Bananas for Bananas

So, should I sell the rights to Gerber? ;)

It Was Time To...

...cut that child's hair!

Guess my hints gave it away!  I think he looks pretty spiffy with his new 'do!

It Was Time

I finally decided it was time to do something I've been putting off for awhile.

I'll offer these pictures as hints:

Can you guess what I decided it was time to do???

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Parental Activity

You saw what fun Andrew was up to over my blog hiatus.  Well, Jacob and I had some good times, too!

We headed down to Tuscaloosa for the 5-year reunion of my KD pledge class and had a GREAT weekend!

We started out with dinner at Chuck's Fish and ended the night with a party at our old stompin' ground, Gallette's.

Other than the fact that we were missing a bunch of girls who are nursing or expecting, it was just like the old days and tons of fun!

Then, I hightailed it to Huntsville to meet Jamie's brand new baby, Vivi Ross.

And enjoy a visit with the new mama.  We were roommates freshman and sophomore years of college and now we both have babies!  So great!

Just two weeks old and already so sweet!

And I got to have a quick lunch with my lifelong friends, Laura Ann and Virginia, before going home.

Got back to DC in time for a fabulous engagement party for our law school friends, Mary and Toby!

Amanda came over to the apartment to get dressed with me for the party...just like when we lived together in law school, except Andrew was there eating Cheerios while we curled our hair!

So, it's been a time of reuniting with old friends in new circumstances...and there's just nothing more refreshing!

C'est La Vie

I had two missions in mind for this morning's naptime: deep clean the bathrooms and wash every stitch of baby laundry in the house in preparation for our Thanksgiving trip.  I mopped the floors, gave the tub the kind of scrubbin' that leaves sweat at your temples, pretreated a million different stains on a bajillion tiny garments, and got all that laundry washed and in the dryer.  And still had time for a shower and a drop-by visit from a friend.  I was feeling GOOD about the state of things.

Fast-forward to this afternoon's naptime.  I merrily fold those bajillion tiny garments while watching the series finale of Jon and Kate Plus 8 and survey a clean apartment with all in good order and, again, feel GOOD.  (Hint: This is foreshadowing.) 

Just about then, I hear Andrew wake with a cry.  I go in to scoop him up and find--eek!-- the exploded diaper of all exploded diapers.  And believe you me, we've seen some around here.  Every last thing is horribly filthy...his crib, sheet, blanket, bumper, booties, socks, clothes, everything.  I grab him by his (thankfully unaffected) armpits and, at arms' length, carry him straight to the freshly scrubbed tub, where I dump him in the water, clothes and shoes and all.  Nastiness is everywhere.  I finally get him stripped of everything, drain the tub, refill it, and scour him 'til he shines.

Now, I have a bathroom far dirtier than it was this morning and a big ol' load of baby laundry that needs some serious attention.

But all is not lost in the pursuit of cleanliness.  No, Andrew's insides are spic n' span. 

There are people who pay good money for that kind of thing.

C'est la vie!

Andrew at 11 Months

With just one month of infancy left, at 19 pounds, 4 ounces, Andrew's pretty well filling up his blanket!

To go along with that growth, he's recently sprouted a few new teeth: two on the bottom and one on top.  A second top tooth is just almost through.  Finally some dental cross traction!

Our toothy baby walks like a mummy these days, with his arms stretched out in front of him.

And he's into everything.  If I open a cabinet door, he has crawled inside before I can pull out a bowl.  If I leave the bedroom door open, he is in there trying to pull the floor lamp over before I can turn around.  He eats the paper napkins off the table and is on a perpetual scavenger hunt for flecks of lint on the carpet.  A very active little boy is an excellent workout!

