March 16, 2011

Update

I've gotten in the habit of just posting pictures, because it's easy, but I guess it's time for another update.

Ollie has been learning new things like crazy lately. He still does the army crawl, but is getting around very efficiently. I really have to watch him closely, because of course he never just wants to sit and play with his toys- he's always going for the DVD player, power strip, or most often, Ruby's basket of toys. He must have some kind of special magnet or radar in him that tells him exactly where all of his favorite dog toys are at any given time, because I'll set him down, turn around for literally seconds, and he's made it across the room and located one of the rubber dog bones. I don't know how to keep him away, because at the same time, Ruby will bring her toys over to him, drop them right in front of him, and try to get him to play with her. It's funny, and kind of adorable that they love playing together (he cracks up whenever she comes over to him) but it's pretty gross. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Ollie is also pulling himself up on everything, and has started walking by pulling himself along the couch or the piano bench, or some stable surface. He constantly amazes me with his energy and intensity. If he hones in on something he wants, it's hard to divert his attention. And he usually finds a way to get to whatever it is. I try to let him crawl and walk and pull and climb as much as is safe and my sanity allows because it keeps him happy, and I can see the improvements in his strength and skill every day. This age is so fun.

He loves Cheerios right now, and has just learned how to feed them to Ruby. She knows when it's time to eat, and lurks around the highchair waiting for scraps to fall. But now she isn't just getting the scraps- whatever is in his hand he'll just hand it right to her, and she gobbles it right up. He thinks this is hilarious, probably because it tickles his little hands, but I find it a little counter productive.

I think he's weighing about 17.5 lbs. His hair is coming in thicker, and is still very light blonde. I can only imagine this summer that it will be even more light in the sun.

We've been trying to get out as much as we can now that the weather is getting nicer. We go on jogs, walks with our neighbor friends Heather and Kaden, and yesterday we went to the park. Ollie loved the swings, but I think his favorite thing was trying to get the mulch into his mouth if possible. I took him down the slide, but he wasn't too interested. I think he's waiting for something a bit more extreme. Merry-Go-Round anyone? It's nice to live in a place that has so many sidewalks and paths and parks. There are lots of places for us to go, and new things to see all the time. It's really a lot of fun, and getting out in the sun is such a mood booster after such a long and gloomy winter inside.

Justin is doing great. Running, as I've mentioned before, is his big thing now, specifically training for his marathon in June. When he isn't running, he's usually playing with Ruby. She loves him so much- it's completely adorable. Whenever he's home, she's stuck to him like glue, and always vying for his attention against Ollie or I. She been running with he and I both, and her little paw pads are getting worn down. We've been trying to figure out what to do about it. It's hard to leave her here, because she loves running with us SO MUCH. Justing starts to get dressed in his running shorts, and she is immediately excited to go. When he leaves her, she sits at the door and whines the whole time. So what do we do? Shoes? She never acts like it hurts, limps, licks them, or shows any signs of it bothering her at all.

Anway. Justin's job is going great, and we're still waiting to hear about moving back east. We are REALLY hoping to hear soon. I'm kind of dying from waiting so long. It's very frustrating and hard to be out here in limbo for so long. But we are so thankful in the meantime that Justin has a great job, and one that he loves, and likes the people he works with, and pays enough for us to get by.

Justin and I just got called to teach Temple Prep in our ward, which is really exciting. I'm still playing the piano for the ward choir, but Justin was released as Mission Leader. We are really enjoying getting to study and learn as we teach this class.

I'm doing pretty well. Just trying to stay sane, keep my house clean, and exercise when I can. I'm in the middle of about 4 craft projects and a book, which I will post about if/when I get any of them finished. I just read Unbroken by Laura Hilenbrand, and it was so good that I made Justin read it too. He loved it as much as I did. It's a non-fiction (true story!!) about a WWII bomber whose plane crashes and he floats on a liferaft in the Pacific for 47 days, and is then captured by the Japanese and spends several years in POW camps. It was SO interesting, and was written SO WELL. I would recommend it to anyone. For a non fiction, it was a page turner, and just seriously so interesting.

Right now I'm reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, which is another non-fiction, and is also really interesting. It's a little more heavily laden with scientific info, which makes it slower reading in my opinion. I've been reading a lot since Justin got me my Kindle. It makes me feel a little more human- like I'm using my brain for something besides figuring out how to remove hard water deposits from the sink.

Aside from that, I listen to a lot of public radio (nothing new) and Pandora (Avett Brothers, Griffin House, Eddie Vedder, Bon Iver, Bruno Mars, and Childrens Folk music). I'm excited for watermelons to come back in season.

2 comments:

Vallen Family said...

Now I have a good book to read. :) I just dl the Unbroken book. Hope you guys hear about the job soon.

aunt nancy said...

mmmm...watermelon...