It is holiday season!! We enjoyed our very busy Thanksgiving and learned that Wyatt loves white turkey meat and green bean casserole. Yum! We all especially enjoyed my 5-day weekend. I love extra days to spend with my family!
Now Christmas is approaching and we are ready!! We took a trip to the Wind Song U-Cut Christmas tree farm and got ourselves and beautiful 6ft tree. We've got our outside lights up, stockings are hung, and Christmas cards are sent! The tree needs a few more ornaments, and we need to wrap the gifts to stick under there, but we're looking forward to it! Once again, a 4-day weekend with my family is always welcome!
As I write this, Wyatt is drinking his milk, cuddling with Monkey and watching "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." He's talking like crazy, which I've said in the past but it's even more now! He's trying to learn every word you say and we are trying to teach him! Just this morning he said happy, dog, cat, and bankit (blanket). All new words! He's already well-versed in mama, dada, milk, cheese, please, up, down, ya, cup, banana, apple, apple juice, and more. His recent favorite word, so typical of a one and a half year old, is "no." I don't think it's so bad. He uses it at silly times or at totally applicable times, like "Do you want another bite?"... "No." "Will you help mommy clean up your toys?"... "No." Haha. Stuart hates it!
Speaking of Stuart, he finished up finals this week and he couldn't be more thrilled (or deserving) of a 3-week winter break. He's looking forward to having time off and getting to stay home with Wyatt all the time. And I'm looking forward to him not having to glue himself to the desk doing homework and studying!
I've been working, working, working. The end of the year is very busy, so the days go by quickly! I've also switched to a 4-day work week, so I get an extra day of weekend every week. I love it!! The 10-hour shifts feel long sometimes, but I usually get involved in something and the time flies by. I've been cooking and baking lots and crafted up some Christmas gifts for family. It's been lots of fun and I really enjoy it -- and so do the boys!! Yum!
The Grinch movie is just about over so I better get going before Wyatt notices that I'm on the computer. He'll go bananas!
Much love and Merry Christmas!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Many apologies for the delay in updates. It is our hope that we have finally settled into a routine that will allow us to have more time for visits, play days and of course, blog updates. :) We are going to try a little different format this time, for efficiency!
Wyatt:
He's a bundle of energy and bundle of joy. We have so much fun with him and love watching him learn and grow. He will be 16 months old on November 15th and we can't believe it. He is running and jumping, standing on his tippy toes, turning door knobs, climbing on everything like it's a jungle gym, wrestling with Dad, playing tug of war with Rossi and giving hugs and kisses like they're going out of style. He points at everything he sees, eager to learn new words. His vocabulary is constantly expanding and currently includes words like Mommy, Dad, milk, up, please, thank you, bites, chair, and will repeat most words with his best rendition. It is astonishing how quickly he is learning to talk, scarying Stuart and I into using words like bottom, knuckle head, bozo and dummy. Every bad driver on the road is now called a crazy. I suppose it's for the better ;)
I believe he celebrated his first birthday in my last post, which has been many months by now. He had a fun and festive fourth of July, sporting an "All American Boy" shirt with red, white and blue shorts. He walked perfectly down the aisle as the ring bearer at our wedding and proceeded to play and dance the afternoon away, just like the rest of the guests. He spent a week jumping from each grandparent's house while Stuart and I spent time together on our honeymoon. He spent a Saturday at the Portland Zoo, where the animals were awake and playful, which made the visit even more fun for everyone. He especially liked the monkeys (of course) and the sea otters! I took him to the pumpkin patch with my friends Shannon and Kristi and his friend Hayden (Shannon's daughter). He ran around through the hay maze, laughed at the goats and chickens, and crawled through the above ground tunnels. He decorated a pumpkin with felt stickers -- a gift from our friends Jacob and Marisol. We took him to Disney on Ice: Toy Story 3 where he danced his little heart out and watched the entire show with perfect behavior. He loved it! He celebrated his second Halloween by dressing as a skeleton and running rampant around the apartment complex, on the play structure, and even trick-or-treating the apartment office, receiving a bag of goodies and a plastic spider toy. This weekend he'll get to play at PDX Playdate in Portland, a giant indoor jungle gym, where the other parents in my office are having a small get together. I'll bring updates on that next post:)
He spends several hours each day, 4 days a week with a family friend of mine and Stuarts. She and her 19-month old daughter, Aubrey come over to watch Wyatt while Stuart is in class. Aubrey and Wyatt have become the best of friends and we look forward to them growing up together!
