Done with Year One

I have had July 1 on my mind for so long. Being able to say our first year of residency is over feels so good. Even if Michael still goes back to work tomorrow and his hours are still crazy, there's just something that feels so good about knowing we've got one year down. But at the same time, I cannot believe we have lived in Fresno for a year. That is just crazy to me. On Saturday someone was describing where something is in Fresno to me and they asked if I knew where such and such was, and I said "No, I just moved here." Then I suddenly felt really sad, because I probably shouldn't say that or feel that anymore. But it's ok. A year done is a year done, and getting settled has just taken a little longer when you add pregnancy and newborn time into the first year. We're figuring things out :)

Michael:

is done with his first year! I just said that but I want to keep saying it. I seriously keep saying it in my head, so it needs to be written down a couple times too. He took us on a fun bike ride Saturday that he discovered during his rotation at the children's hospital, he rode his bike to work a few times back then. He takes Bennett for the last two hours of church while I do sharing time or other primary stuff. Time at home feels like a vacation when he's around. He always has crazy work stories and I don't know how he does what he does.

Maddie:

felt like last week was three weeks, I just wanted July to get here so bad. Being around family for three weeks and then being alone with my boys again was a hard adjustment. I've never had a week with so little accomplished and so much TV watched in our house, and that just feels miserable rather than relaxing. I want my mojo back. It'll happen this week. I went to High on Saturday and that cheered me up like always. Bike rides cheer me up faster than anything, so going on one with our family after my class felt so happy. I've had fun seeing teachable moments in Westin and his stage lately. Motherhood changes so much as kids grow up and it's fun to experience and figure out.

Westin:

has become much more self-aware and also curious about other people's worlds/perspectives, which is a big change for a little person. The downside is, I feel like Westin just barely realized over the last two weeks that his dad works all the time. Before that, it was like he was over the moon when his dad was around and then completely focused on whatever else was around when Michael was at work. He was so happy when Michael was home, but I could easily distract him on days Michael wasn't. Now, he knows when he's gone days without seeing his dad and he gets really grumpy and angry. One morning he was so mad when he woke up and it was me and not Michael to come and get him, and he didn't want to get out of bed or talk to me. Then I would become surprisingly grumpy myself because it's hard to stay positive about something when someone around you is being so negative about that same something. But one of my favorite lines in the potty training book I read was something like, "In fact, it's smart to never let a toddler be in charge of your emotional state." Way easier said than done, I know, but I had to put that into practice more than ever this last week.

Westin gives the best hugs to Bennett before either of them takes a nap or goes to bed. He has started sitting in a regular chair at our table and Bennett moved into the high chair spot. Still no desire to give up that crib, though. He is such a pro at potty training (no accidents in weeks and weeks, wears a diaper when he sleeps but has kept it dry a few times), a good helper around the house and mostly in the kitchen, and just such a fun friend.

Bennett:

is 9 months tomorrow and I could cry about it if I let myself. I think I'm going to cry about a lot of things all at once here pretty soon, because there are a few things that I could cry about if I thought about them too hard but I just don't want to do that so I haven't. Is that a normal thing? Bennett, on the other hand, lets himself cry about things semi-often. Not as often as most babies, I'm convinced, but still. He randomly started only wanting to nurse on one side, this entire week, so that was weird. Is weird. And he is about ready to move up to all of my 12-month size clothes but I keep squeezing him into onesies because that's not ok. Stay little, Baby B. No crawling, not much rolling. Lots of Westin-watching, sitting, and playing with toys. Loves baths. Needs baths (babies and food is not a favorite stage of mine). Loves seeing Kitty. Needs to be softer to Kitty. Loves spitting. Is fine when I put his binky in when he's spitting. Is fine when I take his binky away. Happy in the car. Happy not in the car. Happy kid 97% of the time.

Getting babies up from nights or naps always feels so fun to me. They are just so precious.

Michael did not originally give permission for this picture to be posted but I wore him down. I think he looks elated that his first year is over. He thinks he looks blind. You decide. Either way it cracks me up and it needed to be on the internet. 

This is what he always does with his play mat. Probably time to put that away.

Bennett woke up from a nap on Saturday having a particularly bad hair day. Really though, I think it grew two inches during his nap or something? So I gave him a pretty spontaneous first haircut and dang it, Bennett, you look so much older.

We eat sooooo many strawberries around here these days. They taste like candy and they're $1.00 a pound so, can't stop. Westin eats them while lying down on the grass and talks to me about garbage trucks and birds and fire engines and Rocky (Little Einstein's). I think he has a happy life and that makes me happier than anything.

Bennett is always on the lookout for something that can be made into a mess.

Baby led weaning makes me happy!

We went to a store we never shop at just to return a recyclable chocolate milk bottle, so we grabbed a box of cereal on our way out that was on sale and nothing else. So Westin carried it out and to our car and felt so big. Then he felt serious ownership over it and wanted to eat some for lunch right when we got home. He calls it "A Bunch of Oatmeal" instead of Honey Bunches of Oats and no one will be correcting that soon. I love toddler translations.