Today has been eventful

Today, Rock stuffed a green bean up his nose and freaked out until I could fish it all out. Totally grody. But then he was happily blowing spit bubbles ten minutes later.
Oh, yeah, and, also, today I accidentally tickled the pee right out of Rock. Oopsie. That accident was my fault. Totally didn't count.
But in adorable good news, Rock will FINALLY answer when you ask "what's your name?" That question was a lot harder than I thought it would be. We've been working on it for over six months--ever since he could point to himself and say "Rock." It was much easier to get him to answer the questions: what does Santa bring you? (toys) What does Santa say? (ho ho ho--or just "ho ho") and What does Santa eat? (cookies) What a cutie.

Oh, Binky...

So, I let Rock cry for his ga for half an hour during nap time before I gave in and got it for him. Then he proceeded to have a lame, unrestful nap. Blah. I'm hoping tonight and tomorrow's nap go better than today's nap.

Bye, Bye Binky

I don't know why I thought giving up the binky ("ga") would be so easy. He didn't use it a lot when he was really little, and only started using it with real frequency when he was about 9 months old. But he is so attached to that little thing. I am excited to give it up. We've been only letting him have it during naps and bedtime, but he'll sneak it other times. Last night, we slept without it. It's been over 24 hours since he's had his binky, and, other than a few minutes last night where he woke up and missed it, he's done an excellent job. What a sweetie. We've been talking about it (I still don't really know how much he understands) and we got a book from the library about how much better life is once you are no longer dependent on your ga. I'm sure he'll keep doing a great job.

Potty Training (Part 1)

We first bought training pants and a potty chair and a potty seat over two months ago and I decided to tackle potty training. It's a huge deal. I got a wonderful potty chair that I think will be great and a potty seat that I'm hoping to use more than the potty chair. And we got a bunch of great Blueberry training pants (which cost almost as much as Rock's cloth diapers, so this is not a small expense). I got Rock a potty monkey (which I would do again in a heartbeat) and read every book I could get my hands on (most of them totally sucked--ESPECIALLY the one that came with his potty monkey). I felt like I was ready to start this huge endeavor. On October 6th, Rock went potty in his potty chair for the first time, and I was elated. Maybe it wouldn't take the 6-12 months promised by the early-start books. I didn't want to have to go through this for a whole year. That seems ridiculous. But, now, it seems like it will be taking that long. I am hoping for little breakthroughs on the way. The pediatrician says it's REALLY early to start potty training, but I have come to the conclusion that she doesn't understand anything I say or think, so I pretty much discount everything she says while I search for a new one. Rock is doing pretty well so far. He has good days and days he just doesn't want to sit on the potty. The first three days, he did really well. But then, as soon as I would have him sit on the potty, he would jump up and run to his changing table and say "diaper." I get it. It's a lot of pressure and he just wasn't ready. We still would take potty monkey to the potty whenever his alarm would go off (and potty monkey said, "I need to go potty. Let's go potty."). Sometimes. It's a huge effort. Some days, Rock wears the same training pants all morning or all afternoon (never both in one day, though). But we're still working on it. It's way less stressful than I thought it would be, though. We're just working at it and we get excited when Rock gets to wear underpants and we do the underpants dance and have a little treat. He has a BIG treat for when he stays clean and dry all day just waiting for him on the counter. It's a juice bottle. He is so excited about it (whenever he remembers it). He wants it so much. I can't wait for him to get it. I just hope he isn't disappointed. Otherwise, I'm going to have to give him something crazy like ice cream or real cake. Potty training is such an adventure.

