What's been going on with the Snyders: You might have heard that strange developments are afoot in the Snyder household. I guess strange is a relative term, but we're definitely finally taking a huge leap of faith and moving on from Montreal, which is pretty ballsy for us!
In July we were supposed to move into a nice, spacious apartment in a wooded, secluded area of the mountaintop, and we were hoping to settle there for a couple years at least. Well, that fell through (we found out a day before the move that the kitchen was gutted, so we had a day to find a new place). So, out of desperation, we ended up moving back into an apartment building that we had lived in 2 years ago, because it's the only place we could find that would allow our 3 animals. On the plus side, it's right by the beautiful Parc Lafontaine, with a nice playground, a dog park, a splash pool, and plenty of shady trees. On the downside, the whole apartment is maybe 200 sq. feet, so we've been spending as much time as possible in the park so there aren't 6 of us vying for space here.
Meanwhile, we've been itching to start somewhere new--Gameloft isn't fulfilling to Ian, and Montreal just never felt like a good fit for us--and moving back into this tiny apartment kind of forced our hand; it certainly has made us feel like our time in Montreal has come full circle, and it's time to move on! So why not follow our dreams and try living in the middle of the woods and working on an organic farm? Ian has been in contact with his childhood friend, Mose, and his wife, Annie, who just moved into a nice house on 6 acres near Olympia, Washington, and they enthusiastically offered to let us (animals and all) move in with them to help get their farm started. It's win-win: they get help on their farm, and we get a place to stay while we learn about farming and living self-sufficiently. Both of us get the company of another family with a baby (they have a son Meridian's age). An extra win for us is that we'll also be near some family.
So we'll be doing homesteading/farming stuff with Mose and Annie, and meanwhile Ian will be working on pursuing his other dream--making his own games. If/when the need arises, he will look for a part-time job, but not immediately. We've refrained from making a long-term "plan," because we know we need to try things out before committing to anything, but our hope is that we'll be able to settle on our own land and start farming and game-making soon. If there's any time left over, I have an idea for a novel I'd like to write (who doesn't? :P)
So, that in a nutshell is where things stand with us. We're feeling free for the first time in a long time! We leave on the 25th, so just over a week from now; but in the meantime, we're soaking in the beautiful summer/fall feeling in Montreal, which is the best time of year!
I know we say this all the time, but once we get settled at Mose and Annie's place, we're wanting to make plans for a TX/TN trip this December. She's growing too fast, and we know we need to let her see family as much as possible. Fortunately being back in the States makes it so much easier!
Now on to the important part: Meridian. :) She will be a year and a half old this week, and her development is sky-rocketing. I've made a list of about 70-80 words she can say in context, but really, if you give her any word to try, she will make a pretty close attempt at it. She can count to 3, and she'll count herself down the slide at the park. She's also gotten really good at enunciating the end of words, so she'll say parK and pooP, and caT, baCK, etc. Speaking of poop, she's a potty wizard! She'll pee and poo in the potty about 70% of the time. She also still loves reading, still mostly Dr. Seuss, but she's branching out to include things like Winnie the Pooh (she loves Tigger especially, and will yell BOINGA BOINGA BOINGA! when she sees him), The Mole Sisters (a book series by a local author that she loves for some reason), a fairy book, and a book of first words. She loves swinging, sliding, playing in the sand, eating ice, and dancing. We're trying to get her to love brushing her teeth, but it's slow-going. She is also getting gentler with the animals, which is a relief for everyone involved.
Right now she's extremely clingy, and has started asking for Papa throughout the day--and by asking, I mean tantrum-ing. It's hard because she's getting her molars and has a cold, so hopefully things calm down once that's over, but it's rough at the moment. I'm also hoping that playing with Mose and Annie's son will be a good way to get her less focused on us and more on playing with another baby. But it's not a big deal--we're cherishing the time we have where she wants to hang out with us ;p
We're crossing our fingers and toes about the plane ride, that's all I'll say :p
Here are some recent pics:
