Double Digits

Our little boy is becoming a big boy right before our eyes --- 10 months old today.

He is the happiest, sweetest, most curious little boy. He has recently started to pull up on things and let go, realizing that he can support his own weight and balance himself. Last night he began to try and move his feet as he stood unsupported. He will be running all over our house before we know it.

8/24/13

7/24/13

6/24/13

5/24/13

4/24/13

3/24/13

2/24/13

1/24/13

12/24/12

11/24/12

10/24/12

All Three Rolled In To One...

It's officially over. Summer's gone and back to school is here.

Sad+Excited+Thankful = How I'm feeling right about now.

I'm sad because I'm going to miss this face all day...

He's such a ham...

I'm excited because I work in an amazing school, with fantastic colleagues and am teaching a new class this year.

I'm thankful because RF and I have had the most perfect time together this summer.

The two videos below are two of our favorite afternoon activities.

RF has really changed in the last few weeks. He consistently recognizes his name, he can point to his toes when you ask him to, he lets go from furniture and stands on his own and he is rocking the 'trying new foods' thing - the kid will eat anything!

Being a mom is hard work (really hard work), but oh so worth it. RF has made me a morning person and I really enjoy our drive across the bay each day as the sun is rising, but I'll tell ya - there's nothing like that look on his face when he sees me each afternoon as I walk in the door to pick him up - pure joy. He crawls over to me, pulls up on my legs and I scoop him up while he pats me on the back, grins from ear to ear and opens his mouth wide to give me a kiss - melts. my. heart.

First Week of School for RF

Well it was more of a three-day school week for RF....

Monday morning arrived and we were ready to go.

He was smiling and jibber jabbering all the way across the bay. Once we got to school, I took him to his room and got him settled. I told him I loved him and that I would be back in a little while to get him. Then I turned around and walked out.

Not. A. Peep. He didn't even look back, he went right to playing and smiling at his teachers.

When I called to check on him they reassured me he was doing just fine.

I didn't want him at school for an entire day his first few days, so I picked him up from school about lunchtime on Monday. He spent the afternoon with Lola and Aunt Haydn crawling all over their house while I went back to work.

After I picked him up and we got home that afternoon I noticed that he didn't look so well. And sure enough, he got sick (all over me too by-the-way) that evening. I checked his temperature and it was higher than normal, but not in the fever range yet. Maybe a good night's sleep will do him some good - he slept well, but certainly didn't feel well. By morning he definitely had a fever.

No school for RF on Tuesday. I had a conference to attend so he spent the day with Lola and Aunt Haydn and then RA in the afternoon. When RA called to tell me that his fever was up to 102.8 I left work and headed home. Poor thing...he was miserable. RA gave RF a tempid bath and that seemed to help quite a bit. A call in to the pediatrician's nurse reassured us that his body was working properly to fight off whatever was going on inside. Unless the fever continued to climb, keep him hydrated and let him sleep.

Snuggling on Lola while feeling yucky...

Snoozing in Aunt Haydn's bed...

By morning the fever had broken and was on its way back down to a normal range. I kept him home from school again on Wednesday to make sure that he was over it. Wednesday afternoon he was back to his normal happy, bouncing self.

I tell ya - I have felt a whole range of emotions since becoming a parent, but this was the first time I felt helpless. I wanted to do whatever I could to take away his yuckiness, but I knew I couldn't. I just laid next to him, snuggled with him, sang to him, and reassured him that he was ok. But at the end of the day I am very thankful to know that his immune system is strong and that his body knows exactly what to do when something starts attacking it.

Thursday (his 2nd day of school) was a bit rougher. His teacher noted that every time another parent or another teacher would come in to the room RF would look at the door and then start to fuss - like he was expecting me to be there. But when I did pick him up he smiled from ear to ear and I again reassured him that mama always comes back to get him.

Friday was a bit rougher than Thursday. We went through our usual routine of him getting down and playing while I put away his things, me telling him that I love him and kissing him on the forehead before walking to the door and telling him that I will be back soon. He watched me leave and started crying as I shut his classroom door.

Heart.Breaking. It took everything in me to continue walking and not to walk back in his room to comfort him.

After I picked him up Friday we went and had lunch with Aunt Hartley before coming home and being lazy the rest of the afternoon and evening.

A happy boy at lunch with Aunt Hartley

Being a silly boy at lunch with Aunt Hartley 

Even though it wasn't a full week for him, it was still exhausting (for both of us). And being sick I know didn't help the situation for him. I have also read (and been told) that little ones tend to do fine the first day and then the next few days are a bit rougher as they adjust to this being the new normal and not just a fun day playing with new friends, in a new environment and with new toys.

This weekend is all about relaxing and gearing up for the upcoming week. RA and I are spending time cleaning and making sure our schedule for the week is clear as this week is our practice week for what begins next Monday, the 19th --- all the kids are back to school and mama is back to working all day, everyday.

Goodbye, summer (take your nasty, muggy, hot weather with you). Hello Back to School, fall, and the planning of RF's first birthday.

How I found RF and RA this afternoon... L. O. V. E. 

Back to Routine

It's that time again - back to school.

I spent this weekend cleaning, organizing and getting prepared for tomorrow morning - back to work for me and RF's first day of school. Feeling nervous is an understatement, but I know that he will do well. It's more saddness that I won't be able to spend every minute of every day with him, but excitement at all of the things he will learn at school. We even made homemade blueberry, chocolate chip and banana nut muffins this afternoon for his teachers, too.

RF and I had the most glorious week...simply glorious. I am going to miss this little guy so much each day. He is getting into the best stage - everything amazes him. I am already making a list of the things I want to do with him next summer.

