Pacific City - Post Xmas Trip!

Deven is 18 months today. I wonder if this means I can start saying he is a year and a half rather than the monthly equivalent?

We celebrated by taking a trip to the beach. Actually, it was our bi-annual Oregon beach vacation with our friends Codie and Alex. This time the Blocks were back in the US so they decided to drive over from WW to join in the tradition. I must say I was a little apprehensive about the 6.5 hour drive to Pacific City, OR but Deven was actually pretty good. We only had to stop twice; once for a diaper change and again for some lunch. We rolled in just in time for afternoon snack. It's interesting how we have started to measure the day in terms Deven's food schedule.

Codie and Alex were able to research and locate a house with five bedrooms (and a spacious laundry room) fitting our 6 adult 3 children and 2 dog brood perfectly. The beach was just a quick walk around the local surf shop, perfect location!

The weather this year was not very kid friendly though. Nick and I were thinking about it and a couple of years ago when we did this trip it wasn't great either but with kids I guess it was a different ball game. The first afternoon was pretty good but not until the morning we left (pictured herein) did it clear up for an extended period. Everytime we tried to get the kids out the rain, wind and freezing temperatures would get the better of us. Thankfully the house was huge and the kids got along well (unless Deven decided to steal hadley's baby doll stroller).

As I am sure everyone is aware little tykes like ours are always fighting off some sickness and it is always a toss up as to whether or not it is going to get better or worse when decide to risk it and leave the house. Deven and hadley both had a nose and cough issue when we got to the beach. Unfortunately while Deven got better hadley got worse. So much so that the blocks had to make an early departure. Deven was having such a good time with hadley learning new words like, oat meal, baby, hadley, light, beach, toast and more I'm sure. We were sorry to see them go but when kidos are sick the best place to be is home!!

We had one last stormy night at the beach house hanging with Codie and Alex and then one last walk on the beach in the morning and now we are on our way back to OUR home. 2 hours in and Deven has been asleep for 1.5 hours of it. Cross you fingers folks!

PS, Deven has an official check up first thing next week so I will give an up date on stats and other milestones then!!

One More!

For good measure. This is just after a big face plant on the cement...Dadda helped with an excellent recovery.

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Christmas 2010

We are just about ready for Christmas here at the Johnston household. I have officially completed my shopping and only have a few more presents to wrap. This year Deven is old enough to recognize that something is going on around here and just loves looking at the tree all lit up. We developed a little routine that has helped us (for the most part) keep the tree in tact which includes a count before I switch on the lights and then he says hi to the rocking horse ornament and the chu chu (train) ornament. Then we ring all the bells (my favorite ornaments) and say night night to the tree! Routines are a very good thing I have discovered these past 18 months! Here are some fun pics of Deven saying hi to the ornaments. ; )

A Sneak Peak

For a few years now I have been facebook and Internet stalking my old drill captain's growing photography business Some Like It Shot Photography. I finally couldn't take it any longer. I emailed her and begged her to sign us up for a session next time she was back in the NW. Thankfully her family still lives here and she visits at least once a year. We booked a session with her this last weekend and we couldn't be more please with the results so far.

In line with my continued stalking I found out that she was going up to Bellingham. Nick and I both went to Western and have a love for the city. We got our engagement photos there and thought it would be great to take our little family back for a photo session. Alisha thankfully thought it was a great idea and allowed us to invade her road trip.

Deven amazed us by his ability to make it through the day without a nap. If you know Deven at all, this is not something that should be attempted lightly! But with Alisha's help we just kept changing venues, giving snacks and distracting him from the blistery cold weather. He made it through 3 hours of pics and lunch where the grown ups were focusing on catching up rather than cute little boys. As his reward Nick and I decided that Deven deserved his very first hot chocolate complete with whipped cream. I thought for sure Alisha had had her fill us but she couldn't miss a little boys first hot chocolate - who can blame her!! No worries, she got it all on her memory card.

Deven was asleep about 2 minutes after we started back down the road home but it was totally worth it as you can see in this sneak peak!!

To ensure my friend maintains credit for her hard work, please do not crop out her copyright or alter images if you repost them.

Enjoy!!!

Baking

Per my previous post I have had a little more time on my hands and I have rediscovered my love for baking, much to Nick and my waste-line's dismay. I think the holidays have played a role in this but non-the-less I have been trying new recipes and we have been eating some good sweets lately. To my surprise I realized that I had never made gingerbread cookies before. I decided that this tragedy had to be fixed. I ended up not being able to find a gingerbread man cookie cutter so I made due with a snowman, a Christmas tree and a holly sprig. Nick, who is not known for his unearned cookie complements, approved and so I believe we have a new December tradition!!

A New Job

Most of you now know that I have a new job but I guess I should make it official by putting it in "the blog."

It has been almost a month now since my last day at JJCo. I will be forever grateful for the opportunities I was given there. I have been in public accounting about 7 years and one of the biggest things I have learned is that I NEED to be learning constantly. I also NEED to be surrounded by people that help me accomplish this. I found this 10 fold at JJCo and was honestly really really nervous to leave. It was an extremely tough decision but the time it took me to commute was just cutting too much into the time with my men.

One of the great things about public accounting is the experience you get in a relatively short amount of time. I have been able to "dabble" and work with financial groups in many different companies, organizations and governments. I tend to get really close to my clients and have kept in touch with them through the years. This is actually how I found out about a job opening up here in the Everett area. For about 2.5 years of my career at my previous firm, Moss Adams, I had the opportunity to work on the Snohomish PUD audit. I stayed in contact with the folks there and when a new position was created for the Risk Management department they forwarded it to me and asked me to apply - a great honor!

I talked with Nick, who as you can imagine was on board, so I went ahead and made the decision to apply. A month or so later I got an interview and then the offer. It was a bit of a whorl wind but I am so happy with our decision. I say "our" decision because Nick and I really made this one together. We weighed the pros and cons and ultimately me working up in Everett meant Deven had an hour less of School a day, I would get to spend an additional 2 to 3 hours with them both.

This first month has been amazing. I have a 15 to 20 minute commute and I am working with very smart people that help me continue my career and life goals.

For this first year at the PUD I will be setting up a process and ensuring the District is in compliance with its Bond Issues. In this last month I have learned an entirely new financial vocabulary and I have been digging through bond documents and related IRS code - I am in heaven. I know it is sick but its true!!

Nick and I both agree the added time I can devote to the family has increased our quality of life significantly. So while I was really nervous to leave a great job with great people I am grateful to say, so far so good! ; )

Hair cut

We celebrated the start of the holiday season and Deven's 17 month marker by going to get Deven's hair trimmed up for the first time. As you can see he was a bit nervous or curious - its difficult to discern. I was a little hesitant but he started pulling at the hair over his ears so Nick and I thought it was time. The stylist said that he was a great little man; much better than a previous visitor! That's our little man, fooling everyone!