New lens

It is really hard to good photos at this age.  The kid never stops moving.  But when I get a good one, one where he is actually looking at the camera or in the general area and smiling.  They are great.

I got a new lens with some Christmas money, I am pretty happy with it so far.

Leland's favorite things

Here are some things we play with every single day.

Animal figurines.  These guys are an obsession for Leland.  He carries them around the house, sleeps with them at nap time, etc.  They are always around and we may have too many but it's okay.  I may also have a slight obsession with them.  I find them adorable and it is hard not to want one of each.

Felt animals and felt board.  He likes to get them all out of the bag and put them on the board.  He is a bit OCD about making sure they are flat on the board.

 Puzzles, puzzles puzzles.  Leland can do all the puzzles we have on his own now.

Sesame Street. He knows their names and plays with them for long periods of time.  It is awesome.  I am all about the independent play time.

There are other toys we play with too, but these are a must for Leland.  A bonus, they don't make noise.

Getting over a good book is hard.

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I just completed another book series.  Of course it was young adult because I can't stay away.  It was another series by Rick Riordan.  Was the writing that good?  No.  But the story and plot line really stick with you.  This time I read the Kane Chronicles, which was based around Egyptian gods.

I hate finishing a series.  It leaves me feeling empty.  I keep thinking about the characters and having dreams about the story.  I am completely lost on what to read next.  This can also be true for a really good non-series book.

Thankfully I have some tried and true authors that I go to after a good series has finished.

John Irving
Barbara Kingsolver
Tom Robbins

These are my favorite and every book I read of theirs I love.  So hopefully Irving can get me out of this funk this time.

We got the sickies

Well Leland does anyway.

He has a cold.  I think it might be because he doesn't nurse very much anymore (2-3 times a day) but maybe he is just becoming a true toddler with snot running down his face.

I feel bad for him but he is also really obnoxious -whining, not napping, having more frequent/intense  tantrums. Ugh.

There is not much worse than a sick kid.

Hopefully he recovers quickly.  Thankfully he hasn't been sick too often.

Here is a cute video of him from over Christmas.  Around 17 seconds he tells his horse to be quiet.

First memory

I  recently read this book and the author writes his first memory.  To me it seems like a very young age (around 18 months) to be remembering a moment in his childhood.  It freaks me out a bit that he remembered his childhood at that young of age.

My first memory is being at Disney World, I was 3.  I remember being on the Dumbo ride, vaguely the hotel room, the ride "Its a Small World After All" and that is about it.

This makes me wonder what Leland's first memory will be when he gets older.  Will it be something we did this week or last week or tomorrow?  Maybe he will remember his bison obsession and how we visit the Museum once a week on his request.  Or will he remember watching DVDs on the computer?  As if parenting wasn't stressful enough already, now I have to worry what his first memory will be and hopefully it will be a happy one.

Maybe I am just being crazy.

What is your first memory?

Job change

At the beginning of December I decided I needed a change.

I wasn't  happy with by nanny situation for many reasons and so I talked to Jeff about it.  We decided it was best that I stopped working. This Thursday is my last day and I am really excited to spend more time focusing on Leland.  I am a big believer on doing what makes you happy (as long as it is possible and someone in the house is a sugar daddy).

I am still writing for 2nd Green Revolution and hoping to focus on that a bit more.  I really enjoy writing.  I am hoping this extra time will also allow me to write more on this blog.

Maybe with a bit of extra time I can also figure out Adobe Light Room that has been sitting on my computer taking up space for the past year.  Or start editing videos.  Or write/publish that journal article I have been meaning to get to since May. Or start taking more photos again.  

So many things I would like to accomplish but often my laziness takes over.  Such is life.

I am really looking forward to not working again.  2013 is going to be awesome.

Lunch

I don't know about you but to me lunch is the worst meal of the day.  I feel I am often stuck with leftovers or a lame sandwich.  Sometimes it is okay if I am really in the mood for PB&J or there is a particularly good meal we made, but overall I don't look forward to it.

Source: powerforceapparel.blogspot.com via Megan on Pinterest

I recently made a Pinterest board (because Pinterest solves all problems) to help find better lunch solutions.  This means that I have to actually plan for lunch a bit more.

Hopefully it works, I plan to keep you updated with what I had for lunch and if it was actually good as well.

Today I had a PB&J, cheddar bunnies, and a banana.  Lame.  I think my toddler is influencing me too much lately.

Do you have any suggestions for lunch?

A break

I obviously took a nice long break from posting.  I blame it on Christmas and traveling.  But it was also partially I had nothing interesting to say and I forgot the charger to the laptop (oops).  We are now back in Denver, unpacked and have a clean house so things should return to semi-normal.  The break was nice though.  I stayed away from the internet as best as possible  but some how got addicted to a game on my phone (Candy Crush Saga will be the end of me).

While we were in KC visiting the entire family nothing too crazy happened.  It fact it was pretty relaxing overall, meaning we didn't plan too much and had plenty of down time.  Maybe a bit too relaxing, because I feel as if I didn't take enough photos.

But here are just a few of my favorites.

 Cute snack face

 His favorite toy at great grandma's

 KC Zoo visit

 Elk feeding at Lake Jacomo

 Someone didn't want to play in the snow with his cousins

Playing in his tent with his favorite present- Sesame Street