What Was the Title of That Last Post Again?

So, I've done it once again my faithful readers. I thought I was getting better and it got worse. Oh well, I guess it's a swift caning for me. Oh yeah, I don't live in Singapore. Barely escaped that one folks! ;) In reality, it's just having so many things up in the air at once and it feels like someone tossed a bucket of baseballs up in the air and I'm supposed to catch them all. Still, I'm not doing too badly, but blogging often gets relegated to the back burner at times like this.

I'm finally getting the boy's birthday pictures into the blog after taking my sweet time (which smells like actual candy canes) to learn a new photo posting system, but I think I've got the hang of it now. As you can see he enjoyed his cake (or should I say his frosting) very much. I actually had to smoosh the cake part for him but I think we got the desired effect.

I'm also including a picture from his playdate at the local museum for the kiddies. They had places for wee ones to hang out with their brethren, so he was well served. He's been growing like a weed and is starting to make intelligible sounds. When I went to wake him up this morning he saw me and said, "Hiii daaadeee!" He's also saying the cat's name and chasing him all over the apartment all while pointing at everything in sight.

The boy also stood without support for the first time last week, although he still finds crawling the best way to get around. He doesn't gradually develop abilities, no sir! He masters every aspect and then, apparently out of nowhere he just does it! At this very moment he's repeatedly saying "dada" while racing about the apartment with his Fisher Price "cart" like a bat out of hell. He's also dancing every time he hears music which he gets from the old man. There are old home movies of me doing exactly the same thing.

So, I'll end tonight's entry looking at the positive and will once again predict a more regular posting schedule for this blog. Will it happen my faithful readers? Maybe, maybe not. Will I try my best? Sure thing. Would I bet my life on it? Absolutely not. :) Oh well, I guess it IS the thought that counts! ;)

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. :)