Just Stuff

Recently life has felt busy at times and slow at others, and I’ve been feeling a little lonely and introspective.  Time to refocus, I think. Last month I took a mini mommy vacation. I went to a nearby hotel for two nights by myself to just recharge my batteries. It had been so long since I just breathed for awhile, spent time with God, drew pictures, and slept in. I also indulged in a massage at a nearby spa, La Bella Mi. It was wonderful!

Davin's parents came down from Spokane to visit us a couple weekends ago which was very fun. They enjoyed hanging out with the little grandson. They let him pick out some toys at Target, and we got professional pictures taken at JC Penny's. It was cute hearing Desmond saying "Gamma" and "Gampa" throughout the weekend.

The other day we walked to the pet store and got a blue betta fish for Des. I get him downstairs in the morning by saying, "Let's go say 'hi' to the fish." He loves to feed it and often pulls the dining room chair over to the counter to climb up and say, "Hi, fish!" Maybe we should come up with a name.

Tonight Davin and I are really looking forward to watching the premiere of LOST with some friends.  So exciting!

Our Handsome Boy

I had lots of fun taking a ton of pictures of Desmond the other day.  We’ve been enjoying the mild weather and it was perfect for an outdoor photo shoot.  I chased him around with our little point and shoot camera (that I sure wish had more features and a better fast action setting) and after more than a hundred pictures I got a few really good ones.  My beautiful baby boy puts a smile on my face!  He loves to laugh, run and be chased.  He also has the sweetest temperament and though he’s timid at times, it warms my heart to watch his kind interactions with others.

   

Green Eggs and… Milk

A recent favorite for Desmond is the book Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. Feeling inspired and having extra time this morning before taking Davin to the MAX I whipped up some green eggs and milk. Desmond wasn’t phased at all by the color, but some day he’ll get it. Maybe if I always make them green, he won’t like yellow eggs. Hmm…

Desmond is developing more of a little personality with definite opinions. I can see the “terrible twos” on the horizon with his loud squeals of protest, stiffening body, and occasional kicks anytime he has to do something he doesn’t want to. I’m trying to figure out a good way to teach him how to express his emotions appropriately. Not easy for an 18 month old. Also teething and off and on colds and flu have not made it easy on the sleep schedule. He'll sleep through the night again eventually, right?

On the positive side, it’s fun seeing things he really enjoys. His favorite movie is Wall-e, and he likes to talk with the characters saying “Eva” and “Wawie”. I’ve even heard him singing along to the opening song. His favorite snack is fruit snacks which he calls “oodoots.” (Why his word is so far from the real word, I have no idea.) He loves playing “tunnel” where I drape a blanket across the back of a chair to the couch. Then he’ll beg me to “chase oo”. It’s quite a work out and I think I might wear holes in my jeans for the first time ever. A highlight of Desmond’s week is watching the dump truck empty the dumpster across the driveway. Everything is blue if you ask him the color, and he loves to paint and color. We had a fun family dance before his bedtime tonight. He has quite a cute little booty shake he does. It also warms my heart to get an unprompted thank you after I get him something and to hear him say "uh-voo" (I love you).

Now if he would just go to sleep! It's hours past his bedtime.

First Snow this Winter

Quite a different experience with the snow this year!  Last year I bundled up a 5 month old Des to take some snow pictures and he was not happy with me when I sat him in the cold stuff. 

Today when he woke up from his nap it was snowing for the first time this season and Desmond was so excited!  “Noh!” he keeps saying over and over.  I have a hard time peeling his nose off the window for anything.  We did bundle up and head outside for a few minutes to go get the mail.  I think I’ve found someone to love the snow with me!

Christmas Morning

    

Christmas morning we spent together as a family of three.  Desmond slept in until 7am which was nice.  We enjoyed a breakfast of cinnamon rolls, eggs, bacon, and orange juice.  Then we read the Christmas story out of Desmond’s Bible, and he listened to all of it.  Next we brought out the gifts, and this year Desmond knew exactly how to open them.  It was funny when Davin and I moved on to our gifts for each other.  Desmond saw another present, held out his arms and said, “Hey!”  It was so cute!  Later that afternoon we joined up with my family at Aunt Marcia’s house for a few hours.  It was nice to not have to drive far.  Desmond has been enjoying playing with his new toys, and I am increasingly thankful and amazed that God gave us the gift of His Son.

Disneyland 2009

 We just got back from a family vacation to Disneyland with the Lees.  What a trip it was!  Driving 1000 miles in one shot with two small children can be a bit tricky, but driving at night while they’re sleeping sure helps. 

We arrived on Wednesday, December 16th and went into the park for a little bit on our first night.  Thursday and Friday were both full days in Disneyland and California Adventure.  Desmond’s favorite ride was Dumbo, and we also enjoyed taking in some of the parades and fireworks shows.   The new Toy Story ride was also a highlight.   

Saturday morning Desmond got sick.  It was his first time ever to throw up.  Not fun.  We missed most of Saturday but after a doctor’s visit and an obviously feeling better little boy, we went enjoyed some of Disneyland that evening.  Our one goal for the night was to ride Dumbo for Des. 

Sunday was a mostly normal vacation day in the parks.  We took Addison for the evening so the Lees could have a date night.  Desmond was still working on getting back up to par so we didn’t stay out too late.  Unfortunately, that night Davin and I both came down with whatever it was Desmond had.

Monday was our final day at Disneyland.  The Lees took Desmond for the day (thank you so much!), and Davin and I stayed behind at the hotel feeling quite crummy.  We took some medicine to try to feel tolerable enough to go into the park that night for our scheduled date night.  We ate dinner at the Blue Bayou… our tradition from every Disneyland vacation.

Overall it was a fun trip, but I sure wish we could have skipped the flu.  (Poor Addison had it for the day we drove home.)  Davin and I missed going on lots of the big rides since we did most of the kids stuff early on and the crowds were so bad in the evenings it was difficult to just walk around sometimes.  Still Christmastime is beautiful in Disneyland, and I’m already thinking ahead to our next Disney vacation.

      

Big Boy Bed

Desmond is really turning into a little boy, and somewhere along the line when I wasn’t looking he left the baby stage.  When we were at my parent’s house for Thanksgiving we came home with my old twin bed, and I was excited to set it up.  We got a new mattress, safety rail, and warm flannel sheets.  Desmond really likes his new bed, especially the fact that he can get in and out by himself.  We’re working on him staying in bed when he’s falling asleep.  It took putting him back in bed 20 times the first time, 3 the next, and zero the time after that.  I know we’ll have to revisit this lesson from time to time, but I’m proud of how well he’s doing with his big boy bed. 

My First Race!

   

On Thanksgiving morning I ran the Oregon Mid-Valley Road Race, my first race ever.  I have never been a runner; it takes too much effort, but I’m actually starting to like it.  Just after the one mile mark a photographer was taking pictures and here I am! 

I signed up for the 5.2 mile scenic challenge.  Interpret “scenic” to mean “hills.”  There was one stretch of “significant elevation gain” about 2 miles in.  Most of the runners around me turned left and ran back for the second half of the flat 3.75 mile run, and I turned right up the switchback road.  I managed to keep my jogging cadence up rather than relaxing into a walk, but near the end of the killer hill a guy who was walking caught up to me and we were going the same speed.  Oh, brother!  I’m a sloooow hill runner.  He motivated me to keep going.

Near the 4 mile marker I was tired and wet. (It rained the whole time.)  A few ladies passed me and I tried to keep up with them since one of my goals was to not be last.  Another goal was to finish in less than an hour.  As I rounded the final corner and crossed the finish line I saw my time: 59 minutes.  Alright!  I also heard the announcer call out another runner after me who finished in just over an hour.  Whoohoo! 

