Family Photos - 2014

We finally had family photos taken again which turned out to be really fun. Maddy's age made the task much easier because of her ability to follow directions and her "regular" smile has become much less cheesy and relaxed which was a bonus as well.

We did family photos with all three of us and then some of just Maddy. Our photographer had some awesome back drops which added alot to the photos.

Here are some of my favorites!

Day at the Park

Last weekend we had some surprisingly good weather and so we took advantage of it by going to the park. Blue skies, shorts and leaves were a fun combo! Maddy was even extra brave and tried out a new part of the play structure where she had to climb pretty high. She had a blast climbing over and over and then jumping off. We're pretty grateful for the amazing summer and fall we've had and know the rain is around the corner.

Haircut

Maddy got her haircut two weekends ago at a new place near our house. Since this was her third haircut she was a pro. She jumped right in the chair and was super chatty with the hair stylist. It's been much easier to manage her hair having it be a couple inches shorter which is much appreciated. She even got her hair blow dryed which she thought was super fun!

Happy Birthday Maddy

Today is Maddy's 3rd birthday. She's growing up so fast. I feel like I was just pregnant with her, waiting to meet her and get to know her and in reality she's been here for three years. She's amazing, truly the greatest blessing. She is opinionated and independent in the most awesome way. She knows what she wants and she goes after it. She's active and engaged and loves learning. She is constantly looking for new things to master and it's amazing to watch her brain work as she conquers new things. She loves hugs and snuggles and talks incessantly about her family and friends.

Our life has not been the same since she came into it. She has taught us so much in these three short years and we can't wait to see what the future brings with our family. We love you Maddy!

Here are some photos of Maddy over the years. Top left is her newborn photos when she was 10 days old. Top right is her first birthday photos. Bottom left is the summer before her second birthday. Bottom right is her school photos the summer before her third birthday. 

Swimming Lessons

Maddy has been taking swimming lessons since she was 6 months old and has always really enjoyed them. This past session we started a transitional class that helps the preschoolers get ready for classes on their own without Mom or Dad. We've been working with Teacher Tiffany who is amazing with the kids and really tailors the classes to their interests and developmental needs. The final two weeks of this session Teacher Tiffany suggested that the Moms and Dads stay in their regular clothes and sit on the bleachers instead of being in their suits, sitting on the side of the pool. Maddy did great with this transition and really enjoyed being a big kid. We'll have a few more weeks of swimming lessons like this and then we'll transition to a new class with just 3 kids and the teacher all on their own.

Maddy's 3rd Birthday Party

Yesterday we had Maddy's third birthday party at the Tacoma Children's Museum. We invited some of her friends from daycare and other family and friends. It was a great party. We had the party room at the museum for an hour and did snacks, birthday cupcakes, and presents. Then the whole group moved to the museum for playing. Everyone stayed and moved throughout the museum, sometimes playing all together, sometimes everyone on their own with their parents. The kid's had a blast and Maddy was SO excited to spend time with her friends throughout the day.

I'm so glad we did her party at the museum because it really cut down on some of the things that we're a little excessive when we did home parties the past two years (decorations and food especially). And this way I didn't have to come up with activities because the museum was the activity. Also, the staff at the museum helped with set-up and completely took care of clean up. They also helped us move all of the presents and leftovers to our car. It was so so so convenient and totally worth the cost. I would definitely do a party there again.

Fun in the party room! 

Playing in the Children's Museum!

Commitment to Health

The past 6 months have been pretty intense as I've worked to finish my dissertation. I already have limited "free" time and when trying to add in writing daily and often, that free time was pretty consumed. This often meant I sacrificed things like going to the gym and planning ahead to cook healthy meals. This also meant that I consumed a lot of caffeine (mostly in Diet Coke form) and other junk food to manage stress. None of this was especially great for my body but was a means to an end. The end is here which means it's time to refocus and get back on track. Here are five goals that I think will help me accomplish this.

1. Drink 60 ounces of water per day. I know that my body and skin feel better when I'm hydrated so I'm going to keep my water bottle filled and track how much water I'm drinking with my fit bit app. 

2. Eat 3-4 servings of fruit/vegetables a day. We do pretty well with veggies as sides at dinner but unfortunately during the day, I don't make it much of a focus. I'm going to prepackage fruits and veggies to take to work daily as well as just keep more fruits and veggies on hand in the house for snacks.

3. Do cardio 3 times a week. Unfortunately going to the gym means going after about 12 hours of commuting/working during the week. That isn't always the most fun but I need to make a better commitment. Maddy has swimming lessons and other classes at our gym so Ted and I are going to take turns taking her to these activities while the other person works out, since we have to be there anyway. 

