Silly bathtime fun

A recent trend for Delaney is to relish in putting her head or face underwater. When she takes a bath one of her new favorite things is to lay down and have everything immersed except her face. She just loves it and because there was no one around last night to show off her amazing "bath lay down" technique, she kept calling for Lucy to come and look at her. Funny.

Here is a pic of her enjoying herself immensely.

Recycling commitment

Over the last year or two I have been a lot more conscious about what gets recylced in our house. Like many of you I feel like it's our responsibility as citizens to figure out how to better deal with waste in this world. I realize there is still space left in this country but for some reason it feels like it's closing in quicker than I'd like it to, partly because we are filling up the space with our trash. Trash that takes hundreds of years to decompose.

I think twice about everything I put in the trash. We have a compost bin in the backyard which is wonderful, except that I haven't quite figured out how to get it produce compost quickly enough so that it can hold all of our food waste. Currently it's full and I am likely going to have to wait until next spring to dump it in my garden and clear it out.

We have a great outfit here in Boulder called Eco-Cycle that will recycle a lot of the items that our weekly trash service does not accept. Recently we got rid of an old computer and I took it there to be recycled, of course only after paying a $25 fee. Even though that felt costly it definitely felt better to pay the fee and know that it's going to get handled appropriately.

Kevin is also showing a growing concern for recycling but when I put 3 "components" (old VCR, satellite box, etc) in his car to go to Eco-Cycle and he found out that it would cost us $8 a piece to hand them over, he definitely hesitated. So I went out there myself and paid the fee and disposed of them. I knew that they would sit in his car for months and months if he didn't 100% buy off on the idea of paying to get rid of them.

The other day I had a bunch of plant containers from Home Depot and elsewhere from a few plants we had put in the ground recently. I had seen some of the containers at Eco-Cycle the other day with a sign that said "we accept the #2 plant containers", which led me to believe I probably should not have been putting these in our weekly plastic recycling (most of the things that Eco-Cycle takes, Western Disposal does not). I think that a lot of the time I probably put things in my weekly recycling that end up in the landfill. How many of us actually read all the in's and out's of exactly which numbers your recycling center accepts!?!?

Anyway, it turns out that a bunch of my containers had no number on the bottom and some of them were #5. I was left feeling very frustrated that I had gone out of my way to do some good only to find that one of my eight containers could be put in the Eco-Cycle bin. What am I supposed to do with the other pots?!? I feel a lot of guilt about throwing away such a big plastic item but then I don't have any use for them and have zero space in our yard to store them.

It leads me to the point that sometimes it's hard to do good and save the planet, when I feel like there is no consistently or ease in recycling. I'm not asking for the world, I would just like to ask manufacturers to start using the type of plastics that recycling centers readily accept. Is that too much to ask? I also think about those trash centers around the country (the more rural areas) that won't even pick up recycling. Imagine how I'd feel if I lived in one of those places?

I will keep up my commitment as much as possible, but realize that every now and again I'm going to put something in the trash that doesn't belong there. Maybe if more people start to feel guilty about it slowly we will make change.

Sweet slumber

Delaney usually wakes up between 7am and 7:30 (I love her for that), usually there is an initial cry and within a few minutes she starts singing and chatting to herself. She will do this on her own for 30 minutes or more if she's in a good mood. Normally on weekdays she doesn't do it for very long but sometimes on weekends we can let her stay in there until 8am (I love her for that too).

Weekday morning routines are usually that I sleep in while Kevin gets up, showers and then gets Delaney out of her crib and at the breakfast table. I usually meander out somewhere around the crib extraction and join everyone at the breakfast table. We've been doing this routine for at least the last 4 months and I love that our mornings are usually very relaxing and we all eat breakfast together. Kevin is often the one to whisk Delaney off to school since the school is on his way and it's often easier for me to do pick-ups since I can tear myself away from work pretty easily.

Anyhoo, I digress, I'll get back to the point of my post. Most mornings that Kevin enters her room she is awake and ready to get out. But one morning last week he happened to go in there and she was still asleep. I know most parents are plenty used to seeing their child sleeping but we are not accustomed to this sight. I am guessing that most parents spent a good amount of time watching listlessly as their baby slumbered along, marveling at their precious nugget.