A Little Car Accident

Michael hates the term "accident" used meaning cars colliding. I think it makes it seem like it's not a huge deal. Like a little accident. Like a potty-training accident that takes a minute to clean up and then everyone goes back to what they were doing, hopefully a little more observant about what caused the accident and more careful to not repeat it.
Last Thursday, we were at the park, just like we have been every day for weeks for about an hour after Michael gets off work and before dinner and bedtime. But, this time, I really needed a crappy $1 sundae from McDonald's. Sometimes I need those. No big deal, right? It's a buck and it fulfills this crazy need I have for cheap, poor-quality ice cream and then I can go back to wanting delicious things. So, on the way home, Michael stopped at McDonald's and then we headed home. We were stopped at the light, about to turn right, when the car jumped forward with a big BUMP (or crash, or whatever sound effect it made). I looked at Michael and I said, "What just happened?" In my mind, it was an earthquake or something along those lines that caused the car to jump forward. What else could it have been, really? It was some kid on a date in a brand-new car. I felt bad for the kid. Temporary tags and all.
Police were called--Officer Winegar was not related to Bridger even though he looked just like him except with reddish brown hair--and our statements were taken. We hung out on a big road in Bountiful and let Rock run around in the grass a little, except it was a steep-ish incline to the parking lot below and he kept falling down, which was scary in any case, but then I was REALLY jumpy and stressed and I couldn't handle any fall. Bless his heart. We got home after bedtime and made the best of it, trying to eat dinner fast and rush through a bath calmly enough to get Rock to sleep as soon as possible (schedule changes aren't pleasant for anyone in this house).
We were okay, except for the huge expense of rushing out to buy a new car seat and incredibly high copays (gotta love private insurance). But the lingering pain is dreadful. We went to the instacare on Friday, about 16 hours after the initial impact. The dr there said, "Oh, it just sounds like you have the whiplash. Just don't lift anything and then, after a few days, stretch your neck and you'll be fine. It may be hard to not lift anything if you have that baby, but don't lift him more than you have to and you'll be fine."
Then I called my mom and my sister, both of whom have been rear-ended several times (bad luck? I don't know. Must be. How can you be rear-ended so many times by drunk drivers and not have incredibly bad luck?). And both had the same response, "JUST whiplash? Are you crazy? That totally messes you up. You need to be checked out by a specialist and get into PT as soon as you can." My sister's spine curve is still totally reversed from her last wreck. It's not something to just brush off. I know it's not the worst wreck ever, we're still alive and intact and Rock came out totally unscathed--what a blessing. I am so grateful that he didn't even know what was going on and the worst part of the ordeal was when the nurse tried to take his blood pressure.
However, my back is numb. And my hand goes numb every night. I don't really think that is something to just brush off--it's been over a week and my back is numb. So, we went back on Thursday (a week after the accident and six days after we went to the instacare in the first place) and a new Dr said we should have been referred to a specialist the first time. So, I made the appointments with the specialist when I got home. We can't get in until October 26th. I guess it's not that long of a wait for a specialist, but when my back is numb and it hurts to move quickly, it seems like forever, especially when my job is to chase around a 17-month-old kid with endless energy.
When Michael called our insurance adjustor the third time, she said that she didn't have any new information for us because fault was still being determined. Really? This kid rammed into us while we were stopped at a light. How hard is that to determine? There's a police report...
Then we found out that the kid didn't turn in the claim to his insurance. We submitted it and that takes longer for them to determine fault. This is a huge ordeal. I'm exhausted just thinking about it.
I didn't realize how expensive it is to be in a wreck. We have to pay for everything upfront and then wait to be reimbursed. Not that we have had a terrible amount of costs, but it's a lot when you live on a budget that doesn't include a separate category for "car wreck."
It's just a lot to deal with. The money is the least of it. It's just the most tangible thing. I can't imagine what would have happened if the wreck had been worse. I am so grateful that Rock wasn't hurt at all. I loved his car seat so much, and now I love it even more. That is something I will NEVER skimp on. Ever. It's too important to make sure my sweet baby is safe. That is why he sits rear-facing as long as possible--if he had been forward-facing, he would have been hurt the worst, and I couldn't handle that. He's so adorable and sweet and lovable and amazing and precious.
And now, we just have to focus on relaxing and getting better. The car can wait. It's not a big deal to drive around in a car that looks like it's been in a wreck if it still runs.

