halloween

First I need to say Happy Birthday to my oldest brother Ben. Real nice of you to stop by while you were in town. He is quite a slacker, but did just pass his certification test and is now a physical therapy assistant, so I have to cut him some slack. We're thinking about going into business together with my brother Jake who is in med school. Still working on a name though.

Now to the fun. It's that time of year again and for us Halloween is kind of a process. First finding the perfect pumpkin, then carving the pumpkins, and finally dressing up and trick-or-treating. This was Emma's first year actually getting to participate in the carving and trick-or-treating, and I must say she loved every bit of it! First off, a look back. This was Emma a year ago.

At the pumpkin farm in North Carolina

Our lil pumpkin

Hello!

The first part of our week long Halloween extravaganza was a trip to a pumpkin patch here in Billings. It would have been a beautiful day if the wind wasn't blowing so hard. The farm is a real working farm with lots of other vegetables besides pumpkins. Unfortunately because of the early snow we had, most of it froze. On the hayride out to the pumpkin patch, we past fields of rotted tomatoes that the driver warned us not to eat or steal because they have botulism. Enough warning for me! There were plenty of pumpkins though and we each walked away with our own.

Acres of pumpkins

Emma found her pumpkin

Fun at the farm

Peek a boo

The next step was carving our pumpkins. I always find it frustrating to try and put a perfect pumpkin face to complement the perfect pumpkin prize. No matter how much effort I put in, I can never seem to get it quite right. I also don't enjoy getting all the junk out of it. The spoon never seems to scrap enough of it out so, inevitably, you have to use your hands. Emma luckily didn't seem to enthralled with the mess and it all stayed in the bowl. She had her spoon to mix and "cook" it though, so that kept her occupied.

Preparing the pumpkins

Cooking pumpkin goo

The pumpkins at their new home - our front porch!

Now the best part! Emma was a bee this year. Luckily Halloween wasn't a few weeks later because her costume hardly fit! Nate and I thought it would be fun to dress up as bee keepers but I didn't quite have my act together this week to pull it off. She of course was adorable even without bee-keepers and loved going house to house. She couldn't quite get the phrase "trick or treat" down, but did say "thank you" at almost every house, which I was very proud of. She seemed more interested in the other kids that were out than the treats she was getting until she got home and realized they how sweet her treasures were. She is definitely a candy fiend, just like daddy. Enjoy the pictures and Happy Halloween everyone!

Momma and Emma

Emma the super bee

Emma and daddy

Daddy and Emma checking out the loot

Watching the kids arrive

A tired little bee

topography

For those who aren't familiar with the Billings area, I wanted to fill you in on what our new city looks like. Billings has a population of just over 100,000 making it the largest city in Montana. It is situated in the southeastern part of the state, about 3 hours from Yellowstone. The Yellowstone river runs through Billings and Billings is in Yellowstone county. We're crazy about Yellowstone around here. Here are some other interesting stats about the city.

Billings somewhat sits in a canyon as the rimrocks (called the "rims" by the locals) enclose the city on several sides. I've always felt more comfortable in areas that have geographical limits, like Seattle. There you have the Cascades to the East and the sound to the west, so besides stretching north and south (which the area does substantially), growth is restricted by these boundaries. In Minneapolis and North Carolina, there was nothing but farmland to conquer as the cities expanded, and for some reason this unnerved me.

View of the rims from down below

View of the city from the rims

The glory of Billings

The rims rise about 500-1000 feet above the city. On top of the rims sit million dollar homes and nice walking trails. Across the street from the houses and trails are the airport and wheat fields. There something comforting to me about wheat fields. The alternating gold and earth patterned lines seem to set all my thoughts straight. Plus to me wheat = Montana = home.

