Impending calamity...

Angus is close to walking. I don't know about any of you, but that sentence is enough to strike fear in my little heart.

After months of crawling only backward, Angus one day decided it was time to move forward, and it's been a steady stream of baby-proofing, my shouts of "Angus, no! Don't eat that!", and my steady decline into further madness. Any day now, he'll be strolling around the house like he owns it. Which is great from a developmental standpoint - not so great from the point of view of my overburdened sanity!

Anyway, Angus is chugging along quite well. He's babbling like a drunken Irishman pretty much any given moment that he's awake, he's eating like a champ (if you get the chance to hold him, you'll understand that he's not missing any meals), and he's getting into anything and everything he can. It's hard to believe he's almost one year old (!!!), but that's right, one year ago today, I was two weeks away from my due date - large and in charge and ready for him to be born already! More on the past year later, but for now, a few pictures to get the blog-wheels greased again.

His hair has recovered nicely from the Daycare Disaster '14. Well, it's debatable whether it's "nice" hair. But it's definitely    A LOT of crazy hair.

Umm...I may think the legal drinking age is a bit strange, but you're still a bit on the young side to be hitting the hooch.

Pondering the meaning of life on one of our three visits to Roosevelt Island last weekend.

He looooves the swings!

He also loooooves the bath tub!

Crazy Baby Syndrome

Well, I've officially fallen off the blog wagon, given that it's been well over one month since I last wrote (and Angus is not even 10 months old yet), but this tired mother is going to try to resurrect a frequent blogging habit.

Anyway, nothing too major has happened since I last blogged, but Angus is (surprise, surprise) continuing to grow. Physically and mentally, he's growing - it seems - almost daily, and his curiosity and sense of adventure seems to be growing even faster than his chubby little thighs. To be fair, Angus is only in the 50th percentile for weight for his age (though at a healthy 21 pounds, that's more a statement about the obesity epidemic in this country than any statement on his svelteness). But his hair has, for the most part, grown back from the daycare hair massacre, and he now is the proud owner of 4 teeth. 2 on top, 2 on the bottom. With which he LOVES to chomp on his mother's shoulders and arms. He's also standing up a lot more, though crawling forward still seems to puzzle him. In addition, he's started sleeping through the night 4-5 nights/week, which is fantastic. I need to train myself not to wake up thinking I hear him crying so much, but that will come, I'm sure.

The main events highlighted in the photos this post are: a 5k for breast cancer that Angus and I ran in early May and a day trip to Harpers Ferry we made this past weekend with a friend. This was actually the first 5k I've ever run and, as I expected, it was over almost before it began. But running a race with a stroller was a bit more challenging. I didn't necessarily WANT to take anyone out with the BOB, but if it had happened...all's fair in racing and war, right? But it was a fun day, and Angus soaked up attention from my team mates.

Overall, Angus and I have been foraying into DC more often on our daily jogs. While I don't always love or even like living here, early morning runs do showcase the city at its best. I really hope Angus grows up enjoying being outside....

We went to Harpers Ferry on a beautiful Saturday. It's not the most exciting place in the world, but it was nice to walk around, grab some low-key lunch, and just relax outside of the immediate DC area. I'm always a fan of those activities. Angus was on his best behavior, though eating while holding him is becoming increasingly difficult. He is a squirmer and a grabber and a nutjob. I love him more than life itself, but that kid is a crazy person. In a good way, but I only envision my levels of exhaustion escalating as he becomes more and more mobile. We're also going to need to baby-proof the house VERY soon.

Pre-5k, he wore a bib one of my coworkers forfeited. Fortunately, it was a walker's bib and thus not chipped; otherwise, he would have gotten a better time than me.

DINNER TIME!!!

Getting into things he has no business getting into.

OH SO EXCITED ABOUT A WATER BOTTLE.

Harpers Ferry - this one is for you, Dad.

Great views from HF.

We ran into DC to run the 5k (of course - duh!). The Mall was dead, so I took the time for a photo opp.

Crazy person.

The Team.

An Exciting Few Days...

Angus and I are on our own this week, as Christopher, Abbey, and Molly headed to Fort Lauderdale for spring break. I have about negative 40 days of vacation, so I wasn't able to go with, but Angus and I have been jamming on in DC by ourselves. That's not to say it hasn't been an interesting few days.

