I have to share some of my recent favorite photos.  Holden is a photogenic lad and a loving little guy—-and I think these qualities are conveyed in most of the pictures that are taken of him.  I guess I am getting sort of nostalgic as he is getting a bit older and he is turning into a little boy—I feel like I must capture him when engaged in even the most mundane of activities.

H admiring his mama (I LOVE this one):

H dancing to the new Junior Boys (we have a video of his dancing that we still need to upload):

H LOVES animals.  He loves fish, puppies, kitties, and more exotic animals that he has only seen in books.  I can’t wait to take him to the zoo.  We have an aquarium just a 5-minute walk from the house and we plan on taking a trip there next week.  He follows our cat from room to room and torments the poor rabbit in her cage.  And even at Oma’s, Holden couldn’t contain his excitement when in close proximity to a kitty:

Rob took this awesome photo of H looking rather contemplative.  I love it:

Much has happened in a little over a week.  Last week I found out what I had already suspected—namely, that I wouldn’t be invited for an interview for that job after all.  I am not disappointed.  The search committee was looking for someone “more general” which to me, means “less focused.”  They also cited the economy as a factor in their decision, although I hardly see how that matters.  I am not disappointed though; I don’t want to work at a place where people have such horrible communication skills and where such indecisiveness is a sure sign of poor leadership.  In the meantime, I had been offered a teaching slot for Spring 2010 at my former employer, which is actually a huge deal as the university has already laid off  (or is not renewing the contracts of) ~170 lecturers.  I am lucky.  This teaching job is not glamorous and not well-paid, and it’s not permanent, but it is a job.  In this economy, I will be willing to consider things I may not have otherwise considered.  I really can’t be picky.  So the deal is that I will teach a course next spring, and starting this May I will go back to the lab 2 days/week until I am able to get my own grant funded and can pay myself a regular salary.  It’s a nice way to ease myself back into work and to get our family acclimated to this new arrangement.  It will take some adjustments for all of us, and I am just so thankful for the time I have been able to spend with Holden. 

Because we will be in the area for another 2-3 years, we decided we can’t really stand to be in our current condo any more.  The noise, managing the association, constant battles over parking, being unable to move our car when someone is blocking our driveway, coupled with the reality that our place is just way too small for a little family of three, has driven us to the conclusion that buying up is the only way out.  Luckily for us, the Vermont housing market is still going strong.  We put our house on the market 2 days ago, and have had 2 showings already, with at least one buyer who is seriously interested in making an offer.  That potential buyer isn’t sure yet, because our place may be too small for him/her.  But once they see what else is on the market in this price range, they may have a change of heart.  Initially we contacted the downstairs owner to see if he would be interested in buying from us.  He was very interested, but he wanted us to practically give our place away to him (he wanted to offer about $35K less than what we’re asking).  The fact that he lost so much money in the plummeting stock market really pulls at my heart strings, let me tell you (note the sarcasm).  It simply reaffirms my disdain for the rich.  

So, we are looking to live just outside of town, near a bus line so we can get into work easily as we want to remain a one-car household.  We are looking for a small neighborhood—nothing fancy, just a basic place that is quiet at night and has more space than what we currently have.  Oh, and a dishwasher.  If I have to wash one more breast pump part or bottle by hand I’m going to hang myself:)

Last weekend we celebrated Easter in Maine.  Rob and I had a date night at Walter’s, where we enjoyed some amazing food.  Our table was set in one of the front windows overlooking the shops and restaurants in the Old Port below.  It was lovely.  If you’re in Portland and you want a fabulous meal, definitely check it out.  It was a special time for Rob and I as it was our first time out just the two of us in over four months.  It was long overdue!  Holden had a wonderful time with the grandrents while we were out enjoying ourselves for a couple hours.  The following day was Easter, and Holden got to have his first chocolate bunny.  He ate the ears first:

and started clapping when he was finished eating:

He was very proud of himself and the mess he made:

All in all, it was a rejuvenating weekend that allowed us to relax, catch up with each other, and figure out the next step in our lives.  Some doors have closed to us, but other, better ones have opened.  The irony of all of this is that the outcome with my job situation would have been the same HAD I DONE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.  I applied for 8 jobs.  Had I not done that, I’d still be going back to work at the same place.  It’s funny how life can be sometimes—well, funny may not be the best word for it.  Maddening, frustrating, and anxiety-provoking may be better ways to describe it; at any rate, I’m pretty sure there is a lesson here.  As my father has always said, “When things get crazy, just stand still and let all the madness go right by you….”

