Almost walking

Where did the summer go? We have settled in to our house in Portland, which is starting more and more to feel like home. We've had some good trips this summer -- to Montana, North Carolina, and Seattle to visit family and friends. Our little boy is growing every day and is very close to walking. He'll cruise around the coffee table, push chairs, and balance on his feet without holding on to anything. Any day now...

He loves bath time - especially in the claw foot tub with the elaborate chrome fixtures. He loves blueberries, and any kind of fruit (peaches, bananas, watermelon) and pizza crusts.

His main word is "Da" -- can be said once, or in a chain. A high-pitched "Da" tends to mean, "oh wow, look at that." For a while (the whole week we were in NC) he was blowing air through his lips making motorboat sounds, but that phase seems to have passed.

Today is the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. We went for a run, did a finger painting for grandpa's birthday card, made oatmeal cookies, danced to Greg Brown and watched some US Open. While baking cookies, August played on the dishwasher (guaranteed to keep him occupied for a half hour). I used the last of the vanilla so I screwed the cap back on and gave it to A to play with. He loved it. A little while later I looked down and he had brown all over his face. The cap had come off and he'd been sucking on the bottle. Is there alcohol in vanilla? Oh well, there wasn't much in there, just the dregs. Now he smells like a cookie.

Foosball!

Getting rid of Steve

Steve was the former inhabitant of our house. He was quite a character, always seemed alternately stoned or amped up on something. Every time we walked into the house he and his girlfriend (another story) were burning tons of incense. They also had potent home fragrance thingies plugged in to electrical outlets all over the place. So we thought they were trying to cover up the fact that they were smoking pot (not like we really would have cared).

Our first order of business upon moving in was to clean and air out the house, getting rid of the 'essence of Steve.' We hired cleaners, which was the best $200 I've ever spent. We threw out the air fresheners, opened the windows, but the smell still lingered. "Steve" represented all that was stinky and sketchy and contaminated.

Then I got a nasty sinus infection, and soon our whole family was coughing and hacking and stuffy. We wondered if our sickness had to do with the mysterious house smell. So I called Michelle, who runs EcoRemedi here in Portland. Cool woman - among other things, she produces 'healthy home' TV shows.

We wanted Michelle to test our indoor air quality, and she came over with a nifty device that records all kinds of data-- allergens, VOC's (volatile organic compounds), chemicals, mold, etc -- over the course of several days. While we were at it, we also tested for radon.

The verdict -- we have high levels of radon, and need to do some ventilation in our basement to remedy that problem. So glad we tested, because radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers.

As for the air quality, which was our original concern...we're still waiting for the results. Hope to know today or tomorrow.

All of this -- moving into a new house, dealing with these issues, concerned about the health of our little babe -- has made me even more determined than I was before to create a pure environment in our home. I don't work in absolutes -- I can't say I'll completely banish plastic toys or processed food or disposable diapers or conventional cleaning products, etc, etc. But every choice I make takes me further away from those things, and closer to alternatives that are natural, healthier, and what I instinctively feel are better for our family.

Good riddance, Steve.

Moving!

Hard to believe, but we are finally moving to Portland at the end of March!

Here's a pic of our new house. We love:

the front porch (but might have to tear down the wisteria-covered railing and put up something nicer/wood)
beautiful remodeled kitchen with french doors leading out to the huge deck
great wood staircase
a fireplace - finally we have a place to put Christmas stockings!
beautiful bathrooms, tiled, claw foot tubs
finished basement
tons of space!

Plus, it is in PORTLAND!

Now the packing begins.

fever

Poor little guy has his first cold, and a temp of 100. He is congested and coughing. Asleep on my lap right now. He may feel crummy but he's still doing his little sleep smiles.

The doctor remarked on his long eyelashes. Handsome boy!

Maybe it's the nice weather we are having, but we had three people looking at our house today. Just somebody make an offer! (a good one!)

Happy Friday!

So grateful to be working from home - yesterday, August rolled over for the first time! I put him down on his back in his little gym and left the room for a minute. John and I came back into the family room and the big boy was on his stomach!

So far so good

Our first three daycare days were a success. Monday I was an absolute wreck, couldn't stop crying. Red, puffy eyes and tears when I dropped him off. Yaneth, the daycare woman, was so so sweet - she has kids of her own - and totally understood my misery. Of course, August was smiling the whole time and seemed totally chill with the whole thing.

I had to pull over after I dropped him off to catch my breath, and was still crying when I got to the office. My colleagues were great. There were beautiful flowers from Leslie in my office. I managed to pull it together, but still had visions of August crying at daycare. Had my first pumping-milk-at-work experience. Went fine, and I'm grateful I have my own office. I can't imagine having to trek to the bathroom every couple hours to pump. It's bad enough as it is!

Around 2:00 I left to pick up the boy. When I got there he was happy as a clam. SUCH a relief. When we got home he couldn't stop talking, like he had so much to tell us about his day. Most of the kids at this in-home daycare are around 2 or 3, so I think August likes watching the big kids. And maybe it's cool for him to see new things, be in a different place, who knows.

Oh, and he NAPS at daycare. What?! That was my biggest fear, because I thought he couldn't nap/sleep without nursing. Well, apparently not. So that is also a big relief. I need to ask Yaneth what her secret is...

Tues and Wed also went well, same thing - he's just a happy, secure, content little guy. I'm sure there will be bad/fussy days, but I think we're off to a good start.

Of course, it's still hard for me -- I miss him so much during the day (which is why I've been picking him up at 2 every day!) Luckily today and Friday I work from home, so I get him all to myself. Still trying to figure out the whole work-balance thing.