chelski vs. the grand arsenal

(I was out of title ideas)

Can I give anybody who is thinking about bringing their 1.25 year old to Disneyland some advice?
Wait six years.
Don't do it.
Don't do it alone.
In fact, just don't do it.
Haha, what a trip.  We didn't realize until the flight back that he was busy teething his molars, so that was quite the "Aha" moment.  Poor kid.  We pushed an overstimulated, screaming kid around the happiest place on earth for a little less than two hours before we counted our losses and peaced the heck out of there.  There was no It's a Small World.  There were no magical encounters with Mickey Mouse.
In fact, there are no pictures of any kind because that was lit-terally the last thing on our minds to do.
I'd like a do-over someday :)

Jon was a sweet ol' chap and sent me back to the park for about six hours by myself for the Halloween festivities, while he took care of Max back at the hotel.  Apparently, part of his corporate training "seminar" included riding the Tower of Terror and other rides and fancy meals....so it was nice to get a night off after such a long week of watching/flying with Max alone.  I can already look back on the experience and laugh.  He slept & napped well while there, so I definitely had that to be thankful for.

I've been trying to make the most of fall with my kiddo, and now that Halloween is behind us, Thanksgiving is approaching.  I'm excited!  We took Max out to a pumpkin patch a few weekends ago, and that was another experience that I just don't think he was totally old enough for.  He is SUCH a busy little boy.  It takes all of Jon's & my undivided attention to make sure he's not endangering his life or some other shenanigan.  It makes outings like this pretty difficult.


He got really into painting a little pumpkin I got for him, and then after I carved it for him and stuck a little green light inside, he played with it incessantly til the day it molded inside-out :P  He couldnt get enough of taking off the lid, taking out the light, putting the lid back on, etc etc.  He is so so fascinated with taking things apart and putting them back together.  Cute little developmental milestone.

The shot below is of my mom's foster mom, Pat, and her husband Jeff.  They were so so sweet to pick Max & I up from the hotel we were staying at, and take us window shopping at Knott's Berry Farm for an afternoon.  I had SO MUCH FUN catching up with them, and am so thankful they were finally able to meet my boy.  I'll be in touch next time we come down to see all of you, I promise!
I took Max to my church's Harvest Party last weekend, and dressed him up in this cute diddy my mom SEWED for him.  Yes, she is super talented.  Jon was busy that evening, so I took Max in an effort to do something cute and memorable...and again, realized that he was just too young for it.  Gah.  I know next year will be a totally different ball game, but there are just so many things I'm excited to do with my munchkin, but all he really wants to do is stick his fingers in light sockets :)
Here was costume #2 for actually Halloween day :)  What a sweet boy, he was.  I had my expectations set at a much better place, and he actually LOVED trick or treating up at the community center up the street!  He loved seeing the other kids running around, and got the hang of holding up his basket for candy.

I love my Max.  We are just entering a new stage of tantrums and "NOOO!"  Oh my goodness, I thought we had more time until we got here!  It's been really tiring lately to having him getting into everything he isn't supposed to, and then start yelling, "No no noooo!" when I try to stop him.  I'm sure many of you who have walked this road are chuckling by this point, maybe thinking things such as Welcome to parenthood, sweetheart... or maybe, Settle in.  You'll be here for a while.
I'll stop guessing what you're thinking.
Jon & I are kind of baffled about the whole discipline thing.  No matter how often you've thought about it in your lifetime, and kind of think you know where you've settled and how you'll handle it when the time comes...we finally arrive and feel like a couple of foreigners in a country with no knowledge of the language, and no guidebooks.
Except there are guidebooks, I guess.  Only it's really difficult sometimes to understand how they apply to your child, and if you agree totally with everything they say.
Anyway, that's filling my days, and I'm trying to grow a tough skin about it.  My sweet and snuggly kid is definitely still there, but he's developing this additional personality now of getting very frustrated at trivial things, and talking back to me a bit.  Mercy.