OnTrac SUCKS AGAIN

Seriously, OnTrac? What is up with all of this sucking? Why on earth do two delivery drivers know where I live and get packages here just fine while the REST OF YOU--INCLUDING SUPERVISORS--CANNOT READ DIRECTIONS and say my address doesn't exist? It makes me so sad. I do everything I can to avoid you, and every time I'm forced to use your "service," it's an utter disaster. I just want my Thirsties Hemp Inserts! I wish I could pay Amazon extra money to not use you. I would gladly pay twice as much to ensure that UPS delivers my packages every time and OnTrac never has to frustrate me ever again. That may be an exaggeration. I would gladly pay twice the shipping or, in the case of free shipping, 10-15% more of my total bill just to ensure that OnTrac doesn't get my business. I love that some companies let you choose to not use OnTrac. I don't care that it takes another day--what is one day when it takes a week longer for OnTrac to figure out where I live if my package ends up in the hands of someone other than the two guys who know how to get here? What a deal. More companies should follow suit.

I will never say anything about OnTrac again if I can help it.

Christmas Knitting

With almost all of my Christmas gifts knitted already (I haven't started one for my dad and I have about 200 hours left of work on my mother-in-law's super-secret surprise), I am looking for something new to do. I've decided to limit my family gift knitting to three hours a day so that I have time to work on my new Christmas project--using my stash yarn to knit sweaters to donate. I'm going to make a bunch of easy but cute sweaters in whatever colors I have that go together. I'm hoping to get three done by this Christmas and then one a month for next Christmas. So I'll donate three this year and 12 next year. What a fun idea! I can't wait to get started.

Oh, this reminds me that I have to take pictures of all of my summer knitting projects--I made three skirts for me (one of which I designed myself), a few pair of socks, I'm working on a super-secret gift for Laura...I guess that's it. But what a big deal! That is a TON of knitting. I'll post them soon.

But, in the meantime, I'm going to start on a seamless sweater TONIGHT! Yipee!

Dear Blogger:

I put two spaces after each period on purpose. Please stop "correcting" it to just one space. I like to live life deliberately, authentically, and you are totally throwing off my mojo. Also, I think two spaces looks better and gives me a mental breather before moving on to the next sentence, which, given my writing style is probably very labyrinthine and full of parenthetical statements, is very necessary.

All my Love,

Amanda

Rock Reading to Himself

I stepped out of the room to run potty, and I walked back in to find this, so I grabbed the camera and tried not to miss the moment, as I usually do.



I know I put this on facebook already, but I would rather have it on my blog.

It really is so cute. He's making the animal sounds like he does (pretty much all animals sound kind of like a monkey). He's trying out his new wolf, which was a pretty new sound for him when we recorded this video on August 1st-ish.

OnTrac Still Sucks

But one nice thing I can say about them is that they keep good records. I called OnTrac and they knew the exact time and reason I called a few hours before. They hadn't done anything about it, but at least they knew.

OnTrac Update (OnTrac Still Sucks)

Four phone calls later, on hold for a total of about 1.5 hours, and they are finally going to "error out" the delivery time. The driver is only 26.75 hours late. This is ridiculous. There is no new ETA, but the last supervisor I spoke to said that it looks like the driver "misdelivered" the package. How on earth did two other guys get here perfectly fine JUST TODAY and he has taken the last 30+ hours to find where I live? This is the company that keeps perfect directions for my address in the computer system--down to the last turn, things I don't even know. The last thing it says is IN THE SKYPARK AIRPORT UP THE OUTDOOR STAIRCASE ON THE SIDE FACING THE STREET.

I sent an email to Diapers.com about the package and someone called me right back! It was crazy. The girl was so nice and she said that they could change me over to a national shipper, just that my future orders would take a day longer. Who cares if it takes a day longer as long as it actually gets here when it says it will? She said that regional shippers are faster than national. I think the regional shippers just fudge their numbers so they LOOK like they are faster. They are not faster nor are they better. Just better at lying. So often, the package says it was delivered hours and hours before it's ever delivered.