Delaney is such a light sleeper and she was such a fussy baby, that we grew accustomed to closing the door and not checking on her (ever). When parents would ask "how many times do you go in to her room to make sure she's still breathing?" To which I would have to sheepishly reply "I've never once done that." There have been times I've needed to sneak into her room for an odd or end and nearly every time she wakes up despite my Mission Impossible belay rope and motion sensor headband. She has a sixth sense for when someone is standing near her and will likely wake up before you take your first breath. I think early on we just decided that it wasn't worth it. When we travel with her and have to sleep in her room it's nearly always a nightmare as she wakes up and wants to be awake and party with us all night long. This is one of the big reasons that we want each kid to have their own space for a bit.

This is a recorded image of her sleeping. We don't have too many of these and it's monumental enough that Kevin quickly grabbed the camera and snapped a shot. Of course as soon as the click of the camera went off she sprung up ready for action. :)

Lucy has paws, you knucklehead

Here is a tiny little tidbit from our weekend.

Delaney found some of her chalk and was scribbling vigorously on our new patio. I was popping in and out of the house, moving stuff from one place to another (which is what I do professionally these days). I came out and saw her sitting very close to our dog Lucy and she was doing quite a scribble fest with the pink chalk.

I said "Good chalk drawing, Delaney, is Lucy helping you with your drawing?"
To which she candidly replied "No mommy, she doesn't have any hands."

I guess I have to stop asking her stupid questions that are REALLY obvious. :)

Mischievous little girl

The other day I drove Kevin's car to work because he was transporting a bunch of yard waste to the dump in my car. I picked up Delaney from school and when we came home, she said that she wanted to get out of her seat by herself. Ok, fine, but I'm going to go open up the door and let Lucy out and I'll come back and check on you. When I came back she had somehow managed to do this.

Barenaked Fun

On Saturday I decided it would be a grand ole time to attend the free Barenaked Ladies childrens concert at the local Barnes and Noble. Kevin untypically let out a little groan of annoyance when I mentioned that we'd all be going to the concert. How could I resist a free concert that was right in our backyard, in an intimate setting?!? He begrudgingly agreed that it would be fun. I think mentioning that he wouldn't actually have to work around the house for those few hours was what finally sealed the deal.

Despite having to wait around to get a good spot for nearly two hours, it was a lot of fun to share the event with Delaney. They played for a half-hour which is desperately short by any concert standards, but honestly it was a challenge to keep her 100% entertained for that full half hour so I was a bit relieved when they say they'd be playing their final song.

There were a lot of kids in attendance and it was pretty clear that most of them had been taken there by their parents without a clue of what they were attending and why they should be there. I could hear conversations all around Boulder that went something like this:

"Kids we're going to see the Barenaked Ladies on Saturday"
"But why?"
"Because they're a great band and you'll love them"
"I don't think I want to go"
"Well, it's a Barnes and Noble so you can pick out something you'd like when we're there"
"Cool, I guess I'll go"

Tantrum city

That's where we live right now. Tantrum city and the nearby town that we visit just as frequently is Whinytown. I think it's fair to say that the terrible two's are upon us and here to stay for some time.

Every morning there are a few consistent battles with Delaney. The first is taking off her pajamas. You'd think we were trying to take off her actual skin she resists taking them off so much. Last Sunday I just gave in and let her keep her jammies on until her nap. She couldn't have been more thrilled. The other battle in the morning is exactly WHAT she is going to wear for the day. I always offer some choices and options for her, and very often even after she's picked her outfit she changes her mind half-way through or just before she actually has to put them on. Then it's a constant back-and-forth about how she actually made a choice, how I gave her options, etc. But it's still a battle and some days it ends in me actually forcing her arms and legs through some clothes as she wriggles and screams on the floor. Good times. I realized that I might have to actually start shopping with Delaney for her clothes.

The other battles that have been consistent recently are getting her into the car at the end of a day of school. She resists this with great fervor and the other day I tried to call her bluff and we just sat in the parking lot until she could make the right choice and get in her car seat. This approach backfired greatly and she seemed content to just sit in the backseat of the car and talk to herself until the end of time. We actually sat in the car together for nearly an hour before I had to resort to forcing her to get in the seat by pinning her down with both arms and even my leg. Again, good times.

Kevin is nearing a long stretch of being gone and I have to admit I am dreading being the only one who manages her tantrums. I feel like between the two of us we have enough patience to manage her effectively. But when it all falls on me I end up losing patience pretty regularly. Having kids, I decided, is the ultimate test of one's patience. I can't say that I always pass the test either.

I know it's a phase and we'll eventually get through it. But realizing that the tantrums appear here to stay for some time is a bit daunting. Sigh.

