Calendar

You will see to the left there is a new button, . By clicking on this button you can see a calendar with Oli's work schedule and any other important events.

Sick Panda

We had a good Christmas with my family (sans Jakob, who was at the Olson's). Christmas Eve we went down to Lewiston (sans Oli, who was at work) we stopped by Costco which was the emptiest I had ever seen it. It felt like we weren't supposed to be there. Then we went to Pizza Hut for Christmas Eve dinner. While we were there Layden learned how to drink out of a straw. Then we capped off the evening by driving all around Lewiston/Clarkston in search of the Christmas lights. The park on the way into town was all lit up with lights. Every tree was liberally draped, there were lighted colonnades, and there was an old train engine lit up. It was also quite chilly but Layden loved it. We had a nice low key Christmas, opened presents, did laundry, made lasagna. Layden received many fun toys for his birthday and Christmas, the ones that made noise were especially great.

Layden got his first hair cut from Mom and Becky, the day after his birthday or so and he looks much older now.
The day after Christmas Mom, Dad, Becky, Layden and I headed up to Sandpoint, Idaho to visit with the Olsons. That afternoon, after we had arrived, Layden threw up. He continued to throw up anything that went in his mouth until 9:00 the next morning. He had stomach cramps and a fever. Eventually he started keeping small amounts of water and milk down but he had a couple of bouts of explosive diarrhea. Currently he is keeping most of his food down but tends to throw up once first thing in the morning. He is mostly better but still goes through periods when he feels pretty gross and needs mommy. He had his well child check up yesterday and is doing well, though in the past three months he has gained less than a pound (up to 20lb now). The doctor figures he just had a case of rotovirus, which generally lasts for about a week. My mom came down with the same thing a day after Layden and is still feeling a bit gross, Brita may also have come down with it but so far they seem to be the only ones.

Other than the whole people getting sick and me not sleeping thing we had a good visit up in Sandpoint. There was a veritable cornucopia of goodies, most likely resulting in a significant holiday weight gain.
We are back home and enjoying a few days off with daddy. Today Oli taught Layden "So big". To "How big is Layden?" he responds by raising at least one arm and saying "so big" (barely intelligibly).

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Today we drove up Steptoe Butte. It is a quartzite formation over 400 million years old, 3,600 ft elevation, the view is spectacular. It was very cold. Then we drove back down and had waffles with berries.

One Year

Well we have made it one year. You have grown so much it is hard to believe. When I first held you I could not have imagined that you would grow into such a wonderful little boy. Though sometimes this last year has been hard it has also been filled with joy. So many times when I have been frustrated or down you have smiled and whatever was bothering me was no longer so important.
You have had so many firsts in your first year. First time rolling over, first time crawling, first smile, first word, first tooth, first steps, and each was more exciting that the last. When you started crawling we thought you were so talented, so precocious. Then you pulled yourself up to standing and you were so amazing, so strong, so smart. Then you started climbing up the furniture and while we were still impressed we were maybe a bit less excited. You are such a strong little boy, but I guess that isn't really a surprise. A few months of using my bladder as a punching bag, followed by squats and chin-ups would make anyone strong.
You are a very curious, investigative child. Everything is worth investigating, especially if it is a grown up toy. All of Dad's tools are wonderful, but the best thing of all is the screwdriver. Nothing makes your eyes light up like an 8" #2 flat head screwdriver, except perhaps any other screwdriver you manage to lay hands on. What is on the counter top? You don't know, but you are going to find out, drawer handles make great ladders. What's in the roll top desk? As soon as you can get it unrolled you will find out.
You are quite the animal lover, though animals don't always love you. Gentle is still a lesson you need to learn. The cat is trying to teach you but you just roll with the punches. You show up with the occasional scratch but it doesn't seem to faze you. You think Lucy is wonderful and you would love to just pet her and dig your face into her fur but you respect that that is not what she wants.
Even though you put everything from the floor into your mouth (the less edible the better) and you insist that the world is your oyster and won't believe it really isn't OK for you to climb on the table, even though it has been near impossible for me to get anything done for a year now, I would not change a thing. I don't regret a minute of it. You are the greatest gift your father and I have ever received. And now you are starting to talk. You will say Peek-a-boo, uh-oh, sometimes doggy, and maybe even daddy. You have other methods of communication, some more subtle than others. You make the sign that we are trying to teach you means milk for just about any food you want, you have found that trying to pull off my shirt is very effective at communicating "Milk, now!"
One of our friends from college recently found out she was pregnant after 5 months of trying. I remember learning I was pregnant with you, I was excited, a little scared, but excited. I though I knew what this would mean, Blah blah blah, awesome responsibility, blah blah blah, your life is totally different, blah blah blah everything will change, well I didn't know. I thought I could imagine how my life would change, but I couldn't. But I also couldn't imagine how much I would love you, how much joy you were going to bring to my life.