Stuart:
Since my last post, Stuart has continued to enjoy his time as a stay at home dad. He was also to leave his job at Target to pursue something more relevant to his field of study -- Civil Engineering. He is currently taking preliminary classes and preparing to enter an intensive Civil Engineering program at Portland State University. He is working hard in school, taking an advanced calculus class and an advanced physics with calculus class. I do not envy him. Those were my worst subjects! He is doing well and we are very proud of him.
Sara:
I finished out my time at PacificSource as a Wellness Intern in mid-August. After applying, I as offered a fantastic job at ODS Health Companies as a Health Promotion and Quality Improvement Specialist. I have been at ODS for 3 months now and continue to enjoy my position. I work on projects and programs that promote health and preventive care for our members. I am so blessed to have found such a wonderful job that I enjoy AND get to do what I went to school for. It has been an incredible learning opportunity and I look forward to making a career out of it.
Family:
As many of you know, we were married on August 27th and made it legally official that we are now the Smith Family. Our wedding was simple, beautiful and oh so much fun. We are so happy that we could share such a special day with such special people. As I mentioned, Wyatt spent the week with grandparents so Stuart and I could take a much needed and hard-earned vacation to the Caribbean. We took a Carnival cruise to the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and Grand Turk. It was absolutely beautiful and relaxing. Although we missed Wyatt terribly, we had a fantastic time and arrived home happy, well-fed, tan and exhausted.
We also moved from our Newberg place to a place all our own in Tigard. It has cut mine and Stuart's commutes in half. It's a cozy little apartment nestled off Durham Rd. and Hwy 99W, but we love it. Our neighbors are great, the management is nice, and Wyatt can run anywhere and everywhere without being out of our sight. One of the best perks -- it's less to clean! :) We just got all settled in this past weekend and hope to have a drop-in style open house in the next several weekends.
I am looking into a photo uploading site, so I can share all of our family photos with you, even those of you without Facebook! If you do have Facebook, watch out there for photo updates on there. I will keep you all posted if I find time to get going on a photoshare site!
We'll be sending out Christmas cards again this year to family and close friends. If you'd like to ensure that you'll receive one, please let me know and confirm that we have the most updated address for you!
Love from Stuart and I, Hugs and Kisses from Mr. Wyatt!
Wyatt:
He's a bundle of energy and bundle of joy. We have so much fun with him and love watching him learn and grow. He will be 16 months old on November 15th and we can't believe it. He is running and jumping, standing on his tippy toes, turning door knobs, climbing on everything like it's a jungle gym, wrestling with Dad, playing tug of war with Rossi and giving hugs and kisses like they're going out of style. He points at everything he sees, eager to learn new words. His vocabulary is constantly expanding and currently includes words like Mommy, Dad, milk, up, please, thank you, bites, chair, and will repeat most words with his best rendition. It is astonishing how quickly he is learning to talk, scarying Stuart and I into using words like bottom, knuckle head, bozo and dummy. Every bad driver on the road is now called a crazy. I suppose it's for the better ;)
I believe he celebrated his first birthday in my last post, which has been many months by now. He had a fun and festive fourth of July, sporting an "All American Boy" shirt with red, white and blue shorts. He walked perfectly down the aisle as the ring bearer at our wedding and proceeded to play and dance the afternoon away, just like the rest of the guests. He spent a week jumping from each grandparent's house while Stuart and I spent time together on our honeymoon. He spent a Saturday at the Portland Zoo, where the animals were awake and playful, which made the visit even more fun for everyone. He especially liked the monkeys (of course) and the sea otters! I took him to the pumpkin patch with my friends Shannon and Kristi and his friend Hayden (Shannon's daughter). He ran around through the hay maze, laughed at the goats and chickens, and crawled through the above ground tunnels. He decorated a pumpkin with felt stickers -- a gift from our friends Jacob and Marisol. We took him to Disney on Ice: Toy Story 3 where he danced his little heart out and watched the entire show with perfect behavior. He loved it! He celebrated his second Halloween by dressing as a skeleton and running rampant around the apartment complex, on the play structure, and even trick-or-treating the apartment office, receiving a bag of goodies and a plastic spider toy. This weekend he'll get to play at PDX Playdate in Portland, a giant indoor jungle gym, where the other parents in my office are having a small get together. I'll bring updates on that next post:)
He spends several hours each day, 4 days a week with a family friend of mine and Stuarts. She and her 19-month old daughter, Aubrey come over to watch Wyatt while Stuart is in class. Aubrey and Wyatt have become the best of friends and we look forward to them growing up together!
