Video: Water Fun!

It's about one million degrees in our apartment right now, so we've decided to head out to the park. There is a giant park right near our house with water fountains that Seeley LOVES. She used to be a bit reluctant about the water but now she just charges in! She also loves to run around and literally scream and laugh with excitement. She also loves to run around the other kids screaming and saying, "HAHAHAHA!!" Kinda weird, mostly cute ;)

IMG 4798[1] from tanya dickinson on Vimeo.

Around These Parts...

Fall is in the air! It's getting a little bit colder and darker at night and it's beginning to rain more often (trust me, this is the only time I will be excited about Portland's 500 months of rain.) There's something special about a summertime rainstorm. You can go outside in a t-shirt in the pouring rain and be warm. Everything smells good, it's not too muddy. Like an eight year old, I love to jump in puddles and shake the raindrops off of tree branches. Seeley also likes rain. She'll stand in the spot on our deck that always collects water and get soaking wet. Today I decided that we needed some playtime outside despite the rain. Well, let's be honest; I was fine staying in on a rainy day but Seeley would not stop trying to open the door, shoes in hand. Within about 30 seconds of being outside she was covered in mud. I'll just say it's best to be okay with clothes getting destroyed it you're playing in the rain ;)

We also were able to get a kid friendly nature hike in last weekend at Tryon Creek state park. One of the tough things about not living in our hometown is that we don't have immediate access to nature like Wes and I did growing up. But Portland has great trails and nature areas, so it was nice to get out and explore!

Welcome to the woods! We didn't even have to leave Portland!

Ready to go

Lush and green everywhere!

Love

Someone's happy to get outside!

Our woodland explorer

 

Tour guide Seeley

Snail!

Her new thing is to "help" whether you like it or not :)

mmmmm

Rainy day girl with her friends.

 

Time for laundry and a bath after this!

 

Big girl!

I'm working on my relationship with rain...

Beep beep!

Happy girl.

Pictures of A Morning Well Spent

Apartment Love

We were supposed to go to Seattle this weekend, but Seeley was running a fever so she and I stayed behind. It turned out fine though since we always have fun running and playing around the house. Wes and I have lived in a lot of apartments in Montana, Washington and now Oregon. Some, like our Seattle apartments, were nice, spacious and fancy. Some, like the apartment I had when we first started dating in Missoula and the one we had years later when we moved back, were shoeboxes. But we've always made our apartment our home, given it that special touch, especially with this apartment. Seeley had another home before this, but this is the first home where she'll actually have memories of living here. We plan to stay here until we buy a house and we want to make this place as special as we can for her and for us.

I think I take after my mom in my love for making apartments cozy, stylish and welcoming. We moved a lot during my childhood, but my mom made sure our homes always felt like our own. There was lots of color, everything was always organized and our room (and the rest of the house) was a hang out for all our friends. I want Seeley to feel about our house the way I felt about mine: that it's a safe haven, a place of fun and love, something to be proud of.

Her first big girl bed set with her first pillow!

I think she liked it ;)

Seeley and friends.

My new reading light for bedside reading and writing.

We finally got bookcases for my ever-expanding book collection!

Our corner library.

Lavender. My absolute favorite smell.

Mi casa es su casa.

Tot Tuesday at Hopworks

We're lucky in that we have four parks and two nature trails within walking distance of our house. Our apartment complex has a pool and there's a bookstore about a half mile away. I definitely appreciate these things and we take advantage of them all the time. Hence me getting a little bored. We rotate between the same parks all. the. time. I feel like I'm on autopilot sometimes! Seeley always has fun, but I think it would be great for her if she got to explore some new things! It was perfect timing, then, that I discovered Tot Tuesday at Hopworks Brewery in southeast Portland. The second Tuesday of every month Hopworks turns there banquet room into toddler paradise. There are tons of toys (the giant dinosaurs are a huge hit), a story time and a craft table. The kids get food and drinks and the parents can order beer and food as they please ( I ordered a beer before I sat down ;)) Seeley had a blast. She got to explore and make new friends and I found something new to add to our calendar!

A must stop on your next Portland visit!

Introductions.

The banquet room is awesome.

Gotta love local breweries!

Her very own sippy!

Ants on a log, cheese, cookies...a feast fit for toddlers!

Friends!

Crafts for kiddos.

Beer and play. Perfect combo.

Trains! Choo choo!

Hopworks IPA. Nothing better.

Beer plane.

And top it off with an amazing (veggie) burger!!

Back to Work???

Sometimes I look for jobs on the internet. I like to see what's out there, and most the time I see that I'm not missing much. A couple weeks ago, however, I found the. perfect. job. Part time, at a local college, providing academic support to students. And I really wanted it. Wes and I agreed before Seeley was born that if I came across a job opportunity that fits my career goals, I should go for it. When Seeley was born though that idea kind of slipped out of my mind. Even though being home with an infant was really tedious and demanding and tiresome and often boring I really wanted to be Seeley's primary caretaker. I don't judge mother's who go back to work right away. If anything, having a child has taught me that there are a million ways to parent and each individual knows what's best for them. For me, being a stay-at-home mom felt like the right thing for us. I got to witness moments that will never happen again. Me staying home took a lot of pressure of off our daily schedules, it opened up time to travel, and on and on.

But now she's almost two. And to be honest, I don't really feel the need to be a full-time SAHM anymore. Seeley is getting so independent. She loves to engage with other kids and explore the world. I feel like she needs more than just me and her everyday. I'm so grateful I've been home so far because we established a great foundation of love and trust and I know she feels safe and happy. And now she's ready to go out into the world without us just a little bit. And I do mean just a little bit. I don't want to work full time for a long while. The job I saw online was perfect because it's only 15 hours a week. And that's all I want until she starts school. I know we're ready because I used to imagine her in daycare and I didn't feel comfortable. Now I just think of all the fun she'd have!!!!

So I applied for the job. And the idea of looking for a part-time job is on the table. But I have specifications. We'd only like to have Seeley in daycare about two days a week, which means that any position I find should be about 15-20 hours a week. I also want to stick to jobs that will further my profession; if I'm going to leave Seeley it's got to be worth it!! So, I'm kind of on the hunt for a job. There's no rush, though. If I find something that looks good I'm applying. Otherwise, I'll be here with my girl :)