So, what is he up to now, at 15 months (today!)?  Well, he's speaking in full sentences, if you can believe that.
We just don't understand what those sentences mean at the moment ;)  We are in love with his baby-speak.
Let me see if I can remember all the intelligible things he's saying at the moment....here's a short list:
Nana [banana]....only it's kinda pronounced naynay.
Ahppo [apple].
Mow [milk].
Ah done [all done].
Ahgull [uncle].
Hallo.  Bye.  Momma.  Da.  Nigh nigh.  Car.  Go go go!
Tee Tou [thank you]...said whenever give takes or gives an item.
Uh oh...said whenever he deliberately throws an item on the ground.

And then our favorite, which makes us shake our head and giggle.  It happens whenever he wants Jon or I, and more specifically...when he wants something OF us.  It's a demanding word, meaning....Mom or Dad, I want you NOW.  He gets this ornery look on his face and shouts "CAR!"  Weird, I know.  Only he shouts it in an angry Boston accent, so it comes out like "Cahhh!"
He does this every morning when Jon is getting ready in the bathroom with the door closed.  Max will shout it through the door, and I laugh and say, "Car, Max would like a word with you."  Just one of those funny Max-isms.

I took him to swimming lessons three or four times.  It was super cute to see him try to blow bubbles in the pool and learn to kick his feet, and whatnot, but that wasn't going the greatest since it meant blowing through his morning nap.  I thought we could pull it off since he's within the range of dropping that nap, but this kid is adamantly holding onto it.  I know it sounds crazy to try to push him out of it, right?  Just let the kid sleep!  But actually, most of his buddies (read: my buddies with babies his age) have dropped that already, so he remains on an opposite nap schedule as them.  It translates into not getting to see my mom friends unless there's a special case.  Also, it would help him make it through mops mornings if he was in the habit of staying awake all morning.  So, I tried to maybe prompt him to drop that nap...and it's pretty clear at the mo that he's not having it.
Fine, little man.  You can keep your nap for now.
But believe me, this excuse will not fly in high school.

He is starting to actually read books more and eat them less.  My little daredevil likes to go down giant slides by himself now, giving me panic attacks, but I'm trying to let him flex his wings a little bit.  He LOVES to help me cook in the kitchen when I have the patience to let him.  And have the back strength to hold him.  I'll open a cupboard and point to which spice I need, and he'll pull it out and help me shake it into the pot...he likes to stir with a wooden spoon, and wash & dry his hands.
I think we're finally emerging from Round 2 of separation anxiety...it was kind of a bad spell, but he's now made it through MOPS and a whole church service in the nursery without being called out.  Such a welcome relief for a tired momma.  Just some things he's up to...

Max has done quite a bit of traveling in his short life, and I gotta say...I'm not comfortable flying everywhere with his birth certificate in order to prove he's mine.  I know myself, and that I will most likely lose that document if I do...so when I needed to go update my driver's license, I took my mini-me along and scored him an i.d. card of his very own.  It's a show-stopper at the ticket desk in the airport..especially if there's all females working.

Also, Max was called a She yesterday at a baby gym.  We're off for his first official haircut this afternoon (I hope).  Jon tried to lop off his mullet the other night, and now he looks like some neglected child with an abominable haircut.  Hopefully a photo later of that experience :)

from the hotel bathroom

Traveling with a baby is a funny thing. When he goes down for a nap in our hotel room, where do I go? What do I do while he fusses himself to sleep in his pack & play?
The answer is that I play on my phone on the cold bathroom floor. The unglamorous side of vacation :)
Nighttime is even worse, as he goes down at 7:30, and then I look for quiet things to do in the dark. Haha, I know I'll remember fondly, and miss, these days of raising a baby.
So hello from Disneyland! Jon has a work retreat here this week, so max and I flew down yesterday to join him for a few days. A great way to do vacation on the cheap!
Our flight was really great! Max is really starting to understand that we are going on a "pane" (as he points his chubby finger to the sky)...and did astonishingly well on the trip. Thankful for only a two hour flight instead of the usual four!












I was really, geekily excited to see crater lake from the air. I've always been fascinated by it, and am determined to visit soon.
We haven't visited the Park yet, just played in the pool and walked down Main Street, past all the Disney hotels. By far, maxs favorite thing to do is play in the elevator bay...




