wiping the babysitter?

so we don't get out much. (it's still my new year's resolution to find a baby sitter other than omi and grandpa, and heck it's still 2009 isn't it). we did however get out tonite. omi and grandpa came over to watch will and put him to sleep. all went well from what they said. but as they were leaving omi mentioned that will "helped her go to the bathroom" with a smirk. i mentioned, 'yeah he does follow me up there quite often'...but she proceeded to note, well he actually HELPED me go to the bathroom. come to find out, there was will barging in...on a mission, pulling off pieces of toilet paper, and shoving them down (yes, through her legs) into the toilet...and pulling off more...and then shoving them down (yes, through his grandmother's legs) into the toilet.
jeeze, the things this kid is picking up on. some of them, maybe not so appropriated, but we sure do laugh a lot.

camping

so we went camping. will's camping trip number 2 (of his life). we borrowed the 'mondo condo' (not really the name of this particular sierra designs tent, but i liked that name, and condo it was). the tent was an '8 person, stand-up-and-have-a-square-dance-in kind of tent.' my aunt, whom we borrowed it from, was quite concerned of what my (somewhat) minimalist husband would think. we got lots of warnings that it was 'big'...'really big'...and that 'it might not even fit on the designated campground flat.' (this is quite an upgrade/ downgrade from our 2 person back pack tent that you can barely sit up in) well, regardless, we took it...and to be honest, we fell in love...chad actually spoke the words "i could get used to this." we filled up that 8 person tent in no time flat (see figure 2). we used the organizing sleeves and compartments, we spread out our gear...jed had his own little area...we had blankets everywhere, and sleeping bags, etc. we even put will's little tent inside of our big tent. he had his own little sleeping bag (thanks for the loan melissa) (see figure 1), and it was just lovely. i do need to back up and say lovely, but a little wet. don't get me wrong, the tent was very water proof- sierra designs makes great rain flies. it was wet from the inside. will was so excited about the tent, so much so that while changing his diaper, he hopped up and ran around to check it all out. he got so excited he started to pee (kind of like when his mom laughs (or runs, or coughs, or sneezes)- she pees- ). the problem was that it wasn't just a little piddle, rather he never stopped looking (aka "turning") all around so he sprayed all over. i yelled to 'stop, wait, let me grab a diaper.' in the midst of my yelling, i startled him to tears (so now if he's not potty trained by age 5 b/c of being yelled at for peeing standing up, you will all know just why- poor little guy). though all and all, it was funny...mostly b/c it wasn't my sleeping bag that got peed on, it was mostly jed's blanket (see figure 3) (poor, poor jed) and the inside of the tent (sorry aunt sara- though to our credit we did wipe it down with some baby wipes).

have 17 mos already passed?!?!

so i'm a blogger slacker, or a slacker blogger....either way, i haven't blogged in ages. i'm inspired again (not that i wasn't inspired before, i just had too many other things i was trying to do or figure out). we went to see music tonite- the punch brothers. the music was good, interesting, different (traditional bluegrass, classical composition, and then a radio head cover- eclectic). anyway...somehow live music always has a way to inspire me. so i got inspired to 'create'...(but not so inspired that i'm back to pottery or sewing or jewelry-no time for that at the moment)...create some written word, and also have something to put in will's baby book (since it's pretty empty at the moment). not to mention, writing is good for the soul, and helping to figure out things, so maybe i'll have some new Revelations as i reflect/ create/ write/ or just blog. so here i am blogging again, at least for the moment.
so i'll re-start with what i've learned in 17 mos
-i was a really good mom before i had kids (yes, i stole this from the title of a book, but it's true)
-sleep deprivation is truly a form of torture
-i can honestly relate to my patients who have trouble with multi-tasking, concentrating, and remembering things
-stomach aches can lead to sleep troubles and can be caused by food---who knew
-gluten-free isn't SO bad, but i've got a the learning curve is killer
-kids are really cute...especially when they are your own
-there is always "something"...so enjoy the moment and be present...life is way too short (easier said than done, but so important).

