Big Changes

There have been some BIG changes in the last few days here on Fulton Place.

1. Sam pooped on the potty today of his own free will and by his direction! It was a huge party after with everyone looking at the poop in the potty and lots of hugs and smiles and "hooray's". I am so proud of my big boy who has been dry for two days now!

2. Arlo is now walking! He walked across the bathroom (where we spend LOTS of time lately) yesterday 4 or 5 times and then today he's walked here and there a few times. He still prefers crawling as his fast method of transport, but it will not be long and he'll be off on the two legs all the time. I remember Sam at this stage and it seemed like I blinked and he was running. I am so happy for him, as he is desperate to keep up with Sam.

Yes, we're a pooping-on-the-potty-everybody-walking-family now. Whew!

Photo Booth Self-Portrait

Successes

We've recently had some successes that are really making all of us feel good:

1. Sam now tells us when he needs to use the potty for pee pee (poo poo is still harder for him to verbalize...we'll get there). I am not stressing about making sure he sits on the toilet every half an hour and he is much more relaxed too.
2. Sam is beginning to like his school. After three days this week at school, he had progressed from needing me to stay and having lots of potty accidents to waving me goodbye before we've even made it to his classroom and having dry underwear all morning! Whew!
3. Matt has an office with a view of the Veterinary school! He has been stressing about not having a work space and it came to him this week. He's been commuting by bus and carpooling and it seems to be working thus far.
4. I am beginning to meet some other mothers. Slowly, but surely. I have met two in particular that I really enjoy. I am a part of a "professor's wives" play group that meets Friday mornings. I am pretty sure I like it, but it is a little elitist. I think I'll keep going for a while, and maybe for a long while, but we'll see. Most of the moms seem pretty cool.
5. I was able to transfer the car title and get a MI driver's license (which was much harder than it should have been) after two trips to the Secretary of State (DMV).
6. The boys seem to be settling in to the house and, as I write, are playing so well with toys in the living room. They really enjoy each other and after nearly 2 months here, I think they are getting used to the house.

What's up with us?

After spending 5 days in Pittsburgh/Templeton, PA area visiting family, we have returned to Lansing refreshed and ready to be here! It was lovely seeing everyone, but we're tired of traveling and driving and not having some sort of routine....

Sam has been in underwear during the day for 3 days now and he is doing really quite well. We've definitely have some accidents, only one today, and pooping on the potty is proving to be a REAL challenge, but we can see the progress and we'll just keep going like we are. It won't be long and he'll be potty trained.

Matt begins work tomorrow and Sam starts school tomorrow and I am afraid I won't know what to do with myself! I have planned to go to the local LLL meeting, which will be my first and I think that will be a good way to start off the week. There are lots of places and shops for me to explore too. Sam will be in school for 5 hours, so I have plenty of time with just Arlo to explore!

After 3 weeks of coughing and a week of night sweats and fevers, I finally went to the doctor to discover I have a nasty bought of bronchitis spread on top of an icky recurrence of my asthma attacks! I am on antibiotics for the bronchitis and it seems to be clearing up. I certainly feel better. I had a breathing treatment at the doctor's office and she prescribed me with new inhalers and they seem to be helping bunch too. I also have a new contact for massage and will be looking into that this week. I hope to be able to get rid of my inhalers all together, like I did in Washington (thanks Sarah!)

Matt has been feverishly searching the web for real estate and we've found a bunch of places we'd like to see in person and one more little town to explore north of here. This house is my favorite so far. Hopefully next weekend we'll make it to St. Johns and explore and within a few weeks we'll be meeting with realtors to actually start looking!

We did finally get new local cell phone numbers, so if you don't have them, please email us and we'll make sure you have the most current number!

It is getting very cold here and it looks like we are now well on our way to winter. I am ready! The fall leaves are changing and falling and you can smell the snow in the air...I am hoping for enough snow to do some cross country skiing!

I have decided to sell my fuzzi bunz diapers as Arlo just can't wear them. His chubby little thighs just don't allow for a good fit. Though we may still have another baby, I have found that I can't put up with the fussiness of the FB fleece. So, I found a mom here in town who seems interested and if she doesn't buy them, I am sure I'll find another mom who will want them. What will I buy with the money I make? Well, I have made another connection in town who makes longies from old sweaters and I have an order in for two pair and with the remaining money I think I'll buy some new fitted dipes or some more prefolds....not sure yet!

My socks are coming along nicely. They will be interesting to say the least, as I have discovered I won't have enough yarn to make two sock exactly the same. I'll have a picture update on that soon...

Images from 2007

Michigan's Upper Peninsula

Camping for five days in Michigan's Upper Peninsula has really been the highlight of our vacation.

Our first night was spent on Higgins Lake. The boys had a blast swimming in the lake! Yes, swimming in September!






We had a small crisis when Arlo ate a small part of a mysterious mushroom and we ended up in the Grayling ER! He's fine, however, and the mushroom was deemed non-toxic. You can see the dirty hazards of camping as a crawler!

Our second and third nights we stayed at Taquamenon Falls State Park.
We met a lovely family from Wisconsin with two kids near Sam's age and did lots of hiking...

Our final night was spent near the beach on Lake Superior. It was beautiful! Aside from the nasty stable flies chasing us up and down the beach, it was the perfect camping spot.

Socks...a Labor of Love

A father-son project....I started knitting Matt's socks (the grey and red striped, if it isn't obvious) while pregnant with Arlo. I finished one sock while still preggo and the other while in the hospital with my mother. Sam was fascinated by the project and asked for a pair "just like Daddy's" only he requested them to be red. So, here you see the final results. They have been completed for some time now and I am currently knitting another pair of socks with this great cotton/rayon blend yard I found at a yard sale. It is very irregular and is turning out to knit a great texture. I may actually keep these...well, we'll see. I have a hard time keeping the projects I knit. I always find a soul that is worthy of a beautiful hand knit gift...