ETA:  Today is my Dad’s birthday….big birthday wishes from VT to my awesome dad!!!

Despite the rain and the return of cooler weather, we are trying our best to enjoy our little sleep-deprived weekend.  Last night we had some friends over to share in some LaPlatte Farms grass-fed beef.  We had planned on grilling, but the rain stopped us.  We broiled the steaks instead, and they were delicious!

This morning, after a night of being up with Holden every hour or so, I made a yummy brunch of bacon, potatoes, and cheese souffle.  It was FTW, in a big way, and pretty much made up for the lack of sleep.  Holden’s sleeping patterns (or lack thereof) have caught the attention of our downstairs neighbors, who have been overheard imitating Holden’s incoherent babbling with annoyance.  I feel sort of bad that we are waking them up, but I also feel righteous about it—after all, these same neighbors have kept us up many, many nights with their incessant partying.  Holden just had two more teeth break through, which explains his discomfort, at least partially.  He now has a total of six teeth.  I think he is working on a few more.  

What have we been up to over the past week?  Well, still no word from the job.  I have moved on and completely discounted it as a possibility at this point.  After spending countless hours working on my talk, planning experiments, a budget, and a special topics course, plus pumping for Holden to go to the nanny, and paying over $200 for childcare while I prepared for my talk, it’s been hard to give up easily.  Nevertheless, I have begun looking for other jobs, and found a temporary one (out-of-state) for which I would be well-suited.  I started printing off my materials for the application (again, a 60+ page bundle), and the day that I was supposed to send the application, the job ad disappeared from their website.  I contacted them only to find out that they had already begun interviewing but that I was welcome to send my application anyway.  They also said there was no guarantee that they would be able to review my materials before hiring someone.  I mailed my application anyway, not feeling incredibly hopeful, and also feeling upset that I had wasted so much time waiting around on this other job and thus did not find out about this newest opportunity until it was practically too late.  Hopefully, I will know something within the next couple of weeks and I will finally have an answer about where we will be living and where I will be working.

Last weekend, we went to Nunyuns with three other neighborhood couples and their babies.  As usual, I enjoyed their breakfast burrito:

Holden enjoyed Cheerios:

And some time with his buddy, Harper (and other buddies, Felix and Idris, not pictured):

Later that day, Holden had his first taste of ice cream, Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked:

I also wrapped up my pumping finally and will be shipping off 121 ounces of breastmilk to a human milk bank.  The milk will be processed and given to critically ill infants in the NICU.  I hope all those babies grow strong and healthy.

Earlier this week, we spent time with some of Holden’s other friends (enjoying more of that grass-fed beef).  Here is Holden with his 15-month-old pal Maggie, and Maggie’s big sister, Grace.  Their brother Sam was off causing mischief elsewhere!:

On the most sunny and warm day of the week, I took Holden on a walk along our wonderful bike path.  A few years ago, the town constructed a bridge over the river to eliminate the need for a ferry to transport people across the river.  Here is the mandatory self-portrait from our walk:

Here is the bridge, with views of Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks beyond:

We do live in a pretty spectacular place!  After our walk, we went to the park for some swing time and a “Puffs picnic.”

As always, Holden becomes rapt and pensive when watching the big kids play.  

Now on this lazy Sunday, we’re getting ready to take Holden out for a chilly walk around town.  Hopefully we will wear him out, and he will finally sleep well for us tonight.