A Trip For Two: What Grace Did

Now, I wish I could have been a fly on the wall for the days that Grace was home without us while we were in Montreal, eating up her time with her beloved Nana and Papa. But these pictures will have to suffice. I'm sure there were things we weren't told, but what I do know is there was play dough for the first time, lots of trips to the playground, lots of swimming in the backyard baby pool, and a bin of dried rice and beans with small plastic animals hidden in it (which apparently is more fun than any expensive toy you could buy). I think a good time was had by all.

We interupt this program...

I think the cat is out of the bag and everybody knows, but in case we missed you, I am pregnant again! My due date is officially April 6th (although as usual I have some issues with how they arrived at this date). I am well into maternity clothes, and have been for a few weeks, unlike last time where I was in my second trimester before I darkened the halls of the maternity department at the stores. I have had two good days in a row (sorry, Steph) and am wondering if the sickies are starting to be behind me. Last night I actually ate half a chicken breast (in addition to many other things, but meat as of late has been revolting). Grace has no clue what is in store for her in six months, and I am kind of wandering the same thing about us. Dixie is probably the most prepared out of all of us this time because now she has been around so many babies with our weekly bible study at our house.

As a side note- Erik, unfortunately, is not quite done with his exams yet. In fact, at this very moment his is hunched over his books at the dining room table. He took one exam in May and passed (woo hoo!) and has his last one in November. Then he will be done, Lord willing. These two exams are for his final degree, his EA, which allows him to sign off on government work. And then I think he might be better decorated than anyone in his office.

A Trip For Two: What Mommmy and Daddy Did

At the end of August, Erik and I went to Montreal- sans Grace! When we first started planning the trip months ago, I was paranoid. Five whole days without Grace? We had only been apart for hours at a time since she was born. Sick, I know. At Erik's insistance (I'll admit, I was on the fence) we planned the trip for just the two of us. The purpose was two fold. Erik had to go a for an ethics seminar (a joke for anyone who knows Erik well) as the last requirement for his FSA (Fellow of the Society of Actuaries) degree. So we tacked on a few days and made a trip of it. A little fun, a little work (Ok, all fun for me). At the end of the seminar, there was a graduation ceremony and dinner.
We did things on the trip that we used to do without much thought . Went out for dinner, and actually took more than 20 minutes to eat because there wasn't a toddler to watch. Had adult converstaions- for an equally long period of time. Rented bikes and rode to a market, picked up strawberries, croisants and cheese for lunch then rode for several hours and stopped at a park to eat. Stayed out past 8 o'clock! Slept in past 7am. Needless to say, it was a grand time.

And I just want to say again, for the millionth time, how proud I am of Erik. Only those who have really gone through it can know how much work it takes to get this degree. He often says it is like having a full time job working 50 hours a week, and going to grad school full time. You get the idea. He has been studying since we first got married. Six years of hard work. Congratulations sweetie!

A bonus post!

Today as we were running errands, we drove by a place where they were doing construction. There was a backhoe digging in the ground, and from the back seat comes "short!" or "wart!". I had no idea what she was saying until I looked to see what she was pointing at: the backhoe. She was calling it a "Snort"!

For all those without toddlers in the house, let me backup and tell you about a book called "Are you my mother?". In this book, there is a baby bird who falls out of the nest and goes looking for his mother. It is not a kitten, not a dog, not a cow. Then it thinks the giant backhoe, which makes the noise "snort" and thus is called Snort by the baby bird, must be his mother. The Snort puts the bird back into his nest where he is reunited with his real mother. Grace loves to read, but I've never really known how much was absorbed until recently when I watch her read to herself, and she remembers some of the words on the pages. I guess she remembered the Snort from the book, and not knowing it was called anything else, was estatic that a Snort really exists! She told Daddy all about it when he got home. Aparently, it was the highlight of her day.

Are you still with me?

It's not just you... I feel like we have dropped off the face of the Earth these last 6 or 7 weeks as well. We have been incredibly busy. From the middle of July until Labor Day weekend, we have either been out of town, or have had company, with only a few days between each time. I'm not sure Grace knows where she lives, or who is supposed to be living with her! There have been grandparents coming and going, and even Mommy and Daddy left for the first time ever!

There are so many things to catch people up on that I will try to post something new every other day (Hey, at least I didn't say every day! I know my blogging limitations.).

So, in no particular order (ok, the order in which I stumbled upon the pictures on the computer) here is the first item of interest. In July, Grace and I went up to Albuquerque to visit with the Westbrook clan and both of Grace's Great-Grandmothers. We also held our bi-annual meeting of the Grace Admiration Society (see photos at left and below). By the way, when you go swimming in Albuquerque, Papa puts warm tap water in your pool!