Curious

Yet another day with sun in the morning, followed by clouds in the afternoon, then snow in the evening. Madness. Layden and Max are getting along well, Layden might be a bit more curious than Max would like. Yesterday I saw him crouching down to peek under Max, I guessed I knew what he has looking at and today that guess was confirmed. Today he grabbed for it. Max looked back at him as if he was trying to decide what was wrong with this small noisy creature, not upset, just confused.
Yesterday Layden and I were looking at the family photos on the bookcase. I took the photo of the three of us, pointed at Oli and sad "Daddy", Layden pointed and said "Daddy" too. Then I took the picture of Jake and said Juncle. I swear Layden said something that sounded very much like Juncle.
Layden has finally put two and two together. He now moves the chairs around in the kitchen so he can get at what he wants to. I caught him playing in the water that was soaking a pan in the sink. Mmm. He also finally notices the gratuitous deer poo that is all over the yard. "Look mommy, olives" Mmm again.
Teeth update: 2 molars working their way in on the top, 2.5 incisors on the bottom (one of them chipped) and 4 incisors on top. How did he chip his tooth you ask? Good question. Are there any other questions? I don't know probably falling while running around with mixing bowl. Pretty small chip though so we don't think it will cause any problems.

Layden has two new teeth, an incisor on the bottom and a molar on the top. I think he is also working on a molar on the bottom.
We are watching Lynda's lab mix, Max, for the week that she is down in the Caribbean. So far it is going pretty well. Layden is enjoying having a dog and loves feeding Max. Sometimes Layden crawls around and Max follows behind like he is trying to hump him. It is hilarious and somewhat disturbing all at once. Deserved I guess because I caught Layden following the dog around trying to poke his butt and Oli caught him trying to do it with a pen! So basically it is going well except Layden and Max keep trying to violate each other.
We all spend the morning out in the yard enjoying the sun and the relative warmth. Oli got some fence posts and root balls dug up and we got some more of the undergrowth cleared out. We have piles of brush all over the yard that we have to deal with now. Layden had fun playing in the dirt and just wandering about the yard.

Outside

Busy day today. Layden is still grumpy from his new teeth pushing their way through but he still managed to have a lot of fun outside. The weather was sunny and warm so I decided to give his new shoes a trial and spend some time outside. First we went to the backyard. I raked some leaves, cleaned up the deck and tried planting a few bulbs (does anyone know: can you plant bulbs in the spring?). Layden wandered around and played with the rake and broom, whichever I wasn't using. Then we wandered to the front yard and walked down the hill to the main road. Then we walked up the hill. Layden didn't seem to like up so well. He kept wanting to turn around and make side trips into people's yards. By the time we made it up the hill he was ready to wander around our yard a bit then we headed inside, where we had a little snack and he fell right to sleep. Now that the weather is warming up we can go for walks outside and I can have an easier time getting him down for a nap.
In Oli news: Oli is signing the contract tomorrow to move to a salaried position, evening shift, 7 on 7 off. I hope I am not jinxing it by writing a day early but it is so exciting I just can't wait. When they were setting this up they wanted to give him a $5,000 pay cut, obviously that just won't work. But now they are willing to do it with no pay cut. So Oli will have a rather long work week but he will get a week off every other week. We aren't sure when he will start the new schedule because the lady who is working the other 7 is currently working at the vet school too and is giving 4 weeksish notice so it may not start until she is ready to work full time too.

Visit Home

We spent the last weekend visiting my parents over in Olalla. Layden was an angel the whole time. He ate rice cakes, played nicely with the dog (when she let him), hugged Jake and tried to give him kisses (which he spurned) I mean he really tried hard, repeatedly, not taking no for an answer, he wandered about the house staying out of stuff he shouldn't get into, played with his toys, did not try to climb on the table. It was amazing, beautiful, and frustrating. We got home and all of this disappeared. He pulled the cat's tail, climbed on to the table and got into everything but I know that none of you will believe me, especially you mom. My mom has been working on cleaning out her sewing room and it is looking really good. I dug out a small doll quilt that I had started long ago and had been sewing buttons to. I decided to cut off the buttons and we were going to just finish it off but something had gotten on to it and it was starting to dissolve. I also pulled out another quilt I had started somewhere around 2001. I had come up with a design, which I later discovered was single Irish chain but with all different fabrics instead of just one (which incidentally is the pattern I had once again decided recently that I would like to make). I already had 150 colored squares cut out. So I cut out 50 more and the muslin to go in between. I got half of the rows sewed together and I took the rest of the pieces with me to sew at home. I got all the rest of the rows done last night. I was going to sew the rows together when I discovered that my half inch foot did not result in the same size seam as my mom's half inch foot. This is very very sad. I have to rip all the seams and sew them back together. It takes much much longer to rip a seam than to sew it. Especially considering that I cannot find my seam ripper and don't really feel like driving the noisy, broken muffler truck into Pullman to get one. But I just might have to because we need groceries and Oli works through Friday. Friday I will visit my mum at the quilt retreat and maybe get the rows resewed.
We went to a quilt show with my mom and concluded that most people don't have very good taste (aka our taste) in quilts.
While we on the west side we got together with some friends. We had dinner with Liz (friend since preschool/jr. high) and Mark. They have a very cool house, especially the basement, which contains a pool table, pinball machine and foosball table. Lots of fun, but I don't envy them when it comes time to move. We also met up with Dan (Oli's best man) for lunch in Kent. We went to a salad/pasta buffet, when we arrived they told us it was a 20-30 min wait so we walked across the lot to Starbucks for hot chocolate. Dan jokingly asked if we would rather go to the one across the street because it feels like there are that many of them in Seattle. Then as we were sitting in the restaurant I looked out the window and saw, you guessed it, another Starbucks across the street. The Seattle area is the place to go for coffee. They have bars where the baristas are scantily clad and even has one where you pay what you want, if you want.
Today it is just plain nasty out side. Currently the rain/hail is falling in diagonal sheets. Layden is a bit grumpy. I think he may still be a bit worn out from the trip and he is also teething. Poor guy. When he trips or falls it is just Too Much. He just can't take another thing; he will be needing a lot of lap time today I expect. Maybe we will go grocery shopping, he usually seems to enjoy that.

Happy Valentines Day

Hope everyone had a good day today. Layden was a bit more needy than usual but we still had a good day. He has learn how to pick his nose and is quite proud of the fact. He has also been trying to wear mommy and daddy's shoes recently. He had both of daddy's on but sadly we weren't quick enough with the camera. For V-day we had dinner and a movie with Lynda, I cooked stroganoff and we watched Pitch Black. Vin Diesel. Good movie for V-day. Layden was petty her little dog and playing with her ears then he reached up and pulled out his hair to make his own doggy ears. Lately he has also been climbing into the prep table and getting on top of the microwave, then he is stuck and he needs mommy to come rescue him.

Life is Beautiful

Today was beautiful. The sun was out, the temperature was in the 40s, and the light was that cool winter light that makes everything sharp and crisp. Layden and I walked down to the park and sat on the swing for a bit. I was so happy, just to sit on the swing, rocking back and forth, Layden's head resting against me. For a bit the light made everything beautiful and a bit unreal and I could hear the birds in the trees and the sounds of the trucks on Main faded away. Then a septic pump truck growled past the park and it was still nice but not the same. Layden seemed to enjoy the swinging but I may have kept it up too long, after we got home he spit up a little bit. He seems to prefer to go comando and if we let him wander about without pants then his diaper comes off.
Today I actually got something constructive done. I glued together the dishdrainer we made to put over the sink and I cleaned the counter and added more caulking. It feels good. When I wash dishes or sweep it feels good too, but never lasts. This is a permanent improvement.

Seed of Chucky

Well we didn't make it to Old European, we decided that wouldn't end up being much fun with Layden and the long wait. So we stayed home and had french toast, almost as good. More relaxing and easier on the budget that is for sure. Then I left Layden with Oli and went shopping with Lynda. Lynda got herself some clothes for her upcoming cruise and we both got groceries. The boys survived it, and so did I. I think for some reason I think of taking care of Layden as my job and feel bad for some one else doing my job. I think most mother's worry about their kid when they leave them for a bit (or so I assume) but I worry about the person I am leaving my kid with. Which is totally irrational because he is all in all a sweet well behaved little guy. Yet I worry that when I leave he will undergo some sort of transformation into the Seed of Chucky or something. Silly huh?

