The Best Laid Plans

So much for updating regularly, huh? As I said, it's a new day and a new beginning! That's the spirit! :)

The boy's birthday was an exhausting event to be sure, but I've never been so happy being dead tired. It was great to see so many friends and family there to celebrate the little man being with us for a year. And no, I don't have pictures up yet but we'll get them up soon! As you'd expect, he also had his one year appointment with the pediatrician this week. He's nearly 30 inches tall and 22 pounds, making him eligible to have his car seat turned to face forward. The boy is growing up so fast!

Tomorrow we're having a play date with another couple and their daughter, which is very exciting. We're eager to see the boy with a baby near his own age since she's only a couple months older. He got some time with our friends kids last weekend, but one is almost two and the other is only a few months old. Right now the little man is only saying "dada" and miscellaneous gibberish, so I'll be interested to see how he communicates with someone at or just above his level. Still, he always finds a way to communicate with everyone and has two basic nicknames right now: Flirt and Smiley! I think he could do a lot worse than those, don't you think?

So, off to bed to prepare for tomorrow's play date. Do you think I'll be tired after that event too? ;)

A Year's Time

So far my efforts to keep this blog updated regularly haven't been very successful, but I like to look at every day as a chance for a fresh start. Granted, it's been a busy time over the last month so I do have a good reason, but I really do want to keep the blog updated. Come to think of it, I can't remember the last time things weren't busy! I suppose that's what happens when you bring a baby into the mix, which we have been integrating into our family for the last year.

It's hard for me to believe at times that the boy has been with us that long and that one year ago this coming Monday I was holding him for the first time. As you might expect, we're having a gathering for his first birthday this weekend and have some folks coming in from out of town to celebrate with us. In fact, by Friday night there will be three kids under the age of 2 here while some friends stay with us. How do you think that's going to go? :) Regardless, it should be interesting and I'm looking forward to the little man socializing with his peers.

My task for this week has been to clean the apartment in preparation for visitors and with help from the wife we're doing ok. There's always that last minute rush to get everything done or at least hidden in a closet, but we expanded the boy's space downstairs so some of that is already done. Did I mention that he's walking with help? He's been doing it for about a week now with a "walker" of sorts that gives him support. He walks pretty fast for a first timer and I have no doubt he'll be walking without it very soon.

We've had some fun getting him to take his formula out of a sippy cup, but I'll leave that for next time to encourage me to post again soon. I'm hanging in there despite all the stuff I have to get done and hopefully I'll get a better handle on it, but for now I'm just going with the flow. More pictures of the little man next time, promise! ;)

Back From Whence I Came

Hi All! I haven't posted in awhile since I went on vacation with the family. It was the boy's first real vacation and there were some bumps with teething and getting to sleep in new places (and oh do I have a whopper of a story about one particular night). However, he did really well overall. We went to Cape Cod for a little over a week to stay with my folks who rented a place there. It rained most of the time, but we still enjoyed ourselves and got one day on the beach for pictures with the boy. I'll try to get some posted tonight or tomorrow.

Besides time away from home, I've really been trying to learn more about Buddhism. I have been referring to myself as a Buddhist for awhile now but I think I should learn more if I'm going to continue doing that. :) Basically, it speaks to me and helps me define who I am as well as who I want to become. Nothing wrong with that, right? Along the way I just have this one other little task: writing my dissertation!

So, I just wanted to write a brief post so the 3 people who read this blog didn't think I was gone for months again! I also have to go because the little man just found the remote control to the television and is flipping between C-SPAN and Animal Planet, neither of which I've watched in some time! I'm so glad he's mobile now, but there is a certain comfort level when he's not able to move very much. Now he's watching Jessica Simpson in an acne medication commercial. Oh no...it's starting already...doh! ;)

The Calm After the Storm

I haven't had much time to post as I've been finishing up a class I taught this spring. Grades were due yesterday, so for all intents and purposes I'm done! It was my first solo gig as a college teacher and I thought it went really well. Although I'm technically unemployed for the moment, I'm always looking for new teaching positions. If anyone needs a education instructor to teach online courses, drop me a line! Appointments are not limited whatsoever, but please still call now! ;)

As you can see, I'm including more pictures of the boy from January through March in this post to conclude what I started in the previous one. A number of folks posted or emailed to say how cute he is and my wife and I most certainly agree! He's standing with support and moving from object to object, getting more sure of himself each time. I imagine he'll be walking within the next month or so, but it's so hard to tell when he's going to make that next jump forward. His growth is just amazing on any level you can think of and he's just such a happy and content little guy!

Now that my class is over, we're going to take our first real family vacation! It'll be the boy's first experience with the ocean and I can't wait to see how he reacts to the beach. We're staying with my folks who rented a house for a couple weeks and we'll be there the first week. We're looking forward to getting out a few times by ourselves, but we've always had the experience that when the time comes for us to "do our own thing" we really want the little man with us! Still, alone time is important so I'm sure we'll want to slip away and his grandparents will be more than willing to offer their babysitting services. :)

He Ought To Be In Pictures

It's the end of another week and I could definitely use a nap! Fortunately I get to sleep in tomorrow. Yay! I've been working on the final exam for a class I'm teaching and my wife has been trying to get ahead at work before our trip to Cape Cod in June where we'll take more pictures than anyone but us would want to see. However, that made me remember today that while I wasn't updating my blog, I obviously wasn't posting any pictures here either. So, when someone recently commented to me how cute the boy was, I realized that any readers of this blog don't know how much he's grown. So, I'll take this opportunity to let you all see how our little man has changed.

At two months, most folks were saying that the boy looked more like me than my wife. What I pointed out to everyone, however, was the fact that we looked alike because our hair styles looked pretty much the same at that point! Yup, you have a receding hairline in the genes my boy and for that your ancestors humbly apologize. ;) The most repeated comment we received around this time was how happy he was, not only in pictures, but when they'd see him in person. Even now he seems so content and along with sleeping through the night since six weeks is why we never get any sympathy.

It was around this time that we took Brady on his first long distance non-grandparents trip. We went to Vermont for a few days and wondered how he'd do in the car. Other than waking up when he was ready to eat, he slept...well, like a baby the entire way. (Ok, you parents out there who haven't slept in months are really peeved now!) We had hoped for a nice Fall leaves tour, but when we got there we had nothing but wind, rain, and cold. It was really the boy's first experience in cold weather since when he was born it was about 90 degrees outside! So, the first time that a gust of wind came up he put his arms out and had a look of panic in his eyes. To this day whenever it's windy I say, "We're back in Vermont boy!"

By the time we got to December and the boy's first Christmas he was starting to hold his head up pretty well and was beginning to flip onto his stomach. As with many other kids, when he opened his presents he was usually more interested in the wrapping paper than the gift! Around this time he also started developing a very specific personality that has only developed since then. He still didn't care much for the cold, especially up in the Adirondacks, but always greeted new people with a smile. I tell you, he's such a flirt and women flock to him like you wouldn't believe.

So, that's enough for today and I'll begin next time with 2006. I think we have at least a few more pictures to post. ;)