Best of all, he has started really communicating with me.  When he's upset, I verbally run through a list of things he may want and in the last couple of days, he's stopped crying to give a happy chortle when  I reached "bottle," "breakfast," and "passy."  And sure enough, each of those things were what did the trick at the time.  The other day, I tried to give him a few bites of table food after 3 jars of baby food, but he pointed at the empty jars until I brought him another, which he downed in about 5 seconds flat.  It's such a relief to know what he wants!  I've been trying to teach him baby sign language for months with no luck and we've had no hint of any words coming from his mouth, but he's getting his message through now.

Happy 11 month birthday, sweet baby boy!  We love you so much and are going to soak up every one of these last minutes of your infancy!

Hello Out There!

I haven't said much lately, I know, but we've been doing LOTS.  Somehow, with a fully mobile, almost-toddler roaming the halls, blogging time just gets away.

Since the aunts and grands are anxious to see Andrew's latest exploits, I'll give you a taste of those for now.  And later, I'll let you in on the fun things the little guy's parental units have been up to.

First of all, the no-fun stuff: a cold that left me with one lethargic baby.

And recently turned into a double ear infection.  Yuck!

But we've got a pretty good sport on our hands, and he didn't let a little illness hold him down.  Nope, he just up and flew to Alabama for a whirlwind visit with his grandparents, while Jacob and I went to my 5-year sorority pledge class reunion.

While in Birmingham, he visited the promised land of toddlerhood...the Tot Lot.

Swung with his cuzzie.

And slid the big slide.

He snuggled up for storytime with Uncle Charles.

And he rocked out with Lilybit.

Sice we've been home, he's been working on that walking and just generally keeping us busy.

He is such fun!

Refrigerator Art

I had jury duty this week, so Andrew made his first visit to a drop-in daycare available to us through Jacob's work.

He was pretty excited about heading off with Daddy for his big day!

Other than an afternoon nap that lasted just 11 minutes, I think he did well with the new experience.

And he brought home our very first piece of refrigerator art!

Andrew S.  It sounds so grown-up!

There's definitely a turkey in there somewhere.  Or maybe a rooster? 

He's got potential.

About Us

I was tagged by my fabulous friend, Jamie, to complete a survey about the man of my dreams and me. 

At our engagement party!

In case I haven't already told you enough about our little family, here goes:

♥ What are your middle names?

Jacob’s is Andrew, thus Baby Andrew’s name. Mine is Boyd, from my Mama and her great-grandmother. After we got married, though, I started using my maiden name as my middle name.

♥ How long have you been together?
We started dating June 18, 2005, became engaged July 21, 2006, and were married January 13, 2007! I guess that makes about 4½ years.


♥ Who asked who out?
Jacob asked me out!


♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating?
We met once and then went on our first date a few weeks later.


♥ How old are each of you?
I’m 27 and Jacob’s 30. I married an older man.


♥ Did you go to the same school?
For undergrad, I went to the University of Alabama and Jacob went to Texas A&M, but for law school, we both went to the University of Virginia.


♥ Are you from the same home town?
Nope…I was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. Jacob was born in North Dakota, of all places, but moved all over the country growing up because his father was a colonel in the Air Force.


♥ Who is the smartest?
Jacob. He’s way smart, and I love it.


♥ Who majored in what?
I majored in Spanish and Jacob was a mechanical engineering major.


♥ Who is the most sensitive?
Moi! But I really don’t have much to be sensitive about…Jacob’s the sweetest husband there ever was.


♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple?
Hmmm…we try not to eat out a whole lot. But we order Thai and sushi delivery with some frequency. Yum!


♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
St. Thomas for a fabulous honeymoon trip!


♥ Who has the worst temper?
Jacob, but it’s still not a bad temper. He says he gets unusually frustrated about tiny things sometimes. His example was me not knowing how to open a Doritos bag correctly. Ha!


♥ How many children do you want?
As many as God will give us!


♥ Who does the cooking?
I do usually, but Jacob is a mean chili cook!


♥ Who is more social?
I am. Jacob loves the intimacy of just family and close friends.