Montana wheat

More wheat

We live on the west side of Billings which has seen tremendous growth over the past several years. Before moving here, it had been nearly ten years since I spent any significant amount of time here and I couldn't believe all of the places I didn't recognize! Most of this area, before it became residential developments, was farmland, and there are still some farmers that are holding out on their land - either because they don't want to give it up or because they are waiting for the right price. Just a few blocks from our house, there is a farm still in operation and it's right across the street from a Walgreens. They have hay bales and cows and everything. Crazy! I think they did sell some of their property a few years ago and it was developed into a golf course, so this is also right next to the farm. Only in Montana!

Haystacks-you can see the stores in the distance

Haystacks #2

Thursday night the scene started to change as a premature winter storm blew into the region. By the time it was over early Sunday evening, we had nearly 2 feet of snow! They haven't gotten this much snow at one time in several years here. Being that it was so early in the season, the snow was very wet and heavy and broke many tree branches. The downed branches caused sporadic power outages and made roads nearly impassable. I knew there was something I was forgetting when I thought it would be fun to move back.

Winter in October - our newly dusted front porch

balance

I am a firm believer in karma or yin-yang or any other principle that deals with balancing the ups and downs of life. All through my life when things seem to be tough, something great comes along. This time it's opposite. We've had a lot of ups right now, and one not-so-significant down which I'll touch on later.


We moved into our house over labor day weekend with the help of some wonderful family members. I was shocked at how much we got done! We painted the majority of the main floor (including the vaulted ceilings) after the arduous process of removing wallpaper. There was a massive cleaning campaign (I can't believe the shape the previous owners left it in!) and furniture and boxes were moved in, unpacked and the furniture put together. There's no greater feeling than sleeping in your own bed and I think Emma enjoyed it just as much. She was incredible over the weekend with the help of some great distracters (thanks Maddie, Katie, Haley, and Cody!) and hardly got any paint on her! Our neighborhood is great and we've received lots of goodies and babysitting offers, although with all of the family I have here, the neighbors will be far down the list! I'll post pictures when we're a little further along with decorating and touching up our paint jobs.

Emma has had to make a lot of transitions lately and has handled them all quite well. First was the whole move into the house. I think she really enjoys the extra space. Our main floor makes a circle, so for the first few days she would walk the circle over and over. The next task was to stop her bottle before bed. I've been hesitant to stop this both because I liked the time with her and because she doesn't drink a whole lot during the day. But, I as suspected, not having her bottle at night has drastically increased her fluid intake during the day. I was shocked at how well she went down though. The first night without the bottle she cried for about 15 minutes and then slept through the night. Since then she hasn't cried again and continues to sleep through the night. The next big challenge was daycare. Emma had her first day September 8th and I had my first day of work. Again she handled the transition like a champ. She didn't even cry when I left. She is a very social girl so I think she really enjoys the time with the other kids. On her third day they said she was pretty miserable all day which of course broke my heart, but she wasn't very happy at home either so I'm wondering if she might be teething or just not feeling well. Work for me has been fairly boring so far because it's just orientation stuff, but I'm really excited to start working with patients again. And it makes me feel even better going to work knowing that Emma is enjoying her day too. The next challenge on the plate is to get rid of her pacifier, but I may wait a week or two. Don't want to throw too many wrenches into the mix!

Emma seems to be growing so much lately. I swear she learns a new word every day and has become an expert copier. She can say her name just like I do in my warning motherly tone. It's pretty funny actually. Here's a video with some of her favorite games.

This was from a few weeks ago. Her body part repertoire has expanded quite a bit

She was so silly with her animal noises this day. Usually she does very well, but on this particular day, all the animals made a high pitched whispering sound.

