Author: catherinemryan

Jamberry Baby

catherinemryan

Baggenstos Farm, Ten Thousand Hour Mama

“Mountains and fountains

Rain down on me

Buried in berries

What a jam jamboree!”

—Jamberry by Bruce Degen

The Portland area is going nuts over Hood strawberries—folks getting to farmer’s markets early and buying as many as they’re able (as some growers limit the number of baskets you can buy), making jam to make the taste last all year, eating the red gems at every meal—and I can’t blame them, especially after our family strawberry-picking outing.

We went to Baggenstos Farm on a gorgeous day. After greeting the goats and playing on the tractor, we took our boxes to the strawberry fields. We planted ourselves among the rows of berries and set to picking.

Baggenstos Farm, Ten Thousand Hour MamaBaggenstos Farm, Ten Thousand Hour Mama

Soon, though, Eric and I realized that we wouldn’t be the efficient pickers we imagined, and I bid adieu to my plans for strawberry tarts, jam and fruit salad. We didn’t have time to search out the perfectly ripe berries because we were too busy watching our little bug who had gone crazy for strawberries!

Baggenstos Farm, Ten Thousand Hour Mama

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A Father’s Day reflection from Peeper’s papa

catherinemryan

Hi all, this is Eric Franklin Gregory, husband to Catherine and papa to Peeper.  This weekend was my first Father’s Day and this is my first blog post.  Here goes…

One of my favorite moments of the day is bringing Peeper into our bedroom where Catherine is catching a few extra sleeps. Catherine rolls over and smiles and says hello and good morning, and Peeper smiles, breathes out through her nose over and over and lunges out of my arms toward her mom.  It’s the same display of joy every time she sees her mom.

The other day I was watching Catherine and Peeper interact so naturally in a supportive, mutually enriching, wordless relationship.  A typical day for my wife (her mother helps out a ton, but when she is not around, this is what Catherine does):  Feeds, clothes, changes diapers, cleans up after, watches Peeper take the DVDs out of the box for countless hours, makes sure she doesn’t eat something bad, does laundry, dishes, feeds and walks the dog, might go shopping, rocks and nurses Peeper to sleep for two naps and night bedtime every day.

Catherine Ryan Gregory

 

I work most days and have grad school two to three times a week so cannot be home as much as I would like.  Catherine runs the home show and finds a way to always greet me with a smile when I come home.  She reads Peeper books all day, sings songs when she is upset or getting sleepy, gives her alternatives to biting that are more suggestion that command.  She is a wonderful model of kindness, compassion, patience, and cleverness. She is clever with a tune, clever with the lunch and dinner menus.  She meets cries with a song or gentle breath of air onto Peeper’s face.   Read more →

The most Oregon-y Father’s Day

catherinemryan

We celebrated Father’s Day in full Oregon style.

We began with a hike to Old Salmon River Trail outside Welches. The path was an easy grade along the river, which Peeper loved. She was fascinated and couldn’t tear her eyes away. Her finger got quite a workout as she pointed at it for, oh, the entire hike.

Ten Thousand Hour Mama

We walked through the old growth forest and marveled at the enormous trees. As the rain came down harder, though, we zipped through uncovered stretches (“quick feet, quick feet!” Eric would say, echoing what he tells his students when they have to hurry through the halls).

The trees didn’t offer quite as much cover as we’d anticipated, and the 10-30% chance of rain turned into more of a 100% situation, so we had to turn back earlier than we’d anticipated.

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Swimming in the kitchen

catherinemryan

The other day I came home to find a swimming pool inflated in my kitchen.

I had been writing at the library and my mom was watching Peeper. When I got back, my munchkin was splashing in a kiddie pool indoors. She was loving it, of course.

I would never have thought to blow up the pool inside and let Peeper go at it, but that’s just what Grandma did—and continues to do. She’s set up the pool a few other times and even bought one for her house for when Peeper visits the grandparents.

I want our home to be a place where spontaneity is the rule, where an unexpected adventure can crop up on the most mundane afternoon, where fun trumps conventionality. The environment can have unintended benefits too. My kitchen floor, for example, has never been cleaner.

Peeper the water weasel

catherinemryan

Yesterday Peeper graduated from her first swim class.

Ok, maybe “graduated” is too fancy a word. But her first swimming lessons ended, and she got a certificate, so that counts, right?

