1st Boat Trip

Two weeks ago we braved the rain and dreary temperatures to embark on our first family boat adventure! Whittier was our point of departure and overall the trip went very well. The launch was very busy on Saturday morning but we waited until most of the boats had unloaded so it wouldn't be so stressful on me and the little one. Usually I stay with the boat and move it down the dock as others unload, but with a baby it's almost impossible to do that by myself (D has to park the truck/trailer and walk back - a 15-20 minute process). In this case, we just waited to unload and then left the boat tied up at the launch. I walked around with Boyd until D showed up.

Boyd in his life jacket and Muddy Buddy waterproof suit. 

We're off! Motoring out of the Whittier harbor.

Found this little guy and his bigger friend in one of our shrimp pots. Also came up with a huge octopus (which we saved for my mom), a couple sculpin fish, and a sea urchin.

The combination of a very early wake-up call and the rocking motion of the boat put our kid to sleep for about 20 minutes in mid-morning. Afterwards he was little fussy, which is understandable - new experience, tiny space with minimal room to move around in. We stopped in a calm bay to let him explore the boat and he settled down.

Boyd took an afternoon nap in his carseat (we brought it on board) as we motored over to drop the shrimp pots in a new area. It worked out pretty well because as he slept, I drove the boat while D prepped the pots and threw them over the side.

A much needed shore break. View from one of D's bear hunting stations.

This is what black bears do! It looks like the container melted, but a bear basically shredded it to get to the stuff inside. Those claws are no joke.

Bear scat. It's been eating berries. Looks very different from spring poop, which is very dark.

Low tide. The boat was anchored up and we took the canoe into shore.

Small crab shell that washed up on shore.

My absolute favorite shell - sea urchin. I maybe find one or two per year on the beaches here. They're so delicate that they rarely make it to the beach in one piece.

Bloop bloop - big fat jellyfish.

D put a couple small pebbles in the shell for Boyd to shake.

A curious sea otter that swam around us after we anchored up in a small bay for the night. Later in the evening we saw a seal too.

Day two dawned quite early - Boyd didn't fall asleep until about 10:30 p.m. - and we awoke at 6:30 a.m. to a hungry kid. This was the first time that the 3 of us all slept on the new boat together. The two bench seats fold down to make a cozy bed, so we snuggled Boyd in between us. It was tight, but it worked. After a quick breakfast, we cleaned up and did some fishing.

Nap time on Sunday.

Boyd is in a camera phase. I found this one when downloading my photos and just laughed.

Our shrimp haul wasn't too skimpy this time. We kept some and then gave a bunch to my mom and Risha.

Pretty rainy on our way back in to Whittier on Sunday. It's difficult to see in this photo  - but the little watercraft on the right (to the left of the pink buoy) really looked to us to be a PADDLEBOAT with a little motor. Isn't that crazy!?

Whittier harbor.

More harbor. The boat launch is the area marked by the yellow lines.

Driving home!

Stop talking mom & dad, I'm trying to make a call.

Alaska State Fair

I was trying to remember the last time I visited the Alaska State Fair, and it may have been on one of  D's and my's first dates! This was Boyd's first trip to the fair - we went with my mom and sister, and used free tickets provided by my workplace. We left town in the afternoon after Boyd's nap (and first gymnastics class) and arrived within an hour. Since it was Monday we breezed right in and didn't have to fight the weekend or evening crowds.

It was a gorgeous day in Palmer, Alaska. Definitely hot though - and for one of the first times in my fair experiences, I didn't get rained on. A rare treat!

Boyd spent 1/3 of his time in the stroller, 1/3 being carried and 1/3 walking. At one point we stopped and watched the kids on the pony rides. He kept pointing out all of the ponies in the enclosure.

When we stopped to munch on food, he finally had the opportunity to run around and release some of that toddler energy. Even managed to get a sit-down photo with Grandma Ann. All told, we sampled cheese curds, corn fritters, baked potatoes, buffalo burgers, waffle fries, and rhubarb lemonade. I would have gone for dessert but we ran out of time.

The petting zoo - my favorite! Having a kid is the greatest excuse for getting into the petting zoo. Boyd wasn't afraid at all - he got to interact with some cow calves, ponies, goats and bunnies. Oh gosh, in the bunny enclosure I told him to pet it one more time and then we'd go. He reached out and started to stroke the hair of a little girl next to him. It was so funny!

"Look Emo, a pig!"

We were a day early for the pumpkin weigh-off. I think the winning gourd was over 1,000 pounds...that's amazing! All in all, it was a fantastic day to spend with family. We're looking forward to bringing Boyd back next year and seeing him interact a bit more and possibly enjoy a few rides.