Pak-boo!

Today Layden finally said pak-boo for Mommy and Daddy, first for Daddy (of course) then, finally, for mommy. Last night he said it for Grammy on the phone. Layden, Lynda and I headed up to Costco today and then went for a nice walk downtown and stopped by Rosauers to pick up cake mix for Layden's birthday. Layden had tons of fun looking at all of the Christmas lights, towards the end though he was torn between pointing at the lights and keeping his fingers warm.
I love it when every so often when he is babbling away to himself he seems to say something that just cracks himself up and he has to giggle a bit. Babble, gabble, babble, blurt, da-da-da-da-da-da, click click, tee hee.
Soon (Julyish) we will no longer be the only of our college age friends to have a baby. Lisa (Loveland, ne McDermott) is pregnant after years of saying she wouldn't have kids. Congratulations! Your life will never be the same but on the whole it is fun. Sadly her hubby is off to Iraq in January so she will be move back to Washington for a bit to stay with her parents.

Earplug Check

Joy has headed home now. We had a good visit and she and Layden had a lot of fun together. She gave a couple more of her photos framed for Christmas and now are walls are starting to look very nice. I also got the winter photos up on the wall so we are decorated for the winter.
Layden was fascinated with the earplugs Oli was wearing yesterday. Today when he was sitting on Daddy's lap he turned his head so he could check in his ears. He felt around a bit but no earplugs today. Oli is at work now, he works 4 days of night shift than has a couple of days off. Hopefully by the end of January he will be on a regular schedule of evening shifts. Five 8 hour shifts with alternating weekends (1 or 3 days off). But I can't remember how many times we have thought he was getting off nights and on to a regular shift, but then they have a budget cut back or some one quits and because not every one gets trained to do QC and maintenance, he is back on night shift. It is hard on both of us when he is on nights, Layden seems to hold up pretty well but then we arrange our lives around him so that isn't much of a surprise.
I made a curtain today. It actually looks decent. I won't be ashamed to hang it on the wall. Of course it was pretty simple, two seams up the sides then tabs along the top. Layden found the sewing machine fascinating and was not terribly helpful. He was pretty sure it would be a good idea for him to sit on the table and play with the needle, I was pretty sure it wasn't. He also wanted to help cut out the fabric, first he generously offered to sit on the fabric to hold it still. Unfortunately he insisted upon sitting right were I was going to cut. Then he decided I needed more help than that because I wasn't getting any where fast and kept grabbing the rotary cutter. Baby + rotary cutter = very bad things. I persevered and in less than an hour produced an entirely decent curtain. I will make a few more and then we will work out some sort of curtain rods and voila, privacy at last.

Gotcha!

Today the weather was clear and not too windy so we headed over to Klemgard Park for a hike. It was quite chilly but is was nice to get outside after spending the morning inhaling vinyl fumes. The glue from the floor didn't stink a bit but the floor itself is rather stinking. We have one wall of beadboard up and a coat of paint on it. Next Oli has the most difficult wall to get up, the one with pipes, and light switches, and cabinets. Then I will have a good bit of painting to do, 2-3 coats on the beadboard, the trim and the cabinets.
Today Layden was playing with the toy that has different shapes that you push through correspondingly shaped holes. He managed to push four of them through the correct hole, the first one all onhis own without coaching. That boy is smart enough to keep us quite busy. He is also saying gotcha now. If you chase him around and then grab him and say "gotcha" he will repeatedly make a noise that is reasonably close to "gotcha!".
Joy has been having fun with Layden, he never ceases to impress. She was a big help keeping him out of our hair and the glue while we put the floor down. It is looking like she will continue to have good weather for her drive home tomorrow afternoon.

Floor

Joy is visiting for a few days. She has brought her brand new Pentax K10d. Very nice. She is having fun getting it all figured out and we made a trip into Moscow to get some protective filters and lens cloth. With her here to keep an eye on Layden we have also managed to get our new bathroom floor down. I am ever so excited. Mostly because this means we can put in the new sink, I am anxious to see how it looks and fits. Tomorrow we plan to put up the beadboard wainscoating, and hopefully put every thing else in too but we will see how far we get. Yesterday Layden once again said Peek-a-boo. For Joy. We weren't in the room and he hasn't said it when we were around. Just for Joy. Maybe peek-a-boo means grandma.
I finally got around to unpacking our box of photos and we have the family photos on the bookshelf. I printed off a few of our winter photos from last year and we will put them up to join our snow globe as our "Christmas" decorations. On our street we are definitely the Scrooge house, especially compared to the house across the street. Yet I don't really mind. In this house putting up a tree would just be asking for disaster. Speaking of disasters Layden just took a nap from about 6:30 to 9:00pm. You probably are thinking "why are they so stupid as to let him take a nap so late?" Answer: good question, shows you're thinking. Now tell me if you could tell a baby as cute as Layden that even though he is exhausted and crying that no, you can go to sleep.

