Like A Phoenix, I Re-Emerge From the Ashes of No Posting

So, I had prepared this amazingly witty post.  It was hilarious.  A pure stroke of genius, if you ask me.  Probably my best post yet!  And then, stupid blogger stupid deleted the stupid thing.  GAAAAHHH.  Sometimes, I hate the internet.

I don't actually hate the internet.  I feel that previous statement needed a correction appended to it.

Anyway, apparently I'm a total liar.  The last time I blogged, I told you it wouldn't be three months before I posted again, and yet here I am, even later than before!  Dude.   I'm sorry-- let's blame Evelyn.  One, it's true, she's definitely the reason I don't get stuff done anymore.  But also, reason two, she's cute and doesn't mind being blamed.  Thus, she is now the scapegoat in our household for any number of things, which definitely includes when Jason farts.  She is also the first person I blame when I step in something gross, because that is totally and absolutely her fault.  Apparently when one is full, one may fling the rest of the unwanted and therefore offensive food directly onto the floor.  Including whatever is left on one's high chair tray.  If it wasn't so frustrating because I have to clean it up all the time, it would be really funny.

Other ridiculous food shenanigans-- if you put a bite of food in her mouth, she will take it out, inspect it, and then put it back in again.  Like she doesn't trust it if it didn't come off her own dirty fingers.  And if she doesn't like something, the resulting blaaaaaahhh of spitting the food out is really quite entertaining.  Except then I have to clean it up.  So it's only funny for a minute.

It's a pretty good minute though.

So hi guys!  It's been like forever, and you're probably wondering if you'd even recognize Evelyn at this point!  I don't know.  Let's post a picture to find out.

Splashing in the puddles in our parking lot with Grandpa today.

Well?

She's pretty DANG cute.  I feel like she's going through an exceptionally cute phase.  I also feel like I've said that about a hundred times on this blog so far, so you're reading this going, OHMYGAWDDIDYOUSAYITAGAIN?  I did.  I'm that parent.  I already warned you of this.

She's a year old already!  I am simultaneously thrilled (that she is happy and healthy and that I am sane and still married to Jason) and horrified (how is it possible for one to lose an entire YEAR'S worth of one's life without really quite noticing?).  I also really do not want to report what the last year's worth of sleep has been like.  If you are already a parent, you will probably not feel much sympathy for me.  But if you are not a parent, it may be slightly discouraging (read: completely freaking frightening).  So let's just pretend I'm extremely well-rested right now.

I like how many parantheses I put in that last paragraph.  In a later paragraph, I will see if I can use EVEN MORE!

Want to hear some more random reportings from the Dunbarshall household?

Here goes.

Nicky used to do some medical billing as a part time job, but she recently quit when she got a super SUH-WEET internship that pays her more than my actual career job (that's what you get when you go to school to become a freakin' mechanical engineer.  Genius.).  Anyway, when talking about this career change, Jason temporarily entertained the idea that we would start our own medical billing company and take over for her.  He decided we would be: "JK Medical Billing: We're Not Kidding!".

Get it?

Itching for more Jason-isms?  I swear I just need to follow him around and write down all the hilarious things that he says.  Especially about parenting.  But since I haven't, you get to rely on my excellent (read: sleep deprived) memory.

It used to be that it was often difficult to understand what Jason and I were talking about unless you'd both watched and memorized the same silly, inappropriate and often offensive movies that we've seen.  Lately, however, Jason has stopped quoting "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back", and instead has begun referencing phrases from the kids books we read Evelyn.  So, when I realize we're not leaving the house for the evening and go to put on my comfy pants, Jason says, "Is it Pajama Time?"  And if we have to do something that might wake Evelyn up, it's "Do we dare disturb Great Sleeping Bear?"  Yup.  Ridiculous.

Both he and Bryan Caldwell have trouble just reading the words as they are printed in the books, as well.  Jason is either reading The Mitten in a terrible Russian accent, or adding words: "Once there was a boy named Nicki.  Like a friggin' idiot, he wanted mittens as white as snow."  Bryan just makes up a bunch of sentences that rhyme that mean nothing when combined as a story.  "The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.  Unless you are a girl named Jane.  Then they call you the Pain." Or some other such nonsense.  Then there's my dad, who has invented an entirely new language for when he talks to Evelyn.  Who he calls Ebewen.  Oh man.  If Evelyn ever talks like a normal person, frankly, I'll be surprised. 

Are you amazed that you have gotten this far into my blog post with only one photo?  If you are, then you are reading the blog!  YEESSSSS.  Every time someone tells me they actually read the blog, I take every opportunity to look meaningfully at Jason to make sure he knows that people are ACTUALLY READING my blog.  He is still quite skeptical.  It makes me very happy to give him those "I told you so" looks.  :)

Anyway, a few photos now so that you'll keep reading to the end:

Very pleased with her Christmas gift from Antoinette.

Loving the water room at OMSI.

Happy scientist.

Merry Christmas!

It's, like, winter here!  Winter means so many things in the Pacific NW.  Rain, obviously.  Overblown weather reports.  Wet feet.  Gooey leaf piles.  Snow on the mountain.  Biking in the rain!  I do love to bike in the winter.  I love the views of holiday decorations!  And the scent of woodburning stoves, and the crisp air on your face... and the fact that the bike lanes are mostly open again!  No more seasonal bikers causing bike traffic. 

Once again, our summer was a super-crazy whirlwind of activities.  Portland summers can be somewhat stressful.  There's just so much barbeque-ing, hiking, camping, river-ing, beaching, fruit-ing and friend-ing to fit in to such a short time!