4. Do weights 2 times a week. Ted and I lift weights at the gym together. I don't know a ton about weight lifting but feel more comfortable when we do it together. We usually focus on arms and abs and I have definitely felt more toned when I do it regularly. 

5. Do ab challenge 5-6 days a week. My friend Jenny introduced me to an ab challenge where you do crunches, leg lifts and plank a certain number of times throughout a month period. I've done it a few times but never finished an entire month (it gets pretty tough by the middle of the month). I really want to finish this time. That means doing 3 days straight and then taking a rest day which means 5-6 times a week depending on the week.

Fair

Washington has a really big state fair every September and we were able to squeeze in a visit this year. We had gone before when Maddy was almost one but thought it would be more fun now that she is almost three. We had a great time overall. There was a seahawks game later in the day so all photos include hawks jerseys.

The highlight was visiting the animals. We saw pretty much every farm animal you could imagine. Maddy's favorite animal right now is a cow so that was a big focus of our visit. They even had a plastic cow that you could milk which she loved.

The low point was the rides. We knew there was a chance Maddy would be scared of the rides but we had talked to her about them ahead of time and even watched a few before buying any tickets to help her understand how it would work. She was VERY excited. She insisted on starting with an airplane ride that gently goes up and down in circles. I got her settled and we snapped a few photos. She smiled and wave each time she went by. THEN by the fourth lap she started screaming to get off. Well, being that 12-15 other kids were having the time of their lives and she wasn't in danger, the ride continued. She continued to scream to get her off and reach for Ted and I. After about 90 seconds the ride naturally ended and we "rescued" her. Needless to say she was having no more of rides. She did go down the big slide with Ted and even though she was cautious it worked well. I tried the carousel later but we only made it on the platform and near a horse before the crying began so off we went without riding. Oh well, there's always next year.

Add in funnel cakes, corn dogs and cotton candy and it was a success!

Dissertation

TA DA! That's right, I am happy to announce that my dissertation is finally done. It has been a long process, although more people than I can imagine get stuck and never finish so in that case, boy was this speedy! The overall program including coursework took 4.5 years and of that the dissertation took about 10 months.

I finished writing the last section of my dissertation on September 20 but then had to wait for it to be reviewed by my editor and adviser and make edits and write the acknowledgements and dedication (it's almost like a real life book). This Saturday I finished the last few things and it's now done!

I still have to defend (think big stressful presentation) my dissertation on October 24 but then I'll be done for real. 

Here are a few photos of the writing process for the final two chapters. All of the quotes from my participant interviews had to be put into themes, synthesized and analyzed. That was a messy messy process but super rewarding to watch it all turn into something meaningful.

Davis Family Update

It's been a month since I last posted so here's more of a recap, although know that there will be more specific posts very soon about my dissertation progress, a trip to the state fair, and a new "friend."

Whew August and September we're busy but more in a, wow where has time gone sort of way. 

We went to Canada to visit Ted's parents which was kicked off by an ear infection (and then followed up by another, or the same crappy one, early in September). See top right photo for sick kid.

We had an amazing summer which even yesterday produced immense amounts of sunshine and warmth. See bottom left and right photos for pools and spray parks.

We like to goof around and hang out and make pickles. See the rest of the photos.

Ultimate Mommy Guilt

I have been in a PhD program for Maddy's entire life (going on almost 4.5 years). I am about 2 months away from finishing with the intention of graduating in December. This is crunch time.

During this journey, there has been extreme amounts of guilt. Guilt that I wasn't spending more time with Maddy, guilt that I wasn't hanging out with Ted, guilt that I wasn't walking the dog, guilt that I wasn't going to the gym, guilt that I wasn't staying connected with friends and family, and of course, guilt that I wasn't writing or reading as much as I probably should for school. So that being said, guilt is nothing new for me, until last night.

Yesterday I left work about an hour early because I thought that it would be really nice if Maddy and I could do something fun together after work. I picked her up early and we went and got frozen yogurt.

We had a great time, just the two of us, which was much needed. 

Then Ted and I tag teamed dinner prep, played with Maddy, and did the bedtime routine. At about 7:45pm, I said goodnight to Maddy and Ted began the process of reading stories while I went to work on my dissertation. 

At about 8:15pm there was a lot of crying coming from upstairs and a lot of yelling for Mommy coming from Maddy. It seemed like a good idea to go check it out.

As soon as I walked into Maddy's room she looked up at me and said, please don't do homework anymore, please just snuggle with me. Those 10 words were all it took to set off the guilt meter higher than ever before. 

