Memorial Day and a Trip to the Zoo

This past Monday was Memorial Day and normally, we might have spent the day bbq'ing poolside with family and friends.  But, since we don't have any family in Massachusetts or friends, we decided that the three of us would check out the Southwick Zoo.  So I dressed her in her Memorial Day best and we headed off on a little adventure South of Worcester.

Ryan had never been to the zoo before, but considering that she seems to love all animals, especially dogs, I thought she would have some fun there.  I was right.  She liked looking at the animals, at least the ones that were moving and they had a petting zoo where you could pet the goats which, I'm sure to her were like extra hairy dogs.

We had a fun few hours at the zoo and then headed back to Worcester for a relaxing evening at home.  We wish we were closer to family, but it is also nice to spend some quality time with just the three of us.  We will definitely be sad when Josh starts work here in a couple weeks!

Massachusetts Residents

So, we are officially Massachusetts residents now.  Weird.

First impressions of Worcester:

• SUPER green and lush
• Rains almost daily (even in summer)
• Cool
• Slower paced
• Friendly people

Ryan and I got here a week ago and Josh was ready and waiting for us at the Boston airport.  It was a long day of traveling, but Ryan did so well.  The most difficult part of our day was getting through the airport security.  I had decided to carry Ryan on me in the Ergo in order to have my hands free.  This ended up being a good idea.  What was a bad idea was having three carry-ons.  I looked like a straight up pack horse getting through the airport.  Ryan strapped to my front, diaper bag on my back,  duffle bag over one arm, and my computer bag over the other.  I was sweating by the time we made it to the gate but we made it on the plane and Jet Blue was so accommodating, putting us in a bulk head seat so Ryan could play at my feet.  They even gave Ryan a set of "wings" since it was her very first plane ride.

The flight was almost 5.5 hours, but you wouldn't have known that Ryan was even on the plane.  She played, socialized, and took a 1.5 hour nap in my arms.  I don't think she cried one time.  I couldn't have asked for her to be a better baby.  In fact, so many passengers and flight attendants commented on the fact that she was the most well-behaved, happy, good-tempered baby they had ever seen/flown with.  Way to make me look like Mom of the year Ry! :)

We were definitely happy to get to our new apartment and reunite with Josh, even though we knew it would mean sleeping on an air mattress.   The apartment is super nice, minus being a little "hotel-like" but we think that may be an East Coast thing and are sure we'll adapt to it.

We spent the week trying to get out and enjoy all that Worcester has to offer since our apartment was furniture less until this weekend.  We found a local park with swings, went on a couple little hikes near our house, and ate lunch down by Lake Quinsigamond.

We also went to check out the University of Massachusetts Memorial Hospital where Josh will begin working in a few weeks.  It's VERY nice.  Definitely a step up from ARMC county hospital.   And it's super close to our home.  So close that Josh plans to walk!!

Our stuff arrived on Thursday and we were definitely ready for it to get here.  A week without things is a bit challenging, especially with a baby.

We've spent the last couple of days trying to unpack and organize all of our stuff.  It's a process, but I prefer the boxes and chaos to an apartment full of nothing.  Massachusetts is starting to feel a bit more like home now that we have some familiar things and I assume it won't take long before we feel at home here.

Moving East

Have you ever had periods in your life that you want to speed up yet slow down simultaneously?

For instance, as a Mom, I feel like I am constantly anxious to get to the next "phase" of baby hood, always urging Ryan to do the next big thing, crawl, talk, eat, walk, etc.  I couldn't wait to have her sleep through the night, nurse a little less often, entertain herself a little bit more.  It's hard in the midst of the newborn stage to not wish for time to speed up, especially when you haven't had a shower in three days and the most solid meal you've had to date is half of a PB&J.  And yet, you want to keep them your little baby forever and you know you will miss the days when you can't just hold them in the crook of your arm.

Well that's how things are right now.  I want time to speed up and slow down.  We are moving to Massachusetts.  In fact, we moved out of our apartment in Redlands over the weekend and Ryan and I are currently shacking up at Grammy and Grampy Fairman's house.  As I type, my Dad and Josh are more than half way done with their cross-country trek via car.  Last I was told they are somewhere in Illinois.  Ryan and I fly East to meet Josh on Saturday.

Moving Day

Hitting the road!

I am ready for our things to arrive and to get settled in Worcester (apparently pronounced Wustah).  I'm anxious for the solo 5+ hour plane ride with a 10 month old to be over and of course ready to reunite with Josh and begin our new adventure in residency as East coasters.  It's hard for a type A person like me to be living in limbo land.

But, I also want time to slow down.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about living so far away from our friends and family.  Sure, we've lived in the UK and the Caribbean and so this should seem like nothing, but we didn't have Ryan then.  I haven't yet done the Mom thing in a place where I have little to no outside support.  And obviously, we are going to miss having our families in Ryan's life tremendously!

So, that's my dilemma, not totally ready to move forward and not necessarily wanting time to stand still.

