I finally have some video to post of N walking. He's been doing it for awhile, and he gets better and better everyday. He tries to run every now and then, and he's also really good at climbing the stairs. We've figured this out the hard way (by leaving the door to our bonus room wide open. Luckily he didn't fall.) Also, please ignore me saying "one....one..." over and over again. Every once and awhile he'll count to two and maybe three after you start with "one", but not this time...of course!

Random Thoughts...

Thanks to my friend, Erin, for this great post. I had to share...

Random thoughts from people our age...
I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

-More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me

-Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong

-Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

-There is a great need for sarcasm font.

-Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what was going on when I first saw it.

-I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone'slaughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.

-How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

-I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

- Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart". Or, "I'm an idiot."

- How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

- I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent someone from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

- Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney andsaid "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"

- MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

-You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything else productive for the rest of the day.

-Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.

-There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

-I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

- "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.

- I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

Pictures as Promised...

My first words

Me and mommy in my birthday outfit

The big #1!

Wow, look at the size of that cake!

Ewwwwww....I mean, yum!

Opening presents with daddy after a much-needed bath

So much to do....

First of all, happy early birthday to my baby boy tomorrow! I can't believe how fast this year has flown by. Last Saturday we had N's first birthday party with all his grandparents and great grandmother and great Aunt Alice, as well as a few close friends of mine invited over for cake and ice cream. I will post pictures and cute video tonight after work, so stay tuned. I can't believe what a mess he made in his cake. Granted, it was a pretty big smash cake, much bigger than I anticipated. I also didn't anticipate him flinging his cake-covered hands and throwing cake everywhere! On the walls, the table, the microwave, the floor etc etc were covered in blue and yellow icing. At least he had fun with it, even if he did more flinging than eating. He also said his first words! Right in the middle of his first birthday party! I know, I know, it might not sound like much, but you can make it out in the video I'll post later. Listen closely...

Next, Robert has started his new job this week with Greater Atlanta Christian School, which means N has started school as well. Our school, we like to call it, is his new in-home sitter's house. Without going into grand detail, we've found a couple who care for and educate kids infant-early preschool age in their home and have agreed to keep N two days a week while I'm working and Mom's teaching piano lessons. The other two days he'll stay with Nana and my off day (Thursday) he's with me. Yesterday was his first day of school and he did very well. He didn't want to let go of me when I dropped him off, and cried a little before I could get out the door. I almost cried myself when I got in the car. But she easily distracted him with a book and he was totally fine. This morning he still didn't want to let go of my shirt, but did not cry at all when I left. Pretty soon he'll be excited to go there ( I hope) and will probably one day ask to stay with her instead of me ( I hope not). But all that remains to be seen...

N is walking so well, he takes more and more steps in a row every day. I still have yet to get it on video, but I am working on it. As he grows I find more and more moments I want to remember just slipping by us. His baby book remains only half finished. Who has the time for all this?

Better late than never...

I'm refering to my lack of posting lately, since Nicklas is already walking, even before his first birthday! I've been waiting to post since I've had several unsuccessful attempts to capture this on video. I'll post it as soon as I get it. I saw his take his first steps one morning just over a week ago, and since then he just gets braver and braver. It's funny how now he doesn't want me to hold him because he's eager to get down on his own two feet! (More power to ya, kiddo, you're heavy).

He's so proud of himself. My heart bursts with mixture of joy and a little bittersweetness (is that a word?) since it just makes me think about how fast he's growing. But I'm not in a hurry for another, I'm just getting used to N being able to do things for himself!

At the pool this weekend, with Nana

Next Saturday is our first birthday party. What I swore would only be a small gathering of family to eat cake has quickly developed into a much bigger monster than I anticipated. I'm touched that so many friends and family want to share this special day with us. I'll have to reorder my cake for several more...

Big boys drink milk...from a cup!

Yes, we've dropped most of our bottles, he now only has one in the morning.