Wife Without Borders: A Bad Case of Blogging Blues

I feel like I’m forcing the whole blogging thing lately. I don’t necessarily want to give it up, but I find that most of the time I’m at a loss for what to write about. Being a Stay at Home Mom is endlessly fascinating to me, but I know that those of you without 2 year olds probably aren’t too interested in day to day nuances of power struggles and the excitement of preschool milestones.

But since 99% of my time and energy goes into nurturing this little wolf-child of mine, it’s 99% of what on my mind most of the time and therefore, out of the heart, words flow. What did I used to write about? Oh yea- traveling and living abroad! Seems like such a long time ago.

But even in Aberdeen I felt I hit a lull once we had been there for a while and then blogging topics effortlessly came back once we were back in the relocation cycle again. We didn’t expect to be in California for over two years so now that we are about to celebrate our 2 year anniversary Jon and I are getting antsy.

We know that we can’t stay here indefinitely but are quietly minding our business hoping that somehow we slip through the cracks and get to say awhile. All the while we have this nagging feeling that this is the calm before the storm. And while I love the calm, the storm gives me much more to blog about!

But as uninspired as I feel to document our lives sometimes, I’m always so grateful to have posts to look back at and help me recollect the different stages of my life. I have to remember that ultimately, this blog is for me- a sort of public diary where I grapple with the blessings and sorrows and even the mundane everyday events that encapsulate our lives.

It’s hard to believe but I know that one day I’ll look back and my memory of what a typical day with a 2 year old Forest was like will start to get hazy. So I’ll be glad that I went on and on and on about teething and play dates and crafting projects. Thanks for riding along with us! I figure for today I will just do a big random photo dump to let y’all in on the exquisite normalcy that we are enjoying these days.

There were about 5 rainy weekends in a row due to El Nino. As soon has we had a decent forecast on a Saturday we headed to the Oakland Zoo. Little buddy is an animal lover to the fullest so always loves going to zoos.

One good thing about being ridiculously tall is that Forest was able to ride all the rides. The height requirement on most of the rides was 36' and Forest is officially 37.25' (!!!). Good thing because I can't imagine the tantrum that would have resulted if he weren't tall enough to drive the cars!

Or the planes.

Or the cars again.

And again.

Mardi Gras didn't go unnoticed in our house. Forest had a friend over and we made Mardi Gras Masks to mark the occasion. I think our little artist did a great job.

Forest continues to love building towers....and equally enjoys knocking them down.

His new favorite thing is building tunnels for his trains...

.... and knocking them down.

In this scenario 'The Hulk' was responsible for knocking down the tunnel and therefore received a scolding from Forest and was sent to time out:

Forest takes weekly swimming lessons which he greatly enjoys. His favorite part is that one of his best buds is in the class with him and they both get a kick out of stuffing themselves in lockers. I guess if they get bullied in high school (hard to imagine with their size...) they will be adequately prepared.

Forest lately has been loving to play dress up. Since we don't have many dress up options, he improvises with Jon and I's wardrobe.

The recent rain has made the hills around our house a vibrant green. One perk of Forest's early wake up calls is that my weekend runs usually coincide with a gorgeous sunrise.

Safeway (our local grocery store) is doing a Monopoly game and Jonathan is super serious about it. Anytime I make a grocery run, that evening Jon sits down to systematically place the newest stickers on the board. Forest, of course, wants to be just like his daddy but Jonathan, of course, won't let the toddler anywhere near something as precious as a Safeway monopoly board, so instead we always set him up with his Melissa and Doug stickers. The resulting scene is pretty stinkin' adorable.

Spring has sprung in San Ramon which means lots of outdoor play dates. I love that Forest has found a kindred spirit in some of his buddies who also have joyous and adventurous souls.

These two in particular are two peas in a pod. I love that at this age they are actually playing together. So sweet.

A few of F's aforementioned buddies are enrolled in a nearby co-op preschool that is fantastically play-based. F is registered at our church's equally fantastic preschool starting in September, but anyhoos, this other preschool was hosting a community science day for preschoolers this past weekend and Forest had a blast! I was so impressed with his ability to go from station to station and take instruction and interact with both kiddos and adults in a confident manner. He is growing up!

Forest's normal park problems (ie running away and having zero intrest in the play structures) are getting much better recently. He will usually stay on the playground 80% of the time, only needing redirection a few times. He always asks 'daddy go on slide with forest?', and who could possibly refuse that sweet request?

PS. I always think Forest looks huge unless he's standing next to Jonathan. Then he looks so small. Hard to believe that the doctors are predicting he will be even taller than his dad one day (6'2-6'4 is the range they gave us at 18 months).

And here are just a few recent videos of the little guy:

Dancing: