Video: Reading - 23.75 months

Here's a sweet little video of Boyd reading the informational sticker on our dryer. It's a lot of "ooh ooh, ee ah ooh" but so very cute!

Boyd - 23.5 months

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity, what with our trip to San Diego, work and other life events. I totally overlooked Boyd's 23 month update.

• Read about our San Deigo trip in separate blog posts - it was a blast!
• D has been running a job for his company that has him working the swing shift in the evenings. It's the worst shift, in my opinion. Boyd and I hadn't seen D since Monday afternoon, but were able to spend a few minutes with him this morning before heading out. Boyd was SO excited to see Daddy - he was running around, giggling, and making dragon noises.
• I try to give Boyd the chance to make choices: what shoes or pants he’ll wear for the day; cheddar or babybel cheese...you know, life's big decisions.
• I’m pretty he knows his colors – the basics anyway.
• In addition to “reading,” Boyd will also sing quietly to himself.
• His second molar on the bottom right is halfway in. It may be partly to blame for his sleep problems in San Diego.
• Sleep: I've accepted that we won't ever have a perfect sleeper, so I'm thankful for when he does sleep! After our trip, Boyd's bedtime has shifted to sometime between 8 and 8:30 p.m. so that means approximately an hour earlier than before. Yay for more adult free time in the evening! It also means B wakes up an hour earlier in the a.m. but it's a fair trade-off.
• LOVES his turtle pillow from Grandma & Grandpa Patrick and a kitty stuffed animal that I think was a gift from our friends Joe & Beth. He cuddles with them all night long, and then points them out in the morning when we walk in his room.
• Favorite animals? If you ask him, it’s kitty, turtle and whale (usually in that order).
• We brought home a nice 2-tiered dark wood step stool from Ikea, which Boyd uses to gain access to the bathroom sink for handwashing. He'll turn on the faucets, attempt to work the soap dispenser and wet his hands. For some reason he hates having his sleeves pushed up.

His cuddle space - the bear was a gift from coworkers, the fake sheepskin is from Ikea, and his favorite kitty is at his feet.

His new play space is a tent we brought home from Ikea. Most nights you'll find at least one parent held hostage inside of it.

Pre-bath hijinks.

Checking the mail on Saturday morning. Mommy is stuck inside the tent (at least I have coffee!)



Family trip to Titlewave - they sell used and new books. D and I both had old books to drop off. Boyd found a book about lynx in the Alaska section and kept exclaiming, "kitty! kitty!"



Always such a good helper.

Video: Spoon feeding - 23 months

When eating off of a spoon, Boyd tends to lick just a tiny bit and then will finally take a big bite. I've seen him do it with oatmeal, yogurt, and basically anything that will just sit on his spoon.

First haircut

After the flight attendants on one of our planes commented on how well our little GIRL behaved during the flight, we figured it was time for a haircut!

BEFORE

I know, this is ridiculously long but it seemed to grown like an inch in just a few days.

My mom did the actual cutting because I couldn't bear to do it.

I have to admit, this is much cleaner and better looking.

We bribed Boyd with a blueberry muffin and videos on my iPhone.

Ack! A little short in the front, but it'll grow.

Video: Sliding in winter - 22.5 months

Back when we still had snow (before this current heat wave and melt-off) Boyd would toddle around the yard and play on his plastic slide. I had to clear the snow off of it and you'll see him imitating me in the video.

Video: Selfie - 22.5 months

Like any toddler, Boyd loves seeing himself in photos and on video. He especially enjoys when I turn around the camera on the my iPhone and he can watch himself as we record.

San Diego - 1

I'd say all in all, our recent trip to San Diego, CA, was a success! It was sort of a mad dash to finish all of our preparations but we managed to do so. I only forgot a few non-essential items, so I was happy with my packing job.

Prior to leaving Anchorage, D and I woke around 2 a.m. and then got Boyd up at 3 a.m., which was just before Risha drove us to the airport (huge thanks to my sister for doing the airport drop off in the early wee hours!) My cousin Angie let us borrow a car seat so we didn't have to lug one of ours on the plane, but that meant we couldn't cab it to the airport (no car seats provided). We did gate-check our awesome BOB stroller and Alaska Airlines was pretty great about having it waiting for us right as we debarked the plane, sometimes it was even unfolded and ready to roll.

I booked an early morning flight, figuring it was better for Boyd to get a good chunk of sleep instead of crossing our fingers and hoping he'd fall asleep on a red-eye. A cranky, tired Boyd is nobody's idea of a good time.

TSA in Anchorage was also a breeze. The agents were super nice and patient - our BOB folded up and actually fit through the scanner and they even gave Boyd a "Junior TSA" sticker. I haven't flown since my dad passed away in August 2011 so it's been 2.5 years - I'm a pretty savvy traveler but adding a kid to the mix really threw me for a loop! This was Boyd's first airplane ride and I was NERVOUS, even with D there to help. I checked and rechecked my lists, going through every contingency I thought might come up. But our flights to Seattle and then San Diego were surprisingly fine. No big issues.

5 a.m. and waiting for the plane to take off from Anchorage for our first leg to Seattle. Boyd is still under 2 so he sat on either my lap or D's.



Snackies are a baby's best friend on the plane!



Boyd slept for about an hour on that first flight. We had an empty seat in our row and it was perfect to allow the three of us a little stretching room. In Seattle we walked around, changed Boyd's diaper, got a bite to eat and then headed onto the next plane to take us to San Diego. Boyd didn't sleep at all on that flight (uh oh) but was pretty chipper. My uncle picked us up in my Grandpa's CR-V (which he generously let us use the whole week!) and we headed home.

Basically we settled in that first day and expected Boyd to fall asleep that night since he was obviously exhausted. No such luck. He pretty much screamed and cried for hours. My poor Grandpa - what a good sport, seriously. D and I were SO TIRED I can't even explain it. Finally Boyd fell asleep and his two zombie parents fell into bed.

The next day we discovered that Boyd was sick with a horrible cold. Damn those dirty planes and germ-infested travelers! Over the week he would be coughing, sneezing, stuffed up with mucus and itchy eyes. Oh it was just awful - and then he gave it to us! Even with all the sickness, we managed to visit quite a few attractions and make the most of our trip.

My grandpa's house in El Cajon, a suburb to the east of San Diego.

More recaps to come!

Goodbye Drift

We said goodbye to our sweet friend, Drift, a few weeks ago. He had been battling diabetes for almost 2 years (that we know of) and his quality of life was just not what it used to be. D made the very difficult decision to end his suffering and let his best friend go.

I've never had a dog before. Growing up, we had a cat that lived to be 17 before my parents put her down due to dementia. And my crazy cat lady status was cemented after I somehow acquired 3 cats! But Drift made me love dogs - and how could you not fall in love with such a sweet soul like Drift? Even my mom, who is not a big dog person, spoiled Drift like he was her very own grandson.

D took him into the vet the day we left for San Diego. In some ways, it made the transition a little easier - being away from home and all the reminders of how empty our house (and hearts) are without Drift. But even now, weeks later, we still look for him outside in his dog house or think about needing to adminster his medication.

A sad but fond farewell to the best dog I've ever known.