We met up with one of Kristen's dearest friends, now my friend!, yesterday. She brought her two sweet girls, and her cute baby bump also, along to play in the pool and hot tub. It was so good to see her!!! But it's so difficult to even think about taking pictures when I'm chasing max all around!! I feel bad I didn't get a shot of us, but thanks again Jen for coming to hang out with us!!!
This morning max and I ate breakfast at the Rainforest Cafe. I know I sound like such a lush, but when you're staying at the Disneyland Hotel with no rental car, there aren't many options for food except ESPN zone, a jazz restaurant, and a bunch of other pricey places. So, that's where we went, because I figured everything to look at in there would buy me some extra time to drink my coffee and eat my food. We were seated next to a giant gorilla, and I'll let this video tell you what max thought of the experience.



In a little while we are meeting some very dear family to us, who I haven't seen in over six years! It is my mom's foster mom who led her to The Lord when my mom was just 17. This woman changed history in my mom's life, sending her to Moody Bible Institute, where she met my dad...and so on :) I am so thankful that she followed the Lords leading in her life, to open up her house to my mom. I would not be here today if she hadn't! Although not related by blood, she and her husband Jeff are the last remaining grandparents I have on earth! I'm excited for them to meet my boy :)
Tomorrow Jon is finally done with work responsibilities and we're off to Disneyland. Hope to take max on its a small world :)
Gotta go!
[forgive the typos...I posted this from my iphone]

Location:S Disneyland Dr,Anaheim,United States

B E L O V E D

I barely remember life before Max, and what I do remember seems so pale. 366 days ago I was bringing my son into the world, and it seems impossible to me that the two babies above are the same boy!
Apart from the promise of eternal life, Max is by FAR the greatest gift that God has ever given me.  I just had three paragraphs typed out, trying to sum up the wonder and joys of motherhood...but it was seriously falling FLAT.  The deep mysteries of it all can only be understood by walking that path, and I will thank God all of my days for giving me the chance to live this out.
If I ever, for a second, try to imagine my life without my son in it....I lose my breathe, my heart literally beats painfully fast, and tears flood my eyes.  I'm not exaggerating.  Never have I loved someone so much more than my own life.
He brings me more joy every single day than I ever experienced in my life thus far, and I know past all doubt that I am insanely lucky just to KNOW him, let alone be with him all day every day.

I am so thankful for him.  For his adventurous spirit, even though it gives me panic attacks.  Even though I have to accept NOW that he will, undoubtedly, break his arm, his collarbone, his ankle, have stitches, and (God-forbid) a mild concussion.  He is THAT determined to climb and do everything.
I try to record his laugh in the audio track of my memory, hoping to never forget the deep giggle and hiccups his joy invokes.
It pains me to see the rolls in his inner thighs slowly disappear, or the roundness of his face melt away.  I thank God for the multiple chins he still has, and the way he buries his face in the crook of my neck when he's tired or kind of scared.

I love my boy.  It's so special to know that there isn't anybody in the world that loves him as much as I do.  There's something about that, that has drawn me closer to God as I better (but not fully) understand the ocean of love that God has for me.  For all of us.  It's so deep, so wide.  So all-consuming.

Gosh, I've had such a good day today, celebrating Max's life.  We've just been out and about, doing day-to-day things ("Costco run?  Really MOM???" thought Max), but I've looked for every opportunity to tell strangers that he's 1 today.  I couldn't help it :P  My love and pride for him is just oozing out the cracks.  We played a lot, he napped a lot, and he spent much time being rocked in my arms as he dozed off, while my eyes were squeezed shut, whispering prayers of thanks for him.

God, I know absolutely he belongs to you, and that you are entrusting him to me.  I don't lay claim to him, or dare call him "Mine."  He is your's, and you crafted him perfectly.  Oh man, Lord, I can't thank you enough for planting his life inside me, and then bringing him safely into my arms.  May he grow to know who you are by the words I say, and the way I love him, and the way I love others.  May my life reflect the lessons that I try to teach him.
Thank you thank you thank you for my little David [beloved] Maxwell.  He is the light and joy in my life.

The City of Roses

We are here!  We are settled in, and now we are finding our way around this pretty & artsty city.  I can tell these six weeks are going to fly by, especially now that week one is nearly entirely under our belt.  Today is the first day that we got up with the sun, and I hope it's here to stay for a little while!

