One-Year Check Up

Oops, I just saw that this was never published!

-----------------------------------------------

All was well at Moses' check up on November 29th. He does, however, have a cold and that's been causing all the mucus (Uh, for a month?) issues. Dr. Gray was very accepting of our decision to postpone his vaccinations. He also said, again, that Moses' teeth should come up any day now because you can see the vertical lines on the gums. Sure. I'll believe it when I see it (them)!

Stats:

31 inches (90th percentile)
21 pounds (25th percentile)
48 cm. noggin (90th percentile--he definitely belongs in this family)

So, my little boy grew 11 inches and 12.5 pounds in 1 years and 2 days. I can't believe it!

-Lindsey

His first birthday!

On November 28th, Moses turned one! I can't believe he's one already: it's gone by so fast! I was emotional all day just thinking about that wonderful Tuesday that he was born. We went about our day the same as usual. He went to PDO because I had two classes and schoolwork , which was tough because I really wanted to hang out with him! Here are some pictures from that morning. He was more interested in playing and running around the yard than snuggling with his mom for some pictures. He's such a toddler now.







He also received a balloon bouquet from his Gram-Gram (my mom, Kelly and sisters) because he adored the balloons at his Aunt Raychel's party.











And no, he still doesn't have any teeth.

-Lindsey

(hanging my head in shame)

Sorry, again, for taking so long to update. It's been a whirlwind of vacation and school for the last two weeks.
For Thanksgiving, we went to the great state of New Mexico to visit our families. Our first stop was to see Dave's family (Mimi and Papa plus Cousin Jasmin). We had a great time and Moses loved exploring the house and playing with his cousin. The morning we left we ate at IHOP with everyone and Moses entertained us with his lemon antics.








Next, we moved on to my grandparents house. It was a lot of fun seeing so many family members and showing Moses off to some that he hasn't seen in awhile. Moses spent hours just exploring the house. He kept us on our toes and I may have lost a few pounds from the exercise of it all. He had his first turkey dinner there and really enjoyed the spread.










When we got home, it was freezing in our house because we'd turned off the heater and a cold front had come into the area when we were gone. We all bundled up in layers of clothing to get warm. Moses had socks on his hands to help warm those tiny fingers. It was hilarious to watch him work without his thumbs!







We loved seeing everyone but were happy to get home so we could all relax and enjoy the familiar.

-Lindsey

All the makings of a boating-enthusiast

Moses is getting closer and closer to saying real words, but it's still a lot of gobbledygook. He says "da" to refer to Dave and Doggy Bella, but that's really been the only sound with meaning.

Moses learned to point recently, and while he is pointing, he clearly says, "Yacht." We think it's "that," but we aren't entirely sure. He also says it when he gets excited and isn't pointing so we don't know what to make of it. Considering his love of water and this new knack for naming a watercraft, we're certain he's got sailing in his future.

-The Skipper

Backtracking

I've missed some bloggable moments lately because of school so I thought I'd backtrack a little bit.

The first weekend in November Moses and I went to visit my Mom, Kelly and sisters (Raychel and Paige). We stayed one night in Wichita Falls (where they live) and then we all drove to Dallas the next day as part of Raychel's 18th birthday celebration at the Gaylord Texan. From that little time on the road and without Dave, I've learned that a) Moses needs about 18 hours to adjust to a new situation (so don't count on holding him anytime before that) b) I could never be a single mom c) I shouldn't let Moses out of the stroller because he'll just want to push it, slowly, around the store d) Moses loves Mylar balloons.

We had a really good time visiting family and look forward to an even longer visit around Christmas time.

(not really a piano man)

(the birthday girl!)


Moses with my Mom (Gram Gram)

Me with (L-R) sisters (Raychel and Paige) and cousin (Alyssa)

I also taught Moses the sport of pillow diving, which has made for some hilarious afternoons.

Dave and I've been hard at work in the front yard trying to get shrubs planted before winter sets in. Moses is a huge help with the equipment.

(yes, I'm holding the shovel handle!)

We've also learned that Moses is a big fan of The Arcade Fire. PBS played one of their Austin City Limits concerts the other afternoon and Moses went nuts. It's really the first time Moses has had a response to any sort of music so we are pleased he has good taste.

-Lindsey

We're officially a three-ring circus.

Dave and I are happy to announce that we were married on Friday, November 9th at 3 o'clock in the afternoon!

We've wanted to get married for some time now and Friday was the opportunity we'd been waiting for. We love this time of year, and I'm obsessed with numbers working well together (11/09/07) so the day was perfect (and in the mid 70s to top it off!). Dave, Moses, and I went down to the courthouse where the Honorable Judge Hansen married us in his courtroom. It was just the three of us with the judge, and there was something very special and intimate about that. The judge also incorporated Moses in our vows, which was a special touch and brought on the waterworks (okay, my waterworks).

In five minutes time, we were skipping along as husband and wife and child...and nearly run over by a woman certain she could operate her car in reverse while smoking and talking on a cell phone. After taking a minute to concoct possible headlines for the near-disaster (Newlyweds flattened by PT Cruise-er; Marriage falls flat in record time), we ran the usual post-ceremony errands (Sonic!) and headed home.