Wake up call

Let me just say that nothing wakes you up in the morning like the sound of a stream of running "water" inches from your head. Layden was up and out of bed long before either Oli or I felt it was necessary this morning. He managed to remove his diaper, which he also did last night as well, not a good trend. Then he came in, nursed and flipped his butt up by our heads and peed. Oli was afraid he was peeing on me so was quite relieved when I didn't start screaming. We are going to take advantage of being awake on a beautifully sunny day to go for a drive maybe get some pictures and go to Old European for breakfast.

Jodhpurs chasing gendarmes through the gloaming

Today I am feeling pretty much better, back to my normal state of mere sleep deprivation but just in case I took it easy today. Oli got up with Layden this morning so I got to sleep in, which felt really really nice. Then we laid around a bit, went to the library, laid around a bit, tidied up (Layden "helped" sweep), visited with Dieter, laid around. Now I will post, then probably lay around. So as you can see, not much to report. Layden is showing the same quality strain of genius that both of his parents demonstrate. He has his turtle toy all figured out and will spend a goodly amount of time punching the shapes in so the head pops out, then pushing the head back in, then punching... He had Dieter read him a story but Daddy is still best at it.
Words of the day:
Jodhpurs, gloaming and gendarmes.
Oli is reading another Thomas Harris book (Hannibal Lector) and you need a dictionary to get through them.

GENTLE!

I am slowly beginning to feel better, still stuffed up. I regressed from a metro back to a truck but now I only feel like I got hit by a fat man on a unicycle. It hasn't been helped by the fact that Layden has been taking naps late in the evening and then going to bed around midnight. I think I may have gotten that sorted out last night though. He started to nod off while nursing around 6:00 but I sat him up on the floor, he was pissed. So we walked around the house a bit and then we took a bath. That cheered him up and he was good until around 9:00 pm when he went to sleep. Of course I was unable to get to sleep for a couple of hours, but that is still progress.
We had been working with him on being nicer to the kitty, telling him "no, gentle" when he would beat on her but if anything he only got worse. He progressed to grabbing handfuls of loose skin and jerking her around, definitely not nice. So we have moved on to "NO, GENTLE" and then carry him to his room and shut him in. This he does not like. He starts out fine, then realizes he is shut in, then cries like his heart would break, then after a bit he gets pissed and he just sounds angry and pounds on the door. But it does seem to be making an impression. Now when we say "no, gentle" he generally stops but he still gets shut in his room occasionally. Oli seems to be even more effective at this than I am. When Oli says it Layden looks at him, occasionally sneaks a look towards his room and then almost always stops. Give us a couple weeks or so and he might be able to develop a less hostile relationship with the cat.

Apple of his Daddy's eye

Feeling a bit better today, especially after the 4.5 hour nap we all took. It was wonderful. I am still feeling a little worn down but not overwhelmingly so. Even had enough energry to take turns chasing each other around the house, albeit we were moving pretty slowly. I would chase him to one end of the house growling, then he would chase me to the other while I screamed (quietly). He thought that was a pretty great game. I talked with Elizabeth last night and her niece, who is just about Layden's age, loves sitting on anything approxiamately the right height to be a chair for her. Layden, as you can see yet again, loves climbing in to anything he can get into.

February Schedule

Sick

Well I am sick yet again, stuffed up sinuses and last night a pretty good fever. Last night I felt like I had been hit by a truck, today, maybe just a Geo Metro. Layden has been as understanding as he usually is. Fascinated by my eye watering, he poked it to see if more would come out. And of course the weather is beautiful, perfect for a walk.

Fun with Black and White

This morning I barely pried myself out of bed so that I could be down at the library by 10:10 (I was late), and the storytime that Layden and I were going to go to didn't even happen. Big disappointment. So I climbed back in bed with Oli and we chatted until he was almost late to leave for work. We just don't have as much time to talk anymore, its sad.
Today I amused myself by taking many many random B & W photos around the house. 146 photos, 46 six I kept, 100 (maybe more) were crap. As you can see in the above photo Layden is a little stuffed up these days. He does ok until he nurses and has to breath through his nose. Today I caught him wearing a pair of my underwear around his neck, luckily from a pile of clean laundry. Always a joy.