet another place: on your cheek! What?! How!? You had somehow managed to get poop on your hands then onto your cheek (and who knows where else!). This was a first for us (and hopefully a last!). Of course you were chatting and smiling the whole time.