Stuart:
Since my last post, Stuart has continued to enjoy his time as a stay at home dad. He was also to leave his job at Target to pursue something more relevant to his field of study -- Civil Engineering. He is currently taking preliminary classes and preparing to enter an intensive Civil Engineering program at Portland State University. He is working hard in school, taking an advanced calculus class and an advanced physics with calculus class. I do not envy him. Those were my worst subjects! He is doing well and we are very proud of him.
Sara:
I finished out my time at PacificSource as a Wellness Intern in mid-August. After applying, I as offered a fantastic job at ODS Health Companies as a Health Promotion and Quality Improvement Specialist. I have been at ODS for 3 months now and continue to enjoy my position. I work on projects and programs that promote health and preventive care for our members. I am so blessed to have found such a wonderful job that I enjoy AND get to do what I went to school for. It has been an incredible learning opportunity and I look forward to making a career out of it.
Family:
As many of you know, we were married on August 27th and made it legally official that we are now the Smith Family. Our wedding was simple, beautiful and oh so much fun. We are so happy that we could share such a special day with such special people. As I mentioned, Wyatt spent the week with grandparents so Stuart and I could take a much needed and hard-earned vacation to the Caribbean. We took a Carnival cruise to the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and Grand Turk. It was absolutely beautiful and relaxing. Although we missed Wyatt terribly, we had a fantastic time and arrived home happy, well-fed, tan and exhausted.
We also moved from our Newberg place to a place all our own in Tigard. It has cut mine and Stuart's commutes in half. It's a cozy little apartment nestled off Durham Rd. and Hwy 99W, but we love it. Our neighbors are great, the management is nice, and Wyatt can run anywhere and everywhere without being out of our sight. One of the best perks -- it's less to clean! :) We just got all settled in this past weekend and hope to have a drop-in style open house in the next several weekends.
I am looking into a photo uploading site, so I can share all of our family photos with you, even those of you without Facebook! If you do have Facebook, watch out there for photo updates on there. I will keep you all posted if I find time to get going on a photoshare site!
We'll be sending out Christmas cards again this year to family and close friends. If you'd like to ensure that you'll receive one, please let me know and confirm that we have the most updated address for you!
Love from Stuart and I, Hugs and Kisses from Mr. Wyatt!
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Channges -- for the better!
Greetings all!
I realize it has been a while since I last posted, but things have been a little crazy around here!
We are all settled in Newberg now, so things are starting to die down.
Since my last post, Wyatt has celebrated his 1st birthday! We had a great time with family and friends. He was a little overwhelmed by all the people and attention and shy about the cupcake, but he ended up devouring it and loves all his gifts! The kid has so many toys! And clothes!
He is now running, climbing up and down stairs, pushing all the buttons he can find, and learning how to listen! Yes, listen! When you ask him to come here, put that back, sit down, etc. It glorious! Of course, sometimes he chooses not to listen but the way he understands is exciting. He is also learning new words, like he's said puppy and said cookie yesterday. He mostly just babbles, but when he repeats something you say it is still exciting!
He is still home during the day with Stuart, and they have been able to bond so much through that time together. We are so grateful that we've gotten to spend so much time with him in his first year. He'll head to daycare here at the end of September, which we think will be great for him and help him learn how to play with other kids, share, be on a schedule, interact with people he's not familiar with, etc. It will be a great experience! It's tough to be away from him, but the separation is part of life!
Stuart is currently working early mornings at Target until the wedding and looking for a part time position in a field relevant to his field of study -- civil engineering. He'll go back to school at the end of September to go to work on a Bachelor's degree in engineering. We are very excited to be able to get Stuart back in school and look forward to all his hard work paying off!
I've finished my time at PacificSource Health Plans and officially graduated from Oregon State. IT FEELS GREAT!! I am leaving PacificSource a big early on account of a job offer from ODS! PacificSource was very understanding and encouraging with no hard feelings on my desire to leave early. I will be starting at ODS Health Inc. on Monday, working at their downtown Portland office as a Health Promotion and Quality Improvement Specialist. Yes -- a REAL job with no affixed end date! I am feeling so very blessed and can't express how great it feels to have the hard work pay off. College is worth it!! (And we knew it would be!!)
On account of the new job, we'll begin apartment-hunting when we return from the honeymoon. We are looking to move to Tigard or SW Portland, which will be the easiest commute to work and still allow us to be close to 99W so we can get to family in McMinnville (& Dundee) and close to I5 to reach family in Woodburn and Canby. It's a great area, and we are excited to start the search and find a new home to get settled in.
