We have a toddler!

Is there no end to my blogging delinquency?! I guess I know what my New Year's resolution will be (besides the normal getting in better shape!). So, since I last blogged, a lot has happened. Halloween (spider costume, lots of cuteness), Thanksgiving (trip to Boston to visit Samantha and Doug), Hanukkah (Adam learned how to open gifts!), WALKING!!!!, and Adam's first birthday.

Let's get straight to the past week. Over the previous month or so, Adam has been taking a step or two, and just cruising everywhere, so we kept thinking he'd be walking soon. I kept telling him he had until his birthday to start walking (kidding, of course), but he listened! Last week, he started taking multiple steps and by his birthday on Friday, he was able to walk clear across a room with no help! It's so cute to see him walking...he's still not totally steady, and it's just so weird to see such a tiny little guy walking on his own. He's very proud of himself. As for other milestones, he's using a few words in the right context (dada, doggie). He's had a handful of words for a while, but they were not really used correctly consistently.

Last Saturday was Adam's first birthday party. I think there were 8 kids and 20-something adults in attendance. I had one of the teachers from The Music Class come to the house for the party. Ms. Laurie was a hit! The kids all seemed to enjoy the class. I don't think Adam was feeling great, though. When it came to cake time, he had a meltdown. So, we don't have messy cake face pictures. But, we'll get them another time. He exited his party early for a nap!

Up next is Christmas. Although this will be Adam's second Christmas, he was only 8 days old for his first one. So, this seems more like his first Christmas. I'm looking forward to it!

Pumpkin Pictures!

Have you ever seen anything cuter?!

Nine Months!

I'm a little late, but Adam recently turned nine months old. The time continues to race past us, and he changes so much each day. He's been crawling for a while, but the weekend of his "birthday", the crawling really took off. He is fast! We had to babyproof the house a little bit more quickly than we had originally anticipated. He is also pulling up everywhere, and I noticed today that he has figured out how to sit back down without a huge plop. He's bending his knees and sitting nicely. What a smart little boy! He has also fallen in love with the dogs, and he tries to chase them...but they are still faster. Also in the way of developments, Adam's top two teeth are finally coming in. But, you wouldn't know it, because he doesn't fuss. He's such a little trooper.

Adam is doing much better at his daycare now that he's adjusted. I love the new place, and they take great care of him. They do lots of fun activities with the children, and I think that as he gets older, he will love the school, as well. One of his teachers even helped Adam make a birthday present for me! So sweet!

Last weekend, Adam and I went to the zoo for the first time. I think he was underwhelmed to say the least. At least he got a nap out of the trip! I got an annual pass for the family, so we'll try to get there regularly, especially now that the weather is getting nicer. Hopefully one of these times, he'll notice that there are actually animals to check out.  This weekend, we are taking a trip to a pumpkin patch with a couple of other families. It's sure to be a great photo op! I'll try to post one or two soon....

World Traveler

We took Adam on his first plane ride down to Florida this past weekend. He did amazingly well both ways. No crying...just a tiny bit of fussing on the way back, and best of all, he took naps both ways! On our way down to Florida, we actually got upgraded to First Class, because the flight was oversold. First flight is in First Class - how lucky is our cutie pie?!

Some exciting Adam happenings over the past week or so:
*Started saying Mama. Not as often as Dada, but every once in a while. One time over the past weekend, I started walking out of his line of sight, and he got upset and yelled Mama. So, I think he may know what it means
*Has become even more vocal, and seems to respond when you talk. If you ask him a question, he will "answer" sometimes. Of course, we have no clue what he is saying
*If you don't pay attention to him when he wants you to, he will yell something at you that sounds an awful lot like "hey"
*Tried spaghetti and meatballs for the first time. Made a total mess, but definitely enjoyed it
*Went back to his new daycare yesterday with NO tears!

Can't wait to see what he comes up with next!

