Good Friday to you!

Just got home from the gym where after about 45 minutes of cardio (20 hard minutes on the elliptical and 25 on the treadmill), I finally tried out the jacuzzi. Awww I almost felt like I was on vacation :) Afterwards, Wyatt and I walked to my eye doctor and picked up my new contact lenses and then drove home. I finished up last night's curry chicken over rice for lunch and Will and Wyatt ate Pb&j. Wyatt is now playing on the back patio with Tasha (his babysitter). It's been raining rather hard the last day or so, but currently it's mostly cloudy but not raining so I'm hoping that he'll wear himself out playing outside and sleep well this afternoon.

We don't have anything too exciting planned for this weekend other than doing some planting in our garden and enjoying the (supposed to be warm) weather. I'm really looking forward to Easter this year and have been enjoying 'building' Wyatt's Easter basket. I think he is really going to like hunting for eggs too. We're planning on going to an Easter egg hunt at the nearby park on Saturday and then to Audra's house for lunch on Sunday and then to a friend's house later Sunday afternoon. This Monday we have a date with friends to decorate eggs (I remember last year this was pretty messy!), but I imagine seeing all the toddlers play with eggs should be interesting ;)

Next Friday is the first day of my job. I keep putting off typing up my syllabus but I suppose that is something I will be doing this weekend. Kinda excited about the class, kinda nervous. Hoping we have enough numbers to run the class being that its a new class in a new town.

Ok Wyatt seems to be done terrorizing Tasha so I better run and get him ready for NAPPY TIME!

Some things about Wyatt...

Got the idea to write this today after reading the topic on our online 'birth board.'

Some things about Wyatt:

Wyatt's favorite foods are bananas and avocados.

He LOVES playing outside and usually throws a tantrum each time he has to come inside.

He is a screamer. Really the only thing about him we don't love :( We keep saying "it will go away in time." But I am starting to wonder...

Wyatt is a good sleeper (sleeps at least 12 hrs a night) and has since he was 8 months old (this I attribute to the Ferber method= lots of crying it out which really was harder on us).

He's stubborn! (which is why the Ferber method almost didnt work with him).

Wyatt finds great happiness in chasing his rottweiler and pitbull around with his car.

Is oh so gentle with grandma's cat, "TEE"

Loves playing with my hair, especially when he's tired. He will tug at it when its in a pony tail.

Loves his monster trucks, train set and balls.

Only has 7 teeth. And didn't get his first until 14 months old! (we were getting nervous!)

Wyatt is an observer. He is quiet in public, but not at home!

my very fun weekend

This last weekend was kinda nuts, but a whole lotta fun! Saturday a.m. Wyatt and I went to the 'Family Fun Day' at the local community college (who I'll be working for shortly), where there were a bunch of kid friendly activities (kinda like a mini carnival). Wyatt was most into story time, listening to the violin, playing in the tunnel and going down the slides. After that, we met Will at our friend's little girl's 2nd birthday party at the Toy Factory. Wyatt loves going there and always heads for the train table. After the party we drove home, put him to bed and I left for my night in Portland.

My sister and her friends picked me up and we made the quick drive to our hotel The River Place and we checked in. It was situated right along the river through Portland and it was gorgeous. Although 5 of us in a room more suited for 2, was a little crowded, we still very much enjoyed ourselves. For dinner that night we walked down to a restaurant also along the water called, McCormick & Schmicks. We all had some delicious drinks and dinner. I split the fillet medallions and lobster ravioli's with a friend and added a salad. YUM. After dinner we headed back to the hotel and unwinded for our big race the next morning.

We were awake at 5:45 a.m. (time had just changed so it was really 4:45) ugh, and out the door by 7am to register. We had signed up for the 5k 'stride' but soon realized we underestimated ourselves and wished we had done the 5k run instead. Many of our fellow striders were pushing strollers and walking much slower than we had 'trained' for and we had to pass often (difficult in a big crowd)to pick up any speed, get a work out and stay warm (it was 32 degrees that early in the day!) Anyways we actually finished rather close to the front (unbeknowest to us at first). So we all decided the next race would be a 5k run. Look out! It was a beautiful day, got to watch the sun come up and take in the sites. Portland is a gorgeous city! (especially along the water and park areas). I'm excited to take Will and Wyatt back and explore some more, now that I'm starting to get more familiar with the town.


