July 2015- Chaos!

The month started out with Otto and me still in Utah. Matt was using the time to get ahead with work. He stayed late at work and hung out with Lucy at home or went to the pool. We chatted on the phone, sent pictures back and forth, and post videos for him to watch He missed us a lot, was sad to be missing time with our Utah friends and family, and resolved to taking more time off work to spend with family in the future.

I took the opportunity to have some one-on-one time with my nephew, Michael. I took him to the movie, Inside Out. It was incredible! What a perfect movie for a 9 year old to see. We talked about happy memories that stay with us forever.

We spent some time with Grandma and Grandpa Earl as they were camping with the whole Rasmussen clan at the B.E. campgrounds. Otto liked to take anybody's hand and lead them around the camp. He loved to walk around with Nana Rasmussen and she hardly had to stoop to hold his hand, she's such a tiny lady! I had a good chat with our favorite Uncle Doug as Aunt Kathy walked Otto around. We talked about teaching and how much I missed it.



As for me, I left Otto with Nana and Papa for the day and Megan and I took a whole day to enjoy Lagoon for a sister date! I haven't been to an amusement park in years and the first time back on a roller coaster was terrifying. I loved it. We had a fabulous day eating bad food, riding rides, watching the crowds, riding Rattlesnake Rapids, drying off after riding Rattlesnake rapids, and talking girl talk. We were there the day after they opened their new thrill ride, Cannibal. Unfortunately, it didn't open until 3pm that day and the line was already hours long. We will have to catch that one on our next summer trip.

The next day was the 4th of July and Otto's first celebration with fireworks! We went to the Brigham City fireworks with George Washington, Megan, my mom, and Grandma Reynolds. Otto didn't want to sit on the blanket and play cards (big surprise), so we walked around the park with George until it got dark. When the fireworks started, we were all so interested in Otto's reaction that we barely watched them ourselves. He didn't get scared at all! He loved watching them on our laps.

We spent the second week in Utah seeing friends. We had a potluck dinner with some of "the fellas" we've known since High School and college. It was amazing to get together and see how much our families have grown. We were overrun with littles! So much fun. Matt was particularly sad to miss out on the reunion.



We also had lunch with Aunt Jen at good ol' Peach City. It was so good to see her; it has been a few years since we had a good talk. We stayed and chatted for about 2 hours!











During our visit, Otto had so much space and room inside and outside to really improve his walking skills. I couldn't believe how much he changed in just one week! He was learning new sign words and picking them up so quickly. Aunt Megan taught him to sign "Please" and he finally got the hang of signing "more" when he wants something. He learned to toss a ball so he and Grandma Reynolds could sit and play roly poly. Matt was amazed how much he changed and grew and learned in the 2 weeks we were gone!



After our eventful trip, everything seemed to move in slow motion. We were back in the heat and feeling really cooped up. I started slowly working on getting our profile set up on Adoption.com with the help of our friends at LDS Family Services. I want to get a head start so we can continue to work on it and leave the pathways open for baby #2 to come along whenever the time is right. I kept in touch with our friends at All Aboard Charter School as they hired a new 4th grade teacher and were still looking for a 1st grade teacher.

This when everything seemed to pick up like a tornado. Otto was so used to all the stimulation he was getting and all the room to run and play. Having just mommy and our in-house projects were not cutting it for him anymore. Then, I kept feeling this incredible pull to go back to teaching. Although I had previously thought I would never go back full time while Otto was still little, I found myself thinking there were a lot of reasons it could be good for all of us. I wondered if maybe this first grade position was still available because it was waiting for me.

My sister, Megan, took a trip to Alaska to visit her boyfriend who is from there and working there during the summer. Not all that surprisingly, he proposed! I have not met Colton in person yet, but I have spoke to him on the phone a few times and we all just LOVE him. I am so happy my sister found an amazing, great guy to join our family. Now I have to get to work on planning a great bridal shower for her in the next few months.

Before I knew it, I interviewed and accepted the position for teaching at All Aboard the week before I was supposed to return to work! I frantically spent that week touring daycares and finding a part-time cleaning person to help us out. Since returning to work was not about needing the money, it was worth the expensive price of setting Otto up to go to Tutor Time.

 His teacher has a bachelor's in Early Childhood. She has been teaching for many years. He is getting a lot of time to run around, play with new toys, make new friends, and they feed him very healthy yummy meals. Matt came with us to drop him off on the first morning. Otto was so happy to play that he hardly noticed we were leaving. He was just fine, but I am not afraid to admit that I cried all the way to work. I am not sad to be dropping him off because I know how much fun and learning he is doing. It makes me sad that I don't feel as much of a need to be home with him anymore because he isn't the little baby that needed me so much anymore.  I also miss him terribly during the day. I know that this decision was the right one for us at this time but it also has its ups and downs.








The first week back to work was stressful, overwhelming, chaotic, and exciting all at once. I am trying to get used to being a little further behind than I used to be at the beginning of a new school year. I have to get used to leaving promptly at 4:30 to pick up my little man at a reasonable time in the evenings and not stay at work to finish things. It took me extra long to get my room ready and try to get prepared for Back to School Night and the first week of school. Matt and Otto have been very helpful this week as we all pitch in as a family to get through the next stressful month.

I am in a swimsuit with him in the Nana's BIG tub.

Otto has had an amazing month. He absolutely loves school and his teachers adore him. They asked him to bring a picture of his family for the Family Wall. They give me a write-up everyday of the activities and songs he has enjoyed that day. We like to sing them in the car on the way home. He went from toddling around with his arms up to his armpits for balance to full-on running!

Here is what we learned about Otto this month:
1. He can now sign Help, More, Please, Thank You, Hat, Shoes, Cat, Eat, Milk, Water, and Sleep. He is learning new signs almost daily. Some look similar to others, but he uses them in the right context.
2. He can say Mom, Ball, Foof (fart), Dad, This, and That. He also imitates many things we say to him.
3. He walk/runs everywhere.
4. He can throw a ball pretty darn good.
5. His obsession with shoes and buttons continues.
6. He gives hugs and kisses, sort of. He puts his head down and says, "awwww" for a hug. He smacks his lips for kisses but turns his cheek to receive a kiss when you get close to him.
7. His swim lessons paid off so much! He loves the water and he can go underwater, monkey crawl on the wall, back float while I hold his head, kick, and splash.