Big Week for Our Little Buddy

After about two months of almost walking, Nick finally put it all together and got moving on two feet!!! He just couldn't seem to make it past three steps before taking to all fours. Thursday night, he took five steps in order to get to Lainey and take her down WWF style (more to come on that). Evidently, once he had a taste of being bipedal, he couldn't get enough. He's not the most stable, but I officially declare Nick a walker!

In addition to his new mobility, he's eating with a spoon pretty well now, making his meal times more hands free for me! We haven't really worked with him at all on using utensils, so I was kind of surprised Monday night when I set a bowl of applesauce and spoon on his tray and he just picked up the spoon and went at it. This is exciting to me because when we do manage to have family meal time, I may actually get to join in the eating part.

I don't really know where to file this next one...an accomplishment...a milestone...trouble? Lainey and Nick are now wrestling buddies. They tackle, squeeze, push, roll around, and THEY ARE LOVING IT!!! Me? It's fun to watch them play and giggle until they can't breath, but I find myself holding my own breathe waiting for one of them to get hurt. I'm trying to find the balance between stopping a major injury without overmanaging their playtime. I mean a little rugburn isn't going to send them to the ER. And it's hard to keep telling Lainey "you're being too rough" when Nick has a giant smile plastered on his face and keeps coming back for more. Yeah, it's hard...and fun...and hard (and really, really fun).

Guess my little buddy really isn't a baby anymore. He's a full-fledged toddler! Go get 'em Nick!

Maybe not the neatest eater, but pretty darn good!

At least the tumbling is on a cushioned area

Highs and Lows

All of last week I kept thinking, I could write a post about this. And all week I decided to do something else instead (usually veg out in front of the TV for 30 minutes). So, I’ve decided to play a little high-low and hit all the things I considered devoting a full post to.

High: I got a new job! I have a general policy not to talk shop on social media, so I'll stick to the basic facts:

• New company is Orbitz.
• New role is supporting the CFO and President of Orbitz for Business.
• First day is June 23.

Low: We finally made the tough decision to quite battling to save our linden tree and had it removed last Wednesday. We got three opinions and while two thought we could keep it for awhile (awhile being anywhere from a few months to a few years), all agreed it would have to come down. Given its proximity to the power lines, we decided to take it out on our terms instead of dealing with its removal after a storm took it out (along with power to our house and our neighbors).

High: Lainey is slowly learning all the words to "Let It Go" from Frozen. She sings it softly and seriously and makes up every 10th word. Melt. My. Heart. Expect a video once she learns all the words.

Low: Mark found out Friday that he had to fly to San Francisco this afternoon. It kind of put a dark cloud over the weekend. He was particularly grouchy about it, because of Memorial Day. And while I never look forward to his traveling, Lainey’s been really defiant in the mornings lately, so I’m REALLY dreading doing the morning routine solo tomorrow. At least I don’t have to worry about being late to work. What are they gonna’ do? Fire me?

High: We have new neighbors behind us. Bye-bye chickens! We met the husband and wife on Saturday. They have two little girls, one almost five, the other almost three, so Lainey may have a new playmate. They're doing work on the house and don't move in for another three weeks, but we're feeling optimistic that this family will be a major upgrade.

I’ll end on a high and hope for many more this week!

First Hair Cut

We decided it was time to stop treating Lainey's hair like shrubbery that we haphazardly trim errant sprigs from and get her a real haircut. We needed a professional to clean-up all the uneven lengths and make her mane a little less wild.

There's a great kids hair salon right in our 'hood. It has the cool seats that look like cars, planes, and trains, individual DVD players, and fun murals on the wall. Lainey visited the dentist again last week and cooperated fully, so I thought her first haircut would a breeze. I thought wrong. I ended up having to sit in the chair and hold her on my lap, while she watched Mickey's clubhouse and noshed on goldfish. Once she had been catered to properly, all went smoothly and her hair looks MUCH better! The only bummer is it's too short to pull into a ponytail or pigtails now, but it should only take a month or two to get the length back for that. (And she never leave the rubberbands in anyway.)

A little wary...

Warming up...

All beautiful!

Sippy Cups are Not for Chardonnay

Or Sauvignon Blanc. 

We had a dinner picnic in the backyard tonight. I thought the little Tupperware tumblers Lainey uses would make the perfect vessel for my dinner wine...sturdy for the terrain, non-breakable, right portion size. I repeatedly let Lainey know I had a grown-up only drink in it. But, turns out it needed to repeatedly tell this to Mark...or rather make sure he was listening one of the times I repeatedly told him. 

We were cleaning up and I watched from the kitchen window as Lainey stood in front of Mark holding my cup. I could tell from the "I'm getting away with something" grin on her face and the total lack of concern on his face that he had no idea what was in the cup. By the time I hit the back strairs, however, Lainey was spitting wine and coughing. Mark looks at me and asks, "what was in there?"

And that is how Lainey came to have her first taste of alcohol. I'm just glad she didn't like it. 

The Moments that Make It All Worth It

On Sunday, I had one of my top 5 mom moments. I don't remember what he was doing, but I jokingly said to Nick, "I know. I'm a bad mommy." Elaine whipped her little curly head around and with a furrowed brow and a most earnest look, said "You're not a bad mommy," her tone questioning how I could have made such a ludicrous statement in the first place. I've been thinking about it all week. Thanks, Lainey! Sometimes I need to hear it...