New "toys"

Daddy's not so happy with Jude's choice of toys tonight.

Momma, on the other hand, wouldn't mind if there were some teeny tiny pink toesies around here.

Uh oh....

This little man doesn't like being trapped.

num nums!

Because sometimes you just want to remember these moments.

Baby in a box

This is how we play around here:

Step by step

There's a small child in my house who decided to take his first steps last night! What to you ask? Oh, just some coke point bottle caps that his father likes to stockpile near his table. Our son knows a deal when he sees it! We're already so proud of him!

So about those steps....well he has been keeping his balance pretty well for the past week. I had this feeling his walking wasn't far off. Last night when we were playing he started eyeing the bottle caps. He looked at them then looked at me, waiting for the go ahead, with that stinkin cute smile of his. I gave him the good to go and he stepped with his left foot then regained his balanced. To my surprise he then stepped with his right foot! It was to die for cute! I was one excited momma! We tried it again, you know, to make sure it was real. Sure enough it was.

Today he wasn't as into it, but at least Daddy got to see a few steps here and there. Thank you, coke points, for the bait.

You know you're getting old when...

Last week I took Jude to the doctor for his normal 9 month check-up.  Can't believe we're already at this point.  Do you know what that is?  An entire pregnancy!  But I digress....

Anyway, we were at the doctor and I'm always nervous about the dreaded weight check, cause my guy's a little guy.  And in between the last check-up and this one, he had an I'm-not-eating-anything-because-I'm-sick-and-hate-food spell that lasted almost a week.  So I was extra nervous.  He did fall a bit off his growth curve, but the doctor wasn't worried.  I've never put his stats on here before, but since this is sort of his digital scrapbook, I guess I've been slacking.    Here's my little man in a nutshell at 9 months:

Weight:  18lb 14oz  (19th percentile)

Height:   28in (35th percentile)

Head circumference:  54th percentile (can't remember the measurement)

So the weight gain was a bit of a disappointment but what scared me even more was the fact that the doctor heard his heart murmur again.  I had no idea what that meant, but of course I was worried.  She wanted an echo done of his heart just to make sure everything was normal.

I immediately got home and did what every sane American does, and googled the ish out of heart murmur  while on the phone with my doctor hubs, who will be the first to tell you he's no pediatrician. 

So what's a girl to do?  Well, if you're me, you call your friend Annie who is in her first year Pediatrics residency!  And after she calms you down and tells you everything will probably be ok, you thank her for her advice.  Then you get off the phone and realize the whole conversation revolved around your SON and her advice as a DOCTOR.  Then you wonder where the time has gone...and how we've gotten so old, so fast.  Wasn't it just yesterday when we were soakin' up the rays in Austin with no cares in the world (besides when our ice cream run would be)?

Dr. Annie top row second from left

I'm not even going to mention the fact that I won't be able to join in the girls weekend in Chicago this weekend. Having a small child really puts a dent in the vacay possibilities.

But needless to say, I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends.  Thanks again, Annie, for making me feel SO much better about the echo.  We got the results back from the test and found that everything was normal, thank goodness.

Now I'm just starting to wonder when my gray hairs will be coming in.

Three day weekend

Seriously, how do I leave this?

Toys

Which of these is not like the rest? And why do kids always want the non-toy items as their toys of choice?

music and memories

I'm a sucker for memories.  I love to think about my life and what I've been through.  Sometimes I forget all the crazy things I've done, and then all of a sudden a flood of memories will rush on through reminding me of my past.

A lot of times that reminder comes from music.  Not just a particular song, the artist alone can do it.  So when I heard about this new song, I got that rush.
 I am completely in love with Jason Mraz.  How can you not be?  I mean, listen to that voice!  And speaking about memories, when I heard this song I was brought back to that music hall in LA when I first saw him in concert.  He had his trademark hat on (and his short hair, not diggin this long-haired look, but I get that you gotta try new things every once in a while....) and he had his guitar and man oh man did he belt out some tunes.  He even had an oriental rug on stage, you know, to add to the ambiance.

I think it was a summer night when I was either a junior or senior in high school.  I think the tickets were a gift from my boyfriend.  I think we were already broken up by the time of this concert, but he decided to still take me (thank goodness).

Wow, those were the days.  I mean, don't get me wrong, I totally love my life as it is right now.  But GOL, I had no real responsibilities, other than an occasional babysitting gig.  The rest of the time I spent soaking up the sun (either at the beach or at home) and hanging out with the sisterhood.

Life was good.  There are times when I get jealous of my past life.  Which is weird, cause it is my life.  But I guess it says I've had a pretty great life.  I'm definitely lucky.  Hey, isn't that another mraz song?

Oh Jason, look what you've done to me.

An extra day? OK!

Hey guys!  Yesterday was Leap Day.  Not a huge deal to me normally, but it was a big deal yesterday for a couple reasons:

1.  We closed on our house in St. Louis!
2.  I was home to watch Jude 'walk' around the house.

Do you know how weird it is to own a house in St. Louis but not have the keys yet?  Yeah, incredibly weird.  I'm dying to get in and start decorating!  I've been craving a visit to Lowes, and now I sort of have the perfect excuse to go get some paint swatches.  Would you like to take a peek at our new place?

family/living room

                         

dining room

galley kitchen (sort of closed off from the house....I have ideas on how to change that) 

office (aka craft room! right off the dining room, and yes, this color will go)

1/2 bath right off the kitchen

finished basement family room (aka an excuse for Chris to get a bigger TV - not happening)

guest bedroom

upstairs bathroom (so in love with the floor!)

Jude's room

master bedroom (we won't even have to paint it - love the green, of course!)

tiny backyard = less for me to mow! (plus there is a park down the street)

2 car garage = happy hubby!

Moving will be bittersweet, but having a house we love will make it a little easier (we hope).  I can't wait to post some after photos.  To be honest, the house is in great shape and doesn't need anything but cosmetic touches, my favorite!  My first to do list item is adding flowers and window boxes to the front.  The second will be to paint the craft room.  I will probably then move on to the kitchen.  Can you tell I'm excited?

Besides closing on our new house, Jude kept us quite busy yesterday.  If you are curious as to what he's been up to lately, take a look for yourself.  While you're watching, I would like to draw your attention to how each of these end.

 

Notice a pattern?  He's sure keeping me on my toes!  Yay for March, by the way.  Can't believe it's here!