Big girl bed and big girl room

We made the decision a while back to convert our guest room into Delaney's new room and we would figure out another place for our desk (and get rid of our queen size guest bed). To compensate for losing the space for guests to sleep we decided we'd get one of those trundles that pops up and can be connected to the other twin bed, thus essentially making nearly a king bed when you put them together. When guests come we would put Delaney in our room, or the baby's room, or on the front porch. :) It seemed a little silly to leave a guest room empty 11 months of the year when it might be far easier to give the kiddos their own spot. Eventually I want the kids to share. I figure my window for that is when the little one hits two and for the next 3-4 years. Ideally we'd have a four bedroom home and maybe they wouldn't have to share, but that's the plan if we stay where we are now.

Ever since we made this decision, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't question it and think that there's a better and different solution. Delaney is very much a creature of habit. She likes the same toys, the same stuffed animals, the same clothes, the same food, etc, pretty much every day. She would be thrilled if I let her wear her "fishy shirt" or her "elephant shirt" every day. I think she would like it if she could wear it in the bath tub.

So how is Delaney going to take to moving rooms, you ask?!?! We don't know. We talk endlessly about how wonderful it's going to be in her new room and how special her big girl room is going to be when she gets in there. She acknowledges it and even points to the room and says "big girl room" and sits on her new mattress and says "big girl bed". I'm just concerned she is going to resist the change like she has been resisting everything else in life these days. And with the attention-stealing-baby on the way I have a bad feeling I'm in for a world of tantrums over the next few months.

Kevin and I have debated at length about the design of her new room and how to make it as special as possible so she'll have no choice but to swoon over it's playful, artistic and whimsical designs. We have been shopping with Delaney (and without Delaney) and we have spent a few hours drawing different configurations of storage, bed placement, etc.

But in all of our efforts to make it special we have made little progress on actually converting the room. Every day I stare at the room, and most nights I sit and think about staring at the room as I'm lying in bed, and not much has been purchased or planned. I have decided on a garden theme and have purchased the sheets and odd decor. But as far as the actual BED or furniture nothing has been done. My OCD tendencies are crying out to get this thing moving but the perfectionist in me wants to make sure we're doing it right.

THEN there's the fact that Delaney loves her crib. She has never once tried to get out even though I know she could and have seen her perform far more daring and risky stunts. And if I move her into the big girl bed, am I just asking for trouble and asking her to get up a few times a night and come and get me?!?! Am I just forcing this? Should I just let her stay put and let the baby sleep in the pack-n-play in the guest room? But the baby room is all dialed in for those first 6 months of nurturing, complete with the changing table, nursing chair, crib, black-out curtain, etc. And all of the furniture is bolted to the wall.

Decisions, decisions. I suppose that in the grand scheme of things the space layout of our rooms is a pretty minor thing to worry about. Moreso I should be thinking about adding a wonderful little bundle of joy into our lives in a few months, and how to make sure my stress level stays in check so that I am mostly concerned about loving, nurturing, changing and feeding the baby. :)

Boulder Parking Lot Pet Peeve

This will be mostly a regional post about Boulder, so I apologize for all of you remote readers as it will only be moderately interesting.

I cannot stand the parking lots in Boulder.

How can I make such a grand sweeping statement?!? For some reason it seems like all of the engineers in this town are out to screw the general public with their designs and parking lot plans. By and large every parking lot in Boulder is rife with issues. The two big issues are the tight design and tight stall spaces. But there are a host of other annoyances like entrances, exits, proximity to stores and general lack of adequate space to accommodate the people trying to go to those stores. By far my biggest pet peeve is that the spaces are so darn tight. It's like they think we all drive mini Coopers or Prius compact cars. Don't they know that this town is full of SUV gas guzzlers that practically take up two spots? You should see the parking lot at my gym (the Flatiron Athletic Club). At least 70% of the cars are trucks, SUV's, or large vans. So much for Boulder being a "green" leader, eh?

One of the worst things about the parking lots is that I have a number of nicks and dings in my Volvo doors because of the small spaces. I have tried to give up caring but every time I get the car washed I get a little depressed seeing all the dimples all over the car.

Here is my list of Top 8 worst parking lots in Boulder, although honestly I have yet to find a parking lot here that is acceptable so they could all be on this list.