I checked my stats online later in the day and saw that I met two of my goals by one: I was 178 out of 179 runners and my time was an even 59 minutes.  It’s hard for me to do something I know I can’t win or even be anywhere near the best.  I keep reminding myself that about a year ago I couldn’t even run a flat half mile so I’ve improved a lot.  I should be even better next year.  Now I just need to heal my shin splints.  They’ve been bothering me for awhile so I was resting a lot before the race rather than training like I wanted to, but now they’re hurting again.

How Many Words?

I was recently reading an article about the common gender differences in early childhood development.  By 18 months the article says boys typically have around 50 words and girls have 90.  I knew Desmond had more than 50 since a couple months ago Davin and I counted about 30.  So out of curiosity I made a list of all the words Desmond can say on his own.  Here’s what I came up with and I’m realizing all the time that there are more words I haven’t remembered or didn’t know he could say.

1. 1-2-3 2. a-b-c 3. Addi 4. Airplane 5. Apple 6. Apple sauce 7. Baa 8. Baby 9. Bagel 10. Ball 11. Balloon 12. Banana 13. Bath 14. Beans 15. Bear 16. Beep 17. Belly button 18. Bike 19. Bird 20. Bite 21. Blanket 22. Blue 23. Boat 24. Boo 25. Book 26. Boots 27. Bowl 28. Bread 29. Broccoli 30. Brush 31. Bunny 32. Burr 33. Bus 34. Button 35. Buzz 36. Bye-bye 37. Camel 38. Camera 39. Car 40. Cat 41. CD 42. Cheese 43. Chicken 44. Choo-choo 45. Circle 46. Clock 47. Cock-a-doodle-doo 48. Comb 49. Cow 50. Cracker 51. Crayon 52. Cup 53. Daddy 54. Dark 55. Desmond 56. Diaper

57. Ding-Dong 58. Dirt 59. Dirty 60. Dog/Doggie 61. Done 62. Donkey 63. Down 64. Drink 65. Duck 66. Ear 67. Eat 68. Elbow 69. Elmo 70. Eye 71. Feet 72. Fire truck 73. Fish 74. Fork 75. Gina 76. Gorilla 77. Grapes 78. Green 79. Green beans 80. Hair 81. Heart 82. Hexagon 83. Hi 84. Hippo 85. Home 86. Hot 87. Hush 88. Jesus 89. Juice 90. Key 91. Knee 92. Knock-knock 93. Koala 94. Leaf 95. Light 96. Lollipop 97. Macaroni 98. Meow 99. Mickey Mouse 100. Milk 101. Mommy 102. Moo 103. Moon 104. More 105. Mouse 106. Music 107. Nana 108. Nemo 109. Night-night 110. No 111. Nose 112. Oatmeal 113. Off

114. Oh-no 115. On 116. Oops 117. Orange 118. Out 119. Outside 120. Oval 121. Owl 122. Papa 123. Paper 124. Peanut butter 125. Peas 126. Pillow 127. Pizza 128. Please 129. Poop 130. Pop 131. Potty 132. Puppy 133. Quack 134. Radio 135. Rain 136. Rainbow 137. Raisin 138. Remote 139. Robot 140. Rock 141. Seal 142. Shoes 143. Sit down 144. Snack 145. Sneeze 146. Socks 147. Spoon 148. Star 149. Sun 150. Teeth 151. Tick-tock 152. Toes 153. Train 154. Truck 155. TV 156. Twinkle 157. Uh-oh 158. Up 159. Vacuum 160. Vroom 161. Walk 162. Water 163. Whoa 164. Word World 165. Wow 166. Yellow 167. Yummy 168. Zebra

Permission to Get Wet

  

Today Desmond and I went to the Children’s Museum for the first time.  Wow!  I thought he might be too young to really enjoy it, but he had a blast!  They do a great job making many of the exhibits cater to a variety of ages.  We played for two hours straight, and Desmond could have gone longer.  His favorite area was definitely the water.  We started and finished there.  We may need a membership to this place…

Desmond playing in the water

As we left the museum