The girl at Diapers.com told me a different story than I heard any of the four times I called OnTrac--how many lies can they tell? Did they lie to her, too? All that I know is that the package finally says that it hasn't been delivered yet and, if they can't deliver it tonight, Diapers.com is going to have them send the package back and they'll send me a new one from a national shipper (I have my fingers crossed for UPS).

Ode to OnTrac (OnTrac sucks)

I can't believe I'm saying this, but OnTrac is even worse than FedEx. I know, crazy. Usually, OnTrac's online tracking system will say that my package was delivered at 5 or 6 or 7:30 PM and my package won't be here until 10 or later at night, sometimes at crazy hours in the morning. But when my package still wasn't here in the morning, I called the customer service. They WOULDN'T change the delivery time to show that my package hadn't arrived yet--they just promised the driver would "come back" (as though he had been here in the first place) and deliver the package by 5PM. Then, I get a package from OnTrac at 11:31 AM. It's not the one I was expecting, so I call to see what is going on with the first package. I was assured the package would be here by 5 and the other one must have gone with another driver.
I wait until 5:27 to call back, even though I got ANOTHER package from OnTrac at 3:30pm. I don't usually get three packages in one day, let alone three from OnTrac. I avoid everyone who isn't UPS if I can help it. But today was a crazy day. So I call back and I'm on the phone with some nice, but totally unhelpful guy. I was super polite and finally asked to talk to a supervisor. But what on earth is up with THREE drivers all coming to my apartment in ONE DAY? Seriously? How ludicrous is that? Why on earth would you not have a set route for a driver to minimize costs?
Anyway, I was finally connected to a supervisor and she wouldn't change the site to show that the package hadn't been delivered yet. Why on earth not? IT HASN'T BEEN DELIVERED YET! The proof, you ask? I don't have the freaking package. That is how I know it hasn't been delivered. I looked all around--maybe it was left at the front of the building, maybe the guy was too lazy to walk up the stairs and left it in the grass. But no. It's just not here. This is ridiculous. Finally, after being placed on hold again, the supervisor said she talked to the driver and he is running "a little bit late" (try a over day--it was supposed to be here by 5pm yesterday), but he'll be here in less than an hour. So he has 45 minutes before I call back and start hating.

Are they really so dishonest that they just lie about their delivery times to make it look better for their company? I can't believe how upset I am. I think it's the lying that really gets to me. If they would just have the correct delivery time on it (when I actually get the package, and not when the driver needs to say he delivered it so his time looks better than everyone else's), I wouldn't care. It's not that big of a deal that it's taking another day to get this package. I don't need anything in it before tomorrow, or even the next day, so who cares? Why lie about it? Just because it's a small company doesn't mean that OnTrac has the right to falsify information to give them an edge over bigger, more established, infinitely superior companies (re: UPS=the best delivery company alive). OnTrac is deceitful and terrible and they always leave my packages baking in the sun instead of knocking on the door (not even the knock and run like FedEx does). A quick knock just to let me know that it's there is not too much to ask. The UPS guy always waits for me to get to the door and then smiles and hands me my package. I like him. He's nice. His substitute is super nice, too. Both of them are some of the most pleasant guys I run into at my apartment. The OnTrac guys? I don't know. I've never seen any one of them more than once, and I usually don't see them at all.

And now he has 40 minutes. And then I am seriously calling. And I won't be pleasant this time.

Cloth Diaper Update

So, we've been using cloth diapers for a couple of weeks now--two or three, I honestly don't remember. And I am, overall, very pleased with them. I'm still working out some little kinks (if the liner peeks out a little at the leg, the diaper will leak--well, the liner gets wet and it seeps all over clothes). I've gotten wet pants from having Rock on my lap, which totally grosses me out. But it's not so bad.
Cleaning up poopy diapers isn't quite as painless as it is with disposables, but it's also not nearly as bad as people seem to think when they think of cloth diapers. A few people asked if I realized that I had to swirl poopy diapers around in the toilet by hand. Gross. I will NEVER do that. I would throw it away before it came to that. I did realize that, if you are using flushable liners, you should also have flushable wipes to go along with them. That has been a lifesaver. Because I don't want to get poop on a reusable wipe that I have to wash. Grody.
The diapers are so cute, and Rock's pants fit so much better with them. I absolutely love them. We are still using disposable diapers at night (Rock pees SO much) and when we go to church (because Michael has to change his diapers there, because I am busy teaching), but nine disposables a week as opposed to the 50+ we were using is so much better.

Aren't they just SO cute? I absolutely love them. They are super bulky, especially with two inserts in them, but they are so cute. And I feel like the snaps will be way harder to get off when Rock starts wanting to take his diaper off and run around naked, as I know he is going to want to do sooner rather than later.
I am slowly switching to hemp inserts. I hate the FuzziBunz ones (which is strange, because I LOVE the FuzziBunz diapers) because they don't fit in the diaper like they should. And they get all stiff and hard to deal with because we don't have a dryer. The Thirsties hemp inserts are amazing. And slightly cheaper than the FuzziBunz, so that is great. [MICHAEL DON'T READ THIS] Getting all hemp inserts is going way over our diaper budget, [MICHAEL MAY CONTINUE READING HERE] but I don't need them all right now, just mostly for naps and if we go out somewhere I don't want to have to change a diaper too frequently.

A great investment, I think. I didn't need much convincing in the first place, but I absolutely love them. I don't think it will be that huge of a deal to completely switch over when we run out of disposables in about a year and a half (I'm hoping to be done with diapers entirely by then, but whatever).

Hi-yah!

Rock is very into karate. Or whatever martial art he is performing now. He just started doing it by himself yesterday. It's so cute.



Just ignore the bad cinematography. Rock wouldn't do it while I was taping and Michael, apparently, sucks at it.

The Rock (Dancing)

Rock has learned to dance. I love it. Everyone should do The Rock.



Oh, no. I deleted the wrong video. This is the second take. He's never as good at the second take. I don't know why I ever try again. The first one, which is now gone forever, was much better. Blah.

Rock is Walking!

Blast off! He's walking around by himself. I was just trying to get a video of him standing up without any help, but I waited a few days, and that was too long, I guess.



I know he's been walking for a whole month now, but it's never too late to watch some of his first steps. It's crazy to think that he used to not walk at all the way he runs around the house now. Bless his heart. He's so cute.

In Preparation for Cloth Diapers

I moved the changing table into the bathroom, where I think it should always go. I am so lucky to have a bathroom that will accommodate a changing table. It should also make things easier for cloth diapering, since it will be right next to the washer. That way, if something dreadful happens, I can just throw it all in the washer and not deal with it.

I've been wanting to move the changing table into the bathroom for a long time now, but today I finally had the motivation required to make it happen. It looks great in there, I think, and soon I won't have to deal with the menacing diaper pail. There isn't a ton of room left over for the diaper pail, unless I move all of the clothes hampers into my bedroom, and I don't want to do that because none of Michael's whites would ever make it to the correct hamper. It's already a struggle getting his other clothes to the hampers as it is now. (Maybe if the other two are in our room, though, it will be easier? Cross your fingers.)

Oh, and I will get the real changing pad cover back on the changing pad soon--it just had an unfortunate accident.

I'm hoping that putting the changing table in the bathroom will also help with getting ready for potty training (or potty learning--whatever I'm supposed to say). I don't know that it will, but it will at least keep Rock's room free of potty smells. And that is worth it.

I am just so excited about the cloth diapers. I'm going to start washing them tomorrow or the next day. Not having a dryer is going to be a little bit of an issue, but I know that the extra work will be worth it in lack of waste thrown into the landfill.

Reduce - Reuse - Recycle

Why I Was Afraid of Cloth Diapers

1) They are ugly.
This turns out to be a complete lie. Even a quick, perfunctory search will debunk this crazy myth. They are the CUTEST diapers alive. There are so many colors and even prints out there that are just too adorable for words.