1. Whole Foods. This is a true war zone. There are never enough spaces and I have seen cars parked half on the islands to try and get space. You really take your own life and your cars safety into your hands when you enter this parking lot.
2. Wahoo/Starbucks/Noodles/Spicy Pickle. This is on a much smaller scale than Whole Foods but really it could easily be the worst. Not only are the spaces small but the space to back out is nonexistent. AND it's got a funky design where you can get stuck in corners you don't want to be in and can't get over to where you want to go.
3. Vic's/Moe's/Wine Merchant/Breadworks. This one is right by our house and it's almost a joke how little space they have allocated for cars. I have witnessed a legitimate fight in this parking lot over a near pedestrian catastrophe.
4. Ideal/Pharmaca/Noodles. This is also right by our house and I am constantly amazed at how they put only waist high poles strewn around this parking lot that are perfectly positioned for smacking them with your car. Huh?
5. Sunflower/Lollilocks/Gymboree. This has only recently come on the list since Sunflower has opened. O man this parking lot is a cluster. The good news is that if you park far enough away generally you can avoid some of the madness.
6. Target. This isn't as terrible as it could be because they have at least allocated ENOUGH spots. But people are always battling for spots, it's always a zoo, the spaces are tight and my BIGGEST pet peave is that you can only make right turns out of the two exits in the parking lot.
7. REI/Bed Bath & Beyond. This is a very close cousin to #2 on the list and the spaces are so ridiculously tight that I actually don't get mad when I see cars straddling two spots. It makes total sense.
8. Safeway. I guess this one isn't too bad but it is always crowded (even at 10pm at night) and the spaces are tight. And people refuse to actually put carts away in the stalls which drives me nuts.

May 2008

I am trying to start a new tradition of doing monthly updates on our life as a way to better chronicle the goings-on of Courtney, Kevin, Delaney and crew. I also plan to write more letters specifically to Delaney so that one day she can open them up and ask "why and the heck did mom write me all of these trivial details of my life?" :)

May was an exciting month for our family. First and foremost the weather got nice in Boulder. And as it usually happens I am soon overcome with an overwhelming desire to live the rest of my life in Boulder. Check back at posts in February and you'll see how it wasn't all that long ago that I was clamoring for California. Since I have been a west coast native my entire life, the phenomenon of the spring melt is still fairly new to me. I know others from the northeast and midwest are familiar with how things COME ALIVE in spring and early summer. Things turn green that have been dark brown all winter. Flowers start to bloom, the daffodils come first and are soon followed by the Columbine, Iris and Lily. Nurseries come alive with colorful plants, hanging baskets aplenty and vegetables that I will continue to put into the Colorado clay in the hopes that one day I will get to eat a pepper that I grew myself.

People come out of their houses and the sense of community blossoms along with the flowers. Acquiantances we haven't seen for five or six months are now people we see every other day as we walk down the street or they walk down ours. Have I mentioned how much I like that people walk places in Boulder? You'd think I'd love the privacy of seclusion but I relish in the fact that I can sit on my living room couch and watch the odd person walking (or running, or cycling) by my house at least every 20 minutes. I think this is more the norm for our neighborhood than others in Boulder, but regardless I can't say how much I love that warm weather brings socializing.

The month started with Delaney's two-year birthday fiesta, which was low key by most standards with the exception that it seemed like we celebrated for about three straight days (at her school, barbeque at our house, quiet celebration with Nana and Pop-pop, brunch with Mom's group kiddos). While we have been keenly aware of Delaney's ability to throw an exceptional tantrum over the last year, the frequency, intensity and sheer ridiculousness of said tantrums have magnified exponentially in the last few months. I am torn about these tantrums. Part of me wants to go buy a bunch of books to get a few tips and tricks for understanding and managing them. The other part of me wants to trust my instincts and do what feels natural. I will say that if they get much worse I will probably resort to buying a few books. Kevin has more patience with her than I do but at the same time he also bends the rules more when I don't think they should be bent. Probably when all is said and done we have a pretty good balance of parenting skills. I admire the father in Kevin more than I can write in this update. His love for Delaney is greater than anything I have witnessed from him in our 10 years together.

(As a sidenote, Kevin and I had our 10-year anniversary of meeting each other in early May. We met at the Wildflower triathlon in early May of 1998. At the time I was dating someone else and he had crazy wild afro hair. It was fun to have a toast to knowing each other for a decade.)

