We’ve settled into Portland and are really happy here. There's a lot of grit, and we’ve been victims of $2,000 worth of theft, but even still it feels like home. Nestled right between the ocean and the mountains, there’s not much more we can ask for location wise. And as a midwife in America, it’s one of the best locations to practice. The school options for our kids are exceptional, and I thoroughly enjoyed the mild winter with no single-digit temperatures. I didn’t experience the gray skies and rain as any worse than Ohio, which was a pleasant surprise as well.
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At the beginning of the year, we undertook the 1,000 Hours Outside challenge and are right where I expected us to be at just over 80 hours outside as a family, which feels pretty good for two full-time working parents. Here are photos from some of our adventures:
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| Portland Audubon / OR / February '22 |
 Panther Creek Falls / WA / March '22  Panther Creek Falls / WA / March '22  Panther Creek Falls / WA / March '22  Panther Creek Falls / WA / March '22  Panther Creek Falls / WA / March '22  Panther Creek Falls / WA / March '22  Panther Creek Falls / WA / March '22  Panther Creek Falls / WA / March '22  Crown Point State Scenic Corridor / WA / February '22  Crown Point State Scenic Corridor / WA / February '22 |
Beacon Rock / WA / March '22
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Writing / Lincoln City, OR / February '22
Airbnb / Lincoln City, OR / February '22
Airbnb / Lincoln City, OR / February '22
Airbnb / Lincoln City, OR / February '22
Vacation Vibez / Lincoln City, OR / February '22
Gem and Fossil Museum / Lincoln City, OR / February '22
Treasures / Lincoln City, OR / February '22
Yaquina Head Lighthouse / Newport, OR / February '22
Labyrinth on Lincoln City Beach / Lincoln City, OR / February '22
Rock / Pacific City, OR / February '22
•••
Dawson
Rock Hunt / Portland / February '22
Dawson is five weeks shy of his seventh (and golden!) birthday. He’s blossomed into a big kid since we’ve been here. He’s very helpful and capable and has responded well to increased independence. Intellectually, his world has opened up as he began reading seemingly overnight. He reads all the street signs that he can and it's so fun to watch him inquire about all that’s going on around him. He pronounces almost all of his words correctly which is bittersweet. His highest “grades” were in handwork (knitting) and Spanish class. Socially and emotionally he’s very relationship driven and emotionally intelligent. While he is still a high-energy kid, I’ve noticed him settling into his body lately.
He’s no longer interested in playing with cars like he was when he was little, and he's even growing out of Transformers; he now prefers art, building with wooden construction sets, and LEGOs. His artistic and imaginative side are very strong and he’s fully embraced his Waldorf education, asking for beeswax crayons and modeling clay.
Parenting with the influence of Waldorf has been such a gift to me. It has provided me with a tangible foundation from which to cultivate and maintain a consistent and calm environment for Dawson and Adelaide. I’ve never been one to enjoy being on the floor playing with my kids, and the Waldorf philosophy has given me tools to engage and connect with them in other ways that are natural and genuine to me.
••• Adelaide
She’s every bit of two-and-half. A Sour Patch Kid, if you will: Feisty. Sweet. Moody. Snuggly. Independent. Yikes.
"I angry" / Portland / March '22
Books / Portland / March '22
Soaking Pool / Portland / February '22
Nature Sensory / Home / March '22
Climb / Portland / March '22
Baby Wearing / Home / February '22
Park Joy / Portland / March '22
Antioxidants / Home / February '22
Cards / Home / February '22
A Pheobe Day / Portland / March '22
If you follow my IG stories, you might remember that there was a recent phase with her that was pretty exhausting for us. Her and Dawson previous played well together, or at least engaged in peaceful parallel play, but a short while back there was nothing but whining and bickering. The top recommendation I received to help our evenings go more smoothly was to incorporate mandatory quiet time when we arrive home. On days that I’m on call and not at a birth, we’ve also been spending time outside before coming home which has helped too.
Fort / Home / March '22
Bath / Home / April '22
Adelaide enjoyed watching football with Josh last season and she is completely in love with our nanny, Pheobe, who loves her back so fiercely. We have been truly blessed with Pheobs and are so sad that they’re moving in June. Adelaide will then start at a small Waldorf preschool down the street from Dawson’s school. I haven’t been able to bring myself to take away her binky. I think it’s what keeps her a baby in my mind, and since I’m not sure if we’ll have more I’m not ready to part with it. She potty trained the first week of January (apparently I’m fine without the diaper aspect of having a baby).
Preschool Tour / Portland / February '22
Post-preschool-tour coffee date / Posies / February '22
It’s been fun and interesting to see the differences between her and Dawson’s personalities and preferences. She's slow to warm up to people and isn't nearly as wild when Dawson's not around. She’s an adventurous eater and enjoys spending time cooking with Josh. As is age appropriate, she's rapidly developing speech and language. She has a strong will and a new understanding of “yes/no."
•••
Me
So much is new with me that it’s hard to know where to begin.
I sustained a pretty severe ankle injury the first day in January, and because I didn’t follow recovery instructions I’m only now starting to feel relatively healed. The whole experience was part of a wake up call for me to be taking better care of my body.
Those of you who knew me in college might remember that fitness was a huge part of my life, (arguably too huge; more on that in a bit). Dawson was born the year after I finished undergrad, and I stayed in shape hiking the mountains of Idaho with him on my back, training for and running a half marathon, biking, and weight lifting. I ate in a way that nourished my body and kept PCOS symptoms at bay. At that time I was taking prerequisites for midwifery school and teaching childbirth education part-time, but other than that I had a lot of time on my hands.
When we moved to Columbus, my free time drastically decreased and my only consistent form of exercise was bike-commuting to and from campus. Adelaide was born in September of 2019 while I was in the thick of midwifery school. Between commuting four hours round-trip multiple times a week to my clinical rotation, and being the mom of a newborn and a four-year-old, my body and mind had really taken the brunt of a very difficult season. By the time I finished midwifery school (a few months into the pandemic), I was really struggling, and my fitness had dissolved completely.
I had so much grace for myself keeping in mind that I’d just finished graduate school and I was still in the first year postpartum. Plus, my best friend unexpectedly walked out of my life and Josh and I were embarking on a second cross country move in four years where I’d be starting a new job with a steep learning curve. I continue to be so proud of myself for navigating all of that while peacefully honoring that it impacted on my body and my mind.
I began therapy in January of 2018 when I was experiencing panic attacks so bad that I genuinely thought I might have to have to drop out of grad school. I have continued to see a therapist regularly since then and recently worked to wean off of the anti-anxiety medication that sustained me throughout midwifery school. After trying everything from prayer to herbs, Lexapro was a fantastic crutch that got me through what were hands down the most challenging years of my life both physically and emotionally. The work I put into taking care of myself to get to this point is some of the hardest work I’ve ever done. Recently, I noticed myself starting to feel settled in Portland. Settled in a way that I haven’t ever felt as an adult. I noticed newfound energy and space that became available in my mind and body, and with it came a desire to take care of myself. That's when I decided to try weaning off of medication, and since then I feel like I’ve landed back in my body in an ever so slightly different way.
Then…I did something I said I’d never do: joined a Crossfit gym. As I hinted at earlier, I have a history of over-exercising and orthorexia (an unhealthy focus on healthy eating). The experience of completely falling away from nutrition and fitness was surprisingly a very healing thing for me. And now, as I come back to it nearly 7 years later, I’m in a place that can engage in health and fitness in a way that is wholesome.
Do You Even Lift / Portland / March '22
The beginning of April marked eleven (!) months in Portland which means I’ve been at Alma long enough to see many clients all the way through their pregnancy and early postpartum period. So much growth and change has happened. My job continues to be fulfilling and exhausting and challenging and oh so dreamy. I completed my fellowship after learning SO MUCH about out of hospital birth. I am now a primary midwife, continuing to learn and grow every day. In March I celebrated my 100th birth. The stars aligned and it was the birth of a dear friend who had the most beautiful and straightforward home birth. Per my request, we celebrated with an almond-raspberry cake picnic at a park.
•••
JoshI asked Josh what he wanted me to include in an update about him and he said he, “didn’t know.”
All that is coming to mind is that he got a haircut last month for the first time since March of 2020. He’s still working remotely for Ohio State, which we are so thankful for. He’s currently in the interview process for a job at University of Portland (ten minutes from our house!) Hopefully there’s more to report on soon.
As always, thanks for following along on our life’s adventures.
Xo,
T
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