May 25 - 29, 2012

Friday, May 25^th

Today was Adam's last day of work before Block Leave began. It was a long & productive day for all three of us! So much to do before we go on our month-long adventure!

Saturday, May 26^th

This morning Olivia & Adam went shopping for all those 'last minute' things we need for the trip. I stayed home and tackled the house projects & packing while Adam & Olivia went to the garden to lay out our rows for planting on Tuesday. Then Adam took Olivia on her first trip to the Tanana Valley Farmers Market! That Olivia, she is so earth-conscious! I made some new pacifier 'leashes' In the afternoon, Sarah came over to play. We worked on some art projects - Olivia made her first painting for Mimi. Sarah also introduced Olivia to the joys of swinging! We used the Hugabebe cushion from Nana around Olivia in the baby swing. It worked great! Then we went out for ice cream & picked up pizza. Yep - we had dessert first. That's the kind of fun we have!

Sunday, May 27^th

Today was full of more packing & cleaning! We also got ready for a special 'surprise' birthday party for Morgan. It was a My Little Pony party! Olivia was introduced to the newest version of My Little Ponies, and although Twilight Sparkle was the star of the movie we watched, her favorite was Pinkie Pie!

 

Monday, May 28^th

Today Olivia watched Big Boppy march in the National Memorial Day Parade in Washington, D.C. We were able to see him quite clearly over the internet - it was so exciting! Olivia was so proud! Then it was time to pack up our furry friends, Sophie & Paula, to take them to Chena Hot Springs. They had their own little vacation to look forward to. After we had a little lunch, we continued our (thankfully!) dwindling list of chores. Another very productive day. Thank goodness Olivia likes to take car rides - this was a good sign for our upcoming adventure!

Tuesday, May 29^th

Today we spent the entire day in the garden. We transplanted all our seedlings and direct seeded everything that remained. It was a "hasty" job (although it took all day) but even though it would have been better to give our transplants more time & "harden them off"...we didn't have much choice in the matter. Tomorrow we leave on leave! The Abels came to the garden because they were caring for it in our absence. Jesse helped Adam set up the drip irrigation. Once home we ran through our checklists one more time - everything is as ready as we can make it!

May 21 - 24, 2012

Monday, May 21st

Although today was the 'big chore' day, Adam & I got a bunch of them done Sunday night because today was going to be very busy. It's a good thing we did! Olivia & I had to get gussied up for the troop picnic and sometimes that can take quite a while.

We both got nice and clean, although Olivia's bath seemed like a lot more fun than my shower. Then Adam to came home and put the finishing touches on his baked ziti. We waited until the last minute to get Olivia dressed, just as a precaution. I have to say, both she and Daddy looked very nice!

 

We had a nice time at the picnic, visiting with friends and having good food. I was even given a certificate in recognition of volunteer service, which was very nice. Everyone loved Adam's cooking and thought Olivia the sweetest - it couldn't be a much better day than that!


Tuesday, May 22nd

Today was a very long day. Olivia & I spent most of the day together because Adam had to work long hours. We did a few errands - notably we got the second season of the new BBC Sherlock which came out today. We can't wait to watch it!

I was impressed with how light the birthmark ("storkbites") on the nape of Olivia's neck has become. It's mostly covered by her hair, but it used to be quite purplish.

I went through her clothes today. (Although it seems like we just did this!) Olivia has been growing & growing and her dresser & closet are in a perpetual state of flux. We moved all the 'too smalls' to a plastic bin and brought out & washed the next sizes up (6-9mos). I found two more bathing suits...it appears I have a problem. I just can't help it! They're just so cute - they're irresistible! We'll just have to justify it by doing lots of swimming this summer.

Adam & I bought a dvd of Curious George episodes - specifically the "Curious George Goes Green" collection. We watched it the other night - yes we are going to be the parents who watch things before their children can see them. There'll be no surprises here! So today Olivia & I watched an episode, which lasted about ten minutes. It was nice to sit and 'watch' together & for me to know what was coming up so that I could play along. Since we've eliminated cable, this & The Muppet Show may be Olivia's only television for a long time to come! (Not counting her favorite Ringo & Sesame Street numbers on YouTube, of course.)

Wednesday, May 23rd

Today Olivia & I went on some 'early' errands (maybe around 8am). Since the fellas had worked so late the night before, we decided to bring them some breakfast goodies. We also got some treats for our friend Veronica F. who had surgery yesterday. After we stopped by the troop building we went to Miss Veronica's and had a nice long visit. It's been strange to go from seeing all these wonderful women on a regular basis to all of us being so insular with our families. It'll be nice to get back to a more balanced way of 'being' after we're all back from block leave.

This evening Olivia spent some time with the Abels while Adam & I went to a Hail & Farewell dinner for Lt. Col. Raugh & Sergeant Major MacFarlane. It was held at the Two Rivers Lodge. We could only stay for a short while - we wanted to get back to Olivia - but it looks like a place we'd like to eat at sometime down the road. Alaska is looking very beautiful this spring and the cloud formations were spectacular tonight. We won't have any darkness here for about the next two months! What an interesting place to live!



Thursday, May 24th

Today Olivia is five months old! It seems like the days have passed in a blink, but at times it also feels like Olivia has always been a part of our lives. It's funny how that is. We snuggled a bunch this morning and it always melts my heart when she reaches back to touch my face (or grab my hair!). More recently she will also turn towards me, as if to give me a kind of kiss. Being a mother is pretty amazing.

We put on a little romper and set off on our daily adventures. This morning it was a trip to the pharmacy - surprisingly quick - and we had to run some things over to the Abels. Olivia loves visiting with Sarah. Even when she is sleepy, Sarah always makes her smile - guaranteed. She's such a good sister to Olivia. Today she "sped away" in the car with Olivia "to Africa". I hope that Olivia is just as much fun to play with when she's four.

Next Olivia & I went to the Garden and transplanted seedlings at the greenhouse. It was challenging at times because Olivia wanted to be held and one-handed gardening is new to me! We have several trays of seedlings that will be going into the garden at the beginning of next week. It's so exciting! We were working for a couple hours when Adam met us there. He came bearing manna from heaven...well at least a hotdog & a Dr. Pepper from the gas station. Yum! Better yet, he was able to snuggle with Olivia while I finished the transplanting and we watered our baby plants. Right now we have:

44 Swiss Chard (Multicolor Bright Lights)
44 Kale (Savoy Cross)
24 Cucumbers (Diva)
30 Cabbages (Dynamo)
25 Peppers (Blushing Beauty)
36 Chives
10 Nasturtium (Alaska Mix)
41 Disco Granada Marigolds
16 China Cat Marigolds

...and we'll be direct-seeding more! (Obviously not all the trays pictured are ours.)


We went back down to the garden where Katie showed us how to use the Rototiller. Then we ran home, fed Olivia and put her in clothes a little more suited to late afternoon temperatures (plus we'd been having some sun showers). We also decided to be extra adventurous and took the dogs on their first real car trip. They loved it! We got our plot tilled in a little more than an hour, including breaks for playing with Olivia. Adam worked the heavy machinery & I handled the garden fork. It was such a spectacular evening, I couldn't resist getting a family portrait. We count ourselves very fortunate to be gardening here - in the shadow of Denali...which lies behind us in the distance. It's magical. I really do love Alaska...if only our families weren't so far away.

Since Olivia didn't get a nap today, she fell asleep immediately after I nursed her at home. She looked like such an angel - which she is - I had to take one more picture for the day. Perhaps all these pictures will embarrass her one day, but I hope not. I hope that she'll enjoy looking back on all our wonderful adventures & how her father and mother were inspired by their daughter's tiny but indomitable spirit. She makes us want to be our best selves & to change the world - just for her. Happy five months Olivia and thank you. 

May 17 - May 20, 2012

Thursday, May 17th

Happy Syttende Mai! Today is Norwegian Constitution Day which celebrates Norway's national independence (only since 1814!). Every year we celebrate with flags, wearing our national costumes, etc. and with food. This was Olivia's first Syttende Mai (which literally means Seventeenth of Mai) and we were prepared to make it a memorable one. We hung out our homemade (by my Daisy Scout troop last year) flag. Then we took some festive photos of Olivia - some wearing a Norwegian hat my mother bought before I was born (and which I wore of course), with gjetost (Norwegian brown goat cheese), in the rosemaled wedding bowl my mother painted for us, and in a bib from our cousins. She was such a good sport! Her good humor, the sunshine and the celebratory nature of the day all helped to perk me up - because I was sporting a cold. Thankfully Adam was able to come home early and help out.

 

 In the afternoon I went to the doctor and had an interesting encounter in the waiting room. A lady said, "Oh! You're celebrating your independence!" (I was wearing a jersey of the Norwegian flag.) After some conversation I discovered that her employer, an older gentleman who owns an antique store on Airport Way, was also celebrating Syttende Mai. I decided right away that we would have to go and see him.

