Yurting, Thanksgiving and Sleeping - 67 Weeks

Your second Thanksgiving has already come and gone, hard to believe. Once again we drove north to Seattle to spend Thanksgiving with the Tanner Family. But let;’s back up a minute before we talk about this.

The weekend before Thanksgiving we made plans to head to Umpqua Lighthouse State Park and spend a couple nights in a beautiful deluxe yurt. Now you are too young to know, but as far as camping goes, this is as good as it gets. Next step is a cabin, and that ain’t camping. Not sure a deluxe yurt is camping, what with the heat and electricity and shower, but the walls are canvas, so we’ll call it camping.

We drove the 3+ hours south, headed towards Reedsport, OR. Shortly before arriving, you were crying, and as it turned out, you had a bit of a fever. We stopped for a bit of baby medicine and headed the rest of the way. You surely were fussy, but not any more than normal. You ate, played and watched your favorite movies. All seemed normal…until bed time. You basically did not sleep. Mama held you most of the night.

A look inside our deluxe yurt.

The next day the wind and rain really picked up, so we couldn’t go outside to enjoy nature. Instead, we headed into town to Walmart. I though that maybe it we bought a pack-n-play, that you would feel more comfortable. 

I could not have been more wrong.

As soon as we put you in the pack-n-play to test it out (a nice nap perhaps), it was like your feet were on fire. You cried and cried and no amount of soothing would help you. By the time dinner rolled around, you were still as fussy as ever. Ben and Mackenzie were driving to join us, but mama and I decided that as soon as they arrived, we would leave. They arrived. We packed. Then proceeded to drive home 3+ hours in the driving rain. Of course, you slept soundly the whole way home and after a brief awakening when we arrived home, you slept again through until morning. Exhausted, we too slept.

Papa made cranberry sauce for thanksgiving.

So, fast forward to the next week, Thanksgiving. Hoping for a better result, we bravely packed the car and headed the 3+ hours north for Seattle. No fever this time, and a very uneventful drive. When we arrived you were happy and Sarah and Kent were happy too and all the kids soon were playing and having fun. I was so happy. I thought to myself, “Genki will play himself into a sleepy state and sleep soundly through the night.” 

Thanksgiving with the Tanners.

Of course, this did not happen. The first night, you woke up around midnight. Again, mama held you and tried to soothe you back to sleep. About 2 hours later you finally gave in and closed your eyes. You then woke up early and were ready to play.

The next day (again, driving rain all day), we all went to the Children’s Imagination Museum in Everett, Wa. It’s a great little place for kids (maybe more fun for you next year). Lots of kids playing and lots of fun things to do. You, being still a little too young for this, enjoyed a few things but mostly wanted to be held and fed (your two favorite things!). That night again, you woke up in the middle of the night and stayed awake for a couple hours (enough time for us to watch the snow falling).

Mama reading you a book at the Children's Imagination Museum in Everett, WA.

It’s a strange new pattern, and one we do not like. Next up is a trip to Japan, so we are already preparing for no sleep.