My not-so-favorite activity

That would be moving. Oye. I think we can all agree that you  never realize how much stuff you have until you box it up and move it out. We drove to Alaska two and a half years ago pulling a little trailer behind our Subaru.  Whatever we could fit in the wagon and the trailer is all we brought with us.  Seeing as the mattresses essentially took the entire trailer, it really didn't seem like we moved with much at all.  We have tried to be frugal and didn't think we had acquired much in the years we have been here, but apparently the stuff came from somewhere.  Maybe we just hang on to every bit of junk that crosses our path.  But there was a LOT to move.  Henry and I tried our very best to pack things up and move what we could, but with a baby attached to you ability to lift, move, and go in and out of the house/car over and over is limited.  We moved a car full on our own, and the following day with the help of our wonderful friends got another big load to the new house.  It was an interesting sight, as this friend has a baby the same age as Henry.  We spent some time moving, and even more time visiting and playing with babies. This weekend, though, Eric and I hauled every single remaining belonging out and moved it across town.  Except the plants. I think we have to go back for the plants still. As I mentioned earlier, I was emotional about leaving the house but I am feeling very positive now.  This space feels new and fresh, and it was a really good opportunity to see what we own and what we can do without.  We have many boxes to unpack, but with just a few things already in place (our maps, rug, lamps, etc.) it is starting to feel much more like our area.  Pretty good for just two days here!  I'm looking forward to seeing the progress over the next few weeks.  It's a little strange renting a house for a limited period of time because we can never fully make this home, but I think it will be a fun little chapter of our story.  Living on the opposite side of town I feel like I can explore all over again.  There will be new routes to everywhere I go, new places we like to eat, new neighborhoods to walk, a different trail behind the house... I realized just how much that excites me when tonight we went grocery shopping at the store on this end.  It's a little odd how much I love to grocery shop, I love mulling around the store.  It makes me sound a bit dorky which is ok, but I was beyond thrilled when I walked in to a giant bulk section, a big area to make our own peanut/almond butter, a really nice bakery etc.  I was a happy lady.
So that is my little update, I will share some of my favorite parts of the new place soon.  The hardest part of the move is over, and now we are just trying to settle.  I think we will be happy here.
Hope your weekends were beautiful and fun.

Get ready for a lot of pictures of H and B playing during our time "packing"... I believe I did mention that we spent a lot of packing time playing with babies. :)

Riding the bin upstairs to fill it with more stuff!

Packing my hats

Helping with the garbage bag.  See? We were working!

Judging by Henry's face, packing is way more fun when you don't have to do the work!

The Midway Point

I've been a bit quiet this week as things have been a little crazy around here.  We are at the odd stage of moving where there are half-filled boxes all over our house, everything is in a different location that I cannot find, and yet I'm here living like everything is normal and we aren't moving at all. We were supposed to move to a new house across town this past weekend, but Eric had to leave to be with family so Henry and I have been holding down the fort for nearly a week.  I have tried to move things over to the new place, but it's difficult to move boxes with a baby strapped to your chest. We've done what we can, but it should be a very busy few days with Eric home trying to quickly pack the rest of our house and head out. It has been strange spending the last week in our house without the husband. I had imagined it as the three of us together, soaking up all the time left in this house that has become our home.  For the past few years that we have lived here, I have been dreaming of whatever house would come next, and now that we are about to move out of this one, I am feeling sort of emotional.  I know that it's just a house, but it is the house that we brought Henry home to, and the house that has seen his every day since then.  Although cheesy, we became a family here.  I'm still looking forward to the new chapter though, a fresh start in a new place.  There is a large yard, a creek in the back, and nice carpets so should Henry choose to continue launching himself head first off of things like he did today, there will be a soft place to land. Did I mention that? Henry took a spill onto his forehead today while I was at work.  Just a bump, luckily.