Speaking of honeymooning -- the wedding is in two weeks! Everything is pretty much done with just a few little details left to tend to. It is great to have everything finished so far in advance, which was my goal! Keeping stress low and leaving lots of time to spend as a family. We're honeymooning on a cruise to the Eastern Caribbean, which we'll leave for late Saturday night and return the following Sunday -- then that Monday is Labor Day so we get an extra day of vacation for free! Woohoo!
We are so excited for how far we've come and what lies ahead :)
I promise to give photos soon, but here is a link to the online album of the photos we had done for Wyatt's first birthday!
http://albums.phanfare.com/isolated/p1vBO7sM/1/5195754
I realize it has been a while since I last posted, but things have been a little crazy around here!
We are all settled in Newberg now, so things are starting to die down.
Since my last post, Wyatt has celebrated his 1st birthday! We had a great time with family and friends. He was a little overwhelmed by all the people and attention and shy about the cupcake, but he ended up devouring it and loves all his gifts! The kid has so many toys! And clothes!
He is now running, climbing up and down stairs, pushing all the buttons he can find, and learning how to listen! Yes, listen! When you ask him to come here, put that back, sit down, etc. It glorious! Of course, sometimes he chooses not to listen but the way he understands is exciting. He is also learning new words, like he's said puppy and said cookie yesterday. He mostly just babbles, but when he repeats something you say it is still exciting!
He is still home during the day with Stuart, and they have been able to bond so much through that time together. We are so grateful that we've gotten to spend so much time with him in his first year. He'll head to daycare here at the end of September, which we think will be great for him and help him learn how to play with other kids, share, be on a schedule, interact with people he's not familiar with, etc. It will be a great experience! It's tough to be away from him, but the separation is part of life!
Stuart is currently working early mornings at Target until the wedding and looking for a part time position in a field relevant to his field of study -- civil engineering. He'll go back to school at the end of September to go to work on a Bachelor's degree in engineering. We are very excited to be able to get Stuart back in school and look forward to all his hard work paying off!
I've finished my time at PacificSource Health Plans and officially graduated from Oregon State. IT FEELS GREAT!! I am leaving PacificSource a big early on account of a job offer from ODS! PacificSource was very understanding and encouraging with no hard feelings on my desire to leave early. I will be starting at ODS Health Inc. on Monday, working at their downtown Portland office as a Health Promotion and Quality Improvement Specialist. Yes -- a REAL job with no affixed end date! I am feeling so very blessed and can't express how great it feels to have the hard work pay off. College is worth it!! (And we knew it would be!!)
On account of the new job, we'll begin apartment-hunting when we return from the honeymoon. We are looking to move to Tigard or SW Portland, which will be the easiest commute to work and still allow us to be close to 99W so we can get to family in McMinnville (& Dundee) and close to I5 to reach family in Woodburn and Canby. It's a great area, and we are excited to start the search and find a new home to get settled in.
Speaking of honeymooning -- the wedding is in two weeks! Everything is pretty much done with just a few little details left to tend to. It is great to have everything finished so far in advance, which was my goal! Keeping stress low and leaving lots of time to spend as a family. We're honeymooning on a cruise to the Eastern Caribbean, which we'll leave for late Saturday night and return the following Sunday -- then that Monday is Labor Day so we get an extra day of vacation for free! Woohoo!
We are so excited for how far we've come and what lies ahead :)
I promise to give photos soon, but here is a link to the online album of the photos we had done for Wyatt's first birthday!
http://albums.phanfare.com/isolated/p1vBO7sM/1/5195754
Monday, July 4, 2011
New Job, New House, New Life
Well, a lot has changed since I've written! I graduated from OSU on June 11th. We moved later that day with a tremendous amount of help from my dad, my Uncle Kevin, and my cousin Emma. Upon arriving in Newberg, we immediately left to meet our friends Trevor and Tirzah for dinner at Henry's in Portland. After dinner, more and more friends arrives to celebrate Stuart and I's move an hour closer to all of them (and my graduation, supposedly!) It was an awesome night and great to see all the friends we'd lived so far from for the past year. Sunday morning we woke up to a home in boxes. We began the unpacking process and tried to get settled as much as we could. Throughout the week, we spent time unpacking, visiting friends, running errands and seeing family. The week flew by before I could blink an eye. Saturday, June 18th was my best friend's bridal shower, which occupied the majority of my day in helping to set up, clean up, and post-shower bridesmaids discussions about the planning of her bachelorette party. Sunday June 19th, we had both sides of the family over for a delicious BBQ in celebration of my graduation. It was a wonderful time but how exhausting it is to host family events! Thank goodness for mothers and [future] mother-in-laws who are so willing to help with everything. And yes, the part you've all been waiting for, on Monday, June 20th, I started my new job!