Now for the bad news. Nate was in a car accident a few weeks ago. Thankfully no one was hurt, but the Rabbit didn't come out so lucky. He was stopped at a light and the light turned green. The person in front of him started to go, so he started to go and adjust his visor at the same time, so when the person in front of him stopped suddenly, he didn't notice. Unfortunately, because it's Montana, the person in front of him happened to be driving a truck. So there was no damage at all to the truck - not a scratch to speak of. Nate's hood however was a different story. The body shop estimate was nearly $3500! Good thing he wasn't going over 10 miles an hour! So a bummer, but it definitely could have been worse.

saturday in the park

Today we had a nice outing to Red Lodge. It's about an hour away from Billings at the base of the Beartooth Mountains. It's located on highway 212 also known as the beartooth highway, which has been called the most scenic highway in the country. This site has some nice pictures and descriptions of the surrounding area. The scenic part must start after Red Lodge. The highway does goes into Yellowstone, so we hope to take that route to the park sometime in the future and discover all the scenery it has to offer. Red Lodge has a quaint downtown area with an eclectic array of shops, but nothing that really caught our eye. We ate lunch at the Red Boxcar which, surprisingly, is housed in an old red boxcar. It's situated on Rock Creek which we checked out while waiting for our food.

Collecting leaves in the water. She's been on a big collecting kick lately

Having fun in the water with daddy

Mommy and Emma

After lunch we tried to find the ski area, Red Lodge Mountain, to see what the lodge is like before deciding to make the trek with all our ski gear, but we missed the turn. I'm sure we'll hit the slops at least once this winter. I can't wait! On our way back into town after trying to find the ski area, traffic was backed up because of a cattle round-up. Only in Montana.

After returning to Red Lodge, we found a great public park and played for awhile with Emma. I just have to share all these pictures because she was so cute today and so excited by the park.

Playing the "organ" which needed some tunning

Playing the giant xylophone

Trying out the rings. Unfortunately she blew the dismount

Crawling through the tunnel

Halfway through

The tunnel journey is complete

Swinging on the tire swing as viewed from the top

Going down the slide. She loved this!

What a cutie!

After the park, we drove to Cooney Dam State Park to meet my grandma, Aunt Janie, and her daughter Haley for dinner. The park is on the way back to Billings and my grandma is the park ranger there. We had a nice visit and Emma proved again how unafraid of the water she is. We neglected to bring her swim suit, but that didn't deter her. Had it not been for the rocky beach, she would have walked into the lake fully clothed. I did have swimmer diapers for her so I put those on, left her top and bottomless, slathered her with sunscreen and walked her into the water. She had a tight grip on my fingers the whole time, but consistently led me into deeper water (up to her mid-chest!) and then, with huge eyes and drawn in breath, she would turn around and head for shallow waters until she regained her composure and tried it again. She really is a water baby. Watch out Phelps! Thanks again for dinner Gramma/Gigima!

waiting

Not much to report lately. We've moved out of our apartment and are currently living with my uncle Tom and aunt Janine until our closing date August 29th. We had our inspection last Thursday and the house seems fine, which is a relief. So everything looks like it's on track. Interest rates kinda suck right now so we had to lock in a rate of 6.375% compared to our last mortgage which was around 5.75%. Oh well, maybe we can refinance in a few years. We've ordered some new furniture and are shopping for a new washer and dryer. Here's some pics of Emma trying out some Emma-sized furniture:

Emma trying out the soccer ball chair

I loved this little rocking chair. It's so cute!

Tom and Jeanine have a cute park a few blocks from their house. Emma and I went to discover it yesterday only to find the sprinklers were on and were soaking half of the play equipment. So we played in the grass for about 45 minutes, but the sprinklers didn't turn off, so we headed back home because it was getting hot. Here's some shots at the park:

"Running" in the park

Her new favorite trick - pushing the stroller by herself

I'm also still waiting to hear back from the state about my nurse practitioner license, the last step of the licensure process. The board of nursing called me last week and asked that I send them a transcript directly from Duke, even though the transcript I sent them was sealed with Duke's seal. Apparently, there has been a lot of transcript fraud lately. The lady I spoke with was very nice and said that after they receive the transcript, everything should be good to go, so I'm still hoping I'll be able to start work at the beginning of September. Goodbye to letting my hair air dry and not wearing makeup! I also still don't have Emma's daycare lined up for sure. The place I'm going to be working primarily is St. John's retirement center and they have daycare facilities right on site. In Emma's age group, there is a Mom who is contemplating moving but has not made up her mind yet apparently. If she does end up moving, Emma would have her spot. If not, I'm not sure when she would get in, so I probably should start looking for temporary options. It's really weird to think about having someone else watch her. She's had about 2 weeks in daycare before when we were in North Carolina, but yet still got sick in those 2 weeks. The only illness she's had to date, so that makes me a little nervous too. Better save up my sick days!

anniversary

On this day 5 years ago, Nate and I began our happily ever after. I wish I had some pictures from the wedding and even before, but they are still all in storage, so you'll all just have to try and remember the day. We've had so many changes since we've been together, from freshman year, to Seattle, to master's programs, to babies, and moving AGAIN, but we always get through the disasters (numerous camping expedition mishaps) and end up laughing about it in the end. I just finished reading the first two books of the Twilight series (over 1100 pages in 4 days-I couldn't put them down!!!) and the love story it portrays reminded me of the strength of our love and the passion we share. Forever is a mighty long time, but I'm with you all the way. I love you Nathan!

fabulous in seattle

We spent last weekend taking a really quick trip to Seattle for my friend Carmen's wedding. We decided not to take Emma with us, but I struggled with the decision for quite awhile. I wanted everyone to see her, but I knew she would not find the 11 hour car ride quite as enjoyable as I did. Although I did miss her, we had a great time in Seattle. We got to see a Mariners game (my first pro baseball game. Crazy I know!) It's too bad they're not having their best season this year. It was still fun yelling I-CHI-ROO!!! and RAUL!!!! when they were up to bat.

Our sweet seats at the mariners game

Safeco by night. I was surprisingly cold at the game

We stayed with our friends Danielle and Pavel and their 3 month old son, Enzo who is gorgeous. They were great hosts and the house looked great. They've put a lot of work in since buying it early last year.

The happy family: Danielle, Pavel, and Enzo

Danielle and Enzo

Nate and I pre-wedding

Being in Seattle really made me miss the area. The shopping for one thing. Everything seemed the same as when we left, with a few notable exceptions. Our favorite coffee place, Triple J cafe in Kirlkand, is no longer in existence and is now some restaurant. We tended to be starbucks snobs when we lived in WA (sorry Sean!) and preferred local coffee places. Our other blow came when we tried to have lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, City Thai which was also closed. This scene was even more depressing, however, because nothing moved into the space it used to occupy so it sat there as an empty monument to the carefree, kid-free lifestyle we had when we lived there. The annual seafair celebration was going on while we were there and so the I-90 bridge to Seattle was closed. One thing I don't miss about Seattle is the traffic!

The wedding was great. It was in my friend Lynn's backyard. She lives on Lake Sammamish. It was a small, short ceremony. Just how Carmen wanted it. She of course looked beautiful. The reception was at a small restaurant in Redmond called Sages. The food was spectacular! Unfortunately, the small size didn't allow enough space for a dance floor, much to my and more importantly Nate's (who loves to cut a rug after he's had a few glasses of wine) chagrin. I'm pretty sure Carmen and Sean planned it that way. Carmen has a trade mark dance called the Matrix (long story) but other than that, I don't think she's very comfortable dancing, and I'm sure Sean's not either. So they left the reception around 8:30 and we left just behind them.

Walking down the aisle

Sean saying his vows

You may kiss the bride

The newly married couple

Lynn and the best man in front of the get away car

The trip back seemed to take forever, but I was so glad to get home to see my baby. Although I miss Seattle and the lifestyle we had there, I would never, ever say I would regret where my life has taken me. Emma is the best thing to happen to both of us. Truly a blessing.