So, I've become pretty lousy at taking pictures with my real camera.  Pure laziness is what it is, but it really is difficult to work at capturing moments when I'm busy chasing Max around (especially since I didn't have Jon's help with the kiddo during my trip home!)  I could have done better though.  The poor camera didnt even see daylight, spending the entire week in my backpack.  And then there's the weather factor too, where I don't dare bring the thing out if it's raining, or there's a chance of precipitation in the least.  That said, I only took a few pictures during the whole trip, with my phone.  Here's a smattering of my instagram photos (incidentally, my instagram name is punchykara if you'd like to follow me ;)...

All things considering (Jon being sick, Max being sick, ME being sick, Max teething, long plane rides & long car rides, sleeping in one new place after the next, and being totally overstimulated multiple times a day), Max did exceptionally well on the trip!  We had our share of tears trying to get from Seattle to Chicago/Wisconsin and back, but he was really patient overall.  I think my parents, sister, and nephews&niece kind of forced him out of his separation anxiety phase, because he has been so much more independent ever since!  His sleep schedule was all out of whack during the trip, and I paid dearly in sleep deprivation, but I can't really fault him for that.

It was so wonderful watching my youngest bro graduate from college (again, no pictures.  boo) and see a few familiar faces from my college days.  We enjoyed some lovely time at home with my family, and got a taste of spring weather (no thanks to you, Seattle!).  I love love loved watching Max become familiar and affectionate with my parents and siblings, and really cracked up at him pretending to be a sibling with Merian & Emmett as he wrestled them for their toys.  I saw Henry turn six years old, and cherished being a part of his birthday party, something I havent been to in five years!  I ate lunch with him at his kindergarten one day (lower left photo above), and am amazed at the sweet little boy he's become.

We said some tearful goodbyes, and journeyed back down to Chicago with David, wished him a giant congratulations for his master's graduation as well (yesterday in fact!  woohoo!!) and then flew back home.  I am so so thankful for kind people on the airplane that helped a new momma out with her cabin-fevered boy.  I'm really thankful that the trip happened, and continue to miss my family dearly : )

Then two days later, we moved to Portland!  Jon's company has been super gracious to us and is housing us in some really nice diggs.  The transition has been SO smooth and painless, and Max almost instantly adjusted into an AWESOME sleeping schedule!  We've never really had that! HALLELUJAH!  I attribute it to the wide-open space he has to play, and our lives finally slowing down enough for regular nap & bedtimes.  It's a beautiful thing.
Here he is, just a blur as he zoomed out of my viewfinder:

I think he's changed SO much in the past few weeks.  9.5 months old, and he wants to go EVERYwhere.  There's not a lot he considers off-limits.  He eats really really well, and wants to try everything that we're eating.  His favorite foods currently are scrambled eggs, strawberries, watermelon, string cheese, guacamole, goldfish crackers, cheerios, mashed potatoes & gravy, rice, fish (can you believe that one, mom?!), and yeah...whatever we give him, I guess!  Thankful for no allergies as of yet!

He's starting to understand the word "No"...and that's interesting to watch his inner struggle as I tell him not to play with the cable box or cords & wires.  "But I WANT to, mom!  Don't you know I need to explore everything?"  He even listens to me sometimes!  Ha, most of the time he doesnt, but we'll just keep at it.

He's finally experimenting with saying "Da!"...and i know "Dada!" is coming any day now.  So excited for Jon's sake, as Max has stuck exclusively to "Momma" for the past few months :)

Did I mention that he's been teething?  Good heavens, the poor boy went from two teeth to SIX...in two week's time.  Feel free to click on the picture below and glance at his mouthful of chompers.  His side top teeth came in before the middle ones, and I've loved giggling at my vampire baby when he smiles real wide.  You can see he clearly loves it when I try to get a peek at them, haha.

Here are a few shots of our temporary home.  So much natural light!  Even cloudy days are brighter in here than a sunny day in our old home.  Max & Jack both love it here, you can just tell by the way they each stand or sit in the window, and look at the things happening outside.

This neighborhood is the COOLEST.  We live in a part of town called the Pearl District, and have nearly everything at our fingertips.  Maybe today I'll finally take my camera outside and show you some shots of our street.  I love it!  Below you can see a couple of different views from our fifth floor windows...the green picture is Jameson park, which Max is a big fan of.  There's a fun water fountain that kids love to run through, but Max is more than happy to simply crawl through it.  Yesterday I actually let him get totally soaked.  Ha.  Looking forward to summer days when it isn't too cold for that.