So on our way home from the Shamrock race, we stopped at the Woodburn outlets and did some shopping. It was a blast and SO nice to shop without children ;)

Wyatt was happy to see me when I returned, but later on Monday I noticed he felt warm. Sure enough he has a fever- no other symptoms so am wondering what is going on :( He just woke up from his nap, so I better go! Hoping this goes away fast!! I hate fevers...

on his way to being potty trained!

We had a nice weekend... Wyatt got a new potty as he's been showing some interest in ours lately so I thought we'd try it and see what happens. I've been giving him yogurt covered raisins when he sits on it to get him acclimated and he loves it! Low and behold he has pottied 2X on it now. It's amazing how excited and proud this makes us haha. So we're going to just keep putting him on the potty when we change clothes, diapers or at bath time for now- nothing too strict or regimented since he's only 19 months old.

We went out for Mexican food on Saturday night. I haven't had it in months and it was a big treat (on top of going out with my hubby on a Saturday night!). Wyatt did great in the restaurant and it was nice to be able to relax a bit in a restaurant. Maybe things are getting easier now that we're past the baby stage....

On Sunday, Will, Wyatt and I drove to Hoodoo (about 2 hrs towards the Sisters and Bend areas) and went sledding. We were a little nervous at first, not expecting the sledding mountain to be as big as it was, but after a couple trial runs we felt comfortable taking Wyatt along on our laps. He didn't seem to care for his snow-suit much and generally seemed unhappy, but after lunch he perked up a lot and started enjoying being towed around in the tube and even tested out the snow some. As we were leaving and had changed out of his snowsuit, he decided he wanted to run and play in the snow. So after saying 'bye' to the snow we left and he slept for about an hour of the trip. He woke up really cranky and unhappy (even the DVD player didn't help this time), but when we got home and he saw his Gramma Pat Pat he was back to his happy self. We're definitely not in the 'easy zone' just yet! ;)

This week is a rather tame week with just a few appointments scheduled (mostly gym appointments) because I joined a local gym with day care (which Wyatt really enjoys) and have to schedule the day care time. I LOVE LOVE LOVE having a little more free time and even getting an undisturbed shower in after working out. I even did a Zumba class last week (which made me wish I had more dance history).. It was fun, but it took a lot of focus to not get left behind ;)

This weekend coming up is going to be lots of fun. We are going to a "Family fun day" that my new job (the local Community college) is putting on, then to a birthday party and then I am leaving Wyatt with his daddy and heading to Portland Saturday night with my sister and friends. This will be my first night away from Wyatt! We are staying in downtown Portland along the river where on Sunday we will be participating in the Shamrock Run. We're participating in a 5k which has really helped me stay motivated to work out and continue my journey towards getting fit. Since Xmas I have lost 20lbs and feel really good.

The week our son became a flirt

We just got back from a 10 day vay-cay to California. We first stopped in San Jose and visited with Will's mom and step dad, Rene. Janet (Will's mom) took us all to the Children's Discovery Museum and we had a great time. We got to visit with the whole fam. over a nice Cambodian dinner.

Next we drove south to Aptos and visited Will's dad and step mom, Krissen. We got to meet their new dog, Bella who was very endearing and gentle with Wyatt. Krissen made wonderful low sodium meals for us while we were there and we got to take a nice walk along the beach.