No More Quizzes

Today I graded my last quiz (at least for a while). I have office hours on Thursday and then I am done for a bit. I will be free to devote my free time, such as it is, to graduating (and chasing Layden, and cleaning, and remodeling...). It feels nice to be done with that for a bit, to know that next week while Layden is napping, or playing by himself, I can take the opportunity to do what I would like to do, rather than torturing myself by grading quizzes of students who are either receiving very poor instruction or are quite dense or are some combination of the two.
I have been slowly working on getting Layden's room painted, it is the same color as the bathroom since there was extra paint. Since he is asleep again I will go see about getting some more done. Until it is finished the room is stuck in a disarranged mess.

Snowshoeing

Layden and I had fun snowshoeing. I got some good exercise and he got in a couple hour nap. His hat from Joy was a huge success. Everyone wanted to know I got it, and was very impressed to hear it was handmade. It kept his head warm too. Snow shoes could be fun to have around here, actually be able to get some fun excercise in. We hike up a hill, accross a wheat field then down the hill. We didn't have a trail to follow on the way down so it was a bit more interesting.
Our basement door has been turned so it opens the correct way and has a working knob. The floor is ready for the vinyl to go down.

Signing

As you can see Layden has been keeping busy. He is determined to leave no stack undisrupted, no pile shall remain piled! He even managed to disrupt the transfer of files from the old laptop to the new. It is a lot of fun to turn the little indicator light for the power strip on and off, it is also fun to unplug the router. This led to much not-fun for mommy and almost lost a great many photos. This Saturday Layden and I will be going snow shoeing. So today I will be going shopping for snow boots, or work boots, or something. I have been meaning to get some and this is the motivation.
We have decided that Layden is at the point where an attempt to teach him sign language has a chance of being both beneficial and successful. Please wish us luck in this venture. He is so good at imitating us already that it just might work. His current "sign" for hungry is trying to rip off my shirt. I am hoping we can work out something a bit more subtle.

Learning Curve

Layden seems to have hit that point in the learning curve where it suddenly sweeps up. He has made it past the grub stage where he would just lay where we put him, barely wriggling. Then he made it through the just barely mobile, randomly chaotic stage. Now we are at the increasingly mobile, monkey-see-monkey-do-monkey-innovate stage. In the second stage he would crawl over to a pile of dirt we were trying to sweep up and spread it about, then stick his fingers in his mouth. Now he crawls even quicker to the pile, spreads it all about, but now he dusts off his hands afterwards. He is getting very close to walking. He took a step to the microwave. He took a step all on his own, stood up midcrawl, took a step, then continued crawling. He also will dance with music on occasion. He an a paint pail were really getting down with their bad selves. He is also getting us very well trained. Oli commented that Layden seemed to be developing his own version of sign language and that he used a certain gesture so Layden knows he has something to give him "That one I learned from him".
He still really likes tools, power or otherwise, in fact screw drivers may be his favorite. Today he grabbed a screwdriver, then a screw then put them together in the correct way. Coincidence? I think not. (In case you were just realizing, yes, this is just a look-how-wonderful-and-smart-my-baby-is post.) Sadly screw drivers are rather dangerous looking so we had to take it away. We investigated the snow today and found the texture and consistancy quite interesting but the temperature left something to be desired. He saw a picture Oli had taken last night of the deer lying in the middle of our backyard in the snow and he got very excited. He bounced up and down and made happy noises looking at the picture of the deer on the laptop.
Layden is definitely his father's son. He loves tea. He always wants a sip of Daddy's. He liked Jasmine gree, green and white, morrocan mint and is currently enjoying green with lemongrass. Strange, strange family. Oli blew a raspberry on my stomach and Layden thought it was awesome. So he just had to try. At first no success, the key is to exhale, not inhale. Then success! It was so exciting. The he kept making movements like a chicken pecking for grain, rarely leaving himself time to exhale at the tummy. Good times were had by all.

Testing: So Big

Now that Oli has fixed our little canon point and shoot we can take videos and put them on the web. Here is the tester.

Deers

Today we saw deers. There were 5 in the backyard and Layden got very excited watching them from his bedroom window. He even got a bit upset when they left. He kept looking at me like he expected me to bring them back. A young deer kept trying to nurse and his mom would go running off. Poor kid, fawn, whatever. They looked quite fat and fluffy and fit. Layden finds the snow quite interesting. He seems to think it feels pretty cool. Maybe tomorrow I will find him a snow suit, bundle him up until he can barely bend his limbs and then dump him in the snow :).