♥ Who is the neat-freak?
Neither of us. It’s unfortunate. (When I read this answer to Jacob, he claimed that he is indeed a neat freak. This is good to know! :) )


♥ Who is the most stubborn?
We’ve both got a stubborn streak!


♥ Who wakes up earlier?
I wake up when Andrew wakes up, so sometimes it’s me and sometimes it’s Jacob.


♥ Where was your first date?
In Birmingham: we went to lunch at Oak Hill, then to the Birmingham Museum of Art, and then to Vulcan Park. Jacob’s premise for asking me out was that he needed a Birmingham native to show him the sights. This left me wondering if I was a tour guide or his date. I hoped the latter, but he says it should have been obvious!


♥ Who has the bigger family?
I do, but Jacob’s is none too shabby.


♥ Do you get flowers often?
At special times and occasionally as a surprise.


♥ How do you spend the holidays?
Usually, we visit family. Last year, we had a baby.


♥ Who is more jealous?
Neither of us is really the jealous type.


♥ How long did it take to get serious?
Not long…we were deeply in love in a couple months and after four months of dating, we were certain we would marry.


♥ Who eats more?
Jacob does, but I can put down my fair share.


♥ What do you do for a living?
Jacob is a patent lawyer with a firm in town. I’m his helper and Andrew’s mommy.


♥ Who does the laundry?
I do. Although Jacob did some recently when I was out of town and we’ve got the white blue towels to prove it.


♥ Who’s better with the computer?
We’re in dispute about this.


♥ Who drives when you are together?
Jacob, solely and exclusively. Thank goodness.


♥ What is "your" song?
“Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis. It’s the song we first danced to at our wedding.

 
What fun!  Now I tag Anika and Patricia to spill the details about their beloved ones!

On the Steps of the Capitol

What good is it living in Washington, DC, if you don't get out every once in a while and flex your political muscles?  Especially when there's something to talk about!

Michele Bachmann, a Congresswoman from Minnesota, issued a call last Friday for Americans to meet on the steps of the Capitol today to--once again--tell Congress we do not want government-run healthcare.

Since there had only been six days' notice, I thought the group would be small.  In fact, on my way over, I was concerned that I may not find it.

I need not have been concerned.

Americans care deeply about this issue!

In addition to the, I believe, 67 congressional representatives in attendance, there were a few celebrities who spoke: Mark Levin, Jon Voight, and John Ratzenberger.

I met people from states all over the nation.  People who dropped everything and came long distances, because they care so much.

Of course, some people came from just a few blocks down.  And that was good, too.

Tears welled in my eyes as we said the Pledge of Allegiance and fell down my cheeks as we sung our national anthem.

The crowd erupted in shouts of "USA, USA" and prayed together for the health of our nation.

Patriotism...it's powerful good.

After the meeting at the Capitol, we went to make a "house call."

It was to be a sit-in, actually.  At the office of Speaker Pelosi.

However, despite the crowd of citizens wanting to see her...

...and despite the sign hung by her door...

...we weren't allowed in.  Nor were we allowed to sit.  (Seriously.)  That didn't make for a very good sit-in.  So, we had, I guess, a stand-out instead. 

We lined the hall outside Speaker Pelosi's office.  Almost without exception, it was a peaceful crowd, just asking to be heard.  Andrew and I eventually worked our way to the front of the line and stayed there for almost two hours.  There, we met some amazing people, among them a young pediatrician who said she never would have gone to medical school if she could have foreseen Obamacare.  We saw two teenage girls get arrested for yelling, "Stop killing unborn babies!"  We watched the Pelosi staff members avert their eyes and ignore us.  We cheered as other members of the House came through.  We joined in chants of "Kill the bill!" and "USA!"  But mainly, we were just there.  And it was awesome.

Sleeping Like a Baby

A sight like this? Well, it's enough to make a mama's heart go pitter-patter.

The soft, sweet slumber of my son. It just makes me happy.

Happy All Saints Day!