Happy New Year by the Numbers

Ross and I just spent our 5th Christmas together.
4 years ago, Ross proposed on New Year's Eve.
We will celebrate our 3rd anniversary on Wednesday.
I've got 2 special sweethearts this year.
I'm 1 lucky lady!

Wishing y'all a happy and healthy New Year!

Linus' First Artwork

Now that Linus is 9 months old, I figured we should start exploring his talents. Will he be a future Picasso or Rembrandt? It's possible. Both my mom and my G'ma are very artistically gifted. At any rate, I thought we'd give art a shot. (Fine. It's mostly because there is a chance to win something super-cute and cool...)

I figured I'd get things started for him. (Ok, I really enjoy coloring. It's strangely relaxing.) I figured his prowess might need some help, so I did some basics with the six colors I had available.

I mind-melded with Linus to share thoughts about this picture and what it means to him. Together, we envisioned, what will be our first and most frequent travel destination. We're hoping to do a grand tour of Texas in the near future. We need to hit Houston (obviously to see the doting grandparents), Dallas (to see my old friends), and San Antonio (so The Line can meet those great-grandparents he's been hearing so much about!). In my head a refer to it as The Grand Tour of Texas.

Get your picture here.

Linus says that this trip will be awesome and he'll be super-well behaved on the flight. He will give Grandma and Grandpa lots of kisses and cuddles. He will be so happy to sit on Great-Grandma and Great-Papa's laps. He's very much looking forward to playing with Wyatt and George, his cousins. Linus says he'd back his Skoot suitcase with his duck lovey, some rad outfits, and of course a few hats. Mommy suggested that we should probably also bring his white noise machine to help him sleep at night. As you can see, the suitcase is empty for now. I think he might be a last minute packer like his Grandpa.

Linus took the purple crayon and I managed to get a couple of small scribbles out of him before the crayon went into his mouth. I tried to redirect with no luck. I decided to give paint a try. I pulled out some washable non-toxic paint and a brush. He put a few wild dobs on the picture before looking dangerously close to flinging and/or eating the brush. I wrestled the brush from his grasp and he grabbed the paper to crumple then attempt to eat it. I pried it away, but left the tell-tale crumple marks for authenticity.

What do y'all think? Is my baby the next great artist of his generation? (Either way, hopefully he'll have a sweet ride-on suitcase for when we take a trip!)

9 Months

Dear Sweet Sweet,

You are 9 whole months old! How is that possible? Three quarters of a year! Almost longer out than in! You are such a little person. I often have to remind myself that you are still just a tiny baby because I can see so much happening in your head and your personality is in full force.

sweet face

You are a professional crawler and are becoming a master cruiser very quickly. There were a few minor injuries (a nose and cheek bonk) while you were getting the hang of it, but we've all recovered. (I think it might have been harder on Mommy and Daddy than it was on you!) You've even started taking a few steps while holding on to a hand. I'm pretty sure you'll be walking before you're one. One of my favorite things is when you hold your arms up to me because you want to be picked up. The other day, I declared that I would never get tired of it. I'm pretty sure that's not true, but- for the time being- it never fails to warm my heart and make me smile! Speaking of smiles, you've got 5 teeth now and (judging by the drool/pink cheeks situation) more on the way.

Cruise control

You are an eating machine these days. You are down to about 3 milk feeds a day- when you first wake up, sometime mid-afternoon, and just before bed. You have 3 meals a day and usually a couple of small snacks as well. Sometimes I am amazed at the amount you are able to eat. Your favorites are still mozzarella, sweet potatoes, pears, and yogurt. You are really loving rice cakes and pitas with hummus or cream cheese and grated carrot these days. You can be a little picky and will pass over things you aren't interested in again and again. Usually once you actually try something, you realize that it tastes pretty good!

(This is the point where blogger says I'm out of photo storage.

I descend into rage because I have so many more cute pictures of Linus that

I MUST SHARE WITH THE INTERNETS!

Sheesh! Don't they know that people need to see teh cuteness!

I'll figure out how to remedy this situation and (if I can be bothered/remember)

I'll come back and add more picture.)

We've finally gotten you back to sleeping through the night which is awesome. You wake up sometimes for a few minutes, but never for long enough to need us to come see you. I've finally started sleeping through again too. For a few weeks after you were doing it, I was still waking up several times! As for naps, well, they're another story all together. You're down to two very predictable naps, which is very nice. One about 2.5-3 hours after you get up and then another about 2.5-3 hours after you've been up from the first nap. It's the most predictable you've ever been. The bad part is you seem to have completely forgotten how to nap in your crib. I've been taking you on walks nearly every nap time because it puts you to sleep, but I've got to figure out how to get you back into the crib. It's really making it hard for me to get things like dishes and laundry done! All in all, I'll take good night sleep over good naps if that's what's on offer.

You and Daddy are just as cute together as always. It's a serious mutual admiration society. You have started clinging to and reaching for him. It's a good thing I'm a secure person or it might hurt my feelings. Instead it makes me incredibly happy to see my two boys having such a great relationship. Daddy has a myriad of nicknames for you, but one in particular has stuck lately. I'm not sure why, but for some reason your father has started calling you "Mr. Carstairs". It's bizarre. And pretty cute. Which pretty much sums up your Daddy, so I guess that's appropriate!

You're talking more and more and really experimenting with sounds you can make. They're all really cute and I'll never understand people who want to "mute" their babies. Maybe it's because you aren't a major crier, but I love listening to your noises! You haven't started copying our noises really, but you get VERY excited if we make a noise that you've made back to you. I've just started using a little bit of baby sign language with you and am hoping it will help you communicate with us more. We're starting slow with "milk", "more", and "all done".

My favorite noise is your sweet laugh. You can turn into such a giggle monster when your mood is right. Peek-a-Boo usually gets you going. You also love when I turn you upside-down or when we throw you in the air (even better being upside-down AND getting thrown in the air!). Kiss attacks also work well. Your blue cup that you play with in the bath also makes you weirdly happy, as does when I dunk your rubber duck under the water.

(I would close by showing you a super-cute picture of Linus with his blue cup,

but blogger won't let me. Harumph!)

I love you so very much. I'm so lucky to be your mommy!
Mommy

Cheerful sunday

There is a park near my house that has this little enclave tucked away between the playground and the walking path. I've never seen anyone in it, and it is frequently flooded (as in the picture) from recent rain. It always brings a smile to my face. It has the charm of a secret garden and I imagine picnics filled with happy families. I think it would be the most charming spot for an intimate wedding ceremony. I can practically see the flowers, candles, and twinkle lights I'd use to decorate. Of course, the wedding isn't likely to happen a) because I'm already married & b) because the UK has very strict rules about where you can get married. Someday, though, I'll actually have a picnic there.