The Beginning of Wednesday

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Toby 10 Months Old

Wow! Now that Toby is about 10.5 months old, I guess I should post about his 10 month update! As our son has gotten older, I've realized that these posts are harder and harder for me to write. He is getting so big and so smart SO FAST! Not that I'm not incredibly proud and loving every second, it's just so bittersweet to watch him grow up!

His 9-10 month was also a very big month for him!! There were ~~more milestones than Mama could handle~~ so many wonderful milestones!

At his last doctor appointment he weighed 19.4lbs and was 29.5 inches long
He has had a total of 2228 diaper changes
He was moved into a "big boy" car seat
In his 9th month he got 2 teeth!!! Which means we now brush his teeth everyday. He actually doesn't mind it (so far) because for the last few months I have made it a point to brush my teeth in front of him every morning. He laughs when I do it. Now that he has teeth, I brush mine with him watching, then we do his. He's really good about it!
He crawled this month!!
He had his first infant cookie; a baby mum-mum
He started wearing size 4 diapers
He actually participated with patty cake
He had his first haircut
He said his first word (besides "Mama" and "Dada") which was "Booh" [he said it as he was crawling at high speed toward the bookshelf, so I'm guessing he meant "Book."])
He signed both "Mama" and "Daddy"
He learned to clap
He pulled himself into the standing position
He got he first real sickness (a stomach bug!)
He tried asparagus
He was baptized

There aren't a whole lot of updates on Mama and Daddy this time. We are both so very busy right now, but we're still able to carve out some time to spend as a family. Toby is such a joy. A pure joy. We just love him so much!

Monday, April 1, 2013

First Easter

Toby had a great first Easter. We are very blessed and incredibly fortunate to have such amazing people in our lives. Toby was spoiled!

The loot the Easter Bunny delivered to our house

An Easter Basket from Nana & McPepe

And more loot from Uncles Matt and Nelly

Crawling to see what the rabbit left for him!

Yay!

It's hard trying to open toys with two Chihuahuas trying to get in on the action!

Maracas were a BIG hit. Nice work, Easter Bunny!

Helping Mama make the Easter Bunny cake (a tradition in Mama's house when she was little!)

Cake and crafts!

Uncles give Toby his basket

And Toby just wants Uncle (he has his uncles W-R-A-P-P-E-D)

Basket from Nana & McPepe!

Easter Photo shoot!

Toby recently learned to clap. Oh BOY, does he clap! ALL. THE. TIME.

I tried to match Toby and Daddy... but unfortunately, Etsy didn't have a vintage Easter sweater in men's sizes.

Kisses

Precious kisses for Mama

Happy Easter. We are very lucky to have a sweet little bunny!

Quotes that define my life:

"Now this is the Law of the Jungle -- as old and as true as the sky; And the Wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the Wolf that shall break it must die. As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk the Law runneth forward and back -- For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack." -- Rudyard Kipling
"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." -- Dr. Seuss
"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion." -- Unknown
"Better to love God and die unknown than to love the world and be a hero; better to be content with poverty than to die a slave to wealth; better to have taken some risks and lost than to have done nothing and succeeded at it." -- E. Lutzer
“There is pleasure in the pathless woods, There is rapture on the lonely shore, There is society where none intrudes, By the deep sea and the music in its roar; I love not man the less, but Nature more.” -- Lord Byron
"There are times when explanations, no matter how reasonable, just don't seem to help." -- Mr. Rogers
"If you don't crack the shell, you can't eat the nut." -- Persian Proverb
"Real peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice." Martin Luther King, Jr.

Mountains we climb

+ Currently: Life
+ Magalloway Mountain: Pittsburg, NH: 3,350 ft. Fire tower @ summit
+ Uncanoonuc Mountains: Goffstown, NH; Elevation: North Peak 1,324 ft. South Peak, 1,321 ft. *Indian Translation: "woman lying down" or "breasts"*
+ Mt. Major: Alton Bay, NH: Approx 4 mi. round trip; 1,100 ft. @ summit.
+ Monument Mt., Berkshire Area, MA: Approx 3 mi. round trip; *Beautiful waterfall* 1,735 ft @ summit.
+ Welch-Dickey- Loop Trail, Waterville Valley Area: 4.4 mi. round trip; 2,605 ft. @ Welch summit, 2,734 ft. @ Dickey summit.
+ Mt. Kearsarge- Barlow Trail, Winslow State Park, Wilmot: 2.8 mi. round trip; 2,937 ft @ summit.
+ Mt. Monadnock- White Dot Trail, Jaffrey: 4.2 mi. round trip, 3,165 ft. @ summit
+ Mt. Layafette- Old Bridle Path, Franconia Notch State Park: 8 mi. round trip, 5,260 ft @ summit.
+ Mt. Cardigan- East Side Loop, Alexandria: 5.3 mi. round trip, 3,121 ft @ summit. * some of the mountain was left bare from a fire in 1855
+ Mt. Morgan & Mt. Percival- Squaw Mountains, Holderness & Center Sandwich: 5.1 mi. round trip; 2,220 & 2,212 ft. @ summit
+ Mt. Osceola- White Mountain National Forest: 6.4 mi. round trip, 4,340 ft. @ summit

Mission Statement

This blog is much like my home. When you click on my blog you cross a boundary into my world; what I would like to be a judgment free world. You’re in my house now. Don’t come in if you want to pollute my environment with negativity.

As a guest in my home would you pick apart my style, critique my furniture, or want me to spend your entire visit complaining about my life's trials and tribulations? No. The same goes for my blog. You’re a guest here. The virtual world is a "boundary" between what I am going to post here, and what goes on in my “real life.”

This is my forum. Much like if you were a guest in my house, I would scurry around cleaning up, presenting to you my best self. I do the same with my writing. You come here for a smile, an anecdote, a laugh, or a oui. You don't come here to hear about the bad parts of my life. Just because I don't post about them, doesn't mean they don't exist. That part of me just happens to be none of your business.

I choose to blog about things that make me happy, things I want to look back on and relish. I am constantly recovering (on a daily basis) from things that are unpleasant, I need no reminders via written word. That is what my diary is for. If that omission makes it appear as though my life is easy, then you are more than welcome to turn back now, don't waste your time. I have an amazing group of people who I can vent to and get feedback in regards to those matters, I don’t have an overwhelming urge to hang my dirty laundry out to dry in front of strangers.

My greatest fear about blogging is that someone, anyone, would rob me of this right. To instill in me a need to gauge my every word, for me to feel intimidated to speak, to share, or to write. I would never take that privilege, liberty, or luxury from any one person. It’s not mine to take. If you're here for the taking, I hope you come up empty.