The Small Family   

Hi all. It's me, Theo! I am taking it upon myself to write this week's blog about our grand adventures. Otherwise, my Mom or Dad might try to tell you that I was an absolute bear for much of the early part of the week, which is SO not true! (Okay, maybe it is, but for good reason. I think I'm getting some more teeth. I do have to admit, I was a real turkey on Tuesday, when mom tried to have ice cream with her friend Becky. I threw so many tantrums that Mom threatened to sell me to the gypsies!)

Wednesday might, Mom and Dad went to dinner at Il Fornaio for their anniversary while I stayed with Grandma. They said they had a great time and delicious food, but I’m quite sure that Grandma and I had much more fun! I was, however, ready for Mom and Dad to come home. When they got home from dinner, I crawled over to Mom so she could pick me up, then promptly waved bye-bye to Grandma without any prompting. They all laughed at me because they said I looked like I was saying, “I’ve had enough of you now—you can go home!” Nah, not me—I love hanging out with my grandparents!

Anyway, Mom, Dad, and I got up early the next morning and hit the open road. First stop, Mt. Shasta! Mom and dad try to stop every couple hours for me to play, which is pretty decent of them. In Mt. Shasta, we stopped at a neat bookstore where they bought me a book about monkeys that came with a small stuffed monkey. Unfortunately, as I am wont to do, I hurled the monkey out of my stroller at some point and lost him. We retraced our steps but never did find my monkey friend! But still, it was a beautiful day in Shasta, and we had fun playing at the park. Before we left, we stopped for lunch, and I had my first tater tot. Yum!!!

Then it was on to Medford, Oregon, where we stopped for the night. We went to a winery where I had my first glass of Riesling. (Just kidding! My parents sampled a few wines while I explored the picnic area and wine barrels.) It was a pretty drive—Mama said she thought the scenery even beat Napa, which she loves, so that should tell you how beautiful it was!

Back at the hotel after our winery adventure, Mom and Dad took me for my first swim, which I loved. I hope to do more of that at Grandma and Grandpa's house this summer. I look pretty darn handsome in my little red-and-white swim trunks, I must say.

Friday we drove to Newport on the Oregon coast, where we were renting a house right on the beach with Auntie Lisa and Uncle Chris and their dog, Ava. I love Ava—she lets me pull on her fur and pet her and she never gets upset. She’s not my Luna, but she’s a close second! We all got to the beach house in the afternoon on Friday, so Daddy, Auntie Lisa, and Uncle Chris went to the grocery store (‘cuz Daddy never misses a trip to a grocery store!) and got food for Uncle Chris to whip up a delicious shrimp pasta puttanesca. I’m told it was delicious, though I wasn’t allowed to have any. Instead, they tried to feed me jarred baby food, which I detest. At home, I get homemade baby food, which I quite like, and that jarred stuff is rather lousy in comparison. I ate a little bit now and then, but only a few bites before I would turn my nose up at it. Mostly, I subsisted on whatever grown-up food Mom and Dad would give me and my beloved “bops” (bottles). I mean, really...jarred food? Please! I have a very discriminating palate! (We won’t even get into the fit I threw when Mom and Dad tried to give me a cool “bop” instead of my usual slightly warmed version. Tsk, tsk, tsk...)

I was pretty darn crabby all day Friday. I woke Mom and Dad up at 4:45am for some reason (they wondered why, but I wouldn’t tell them), and then I proceeded to yell at them for much of the day. I did, however, enjoy stopping in Eugene, OR, on the way to Newport, where they had a nifty play area in the mall, and Mom was able to get her anniversary present from Daddy—a new iPhone! (The grownups got to play with it this weekend, but I didn’t. Mom and Dad say I can’t touch it. Meanies!)

Anyway, due to my crabbiness, they made me go to bed early Friday night while they stayed up and played a card game called Bang and drank some wine. But that was okay, because I felt much better when I woke up on Saturday morning, ready for a big day in Newport after the grownups finished eating the delicious French toast and fruit salad that Daddy made for everyone. We all went into the town of Newport and walked around, and we stopped for lunch at a yummy restaurant for lunch. I was a huge fan of the pomme frites (fancy name for French fries), but they wouldn’t give me any of their seared ahi or crab sandwich because babies can’t have rare fish or shellfish. Poo on them! But I showed them. After eating many more pomme frites than I probably should have, I turned my nose up in disgust at another improperly warmed bop, forcing them to walk down to a snack shop after lunch to get some hot water to warm it in. Sniff...shouldn’t they learn?!