I know that it's important that Maddy see both Ted and I accomplishing our goals and achieving success personally and professionally. It's especially important for me to show Maddy that as a woman, you can be and do anything you want. Which is why I climbed into her bed and snuggled her and told her a story, because in that moment I wanted to be her mom more than I wanted to have a doctorate. After a few minutes, we talked about why I have to do homework and I taught her to say PhD. She told me I could go back downstairs because she was tired, so I kissed her goodnight and proceeded to work on my dissertation for 2 more hours.

I know the next 2 months are not going to be easy and that probably won't be the last time I feel guilty, but I also know that Ted, Maddy and I have come too far on this journey to give up now. We can do it!

What We've Been Up To

Wow, it's been a crazy few weeks this month. We've been trying to sell the house (still), I've been trying very very hard to write my dissertation (spending on average 3-4 hours a day working on it), and we've been working to have fun family time as well. I'll be glad when those first two things are done so we can solely focus on the third which is really the most fun.

Here are some photos of our past few weeks. Starting at the top left, that's Maddy at our camp site earlier this month when we camped at Hood Canal. It was an awesome time. Bottom left is Maddy wearing her new Seahawks tutu. We are all pretty excited for football season to begin, Ted and Maddy even have new jersey's. Go Hawks! Bottom middle is Maddy with her face painted with a spider. She asked for the spider even though most of the little girls were asking for rainbows and tiaras. That's my little feminist! Top right is Maddy at the public library this past weekend. She and I went to play and get some new books. We had a great time. Middle right #1 is Maddy in her new reading corner in her room. Now that she has a bed, not a crib, we read nighttime stories there, and don't need her rocking chair so we turned her rocking chair corner into her reading corner with some new to us bookshelves and her little rocking chair. Middle right #2 is Maddy and I eating ice cream on our camping trip at a little store close to the campground. Middle right #3 is Maddy playing at the playground at the campground. We love love love that this campground has a playground and Maddy went at least 4 times while we were there. Bottom right is Ted, Bailey and Maddy down at the water at our camping trip. It is the most beautiful place ever with mountains and water all over.

So there you have it, a recap of our past few weeks. Hopefully soon we'll have more time for fun that we can capture on the blog. For now we're just plugging along trying to get it all done!

A Day in the Life

I have seen a few blog posts recently where people keep track of their whole day, documenting the things they do and taking pictures when it makes sense. I thought it might be cool to do this too, both to share with others what a day looks like in my life and also to get a better idea myself. I have been trying to do this for about 2 weeks now and unfortunately there kept being days that I deemed not "normal" because of a variety of factors. One day Ted was out of town so I was on my own for the night which is definitely not the norm to our tag team approach to life. Another day I had to drive to work instead of busing it which creates a whole different type of day and once again is rare.

Yesterday seemed about as normal as I could get although there were still a few abnormal factors, the main being I had to work later than my normal 7am-3:30pm day which puts extra strains on our evenings. "Luckily" Maddy had swim lessons which Ted and her attended while I worked to get home at a reasonable time. Because of this, a lot of this day is about me and not a lot is about Maddy and Ted. Sometimes this is how my life is and the hats I wear more often in a day are those of a Student Affairs Professional and a Doctoral Student and I'm just grateful on those days that Ted graciously wears both of our Parent hats.

So here goes!

5:15am: Alarm goes off! I am a super morning person but 5am does get old after a while.

5:15-5:30am: Shower and get dressed/ready for the day. I do all of this in the bathroom where my clothes are already picked out because Ted is asleep in our room for at least another hour.

All dressed and ready for the day!

5:30-5:40am: Do chores around the downstairs including cat litter and food, put dishes in the dishwasher, and put away dishes that were dry on the counter. Pack my lunch which today meant scrounging around for leftovers in the fridge and throwing in a piece of fruit and a bottle of water for good measure.

Short ribs, sweet potatoes, cheese and crackers, a peach and water!

5:40-5:55am: Drive to the park and ride to catch my bus.

In the parking garage all ready for the bus!

5:55-6:10am: Wait in line for the bus with the other commuters. Check email and Facebook on my iPhone.

6:10-7:15am: Ride the bus (think charter bus, not city bus) from Tacoma to Seattle. It's very quiet, a lot of people sleep and since it's an express bus there are no stops in between. I try to use my bus time to be productive but that doesn't always happen. Lately with the pressures of finishing my dissertation always on my mind I have been using my time more wisely. Today I transcribed an interview from my dissertation research. Imagine listening to two people talk ridiculously slow while trying to type as fast as you can to get it all down word for word. Fun times, not, especially when one of the voices is yours and you keep thinking, is that what I really sound like?

