New boat!

With the growth of our family from 2 to 3, our trusty little black Hewes didn't seem to be as good of a fit for us. D and I agreed we would prefer to have: 1) something bigger and heavier in the water for safety's sake; 2) additional interior and back deck space; and 3) an upgrade to a hard top from a soft top (without leaks!).

We drove out to Eagle River a couple months ago (a bedroom community of Anchorage, approximately 20-30 minutes away) to check out a boat which had been advertised on Craigslist. It was a beautiful day and nice drive. Boyd and I took a quick peek at the craft, which is a Hewes 22' hard top Searunner, and then amused ourselves in the seller's yard and driveway. D did his due diligence and thoroughly checked out the boat.

Keeping busy while Daddy goes boat shopping.

More keeping busy, and then a celebratory dinner at Lucky Wishbone!

Afterwards we drove back into town and dined at Lucky Wishbone, practically an Anchorage landmark diner for over 50 years. My dad LOVED eating here and I'm so happy that we're introducing our next generation to a lifetime of Wishbone meals.

Boyd - 16.5 months

We just reorganized Boyd's room and removed the daybed that previously took up one whole wall - I slept on that thing for months while Boyd was a teeny tiny infant. It will go to Risha and Gabe's house to serve as an extra bed for some of their wedding guests. In its place, I put a small bookcase with our kiddo's books, toys, blocks and stuffed animals. I also had D affix it to the wall so the shelves can't fall on Boyd in case he pulls on it or tries to climb it like a monkey. You never know with kids. I read a horrifying story about a dresser in a 3-year old girl's room and now I make D bolt all bookcases and dressers to the wall.

Boyd updates:

• Spinning around in circles - he did this a few times last week, just going around and around.
• Makes an "O" face all of the time! It started a couple weeks ago and he does it when surprised, happy, hearing a plane, or when he wants to get our attention. It's his new go-to facial expression.
• Boyd rode on a toddler swing for first time and liked it for all of 30 seconds. We also practiced going down a BIG curvy slide (scary for me, meh for him). I also purchased 2 toddler slides at a garage sale - one for our house and the other for my mom's. Oh and D modified a Radio Flyer wagon that Risha & Gabe gave us - it's super stylin' now!
• Knows what he wants - whether it's playing outside or preferring a particular food. He'll be a huge fussbudget one minute and then instantly calm down with a smile on his face once he gets his way.
• Had a nice play date 3 Mondays ago with some music class friends and their moms, plus Risha and Jilly. Since then we've visited two parks and the Imaginarium at the Museum. Fun to see the kids growing up and becoming actual little people, as opposed to babies.
• Drinking bathwater - oh geez, this is gross but I can't stop him from doing it! I say "no no" and he says it back to me, then puts the water to his lips. Kids are weird. My friend Lindsay says her son drinks dirty water too, so I guess I'm not alone.
• Also in the bath, Boyd likes filling and emptying a bottle with bathwater while watching the air bubbles come up.
• Has started to play with cogs and gears on toy. He's so interested in the minute details of how things work.
• Playing with and in water is guaranteed to keep Boyd busy for a while. He gets soaked but sometimes it's worth it to keep him out of our hair. :-) Lately he's been dipping a cup in a bowl of water and then dumping the contents of the cup into my flower pots. 
• He has opened and closed our screen door so many times that it came off the track.
• My baby is officially weaned! I didn't offer to nurse him a couple weeks ago and he didn't seem to mind, so we've skipped it ever since. The process was surprisingly easy. 

The busy season

Oh wow, it's a whirlwind of activity around here! One of my oldest friends (we met in high school 22 years ago!) was married this past Saturday, and as a bridesmaid I've had a very busy month, especially this last week. Between her wedding, work, trying to squeeze in family and friend time, I feel like it's been go, Go, GO all of the time! But the wedding was beautiful, as was the bride - and we all had a wonderful time.

Risha's wedding is this Saturday (already!), and my mom and I are throwing her bridal shower tomorrow (yikes!). Busy times all around. But we've had a month of sunny and scorching hot weather (up in the 80's at one point) so that was fun. This week it has cooled off considerably and the clouds have rolled in. Please cross your fingers for NO RAIN on Saturday for Risha & Gabe's outdoor wedding.

Work is ridiculously overwhelming right now. My boss is in Europe for 2.5 weeks and I'm up to my eyeballs in projects. But I'm holding my own and feeling good about what I've accomplished in the midst of all of this stress and activity. And I'm looking forward to MY 2.5 week vacation starting July 4th! Sounds like my brother-in-law and his girlfriend are coming up in July, and my awesome friend Stephanie will be here for a long weekend in July as well. SO FUN!

Thanks for hanging in there with these postings - I'll have Boyd's 16.5 month update up shortly.