I can't come up with a clever title

Oh, what to talk about. Honestly, not much is happening. Some of you may know that when a move is coming up I tend to get started with the process a little early. I started on working on clearing out the condiments in the fridge probably in January. Not throwing them away of course, but planning meals that use them up so they don't go to waste. I've also started putting together items to send home so we can kind of start gauging how much that is going to cost and how many boxes that will be. Also it helps me feel like I'm getting something done.

Dan thought it was important that you all know that he isn't always happy.

Weaning a baby makes a mother feel bad, especially when he is only about five months old. It just seems that we are all happier when he has formula. It keeps him fuller longer and he eats quicker. Whenever he spits up lately- and it's not often- it's always breast milk. I don't really understand that, but I take it as a sign to keep doing what we're doing.

Oskar is so loud. I know I've said it before, but he's getting bigger so he's getting louder. I already had bad hearing and this is going to make me deaf. Sometimes when I sing the alphabet he quiets down, but I'm getting so sick of singing it (and Baa Baa Black Sheep and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star). It's also difficult to sing one thing and type another, not impossible, but it definitely slows down the process. Note for moms to be: refresh your lullaby/nursery rhyme knowledge. It does not just stick around from childhood. Also, do some bicep curls.

He is mostly happy though.

My final week up here is all planned and the reservations are made. Yay. It includes two glaciers, an aquarium, a brewery, horseback riding in the mountains and kayaking in the ocean. Sounds like a win. It also includes staying in a facility with no running water, but we're trying not to focus on that. There are communal bathrooms and stuff, so we'll make it. Sixty-five dollars a night works a lot better for us than $190. And the $190 is the cheapest we could get. It seems that Seward is full up.

Saw some moose on our walk yesterday. The baby is pretty easy to see.  To the left of the big cluster of trees you can kinda see a big butt. That is the momma.

In other news, I can't figure out how the camera on my computer works. I even tried using the internet to help me. No dice. Of course I skipped the tutorial when I got the computer because I thought it would be easy to go back and find it. I was wrong. I'll try again when Oskar is sleeping. Oh wow, I may have just found it accidentally, still going to work on it later.

You will all be thrilled to know that after the stroller fiasco of last weekend, I now have two, including the one I originally wanted. I will be returning the more expensive one. Whew, glad that's settled.

Holy moly did we have a morning

Sometimes Oskar is so good and sometimes it's like I have never met the kid before in my life. Super frustrating. Ahhh babies. I'm also frustrated because I tried to order an umbrella stroller today and it was no longer available. If it is no longer available stop advertising it on your home page! You should be told it is unavailable before having to type in all your info and payment. It's been a long day, I just didn't need that on it as well. 

After much discussion at the church, Dan will be returning to our fair city in early July. Dan says, “We will return to you comrades and the glorious motherland. Pour the fine ale! Sacrifice a loon!” There has been some confusing communication regarding this issue and we've had our ups and downs, but it all ends with Dan not having to spend so long away from his little boy, so that is stellar. There might be an opportunity for him to do some work in SW MN too, so if I can’t find a job that will give us a little paycheck in the meantime.

I went with a friend and her baby to the baby expo yesterday. My baby stayed home with his father because I needed a break. I think the expo was a little smaller than either of us expected, but it was a glorious sunny day so we walked around outside and then went to a bar. Good beer and good conversation were included. All in all, very good “baby expo.”

Oskar has realized he has the power to scratch the eczema on his face. This is not fun and leads to some bleeding. Because of this I am trying to be more diligent about putting lotion on his face and it is improving, just very slowly. We’re doing the best we can.

We are making plans for our outings at the end of the year and I’m excited because as of now we are going back to Seward. We did the Kenai Fjords cruise last time and while that was awesome, we didn't get to see much of the city because our time was limited. Now hopefully we can go to the aquarium, get up close to a couple glaciers, and go kayaking. Also, we will need to go back to the place with the excellent beer cheese soup. I made a calendar/schedule on our little white board. It is very organized and makes me happy. Now I just need to make all the reservations.

OMG! I could get a plum explorer for only $1800!

That's right. I could have a new old plum Explorer. It is taking everything I have not to think about it. If there is any part of me that thought it would make the drive back to Minnesota it would be mine. Also, the interior is red. That was a bad idea I think. Some would call my old Explorer crappy and slightly dangerous. I don't care, I miss that thing.

This post is mostly for videos if you are interested. There have been recent developments in our timeline up here, but more on that on Sunday when we will hopefully have it all figured out.

First solid food:

I like to yell all the time, except when I know I'm on camera:

The sun returns... with a vengeance...

Our little guy is very healthy. Twenty-six inches long and 15 pounds 8 ounces. We both thought he would be heavier based on belly size and the fact that we’re the ones holding him all the time. Fiftieth percentile in everything except length where he is 85^th. He has a bit of eczema that comes and goes on his cheek, but this is normal. Good to go.

Oskar has officially had his first soupy solids. It went as well as one could hope. He’s been interested in watching us eat for about a month now and on the day we started him on solids I was eating while nursing him and every time I took a bite he would stop and look up at me and seemed way more interested in what I was doing than what he was doing. I took that as a sign, but we were going to start anyway, so whatever. We are adjusting to two bottles a day now and finally moved up to the bigger bottle and nipple size- a little late, but I forgot about it. Oskar seems fine, so I think it’s okay. He is still usually kicking and punching me while he nurses except in the night and the first one of the day. One cute thing he does though is he’ll look at me with a giant smile and giggle a bit and then start eating again, as if to say, “I’m having a great time, thanks mom.” He’ll do that like five times in a row. It’s adorable.