7:15-7:20am: I didn't pack any food for breakfast so I went across the street to a market on campus and grabbed oatmeal and juice.

7:20-7:25am: Arrive at my office. Unpack my backpack, put my lunch in the fridge, plug in my iPhone and laptop to charge for later in the day uses, and log into my computer.

7:25-7:35am: Type up some handwritten notes to share with a student for a meeting I have later this morning. Eat breakfast at the same time.

7:35-7:50am: Finalize a PowerPoint presentation about working with disruptive and concerning students.

7:50-7:55am: Email dissertation interview transcriptions to myself to have for future needs.

7:55-8:00am: Go downstairs in my building to get to the location of the presentation.

8:00-9:00am: Give the presentation with a colleague on what staff should do if a student is being disruptive or acting in a manner that has someone concerned for their or someone else's safety. Lots and lots of questions which is common.

9:00-10:10am: Meet with a student and their parents to talk about current student conduct allegations he is facing and possible outcomes (that is unusual for all of you who are thinking, wait, don't you work at a college, parents, what?)

10:10-10:30am: Check-in with supervisor and administrative staff, check email, return a phone call, go to the bathroom and quickly eat some cheese and crackers.

10:30am-12:00pm: Attend a campus wide meeting about revising our student conduct code for the university. I have been on this committee from the beginning and this process has been going on for almost 4 years. Think big place, lots of beaurocracy, lawyers, and a constantly changing national landscape around college student discipline.

12:00-12:30pm: Eat lunch while checking email and returning phone calls. Attempt to go to the bathroom before my next meeting but since it was being cleaned, run down 2 flights of stairs to use one on another floor (why does it feel like it's only being cleaned when I need it?)

12:30-2:30pm: Meet with one of our university attorneys to prep for an upcoming student conduct appeal hearing. My attorney is awesome but this was exhausting!

2:30-2:45pm: Walk with a colleague to a meeting across campus. I decided to eat a peach while walking which was super messy, whoops.

2:45-3:00pm: Set-up for meeting including getting Skype going for a meeting with a student who is out of the area.

3:00-4:25pm: Lead a meeting with faculty and academic advisers who serve as the Committee on Academic Conduct. We discuss pending academic integrity cases including Skyping with a student to get their perspective (gotta love technology).

4:25-4:35pm: Walk back across campus towards my bus stop.

4:35-4:45pm: Wait for the bus. Check email and Facebook on my iPhone.

4:45-6:00pm: Ride the bus home. The afternoon always takes a little longer than the morning. I'm also usually wiped out by the end of the day and have less chance of being productive. I did send a few work emails and the rest of the time I played on my iPhone and iPad which included reading a few blogs, news articles, playing Candy Crush, and sending a few texts to friends.

6:00-6:15pm: Drive to Target while talking to my BFF Kendra on the phone. Kendra lives in New York and the time change coupled with each of us having a small child means we rarely talk on the phone.

6:10-6:30pm: Buy night time pull-ups at Target and keep talking to Kendra since my kid is at swimming and her kid is asleep, yay for grown-up time!

6:30-6:40pm: Drive home and keep talking to Kendra (don't worry, I have Bluetooth).

6:40pm: Arrive at home! Bailey is excited to see me and the cats are begging to come in or go out depending on which one of them you're referring to.

6:40-6:50pm: Cook green beans for dinner, fill the cats water, check the dryer, the clothes are still wet, change clothes, all while still talking to Kendra.

6:50-7:05pm: Begin heating up dinner which I made last night knowing today was going to be a long day. Also, I make coffee and load the dishwasher. I make the much needed decision to grab a beer after a very long day.

Turkey, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy! Yummy!

7:05-7:15pm: Update my info for this blog while waiting for Ted and Maddy to come home from swim lessons.

7:15pm: They're home! HUGE HUG FOR MOMMY AND MADDY since we haven't seen each other in about 24 hours.

7:15-7:40pm: Ted and I have dinner and Maddy had goldfish and juice since she ate some food before swimming. We all sat at the table together talking about our days, swimming lessons, why you shouldn't smash your goldfish, etc.

Post-swimming goldfish snack!

7:40-7:45pm: Clean up dinner dishes and pack lunch for tomorrow. Put on my PJs because I'm SO over work clothes. 

Maddy took this picture of me in my PJs!

7:45-8:20pm: Bedtime routine with Maddy which includes brushing teeth, going potty, washing hands, giving everyone including the pets a hug, reading stories, doing her bedtime sticker chart, stalling 374 times by asking for water, more hugs, a different blanket, another story, and whatever else she can dream up. 

Going potty!

Reading stories in her big girl bed!

