lifes changes

life always feels busy, but it's been a particularly busy 6 mos. chad on the job market...50 applications (phew) yeilded 6 interviews (phew!), and 4 job offers (PHEW!). we visited laramie, wy, amherst, ma, minn,mn, and denver, co. we looked at 50+ houses, i meet with 1 or 2 job potentials in each place, we visited daycares and preschools, we went for runs on trails, and short hikes around town and the outskirts...all trying to figure out what felt like 'home.' it's hard to figure out what feels like home when we like our current 'home.' we went back and forth, and back again. finally we (aka chad) created a spread sheet. i developed a point system 1-2-3 based on good, better, best, and then chad went through and ranked each variable (aka, the size of mosquitos were certainly worse in minn, but the quality of schools should perhaps have a little more value). finally we narrowed it down to denver vs. minneapolis, and were just plain stuck. hence, we debated each variable, reweighted and then crunched the numbers.
Minn, MN =104.5; Denver, CO =104.5 "NO FREAKIN' WAY"...no wonder the choice was so hard. Thus we asked Will.
Us: "Where do you want to move Minneapolis or Denver"
Will: "Denver."
Us: "Denver or Minneapolis" (just in case the order had any factor)
Will: "Denver."

...hence, we are moving to Denver. ...and we all feel happy about that.

...now will someone come and buy our house, so we can actually make the move...

Seattle and more

we had a lovely vacation in seattle and on the coast of wa. will grew a few inches, and his verbal skills seemed like the doubled. it's amazing how much kids change when they are on a trip...or maybe it's just that we were paying more attention.
we talked a lot about the trip and what we'd do. he was most excited to see the "fish throw over guys arms" (the fish mongers at pike market, who throw fish). on the way to bainbridge island, on the ferry, will kept looking in the water...asking about the "fish?"...kept looking...kept looking...
finally he cocked his head and asked "fish throw over guys arms?" and i realized, he was looking for the fish throwing show to be out in the ocean. :)

luckily he wasn't too disappointed when we actually got to pike market.




some highlights:
will loved playing the drums at the EMP museum...and used the whole 10 min allotment in the sound proof room.

he loved the tide pools, but did NOT like the tide coming up ("NO WAVES, NO WAVES, NO WAVES"--while chad's heart broke). he loved watching the clam holes, until he somehow thought they would crawl up and get him ("no hurt will") and then decided not to walk near the clam holes (which were every about 5-6" apart along the entire beach- "hold me, hold me, up please"). he loved getting buried in the sand, and having a bonfire every nite (aka marshmellows). his favorite part was the ladder in our cabin, and when asked if he wanted to go to the beach, hike in olympic nat'l park or go for a bike ride...will would respond "climb a ladder." thus, we stopped asking his opinion. we cooked great food, and will loved making 'rice balls.' will fell in love with our friend becca...though he's got his dad's knack for not recalling names and he'd keep saying "this guys name?" (at least his dad gets gender right). one day at the beach,
will: "ball please"
me: "bummer, we didn't bring a ball with us"
will: "BALL PLEASE"
me: "honey, we don't have one"
will: walks over to me, points on the ground, and pretends to pick up a ball. "bat there" (pointing for me to pick up the pretend bat)...
...chad and i slowly caught on that will was orchestrating a pretend baseball game, since we didn't bring the real gear. moments later, chad was running after will's home run, as he rounded the bases through the sand, and i stood at the pichers mound, stuneed by our 2 1/2 year old, that doesn't seem to be my little baby any more....but sure is fun to play with, and always brings just the right toys.

here are some pics from the trip...

the tape measurer

we discovered how exciting the small retractable tape measurer was for a 2 year old. it was, perhaps, a perfect travel toy, and bought us about 25 min of intrigue...at a restaurant or in traffic, etc. well last month, chad's mom decided she'd knit will a sweater for christmas (oh how we love hand made goods), and asked for some measurements. i thought i'd be no problem to get out the tape measurer and measure away....however, for some reason the 'stranger danger' fear enveloped the tape measurer.
Me: Lets measure your arms and waist...
Will: "NO DO THAT...NO DO THAT"
Me: This is such a fun tape measurer...
Will: "NO LIKE THAT!!! NO LIKE THAT!!!"
Me: But Will...this will be quick and easy...
Will: NO THANK YOU!!!
Me: humph.
No I resort to sleep moments for not only trimming finger and toe nails, but now any use of the tape measure as well.

singing and playing

will cracks us up with his instant love of guitar. he can turn most things into an instrument, and his one of choice is the 5 string. he bee lined for a guitar at the rec center's annual garage sale, and even though it's more suited for a 7 year old, he plays it like a champ, tunes it in between songs, and taps his foot all the while. when grammy was in town in may, they went to pearl street, and he loved watching all the street musicians with their wears...when he got home, he decided that he needed a bowl in front of him when he played music, and that we needed to empty any and all change into it while he played. an entrepreneur at hear. he also loves stages. in may we went to see martha scanlin (of reel time travelers) at gold hill inn. he liked seeing her play, but he may have enjoyed singing and playing with sena on stage almost as much.