Justin made his treck from AZ to WA state 2 weeks ago, just him and Mason. Talk about a tough trip. No big deal that he lost his wallet in the airport, which thankfully was returned but only after I had called and cancelled our bank and major credit cards. Some where in Nevada he got a flat tire on the moving truck. Then, after being in WA for less than 2 days, lost his cell phone, which was also graciously returned and had 2 flat tires on his bike, his only means of transportation. All I had to do was fly across the country with a toddler, who did do great by the way. Oh, and speaking of thankfulness, you learn to appreciate the small things when on your 5 1/2 hour flight from Atlanta to Seattle you get an open seat beside you and a wonderfully sweet grandfather of 7 sitting by you. It makes your life truly so much better!
I too am starting school again and I am so excited to be at an AWESOME SCHOOL. I have moved from high school to a middle school but I am really looking forward to working with some truly great professionals. Though my heart longs to be home with Jude, if I have to work, I'm glad I'll be working where God has opened this door.
Justin is doing great with his new project and we both have fallen in love with the scenery in this area. We live within a 10 minute walk to a great park on the lake that offers a playground and swimming area, as well as a fantastic dog park for Mason.
Lastly, I do want to through in a 17 month shout out to sweet Jude man. Though I'm bias, this kid is pretty awesome. His vocabulary continues to soar. He has learned several new words this month, including balloon and moon. He wants to see the moon every time we go outside, including first thing in the morning. He can tell you all kinds of animal noises/associations, but my personal favorite is when you ask him what a skunk does, he'll hold his nose and say "shew". Too cute. His new favorite books are the "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" series and Justin is totally stoked that in the "Panda Bear, Panda Bear" one there is a red wolf. :) Jude has become less picky, knock on wood. He's never really been picky but kinda strange about textures, but so am I. However, this past month he's started to try new textures including rice, beans, and green beans. He has started stretching out his night time hours from 9 to 9.5 hours to at least 10, sometimes 10.5, which has really been nice. He still sleeps 2-3 hours every afternoon after lunch. He is a very strong willed little guy with an intense personality, but he is so sweet and will always give hugs and kisses when asked. He still enjoys and prefers to be outside. His favorite toys, other than his animals, are his Race car slide thing and his helicopter. It's really fun to watch his personality form. He still sleeps with his Lamby and/or Monkey and we've moved to only have his Bap (what he personally named his Paci) to his crib. When he wakes up, we tell him to give his bap to his animals in the crib and most of the time he willingly drops it in and says "Bye bye bap".
Any who, that's what's been going on...the last few weeks have been a whirlwind, but a good one. Students start back on Wednesday and a "new year" officially begins for me...yep, my 5th year teaching...whew...
