he walks!

Yesterday Jamie took his first steps! He had tried a few times but had always immediately fallen over. This time he got three steps in a row before falling into me! It was just about the cutest thing I've ever seen. He hasn't tried again yet, but I'm sure he will soon.

And while we're on the subject of Jamie doing cute things . . . He can now sign milk, more, food, all done, book, ball, light, fan, wash, and diaper, and he can wave bye-bye and blow kisses. He can understand a lot more words, including rabbit, dance (he starts bopping whenever music comes on; it is the cutest thing!), momma and daddy, and glasses (definitely a favorite!). He can also locate the nose, toes, tummy, hair, and tongue. It is AMAZING watching him learn new things!

vacation part 1: Kirksville

We went on such a long trip that writing about the whole thing seems overwhelming, so I am breaking it into sections. It's actually been nearly a month since we first left!

We spent just over a week back home in Kirksville before heading west. It was so nice to be back and so relaxing! When we were home over spring break, we tried to see so many people in such a short period of time that we felt horribly rushed. Not this time: We did visit friends, but we spent most of the week playing and not stressing about anything.

On days with nice weather, we ate outside on the deck. [side note: Weather was crazy on this trip--we left high 80s in Knoxville and came to drizzly, cold 50 degree Kirksville, but we lucked out and it warmed up for at least part of the time.Weather was even crazier on the Utah half of the trip, but more on that later.]

We stayed with Thomas's parents again because my parents were going with us to Utah so we knew we'd have more time with them. Jamie's Grammy loves to buy him presents; by far his favorite this time was his new bus that he can walk with. We all got a little sick of listening to the song it plays, but we never got sick of watching Jamie delightedly walking behind it.

Besides visiting friends & family, we took Jamie to the library [another side note: I hate Knoxville's library set-up. There are things I like about it (mainly there are plenty of books available), but mostly it drives me crazy. Instead of having one big library, they have a whole bunch of smaller branches. Now, I don't know about all the branches, but the one near us is smaller than Kirksville's library and has a random smattering of books. I can easily order books from other libraries, but I hate that I can't really browse the shelves or find books there. Also, the children's section is super lame--the books are fine, but there's nothing else--no big toys or bean bags to read on or play mats or anything. Kirksville's is way better. That shouldn't be the case.] and swimming at the Aquatic Center. All the lifeguards and the water aerobics ladies were thrilled to see Jamie!

Our biggest accomplishment on this trip, without a doubt, was cleaning out Thomas's bedroom. I wish so badly I had taken before and after pictures because the change was so, so drastic. He has had the same bedroom since he was 2 and as far as I can tell never threw anything away . . . until now! The room is now clean and decluttered, with the stuff he decided to keep neatly packed and labeled in plastic tubs. I LOVE throwing things away and cleaning up cluttered spaces. It was awesome.

a portion of the stuff that got thrown out

Our last day in Kirksville was also my first Mother's Day (although last year I was 8+ months pregnant, so I did get some flowers then too). Thomas surprised me with flowers in the morning. He and Jamie got me some nice presents and the three of us went out to dinner. It was one of the really nice days weather-wise. I had a wonderful day.

The next morning we left for Utah . . .and I will leave that for another day.

produce mania

We are home from vacation! We had a wonderful time and will be posting all about it (complete with pictures) soon.

Incidentally, today is our 3rd anniversary. But I'll write about that later as well.

Today I am writing about PRODUCE.

When we got home, our fridge was basically empty. When I went shopping to restock it, I kind of went a little bit crazy on the fresh fruits and veggies. We have been eating on the road so much that I was just hungry for healthier food, plus a lot of things are looking a little tastier now that it's almost summer and they're coming back into season. In no particular order, I purchased:

Pears
Apples
Sweet potatoes
Avocado
Zucchini
Kiwis
Grapes
Carrots
Peaches
Tomatoes
Bananas
Strawberries
Romaine lettuce
Green onions
Various colors of bell peppers
Cantaloupe
Broccoli
Onions
Corn on the cob
Potatoes

My goal now is for us to eat all of them without having to throw anything out. Bring on the salads!