Michigan 2015: part 3

Continued from part 2.

Friday the 17th was the day of Megan's wedding, and what a lovely day it was.  The weather started out a bit rainy, but it was just enough rain to count as good luck, because by the time that the noon ceremony rolled around, the rain clouds had moved on and things dried up for the most part.  The ceremony was held right in my Grandmas beautiful backyard, and the ceremony was officiated by one of Megan's best friends. The flower boquets were put together by our Aunt Wanda, from flowers freshly picked from Grandma's garden.   Erik and Uncle Kirt played photographers during the ceremony, and then I took some candid shots of Megan and Mitch in their requested locations later in the day.  Arlo was the ring bearer, and was walked down the isle with my Mom:

I was the maid of honor, and the best man was another "Erik with a k," one of Mitch's best friends.

Here comes the bride!  Megan and Dad:

Wedding party:

Wedding party plus the parental units:

And some pictures I took later in the day, Meg and Mitch on Grandma's swing set:

Arlo and his Grandpa:

Rings:

Arlo on the teeter-totter (isn't that what you call this thing?):

My Mom and her two sisters:

Down at "Grandmas Beach":

Later on, Erik taught Arlo to ride a bike.  Pretty sure Erik had been waiting for that moment since the day Arlo was born!

And one of my favorite ever photos of my boys...  Taken in Grandma's garden:

Arlo discovering his love of freshly picked sugar snap peas from the garden:

I was so happy that we were able to be a part of Megan and Mitch's special day!  Arlo did a great job as ring bearer, and will get to play the part again in just over a month when Erik's brother gets married.  The day following the wedding was our family reunion, another event that I am going to give it's own post... But don't worry, it's the last in my Michigan 2015 blog post installment.  Ha!  Stay tuned for the fourth and final part...

Michigan 2015: part 2

Continued from part 1.

After staying with Erik's parent downstate for five days, we headed up north to visit with my family.  Most of my family is pretty spread out across the country, but every two years we all meet in Alpena for our family reunion.  I missed the last one two years ago, but have been to every single other reunion since I was just a wee one.  My maternal grandma still lives in the same house she has for well over 50 years now, and some of my fondest memories growing up were spent at her house, which is located just four blocks away from lake Huron.  Heading to her house was like a trip down memory lane, reminiscent of so many summers spent there in my childhood.  It was around a four hour drive to get to my Grandma's house, but one I thoroughly enjoyed as I was able to spot all the landmarks I used to look forward to as a kid.  Highlights of the trip always included driving over the Zilwaukee bridge, passing by the small lake-side towns of Tawas and Oscoda, driving past Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, and finally the 45th Parallel (halfway between the North Pole and the Equator) just before arriving in Alpena.  Arlo slept for most of the drive (thankfully), so I will just have to point out all of those landmarks to him on our next visit!

The first day in town was spent visiting with everyone who had already arrived at my Grandma's house, and greeting all the incoming family members as cars from Ohio, downstate Michigan, and even Coloraro made their way into town.  In the later afternoon, we took a quick trip down to the beach to dip our toes in the water and let Arlo burn off some energy at the playground.

The next morning we went to visit with one of my best friends from my childhood, and his family.  Justin grew up in the house next door to my Grandma and he was always the first person I wanted to visit when we arrived, sometimes I would even yell to him through the open windows to see if he could come out to play, ha!  I have pictures of us as tiny kids playing on the swing set that still stands in her backyard, and others of us hanging out at the beach when we were old enough to swim in the lake.  I hadn't seen Justin for probably something like ten years, and in that time we both went on to get married and start our own families.  It was so awesome to meet his family and introduce him to mine.  It's crazy to think that we played together as kids, and that during our visit, our own kids got to play together.  It's all circle of life or something like that, ha!  Here's the fun group shot we took at their awesome house:

Later that day Erik and I went on a bike date to downtown Alpena.  These are the Schwinn bikes my grandma has had at her house for ages, they are older than I am! 

That same night, we took my sister, Megan, out for a little bachlorette party, as her wedding was the next day!  The photo below is us at a little pub downtown.  I wasn't prepared to do shots, and honestly can't remember the last time I had anything other than wine or a mixed drink.  But, when in Rome... or Alpena... that's what you do!  Needless to say after two I was feelin' pretty good.

When we returned back to my Grandma's, it was obvious before we even got out of the car that there was a party going on in the garage.  My uncles had spent the day clearing out decades worth of lawn implements, bikes, and trash cans and turned the garage into a party zone in anticipation of the wedding the next day.  Flashing Christmas lights were hung, tulle covered the walls, music was playing, and the men had started up a pretty serious game of poker.  Party at Blanche's house!!  :D

The following day was Megan's wedding, an event that I think deserves it's own post.  Stay tuned for part 3!

Michigan 2015: part 1

Vacations always seem to go by so quickly, don't they?  We recently returned from ten days in Michigan, where Erik and I were both living when when we met.  It's almost hard to believe, but this trip was only our second time back in the state since we moved down south nearly six years ago!  We each still have a lot of family there, so we were able to include in our trip both a visit with Erik's parents downstate, and my family up in northern Michigan.  Since a single post to cover the entire trip seems a bit ambitious, I am going to focus on the first few days downstate in this post.  Also, since I took a lot of photos on the trip (somewhere in the neighborhood of 700!) I am going to let the photos tell most of the story...

Here he is the day we left,  chillin' in his new car seat we bought specifically for the trip:

At the airport watching planes take off and wearing his very appropriate airplane jammies:

Luckily on both flights to MI (we had a short layover in Baltimore) the middle seat between Erik and I was empty.  For the first leg of the trip, Arlo was very interested in everything on the plane and didn't want to sit still, so we used his flight vest to keep him seated between us.  He didn't like that very much.  But really, which 18 month old ever wants to be restrained against their will?  None that I have ever met.

During our layover in Baltimore, we met up with Papa (he works in Baltimore and travels home on the weekends.)  We then all took the same flight to MI and Papa drove us to their house.  

During the second leg of the trip, we brought the car seat right on the plane and put it between Erik and I, which worked like a charm to put the little man to sleep!

Memere ("Mim-ay"), Arlo, and I all went sidewalk sale shopping on our first full day in town.  The weather was amazing during our trip, although the Michiganders were complaining it was too cold.  If you ask me though, 70's and sunny was a lovely departure from the high 90's we had been having down south.

As a surprise for Arlo, Memere and Papa bought a huge inflatable pool and we set it up in their backyard.  Also, I am giving myself credit for inflating this thing with just a tiny foot pump and the power of my lungs.  It took forever but I counted it as my workout that day.  And Arlo loved the pool, just as much without water as he did when it was filled up!

One of the things I was most looking forward to during our vacation was a long overdue trip to Meijer.  Or Meijers as I like to call it.  I never appreciated this store to it's fullest extent when we lived up north, but I sure missed it when we moved away.  Memere and Papa watched Arlo one morning while Erik and I escaped for a toddler-free outing, where I happily walked down nearly every isle just for fun.  Ha!

We also visited a petting farm which Arlo loved.  He seemed to really enjoy seeing all of the animals, but what really grabbed his attention was a big yellow tractor.  Here he is staring at it in motion:

Family photo at the petting farm:

We also found a playground near the farm, I think Memere enjoyed playing as much as Arlo did!

And here is a really terrible picture of me (but a great one of Erik) standing outside the Starbucks where we met exactly seven years ago. 

And twice while we were downstate I was able to sneak away for some early morning yoga.  One class was outside at the downtown amphitheater, which was a really cool experience.

We had a great time downstate visiting with Memere and Papa, and I know Arlo had a blast at their house.  We are already talking about returning next summer! 


And finally, a few fun Arlo facts!  On our trip, Arlo:
took his first plane ride (and second, and third, and fourth!)
stood up in his very first wedding
got to meet great-grandma J!!  She is my maternal grandmother, and my last living grandparent.
had two new teeth come in, both "two year" molars on the bottom
learned to go up and down 1-2 stairs at a time without holding on to anything
started giving us kisses on our cheeks and lips, and has since started coming up to us unprompted just to give us random kisses... awwww  :)
discovered his love of freshly picked sugar snap peas from great-grandma's garden


next up, part 2 of the trip!

currently.

It's about time to catch up on life stuff....