We received visits from every grandparent in May which was a real treat. Delaney is always thrilled to see any of her grandparents and we feel very blessed to have such active, caring and loving parents that are in our (and our childrens) lives. All four of her grandparents are very different and she seems to welcome each one of them with equal enthusiasm. She might like saying "Pop pop" more than the rest but it's fair to say she appreciates them all equally. From a high level, she relishes in the awesome enthusiasm of Nana, the warmth and flexibility of Pop pop, the creativity of Moma and the teachings of Grandpa. Each one is happy to share a meal, read a book or get served a cup of tea. It's no wonder she likes them all so much... when they are with her they completely shower her with attention and love. You'd think we spend all day ignoring her by how excited she gets for this attention.

Our long time next-door neighbor, Alice, moved out this spring and the house went on the market in March. The house sold a few weeks ago and we are relieved to know that another older woman is moving in with very few plans to change the tiny and quaint nature of the cottage. Since we share a driveway with the future owner of this house we are extremely curious to meet her (and her dog) and hope that we can develop a relationship similar to the one we had with Alice. We received a wonderful visit from Alice the other day, and I must say she still looks wonderful for being NINETY-FOUR. I hope I am doing as well as she is at 94.

Preparations have started for the upcoming arrival of the baby boy this September/October. The other night I started having one of my typical OCD meltdowns about not feeling prepared and ready, and Kevin astutely pointed out that it appeared we were "moving into THAT STAGE". To which I defiantly replied "by whatever do you MEAN?" and I was kindly reminded that we went through something very similar about four months before Delaney arrived. I mean come on, doesn't he realize that if I don't stress about it, NO ONE WILL? It is when I am about to have a child that I realize just how anal retentive and compulsive I can be, much to my benefit and detriment. Is it crazy to tell you that I have already bought (or received as hand-me-downs) most of the baby boys clothes for the first year? The baby boy will have a surfing/fish theme in his room and I have already purchased 3/4 of the decorations. We have yet to decide on a name, and at the risk of being untraditional, I will share that some of the top considerations are Liam, Everett, Garrett, Grayson, Carter and Larsen.

We are full swing into converting our guest room/office into Delaney's room. We are worried, especially given her staunch resistance to change, that she will meet the move into this new room with much dismay. (We have started calling it the big girl room and building it up as something very special that only special girls get to do in their lives.) As a result we might be going overboard in making this room as wonderful and special as it can be. I have decided on a garden theme, complete with a picket fence surrounding the room, and Kevin is toying with the idea of doing a killer set of built-ins around her window. We are trying to find a way to do that given that Kevin will be gone a lot of June, July and some of August.

My dad finished a bunch of projects on the house this month and we are nearly done with landscaping and finishing our backyard. One of the wonderful benefits of summer is the fact that we dine outside nearly every night. Ribs and caprese salads become weekend staples for us. I love outdoor living. I have a dream about a house that has nearly as much outdoor living space as indoor living space, completely with dining room, outdoor shower, firepit, and so much more. That will have to wait until our next million comes in the door.

I made a brief trip to the bay area to attend the memorial of Kevin Perry, as well as see family and friends. It was wonderful to catch up with a few people and get my first weekend away from the homestead since Delaney was born (by myself). Given how many weekends I spend alone due to Kevin's work travels, it feels like I should have a few more of these coming.

I have been feeling the baby boy moving a lot since about 15 weeks and it feels like some days he's awake all day. I still feel great with this pregnancy, with the exception of the odd fatigue and exhaustion at the end of a weekend day when I've been going non-stop all day long. My feet are starting to hurt and I am also having the occasional case of insomnia, but those seem pretty insignificant since I feel generally very good. All the more reason to start cranking on those preparations before I get roly poly and unable to be productive for more than 3-4 hours a day.

All in all May was a wonderful month for us and I look forward to June being wonderful as well.

Updated Delaney pics

These are not the best shots of Delaney, but they capture her doing a few things about town recently which I thought might provide a bit of an update on our lives.


Here Delaney is helping Grandpa build her a gate:



Delaney hanging out with Moma on the patio:



Delaney before her first official running race with her game face on:



Running the actual race with Dad:



Post-race refreshment with Mom:



At the Boulder Creek festival posing in front of the fire truck:

House projects by Gary

I'm posting a few pics of the house projects my dad worked on while he was here a few weeks ago. The first is a gate between our house and Lara/Matt's, complete with doggy door for Lucy and Murphy. The second is a gate at the top of our basement stairs. The third is a new set of shelves in the basement to hold the MASSIVE AMOUNT OF CRAP THAT SEEMS TO BE EXPANDING IN OUR HOUSE. :)