Monday, March 29, 2010

A Day Trip to Albany

This week Grammy was in the hospital after fainting one morning.  She’s doing fine now, but it was a reminder to me that the end could be near for her.  We decided to take the camera and get a few pictures of her with Desmond.  Right as we pulled in Nathan and Daniel drove in behind us.  God has perfect timing!  It caught me off guard, but it was good to see them again so soon.  It also made talking a bit easier since Grammy can’t carry on a conversation very well and doesn’t remember us.

After visiting Grammy we went to Mom and Dad’s house for lunch. When Desmond woke up from his nap we played outside a bit before driving home.  What a beautiful day!  I was inspired by the picturesque country setting and the sunny daffodils.  I could have taken pictures for hours, but here’s a few shots I got in the short time we had.  Desmond’s highlight was the “tractor” outside the barn.  I think he could have played for several more hours, too.

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Friday, March 19, 2010

Join the Club

For Davin’s birthday a few years ago I found him a green pair of Converses.  He had black ones before, but had always wanted green.  Last fall I found a little brown pair for Desmond and had to get them because they reminded me of Davin.  He’s finally big enough to wear them now, and funny enough they are his favorite shoes.  I thought it was time to join the club, and so for my birthday Davin got me my first pair on Converses… pink of course.  I think they make my big feet look crazy long, but I smile when I see all the matching white toes.

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

Embracing a New Decade with a New Do

I’m turning 30 next week!  I’ve always viewed age as just another number, but 30 does sound different to me now that I’m here.  I’m officially grown up, I guess.  I’ve been thinking about updating my look to go with my new decade of life.  Since becoming a mommy of a toddler, I find that I always have my hair pulled back in a pony tail or else wish it was.  Plus my thick hair takes an impractical amount of time to dry and style.  So I cut off about a foot and donated it to Locks of Love.  I’ve never had hair above my shoulders except when I was a baby.  I’m having fun playing with it and surprising people.  My own family didn’t recognize me when we arrived at the party.

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Sunday, we went down to Albany to celebrate the Boydston March birthdays: Dad, Grandpa, my brother Daniel, and me.  Nathan, Daniel, and Aurora were all there.  They’ve come to a couple family birthdays in the past two years, but it’s still a new thing.  We even sang an a cappella, four-part harmony song together for the first time in eight years. I couldn’t help but get emotional.  There’s a very long road to healing the hurts, but it felt good to be together.

Monday, March 08, 2010

A change in the wind

So, today I accepted a new job.  On the 5th of April I will be starting my new job at the Vancouver Clinic.  The position is for a Systems Analyst.  It will be so nice to have a job up in Vancouver.  It will cut my commute time drastically.  The other big news is that we made an offer on a house (Google maps | Bing maps).  It’s a 2000 sq/ft house with 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms … much bigger than our just under 900 sq/ft condo.  We are really excited.  Since we are getting a new job and possibly a new house, we figured we’d throw in a new dog, new friends, and change churches.  Just kidding about the last part.  New job and house is enough.  So, if you come from out of town to visit we just might have a place for you to stay.

Monday, March 01, 2010

Napping Nightmares

Lately I've been dreading nap time! My great sleeper has become quite stubborn and skilled at keeping himself awake when afternoon nap time rolls around. Desmond is coming off of being sick, and for one reason or another I've slipped into the routine of rocking or snuggling him to sleep. It's just starting to take an insane amount of effort to get him to nap so I've gone back to our original sleep training. We follow our sleep routine then I tuck him in and leave the room. If he gets out I put him back... over and over again. Like today, he'll play and jabber for about an hour then he gets fussy because he's realizing he's falling asleep. Several times I think he's out and then the crying starts. He cried off and on for over an hour today. I get quite a bit of my book read while watching the monitor and waiting for him to fall asleep, but two hours is ridiculous! We start to pass the point of a reasonable nap time before interfering with bedtime. He's finally asleep now, but I have to wake him up in a few minutes so we can go get Davin. I keep thinking, "This time he'll start to get it and tomorrow will be better." But I think today took longer than yesterday. He still needs his nap. I deal with a meltdown every few minutes if he doesn't sleep. I've read some stuff online and it's good to realize I'm not the only one with a toddler taking a nap strike. I think I'm going to try making his room darker. Sometimes I think he can see too many fun things in his room that keep him stimulated. Also I think I'll try doing something more active in the morning. Sickness has also kept us from Baby Boot Camp for awhile, so some good old running around just might be in order to help bring back my little sleeper!