2) You have to change them every 20 minutes.
This, also, turns out to be a lie. There are inserts that are super absorbent and you can use as many inserts as you want/need--even for overnight.

3) They are super messy and you have to deal with baby poop.
This isn't entirely true, either. With a flushable liner and a diaper sprayer, there is no need to deal with poop and poop smells any more than a disposable diaper.

4) Cloth diapers=all laundry, all the time
This isn't true, either. While, with cloth diapers, you have to do 3-4 extra loads a week, it doesn't have to be folded. It's laundry, but only the easy part. And it doesn't mean a ton more soap--you use a fraction of the soap you would use for regular laundry.

5) They are hard to use.
This isn't true at all. You don't have to fold a crazy piece of fabric into a diaper shape. There are all-in-ones that do everything for you--all you have to do is Velcro or snap it up. The end. Just like fastening a disposable.

6) They are bulky.
True. But who doesn't love a huge baby bum?


Why I Was Drawn to Cloth Diapers

1) They are much more environmentally friendly
This is very true. It's not even funny how true this is. I hate throwing a billion diapers away every week, not to mention all of the wipes and the diaper pail bags. It's a huge, smelly, grotesque mess. Grody.

2) They are cheap.
This is a little true, and a little not. Cloth diapers can cost about as much as disposable, and you plunk down the whole thing (most of it, anyway) all at the beginning, so it is a huge investment. There are expensive cloth diapers, wipes, sprays, inserts, liners, etc and there are plenty of accessories to go with them--wet bags, dirty diaper bags (like diaper pails), diaper sprayer. And then if you go with a laundry service, it all gets pretty spendy. But there are ways to make it better for your budget--even without having to get your hands dirty (or smelly).

3) They are better for your baby.
This is totally a great reason to use cloth diapers. Fewer rashes, earlier potty training, and a cuter bum.


So, HELLO CLOTH DIAPERS.
I have decided on FuzziBunz. They are cute, super soft, easy (one-size pocket diapers for us), and I love the snaps. AND (wait, there's more) I love that you can adjust both the waist and the legs. This is excellent for our baby with a skinny waist and chubby legs. What a sweetie.

In a few short weeks, when we've used most of our open boxes disposable diapers (we're saving some boxes for emergency use and in case Michael really can't handle it), we'll be using super-soft, super-cute, super-everything-I-want-in-a-diaper FuzziBunz. I am so excited, I can't wait, which is also why we are going to be saving so many boxes of diapers to use "just in case"--which I am also hoping never comes up. I seriously cannot wait to use the last 150 diapers, or however many we have in the changing table right now.

Aren't they SO cute?

Also, I'm secretly hoping the bulk of the diapers makes Rock's pants fit--the skinny minnie.

Hooray for a New Diaper Bag!

So, about a month ago, I realized that our diaper bag has a huge tear in it from being overfilled, so I went out searching for a better, bigger bag. I couldn't find a bigger one. I guess I have a huge diaper bag (how on earth does anyone fit any toys in a smaller diaper bag?). But I found a great bag that seems super sturdy. I absolutely love it. And I LOVE all of the matching accessories that I got with it (the quick-change bag for the diapers and wipes, the changing pad, the wet bag, and the matching stroller blanket). It looks amazing! I can't wait to use it.

Oh, here's the girl's site on Etsy--she is awesome, so sweet and super great. I asked her about a million questions before I actually placed my order.
Oh, her site is closed because she's on summer break. I'll put up the link when she's back.

But here's a picture of my new bag and all of the extras!

I love argyle. I love brown. I love cream. I love that the blue isn't overwhelming (but it had to be there, since my baby is a boy--I was very tempted to get the pink/brown argyle) but I absolutely love this one so much. And, of course, I've already stuffed it full of Rock's stuff.

Thank You, Dan Fast Mufflers, I have never forgotten you

Do you know the muffler man, the muffler man, the muffler man?
Do you know the muffler man with his lifetime guarantee?
If your car sounds like an old tin can, take it to the muffler man.
Do you know the muffler man? Dan Fast is his name.