Our next stop was San Luis Obispo for Will's annual work party. The company had rented out the bowling alley and food service area for the afternoon. Apparently Will was surprised to find that I know how to bowl (although not real well)- one of those things he said he would have thought he'd know by now about his wife ha. After we bowled, we all went to the 'after party' in Pismo and enjoyed move food, drinks and visiting. We checked into our hotel later that night and were happy with our stay there. The next morning we met friends, Crystal and Nick for breakfast. Earlier in the a.m. we had taken a walk along the creek and to the mission in downtown SLO in hopes that we could wear Wyatt out before taking him into the restaurant. Apparently it worked because he was great (maybe the juice was what really did the trick though..).


After breakfast we drove over to Fresno and got to visit with old friends and watch the Super Bowl. Wyatt was a trooper and played hard with friends Marlee, Taylor and Landry.

The following day we visited with Gramma Edith, my dad, aunt and cousins. Wyatt and cousin Brianna were great buddies in no time. Will left the next morning to return to SLO to work and I stayed in Fresno all week and got to visit with friends and family. Wyatt played great most of the time and seemed exhausted at the end of each day. It was a lot of fun meeting for play dates, shopping, eating out and going to the park. The weather was mostly nice and sunny, making it just a tad difficult to leave (aside from hating to say goodbye to everyone again). We were anxious to get the drive home over with though and we're happy when we made it home without incident. We're looking forward to my dad's next visit in the next couple weeks and hoping to have other visitors soon too!

randomness

I don't have much to say this a.m. but I felt compelled to write while Wyatt eats his breakfast and watches the WonderPets. I suppose I should be eating too but I am bored of my usual oatmeal or cereal that I have been eating in the a.m., so feel unmotivated to eat- especially after I couldnt fit treadmilling in yesterday. Wyatt never took a nap (even though I tried very hard to make him), so not a lot got done yesterday...

We did our taxes last night and OMG I dont know whether to be mad or happy- we have been overpaying somewhat significantly this last year which if we would have known, we would have had a much less stressful year. This means we can now re-pad our savings and allow me to stay home with Wyatt with much less financial stress.. YEAH!! I have continued to look into part time/half time jobs as they come up (going to mail my resume to one today), as part time sounds, but haven't really found anything that sounds great- I do have my eye on a teaching job still at the local JC so hopefully that will pan out.

Wyatt and I went on a play date across the street yesterday. It was lots of fun and nice to have friends so close :)

big mid birthday

Today Wyatt is 18 months old! Hard to believe it's been a year and a half since he was born and our lives changed forever. Anyways I got out the camera today and took some pictures of him in hopes that it will help him practice for the professional ones he's getting done Thursday. It's so neat that I can give him directions i.e. 'sit on the chair' etc. and he understands and can comply. What a great age :) We had a fun morning at swim class. He really seems to be enjoying the water and likes to act out swimming at home on the floor. After class we went grocery shopping and he got to drive the cart in one of those car/carts. I had never used one and was hesitant at first but he loved it and didn't make a peep the whole time.

I'm still working out most days and eating a low salt diet. It feels good to loose some weight and get into shape. My sweet sister even has us signing up for a 3.5 mile charity walk in Portland this March.

I'm getting excited to visit everyone in CA soon. Not looking forward for the drive down of course. We've been shopping for a DVD player for the car to help make it less painful on Wyatt, but so far haven't found anything that we think will work/fit.

Well we've enjoyed having my mom live here thus far. Will and I were able to go shopping by ourselves this weekend. What a treat!

Is it Spring yet?

It rained a lot this last week, but we're supposed to have a couple days break now. Yeah! On Monday Wy and I started our Water Babies class. It went really well and he seemed to enjoy it a lot. On Wednesday- not so much. He was really clingy and whiny. The only difference was we got there earlier on the first day so he was able to get acclimated before the class. Anyways on Wednesday afternoon Wyatt and I had a play date at the Toy Factory and then Thursday night I had a night out with girlfriends. We went to the Big River restaurant and I had wine and desert. ON Friday Wy and I drove out to Audra's house and celebrated her birthday with her and she touched up my highlights. Wyatt and Mikey played well and were worn out after.

So Wyatt is saying more words all the time and is generally a pretty happy kid these days, but he is starting to do a lot more whining which can drive a parent nuts. We're at the frustrating stage where he just can't find the right word for what he wants and we don't comprehend the gibberish. Anyways we're looking forward to more English and less gibberish! I've been amazed at what a good 'time outter' he is. He will actually stay on his time out and seems to understand consequences a bit. I'm so proud :) He also just started nurturing his stuffed animals this last week by rocking them and covering them up with blankets. Too cute!

I have been keeping up my daily exercise and low salt diet. I'm slowly getting my tolerance up and feeling good. Eating out isn't that plausible these days because the typical restaurant meal has about 12,000mg of sodium and I am trying to stay under 2,000 mg a day (the recommended amount is 2,400 mg but most people eat about 6,000 mg a day). Anyways I've learned a lot lately about all the bad things salt does i.e. contributes to high blood pressure, heart disease, pregnancy issues and various diseases. I've also learned how Diuretics which are used to treat the multiple diseases listed above, can lead to kidney failure. So its not a good situation all the way around.

Heres to an even better year

Kinda a strange year ol 2009 was. Lots of highs but also a few lows... We moved- again. Finances could be better, health could be better, our property could have sold this year, we could be settled in a permanent home instead of renting, but all in all life is still pretty great. We have our little man- healthy and cute as can be, and we have each other, still loving and laughing at (I mean with) each other- and just celebrated 5 years since starting to date (12/17/04). We got to spend about 2 weeks with family around over the holidays which came at a good time since I spent some time sick. We had lots of free time while the grandparents played with Wyatt. We all got wonderful presents (especially Wyatt) and really appreciate every one's thoughtfulness.

I started hitting the treadmill 1 week ago and so far have worked out 5/7 days this week on top of cutting back on salt. (figuring out how to maneuver the no salt part is rough), but the lbs are dropping rather quickly which keeps me motivated and hopeful that I can stick with it.

We'll be going to CA later on in January to visit with family and friends. The weird part is that my parents will already be 'moved' up to Oregon by then and won't be there.

Wyatt and I are going to be doing a Water Babies class starting this week. I'm hoping to stay away from the classrooms this quarter to cut back on germ exposure.

Well Wyatt just woke up from his nap so I better run. Hopefully I can keep on top of my blogging again.

Loving this holiday season..

Sooo with all that crazy 10 degree weather last week you'd think we got lots of snow right? Well we didn't get any.. but lots of sun so I suppose that really made it easier on us. Wyatt and I were able to get out and do lots of errands without too much hassle.

Well this weekend as I already emailed to most, we all went to a Winery just south of McMinville called Brooks Winery and got a couple bottles of Reisling wine that the White House ordered for the State dinner in November. I also got to do an extensive tasting while Will chased Wyatt around. Then we drove around the area, exploring as we like to do (especially when the little one is conked out).

Today Wyatt and I went to Albany and hit Costco and Kmart, trying to finish up our Xmas shopping. Luckily for us it didn't start raining until a few minutes after we got home. Nice.. So the rest of the week will be spent getting the house cleaned and ready for our company. Will and I are so excited that we'll get to see 2 sets of parents this holiday season and 2 sets of aunts and cousins :) Also, best of all is we're doing zero traveling and all the hosting. Fun!

So as for Wyatt, he is at a great age and constantly has us cracking up. He apparently loves the word 'UH OH' and says it context but often just for the heck of it. He is also starting to be more friendly to random strangers and occassionally will say HI to them. He is starting to say "yeah!" and 'OK' here and there.. too funny. He thinks all of his trucks say "choo choo" and is playing independently for longer times (I even got a shower while he was awake today (without him even realizing I was gone!)

So the best part about today was that our landlord came and took a bunch of his junk off of the property! Yeahhhh we look just a little less PWT now haha Oh we also got a couple of Christmas gifts in the mail along with more Christmas cards!! I've still got to get the post office myself (and think I have a plan on how to get everything mailed (with Toddler in tow)... I'm going to use the stroller! duh..