Dan was in Seattle most of last week. There were plenty of people I could have called for help if I needed it, but I was interested to see if I could do it on my own. Well, we made it, but I had semi-convinced myself that it would seem more like three days instead of four because he was only away two nights. Well, we dropped him off at the airport at 5:30 AM Monday and picked him up at 2:00 AM Friday. It was a LONG four days. Plus, considering Oskar actually sleeps most of the night, those were not ideal airport times at all.

I bought our plane tickets. Oskar and I will be returning on June 19. That’s only two months away! Barb will be coming up for a while and then helping me come home with Oskar and then Rusty will be coming up in July, going to Denali with Dan and then helping him finish everything up and moving the rest of the stuff home. I was thinking about going to Denali, but with Oskar and me being out of shape it didn't seem like it was worth the money for me to go. All I really wanted to do was see McKinley and I can do that from here anyway. This way Dan can do some of the longer more wildernessy hikes and possibly camp if Rusty is interested. I was looking forward to the train ride up there because the scenery is supposed to be beautiful, but really the scenery everywhere up here is beautiful so I won’t miss out on too much. I have a coupon for horseback riding just outside of town here up in the mountains so I plan on doing that and I am PUMPED.

It's good to fold your hands and feet. Don't mind my toe lint.

I found another giant spider (my definition of giant, not a normal person’s). I put it in tea cup jail to think about what it had done and to die a slow death since Dan was out of town. I know I see more spiders in a room than most people do- my eyes are just drawn to them I guess, but I know that I still only see a fraction of what is there. This makes me angry and sad.

The sunlight is already being awesome up here. Official sunrise is 6:40 AM and sunset is 9:21 PM, but it is light-ish before and after those times, so it’s really throwing us off. Especially when we want to call or text our parents and we figure that since it is still light out, it’s still early enough to do that. That may have been true in December when it was dark at three, but not so much anymore and we have a lot more light to gain yet. It is very weird and very hard to adjust to such quick changes in daylight.

Anyone else’s kid look at you and smile as they are pooping? This is very weird. I know you can’t tell, but I just took a break from writing this to feed Oskar. I don’t understand how one ounce can be the difference between, “How dare you stop feeding me to burp me! I’m still hungry and I’m going to scream at you until you fix it! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!” and “I’m so full and happy I think I’ll fall asleep now until it’s time to poo.” So dramatic.

Sometimes I don’t want to know what my dreams mean

I had a dream the other day that I was cat-sitting and I was told that the cat liked to be put in the microwave for five seconds because it made him feel “all warm inside,” apparently quite literally. Well, I accidentally put the cat in the microwave for five minutes instead of five seconds. Kitty was reduced to a skeleton. Why brain, why? Why do you put these images in my dreams? Terrifying.

Oskar found his foot yesterday and hasn't let go since. He has also started to learn that when he brings both legs up to his tummy he can tip to his side. One of his favorite things right now is to sit on the couch like a big guy right next to his mom. It’s very cute. Although Oskar usually looks a lot like Dan, he got my giant eyes. Dan said to me, “look at his face he looks super crazy because he made one of his eyes bigger than the other.” “No Dan, that’s just the way our eyes are. One is bigger than the other.” Thanks for making us feel good about it.

Our little man is four months old today. He is super heavy and tomorrow at his appointment we are going to check to see if it’s okay to start him on solids. I’m so sick of feeding him. I don’t care if you think I’m selfish and don’t you even dream of telling me the benefits of breast milk through the first birthday and how somehow my baby will end up messed up because I plan to have him weaned by six months. I've heard it all and I honestly don’t care for opinions anymore. Believe what you want; my kid is super healthy (thank God) and has had at least 2-4 oz. of formula every day since his third day of life. I’m sick of being in pain when I wake up in the morning and when life interferes with our feeding schedule, I’m sick of getting punched in the face and kicked in the ribs because no matter what I do he will not eat calmly, and I’m sick of all the stains on his clothes being from me dropping my food on him because that is the only time I have time to eat. I have a feeling I will be much happier when breast feeding is done. Sorry for the rant.

We made chili again yesterday because Dan is going out of town for a few days and it’ll be easy for me to prepare it alone. Also, we ended up getting about eight inches of snow so it turned into a great weekend for chili. Anyway, my entire left hand ended up being proof that water increases the effects of capsaicin. After making the chili, I gave Oskar a bath. My goodness my hand hurt so badly the rest of the day. Oskar was not injured.

I hope to buy my plane ticket today and purchase some more suitcases. Barb offered to come up and help me fly home with Oskar, so I’m looking forward to having that help. I was kind of nervous to do it on my own.

Dan said he knew he was used to living in Alaska the other day when he was on a run because he came across a moose and was annoyed instead of excited. As mentioned above, he is going to Seattle to go to the intern gathering. He is looking forward to running around Seattle in the rain and getting a little work vacation. Considering his only break from work since we got here was two weeks with a newborn child, I’m sure he probably needs a little break. 

Enjoy your Sunday everyone, or the rest of whatever day you are reading this on.