To answer your most pressing question -- I love it. For those of you who don't already know, I took a temporary position at PacificSource Health Plans in Tigard. My position runs from June to October with the possibility of being pulled on full time at the close. It is an amazing opportunity, and I am so grateful to have been able to find work right out of school. We have been so blessed and that carries even more so into how great the job is. The people I work with are so welcoming and kind. The work I do is in the prevention of injury and illness, which is EXACTLY what I went to school for. I love it! The only negatives about my job are not even negatives! Working 8-5 at an office/desk job is a huge adjustment to make out of college, but I can go in early and leave early whenever I want to. I can take my breaks and my lunch whenever I'd like. I walk laps around the office every hour just to stay loose and awake, and no one minds. Usually people stop me to say hi and talk! While the hours are a huge adjustment, it's life and it's what the real world is like, so it's just something I'm working on getting used to! The only other negative is that it's not a permanent position! Yet :) I am really praying it will turn into a job I can spend some years doing.
Now, for what I'm actually doing at work! It's lengthy to explain unless you can put an accurate meaning to the word "wellness." Wellness is basically what my degree is in and it's what I work on 8 hours a day. I have revamped and started a fruit and veggie challenge in the office called the 5 A Day Challenge. PacSource has done it in year's past but I made a few changes and started it up again this year with the employees. It's basically a competition to eat your fruits and vegetables! With that, I wrote a webpage for the program and created a segment to offer it to the PacSource members as well. I create workplace wellness programs to add to the PacificSource catalog, which they offer to the employers who insure through them. I've researched other insurance companies' wellness programs, done cold calling to set up wellness talks, and done data entry from surveys collected on a program offered last year. I'm involved in committees that plan events like Balloons Over Bend (which I go there too late to be really involved in), Race for the Cure, Shades of Pink, etc.
Like I said, it's difficult to explain, but I guess the important part is how much I like it there!
Stuart's working at the Target in Sherwood right now, still doing the really early morning stuff. He goes back to school in September to go back to work on his engineering degree! I am really excited for him and so grateful that he was willing to put his degree on hold so he could support us while I finished mine!
We've stopped unpacking because we're currently looking into an apartment complex in Tigard. We were only going to be in Newberg until February as it was, so we decided we would rather move again while everything was still in boxes instead of getting settled and then packing up again! If we do move to the Tigard complex, we plan to be there for a while and we are VERY excited about that!
This weekend I spent Saturday helping my dear friend get settled into her new apartment, then yesterday we were apartment shopping, and to a bbq. Today we will being laying low so hopefully Wyatt can beat the cold he's been battling!
I'm really distracted watching both Wyatt and Hayden (roommate, Shannon's daughter) so I'm sorry if the writing quality is below par.
Wyatt says: "¿L…≥÷
Remember his birthday party will be cake and ice cream at our house Sunday, July 10th at 2:00pm! He's going to be ONE YEAR OLD! craazyyy
I just realized I didn't write any update on him. He is walking like a champ. Talking tons (syllables and crazy talk of course). He says mama and dada like a pro and talks to his other baby friends like they have their own special language. He's in 12-18 month clothes and growing fast fast fast! He's got quite an attitude and knows what he wants. One moment he just wants you to hold him and the next he just wants you to put him down and let him go! His hair is getting a little unruly, but I just can't part with his long beautiful locks! I think he'll get a haircut this week :)
Sorry for the quick update! I know Wyatt is really the one you're interested in ;) I've gotta go because the kids are getting a little rambunctious! Love you all and look forward to hopefully seeing you Sunday!
To answer your most pressing question -- I love it. For those of you who don't already know, I took a temporary position at PacificSource Health Plans in Tigard. My position runs from June to October with the possibility of being pulled on full time at the close. It is an amazing opportunity, and I am so grateful to have been able to find work right out of school. We have been so blessed and that carries even more so into how great the job is. The people I work with are so welcoming and kind. The work I do is in the prevention of injury and illness, which is EXACTLY what I went to school for. I love it! The only negatives about my job are not even negatives! Working 8-5 at an office/desk job is a huge adjustment to make out of college, but I can go in early and leave early whenever I want to. I can take my breaks and my lunch whenever I'd like. I walk laps around the office every hour just to stay loose and awake, and no one minds. Usually people stop me to say hi and talk! While the hours are a huge adjustment, it's life and it's what the real world is like, so it's just something I'm working on getting used to! The only other negative is that it's not a permanent position! Yet :) I am really praying it will turn into a job I can spend some years doing.
Now, for what I'm actually doing at work! It's lengthy to explain unless you can put an accurate meaning to the word "wellness." Wellness is basically what my degree is in and it's what I work on 8 hours a day. I have revamped and started a fruit and veggie challenge in the office called the 5 A Day Challenge. PacSource has done it in year's past but I made a few changes and started it up again this year with the employees. It's basically a competition to eat your fruits and vegetables! With that, I wrote a webpage for the program and created a segment to offer it to the PacSource members as well. I create workplace wellness programs to add to the PacificSource catalog, which they offer to the employers who insure through them. I've researched other insurance companies' wellness programs, done cold calling to set up wellness talks, and done data entry from surveys collected on a program offered last year. I'm involved in committees that plan events like Balloons Over Bend (which I go there too late to be really involved in), Race for the Cure, Shades of Pink, etc.
Like I said, it's difficult to explain, but I guess the important part is how much I like it there!
Stuart's working at the Target in Sherwood right now, still doing the really early morning stuff. He goes back to school in September to go back to work on his engineering degree! I am really excited for him and so grateful that he was willing to put his degree on hold so he could support us while I finished mine!
We've stopped unpacking because we're currently looking into an apartment complex in Tigard. We were only going to be in Newberg until February as it was, so we decided we would rather move again while everything was still in boxes instead of getting settled and then packing up again! If we do move to the Tigard complex, we plan to be there for a while and we are VERY excited about that!
This weekend I spent Saturday helping my dear friend get settled into her new apartment, then yesterday we were apartment shopping, and to a bbq. Today we will being laying low so hopefully Wyatt can beat the cold he's been battling!
I'm really distracted watching both Wyatt and Hayden (roommate, Shannon's daughter) so I'm sorry if the writing quality is below par.
Wyatt says: "¿L…≥÷
Remember his birthday party will be cake and ice cream at our house Sunday, July 10th at 2:00pm! He's going to be ONE YEAR OLD! craazyyy
I just realized I didn't write any update on him. He is walking like a champ. Talking tons (syllables and crazy talk of course). He says mama and dada like a pro and talks to his other baby friends like they have their own special language. He's in 12-18 month clothes and growing fast fast fast! He's got quite an attitude and knows what he wants. One moment he just wants you to hold him and the next he just wants you to put him down and let him go! His hair is getting a little unruly, but I just can't part with his long beautiful locks! I think he'll get a haircut this week :)
Sorry for the quick update! I know Wyatt is really the one you're interested in ;) I've gotta go because the kids are getting a little rambunctious! Love you all and look forward to hopefully seeing you Sunday!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Holy June!
Once again, I can't believe how fast time is flying. In the midst of our busy life, it feels like there is never enough time in the day, and as the end of each month approaches, I can't believe it's over already. Wyatt hit the 10 month mark this month, and he's rapidly approaching independence. As I posted a few weeks ago, he started walking on Mother's Day, and he's only getting better at it. He's walking all over the living room now, and although he's still pretty wobbly, I believe he's graduated into toddler-hood. It is amazing and so much fun to watch him grow and learn! He is saying more syllabus and loves repeating what Daddy says, or at least trying. At his last doctor's appointment, he was 31" tall and almost 23lbs. I'd imagine he's grown quite a bit since then, especially considering he's in 18-month onsies and 12-month pants and shirts. Such a big boy! We've also finally gotten him to start wearing shoes.. sort of. He hates shoes. He kicks and pulls until he gets them off and usually his socks come off with them. Our latest attempt at protecting those little walking feet -- sandals! His feet must have just enough room to wiggle because he doesn't mind them at all. Fortunately, summer is approaching, so we don't really have to convince him to wear shoes for another several months. Score!
He is fascinated with all things that are not designed to be toys, which I suppose is typical of a little one. This morning he spent 20 minutes playing with my deodorant. I think he thought the twisting knob at the bottom was pretty awesome. He loves Rossi, which includes watching her roam, yanking her fur, and playing tug of war with her rope toy. Rossi is completely tolerant of the not-so-fun playing and already knows to play extra gentle with the kind of playing she loves. I think they'll be the best of friends.
We are packing and gearing up to move here in about 2-3 weeks, and we've been taking car loads of boxes every time we visit up north. My good friend Shannon, her 14-month old daughter Hayden, and their dog Rogue will be living with us while Shannon's husband, Zac is serving overseas in Afghanistan. During out last visit, Hayden and Wyatt traded pacifiers within about 5 minutes of us being there (gross!), and they are already learning to share. We hope they will get along great and be able to play together through the next several months.
Packing and moving, to me, means graduation. I couldn't be more excited! I still have my cap sitting above where I work, so I always have a little extra motivation to finish out these last 2 weeks strong. Yes, 2 weeks from tomorrow, I will be done done done! I have some pretty hefty assignments lying between me and that finish line, but I can see the finish line tape, and that's the best incentive ever!
I also have a job lined up at PacificSource Health Plans up in Tigard. The position is a temp job running through October, after which we'll see if they have a place for me! I'll be working as a Wellness Specialist, organizing wellness events and programs, serving on the wellness committee, evaluating existing programs, developing a "Wellness Challenge" for employees and members, and doing other various office work and networking. My work with Public Health Club and Public Health Week played a huge role in my getting this position, and I will be doing a lot of the same types of things, so I am excited to get started. I plan to kick booty and make it so they can't live without me by October's end!
Stuart has eagerly and excitedly put in his 2 weeks notice at Togo's and TJMaxx, and he applied for a transfer to the Sherwood Target. Much to my surprise, he actually likes the Target job! He says that although he hates waking up at 3am, he likes that he gets to have work out of the way by 9am, and he gets paid pretty well. Personally, I think he also likes that he doesn't have to socialize or interact with customers because no one is awake at 3am! Either way, we are so proud of him for all his hard work and his willingness to provide for our little family. He has already gotten another jot to replace his Target work and the other places he's leaving, but he's currently waiting for one of the positions to open up that offers full time and benefits. We are told it won't be long!
He'll be returning to school in the fall, heading to PCC to brush up on math and physics before he heads to PSU to finish out his engineering degree. He is anxious to go back to school, and I can see the ambition flowing from him! He selflessly offered to stop going to school and provide for us while I finish school, so it is my turn to do the same while he finishes up! I think he's also thrilled to spend more time with Wyatt. (Especially time that he's not completely sleep deprived!)
Just a few side notes before I close out this posting and get back to that paper (which I'm 85% done with, by the way!)--
1. If anyone is coming down for graduation and has a truck, I would love for you to bring it! We are trying to make our whole move in one trip without renting a U-haul. We'll have everything packed and in a pile waiting for the move, so it will just be loading, driving, and unloading. We'd really appreciate the help! Trailers are great too. We just have couches, dressers, tvs, and beds that require space!
2. My graduation party is officially scheduled for Sunday, June 19th. It's mostly just family, but if any friends want to join us, you're welcome to. It will be in the afternoon, I think I wrote 2-5 on the invites. Yes, I realize that's Father's Day, and we will probably celebrate that too! It's potluck style, so bring a dish! We'll have burgers, but all the sides are up to you guys.
3. Wyatt's birthday is also officially scheduled and will be on Sunday, July 10th from 2:00-5:00pm. Invitations will go out to family via snail mail sometime next month, but friends and social-networking-savvy family members can also RSVP to our Facebook event at https://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=hp#!/event.php?eid=211246302243451. It looks like it will be a full house, so if you have lawn chairs, please bring them! We'll probably be spending most of our time outside. We'll have desserts and small snacks, so eat lunch before you head over!
Love you all and can't wait to live a bit closer to our friends and family.
Wyatt's zillions of videos just take too long to upload to this blog, so I managed to uncover an old YouTube account, and I'll be uploading them there from now on and just posting the links!
Until next time...
VIDEOS -
Walking: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHr8m-Hugd8
High Fiving: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AQ4F7kjSuA
Knockover: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEcht51GSSk
Playing catch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8eBtezqIBA
Riding his new bike: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFOEkGqCL20
Loving cantaloupe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwnwhdRiTW8
PICTURES -
(most of these are from the first week of May. I haven't been able to upload more recently than that!)
He is fascinated with all things that are not designed to be toys, which I suppose is typical of a little one. This morning he spent 20 minutes playing with my deodorant. I think he thought the twisting knob at the bottom was pretty awesome. He loves Rossi, which includes watching her roam, yanking her fur, and playing tug of war with her rope toy. Rossi is completely tolerant of the not-so-fun playing and already knows to play extra gentle with the kind of playing she loves. I think they'll be the best of friends.
We are packing and gearing up to move here in about 2-3 weeks, and we've been taking car loads of boxes every time we visit up north. My good friend Shannon, her 14-month old daughter Hayden, and their dog Rogue will be living with us while Shannon's husband, Zac is serving overseas in Afghanistan. During out last visit, Hayden and Wyatt traded pacifiers within about 5 minutes of us being there (gross!), and they are already learning to share. We hope they will get along great and be able to play together through the next several months.
