Lots of changes but back to blogging

I know I've taken a couple months off from blogging. There has been tremendous change and I just haven't felt like being very public. Steve and I are getting a divorce. Details certainly aren't necessary. I've been down in San Diego since February. But I am looking forward to returning to Seattle in June! I was accepted to Bastyr's double masters in nutrition and clinical health psychology! It is such an incredible program and I absolutely cannot wait to get started.

Now, the kiddos!

Oliver turned 2.5 in March. What a little firecracker he is! He love to ride his trike in circles, play at the beach, play with trucks of any kind, and to get into whatever trouble he can! With his last haircut I think I've finally had to admit that he is a little boy now with no traces of baby face left.

Eleanor turned 1 yesterday. She is so close to walking but just refuses to take that first step! She is such a joy- usually smiling and trying to "talk" to anyone around her. She definitely has a stubborn streak though which comes out when Oliver tries to take one of her favorite toys. I measured her today and she's 20lbs 6oz and 27.5 inches. Boy does she have some delicious chunky legs!

Single parenthood is rough and I'm not even completely on my own considering how much help I get from my parents! It will be nice to be in Seattle where Steve can co-parent with me. I know the kiddos are looking forward to seeing him more too.

New things in 2009

Oliver has given up his pacifier! It happened pretty naturally....he lost them in the car while on vacation. Then Steve happened to just get him to sleep that night before we found it. He'd ask about it but wasn't upset. Then I asked him if he'd rather me get him new pacifiers or a new train. He picked train...so he got Henry the train. Once we got home he was a little more upset though. I think being in his normal environment made him remember all the good times they had together. But he's been doing pretty well when we remind him about getting the train. Although, one time, he did go get Henry, bring it to me and say "Give Henry back?" But then he got distracted so we didn't have to trade. My little guy is growing up!
Sleep has still been a struggle around here though. Oliver is insisting on having someone lie down with him to go to bed now. I'm staying positive for the most part and enjoying the very few moments each day that we get to cuddle. Soon he'll cringe at the thought of sleeping in the same bed as mom. And it has some rewards...the other morning Oliver woke up early and crawled into bed with Eleanor and I. We were all dozing off and he reached his arm around Ella and gently patted her back, just like I do to him. It was adorable. Then they fell asleep right next to each other. I snagged this pic.

Eleanor has eaten a grand total of about 10 bites of food now. I've learned that she really doesn't like anyone feeding her, she just wants to do it herself at her own pace. So, I put some food on a tray and let her try but her fine motor skills just aren't quite there yet. But, she's not complaining and certainly isn't wasting away. Quite the opposite really, she's our little chunky monkey.
How about one more funny Oliver story? I was talking to Steve about whether or not some restaurant had vegan food and Oliver heard us. He said "Oliver's vegan." I said, "yep, that's right. Do you know what vegan means?" he said " I don't eat animals." Priceless. I'm not quite sure where he got that from but I love the beauty and simplicity of it.
We're doing a 2 week cleanse right now and its going well. We cut out wheat, soy, chocolate, sugar and caffeine. I feel a lot more energetic throughout the day, even when I haven't gotten much sleep. I haven't noticed many changes in Oliver but its still early. We're eating plenty though....lots of fruits, veggies, high protein grains, nuts, beans, and lentils.
Well, I guess that's about it for now.

We're stuck in Portland

Steve had a job down here this week and now we can't get back due to massive flooding on every road back to Seattle. Luckily, we're able to stay at Megan's dad's house so we have plenty of room and a kitchen and laundry area to use! It's probably the best place for us to be stuck! We're hoping to get home sometime this weekend.

Oliver's haircut

Oliver definitely needed a haircut and got one today. Here's my big boy!

Happy Solstice

Happy Solstice everyone! We had a very nice celebration here today. We woke up to several inches of snow. What a way to kick off winter! And luckily, we didn't lose power at all. Oliver got his train set this morning and has been playing with it nonstop. Steve and I made the board for it to go on, painted it, and glued his pieces down (they can come off later but for now it's less frustrating for him to not be knocking over the track constantly!).


Then it was time for a big brunch. We were supposed to have some friends over but no one could make it to our house with the snow. We had tofu scramble with roasted veggies, potatoes with onions and green peppers, french toast with macademia cream and yogurt with berries/granola. Boy were we full!


Then we went outside for some snow play. We had a snow ball fight, built snowmen and pulled Oliver around in a sled. It was so fun.

Here are some more pics from last weeks snow. After sledding down the big hill we went inside to the preschool to warm up.


I hope everyone had a beautiful Solstice and can find peace and joy in the coming year!

Wow, long time without blogging. Sorry about that! It has been pretty busy!
We went down to my parents' house for Thanksgiving and had a great time! While we were down there Eleanor had her first solid food- avocado! She mostly spit it out and blew raspberries with it, but it was still fun! We've tried some other foods (banana, sweet potato, and applesauce) but she hasn't wanted any of them.
My parents and gram gave the kids their holiday gifts while we were down there. Eleanor loved this bag!
Oliver is ready to be a fireman with his fire hat and fire boots!
Gram got him a story reader!
Nana and Eleanor!
Big smiles in Grandpa's chair!
Here's our little one in a hat I knit for her.
And we've had snow this past week! It has been fun playing in it. Oliver LOVES it!




Eleanor is just about crawling. Here she is with her best friend- Skyy kitty.
Sibling fun!
And here is Eleanor trying to crawl....any day now!

More pictures and videos

We went to Port Townsend this weekend to check out their food co-op and to go to Fort Worden. Here are some pictures from Fort Worden:
Here's Oliver doing his favorite activity: "Plop big rocks!"



Oliver decided to get out some baskets today to play in with his animals:

Here's a video of him with his animals:





Here is a picture of Eleanor in the basket:
And here is a good video showing why I can never leave Oliver with Eleanor alone!