Max & I have spent as much time as it isn't raining to walk around the city, and take the street car.  He LOVES riding the lightrail!

Top left is the train station....so close to us!!

And I knew the day would come that Max picks up speed and begins to terrorize our cat!!  Don't be too fooled by the top picture.  True, she was hiding from him when I took that shot (not a very good hiding job, kitty :P ), but I suspect for the most part that she loves it.  Jon & I don't have the time that we used to play with her, and suddenly there is someone who always wants to!  So what if their only game is "Chase the cat around the house"?  Or the old classic "Flop on top of Kitty."  She's really really good with him, and tolerates his boy-ness!  Please enjoy the video below, and ignore the end when Max bonks his head on the chair :)

Happy Memorial Day weekend!  We don't have any plans as of yet, but I'm just thrilled to have a weekend with both my boys, and none of us are sick!!  We might go to Multnomah Falls, or the Farmer's Market, or take some train rides, or go to a carnival....We'll figure it out!  I'll do my best to bring the camera with me.

I want to name my camera.  Give me some good ideas!

So Embarrassing.

For anybody that has witnessed my woeful facebook updates about the landscapers that wake Max up from his morning nap week after week... you would be interested to know that the story took a little turn of events today.  And by little, I do mean embarrassing.  Oh, the love of a mother.

Really, it's a short story.  Max is cutting about four teeth at the moment, AND just got sick too.  He's in a bad way.  Really inconsolable, he's got this scream that makes me shiver...I would do anything to make him feel better.  He went down kicking and screaming [no lie] for his nap this morning, a little later than normal...and a dreadful thirty minutes before the leafblowers arrive every week.  I couldnt bear the thought of him waking up right away again (or bear the thought of me trying to care for a sleep deprived sick baby right now), so went outside out building complex, plopped myself down on a bench, and waited for the landscapers to arrive.

When they did, exactly on time (they really are great guys.  On time every week!  The whole complex looks great, they do a great job!)...I approached them, and let them know that I have a really sick baby inside who just went down for a nap, and I hate to ask them this, but since the noise wakes him up every single week...could they please please just not use the leaf blowers today?  They stared at me, like, are you serious?  That's their weapon of choice!  And I guess I got a little desperate, because I offered to sweep the whole outside of the place myself, and when they still weren't sold, I actually started crying.  Oh my gosh.  If any of you know me well at ALL, you'll know that I'm a huge cryer.  I hate it about myself...because I never want to be perceived as manipulative, and I don't want my tears to lose their value because I do it so often.  But I have zero control over my waterworks.  My counselor says it's a blessing.  Maybe even a gift from the Lord, he ventures.
Well I'd like him to tell that to the horrified landscaper men.  As men often do, they agreed instantly with "There there" type sentiments....I thanked them and fled back inside, peeked through the blinds as the head guy made a phone call that didnt look too great, and then they ended up driving away.  I seriously hope I never see them again : )

We have a crazy month before us.  In two days we're heading back to the midwest for my brother's graduation.  It's going to be a whirlwind trip, with doing the graduation festivities, staying with some dear friends, and then saying goodbye to Jon for about five days while he departs on a business trip to the east coast.  The Jersey shore, to be a bit more specific.  Max & I will drive up to good ol' Markesan for a little leisurely family time, and getting the chance to celebrate henry's birthday for the first time in five years.  Munchkin...how in the world are you turning six?!  I'm excited to see my neices and nephews.  crazy excited.

After the midwest, we'll be home for two whole days before moving our lives to Portland for a little while.  While down there we have one trip to San Francisco with Jon, and a bunch of friends coming to visit us on the weekends (and hopefully some family visits too!)  I'm really excited for an adventure away with my hubs and little boy!

Max seemed to have a major developmental spurt lately, in addition to cutting more teeth (his top two canines!  Renesmee has NOTHING on max!!).  Our life lately looks a lot like this:

He's a busy little boy!  Standing every chance he gets, and getting much better at it, but it does mean a lot more conks on the head too.
We get to the zoo a few times a week, and he LOVES the Zoomazium there.  Lots of room to crawl around everywhere, and he is in love with a couple of djembes they have cemented to the floor : )  He is so cute always making his way back there to bang on them.  He is also loving watching and trying to play with older kids, whether they want him to or not.  Poor kid is not always welcome with the big kids in the zoomazium.  It's okay, baby.  Mom ALWAYS wants to play with you.
 