We did stuff.  Jason did a Tough Mudder for his birthday, because apparently he is a masochist.  No, I guess it went well and he really enjoyed it, actually. Although he did get electrocuted.  Not something I would necessarily choose to sign up for, but okay.

We spent several weekends travelling-- to visit my grandma, to the beach, to eastern Oregon, to Smith Rocks, hiking on Mount Hood, a friend's wedding in Silver Falls State Park... I was pretty proud of us, actually.  We got out of town a fair amount, which is hard to do in Portland in the summer time.  Mostly because everyone is inviting you to their barbeque-ing, fruit-ing or friend-ing. 

The summer was crazy at work because childcare was in flux-- it sucked, frankly.  But now we have it squared away with a wonderful lady named Heidi, and Evelyn loves her.  It's pretty fantastic.  My work is going really well.  It's super busy, but it makes the time fly.  I'm teaching for the most part, so I spend a lot of time talking (surprise surprise).  My co-workers are pretty much the coolest people on the planet, and I'm really enjoying myself.  It's a pretty great situation. 

We've basically forgotten what it means to rock climb-- at least, real rock climbing.  We're still going to the gym, which is Evelyn's happy place right now, but man.  The options for climbing outside are less than inspiring around here, so we just have to get psyched for what we've got.  We're working on it.  Jason has been doing some pretty hard core running though-- he's pretty serious about it.  So at least less rock climbing is good for that.  I suppose. 


We occasionally get a babysitter and get to go do something sans baby, but honestly, our date nights are the sort of stuff you see in silly comedies about first time parents.  One time Nicky took Evelyn for an entire night, and the first thing we did, at 5:30pm, was fall asleep on the couch together.  When we woke up, we ate ice cream.  Then we had dinner and went back to bed.  It's fantastically exciting stuff, I tell you.  I definitely have moments of nostalgic thinking about those crazy times back when we didn't have a kid.  But then E does something ridiculously cute again (like, you know, make fart noises with her mouth, or attempt to eat food she found on the floor, or grab my face with both of her hands which are covered in gooey food so she can put her open gooey mouth on my cheek), and that nostalgia is washed away.

Mostly.  :)

She's practically walking and talking!  She can say hi pretty clearly, and Da, but apparently thinks both Jason and I are Da.  She gets really excited when she sees Bryan Caldwell.  My cousin gave us a photo book for Christmas, and she'll point to Bryan and say his name without even being prompted.  Pictures of me or Jason or Nicky-- not so much.

The other day I was singing her a Christmas carol as she was taking a bath (she really doesn't like my singing-- I wonder what could be the reason behind that?), and after pretending to cry, which she does anytime I sing lately (hilarious, it just makes me sing more) I asked her if she liked my song.  Her response?  A very clear "NO".  I lost it, it was so funny.  It's amazing how much she understands now, and how she's getting better and better at communicating her own thoughts and wants.  They grow up so fast!

Anyway.  The holidays were great, we missed all of you who are far away.  Evelyn was a very popular item with my family, as you can imagine.  She got sick right before Christmas, and my uncle decided that if she was too sick to play with, Christmas would be cancelled.  Cause what's the point of the holiday if you can't play with Evelyn?

Alright, alright, enough rambling.  Not that these few paragraphs can capture the last six months, but hey.  Here's a ridiculous number of photos to make up for it!

Going for a walk.

Christmas dress!

She was a popular person at Christmas this year.  I can't believe how much she has changed from last year!

Dirt lover.  Wearing her rain pants.

First Birthday party!  She got yogurt and raspberries instead of cake-- she LOVES raspberries.  Definitely a Dunbar.

Happy birthday little one! Her favorite gift?  A balloon.

Clint and Jeanna came to visit over Thanksgiving!  We took a snowy hike-- I just love these guys.

 

New backpack from Jason's mom-- she loves it.

One of her favorite activities.

Starting early.

On her bike, a gift from Uncle Bryan... she loves going for rides!

Like  a ninja.

Absolutely amazed that magnets stick to ovens, too.

She hated having me put in even this one pigtail, so she growled at me.

Grandpa and Evelyn reading books.

If you look closely, you can see teeth!  She now officially has two on the bottom.

She mostly just threw the cake on the ground.

Pre-birthday celebration.

Someone thinks selfies are hilarious.

Besties!  Evelyn loves our neighbor Milo, who is 8 months old.

Evelyn, Milo, Michael and Aiden!

Socks are overrated.

Happy Halloween!

The Lion and the Witch-- I was going to make Jason the Wardrobe, but he didn't want to wear a cardboard box.

Her hair is ridiculous.  It's impossible.

Unimpressed.

Pumpkin patch!

Goats are awesome.

They love each other.

First time on a pony!

She's like a little pixie!  And she loves her dolls.

Practicing walking in our parking lot.

Sweater suit.

Inexplicably, this empty bottle is her favorite toy.

Brad, Suzanne and Willa at the beach!

What a water baby.

Intent on drawer emptying.  Very important.

My mom and Evelyn.

Lacey, my brother, Evelyn and her cousin Matthew.

Little E and Grandma E!

We attempted St. Helens on the one crappy weather day this entire summer.  This is what it looked like when we turned around.

Did I mention it was freezing?

This is my favorite hat.

Happy wedding, Zach and Julia!

Yup.  She loves it.

Obsessed with her car seat. When she's not forced to be in it, obviously.

Joker juice smile.

Sasquat

Best co-workers ever!

Someone loves Grandpa's dogs.

Back when she used to let us put a bib on her.

Rawr.  Perhaps her first word.

Aiden and I, taking a nap.  :)

 Happy New Year everyone!  My resolution-- this time, blog monthly, and keep it up all year.  :)