In other "news", we took some time this week to get outside and into the mountains. It was a cloudy, rainy day in Anchorage, but when we got above the cloud blanket, it was beautifully sunny, and snow was covering the ground.  Henry was born during one of the last snows of the season, so this was the first time he's seen it when he was able to actually notice.  Friends, I am tired and a bit stressed so before I babble any further, enjoy some photos of the little love.

Comments

I've been told by multiple people this past week that commenting on the blog has been difficult.  I tried to fix that problem tonight.  So if you find yourself writing anything to me, let me know if it works out better than it did previously! I sure hope it does.
Have a wonderful start to the week everyone!

One more little thing

Henry got his first toothbrush and tried it out for the first time tonight. Very exciting, and I now have that as a wonderful distraction for after-bath lotion application and jammies time. He tends to get a little over-tired and cranky when I put lotion on him, but not with a new something to chew in hand!

Let the games begin!

Something new has happened in our house this weekend, making the place a whole lot busier! Mr. Henry is on the move. He hasn't mastered crawling, but he has started to army crawl, and let me tell you, it gets him around plenty fast.  When he's fully up and moving on hands and knees ( he can get up but not move like that) it'll be tough to keep up!  All of a sudden though he is just scooting across the entire room, and the boy is on a mission.  He wants everything.  I have literally been chasing him about (okay, maybe he's not that fast, but much faster than he was when he was just flailing about on the floor!) all the while realizing that baby-proofing needs to take place quickly.  No more loose change around the place, no more small items at all in reach of certain small boys. He became mobile so quickly I'm a little nervous (excited too!) to see how quickly he advances to real crawling.  No doubt that our job just got a bit tougher because he can go where he wants to, but just like every change he makes I'm very excited for him.  The world must seem even more exciting now that he can spot what he wants and go for it. I can't wait to see what interests him. So far only "non-baby" items. Food, drawers, etc...

I absolutely had to include this photo. He was just taking off which is apparently a lot of work. 

Have no fear, my tea was cold and he just wanted to put his mouth on the cup-- he didn't drink it!

Wiped out!

I've Got Em'!

Ever since the first morning I saw a little pinhole in Henry's lower gums, I've been trying to catch a picture of the little teeth that have pushed their way through.  The day he turned six months old I saw the first, and the very next day came the second.  It took no time at all for the teeth to rise to the surface, but waiting for them to come up a bit further has taken longer than I expected.  But a couple of weeks later and here we are, and today I finally got that boy to show off the pearly whites!  Aren't they adorable!? I thought I would be incredibly sad to lose that gummy smile (the majority of it is still fully gummy), but of course now that the teeth are here I'm just tickled pink by them. His smile melts me into a giant baby-loving puddle. I have a feeling it won't be long until the next tooth comes... the chewing/drooling/chin & cheek irritation is still here in full force.  Such a fast growing boy he is!

When I'm Away

I just wanted to share this sweet photo with you all tonight.  While I was at work, Eric sent me this picture of their time at the park down the street from our house, sitting on a hill that overlooks the mountains.
We are very lucky that when I went back to work I was able to go back part time. Toward the end of my maternity leave we still had no clue what we would be doing for child care, and no option seemed to feel like the right fit. It brought many stressful days, tearful fits, and overall anxiety.  For the three half days I'm away at work, we ended up finding a wonderful woman who watches him at her home in an intimate setting with just a few infants.  Tuesdays I work all day, and Eric takes the afternoon off to be with Henry at home.  I feel so blessed that the schedule works well for Henry, and makes us feel comfortable as well.  It has also been so nice for Eric and the babe to have Tuesdays together.  I'm able to enjoy the time at work when I see photos like this, of my boys having fun adventures together while I'm away.

The leaves are falling

And quickly. The termination dust (snow capped mountains) has arrived in the hillside which means that snow will not be far away in the city. We have tried to enjoy every bit of the fresh cool air outside, the crunchy leaves, all the best parts of fall.  Henry already loves the chilly weather and breeze just as much as Eric and I do.  Every time we go outside and the wind gets him in the face, his eyes get huge and a big grin spreads across his face. He often bounces (literally) with pure happiness in our favorite season.  I don't worry about this boy and braving the Alaskan chill that is to come... he's a natural.