We played on the beach both Friday and Saturday, but it was a bit windy for my taste, so mostly we enjoyed the beach view from inside the house. Mom and Auntie Lisa took a long walk on the beach on Saturday afternoon, though, and they said it was gorgeous even though it was sprinkling a bit. I stayed home with Ava and the two Chrises (Daddy and Uncle), and we cooked dinner. Well, Uncle Chris cooked dinner while Daddy corralled me and I terrorized Ava.

Saturday was a long day, so I fell asleep early. The grown-ups all went in the spa (they used a baby monitor with video to have “Theovision” in the spa, just in case I woke up) and had mojitos, which Mom decided were great for curing her persistent insomnia, which has been wretched lately.

Sunday morning, we had a farewell breakfast at Starbucks, where I finally got a properly heated bop. You’ve got to go to the professionals to get a good bop, I think.... Then Auntie Lisa and Uncle Chris headed back to Seattle, and Mom, Dad, and I headed back to Medford. We drove down the coast a bit, which I’m told was gorgeous (I slept through it), and we stopped at the same mall in Eugene for some more time at the play area. Normally Mom and Dad try to stop at a park, but it was once again raining, so the indoor play area had to do. No worries...it was a good play area.

We decided to eat dinner in Ashland (about 10 miles past Medford; home of the annual Shakespeare Festival that runs all summer long) on Sunday night. Mama was craving guacamole, and Auntie Lisa and Uncle Chris had recommended a great Mexican restaurant in Ashland. Alas, it was too crowded, so we had to go somewhere else. No worries—Mama found about four things on the menu at the new restaurant that had avocado, so she was happy. Until the waitress announced that they were out of avocado. Poop. Oh well, Mom picked a boring sandwich and decided that all was still well because they had picked this second restaurant due to the fact that the sign boasted “best desserts in town!” So she nibbled at her sub-par French dip a little bit and waited for dessert, when she and Daddy planned to split a piece of their famous German chocolate cake. I was pretty excited about this too, since I love chocolate cake. But no...the waitress came back to clear the plates and announced that they had no desserts—the baker had forgotten to make them! So, Mom and Dad spent $20 on a lousy meal that failed on pretty much all counts. To console themselves, we went for ice cream. I, of course, can’t have any, but Mom and Dad enjoyed theirs. It was Father’s Day, so Daddy announced, “Dairy allergy be damned!” and ordered real ice cream for himself. He lasted about 10 bites before his throat started itching and swelling, but he said it was well worth it. (Mama, of course, finished her ice cream.)

Monday was a long drive back home, but we broke it up with a three-hour stop in Redding for lunch and a trip to Turtle Cove, a park with a museum, botanical gardens, a neat playground, some animals, an aviary, and a butterfly garden. (Side note: Mama highly recommends this park to anyone going to—or through—Redding. It was really neat with lots to see and do!) We didn’t make it to the museum or the botanical gardens (it’s a very large park), but we went to the rest of the parts and really enjoyed it. Mama liked the aviary best—so many birds flying around, and they would land right on you if you were still! Daddy liked the butterfly garden the best, I think, though both he and Mama really enjoyed both parts. I liked it all...I was just happy to be out of my car seat.

Last but not least, we stopped at a Mexican restaurant for lunch so Mama could belatedly enjoy her guacamole (and, as an added bonus, tres leches cake!). But we didn’t have any clean bops and I was hungry, so Mama bought me a different type at Raley’s supermarket. She cheaped out is what she did! She spent $1.50 on the bop, and it was lousy, I tell you! I took one suck and tossed it away and refused to eat it. I subsisted on some scraps from Mom and Dad’s plates of Mexican food and then made them go back to Raley’s and buy the proper bop, which cost a ridiculous $6.50. Mama groused about it and said, “Theodore Henry, the things I do for you, you little diva!” But I know she loves me because I’m so darn cute and sweet that I can get away with being a demanding little diva about my bops.

So, a great time was had by all! Mama and Daddy are happily planning their next trip and also thinking that beach weekend with Auntie Lisa and Uncle Chris should really be a yearly event.