Nights in the Burgh

While we were in Pennsylvania, Johnnie and I snuck away to Pittsburgh for a couple nights and left Cameron with my parents.  They were more than happy to have her all to themselves and we got a relaxing little break.

We drove to Pittsburgh and stayed at a Hampton Inn in The Waterfront area.  This is a nice area with a couple hotels, a movie theater, restaurants, and shopping.  It is also close to Sandcastle Water Park and Kennywood Amusement Park.

After relaxing in the area around the hotel for a bit, we headed over to PNC park for a baseball game between the Pirates and the Mariners.  Johnnie is from Seattle and is a huge Mariners fan so we were pretty excited that this game coincided with our trip.  To get to the stadium, we caught the bus just up the street from our hotel and had to transfer once.

Pittsburgh is the nearest large city to where I grew up but I never spent any significant time in it.  I was impressed with the little bit we saw while walking... impressive and intricate stonework on old buildings, an eclectic mix of architecture, and countless bridges crossing the river.

We had awesome seats for the game... right behind the Mariners dugout and first base!  I don't care for baseball on TV but I do love the atmosphere and excitement of actually being at a game :)

Ballpark food is a must at a game!  We had it all: beer, hotdogs, peanuts, pretzels, and more beer :)

After the game ended, we stayed and relaxed while the stadium cleared, the field was groomed and equipment was packed up.  The videographer in front of us tossed us a baseball that was used during practice before the game :)

We left the stadium and had a drink at an open-sided bar just down the street before catching a taxi back to our hotel.  It was nice knowing that Cameron was in good hands with my parents and that we could take all the time we wanted to enjoy the night.

The next day, we went shopping!!!  We started at REI (none of those in Hawaii) and hit up a few other stores near it in the SouthSide area before heading back to the Waterfront area where Johnnie went to see a movie and I continued to shop for many hours.  There is no sales tax on clothing in Pennsylvania and the prices cheaper than in Hawaii so I had a great time!  I bought some summer clothes to wear year-round here in Hawaii and I also bought new running shoes and running clothes.  Our suitcases were packed to the max on our flight back to Hawaii!

After the long day of shopping, Johnnie and I walked to a nearby restaurant, Mitchell's Fish Market, for dinner.  We had some great seafood and ended with a special coffee drink and a ginormous piece of carrot cake (literally 8" high and 5" wide) which we couldn't finish despite our best efforts.

Our nights in the Burgh were a fun little getaway in the middle of our trip and a nice little break from parenthood... at least a break physically, not mentally :)

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"A hot dog at the ballgame beats roast beef at the Ritz."

~Humphrey Bogart

Small Towns and Back Roads

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"Another Pleasant Valley Sunday

Charcoal burning everywhere

Rows of houses that are all the same

And no one seems to care"

~The Monkees

Family Friday: Eight Months Old

35 Weeks (8 Months) old

We are still in Pennsylvania... thus the camouflage fabric in this week's photo.  Western PA to me is small towns, big yards, country music, hunting, pick-up trucks, and light beer :)  It took Cameron exactly one week to adjust to the six hour time change.  I'm glad we have this second week to enjoy her normal schedule before we have to make her adjust all over again.

At 8 months old Cameron is about 17.5 pounds, wearing size 2 diapers, and wearing size 6 to 9 month clothing.  She is a very happy baby, is super active, and loves to explore.  The only time she sits still is when she is strapped in her carseat or stroller.  She is quick to move around with her "army crawl" but still doesn't crawl on her hands and knees.  She gets up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth but flops onto her belly to move forward.

Cameron is starting to climb!  She balances with both arms up on low things like a wipes container and the lowest rung on barstools and chairs. When we sit on the floor with her she will climb on our legs and can even pull herself up to standing.  She has great balance and strength so I anticipate that she'll be walking before her first birthday.

Cameron is still on a great schedule that we have had established for a few months now:
7:30am - wake
8:00am - bottle
9:30am - nap (2+ hours)
12noon - wake, bottle
3:00pm - nap (1 hour)
4:00pm - wake, solid food, bottle
6:00pm - nap (30 min)
7:00pm - bottle
7:30pm - bedtime

Cameron is no longer swaddled for night or for naps.  She moves around a ton while she sleeps and usually sleeps on her side or belly.  She loves her pacifier and needs it to fall asleep.  Throughout the night she finds it and puts it back in her mouth.  Sucking a pacifier while sleeping greatly reduces a baby's risk of SIDS so I am gladly supporting Cameron's paci habit for the time being :)

Last weekend we had a cookout at the house and Cameron got to meet all of her aunts, uncles, and first cousins.  She also met many of her great aunts, great uncles, and first-cousins-once-removed.  She was not put down all day!  She was happily passed from person to person and had a great time getting to know everyone.

 Cousin Faith (age 7) did a great job feeding Cameron a bottle!

Cameron met her great-grandmother and namesake: Margaret Cecelia and Cameron Cecelia

Johnnie and I spent a couple nights in Pittsburgh this week and left Cameron with my parents who were more than happy to watch her.  We stayed at a hotel, went to the Pirates vs Mariners baseball game, had some nice meals out, Johnnie saw a movie, and I went shopping.  I'll do a separate post about our nights in the Burgh... it was a nice little getaway :)

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"Having a place to go - is a home.

Having someone to love - is a family.

Having both - is a blessing."

~Donna Hedges

Family Friday - May 3

34 Weeks Old

The long trip to PA was smooth and easy but now we are all jet lagged because of the 6 hour time change.  Normally it would only take a couple days to overcome but having a baby is making it more difficult.  I wake Cameron up at 8am and follow her normal schedule all day.  She does perfectly with eating and naps, no problems at all.  Night time is a different story.  We put her to bed and she falls right asleep... but then she wakes up around 11pm as if she was just napping.  She stays awake until about 1am (which is 7pm bedtime in Hawaii) and then goes back to sleep and sleeps until morning.  Things are normal other than those two hours at night, so I'd say we're doing pretty good.  We've read that it can take 3 to 14 days for babies to adjust... hopefully it will be sooner than later!

Cameron has met a few of her relatives so far and she loves everyone :)  We are having a big cook-out on Saturday where she will meet many, many more.  We even have relatives driving in from out of state to meet her and to see us.  These are 3 out of 5 first cousins that Cameron currently has:

We are having surprisingly great weather here in PA so Cameron spends some time outside each day with her Nana enjoying the fresh air.  The grass here is a treat because it's thick and soft.  In Hawaii, our grass is actually too rough and jagged for us to enjoy.  My family lives in a quiet, rural area so there is a lot of country life for Cameron to experience here.

Post-partum hair loss left me with stupid new baby bangs and crazy thin hair.  My long hair accentuated both of those so I desperately needed a new style.  Luckily my sister-in-law is a hairdresser so I was thrilled to have her work some magic as soon as we got to PA.  We went short with layers around the bottom and on the sides.  We also moved my part to the opposite side to better hide the baby bangs which grow more in that direction.  She cut a lot of hair off but I really love having short hair again (it's been a while!) and I'm thrilled that the cut makes my crazy hair look normal!

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"Jet lag is your soul trying to catch up after flying."

~Ryan Ross