Layden took another step today. This time it was to Lynda. He also seems to be getting the hang of saying Dada. It is mostly at the appropriate time now. Oli has the next three days off so hopefully we can get the new floor down. It will be quite the manuver (manuever? maneuver? manoover?) We need to slide underlayment under the tub, cabinet, trim, and toilet flange drain thingy. We haven't quite figured out how to manage all of that.

Leaking Toilets

So, yeah. As I mentioned my family was over for Thanksgiving and good times were had by all, in spite of the fact that my dad discovered that the upstairs toilet was leaking down into the basement bathroom. This led to the boys ripping out one wall in the downstairs bathroom and the floor (2 layers) in the upstairs bathroom. So now our toilet is on the back porch covered in snow, it would be on the front porch, which is closer, but I think Oli couldn't bear to be quite that ghetto. I agree. We are at a standstill in the reflooring because the subfloor needs to be screwed to the joists (the nails "holding" the boards down jump when the floor is pounded with a hammer). However, we do not have a bit for the drill that will work with the screws we have and today I have discovered that the local hardware store is out of that size bit. So Oli will have to pick one up on his way into work tomorrow and hopefully this weekend we can get to work on the floor. Once the floor is done we are taking the opportunity to paint, install beadboard, replace the sink and faucet and update the bathroom generally. Hopefully it will be quite pretty when we are done.
It has been cold. Quite cold. Today it got all the way up 20 degrees. There are a couple of inches of snow on the ground but by now most of the roads are fairly clear. Layden hasn't really gotten to see the snow yet because it is just too cold. He has been keeping himself entertained by trying to get the kitty to play with the dog's toy. Kitty isn't going for it though. He crawls over to her with a stuffed green monkey-thing with red dots and holds it out to her as if to say "See, doesn't it look like fun? If you could grab it with your mouth and pull I would think it was the most wonderful thing in the world." She looks at him as if to say "You are off your rocker." And walks away.

Eleven Months

I missed your ten month milestone because we have lost our free internet but so much has happened since you became nine months old that I just can't skip this one. You have spoken your first word. "Pak-boo" or sometimes "Pak-a-boo". You did this for Grammy. Mommy tried and tried and then Grammy comes and her first day her you bust out your speaking skills. You are also very close to being a bipedal organism. You did one shuffling step for mommy and daddy, you did two steps for Grammy. You seem to recognize your Grammy, Grandpa and Juncle and seem happy to see them.
You had a very fun time at the bookstore with the owner's little doggy. That doggy licked your face and ears and you thought it was the funniest thing in the world. Then the doggy played tug of war with you and that was even better. You giggle and laughed and smiled and wanted to do it again and again. You would like to play tug of war with Lucy. You bring her a toy and wave it around so she will grab it but she just doesn't seem to get it. You keep trying though. Occasionally she comes and takes it from you and that is pretty darn cool, so exciting you just have to clap.
You have very impressive muscles at this point. You can do squats with and without weights, you have a six pack and very well defined arms. You could win a baby body builder competition. Your strength comes in especially handy when you are fighting a diaper or clothing change as if your life depended on it. You just don't like getting clothes put on or having them taken off. You would be happiest if we left you in the same clothes until you got so big we had to cut them off of you.

Grammy brought you some new toys which you think are pretty great. You even put small toys inside larger ones and try to put the different shapes back in the cube rather than merely looking for opportunities to create chaos. You are starting to like your baths a bit more as well and will now take them on your own. Sadly you won't be able to take any for a bit because we have been forced to replace the bathroom floor do to a toilet leak. Very gross.
You give me very good hugs now and we have some wonderful conversations. Everyday we learn more about the amazing person you are and everyday I want to know more. You are ever so terribly wonderful. So smart and sweet and terrifying.

Update

Sorry this has not been terribly regular. We don't have internet at home and it is difficult to accomplish much at the library when Layden is with me. Today he is at home with his daddy so I have a short bit of peace.
Layden is doing well he is mostly over the sniffles now. He doesn't like getting his nose wiped but he still enjoys the nose bulb. He is starting to be quite the copy cat. I carried him into our bedroom kicking one of his toys ahead of me and when I set him down he sat in front of his toy and scooted around on his butt kicking it. I am working on feeding him more solid foods. Yesterday I threw some of my stiry fry in the blender and he seemed to enjoy it. I think it had a bit more garlic than the average baby food. But he is the child I caught gnawing on a raw clove of garlic so I doubt he minded. He is quite the chatter box. People who call always comment about hearing him in the background. No words yet but some of his gabbering sounds alot like momma or dadda, occasionally even at appropriate times.