New School Blues

Adam started a new school on Wednesday - The Frazer Center. Brad usually does drop off, but he had a work errand to run on Wednesday morning, so I was on drop off duty. Oh boy! What a rough morning! I didn't expect it, but Adam was close to hysterical when I dropped him off. He's usually so good with strangers and so easy going in all situations that it didn't occur to us that he might actually be developing stranger and/or separation anxiety! I'm pretty proud of myself - I stayed strong....no tears from mommy, but I did call at lunchtime to see how he was doing. I got a positive report. Tuesday was much of the same....tears when Daddy dropped off, but I am happy to report that today's drop off was tear-free! Our little guy is such a trooper and so adaptable. And, when I picked him up today, a teacher from another room was loving on him. He's such a charmer!

In the past couple of weeks, Adam has started crawling, although he seems to have given up on that already. He's much more interested at pulling up, which he is pretty skilled at. He also loves going from a crawling to sitting position. He's also become such a great eater. We pretty much give him a little bit of everything - baby food, food from our plates, etc. He loves it all. He learned the pincher grippy thing pretty quickly, and is very skilled at self-feeding. He's still not so great with the sippy cup. He chews on it instead of sucking!

We're heading down to Florida tomorrow for a visit with family. We're a little apprehensive about Adam's first plane ride, but we're hoping it goes okay. The best we can ask for is uneventful. Wish us luck!

A couple of pictures from last weekend below:

Could I be any cuter?!

Playing on my new mat with my new toy!

Eight Months!

Adam is eight months old tomorrow. Where does the time go? I love this age...he is so fun, and for now, not totally mobile. I have a feeling that in the next month or two, he will be able to go wherever he wants. He is not conventionally crawling yet, but he can get from one place to another via a combination of sideways crawling, scooting, turning and flipping. He's just too cute!

It's been awhile!

I just realized it's been a MONTH AND A HALF since I last posted! Unacceptable. I guess that's what happens when mom goes back to work. I'm not going to pretend like I don't have any time - I do. In fact, now that Adam is nearly 8 months old, he gets a little more independent and easier each day (except for the crabby ones). Basically what I'm saying is that I don't have a valid excuse.

Where to start? Hmmm....well, Adam is now about 19-20 lbs and 27 inches long. He is getting so big! He still only has two teeth. We're waiting for some more to pop through. He's eating a lot more solids...we've started trying finger foods where we can. This morning, he even had a teeny tiny pancake, and he had yummy watermelon for lunch. He is not crawling yet, but is very close. He gets on his hands and knees and gets his entire body swaying. It's just a matter of time. We had to lower his mattress to avoid the flip that would be inevitable once he started crawling/pulling up. Speaking of pulling up, all he wants to do is stand. He likes to get himself propped up on anything and stand by himself. He sometime even adds in some booty-shaking. It's adorable. He is VERY verbal, and his baby noises are starting to sound more and more like actual words...not sure from what language, though.

Daycare is going well. Adam has gotten better adjusted, and takes more reasonable naps most days. We are actually switching daycares on 9/1, because he just got a spot at another daycare which has a great reputation. So, we didn't think we could pass it up. I checked out the facilities, as well, and they are very nice. Hopefully, Adam will adjust quickly to his new school. At this age, he has smiles for everyone, so I think he'll be fine with new teachers.

My job is going fabulously. I am really enjoying being back at work now, and I think I've struck a good balance. I'm really enjoying my new clients, coworkers and role. I just feel so grateful to be able to leave work at a decent hour (almost) every night and spend a nice amount of time with my baby boy. He's growing so fast, and I don't want to miss any of it.

Next month brings a trip down to Florida to visit Adam's great-grandparents. They haven't seen him (except pictures and skype) since he was two months old, so I'm sure everyone will be thrilled to see him. It's out first trip on a plane with him, so wish us luck. We did get a seat for him so that we had plenty of room and a poor soul wasn't stuck next to us!

I know I've made this promise before, but I will try to be better about blogging in a timely fashion!