8:20-8:30pm: Folded laundry which Ted had started earlier in the day. We even managed to put it away instead of leaving it folded on top of the dresser.

8:30-8:45pm: Sent a few work emails about some things that are going on tomorrow. Pick out clothes for work tomorrow.

8:45-9:00pm: Maddy is finally asleep so I can sneak into her room and pick out her clothes for tomorrow. And then get Chocolate Peanut Butter ice cream, yum! 

Sleeeeeeeeeeping!

9:00-9:10pm: Ted and I talk about our days while lying in bed watching the Mariners.

9:10pm-9:15pm: The power goes out and we lay in the dark until Ted remembers that we had an issue before with our electrical box and maybe it's just our power not the whole neighborhood. After some major detective work which included looking out the window and seeing the neighbors porch light on, we go outside and flip the breaker and poof power is back on. I'm not sure how long we would have laid in the dark if he hadn't remembered that.

9:15-9:50pm: More laying in bed, talking and watching the Mariners until I can't keep my eyes open anymore.

9:50pm: Goodnight!

Virtual 5K

A few months ago Ted and I made an effort to start going to the gym more and eat a little more healthy. We stuck to it for about 10 weeks, both losing between 10-15 pounds and feeling a lot better.

At the beginning of that endeavor I started running again which I hadn't really done since back in grad school when I had time to go to the gym everyday (oh how I miss those days). I began a couch to 5k program which helps you start running by using intervals of running and walking for about 30 minutes at a time. I got pretty into it and had even reached a point where I could run 20 minutes straight. Unfortunately life majorly got in the way with continuing going to the gym (thanks for nothing strep throat, vacations, stomach bugs, family death, etc.)

I would really like to get back on track because while I haven't really gained the weight back (thank goodness), I don't feel as fit as I did when I was running 2-3 times a week. 

So lucky for me my new blogging community is hosting a virtual 5k in September (thanks Jenny!). The premise is you sign up with other bloggers and we all commit to running a 5k on September 13th. We all do it on our own however best works for us. So for me, that will be on the treadmill at the gym because that is definitely where I do my best running, mostly because the treadmill controls my pace and keeps it reasonable allowing me to run longer (that can't be a surprise to any of you who know I don't take my time at much of anything).

So my goals for the next 7 weeks to prepare for this are:

1. Run on the treadmill at the gym 2-3 times each week.

2. Lift weights at the gym 1-2 times each week.

3. Use my couch to 5k app to continue increasing my running. Start on week 4 and go through week 8 to be able to run a 5k in one session.

4. Lose another 5 pounds between now and September 13 to make running a little easier.

I found some awesome running quotes to help motivate me!

Christmas in July

My friend Jenny who blogs at The Chronicles of We is trying her hardest to get me to blog more and to connect with other bloggers. I've been fighting her pretty hard and telling her that I cannot do anything else until my darn dissertation is done and I am FINALLY done with school. Well she is starting to win as I've been doing more and more blogging and connecting more and more with her blogging friends.

I decided to participate in a blogging event sponsored by Jenny and another one of her blogging friends which was called Christmas in July. Basically you sign up and then you get paired up with another blogger from somewhere across the country. You share information with each other about your lives and families and then you send a gift which they open, just like Christmas (in July)! The bonus was you get paired with two bloggers. One blogger you buy for and one blogger buys for you.

I was lucky enough to be paired with two awesome working moms. Chrissy from Simple Joys was the recipient of our gift and Emma from Harper and Will sent us an awesome present. Maddy thought this was a pretty great activity, even if she didn't completely understand why random people were sending her gifts all the way from Virginia. Thanks so much Emma, Harper and Will!

Emma, Harper and Will got sent some awesome presents which Maddy had a blast unwrapping!

She got bubbles, a water/art activity and some outdoor/beach toys. She couldn't figure out which thing she was the most excited about and looking back, opening these gifts right before bed was a bad idea because she had to try them all out and then was wired when the bedtime routine began.

After all the opening (thanks for the special Mom gifts too) Maddy and I celebrated by throwing all the tissue paper confetti into the air. It was pretty fun overall!

Funny Faces

This past weekend I remembered that my new iPad has a fun photo feature where you can take silly pictures. In an attempt to lighten my sadness as well as distract Maddy in the midst of a stomach bug (what the heck), I busted out the iPad and we took oodles of funny pictures which we text all over the country to our friends and family to bring a smile to their face too. Here are some of our best ones!

