Weekends on a boat

First of all highlights from the week!
Most recent- for the last two nights Jacob has slept through the night!!! Please Please let this stick.... going to bed at 10pm and waking up at 6:00am with no feeding interruptions in between is all I want for Christmas! :)
Secondly, Marley was a STAR in her Christmas Concert.  She truly stole the show and had us all cracking up. Videos to be posted to facebook soon.
Finally, Mark and I had a successful date night for the first time in probably over a year and a half.  Our last one was the summer before last on our anniversary.

We live in paradise!

This weekend (Sunday night) I realised I had not driven my car since Wed! Thursday night Grammy and Popop picked up Marley and brought her home and on Friday Jacob and I took the ferry into town to Marley's concert where we met daddy on the Scout (the work boat), on Saturday oh no wait.... Saturday we drove the car to pick up our Christmas tree (the last Cedar Tree for sale on the island and def the runt of the litter). Either way, the point is we finally spent some time actually behaving like we lived on a boat!  On Friday we had the tender in town for Marley's concert and the weather couldn't have cooperated  more for a beautiful moonlight cruise home after a celebratory dinner with the family.
On Saturday after our decorating errands Mark and I had our first date night where we took the tender into Flatts for a wonderful dinner and then home again.  Although we should really have 1) taken part in the boat parade or 2) at least gone to see the boat parade by boat; we had decided on this weekend weeks ago and were determined to spend some time just the two of us.  It just happened that it was the biggest boating weekend of the winter as it was the Bermuda boat parade and that it was a perfect weather weekend.  Really we should have taken Blew Horizon out and anchored off somewhere with the kids but i'm glad we finally took time for us, it was well over due.  Don't worry my steady followers, all jokes aside, we are not expecting anymore for a while.  Having an almost 3 yr old and a baby on a boat is plenty for now!
Yesterday we also decided to take the boat in to visit with Nana and Pa before a beautiful tribute to Adam and others who have died.  There is a World Wide Candle Lighting that takes place for children who have died and will never be forgotten.  Friends of Mark's family who also lost a son the month before Adam invited us round along with another family who recently lost a son to take part in this event.  If there are any readers following this who have lost or know someone who has lost a child it is a beautiful ceremony and worth reading about if you don't know about it already. 
The ride back along north shore home was a little different than the calm weekend cruises we had experienced.  The wind had picked up a bit and the wind direction was not in our favour for a smooth ride home.  With a worn out toddler on one knee and a zonked baby on the other I clutched them for dear life while holding my food against the cabin door to keep it from slamming back and forth.  Mark at the helm, kept glancing over and asking if I was ok, all I could do was grind my teeth and smile and give him the one thumb up, after all this is what its all about; riding the seas both rough and calm because as a very famous person once said; "You can never cross the sea, unless you have the courage to loose sight of the shore".

Name that Noise

After a toddler filled day of gymnastics and birthday parties we arrived back in Dockyard around 9:30pm.  Marley had fallen asleep on the car ride from dinner so it was easy enough to put her down.  Jacob on the other hand had been asleep since his last feeding around 5:30pm and was due to wake up and feed (and I was hoping play for a bit) so he could settle down for a nice marathon sleep.  Oh, new parents have no such luck! We played a movie from itunes and I attempted to wake him and give him a feed but he was not having it.  After the movie and no waking I was a little more forceful and he ate about 6oz but dozed in and out through the whole feed.  I put him to bed hoping he wouldn't wake too soon after and praying that if I went to bed right away I could get maybe 6 hours.
Tonight was a particularly blowy night.  We have had bad weather all day; heavy rain this morning and strong winds building all night.  On a boat there are very distinct noises that over time you can identify and not worry about.  We are still getting used to those noises.  Finally snuggled in bed there was a low creaking almost sounding like a 'coo'.  Mark asked me if it was Jacob stirring in his bassinet.  I had to double check it wasn't him.  Soon after there was an inconsistent tapping.... the strap to the bimini that actually serves no purpose that I had ment to tie down weeks ago.  Up I got because I knew it would keep me up all night.  The worst noises are the ones you can't identify because you always think the worst.  The hull of a boat has the amazing ability to magnify any sounds from the deck, which can make it that much more frightening.  For example; a few empty baskets left on deck blowing from forward to aft can sound more like a dead body being dragged above your head than a few pieces of plastic.
Once we named most of the noises we began to sleep and sure enough poor Marley's coughing began.  That was the beginning of the long morning that has me up writing this now.  Poor thing, she just can't seem to kick this cough although it has gotten better.  We have tried everything even an old remedy of putting vapor rub on her feet and covering them with socks before bed.  She eventually came into our bunk and cried and tossed and turned for an hour or so.  Soon after she settled Jacob decided to wake to be fed.  Now he's wide awake and looking to play. :( When he finally goes back to sleep, my intent is to go with him... not sure where i'm going to rest though.... Marley is sprawled across our entire bunk, Mark retreated her her bunk and the couches are full with Jacob and all his gear as well as the weekend's laundry.  One thing is for sure, I wont let the noises bother me now!