Cold

Layden has a little cold now, courtesy of his Juncle. His nose is very runny, which means he has to take breaks while nursing so he can breath. I tried out the nose sucker out last night and at first he was unimpressed then I sucked some snot out. He looked up to say, that is sooo wonderful mommy, tilts his nose up so I can get the other nostril.
We visited my parents last weekend. Layden seemed to really enjoy visiting them. The ride home was a little rough, took us a couple hours extra.
The kitty has a pretty bad sore at the base of her tail. When we got back from the weekend it had grown so we went to the vet and now she has antibiotics twice a day. She is pretty good about letting me poke them into her mouth. Hopefully she won't be one of the kitties that gets GI upset from them. Layden has been learning to play with the kitty and it is incredibly cute.

Back

We are back in Colfax now. The return plane rides went well and it is good to be back. We had a lot of fun visiting Becky, though we both got sick at the end. The one truly sunny day was the day I got on the plane to leave. We don't have internet at home and don't have a lot of time to write now. Hopefully I will have more later
Layden:
Six teeth.
waving.
clapping.
10 months old.
cute.
beautiful.
absolutely amazing.

Oli:
Tired.
Made me a pretty box.
Wonderful.

Me.
Full bottle of wine fell of fridge onto my big toe, very painful.
Wine spilled all over floor, sad, I wanted to drink it.

Sitka 3

It is very beautiful here in Sitka. The near constant precipitation keeps everything beautifully green. The fog/clouds wreathing the mountains has its own special beauty. And the oppressively constant cloud cover makes the moments of sunshine that much more lovely. There is all the hiking, biking, kayaking, and canoeing anyone could ask for but I don't think I would like to live here. I like the seasons, I like the hot summers that make you appreciate stormier winters for their variety and the cold winters that make you appreciate the warm sun in the summer and the winters and summers that make the transitions of spring and fall the best times of the year.

Yesterday we hiked to Beaver Lake. It is a great hike, hard enough to make you feel like you did something but not so hard that you wonder if it will ever end. The trail traveled through the muskeg and some stunted forest. Very beautiful in its own way. Hopefully the photos will turn out because it was a bit dim. Then we took a loop around the little lake, partly compose of large creating stepping stones in the lake itself, a couple of which seem to have sunken a bit.

Almost

Well I almost went kayaking today. I learned how to wet exit last night, turns out I am very good at tipping the kayak. Then I got up bright and early at 6:45, on my vacation, got dressed, ate breakfast, got Layden ready, drove on to campus, found out the trip was cancelled. Too windy and foggy. Oh well. Maybe I will just take a nap with Layden today. The weather here continues to be rainy, I am hoping for atleast one clear day while I am here.

Sitka 2

We have been having fun here in Sitka. We went on a very short hike to Thimbleberry lake, strolled around the shops downtown and last night we went to choir practice and the party afterwards. Layden has, of course been much admired, how could they not. We have seen quite a few other people with the same (ergo) baby carrier as we have. It is very strange because until Sitka I hadn't seen any at all. Becky (everyone here calls her Rebecca and looked at me strange when I said Becky) is busy until this afternoon. So this morning I think Layden and I will go try one of the hike since it isn't raining heavily, then he will probably take a nap and I might sit in the hot tub. Then I don't really know what we will do this afternoon. There are some warm cute little sheepskin booties I might get him for this winter but I haven't decided yet. When it gets cold in Pullman I don't think socks will be enough when we go outside.
Tonight I will be learning how to do a wet exit from a kayak and then tomorrow I will probably be going kayaking. I am really excited. Kayaking just sounds like fun. Maybe later today I will stop by Becky's room and work on getting some pictures online.

Sitka

Becky was late picking me up but only about 10 min, she fell asleep :). The staff was out of there before we were all loaded up, one of them had offfered to give me a ride but I had no idea where to get a ride to :).
The plane ride went well. He thought the plane was very interesting, slept through the whole second flight (2:22) and then was pretty drowsy for the third, but we were sitting next to a guy from north of Anchorage who has a 8 month old so we had fun talking, comparing of course. I didn't use a third of the stuff I brought to entertain him, most of the trip the plane, especially the window and reading lights were entertaining enough. I think all of our fellow passengers were very happy about how good he was. All three planes were very empty so we always had an empty seat next to us.
In the Juneau airport there were various stuffed birds that Layden thought were very cool. The great blue heron was especially impressive. In SeaTac we ended up arriving at the international gates in the south satellite so I had to take all of the trains to get over to the C gates. Our carseat was damaged on the flight and is missing some styrafoam and I haven't figured out what to do about that quite yet. I will probably give the airline a call today, when I reallized last night it was too late.
The house we are staying in is very nice, it has a beautiful view, though it is a bit foggy this morning. There is a cat, which Layden has discovered on the other side of the glass sliding door, very exciting. Robert got back early yesterday so I will be meeting him today, I will give you all the scoop.If I can get it figured out I will put some pictures online on flickr.
Layden is climbing the spiral stairs so I had better go.