Later that afternoon, our sweet neighbor took photos of us at a local arboretum to commemorate the big day, and that evening, Sally (Gram) and Maegan (Aunt Maegan) came over to watch Moses while Dave and I celebrated with dinner and drinks.

I couldn't imagine a better, more relaxing wedding day.

-Mrs. Ring

Hallo-what?

Halloween wasn't all that spectacular for us. Both Dave and I had class so we couldn't show Moses off to our neighborhood friends, and Moses had a big case of mommy-clinger-itis that made the night a bit of a challenge.

However, this afternoon Moses attended a little Halloween party at his Parent's Day Out. I didn't get pictures of him in his Yoda costume because I was too busy steering him opposite the sugar cookies and mini-blinds, but hopefully, someone there got some pictures that I can share with you soon.

Even without the Halloween hoopla, we've had some fun moments this week (and thoroughly trashed the house in the process).

Anyone up for hide n' seek? Or bacon?

His feet are stepping on a scale.
I wish I was that satisfied with my weight.

I'm pretty sure he hit me up
for some money after this picture was taken.

Ladies and gentlemen,
step right up and see the amazing Tinkertoy eater.

He's taking his nightly laps around the living room
(in new shoes, which make him walk faster).

Bobby Darin would be proud.

Our day in a walnut shell.

-Lindsey

A blogger's logger

I'm a little uncertain how I should feel about the coming winter. On one hand, Moses' poor skin is red and irritated, which requires frequent lotion application; on the other hand, we can finally tap into Moses' supply of winter clothes (which we've been hoarding since last season's sales). Skin issues aside, it's kind of hard to compete with this:





The plaid-shirt ensemble has me humming Monty Python's Lumberjack song. Once started, the tune is impossible to forget! It's going to be a long, long day.

-Lindsey

T-minus 31

Today Moses is 11 months! I can't believe that we'll be celebrating his first birthday in only 1 month. Yes, he is walking, talking (almost), and solving complicated algebraic equations, but he's still my baby.

Today was yet another freakishly warm fall day so we spent the morning outside.





We also took some more videos of Moses to celebrate his 11 month-self and to make up for the dark (okay, black) video in my last post.

-Lindsey

On turning pro

I'm so impressed with speed Moses has learned to walk: I mean really walk. Of course, he spends a large part of the day practicing--walking to the bedroom, beelining to the bathroom (his favorite place unless I have the mind to close the door), circling the sofa, and hunting for doggy Bella. His endless determination to explore his surroundings and learn new things is admirable. It's so amazing to watch him study an object that was once out of his immediate view and reach: he'll talk under his breath and turn it around in his hands, figuring it all out. He's also started to carry his finds around as inanimate companions while he scouts the house for fun (and sometimes trouble--see bathroom reference above).

Tonight, I took some videos to show the progress he's made in the past few weeks. Unfortunately, I did not have the foresight to adjust the exposure or turn on the overhead light so one of the videos is impossibly dark.

-Lindsey

Fun with Photoshop

Early this week I downloaded Adobe's trial version of Photoshop Elements 6. I've always wanted to learn my way around Photoshop and Illustrator, but at $600 a pop, it's not a practical hobby at the moment. I'm learning that Elements is a good alternative, especially since the price is an eighth of the other softwares'.

So, in my non-existent leisure time, I've been playing around with some of my favorite pictures, making signatures for an online message board I frequent. I'm pretty pleased with the results:





-Lindsey

Genetics

All these months of denying that Moses has my sensitive, eczema-prone skin went down the drain this morning.
Moses woke up with bright red cheeks, which at first I thought was due to our use of the heater last night and that his skin was simply dry. Then, we noticed that he had spots on his torso too. Thinking it was related to the mysterious short-lived fever he had Friday night, I called the doctor and he suggested I bring him in.
I was certain it was going to be Fifth Disease (not really a disease) because of the brightness of his cheeks, unexplained fever, and restlessness over the past few nights, but Dr. Gray said that even though Moses probably had a viral infection last week that contributed to the rash, it is ultimately his dry, sensitive skin that's causing the problem and that it's his body's way of telling us we're in for a long winter.
Great. I guess this year we're going double our purchases of vaseline, baby oil, and shea butter creme lotion and put the humidifier on wheels. I'm sorry kiddo.

(Now, after applying some Aquaphor, his cheeks look 75% better.)

-Lindsey

From the weekend

It was freakishly warm last weekend so Moses got to play outside with his dad at least one more time before fall settles in. If you didn't know, Moses is the stereotypical boy in that he loves being outdoors and getting dirty (we're talking ring-around-the-tub type dirty). After a good time outside, it's sometimes hard to get him inside peacefully.

We've also found a miracle in Baby Mum-Mums. They are rice rusks (which taste and dissolve like paper), and Moses adores them. One day last week, his teachers at Parent's Day Out told us that after finishing his first mum-mum in record time, he went over to his diaper bag, dumped out the contents, and secured a second one.

-Lindsey