My dear friend, Rachel, took max out on a little park outing the other day, and got caught in a monsoon.  I knew she'd be racing home with him in the stroller, so I perched myself at the patio door with my camera aimed outside.  Had to giggle as I caught her race by:


They were a little bit soaked : )

We were able to spend the weekend down in Enumclaw this past weekend, as a little farewell to our family for a couple of months, and so Jon could get his hands dirty helping on the blueberry farm.  It was super funny to watch Owen "help" the guys out there...he can't stay away from the puddles!

Max love love loves having his daddy around a bit more now that Jon's busy season has wrapped up.  Still waiting on him to learn to say "da-da" though.  Still a total momma's boy!
Send a prayer up for my two boys!  Max has a nasty cough, and Jon was battling a fever all afternoon.  I'm running an infirmary two days before we leave!!
 Also, let me leave you with a cute clip of a trick that Max learned at the zoo a few weeks ago when he heard some wolves howling   : )

easter, and other things.

I'm relieved, after my last entry, to say all our car troubles are behind us for the time being. it DID take two entire weeks and hundreds of dollars to resolve, however! Thankfully Speedy Glass reimbursed us (for everything that was their fault. we had a couple of things to replace on our own), but what a headache that was. I dont even want to relive it. So I won't.

I had my sweet Aunt Sharon, and cousins Jackie & Allison out to visit a few weeks ago! It was so wonderful to have familiar faces from home out here, in the city that I love. Even though their trip started out with some heavy rain, Seattle came thru and showed a bit of its beautiful side for them. I took them out to discovery park one afternoon, and we got some pretty sweet photos of them with my boy...

And it seems as though spring is finally here to stay! The sidewalks around us are well-worn, as Max & I get out for walks multiple times a day when the sun is shining. He perpetually smells like sunscreen (my little "summer baby!"), and the hat you'll always find him in is more about not burning his little scalp, than trying to make a fashion statement. But I feel like everybody stops us around town to swoon over his little golf hat :)

Easter was so meaningful for me this year. I was thankful to go to both the Good Friday service, and Easter morning service (with time to spare to volunteer in the nursery!). At this point in my life, I love Easter more than I ever have before. I guess in the past, I've always associated Easter with waking up at the CRACK of dawn to go to an Easter sunrise service (and tack on daylight's saving back in the day, and it meant waking up at 4 a.m. pretty much every single year.) I have to confess that I've never cared much for the holiday. How sad that I've always preferred Halloween to Easter, huh? Then during the years that I was a massage therapist, I think I had to work every single Easter. Not a great track record.

But God has moved so deeply in my heart in the past year and a half...and I couldn't wait to remember Jesus' life and death, and life again, and redemption of the whole world. I spent some time preparing my heart in the week leading up to Good Friday, and actually felt the grief of God's blameless son laying down his life for all of my sins. Saturday was a solemn day for me, as I imagined how Jesus' friends and disciples felt the day after watching the Lord crucified. And I tell you what, I absolutely couldn't wait for Sunday morning, so experience the JOY of knowing that Jesus lives today, and that we are free from the chains of sin. Easter has been redeemed in my life, and is kiiiiinda my favorite holiday now :)

We did snap a few [hundred] photos of Max & his cousin Taryn in their Easter best ;)

Do you remember me mentioning, back in the day, a group I was involved in comprised of a bunch of first-time-pregnant-mommies? It was called Baby Bumps, and we'd meet every week to discuss the quirky ins&outs of our pregnancies...encourage each other, eat preggo girl food, and showcase our awesome sweatpants collections. The weeks went SO fast, but I treasured my time with those girls...all anticipating our babies arrivals, and having no idea what was really in store for us. And then pop-pop-pop-pop-pop! All our little bambinos arrived, our group disbanded, sleep deprivation set in, life hit warp speed...and would you believe that first little baby bump celebrated her first birthday last week?! Mercy, time flies so fast.

Well, us mommies got together yesterday morning for sticky buns & mimosas, and marveled at all of our peanuts playing together. There they are: Max, Archer, Laine, Francie, and Ben! Such a fun time.