Where's Daddy?

This is a photo from a recent hike up Kamiak Butte that Layden, Lynda, Oli and I took. They view was amazing and I can't wait to go back up at a prettier, less hazy time of year. We had a good hike, definitely burning some calories. Day before yesterday we went on a longer 5.6 mile hike over in Idaho (Little Boulder or Boulder Creek or Something Like That). The gain in elevation was as much (only 300 ft) but it took us a good bit longer. It was and hour drive over, leaving Pullman at 3:45, so by the time we were finishing the loop it was getting just a little bit dark. The hike was sorta spur of the moment so unfortunately we didn't have our camera with us.

I have a new hair cut and will hopefully get pictures of it posted at some point. Layden is beginning to need a haircut. It is growing over his eyes and ears. I will get around to that at some point. He is now up to a grand total of 4 teeth, 2 on top and 2 on bottom. He seems to enjoy them and has bit Oli and I couple of times which was not impressive, but angry no's just seem to make him smile. Layden is really enjoying peek-a-boo and was playing with daddy under the door to the basement (there is a couple inch gap underneath it). He lays on his tummy, peeks under the door to see daddy, then giggles. Then he sits up, looks at me smiles, then gets down on his belly, sees daddy and giggles. Soooo cute. Oli wanted to know how he was supposed to get work done when our baby is so cute. We have another game we like to play. When Oli is in a different room I will say "Layden, where's daddy?" Layden looks around. Not in here mommy. Then Oli calls Layden, who smiles when he hears daddy and crawls off to find him. Once again, sooo cute.
The house is coming along. Hopefully tomorrow I will get pictures of the living room with the floor done, furniture out and pictures on the wall. Also some pictures of the light and boards in the kitchen and depending on what gets done maybe, just maybe, a shelf in the kitchen.
Today was busy. I got up, showered, ate a couple biscuits, oli got up, he showered, went to breakfast (omelet with the works, hashbrowns, toast), Layden played peek-a-boo with daddy, then took a nap on my lap, Oli put up crown molding in the bedroom (big surprise, it isn't square so he didn't get too far), Oli went to work, Layden and I went to visit Dieter then got groceries, then Layden had a snack, then I had a snack, then we walked, then Lynda and I made pear crisp, then we watched "RV" (Layden sleep on my lap again), then we ate pear crisp, then we went home. Now I am typing this and waiting for Oli to get home (soon hopefully) then I will go to bed.

So Sorry

I am terribly sorry but I have no new Layden pictures for you but I figured I should probably post anyway. Some new photos from our visit with Grammy can be seen here. Unfortunately I have been unable to find the USB cord to upload some new photos. Layden just keeps getting bigger and smarter and cuter. He can now drink from a cup on his own when the motivation is sufficient. We learned this the hard way when at 9:00 pm Layden had a sip of Daddy's coffee with out spilling a drop (the mug was set on the floor in the midst of watching a movie). I was so proud and so horrified all at once. Layden also enjoys tea and will eat any tea bag that is left lying about. He also loves it when I share my mint tea with him, so yummy.
We visited Grammy on Saturday at the quilt retreat on Lake Cour d'Alene. It was very fun visiting with my mom and Aunt Karla. Layden also had a little girl to play with while we were there. She was 7 months old and not crawling quite yet. Surprisingly they played a bit and didn't rip each others faces off, though Layden did use her for a stepping stool. Uh oh break is over.

Nine Months

This month you have begun to realize that books have value beyond their flavor and consistency. You are beginning to enjoy have books read to you. A particular favorite is "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle. I can read it over and over and it never seems to get dull. Sometimes you will quietly sit and listen. Other times you feel the need to participate, talking, pointing, turning pages. You also enjoy "Where is My Cat?" by Eric Carle but are not as impressed by Dr. Seuss' ABC's, I think it may be a bit long-winded for you.

This month we got you a kitty and you love her. You love her so much you want to eat her. You have actually managed to bite her tail once and she was not terribly impressed. Amazingly she still puts up with you to an impressive degree, she hasn't scratched you once though she has had provocation. She endures your less than gentle caresses and for this you love her. She is so soft and makes such interesting noises and moves all on her own. You just want to bury your face in her fur.