I'm sorry, yet again...

Once again, the time has come along for Top Baby Blogs to reset their pages.  If you enjoy this little blog of ours and feel like showing it some love, please click the Top Baby Blogs button on the right of the page, and then hit the owl on the left of the page it leads you to. I would so appreciate any votes so we can stay ranked in this wonderful community of parenting blogs, making it easier to find new friends out there in blog land. You can vote once a day. If you hate what you find here, then feel no pressure to vote. I still love you stopping by anyway.
Thanks all!

Something delicious for your bellies.

I have a new love for curry. I often crave something warm for dinner in the fall, and if it includes pasta and/or tofu, I'm an even happier camper. A friend introduced me to her mother's curry recipe, and I think since my sister in law and I have tampered with it we've lost some of the original touches, but it's turned into a recipe that I love.  To make it even more appealing, it's fast, easy, you can change any and all of the ingredients (different veggies/protein), and makes delicious leftovers. It's my kind of recipe, as I don't like following them too closey.  I usually forget an ingredient or two at the store and I like the option to put whatever is on hand in the dishes.  This is perfect, just toss in what you like. I thought I'd share it with you tonight so that if curry is your thing, you can give this "recipe" a go.  If you're not sure if curry is your thing or not, I encourage you to give it a try.  I make mine very mild, so if you like a bolder flavor add a bit more curry powder than I do. I'd like to share a recipe with you each week, and I hope you'll all leave a comment below and share something with me as well. Don't be shy! I'm inspired by the things other people like, and fall weather makes cooking (and eating!) even more fun.

Please excuse the terrible photos from this dinner. I had just walked in the door from work, and there was a boy who wanted his mama in the next room so I just snapped them quickly. If I made it look disgusting, try it anyway, I assure you it's not.

Yellow Curry: (my loose version of the recipe)

 Ingredients:
1 Potato- I use a large russet or a few smaller potatoes
1 block extra firm organic tofu
A few large carrots
Onion
Spinach- Fresh or frozen
Curry powder
Rice vinegar
Olive oil
1 can coconut milk
1 box whole wheat angel hair pasta, or rice

Chop potato, onion, and carrots into chunks and start to cook on medium-high heat with some olive oil until they soften, turning frequently. I use a separate pan to do the same with bite size pieces of tofu. When they are cooked enough for your taste, combine them together in one pan, and turn the heat down.  This is where I add some spinach, it wilts down quickly, or I just mix in some defrosted spinach if I don't have fresh on hand.

In a bowl, mix together (approximate amounts, change them to suit your tastes) 2 Tblsp olive oil, 2 Tblsp rice vinegar, 1 large Tbsp of curry powder, and one can of coconut milk. Pour into your pan of other goodness.

Serve with whatever you like! I have loved putting it over wheat angel hair pasta, although I know that rice is the more common option. Salt and pepper to taste.

Teensy update about the big guy

You've all probably heard enough about the fact that our big boy is SIX MONTHS OLD!
(Yes, it's absolutely necessary to use that enthusiasm every.single.time. I say SIX MONTHS OLD, because I can hardly believe it!) But yesterday he had his checkup so thought I'd write down the newest on the tyke.
He is 29 inches long (100%) 17 lbs 12 oz (55%) and his big ole head is still way off the charts. That's my boy! (Actually, the head was one of Daddy's contributions) Right, Eric?
He flirted endlessly with the nurse and doctor, and they fell for every minute of it. He's such a good flirt with that big smile.
He had his shots and for the first time didn't react with a fever or fussiness (YAY, because fevers freak me out. every time.)
We chatted about sleep, food (more about that later) etc etc. Henry gifted us all with a wonderful night of sleep after his big day. We are so proud of this little person, the pride just spills from every inch of us.