Just one more shot for ya...my two boys in their Sounders gear. Max's favorite toy HANDS DOWN is a little ball he likes to roll all over the place. I think he's actually trying to say the word ball, but Jon isn't too sure he's doing it on purpose. Time will tell, he's learning things so fast, I think we'll have our answer soon :) One thing I do know for sure, is that we cannot wait to see max out on the soccer field someday!

Max is itching to start walking, but he just needs to get the balance component figured out. He is getting to be such a big boy, I can't describe how fun it is! Bittersweet too, to be sure, but so so fun to actually be playing with him. I can see that he's starting to understand some things that we say to him, especially when we point to an object and say it's name. He's soaking it all in...I can't wait to keep seeing more and more of this kiddo's personality. He really is such a sweetheart :)

In a month we'll be in the midwest! My entire family is going to be together for Josiah's college graduation! All the details are being ironed out, and I am so so excited.

Also excited for our half-summer in Portland! We have friends who are planning some weekends to come down to visit, and I'm really excited for that.

Max & I might get to tag along with Jon to San Francisco at the end of May, and we're hoping some friends come along too. There are a few perks to Jon's company sending him all over the place ;)

Only a few weeks left of Jon's busy season....i CANNOT wait for my hubs to have his life back. I'm so excited to scratch Busyness 2012 off the books!

bad car luck.

I am stuck in an automobile NIGHTMARE right now. I'm about to pull my hair out, I think. Can I take a moment to share with you about my last three days of bad fortune? Thank you.

I was up in Greenhood, er, Greenwood yesterday morning, and trying to get my overtired and crabby son home for a nap. I found myself inching down one of those streets that you Seattleites know well- maybe ten feet wide, with cars parked all the way down on both sides. Ah, yes. An oncoming car tries to parallel park real quick, so I can get through, and he's sticking out just a LITTLE too far. I wanted him to repark to make it a little less tight, but he was adamant about motioning me through. So I slowly worked my way forward.

And this part still baffles me. I could have sworn I had enough clearance as I was passing this large white work van with oversized side mirrors. But obviously, I didn't, because as I crept past him, my passenger-side window LIT-TERALLY exploded into a million pieces. I was so confused about what just happened that I kind of thought someone had shot a gun at my car. I screamed, praying to God that flying glass didn't just hit my baby in the backseat, and pulled as fast as I could into the very next parking lot.

I was so shaken up and scared for Max that I was crying...although he was absolutely fine, and happy as a clam in the backseat. The two guys in the white work van, the guy who had parallel parked poorly, and a random bystander who lived nearby ran over to check on me....and coming upon a crying, emotional woman....all four jumped into superhero-consoling-friendlyneighboroftheyear award. They spelled out what happened, basically, my window tapped that side mirror at a really unfortunate angle, and just broke. Plain and simple. Not a scratch on the van, nothing wrong with anyone, just me with a shattered window. One pointed out that it was a beautiful sunny day, and I really couldn't have better weather for this to happen.

They picked out the remaining glass out of my window, and then a couple of the guys took 30 minutes to vacuum out my entire car. MAJOR SCORE. They all were so great, and offered all these places I could get it fixed, and then I finally made my way home. On the way home I set up an appointment for a car glass company to come fix my car the next afternoon, I parked my car downstairs in the parking garage for safe-keeping, and called it a day. An emotionally exhausting day.

Then came yesterday. At one o'clock, the glass guy showed up a perfect ten minutes early, and I was so excited to get this taken care of! I ran with max down to the garage to pull my car out onto the street....when I discovered my car battery was completely dead. Apparently, I had left a light on inside so the guys could see all the little glass shards as they vacuumed it out. Oh my gosh, I was so mad at myself. I ran out to explain the situation to the glass guy, and apologize my little heart out, and then began asking everyone I saw if they had jumper cables. (because of course, our set is in our other car.) No one did.

So I called up AAA to get someone out to jump my car, and they said they would be an hour.

The nice glass guy was so relaxed about the whole thing that him, Max & I sat outside in the sun and talked about parenting, religion, and world war II. It was actually, a very nice hour, ha.

Finally AAA arrived, it was a quick jump, then I pulled my car out onto the street for the glass guy to do his thing...which he predicted would be a quick 30 minutes.