Feeling:  Much more settled into and at ease with our new house than when we got here.  Which makes sense for probably anyone after a move to a new city, but for me I really went from one extreme to the other.  We have been in our new house for nearly six weeks now, and it's just finally starting to feel like home.  When we first moved, I was really sad about leaving our old city.  Actually I felt pretty depressed.  I missed my friends, my job, and my normal routine.  I blamed the new house and was annoyed with silly things.  For example, our bedroom ceiling.  How many nights did I lay in bed starting at the ceiling being mad that it was too tall.  Ridiculous, I know.  The upstairs floors squeak a bit, and I was constantly afraid of waking Arlo up when I tiptoed into his room to check on him at night, and a few times I actually did.  On more than one occasion I told Erik that I hated the squeaky floors and I hated the house.  When we first arrived nothing was baby-proofed, and Arlo quickly learned how to open the door handles, pull out everything from the kitchen cabinets, and don't even get me started on the stair situation.  I felt like I spent most of my day keeping him from getting hurt and getting nothing else done, feeling increasingly overwhelmed with all the cleaning and unpacking I had to do.  Slowly, we got things unpacked and baby-proofed, and little by little I started to like our new house.  Now, I would go as far as to say that I love it.  It's nice and roomy, the floor plan couldn't be set up any better if I had designed it myself, it has ample storage, lots of natural light, and the neighborhood is wonderful.  I have also set up a sweet little yoga nook upstairs, and am so happy to have that space to practice in. 

Eating:  I am on a big raw kale salad kick.  Whole Foods sells a sweet summer kale salad that is aaaammmmaaaazing.  You should definitely try it.

Watching:  Still working my way through Gilmore Girls (Rory just got to college!) and together Erik and I are watching House of Cards.  That show seems to take a lot of my concentration though, and I can only handle it in small doses.  So, like once a week we watch an episode.

Making:  Well, I am not exactly making anything per se, but we are in the process of an unexpected bathroom renovation.  Here's the best/worst story of a leaky toilet you will ever hear...

 

So two weekends ago Erik and I made a run to Lowe's and stocked up on a whole bunch of small project stuff for the new house.  One of which was a kit to replace the downstairs bathroom toilet components, as it had been running for a few days and we decided to just replace everything rather than try and figure out exactly what was wrong.  Before he started working on the toilet itself, Erik went to turn off the water down by the base of the toilet, and when he did the whole handle and pipe burst off!  Water came out at an impressive speed, and soon we literally had gallons flooding the bathroom and making it's way into the foyer, both of which have hardwood floors I might add.  Luckily I was nearby and knew exactly where the water shut-off valve was, so I quickly turned off the water.  When Erik tried to put the pipes back together (it looked like a quick-release of some type that should just snap back on) the plastic pipe inside the wall cracked in half!  Long story short, Erik pulled out the toilet and floor trim, cut a hole in the wall, and repaired the pipe.  I decided it would be a fantastic idea to just go ahead and take down the wallpaper since the toilet was already out of the way, as I was planning on painting that room in the next few months or so.  Well, little did I know, wallpaper is the work of the devil.  Seriously, it's the absolute worst invention ever.  Many swear words were said, many gouges were placed in the wall trying to scrape that crap off, and a few days later we had a professional come in and finish the job.  If you know Erik and I, you know we are no stranger to home renovations, but we also know when to call in a pro and get the job done right.  So now I have a blank canvas to work with, and will be painting that room, as well as our study, in the near future.  We also have plans to replace the vanity and fixtures in the bathroom, and make it more our style.

 

Looking forward to:  My upcoming family reunion, my sisters wedding, Arlo's first plane ride, visiting with both Erik's and my side of the family, and having an awesome trip to my home state of Michigan - all of which will happen in the next couple of weeks!!  I can't believe it's been four years since Erik and I were back in Michigan.  So much has changed since then...  We have gotten married, started a family, both changed jobs, and have lived in three different houses.  Whew, it's definitely time we get back to the mitten.  We can't wait!

Loving: 

Exploring our new area.  

Decorating our new house.  

Having a window over our kitchen sink (this was the very top thing on my new-house wish list!)  

Having a garage and a kitchen pantry, two things neither Erik or I have ever had since we lived on our own as adults.  How did I ever live without a garage or a pantry??  They seem so necessary now, and pretty much everyone has them.  

Being back at work!  It was always my dream to be a stay-at-home mom once we had kids.  But I have realized I am a much happier person, better wife, and better mother when I am working  part time.  I love my job, love my coworkers, and love having the feeling of accomplishment at the end of a busy work day.  I ended up with three weeks off after our move, and had plans to try and find work closer to the new house, but I missed my old job so much, I didn't even look in our new area.  I found childcare for Arlo, and went back to my old job as soon as I could.  The drive isn't as bad as I thought it would be, just about 35 min or so and it gives me time to listen to my music louder than I should and sing along in my amazing completely awful singing voice.  

At the same time, I am also loving my days off with Arlo.  We have been taking swimming lessons (for him - I already know how to swim, ha), checking out our local library's story time, shopping for little things for the house, walking every single day on the greenway, checking out all the local parks - there are five within walking/biking distance!!  We have also had several playdates with friends, both in our new area and back in our old stomping ground.  When I am at work Arlo is at a new babysitters house.  I toured pretty much all the area daycare/preschools shortly after we moved in, and made a choice to send him to one right across the street from our neighborhood.  They didn't have an opening for a month after we wanted to start, so I found a babysitter who cares for kids in her house for the meantime.  It actually went so well, and we liked her so much, we cancelled our plans with the daycare and Arlo will continue to go to miss K's house instead!  The babysitter has a daughter just a couple weeks younger than Arlo, and also watches another boy that is a few weeks older than Arlo.  It's a great situation, Arlo is happy to go there, and the sitter texts me pictures of the kids all the time.  So happy we found her  :)

Oh -- and lastly, I am also loving my new phone.  People, I have finally entered the 2000's and have my first smartphone.  I grew extremely frustrated with my antiquated circa 1997 Nokia flip-phone with the long plastic antenna (ok so maybe it wasn't quite that old, but pretty darn close) and woke up one morning, announced to Erik I was going out to purchase an iPhone that day, and did exactly that.  Where has this phone been the last 10 years of my life?  I should have jumped on this train a long time ago...

Learning:  I have recently started learning Spanish!  I have always wanted to learn to speak basic conversational Spanish, and now seems like as good a time as any.  Right now I am just working with some free apps on my phone, but I am hoping to get a more formal instruction at some point.  There are a lot of Spanish speaking folks in this area, so it shouldn't be hard to find someone to practice with.

Not loving:   90-100 degree temperatures nearly everyday for a month solid.  Seriously, when did the south get so hot?

 

Getting back to:  Photography - I had a great time taking Arlo's 18 month photos at our new favorite park and am looking forward to spending lots of time behind the lens on our quickly approaching trip to Michigan.  Did I mention that I am one of the photographers in my sisters wedding?  And also the Maid of Honor?  And also mother of the ring bearer?  Wearing many hats that day, but its going to be oh so fun!!
I am also getting back to workin' on my fitness here and there.  I started to get back into running, but have grown frustrated with running with a stroller.  Even though we have a totally legit jogging stroller, it's just not the same as a solo run.  I am doing yoga when I can.  And I am back to blogging  :)

And, my favorite window.  More soon! 

Arlo: 18 months old

And just like that, here we are celebrating another milestone, the big 18 months!   Our sweet little boy is just that - ALL boy.  He is fearless, loves getting messy, climbing on everything, and is really starting to assert his toddler independence.  Here is what we are up to at 1.5 years old:

Sleeping:  Woot woot, sleeping is one thing that Arlo is a champ at, and I am so thankful.  We start the bedtime routine around 7:15pm and he is usually down for the count by 7:45pm or so.  He sleeps solidly until 6:15am, give or take a few, and will wake up "chatting" with himself before he calls for me shortly after.   I wasn't sure how the transition to the new house would go, and we did have a week or so where Arlo would wake in the night and cry because he was in a strange place.  But that quickly resolved once he settled in to his new space.  Naps are for the most part once a day, from around noon to 2pm, but periodically he will want to go down a bit earlier or fall asleep in the car on a morning outing, and then take another late afternoon nap.  I used to care so much more about his "schedule" and now I let him sleep when he's tired and run like a wild animal when he's awake.

Eating:  You wouldn't know it by looking at him, but this kid eats everything.  All, day, long.  If his current eating habits are a sign of what is to come, then by his teenage years he will be eating us out of house and home.  He literally eats something every 60-90 minutes, and sometimes I just leave snacks sitting out so he can eat as he desires.  He can climb up and sit at the big table now (although regular meals are still served in his high chair) so I sometimes leave out things like crackers, dried fruits, or anything else that's not to messy.

When my parents where visiting to help with the move, my mom introduced Arlo to nuts.  I don't know if this was a bad idea or the best idea ever, as it's now the only thing he asks for.  Like 10 times a day, he points to the cabinet where the nuts are kept, and says "nuts!  nuts!"  Yes, according to the books he is too young for nuts.  However, he has always been advanced in the eating and teething department, and we only feed him softer nuts (macadamias, walnuts, pistachios, cashews) under very close supervision.  He always chews them up well and never gets more than one or two at a time.