So when I got home we piled into the car and went looking for the (only?) antique store flying the Norwegian flag. We found it easily enough! (It was the one we had expected.) Inside we met Lud Bergh, a charming man and we talked with him for a while - about Norway, about babies, about the army. It was a real treat to meet him and I hope that we can get together again soon. He took our picture and emailed me a copy. I also snapped a photo of him, although he was a little shy because he had recently had cataract surgery and was wearing protective glasses.

Next we headed up to the Gardens to transplant some of our seedlings and to help with preparations for the plant sale this weekend. We transplanted cucumbers and cabbage and then helped with pricing and assembling some shelves. Olivia laid on a blanket and chatted with Katie's friendly dog.

We were all tired after working at the GBG so we ordered some pizza to pick up and then went home. It wasn't long before we were all snoring. What a happy 17th of May!

Friday, May 18th

Today started bright & early. I went to the Garden to help load plants into every vehicle we had available - which included the Blazer - and then we took them in a convoy up to Risse's Greenhouse where the sale was going to be held. We spent a couple hours organizing things there, but with all the volunteers that showed up we made short work of it! It was nice to be out in the sunshine and as long as I was moving, my cold was hardly noticeable. Meanwhile, Adam & Olivia waited at home for the cable repair man. It also seemed clear that they both caught my cold. Boo. I felt bad about that, but Adam did a great job of managing things with Olivia all morning.

I came home around lunchtime to a baby sleeping peacefully in the swing. I know she hadn't been peaceful the whole time I was away, and it was an interesting role reversal for Adam & I. It was very nice to come home to 'sweet' Olivia. :)

Our cable has been giving us fits and we've called several times to try and have it repaired remotely. Once all those attempts were exhausted, they finally sent this fellow out. His diagnosis - it wasn't a problem with the cable, it is a problem with our television. We tried the 'fix' that he suggested, which was to put the cable box on a different tv, and it turns out...we were right. Of course. For a couple weeks we'd been discussing eliminating cable altogether and just keeping our internet access. Since Adam's been home we've hardly watched it and we have a multitude of dvds to watch. Both of us get most of our daily news online. And we honestly have more fun playing with Olivia than watching any show. Today's repair fiasco settled the issue. We are officially done with cable.

Today we got our new diaper liners in the mail! We ordered Bumkins flushable, (biodegradable), liners to help keep Olivia's cloth diapers nice now that things are a little more...solid. So far they're working great!!

After Olivia woke up we prepared our bags for an extended outing - our evening shift at the plant sale is several hours long. We packed up the cable boxes to return to GCI and we loaded a laundry basket full of tag sale items into the trunk. We dropped those off at Jessica A's house to add to her table at tomorrow's post-wide tag sale.

We had a lovely time at Risse's and it always feels good to help out - especially for such a deserving organization. Olivia helped with the cash transactions, although she was more interested in eating the money. We tried out the prepacked organic baby food I got and she ate it all up! Yum! I am glad because we'll be able to take those on the plane...I think.

As the evening sales slowed down and we realized that there were plenty of volunteers, Katie sent us home. Olivia was just starting to fuss, so that was a good thing.

Saturday, May 19th

We had no obligations this morning so we tried to have a nice quiet morning at home. This didn't really work because both Adam & I have a hard time sitting still when there are chores to be done. I was still a little groggy from the DayQuil I had taken the night before, so I dozed & nursed Olivia. Adam bustled about cleaning and cleaning. He is seasoning several cast iron pans - it is his new passion. Just when I 'got him back' from the birch syrup...here comes cast iron! Just teasing...

All of us had colds today and poor Olivia was very unhappy with her stuffy nose. Not much to do but snuggle her and try to keep her as comfortable as possible. Adam & I got some lunch in town and did a couple of quick errands, but mostly we stayed close to home.

In the afternoon we went to a birthday party for Cooper B., who is turning 3! It was a dinosaur party and we all had lots of fun. Olivia was in good spirits for a while, but we ended up leaving the party early. It was close to her bedtime and we didn't want to get the other guests sick, or make them listen to a crying baby.

Sunday, May 20th

This morning Olivia & I took Adam out for breakfast. We went to Denny's, per his request, and Olivia finally had her picture taken under the Denny's sign. (Adam has been itching to do that since she was born!) Olivia was very interested in my pancakes with bananas & strawberries so I mashed up some of the bananas and she ate them right up!

We did a couple more errands - stopping in Jo-Ann fabrics and OfficeMax - and then we went home. It was a beautiful day out so we enjoyed the drive.

Tonight Olivia tried sweet potatoes for the first time. She really enjoyed them! I'm not sure which part she like more - eating them or playing with them. She just discovered that she can reach in her mouth and play with the food on her tongue. She was covered in sweet potatoes, but happy! It was a good way to end the day - with a happy, sweet, messy baby.