Mighty May!

This past month was by far the busiest month we have had in a long time but it was all positive events so we looked forward to the busy-ness! Admittedly I've slowed down on the job search; its been tough since the weather has really perked up. I still have one potential possibility in the pipeline but it is with a small start-up and I'm not sure they are ready to pull the trigger yet. So while I wait for the best fit, I'll continue to take my favorite companion on adventures.

The first weekend in May we were lucky enough to have Uncle Josh come visit us from Denver! He and Chris met up in Chicago for a Cubs game then drove over to see Colin. It sure was great to see him, and I know Colin really enjoyed spending time with Uncle Josh - in reality Colin just likes having more people to show off for.

The next weekend was Auntie's bachelorette party in Cleveland. Since we're still working on Colin sleeping in his toddler bed, I decided to go alone, leaving Chris and Colin to have a boys weekend. It started off a little shaky, with Chris attempting to cut Colin's hair. Luckily we've been married long enough that my voice haunts him even when I am not there, so he stopped before causing irreparable damage.

Colin also got to eat fried cheesesticks, taquitos and chicken wings all while watching cartoons - when the cat is away the mice will play! And they both survived, so it was a win!

The third weekend in May was our "rest weekend" where we took care of some errands and just sort of relaxed from the previous weekend and before the next weekend.

Over Memorial Day, we had our biggest bunch of visitors from Oklahoma! Including our family, there was a total of 6 adults and 5 kids (all under 4 years old). We went to lots of playgrounds and played outside when we could. Everyone deserves a medal, as we also ended up taking the entire crew out to restaurants several times! It was chaotic, but fun and it was so great to see all the kids play and interact together. All their personalities are really shining at this age - never a dull moment! It was hard to say goodbye to everyone, especially not knowing when we'll see them again, but we were very happy to have them come to visit us and show them around our new place!

In the meantime, Colin finished up his Montessori program. I was sad it was over, because I think both Colin and I really learned from it. The teacher encouraged us to find ways to have them feel useful around the house. Colin has been watering plants and sorting the silverware from the dishwasher, so I've been consciously finding ways to get him more involved. Someday his partner will appreciate my efforts!

Colin also finished up his music program. We got a few songs out of it that he likes, including one we do at bedtime. But I wasn't as sad when that one ended; there is more singing than dancing and Colin had a tendency to get very restless. I actually had to leave our last class early because he was being unruly. Picture this: 7 little kids sitting quietly with their parent(s) while making scarves "dance" along to a song - now picture Colin, running back and forth across the room waving his scarf and yelling "Superman! Superman!" Yeah. It is funny NOW but at the time I could have busted his butt into next week.

We still get out as much as we can to play with the neighbor kids. Colin has his favorite, no doubt, but he loves running around with them all. Kids are kids, but they all share their toys and look out for him really well. One neighbor recently moved from Portland, OR and told me how tough it was for his kids to find friends in a big city, but here it was so much easier. He followed it with, "Whoever said less is more really knew what they were talking about." So true.

Rolling into summer, I have been researching lakes, waterparks and splash pads to add into our adventure repertoire. The initial transition away from working and just having Colin as a boss was tough - I felt like I wasn't contributing much and was getting bored. I set out to make weekly goals for us, and began to somewhat adhere to a schedule, and it became easier. Just a couple weeks ago it finally hit me how lucky I am to have the opportunity to stay with him. Of course, we're making sacrifices for me to do so, but it is worth it to be there with him, teach him, and watch him grow.