His favorite foods right now are fruit, tofu, nuts, seeded crackers, peas, raw cherry tomatoes from our garden, and raisins.  The only thing he absolutely will not eat, no matter how they are cooked or seasoned, are green beans.  We recently discovered his love of Ethiopian food when we took him out for dinner last weekend.  The traditional Ethiopian meals are served family style without utensils.  All of the "sauces" (which are really just various lentil dishes and salads) are scooped up with bread called injera.  I was feeding Arlo bites of the food to keep him from making a mess, but gave him some injera to eat on his own too.  When he noticed we were scooping up the sauces with our bread, he insisted on doing the same thing, and would not eat a bite until he could "dip" it in the sauce.  So stinking cute.  Not only was the food amazing, but Arlo ate a ton of it.  We will definitely be going back.

Also, we have fully switched over to sippy cups for his milk, and have said goodbye to the bottle.  We use his metal pura kiki cups with the silicone spouts so they have a similar feel to the bottle, and he had zero issues with this transition.  He drinks his usual milk concoction (hemp, oat, flax, and soy) 8-9 oz twice a day, and more if he has a smoothie or asks for it mid-day, but usually is content drinking just water.  Grandma also spoiled him with some diluted OJ when she was here, but juice certainly isn't a regular part of his diet, just during special occasions.

Weight and Length:  Long and lean, Arlo is now weighing in at just over 23 lbs putting him in the 35th percentile for weight.  I don't think we have an accurate length on him, as he measured 1/2" shorter this visit than he did the last, but I think it was due to the fact that we are at a new pediatricians office and they used this weird device to measure him... Anyway, I know he has grown because clothing he was wearing three months ago is now too small for him.  Head circumference is at 50.2 cm and our large headed child remains in the 98th percentile.

Wearing:   Still staying true to size, at 18 months he is fitting just right into 18 mo clothing.  Pajamas always seem to run small and he wears 18 mo, 24 mo, or 2T sized jammies.  He recently sized up to a size 5.5 shoe, but still has some room to grow in them.  Also, those little chubby feet have started to thin out and he no longer requires a wide shoe.

Likes and dislikes:  

Likes:  Food!  Being outside.  Playing and splashing in his water table or at splash pads.  "Reading" books (by himself or with us.)  Playing with Lucy.  Balls of all sizes.  Cars and trucks, which is a somewhat recent thing - I know Erik is hoping that Arlo is a kid that loves cars like he does!  Watching the garbage truck drive by.  Helping us water the plants outside.  Blowing bubbles (he has been successful with blowing them on his own a few times too.)  Climbing on all the things.  Pressing all the buttons (seriously if he sees a button, it must be pressed.)  Closing doors and the stair gates - if I forget to close it the first thing Arlo does when he notices it open is shut it immediately.  Doing laundry - he loves to put the dirty clothes in the washer and wet clothes in the dryer when I ask him to help me (and in the process he also hits the on/off button no less than 75 times.)  And.... I almost forgot about the dancing.  He loves any music with a good beat and if you show him a music video with people dancing he will dance right along with them.  He also does this thing where he points his right index finger and bops his hand along with the music, I have no idea where he learned it but has been doing it for many months now and it is seriously cute.

Dislikes:  Still dislikes getting his face washed after his meal.  Mom and Dad doing something for him that he wants to do.  Laying down for a diaper change.  Getting his teeth brushed - but only sometimes.  Other times he is totally fine with it, go figure.  #toddlers.

New milestones and developments: 

I feel that the last three months have really been about building on the skills he has already acquired.  He can now run faster, climb higher, and is even steadier on his feet.  He has also figured out how to open door handles and knobs, and I have since had to research and install even more babyproofing measures.  He can say quite a few more words than he could a few months ago, but still isn't really talking a whole lot.  He often repeats a word he hears (I'm sure he said raspberry yesterday after I gave him one) but then won't say it again when I ask him to.  He understands so much of what we say though, and consistently shows that he knows what I am asking to do.  His favorite word right now is "buh-bye" and he insists on saying it to Lucy every time we leave the house, or even go upstairs.  If he forgets he turns around, goes back to where she is, and waves saying "buh-bye!"  It melts my heart every time and also reminds me to slow it down and pay more attention to the little things....  He knows a lot of animal sounds and can point to various body parts.  He has become quite skilled with a fork and can feed himself quite well.  In the teething department, we are still waiting for those final molars to make their appearance.  He has shown teething signs off and on for months, but never have they actually surfaced.  He has been so early with his teething thus far, I had expected to see the two year molars by now, but am happy to delay they them for as long as possible.  Arlo is a much happier kid when he's not teething!

And that's pretty much the scoop at 1.5 years with this little man.  I know I took a little time off from this space after our move, but now that we are pretty much settled into our new place I will have a little more time to do some things for myself - blogging included.  Will be back soon with a little life update!