In other exciting and noteworthy Scurlock family news, Josh received his diploma in the mail the other day.  Like he is for-realsies a doctor and we couldn't be more proud.  I probably should stop saying things like "for-realsies" now that I'm a doctor's wife. Oops!

And not to be one upped by my doctor husband, I've had a few Etsy sales since opening my shop The Dandelion Lane on May 1.  How exciting is that?!?!  If the doctor thing doesn't work out, at least we can count on my savvy business skills to keep us afloat, obviously. ;)

Ryan: 10 Months

Oh My Word People!  We have hit the double digit month mark.  10 months! Eeeek that's getting so old.  Only two more of these monthly photo sessions to go until she is a whole year old.  I can't believe it.  And the next two months are going to be filled with moving and travel and a whole new world of fun for Ryan.  But let's not jump ahead of ourselves, God knows time moves fast enough on it's own, and let's talk about Ryan's 10th month!

Personality:
She has always had quite the little personality, but I have to say that this month it has developed so much.  She is super social and vocal all the time.  She wants to be anywhere that there is action and so I try to make a point of getting out of the house at least once a day so that she can interact with other people.  It doesn't matter who it is, she will usually flash a smile (after she has mean mugged them first and made sure that they seem nice enough).  If there is a child "talking" or "screeching" in the aisles at Target or the grocery store, you can bet it's Ryan.  And on top of the screeching, she can usually be seen leaning over in the cart, reaching for things off shelves, or banging the contents of my purse on the cart itself. 

In fact, earlier this month, Julie and I took Ryleigh and Ryan to the fabric store and one lady commented that "Ryleigh looked like such a little cherub angel baby," as Ryleigh sat so still in her cart, just smiling sweetly at people and not making a peep.  And then she looked at Ryan who was likely halfway out of the cart with my keys in one hand, a roll of thread in her mouth all the while talking at a decibel level appropriate for a football game and said "And she...well she looks like she is going to be quite the trouble maker!"  Yep.  That's my kid alright!

Eating:
Ryan is still nursing 4-5 times in a 24 hour period.  I thought we had dropped the night time feed a few months ago but it seems to be back and we don't seem capable of kicking it just yet.  I've a feeling there may be some rough nights ahead as I plan to be done nursing sometime around the 12 month mark.  We had another biting incident recently in which blood was drawn and if there was ever a question of how long to keep nursing, biting certainly helps you answer it!

She gets solids for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and her favorite foods seem to change daily.  One day she'll eat a ton of watermelon and the next day every piece I give her, she'll spit out.  So, we keep offering new things and hoping that she's getting a somewhat balanced diet.  She still eats pureed fruit occasionally, but for the most part prefers "real" food.  Some of the things she rarely turns down are grilled cheese, pancakes, hot dog, oatmeal, banana, yogurt, beans , and water!  The kid loves her sippy cup!  For snacks, she still likes Puffs, but has also come around to rice cakes, goldfish crackers, and Ritz crackers.

Mealtimes are messy but she likes feeding herself and so I deal with the fact that she inevitably will need a bath everyday unless I want her to go to bed smelling like a hot dog.

Sleeping:
We have actually been doing much better on the napping front!  I transitioned her to two naps a day instead of three and it seems to have made all the difference.  On average, she naps for about 2 hours a day spanning two naps.  Two hours of freedom is just lovely.  We spent two nights at a hotel for SIL Kristin's wedding in early April and someone got to end up in Mom and Dad's bed one night.  Let's just say this kid is quite the bed hog when she gets the chance.

She now knows how to go from her belly to sitting and it is not abnormal to find her either sitting in her crib after a nap or in the morning or standing in it.  Time to lower the crib to the lowest setting, which is kind of sad!

Mobility:
Like I said earlier, Ry has perfected the art of pulling herself to a stand.  She can be seen all over the house standing up and she has also gotten pretty good at sitting herself down from standing and transferring from one thing to another while standing.  It still makes me nervous, but the more she does it, the more comfortable I become.  She is into everything these days.  Some of her favorites places to play are in the refrigerator, with the dishwasher when it gets left open, and pulling all of the DVD's she can get her hands on out of the movie case.

Other Things:
Ryan learned how to point her finger this month and it is pretty cute to watch her point at different things.  She also learned how to give kisses.  And both Josh and I agree that they are the hands down best kisses ever!  Even if they are open mouthed. :)  Her absolute favorite thing to do is go to the swings.  I swear this child could sit in the swing for hours if I would let her.  She cries almost every time we take her out of it.  She still thoroughly enjoys the bathtub and if you get her around a dog, her face just lights up.  We tried out bubbles for the first time and it was definitely funny to see her watch them float to the ground.

We spent some time at the pool this month and she definitely is not afraid of the water.  We had her first Easter and her first trip to Huntington Beach.  We hang out with her best friend Ryleigh almost daily and are going to be very sad to leave her next week.  It's been so fun to watch the two of them grow up together so far.

As we inch closer to her 1st birthday, we know that lots of things are going to change in her and our life in the very near future, but what doesn't change at all is how much we love this girl.  Happy 10 months Ryan Cathleen!