multi tasking always seems like such a good idea

too bad chad loves science so much, as he'd really make a good house husband.

i, on the other hand, am not turning out to be such a good housewife. on the two days of the week i'm home alone with will, i'm always primed to get all kinds of things done. instead...chad gets home and i have food prepped all over the kitchen, laundry piles all over, a half of an email written on the computer screen, half the floor swept, piles to sort ....you get the picture (maybe i'm exaggerating a little bit...but still).
i'm beginning to wonder if i haven't had a brain injury at some point in my life. my patients who have brain injury commonly complain that they can't get anything completed...they start tasks, and then get side tracked, and then don't end up finishing much at all...i'm always biting my tongue from saying..."hey, me too!!!"--though i guess that's not what they want to hear from their therapist.
...i typically write it off to just being a new parent, trying to juggle a baby all day... then today i get home from work after chad and will have spent the day together. laundry is folded, work articles were read, they hiked, went to rei, went to radio shack, had lunch in the park, and took the dog for a walk. what the heck!? then come to find out will slept...not one...not two...not even three...but OVER three hours. what the heck?! no wonder so much was done.

i not only married a great house husband, but also a baby whisperer.

bye bye red truck

chad's done it. he's said farewell to his toyota truck. the truck that he bought back in college (15 some years ago)...the truck that took him cross country many times...the truck he'd strap his surf boards to and drive up and down the coast at the break of dawn, to find the perfect wave. the toyota that he could take all apart, and actually put back together (though it sometimes took days and we ended up with extra parts on our kitchen table...parts that came out, but somehow didn't get back in). the truck that symbolized freedom and Independence, is now gone. poor chad.

...sorry honey.

at least we didn't trade it in for a mini-van. (not yet at least)

for now, we'll enjoy the suburu...as long as we can find it in the parking lot...with the tens of other subaru's. we are officially boulderites.

"ohhbama"

im convinced...william has said his first word...and it's a good one!
for about a month he's been working on 'bababababa' and then he'll switch it up and work on 'mamamama' ...just recently he'd say 'ohhh'...and im convinced i heard him last nite...sequence it all together...
last nite...a great nite...little town louisville co...and there were people screaming in the streets...fireworks going off...and i'm convinced our son sequenced his first three syllables into one great word...
ohhh....ba....ma...
at least i'm pretty sure that's what he said...
he must be as excited as we are.

i won't quit my day job

in the age of digital photography...there are many of us that aspire toward professional photography. we can snap picture after picture, don't have to adjust for varying iso or shutter speeds, and then can crop, adjust color, and fix red eye with the click of the mouse. simple as can be. but getting the perfect photo is still an effort to behold.

this weekend, chad is in germany and will and i have been having lots of good bonding time. we've been shopping, hiking, playing, and of course doing several photo shoots.

the most memorable one of the weekend was this afternoon.

after a cloud filled day, the sun came out and thus we headed out for a photo shoot with the black eyed susans. i plunked will down in the grass and sprawled out in front of him.

point and shoot. point and shoot.

adjust position.

point and shoot.

roll on the ground in front of him trying for the artistic shot.

point and shoot.

lay out on my back, again trying for another artistic shot.

point and shoot.

will was more interested in pulling up grass than in looking toward me as i made funny faces, preformed my infamous horse lip impersonation, and rolled around on the ground trying to get just the right angle.

...i noticed my back side was damp, and figured all that rain we got was still keeping the ground cover moist. i picked up will, expecting his backside to be moist as well, but it was dry as could be. as we walked inside the moistness carried a stink. i looked over one shoulder to see some mud...no wait...not mud...moist, sticky, smooshed poop....dog poop. all over the ground, and now all over me. we used to get mad at jed for rolling in poop...and now i'm the one who rolled in it. if only the neighbors were watching...me making horse sounds and rolling around the back yard in poop. all in the name of art.