Randoms

It seems ridiculous to discuss autumn/winter when the calendar still says August, but our month started out a bit rainy and the last few days we've seen frost outside in the early mornings! The heat even kicked on for a short period on Monday. I'm sad to see summer go...but fall and winter are fun in their own way. Snow sports, warm clothing, cozy evenings in front of the wood stove, and the holidays are all things to look forward to, right?

The end of summer means harvesting our garden and we did pretty well this year! The super hot weather meant almost no work for us when it came to the vegetables. We just watered them - that's it. The tomatoes have just exploded - I've never seen so many on the vine before. The squash are nice and round, while the green peppers did better than I expected.

Fun times out in the yard this past weekend. The weather cleared up for a few days and was gloriously sunny and hot. D worked on our new front porch (it's so close to being done) while Boyd and I hung out in the yard.

Our little man is a budding Picaso and has just recently begun to draw on vertical surfaces (cabinets, the wall, our fridge). YIKES.

My solution was to put up paper and direct Boyd to his new "easel." Hope this will keep the artwork contained to one area!

Boyd - 18 months

OMG, so behind on this post - ACK!

• Boyd went through a period where he was incredibly attached to me (it's just now waning). Maybe because I was able to spend so much time with him during my almost 3 week vacation in July? He is still constantly taking my hand and leading me around, which is super sweet but also a little limiting because it's hard to get anything done. But I enjoy seeing what he is so intent on showing me - sometimes it's a toy or book, and other times he needs help with a task.
• Oh 18-month sleep regression, I'm SO GLAD it's over. I adore my sweet baby Boyd, but following him around for 3 hours in the middle of the night was not my idea of a good time. It ended up being approximately 3 weeks of sleep interruptions. 
• To complicate matters, Boyd picked up a cold during that period and it made him a wee bit cranky during the day and evening. One night he woke up at 11:45 p.m. and I held him for 30 minutes while he fell back asleep. I credit Hyland's homeopathic Tiny Cold Tablets and his strong constitution for a quick recovery. Boyd promptly passed his cold onto me (2 week duration, grrr) and then I gave it to Darin.
• The activities that keep his busiest the longest these days are anything involving keys/locks, threading an item into something else, stacking.
• Risha, Jilly, Boyd and I had a Monday playdate at Sand Lake Elementary School about a month ago. There is a great playground there, as well as a pathway to the lake and a small dock. We were even able to see a float plane take off! The pilot was great - motoring past us a couple times and waving to the kids. They loved it. I do think Boyd was a little confused as to why the plane was on the lake and not in the water. 
• More words are spilling out of his mouth. I'm pretty sure we had an "I love you" in there too, although he still cocks his head to one side to "say" that. I would say that he can repeat about 75% of the words we ask him to say. They may not sound correct but he's trying. :-)
• Still very friendly to strangers.
• Boyd likes to "help" take off and put on his own clothes. 
• SO good about putting things away when we ask him to - and even when we don't! 
• Likes to drink from cups and bottles like a big boy. 
• He's an awesome eater when hungry. The other night we made fresh PWS silver salmon & spot shrimp, plus asparagus. He could not get enough, especially when it came to the asparagus. Such a good boy. Other favorite foods: Annie's organic Bunny Grahams, Aussie bites, cheesy toast.
• He's getting pretty good at picking himself up after a fall and dusting himself off. No crocodile tears - just real ones when he is truly hurt. 
• Our first family boat trip took place last weekend - I will do up a special blog post about that!

Earlier this week I toured a Montessori school that I've heard good things about. A few friends have kids that attended the toddler program there, although the school does go up to 6th grade. I totally fell in love with place and put in a registration form/deposit for the waiting list. The area he'll go into is a 19 month to 3 year room - hopefully 2 or 3 mornings a week from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Ideally I would do drop off and then my mom would pick him up. Cross your fingers that a spot opens up! I think he would learn a lot about independence, self reliance and respect in this type of environment.

Odds and ends

In June, our neighborhood was host to a resident mama moose and her two babies. They hung around for a week or so - my in-laws took a bunch of great photos of them as they lounged in our yard (I've included one below - thanks Mim!)

D and I celebrated our 3-year anniversary on June 26. What a ride it has been! We met in 2005, purchased our house in 2007, became engaged in 2009 and married in 2010. Boyd arrived in 2012, and who knows what the future will hold for our family?

To celebrate our anniversary, D took me to Orso and we had a lovely evening out while my mom watched Boyd (thanks Mom!). There was a snafu during dinner - our food was delivered to another table so we waited while the cook made new dishes, but they comped us with an appetizer and a free dessert since it was a special occasion. We picked creme brulee - one of our favorites!