I have recently realized that you have one heck of a lot more hair than you used too. You may even be needing a hair cut soon. It is still soft, especially when it is freshly clean, and I still love rubbing my cheek on your head. You also give off an amazing amount of heat, which has gained you the nickname "The Hand Warmer". You could be a comic book super hero rescueing innocents from cold hands. You also enjoy my hair, which has gotten quite long again. When you are nursing or tired you will sometimes gently play with it in a way that is very endearing. Other times you give a good hard yank and like to chew on it, not so endearing. I think you like your fuzzy blue blankey so well because it remainds you of mommy's hair or the kitty's fur. You bury your face in it and giggle delightedly. You chew on it and slobber on and enjoy it so much that I am glad I could make you so happy.
You have developed a slightly disturbing habit, when I tell you no in an angry voice you just look at me and smile real big. "Mommy, that voice you are using is just so funny. That word 'no' is just so silly. Don't you know I'm the baby?". You occasionally get carried away playing and bite me, just like a puppy, I say "No, Layden" You look up, smile big, and bite me again. Right now the no voice may just be a new and funny sounding voice but soon you will find it less funny when it is accompanied by a swat on the bottom.
You are really enjoying the work that daddy has been doing with power tools. You will just sit near him and watch as he saws a board in half and drills holes in it. The when he gets up you want to try too. That sawing didn't look to hard you seem to be thinking as you reach for the saw. And when ever daddy turns on the drill you have to make a bit of noise, just to make sure that drill knows it isn't the only noisy one around here. You have started to reach for daddy on occasion when mommy is holding. This makes both of us quite happy, I am so glad you love your daddy because I think he is pretty great too. You also will reach for Lynda on occasion which thrills her. You like Lynda, and Lynda thinks you are pretty great too.
Lynda, you and me (and Troy and his friend Robert) all went to the Nez Perce County fair in Lewiston last night. You enjoyed all the pretty lights and you like the smaller animals. You weren't so sure about the cows, they were just a little bit big. We sat down at the stage and listened to a show by The Standards. You seemed to enjoy it in a serious sort of way. You stood on our laps watching them intently. You even joined in on the last couple of songs, singing along, helping them make lots of noise. So very very cute. You were so well behaved, even at 10:30 when you were hungry and tired. I don't know why I have been blessed with such a cute, intelligent, incredible, lovable little boy but I am thankful every day that I have been. For every minute of frustration and exhaustion you have brought me, you have brought me hours of love, happiness and even entertainment.

Daddy's Little Helper

Oli has found an activity that makes him more interesting to Layden than I am. Layden is hanging out with his daddy, using power tools (Oli, not Layden) and working on the kitchen. Layden even has a little tape measure to play with. Layden really enjoys the drill likes to make noise when it does. He actually even managed to be helpful and moved daddy's chair for him. We now have a ceiling light in the kitchen, 3 whole bulbs. We no longer are forced to rely on a desk lamp clipped to the cabinet. We have atleast one faux ceiling beam. These "beams" will be serving a double purpose, first and most importantly they will deal with a slight case of sagging ceiling that is a result of nailing drywall to the ceiling rather than screwing it on, we will see if that works. Second, they will cover up some pretty hideous patches on the ceiling, hopefully enhancing the appearance of the kitchen.

Early Morning Visit

This morning I woke to the sound of the door opening. I had assumed it was Oli getting home. Then I hear the pitter-patter of little feet not the sneaky sound of big Oli feet. Then I hear noises in the basement. Then I hear whispers outside my bedroom door, occasionally catching my name. "she's in there...whisper whisper...Chelsea...whisper whisper" then pitter-patter they leave the house. Then Oli gets home, very tired. Oli gets in bed and the door opens and pitter-patter Tristan and Evan are back. They whisper outside the door and Tristan starts making wierd noises. Because there is a 2" gap under the door it sounds like they are inside our bedroom. At this point Oli sent them home. I would have earlier but I was still in denial about being awake. Layden was still sleeping and I wanted to too. Tristan came in again while I was washing dishes and I told him he should knock when he comes in and then ignored him. He left out the basement door so I went out, grabbed the laundry and then locked the doors. He tried the downstairs door, then he tried the front door, then and only then did he knock. I sent him home. I should probably go talk to Sarah about their early morning visit. Maybe after Layden finishes his nap.

