Tuckered Out

Monday was Patriot's Day, a huge celebration out here. We woke up early to watch a battle reenactment in Lexington, and this little one wasn't happy about it! After the reenactment we had breakfast with some friends from church, and later in the day Aspen went with Mommy to watch the Boston Marathon. It was a busy day for her and on Tuesday (after getting her vaccine shots) she crashed. She's a much happier baby when her sleep isn't interrupted, as her parents found out the hard way!

Ode to Dre

Before I was a massage therapist I worked as a nanny. My boss was great; a wonderful boss and friend. She decided to get a bunch of her friends together (there were 12 of us) and set up a team to train for a triathlon. We weren't going to race together, but support each other as we trained for the same race. We occasionally ran and biked together, but even training alone we kept in touch about our goals and helped each other to stay pumped about the race. To help us out, Andrea (my boss) bought each of us a road bike. I'm not kidding! The only money we had to put out was for any upgrades or accessories we wanted. As a result, I got a beautiful road bike for free (it's the one on top in the photo). I couldn't believe it!
Since getting my bike I have used it both to get in shape and also to explore my surroundings. I rode my bike for the first time today since before my pregnancy, and my first thought was, "boy am I out of shape!" The second was, "I love this bike!" Dre, if you're reading this thank you sooo much for your generosity; I'll never forget it!

Aspen Update

Aspen loves her daddy! She also loves those fists!

Eric's parents came to visit a couple weeks ago. These are some photos they took of Aspen while they were here. It was so great to see how quickly they bonded with her, and she sure loved cuddling with Grandma and listening to Grandpa sing her songs! Here are some cute facts about Aspen:
-As you can see in the first photo, she loves her fists. If she gets mad, boy oh boy those babies go flying! Watch out!
-She's just started this coo-cry that melts my heart! Where did it come from? She only just started doing it recently.
-She has huge thunder thighs (don't tell her I told you!) and puts them to use. She always wants to stand on her feet.
-She does this trick with her binky where she'll spit it out, and right before it falls out she'll suck it back in again. Sometimes she can actually push it back in her mouth after it's fallen out!
-Whenever I go to kiss her she sticks out her tongue. I'll back up and then go in for another kiss and out pops the tongue! Woah, little one! Hold off until you're about 25!

Spring

I don't know that it's here yet, but this week's supposed to be a sunny, warmer one, so I can dream, can't I?

Home Sweet Home

For those of you who don't know, Eric and I will be spending the summer in Boise, Idaho. Eric has an internship there working for a law firm, doing exactly what he wants to do. It's a great blessing to us, and if all goes well we will be moving there for good after Eric graduates (working for the same firm). I tried my best to work things out so we'd end up in Oregon, but it wasn't meant to be!
Last year I took the above photo at Multnomah Falls, in the Columbia River Gorge. It's one of my favorite places. Since graduating high school I've lived in several beautiful locations, offering amazing fall leaves to majestic mountain tops. But to me nowhere will ever come close to the lush, fresh, coniferous beauty Oregon holds. I sure miss it!

The Target Episode

So there I was, innocently pushing a shopping cart with my newborn child inside. She was only a week old, and I was glad to be out of the house. My husband was somewhere in the store, probably searching for new wiper blades, which can't seem to be found anywhere in this entire state. I was turning the corner when a woman almost collided with my cart. "Oh!" She cried, then saw my little bundle sitting in the cart. "What a beautiful little girl!" she shrieked. I beamed with pride. After all, how many times do strangers see a baby and instantly ask (regardless of pink dresses or blue blankets with something like tractors all over them), "Boy or girl?" (This topic of conversation may be used for a future post). I was feeling pretty good. Not only was my baby beautiful, but she was in fact obviously a girl. Then the woman continued, looking at my belly and pointing with her pudgy finger. "So, when are you due?"
I was a little confused. Then the question sank in. I felt my face getting a little red with frustration. Was she serious? "I just had her a week ago!" I cried. The woman didn't even blink. She just looked at my belly again and then walked away. To this day I'm still confused about the whole thing. When was I due? I had a week old baby! When was I due? I probably looked like I was at least 5 months pregnant! When was I due? Do the math, lady. Do the math!