Goodbye Grandma

I knew this day would come. I've spent the past 10-15 years knowing what my greatest fear was. It wasn't spiders or something silly. It was the phone call I would get that would tell me that my Grandma had died. I had expected it many times over the years. The first time was when I was in graduate school and I flew across the country to sit beside her and my family when she went through open heart surgery. We all thought she might not make it, but she did. A couple of years ago she had some major medical challenges that landed her in the hospital and eventually forced her into a retirement community. We all thought that the transition out of her own space, into this group living environment, might be too much. But it wasn't. Once again she flourished, made friends, attended activities, and enjoyed living closer to her daughter Linda and me and Maddy. This past fall was one of our scariest encounters. She was rushed to the ER and required multiple blood transfusions. She had to live in a rehabilitation center for almost two months and we really didn't think she would recover. We all prepared for the worst and once again, we were wrong. She got stronger, she got better, she stopped using her oxygen, she started walking more, she was her best self.

The past six months have been filled with so many special memories. Grandma was able to travel to Oregon for Christmas and we have so many amazing pictures of her with her great-grandchildren opening presents. We all made a somewhat impromptu trip to Vancouver for Mother's Day to help her celebrate her big day. And finally, she attended our annual camping trip to southern Oregon two weeks ago, spending 5 days with her children, grand-children, and great-grandchildren. We laughed, played bingo, danced to a local band, sat around the campfire and just enjoyed each other. I am so grateful for these special memories.

Even though I had often played the scenario over in my head of what it would be like when my Aunt or my Dad called to tell me that she had died, I wasn't prepared. I had thought about what I would do or say, or how I would feel, but nothing could prepare me for the debilitating grief I am feeling. The call came this past Sunday, July 13. I won't go into the details that lead up to it, as it doesn't really matter. What matters is that my Aunt was there with her and was holding her hand and telling her that we loved her. What matters is that it happened quickly, that she didn't suffer. What matters is that within 24 hours, her children and grandchildren all came to say their goodbyes. What matters is that my brother Dan and I had extremely difficult conversations with her great-grandchildren Hayden, Maddy and Paisley, to make sure they know how much she loved them. What matters is that we got 84 wonderful years with her and we have more memories than we can count.

My family is very sad right now. We can rationalize that she's in a better place, that she doesn't have to face anymore medical ailments, that she has been reunited with my Grandpa, but all of that rationalizing only gets you so far. Right now I am selfishly wishing she was still here. I am wishing I could hug her one more time. I am wishing that she could play with my daughter one more time. I am wishing I could call her and hear her excited voice when Maddy and I shout, HI GRAMMIE into the phone. I am also wishing for things that haven't yet happened. I am wishing she could come visit me when we finally move into a new house. I am wishing she could share with me the joy that will come when I earn my PhD later this year. I am wishing that she could hold her future great-grandchildren. None of those things will happen and I am so sad thinking about the emptiness I will feel when I won't be able to completely enjoy those milestones because she won't be here with me. I knew this day would come but I am still not ready to face it.

Too Much of a Good Thing?

Most weeks I long for extra time with Maddy where we can snuggle, read stories, cook in the kitchen or play outside. Those things are always more fun when we can be leisurely and just enjoy each other. Working mommy guilt is not something new to me and I usually look for extra special opportunities to show Maddy how important she is even when our time during the week is limited.

The past two weeks we've spent a lot of time together (with Ted too, yay bonus) which while awesome is also reinforcing why I work and why she goes to daycare. The biggest challenge with vacations is a lack of routine which neither Maddy or I do especially well with. We both like structure and being busy which often times does not come with vacation, at least not the camping kind. After spending 11 of the past 16 days together (don't worry, I needed a calendar and almost a calculator to figure that out) we are both looking forward to Monday when we can part ways and start missing each other again. I'm looking forward to picking her up after a long day of work and feeling overwhelmed with happiness when she runs into my arms at daycare, when we can spend extra time building block towers during bath time, and when I can look at pictures of her on the bus during my commute, remembering how quickly it's all zooming by.

For now we've made some awesome memories over the past 2 weeks. We've swam together in lakes and rivers, we've roasted marshmallows, we've filled toy dump trucks with dirt, and we've laid in the tent snuggling with Daddy in the early mornings. Regardless we will both benefit from a little space and a little normalcy :) 

Rafting & Camping

We've been going on an annual camping/rafting trip to the Rogue River for about ten years now. Over the years we've added friends and family to each year, creating an eclectic group sure to have tons of fun.

This year we were joined by (all as related to Maddy): Grammie Great, Grammie Kim and Bumpa Larry, Uncle Dan and Aunt Coley, Cousins Hayden and Paisley, Great Aunt Linda and Great Uncle Bob, God Mother/Cousin Casey and her awesome boyfriend Joe, plus tons and tons of dogs!

We had a blast camping and while it wasn't as hot as usual, that didn't stop our fun on the river. Some of the highlights were that Maddy learned to ride her big girl 2 wheel bike (with training wheels) as well as Maddy and Hayden rafted 4 times down the river and could be heard shouting, MORE BIG WAVES, through each rapid!

We are already excited for next year.

Summertime Sickness

We're going to play a little Jeopardy today on the blog (I give you the answer, you give me the Question)! The answer is, antibiotics! The question is, you guessed it, what do you need when everyone is sick?

Last weekend we discovered that Bailey, our golden retriever had an ear infection. Ted took her to the vet and we began giving her antibiotic ear drops. Then on Thursday afternoon Maddy started complaining about her ear hurting. We went through getting tubes in her ears about a year ago and we were worried that there might be an issue. Ted's Mom took Maddy to the doctor of Friday morning because neither Ted or I could get out of work easily and Grammie loves helping out. Maddy not only had an ear infection in her right ear, but the pressure from the infection had built up and ruptured her ear drum. Apparently that sounds way worse than it is. We ended up with two prescriptions for antibiotics for her, one oral medicine and one in ear drop form. 2 Davis members down, 2 to go! Sunday morning I woke up with a very very sore throat but no other symptoms. By 4pm I had a 102 degree fever and could barely move. After a very rough night, I went to the doctor this  morning to find out that I have strep throat and now have my very own antibiotics. Good grief! The good news is that everyone on antibiotics is already feeling much better, yay medicine!

Catching up!

Yes I know it's been almost 4 weeks since I posted on here. Yes I know that is a really long time. Yes I know that last year I posted nearly everyday. Life is really hard sometimes and the last thing you want to do is post pictures and write about how hard life is. Selling a house is hard. Writing a dissertation is hard. Raising an independent little person is hard. Commuting 2 hours a day, to work 40 hours a week is hard. Blogging is actually pretty easy and you can guarantee I'd almost always rather be doing this rather than laundry, cleaning or meal prep. But really though, sorry about my lapse in blogging. I miss sharing what's going on in our lives and I'm glad I'm back after my momentary hiatus.

So here's a recap of  the main highlights and a few photos to show that we have in fact been doing well! I went to San Diego with my best friend Kendra and the zoo rocked. Maddy took another session of gymnastics and swimming and loved them both. It was sunny A LOT and Maddy had her first slurpee. We went to a birthday party that was a whole building of bouncy houses. People looked at our house but no one bought it. Ted and I both have both each lost over 10lbs and are feeling a lot healthier.

Our greatest news since the last post is that Maddy is potty trained except for overnights (although wakes up half the time with a dry pull-up). Woo hoo, that's the greatest thing ever!

Thanks for sticking with us! I will try to be more diligent!

Golfing!

My family has played golf for as long as I can remember. I used to go in my stroller with my parents when I was a baby and play in the sand traps.

Before Ted and I met, I got my first set of golf clubs and I used to play with some friends in Seattle. Then Ted and I met and it was one of the fun things we had in common that we used to do regularly. We probably golfed 10-15 times the spring/summer of 2010 and it was great! Then I got pregnant in winter of 2011 and as anyone who's ever been pregnant knows, there's no way to swing a golf club with a watermelon strapped to your stomach. So no golf for me :( Of course the other thing about golf is that to play 18 holes, it takes about 4-5 hours which doesn't work well when you have a baby/toddler.

So....fast forward 3 1/2 years and guess what? I am back on the golf course! Ted's parents kept Maddy Saturday afternoon and overnight so we went golfing. We started off with a small par 3/4 9 hole course that's in Tacoma. It was beautiful out and we had a blast. After not swinging a club for over 3 years, I hit my first shot 100 yards right down the middle if the fairway. Success!

I can't wait to get back out there!

Reading

I've been trying to do more than play on my phone during my commute to/from Seattle each work day. I decided that reading would probably be a good use of my time. I got some recommendations from my friend Jenn and friend Jenny (I promise I have other friends not named Jennifer). 

I started with The Fault In Our Stars. It's being made into a movie now and will be out soon. It was really good but pretty sad at times. Kids with cancer will do that to you. Good read, highly recommend it.

Then on to Moloka'i. My mom's family is from Hawaii so it seemed like a nice idea to learn more about the history of Hawaii. This book jumps right in and has moments that are heart wrenching. The story is beautiful though and you can't put it down.

Next up was Family Pictures. This book took me a while to get into. But then hooked me. A story about two women who have more in common than they know. Good ending, made it very worthwhile.

I just started Beautiful Ruins. I'll let you know how it plays out!

