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More Small Moments

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More and more, our days are made up of tiny moments strung together to make up our days.  Individually they aren't much more than a quick story, but together they give you a window into E's personality and our life. 

Daycare

When I picked him up from daycare the other day, a teacher I hadn't seen was in the room with him.  I could tell she was smitten with E, and trying to put it in words.  "He's such a big kid, stuck in such a little body! It's like he's miniature!"  Yes, he's definitely miniature, this one.. but not in the personality!

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The Fuzzy Baby

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Perhaps you've met our cat, Maia.  If so, you probably have opinions about her.  Especially depending on how much of a cat person you are.  

If you're not really a cat person, you might be a bit afraid of her.  She always seems to show up in random places that may startle you - behind your head, watching you sleeping, jumping out at you in the dark.  She may have even swiped at you, scratched you, or tried to bite you. (In which case, I'm very sorry!)

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Of Course He Did

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It's been a long, fun week. We're all exhausted in that, I can't play for a second longer, summer fun type of way. We've had my sister and niece here for a few days, and it was amazing. They mesh so well with our family they could probably move in and no one would skip a beat. We stay up late talking, and watching TV, and E is never happier than when he has them to play with - especially his cousin, whom he loves to stare at. Obsessed. One day we'll teach him not to awkwardly stare, but for now he just cranes his neck to follow her all through the house.

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Strawberry Season!

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E loves strawberries.  He'll eat them for every meal, and never turns them down.  He might like them more than watermelon even.  

I like strawberries, but I love strawberry shortcake.  I made some recently because I was craving it, and gave E a little bit, but mostly just strawberries.  We'd long since finished off the biscuits and whipped cream when I decided I wanted more.  I could bake some more biscuits and send Tom to the store.. or we could head to Parlee Farms and get it at the source!

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Our Night

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I knew I was in trouble the minute I walked in the room. E had a fire truck with a working ladder and was completely enthralled with moving it up and down. I knew I had no chance of getting it out of his hands and getting him out of the room without a meltdown. Normally I'm super thankful that E loves school so much, but I do miss the days when he used to run into my arms with a smile at pickup. Instead, I dealt with a meltdown as predicted and tried not to take it personally. 

He's been a little cranky lately.  A little off.  Quick to whine or get upset, waking up more at night, crying in his sleep.  We're not sure why.. growing pains, being a toddler, getting sick...eventually he'll actually be teething one of these times. 

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A Peek at Life Lately

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I have such a major writing block lately.  I'm not sure why, but even though I have stories to share, it's making it hard to get the words out.  I start, and then I find a million other things I'd rather be doing.  But I don't want to forget these moments either.  So here's my random brain dump:

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Teaching the Magic of Ikea

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Tom and I have long been a fan of Ikea.  It's one of our favorite places to visit together - weird I know.  Instead of stressing us out, it makes us excited with possibilities.  It helps that our mammoth of a car Penny fits almost everything we could possibly want fairly easily. We don't get there often, so by the time we do, we'll have a years worth of ideas and projects and things we want to get while we're there.  

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Games We Play

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Now that E's getting a bit older, he can play games with us.  It's the cutest thing ever.  Games that I would consider boring, monotonous, obnoxious, are suddenly fun when watching E experience them and light up at how much fun he's having.  There's not much I won't do for this smush... and that includes playing the following games (over and over again).

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One of Those Days

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When I walked into the room, E was crawling under a crib and quickly disappeared from sight.  I laughed and gave a questioning look to his teacher.  "Oh he lost his purple ball under there.  He'll be back!"  And sure enough, he emerged from under the crib holding the ball in his hand.  He laughed, threw it across the room, and then continued to chase after it.  

It was Friday, thankfully.  The end to a long week.  E had a great day - better than I'd had, and I listened as his teacher recapped it.  A long nap, a skipped bottle, drinking from the sippy cup.  All good things!  I gathered up his stuff and tried to convince him to leave.  Since all his friends were there, it wasn't easy, and he was whining as I tried to balance him and all of his stuff in my arms.

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Happy Father's Day

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I don't worry too much about E.

I know that he will have struggles in his life, ups and down, things to get through.  But he's got a pretty awesome dad to look up to, and who will hopefully show him what it really means to be a man, and it's nothing to do with how tough you are, or how sharply you dress, and everything to do with how you treat people. 

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It Happened.

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I’ve been ignoring it, but I’m not sure I can anymore. 

We have a walker.

E’s been taking steps for a while now.  Since before his birthday.  One, two.. occasionally 4.  Not very frequently though.  Maybe once a day?  He’d do it to prove he could, and then move on.  Crawling was faster, and he didn’t seem interested.  We could never make him do it.. it would just randomly happen.

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Slowing Down

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It's so easy to get caught up in routines and responsibilities.  Head down, moving along until the next appointment or time you need to be doing something.  I forget, sometimes, to stop and look around.  To breathe and enjoy the fact that it's no longer winter.  To sit and be happy with nothing to do.  To get outside at lunch, instead of sitting at my desk because it's what I did yesterday. 

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Life with a One Year Old

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We survived the first year.  We celebrated the birthday.  We still have no teeth, but we now have a toddler on our hands.  Can you call them a toddler if they still don't walk?  He's definitely not a baby anymore, though.  

I miss the baby stage.  Even when he wasn't sleeping through the night.  It was easy - you fed him, you cuddled him, you could spend your weekends on the couch and he'd be happy to just look at your face.  

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SMASH Cake

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I'm not sure when this trend started, but lately you can't say "first birthday" without someone mentioning a smash cake.  It's just a thing you do now.  I doubt I even got to eat cake at my first birthday, and now little one year old's everywhere are getting their very own cake.  Meticulously baked and decorated... only so the child can smash it to pieces while trying to get a bite in their mouths.  

It's as cute and messy as you can imagine. 

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Birthday Weekend

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It's special that E and I get to share a birthday weekend.  It's also a little crazy - there's a lot of celebrating to do in a small amount of time.  The good news is, we had a nice long weekend to spread out the festivities in.  Daycare was closed on Friday, which left E and I with a free day.  We started the day off by going out for breakfast, and ended the day with a birthday play date.  

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ONE YEAR

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Nick Names: Bubba, Sweetness
Height: 28.75 inches (13th percentile)
Weight: 21 pounds, 8 oz (54th percentile)
Head: 18 inches (40th percentile)
Special Outings: Panera, Market Basket
Visitors: Grandma & Grandpa, Becca & Joe, Nicole, Alice & Stephen, Aunt Joanie, Uncle Rick & Brooke
Loves: Laundry baskets, coat hangers, walking by pushing furniture
Hates: Waking up during the night, empty bottles, getting hurt

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Outdoor Progress

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Our yard is a mess.  It's not quite as bad as it was when we moved in, but that's largely due to the fact we're not currently in a drought - not anything we've done.  There are large patches of dirt, and the green that is growing is weeds, not grass. 

However, a lot time ago we decided it wasn't our priority.  I was going to put some analogy here that my boss used on me yesterday about not tying the laces of the shoe before taking it off or something, but it made way more sense when he said it, than me trying to remember it now.  Anyway the point is, our whole property needs work, and that work will only dig up the lawn more.  So I've decided we'll live with a non yard for a few years while we get everything else done first.