Pitter-patter

We are now sleeping upstairs in a bedroom instead of a basement-spider-infested-storage/bedroom. Now we just need to get all our crap into the storage room instead of spread about the house and get our clothes up in the bedroom. The move was catalyzed by an incident with a huge-fricking spider. I noticed the cat watching something along the mattress and assumed it was just a fly or something. Then I hear pitter-patter pitter-patter and there was a huge spidercrawling the mattress. So I jump up and I am embarrassed to admit gave a little shriek, waking Layden and sending the spider behind the mattress. I get Layden back to sleep and decide to pretend none of it happened and turn off the light. I am lying there trying to sleep, occasionally hearing noises that I tell myself are just the pillow next to me rustling. Then, pitter-patter, pitter-patter. I fumble with the light, ahh not plugged in!, plug it in and then on the pillow next to me is that huge fricking-spider. Small shriek and up I jump again, once again waking Layden and this time causing him to cry. At this point I mentally slap myself in the face and tell my self to stop being such a weeny. I grab Sacajawea (1000+ pages) and wack the spider. I don't think I killed it because it was on a pillow when I wacked it. I scooped into Oli's mug and dumped it outside. But at that point I decided that tomorrow the bed goes upstairs. So long story short: huge fricking-spider, shriek, bed goes upstairs.
Yesterday, Layden and I went to Moscow for groceries and I stopped at Joanns to check for cheap drape fabric for our bedroom. No luck but Layden found some fabric he just had to have. Blue, fluffy, fuzzy fabric. He reached out, pulled it to his face, nuzzled it and giggle with glee. At $5/yard I could not deny him the joy and it may be the best $5.25 toy I will ever get him. I have noticed with Layden baby toys are very hit and miss. Some he likes and occasionally plays with but by and large he will crawl around, through, and over piles of toys for a scrap of paper or piece of plastic. He is starting to really enjoy peek-a-boo and likes to help me move my hands when I don't meet his standards. He is talking more and more now and occasionally uses "ma-ma" in conjunction with sitting on my lap or reaching for me. Then he uses it while chasing the cat or staring off into space so I am not sure it counts. I am frequently asked if he is walking yet, well he isn't. He doesn't seem particularily inclined to try it out either, far too unsteady. He really doesn't like unsteady. Unexpectedly sitting down or even a close call can be enough to make him cry.
Have I mentioned that he is just about the cutest thing in the world. He is cute when he is intently studying the texture of the mattress with his little brow furrowed, he is cute when he sees his daddy come home and smiles at him, he is cute when he burrows his face into his fuzzy blanket and he is unbearable cute when he wakes up, yawns, looks at me, mumbles some sleepy noises, smiles and falls back asleep. I never thought I would end up being as silly as other parents about how cute their child is when the child is patently not that cute. And I was right. Those other parents are even sillier that I thought because how can they dote so much on their baby when mine is so very much cuter? It boggles the mind.

"Big-big-big-big-big-big-big"

Sorry I haven't posted in so long. I have excuses though. Last weekend Layden and I visited my parents. The official reason for the trip was so that I could use Jake's computer to edit and organize the photo's from Erick and Shanelle's wedding (the book I had printed arrived today and it is very cool, if I do say so myself, which I do). His computer has a much larger screen (20" vs 12") is ever so much better and fancy in many more ways.

I also brought Bruce with me and he will be living with Jakob for a bit. Jake is currently canvasing for support in getting my parents to take him to the pet store. Bruce may be getting a bigger tank and some fishy friends/food. I also needed new pants (my old ones were too big, yay for breast feeding) and Old Navy's seem to fit the best.
I visited with Liz and Mark who have an italian plum tree in their yard that was just dripping with plums. So I brought a bag home to eat and left a couple bags with my mum to dry. She has since gone over there twice to get more plums so we should have lots of home dried prunes this winter.
Layden seemed to enjoy his visit and Grammy bought him a cute onsie with a hedgehog on it and a very cute hat. He is still very excited about Lucy and Lucy is still very not excited about him. But she is much better behaved about it and I not longer fear turning my back on the two of them so much. While we were out shopping we stopped at Cold Stone Creamery for some ice cream, very yummy, but not as excited as I had been led to believe. Maybe I just didn't get the right toppings mixed. Anyway, it was busy so we ate out in the car. Layden stood at the steering wheel happy as a clam. I foresee real troubles when he hits 16. At one point he put one fist in the air and with great determination and seriousness announced his intention to rule the world, "Big-big-big-big-big-big-big".
Last night I used that fancy stroller we got for the first time. First we went down a gravel road along the river, complete with washboard, and Layden went right to sleep. I had him all bundled up with a blanket on him because it was a bit nippy out (50ish). Then he pushed the blanket out of the stroller so I had to tuck it back on. We turned around because it was getting dark, reached downtown, and guess who didn't have his blanket anymore. We had to go back with the car and get it. Sadly he wore his hat the day before and at some point threw it on the ground. It was never recovered.
We now have a real living room upstairs. A couple of recliners, a futon, a rug, a desk, stereo cabinet, yet it still feels so temporary and unfinished. Maybe once we get some art on the walls it will be better.