Since I purchased an annual zoo pass, we've visited the animals quite a few times this summer. It's fun to see Boyd interact with them a little more each time we go.

And a few photos from the Sushi Party that Risha and I presented in June...

Boyd - 17.25 months

What a busy month! Baby Boyd turned 17 months old and we had a ton of activities and events to keep us on the move in July. Those updates to come later.

• We're hearing more words come out of Boyd's mouth: water (wawa), boat (bo), more (mo), banana (nana), grandma (nana), emo - which is the Korean word for aunt, grandpa (baba), hot (haaaa), flower (fawa), puppy (pupu), woah, up (buh), night night (nigh nigh), no.
• I bought a frog-shaped sandbox with lid for him to play in - it sits in the front yard and D just recently filled it with sand. Boyd seems to like it. Still can't get enough of going outside.
• More waving, lots of smiling at everyone - even strangers.
• Definitely right handed for eating and drawing/writing. He's been eating with a spoon pretty well and most of the food makes it into his mouth! Has totally mastered drinking from a cup with a regular straw. We're working on a regular cup and water bottle, but I'm surprised at how quickly he's picking it up. And he'll blow on food that he thinks is hot - super cute.
• In the last couple weeks he has started to take our hands and lead us to an area. Then he'll show us things or just begin playing. He's SO ACTIVE. D and I are shocked when he sits for longer than 5 minutes!
• Still doing well with one nap per day beginning between noon to 1 p.m., usually running about 2 hours.
• During our many nights away from home during Risha's wedding and fish camp, Boyd has slept surprisingly well in the travel crib. We'll do bedtime like usual, put him down and then leave the room or camper - it normally takes 10-15 minutes for him to settle and fall asleep. Some night waking occurred but I would pull him into my sleeping area for the rest of the night. 
• I've been up for some inexplicable night wakings since we've been home again. He's upset in the middle of the night, around 1:30-2 a.m., and when I go to him all he wants to do is play in his room or walk around for 1-2 hours. It's exhausting. I think it may be another sleep regression - we're right on track for the 18 month regression. After he starts acting tired again I'll redo the bedtime routine and put him down again. 
• It's so hot again and the temperature in Boyd's room rises in the evening. Lately he sleeps in just a nighttime diaper with the fan on high. If it's especially stuffy in his room, we'll leave the door open to get some air circulation going.
• Boyd is SO GOOD about having sunscreen or lotion put on. He's very patient, even when I'm applying it to his face. 
• I have lost 2 pairs of sunglasses to Hurricane Boyd - I now hide them from his path of destruction.
• We're seeing more affection - puckers up for kisses when we say "popo", which is the Korean word for kiss.Sometimes he'll even offer an unsolicited kiss - I love those moments! He's not big on hugging yet.
• Understands almost all of what we say to him and follows fairly complicated 2-step commands, e.g., pick up your water from the table and take it to daddy. 
• I'm hoping his physical prowess improves. He's not as steady as I'd like him to be, but it just comes with more practice, I suppose! For example, he won't scoot on his bottom down the stairs and instead wants to hold our hands to get down them.
• Loves reading - the two most popular books in the rotation are Goodnight Gorilla and Goodnight Construction Site. I love seeing him flip through pages and point out images or babble to himself. He doesn't seem interested in television and we don't actively offer it to him.
• Assists us in taking off his clothes - putting arms up, pushing shirts off his face, helping with socks/shoes.
• After a bad week of horrible diaper rash and nightmare poops, the culprit was discovered to be strawberries! Who knew? I think it must be a mild gastric intolerance.
• Really enjoys brushing his teeth after bedtime, and likes most baths.  
• Temper tantrums are coming into play. So lovely. 
• Once in a while he'll get startled by something, and I have to admit that I love it when he instinctively runs over and clutches our legs for comfort.

Summer visitors

It's been a fantastic summer for family and friend visits! My dad's cousin Aileen came up for the wedding and stayed on for some exploring of Southcentral Alaska. Darin's brother Doug and his girlfriend Jamie were up for a week and we had a really fun time with those two - fishing and enjoying my in-laws' hospitality on the Kenai. And one of my best friends and college roomies, Stephanie, came up for a long weekend visit. It's so quiet around here now - I miss everyone!

A zoo day with Boyd, Grandma Ann and Aileen.

We had a day of visitor overlap - Doug, Jamie and Stephanie. Dinner was a salmon feast out on the deck as we all enjoyed the warm, sunny weather.

Stephanie, Boyd and I visited the Glen Alps trail head to do a short hike on Powerline Pass and marvel at the Anchorage skyline.

Love this girl! We were missing our 3rd Musketeer - Emily - who is in Texas with a brand new baby girl.