It's more than 15 years later, and some days I still wake up with this song stuck in my head. That was some GREAT advertising.

Rock's First Birthday Party

Lots of friends came. We had so much fun. Of course, it started late because people got really lost on the way. I don't know why "I live in the airport" can't mean "park in that huge airport parking lot," but it never seems to mean that. When we have people over more often, it will get easier, I'm sure, and maybe things can start on time.

I made a beautiful tractor cakewreck with a field cake for everyone. For Rock (and my diabetic dad), I made a mild apple spice cake with homemade applesauce, almond flour, and fresh whipped cream. Yum!

I was a little surprised Rock still fits into the shirt and overalls that my mom and dad got him for Christmas, but he does. It's still so cute. We had to change him into short overalls after the cake because he had cake ALL over his pants. So cute.

I loved the tractor theme. I can't wait to have another tractor party. Maybe two.

Sure, it's Two Months Late

But Rock can scootch around (as of about March 30th, so I guess the post is really closer to one month late, but it feels like a long time). You've probably already seen it on Facebook, but it should be posted here, too. And next time, everything will be posted here first. Cross my heart.



The crazy thing is that on Friday (May 6th), he started to crawl like a big boy, with his belly off the ground. He still doesn't do it much, but he can do it. He doesn't like to show off, so he still scootches around grasping both his hands together and dragging his legs behind. He knows that this makes me happy.

Family Photos

Finally we got family pictures taken. A year after Rock was born.

Winter did an amazing job! I can't wait to get more pictures taken by her!

Purple Plum Photo

Isn't my baby so cute? He doesn't look like a baby at all anymore. How did he get so big? And Winter is exceptional at hiding the ginormous gash on Rock's nose--what a miracle worker! Rock woke up with the hugest, deepest scratch on his nose. It pretty much covered his whole nose. And, days later, it still hasn't healed. It's the worst scratchie he's ever had in his whole life. Thanks, Winter, for fixing it on the photos! He looks wonderful!

I love everything about these pictures. I can't wait to see the rest of them. I am so excited about them I am dancing around the living room. I will probably dance around all day. Also, Rock LOVES looking at them. He is such a sweet boy.

Michael just told me I order too many things from Amazon. I wonder why he thinks that...

A Little Video

I couldn't get this to upload earlier, so I'm going to try to put a super adorable video of Rock up now.

Catching up on Rock's First Year

Somehow, the time has just flown by. So much has happened in the last little while. We've moved to a cute apartment where my friend, Joel, used to live. Since we moved, Rock has started scootching, rolling over like a pro, talking and blabbering, pulling himself up by himself, pointing out objects and pictures, growling like a lion, asserting himself at bedtime, showing distinct likes and dislikes for food, taking food out of his mouth to play with it and spitting it out when he doesn't like it, and, just today, crawling like a baby with his belly off the floor. I can't believe how his development has skyrocketed. He got his first haircut on his first birthday, and I really can't believe how big my baby is. He's such a big boy. It's crazy how I am just watching him grow into the grownup he's going to be. I mean, he's still not quite there yet, no matter how hard he tries to insist, but still.

On Wednesday evening, we were in the car after visiting my friend, Lori, and her family because they won't be able to make it to Rock's birthday party, and Rock was happily chattering in the car. He stopped and said "goo goo gaa gaa" and then was silent for a little minute. Too cute! Somehow, he knew that I was lamenting the loss of his babyhood and decided to pretend to be a baby. What an adorable, empathetic, sweet, kind boy Michael and I have been blessed with.

Here are just a few of the highlights from the last year (a VERY few...there is so much and it's so hard to choose the couple of images to encompass the first year of Rock's life):
I guess they are in no particular order. I'm not sure how that happened.

Lace

This is my first stab at knitting Estonian lace. A pretty doily I'm giving (or, by now, I hope to have already given) to my friend Crystal. Yipee!

I have a blog!

I totally forgot. Oopsie. More to come later.