Peeper squeals and bucks her whole body in excitement when we put on her swim diaper and when we walk up to the local Y. She knows what’s going on.

Her joy overflows the minute she sticks her toes in the water. She must remember the version of “If You’re Happy and You Know It” that we sing in class—the part that says “If you’re happy and you know it splash your hands”—because she slaps water from the beginning of class to the end.

“She’s like one of those wind up toys,” her teacher told me the last day of class. “You know, the ones that you wind up, set in the water and watch as they swim away?”

Yep, that’s her.

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Six awkward (and sometimes gross) mom moves

catherinemryan

Once upon a time, before Peeper was even a gleam in my eye, my husband and I visited his brother’s family in Michigan. He and his wife had just had a boy, their first child, and I was thrilled to meet my first nephew.

The ensuing days were like a crash course introduction to what motherhood actually looks like. Much of the trip is now a blur—it was about eight years ago, after all—but I distinctly remember my sister-in-law scraping out a bit of wax from her son’s ear.

Ewww, I thought. I’ll never do that.

HA!

I have, indeed, pulled that mom move, along with many others that are sometimes weird and occasionally gross. Here’s a list of just a few of the weird things only moms understand. Read more →

NW’s Biggest Baby Shower Recap

catherinemryan

I’d never seen so many preggers bumps in one place.

On Saturday Peeper and I joined what seemed to be every pregnant woman and new mother in Portland at the NW’s Biggest Baby Shower. Hundreds of families piled into the Left Bank Annex (where, mercifully, they turned on the air conditioning after a little while—I was unbearably hot with my drooly space heater strapped to my front). We bustled around, checking out companies, organizations and services tailored for expecting and new parents.

Three floors of baby gear—plus the blessed air conditioner
Three floors of baby gear—plus the blessed air conditioner

Despite it not being so up my alley—I don’t usually love packed crowds of people—I had a good time. I was glad I went early, before it became difficult to sidle up to a booth. (I took the above photo around 12:30, by which time it was hard to maneuver my babywearing self between other babywearing selves.)

I learned a lot—not just about products but techniques, too (e.g. essential oils for napping and a tip about using acupuncture for lactation problems), but you have to strike up a conversation with the people at the booths to learn about this. Overall, then, it’s not for everyone, but if you want to know more about baby gear and get your hands on products to try before buying, or you want to talk to the people who know a ton about baby stuff, I do recommend going.

If you’re bummed you missed the event, or you live outside of Portland, you can hit up the baby shower in Seattle on September 27.

Here are a few of the highlights from the shower.  Read more →

Perchance to dream

catherinemryan

The other day, I witnessed a minor miracle. Peeper took a long afternoon nap.

The nap in question was so long, in fact, that I had to wake her. It was 5 o’clock and I didn’t want to completely throw off her bedtime.

I snuck into her room. She was out cold. Instead of throwing open the blinds, though, I sat down next to the crib and rested my forehead on the slats. I sat quietly and watched her sleep.

She was lying on her stomach with her rump stuck in the air. One cheek was smooshed on the mattress. Her eyelids fluttered and her lips pursed. She was dreaming.

Ten Thousand Hour Mama

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We won’t let the bugs win

catherinemryan

I’m a big fan of letting Peeper get dirty. I have no problem with grass stains on her pants, hands covered in dust or tasting sticks and pine cones and tree bark.

I absolutely love the outdoors, and I want her to explore, too. But there came a point this weekend when enough was enough.

On Sunday, Peeper, Finn and I met a friend of mine from grad school for this hike on Sauvie Island (which is bigger than Manhattan, if you want to squirrel away that fact for trivia night). The 3-mile loop on the wildlife refuge stipulates that dogs must remain on leash, and I was more than happy to keep Finn on lockdown: Cows, and the poopy evidence thereof, were everywhere. Finn has a disgusting track record with hikes through pastureland.

(Sorry, TMI.)

The scenery was gorgeous. We caught glimpses of Mt. St. Helen’s—or maybe it was Mt. Adams, but I couldn’t be sure because the top was obscured by clouds. Birds swooped this way and that. Old barns punctuated rolling fields.

Catherine Ryan Gregory IMG_4174_2

Halfway through, we stopped for a picnic lunch. Peeper practiced standing on her own and chowed down on tomatoes. Finn waded in the lake. It was perfect.

Until I spotted the tick. Read more →