Packing and moving, to me, means graduation. I couldn't be more excited! I still have my cap sitting above where I work, so I always have a little extra motivation to finish out these last 2 weeks strong. Yes, 2 weeks from tomorrow, I will be done done done! I have some pretty hefty assignments lying between me and that finish line, but I can see the finish line tape, and that's the best incentive ever!
I also have a job lined up at PacificSource Health Plans up in Tigard. The position is a temp job running through October, after which we'll see if they have a place for me! I'll be working as a Wellness Specialist, organizing wellness events and programs, serving on the wellness committee, evaluating existing programs, developing a "Wellness Challenge" for employees and members, and doing other various office work and networking. My work with Public Health Club and Public Health Week played a huge role in my getting this position, and I will be doing a lot of the same types of things, so I am excited to get started. I plan to kick booty and make it so they can't live without me by October's end!
Stuart has eagerly and excitedly put in his 2 weeks notice at Togo's and TJMaxx, and he applied for a transfer to the Sherwood Target. Much to my surprise, he actually likes the Target job! He says that although he hates waking up at 3am, he likes that he gets to have work out of the way by 9am, and he gets paid pretty well. Personally, I think he also likes that he doesn't have to socialize or interact with customers because no one is awake at 3am! Either way, we are so proud of him for all his hard work and his willingness to provide for our little family. He has already gotten another jot to replace his Target work and the other places he's leaving, but he's currently waiting for one of the positions to open up that offers full time and benefits. We are told it won't be long!
He'll be returning to school in the fall, heading to PCC to brush up on math and physics before he heads to PSU to finish out his engineering degree. He is anxious to go back to school, and I can see the ambition flowing from him! He selflessly offered to stop going to school and provide for us while I finish school, so it is my turn to do the same while he finishes up! I think he's also thrilled to spend more time with Wyatt. (Especially time that he's not completely sleep deprived!)
Just a few side notes before I close out this posting and get back to that paper (which I'm 85% done with, by the way!)--
1. If anyone is coming down for graduation and has a truck, I would love for you to bring it! We are trying to make our whole move in one trip without renting a U-haul. We'll have everything packed and in a pile waiting for the move, so it will just be loading, driving, and unloading. We'd really appreciate the help! Trailers are great too. We just have couches, dressers, tvs, and beds that require space!
2. My graduation party is officially scheduled for Sunday, June 19th. It's mostly just family, but if any friends want to join us, you're welcome to. It will be in the afternoon, I think I wrote 2-5 on the invites. Yes, I realize that's Father's Day, and we will probably celebrate that too! It's potluck style, so bring a dish! We'll have burgers, but all the sides are up to you guys.
3. Wyatt's birthday is also officially scheduled and will be on Sunday, July 10th from 2:00-5:00pm. Invitations will go out to family via snail mail sometime next month, but friends and social-networking-savvy family members can also RSVP to our Facebook event at https://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=hp#!/event.php?eid=211246302243451. It looks like it will be a full house, so if you have lawn chairs, please bring them! We'll probably be spending most of our time outside. We'll have desserts and small snacks, so eat lunch before you head over!
Love you all and can't wait to live a bit closer to our friends and family.
Wyatt's zillions of videos just take too long to upload to this blog, so I managed to uncover an old YouTube account, and I'll be uploading them there from now on and just posting the links!
Until next time...
VIDEOS -
Walking: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHr8m-Hugd8
High Fiving: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AQ4F7kjSuA
Knockover: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEcht51GSSk
Playing catch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8eBtezqIBA
Riding his new bike: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFOEkGqCL20
Loving cantaloupe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwnwhdRiTW8
PICTURES -
(most of these are from the first week of May. I haven't been able to upload more recently than that!)
 |
| He loved playing in the big box. |
 |
| Just being the cutest baby alive. No biggie! |
 |
| Lunch with Great Grandma and Grandpa, Mom (me) and Wyatt. |
 |
| He loved Great Grandpa's rocking chair from when He was little! |
 |
| He also couldn't get enough of Great Grandpas cars! |
 |
| CHEESE! |
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| Mama and Wyatt on Mother's Day |
Monday, May 9, 2011
Official Adult!
As if having a baby, living with Stuart, graduating from college, and getting married weren't enough to qualify me, I received an official job offer today from PacificSource Health Plans in Tigard! This means that I am a REAL LIVE GROWN UP headed into the REAL WORLD with a JOB! I am very excited to be so fortunate, considering the job market right now, and I can't wait to finish up school and get started on a 9am-5pm, NO HOMEWORK type of lifestyle! :)
Sunday, May 8, 2011
And we're walkin'...!
I just wanted to share my exciting Mother's Day gift. More updates will come soon, I promise!
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