What did we do together during our last week of summer?

We went to story time...

We napped...

We made homemade pizza...

We played with our toys...

We sang Disney songs...

We chewed on the rubber end of a measuring cup...

We watched Liberty's Kids...

We bonded...

We had eggs...

We spent some time at RF's school...

We clapped...

We also had our 9-month dr. appt. this week. RF is continuing to grow, grow, grow and our pediatrician gave us the go-ahead for pretty much any food except whole milk. I am still preparing the majority of RF's food. He eats like a champ - chicken, turkey, fish, cheese, yogurt, applesauce, peas, carrots, green beans, cauliflower, and the list goes on and on. We really haven't found found a food that he rejects yet.

Birth            10/24/12          9lbs, 7 oz         21 inches long
1 Month      11/27/12        11lbs, 8 oz         24 inches long
2 Months       1/9/13         14 lbs, 6 oz        25 1/4 inches long
4 Months       3/7/13         17 lbs, 2 oz.       27 1/2 inches long
6 Months       5/1/13         19 lbs, 12 oz.     28 inches long
9 Months       7/31/13        23lbs.               30 1/2 inches tall

Now that my weeks are going to be pretty busy again, I am planning to devote time each weekend for the next two months planning and preparing for my little nugget's first birthday. I know that first birthday parties are really for the adults in the child's life, so I am planning something small and low-key that brings in our love of simplicity and family.

Say a prayer for me tomorrow, this mama is going to be sad...

A Hiatus...

I rocked RF a little longer tonight than I usually do. I just wanted to stare at him. I have been feeling a roller-coaster of emotions the last few days as I know my summer with him is winding down. This week is our last full week together. I go back to work and he starts school on August 5th. I've been trying to focus on getting things organized and prepared so that the transition will be as smooth as possible. But tonight, I wasn't thinking about that. I was thinking about my baby boy and how big he has gotten and how much fun he is and how much I just want to freeze time and drink in every breath, every smile, every laugh, and every look of wonder. 

So this week, I'm taking a hiatus. 

I'm spending the week focusing completely on RF. Just he and I doing whatever we want to do each and every day. Spending time playing, smiling, snuggling, napping, and reading. My plans for this week include not having any plans. :-)

Aunt Haydn, RF and I drove down to Gulf Shores today to spend some time with Meme. The highlight of RF's day was splish-splashing in Meme's pool. 

He L-O-V-E-S the water...

Streams of water mesmerize him...he does the same thing when the water is running into his bathtub...

A happy baby and a happy mama... :-)

Out = In

RF is 9 months old today. Wow.

As we were taking our monthly photo this morning I noticed how much harder it is getting to take his picture - he wants to move all. the. time.

Just not quite close enough...

Well I'll just walk around the trunk, then...

Standing still long enough for mama to snap a photo...

We spent this morning doing some shopping at a local consignment sale. 28 shirts, 10 pairs of shorts/pants, three pairs of shoes, one magnetic train set (he loves the one at the Daphne Library), and one Thomas the Train = $70. 

RF is ready for school...

RF noticed the Thomas the Train sitting on the table at the consignment sale and when I picked it up grinned from ear to ear. How could mama say no to that? 

At home playing with his new toys...they have wheels - he's happy. :-)

And have I mentioned RF's love of boxes?

Even during playtime at StoryTime he managed to find a box to push around. 

Notice how blurry it is? I feel like all of my photos of him right now are blurry - he loves to go-go-go. 

He climbed on top of these boxes and decided to lay down on them and read his book.

Lola made him a tunnel at the office - fun, fun, fun for a little boy. 

Man, I love this little guy...

Kitchen

It is finally finished. It only took three weeks, but it is finally complete. 

I remember posting on the blog back in December 2010 while we were working on the major renovations after moving in, that I said our biggest project for 2011 would be an overhaul of the kitchen. 

Ha. 

It's seven months into 2013 and we're just getting around to it. 

I guess life (and other more pressing and important house projects) have kept us busy. 

The changes included a new paint color (the Historical Preservation Society's 'Churchill Hotel Maple'), painting the cabinets and drawers white (they were a beige color), up-cycled hardware on all of the cabinets and new electrical coverings. 

BEFORE 

AFTER 

When I was trying to figure out the hardware situation and started looking at Lowe's I realized cabinetry hardware (at least the one's I liked) were pretty expensive. I needed 20 drawer/cabinet pulls and 30 hinges. At $3 each, I was looking at $150 just in hardware. Since it's not something that was a big deal for me, I started brainstorming ways to get around that expense. I have seen so many people post things on Pinterest where they have taken something that was quite ugly (an old vase, picture frame, etc.) and spray paint it. Huh. That's an idea. I checked at Lowe's and found a brushed nickel spray paint that adhered to metal. I lightly sanded the hardware, put two coats of spray paint on them and presto, new cabinetry hardware. 

From this...

To this..

Instead of having walls that are three different colors, now they are all one color --- :-)

From this...                                                                            

 To this...

We do still have to get our window treatments and wall art hung back up, but other than that we're done. And one day I would like to replace the countertops and re-do the floors back to the original hardwood (which is underneath the flooring that is down now), but it's not something that I feel like I have to do right now. Just painting and changing the cabinetry hardware makes it feel like it is a new kitchen to me. 

Our hoosier cabinet. It's one of the very first antique pieces RA and I purchased. While it is not nearly as old as some of our other pieces, it is one of my favorites. My grandparents had one just like it in their house. I can still remember (and smell) the warm, hot cinnamon rolls sitting on a plate on the cool, white, porcelain top.