Maddy

About 3 years ago, Maddy was growing in my belly and I had just started to feel her moving around. That was the beginning of my connection to this amazing little girl. Maddy arrived a few days later than planned, and I should have known then that she would be strong willed and do things herself when she was ready to do them. Things haven't really changed.

Maddy is fiercely independent and because of that can tackle a lot of things that many kids her age are happy having someone else do for them. She's amazed with the world and is constantly asking questions and looking for new things to try out. 

She loves her family and her friends immensely and while she can play by herself and do her own thing, she mostly wants to be with other people. She's definitely an extrovert.

Maddy is emotional, she processes things with her heart and when things hurt her feelings, she has a hard time recovering. She takes things personal. 

I don't want to be cliche, but for me, Maddy epitomizes the saying, I didn't know that I could love someone this much. I love when she snuggles into my shoulder when she needs cuddles, I love when she mispronounces words or phrases in the cute way 2 year olds do, and I'm going to regret saying this, but I love when she stomps her foot and shouts, no, Maddy do!

As much as Maddy pushes my buttons and sometimes drives me crazy, I know that the traits that she possesses today will allow her to grow into a strong woman who stands up for herself and passionately pursues her dreams.

I'm so proud of Maddy. I'm proud to be her mom and proud that she eagerly allows me to be a part of her journey. I can't wait to see what 3 more years brings!

I love you buddy!

Funny Things Maddy Says:

We have a scale in our bathroom and Maddy likes to weigh herself. In order to try to help establish positive messages about her body and weight, we usually cheer and get excited no matter what the scale says and usually tell her how great it is that she's getting bigger. Tonight was no exception except for Maddy's reply :)

Me: Wow Maddy, you weigh 29lbs, you've gotten so big! That's awesome!

Maddy: Yay, I'm 29! Soon I'll be big enough to drive a car!

Banana Bread

Today Maddy and I set out to use up a whole bunch of bananas that were in freezer. Maddy insists on having bananas around the house but eats 1 for about every 3 that we buy, so they are constantly frozen bananas in the freezer that I promise myself I will use one day for bread or pancakes or other tasty treats. Unfortunately baking is rarely a priority. Today it was though, Maddy and I made 3 loaves of banana bread and 12 banana muffins. She had a great time measuring the ingredients and stirring it all up and of course especially liked tasting it before it went into the over. It's cooling now, we'll have to try some out later for a snack!

Yay for Weekends!

We had a really really great weekend that surprisingly enough, was filled with just the right amount of taking-it-easy. We still managed to go to they gym, do some grocery shopping and meal prep, as well as have a very nice family dinner with Ted's parents who just got home from Arizona. But in the midst of some productivity, we also slept in, watched TV, played with Maddy and Bailey, and just rested up. We did plan a special outing on Sunday afternoon to take Maddy bowling for the first time. She was pretty darn excited to hit the lanes, which was hilarious because she really had no idea what bowling is. We bowled two games and she had a blast. She would jump and cheer after every ball she rolled/threw down the lanes (with a little help) and probably gave and received at least 50 high fives during the course of bowling. She had a blast and was pretty darn good (thanks to the bumpers). She got a 105 in the second game which is better than most games I get! We'll definitely have to do it again sometime especially because its a really good rainy day fun activity.

Here's a Riddle

Question: What do you get when you combine selling a house, traveling, a lively job in student conduct, and dissertation writing (among other things)?

Answer: Not a lot of blogging :(

Ok, not really a great riddle, but probably a decent excuse, or at least I hope it's decent because that's all I've got. Here's our life in a nutshell!

Our house went on the market this week and boy do we hope that it will go quickly for a decent price. We had someone ask to see it within 24 hours so we're hoping that is a really good sign. Fingers crossed!

Check It Out!

Last weekend we went to California to spend Easter with my Grandma, Aunt, Uncle and Cousin. Ted, Maddy and I had a great time wine tasting, hanging out with family, and looking for Easter eggs. It was a quick 3 day trip but the sun and warmth was much appreciated. 

Today is Ted and my 4 year wedding anniversary. Dang, where has the time gone? Seriously, I feel like we just met, just got a dog, and just got married. In reality Bailey is 5 and we have been married 4 years and now have a 2 1/2 year old. Whoa! Here's a shot from American Lake where our wedding reception was held.

I work at the University of Washington and it is known for (among other things) having the most beautiful cherry blossoms in the spring. Like seriously, knock your socks off, jaw dropping cherry blossoms. It's truly gorgeous and in the midst of all of student conduct nonsense, I found myself in the middle of the academic quad just standing among the trees and blossoms. Truly gorgeous.