2013, September: An Announcement

If you know me at all you should know that I love mountains. And want more than anything to live within sight of them. You should also know that I love my job. I mean, really love my job. I have been at the Smithsonian American Art Museum for over ten years and I've loved almost every minute. I've been fortunate to have enjoyed incredible opportunities and been given the freedom to do some pretty crazy stuff. But the job comes with one big problem - it's not in the mountains.

My first experience of America was living and working in Yellowstone National Park in the summer of 2000. Ever since then I've been trying to find my way back. Well... It's finally happening! Christian has accepted a position with the Forest Service in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, based in Idaho Falls, which (if you don't know) is right freakin' next to Yellowstone NP and Grand Teton NP. And the forest itself is pretty darn spectacular. He'll be moving out in October and I'll be joining him in the spring.

I am extraordinarily sorry to be leaving my DC friends, my job, and the museum, but I'm unbelievably excited, terrified, amazed, and seriously-jumping-up-and-down-excited to be heading west on such an adventure. Wish us luck!

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2016, September: 100 Words

Declan reached 100 words today. (Realistically, he probably reached this number much sooner, since there are undoubtedly words that he uses at daycare that I haven't heard yet.) It's been a fascinating journey to experience. At his 15-month doctor appointment he had maybe five words. Now, at 19 months, he has at least 100. His speech has exploded with new words arriving almost every day. He knows colors, shapes, animals, vehicles... and SpongeBob, embarrassingly. (The full list of his first 100 words is below.) 100 words is a lot, but a long way from being enough for effective communication. This progression, and Declan's frustration when he cannot make us understand what he wants, has me thinking a lot about language development and about how many words would be enough? I've followed the Nieder family blog / Facebook page for many years now. I discovered them long before I had a kid, long before we even thought that children might be in our future. I don't re...

A Successful Trip!

I turn 40 this week. Yellowstone National Park is one of my favorite places in the world, so I decided we should go spend the weekend in the park for my birthday. As we got closer, I discovered I wasn’t really looking forward to it. Both kids are exhausting at the moment, and Ophelia especially does not do well in the car. Or in the cold. Or in any situation where her indecipherable needs are not being met. When I saw that thunderstorms were forecast all weekend, I almost canceled. But we’d paid a deposit on the cabin so we decided to take a chance and see what happened. Well. The weather worked out almost perfectly and the kids were amazing! They handled all the time in the car, they hiked, they even (mostly) behaved themselves in a fancy restaurant. Ah. Maze. Zing. On day one, we headed up to West Yellowstone and had our usual giant pancake lunch before venturing into the park. Then we drove down to West Thumb geyser basin, where both children managed to a) n...

2016, November: "Winning" with a Toddler

I was complaining to a friend yesterday about Declan refusing to wear a bib. She said "you know you get to win sometimes, right?" That stuck with me. I like to win, but how do you really win with a toddler? Consider the following and tell me which are the winning scenarios...? (Now, if you're a good parent you will tell me that my relationship with my kid shouldn't be about winning or losing. Yeah yeah, you don't know me at all. Everything is about winning or losing.) One : Declan doesn't want to wear clothes. I could a) send him to school without a shirt in the middle of Idaho winter or b) force clothes on him which involves screaming, biting, kicking, and punching. Which is the win? Two : Declan doesn't want to eat anything other than muffins for any meal ever (except at daycare, where he eats almost anything, which is both reassuring and annoying). Do I a) try to get him to eat something else even though he might then scream and/or whine for at lea...

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