Young man

Hunter is a very good supervisor in case you're wondering. Grammy keeps us stocked in new toys, Jared assembles them, and Hunter keeps an eye on everything. It is his new car after all.

Please note the plethora of toys in the background. We should give up on the furniture to make room for the toys as everyone would be much more happy that way. My parents told me that they finally had enough money to buy living room furniture when my brothers were young. They were excited and the boys were totally disappointed that their wide open playroom was suddenly filled with couches and chairs. 

Steering alignment and quality control, check and check.

Ready for business. Please drop by if you feel like pushing a toddler car in incessant circles around the downstairs of my house. As my mother has always said, every house needs to be arranged in a big circle for the children and dogs. 

He was forced to do a little maintenance one afternoon when Jared was at school. Breathe easy, the tires are now re-aligned. 

It is a day of change in our house. I took Hunter to the YMCA with me this morning and dropped him off at the Y play area. This is the very first time I left him with people I didn't know. I went yesterday to the YMCA by myself to check it out and make sure I understood the check in procedures so that I could move as quickly as possible this morning. I could feel Hunter tighten his arm around mine as I was about to leave him. I handed him over and ran to try to minimize the pain for everyone. Apparently he did very well until he had to move from the bigger kid room to the toddler room. There were fewer children first thing in the morning so they all started out together. I suppose he fancies himself a big boy and he probably didn't like being uprooted from his spot to hang out with crying babies. I walked up to the counter to pick him up and he burst into tears. I thought he would run smiling to my arms, but apparently I reminded him that I had been previously gone. 

Also, Hunter is currently napping in his crib. Jared and I have always loved holding Hunter during his nap and have done this for 17 months now. He goes to sleep easily on his own at bedtime, but the daytime snuggles have continued. It was a big adjustment today for him to sleep in the crib alone. It feels different and we don't have the really dark curtains in his room like the rec room. Now that I'm staying at home, I want to have that break so I can maintain some sanity and also participate in some hobbies of my own like blogging, painting, or reading. Plus, Hunter is getting long! He's growing up and I felt like he would outgrow me and the recliner soon. It was hard to see him so sad though. 

I am grateful for a sweet, easy going boy. I am also grateful for the easy going husband who managed the difficult job of stay-at-home parent for over a year. I'm so proud that Jared made it into nursing school. He set out on a path and has not wavered.