G's first birthday party was a blast! James and I completely forgot the camera, so I'll have to get some photos from my mom, but it was awesome! G's godparents, James and I spent hours cutting out all the decorations, and my dad sacrificed unburned fingertips to hotglue the water bottle labels on. G's godparents were amazing: they organized the whole thing, from invitations to getting balloons, to the cake and the adorable little cards that identified the food. The theme came together wonderfully, and I think the room at the church ended up looking great! The original plan had been to have the party at our house, but all our stuff was in boxes, so that idea was scrapped. Another friend loaned us a high chair since we didn't have one, and G had a BLAST squishing and smashing his cake! Godfather got it for him; that particular cake from that bakery is a tradition in his family, and we felt honoured to be included in that tradition.
We left the next day and spent 4 days driving to Alabama. Four days of 10+ hours in the car with a one year old aren't fun, trust me. Seven states, lots of fussing, hunger strikes, complete meltdowns (not all from G) and uncomfortable, interrupted sleep with a cranky baby in the bed and we arrived at camp. The house wasn't quite ready for us when we arrived, and we're still working on getting things done, but slowly it's coming together. G's room is almost unpacked and we just got 4 huge wardrobe boxes out of our room, making it feel like more breathing space. We got the Christmas tree and lights up, and now that all the boxes are in the den instead of the living room, it feels a bit better. After I finish G's room (mostly packing up baby things he's outgrown) I'm planning on tackling the ridiculous number of books we have to unpack (at least 12 boxes). They'll go on our shelves in the den. Pictures will follow when the place is a little more put together and the dining room table isn't a complete disaster.
It's been interesting. Everyone keeps saying it must be a real culture shock for me, but it doesn't feel all that different; just a lot more fried food. It's always hard to move, but because I don't know anyone in the area and have no way of meeting people, it's been very difficult for me. We ended up putting G in daycare so I could work on unpacking, but we haven't been happy with it and are in the process of moving him to a new one. I hate moving him from one to the other because he's had a bit of a rough time adjusting but there was just something that made me uneasy about the first place we went. The place he's going isn't my first choice either, but after being asked if I could take him home on our second day because they were understaffed and finding out that they were closing three extra days before New Year's due to being understaffed, I felt like it was time to get him somewhere else. Since we'll be here for registration next year, it'll be easier (yes...I have to register my >2 year old for daycare, and we're currently on 3 waitlists...ridiculous). I think the hardest part for me is that I can't even find an Irish or highland dance class, and I'm really missing that part of my life. I'm planning on starting yoga, and I've had a few vague job prospects as well. Michael's was looking for a crochet teacher, but they're so busy that they haven't taken the next step they need to complete, and in January I'm going to start shadowing a vet/vet tech to see if that's something I'd be interested in doing. So eventually I'll be more settled, but right now, all I have is a house that needs a lot of TLC.
Overall it's been good. James loves his job and is already making great progess: his first event, Winter Woods, consists of 3 mini camp sessions for middle schoolers, high schoolers and young adults, and he already has over 50 middle schoolers registered, with more on a waitlist. This is a huge improvement from the 12 people they had last year. I'm so thrilled for him because he's finally doing what he really loves and feels called to do. He's very much in his element and I know that he'll continue to do great. We've found a sitter, and were able to have our first "just us" date night in I honestly can't remember how long. We went to a Mexican restaurant (pretty good), had margaritas ($3.99 and it wasn't happy hour!!) and saw the movie Frozen.
Other news:
-G has molars coming in. One is in completely, and I just saw/felt the other 3, plus the cuspids. Teething hard right now!
-FIRST STEPS! He's been walking assisted since about 10 months, and had just graduated to only needing to hold on to one hand, but he finally took his first independent steps between me and James the other day (12/15), and he was already so confident!
-G regularly refuses to let me feed him, and is getting better with his spoon. Almost all his meals require a spoon, though he disagrees, and I'm finally giving in to the mess :)
-I started watching Doctor Who, and I'm really enjoying catching up! I should be there by Christmas for sure!
-G has been sleeping through the night regularly since starting daycare. Maybe it's because they do one 2 hour nap a day, or maybe just because he was at that point, but we are so grateful!
-I have been posting the patterns I've come up with on Ravelry, and not only have people downloaded the free ones, but I've also sold one of them twice! It's not much money (less than $2), but it makes me happy that someone liked my pattern enough to purchase it!
-G's first time trick or treating was this year. We only stayed out about an hour, and he was carried, but I think he had fun. I know I did! We ended up with a lot of non-candy items, and apparently it's a thing here to give those to the really young ones
-Our professional one year/holiday photos came back! They couldn't be more awesome! Here are my favourites: {Credit: Alison Conrad of Alison Kay Photography}
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