I took Max back inside for a bit, and was back to feeling good about things on the car front. This would be over soon. About an hour went by, and Max was getting a little crabby. I needed to put him down for a nap, but I knew that Mr. Glassman would need my credit card soon, so I stepped outside again to check on things. I knew things weren't great as he was hunched over the car window, looking a little frustrated. He looked up, and it was his turn to be sorry as he explained he doesn't know what in the world is going on, and the glass was installed, but he could not get the door to open whatsoever. Not from the inside or outside. It was as good as sealed shut. And he broke the inside panel on accident. He promised he would order a new panel as soon as he could.

Um, okay Mr. Glassman. I smiled and said it was totally okay. I'm not going anywhere important today, and he wanted to keep working on it. I'm going to put my kid down now, just let me know if you need anything from me. That's what I told him.

Put Max down, he took a 45 minute nap, and then I let TWENTY more minutes go by...and I'm thinking, sheesh. I still havent heard anything? It's been a whole hour again. So I went BACK outside, and knew the situation had unraveled. The guy was in my driver's seat, on the phone, steam coming out of his ears. No, but seriously. His face was all red, and I think I saw a giant vein sticking out of his forehead. I meekly poked my head in the window and asked if everything was okay.

And this is the part that kills me. He tells me that he undid the door on the driver's side, just to glance at the wiring, and figure out what he did wrong on the other side. He didn't touch any of the wires, he swears. But when he put the driver's door back together, it too won't open from the inside. It opens from the outside! But not the inside. Heaven help me. His shift was up, he really really had to get going, he was sorry to the moon and back, but he really did have to go. He told me I'd have to bring my car up to Speedy Glass on Aurora (this is where I drop their name, because they have to assume by this point that I'm NOT going to be referring people to them), and they would hopefully fix everything then. Or else ship it off to a Honda dealer.

So there it was. My window is installed, my two car doors are broken. Thank you, and amen.

OH WAIT! You thought that was the end? Haha, no no. The story continues today.

Jon had to go to work (normal saturday in busy season), and I really really need to fill my tank with gas and get the post office to mail my mom's birthday present that I've been trying to do, unsuccessfully, for three days. [I'd like to take this moment to say I'm Sorry, Mom.] So what if I can't open my door from the inside? I can roll down my window on this sunny day and reach out and open it. Its running fine, what's a couple broken doors?

Get Max in the car, turn the key aaaand...click click click. Dead as a doornail. I really had to take a deep breath at this point. I had truly been laughing up until now, at my dumb luck, but I wasn't really laughing anymore. Also, I was in the car by this point, and couldn't open my door from the inside. NOR could I roll down the window to open the door, as the battery was COMPLETELY dead. I had to crawl over the backseat, over my confused son and get out thru the back door, call AAA, and wait another hour for them to jump my car.

After starting it, Mr. Jumpman tells me there is something seriously draining my battery. I told him what happened yesterday and how my doors don't work, and he goes, "Ah, yeah. Mr. Glassman left something wrong in there that is draining your battery, and as soon as I turn this back off, it will be dead again." He showed me just so I would believe him. He gave me a little speech to light a fire under me that Speedy Glass better get their "rhymes with glass" out here TODAY to fix this mistake they created. He gave me a sympathetic look, and drove away.

I got on the phone with speedy glass, which was not speedy glass at all, but a call center that they route their calls to on the weekends, because they are closed all weekend. I explained my situation to the girl, who didn't seem to have a lot of sympathy for me. I finally got real with her, and told her to make my problem her problem. I let her know that I have a baby, and ZERO way to get around all weekend (she may be under the impression that I'm a single mom. I didn't really say that, but I guess that's what it sounded like, and I didn't bother to correct her. I kind of wanted the sympathy points). That they turned my simple problem into a completely broken car, that they had the nerve to charge my credit card for the window service, and that I dont care if she had to call someone at home about this, but she'd better.

So she did end up calling the regional manager and left him a voicemail about the gravity of the situation, but I still havent heard anything from anyone. I guess that's where I sit right now. Nowhere really important to run off to, but ticked off just the same.

Anyway, I feel better now that I got that out there. The sun is shining, and most problems are not as bad as they seem when it's warm and sunny out.