Monday morning, I received a text that no parent ever wants to see - in essence, that there had been gunfire in the backyard of our daycare provider's neighbor's house. According to our provider, the police were there, the kids were safe, and she would keep us updated as to when we could pick them up. Suffice it to say, I was a bit stressed until I received the follow up text saying things were clearing up. I picked up Angus and we had an unexpected afternoon together, which was nice. And it turns out that the gunfire was someone "practicing shooting" inside a neighboring house that's currently under construction. The whole thing was VERY bizarre, but Angus is safe and it wasn't a gunman bent on destruction, so I'll not look that gift horse in the mouth (though I will continue to wonder what is WRONG with people???).

We also thought Maya was a goner for a few days. She hadn't been seen since Saturday, so I reported her missing and was set to prowl the neighborhood posting signs. Low and behold, when we got home, I heard a faint mewing coming from the shed. Dummy hadn't bothered to make a peep when I'd been calling her name in the back yard before, but long story short, she was fine. Hungry after 4+ days trapped in the shed, but fine. I know all readers of this blog were very stressed about the possible disappearance of Maya.

Anyway, a few pictures to round things off.

Angus is now able to crawl...backward. No real forward movement other than a bit of shuffling, but the kid can go backward pretty quickly now!

I'm sure Maya's VERY happy to be back within reach of Angus.

I'm not sure that book is quite up his alley, but hey, if my kid shows an interest in reading, who am I to judge?

Just a cute grin :).

Rainy, Rainy Portland

I once again had occasion to head to the West Coast last week, as I was attending a conference for work. As my dad has friends not far from there, he met me in Portland to further develop his babysitting (and diaper changing) skills. The hotel we stayed at was just a few blocks from the conference center, and pretty centrally-located (or so we were told) for downtown Portland. The room itself was probably the worst-arranged room I've ever stayed in, as there was about 2 feet of spare space once you got past the bed and the crib, but it was clean and there was free coffee. So obviously Dad and I were happy.

Angus was his typical happy-go-lucky self most of the time, and Dad's help was MUCH appreciated. Unfortunately, it rained for about 99.4% of the time we were there - and not just light, sprinkling rain...I'm talking DOWNPOURS - which put a damper (no pun intended) on our extracurricular activities. We did still manage to get out to a few good restaurants, however, and Dad frequented the nearby Starbucks "drive-through".

After my conference ended, we drove over to the Oregon coast for the day/night. After a brief stop at the Tillamook cheese/ice cream factory that I would prefer not to ever speak of again, we arrived in Pacific City, a scenic little town my parents have frequented in the past. While the weather still left much to be desired, we were able to walk on the beaches during a few precious lulls in the rain, and Angus showed his true adventurer spirit. Despite the wind, rain, and cold, that kid was smiling ear-to-ear the entire time. I think we have a little outdoorsman on our hands!

We won't talk about how early we went to bed (only because of Angus, of course), or how many "classic" movies my dad watched, or how much food I purchased for the one-day trip to and from the coast. But Angus was well-behaved, he and Grandpa got some quality one-on-one time, and we arrived back in DC late Sunday night in once piece. Can hardly ask for more than that!

Beautiful Oregon coast.

Pictures a bit out of order, but Angus jazzed up for the final leg of our trip (Chicago to DC).

He's a big fan of riding in shopping carts now. As evidenced by the legs.

Happy with Grandpa.

At lunch. An increasingly common face he makes - often accompanied by a whole lot of jabbering.

At a pizza place in Portland. It was absolutely pouring as we waited for the bus there. And it stopped, of course, once we were inside. Regardless, the pizza was very tasty!

Rainbow on the drive back from the coast.

Big strong Angus! Guess we're going to have to get this kid some shoes before too long.

That water bottle was his absolute favorite thing ever for a few days.

Angus and mommy.

A *Brief Hiatus and Angus's First Business Trip

This is the longest I've gone without blogging since Angus was born (you knew it was bound to happen that I would lapse). I blame it on a combination of factors - the fact that my computer at home is slow as sh*t and they have blocked blogger at the office, the fact that it's been a miserable, snowy winter, which has rendered me more or less incapable of any ambition to get things done, and, finally, the old stand-by, tiredness.

Much has changed in the world of Angus. He is sitting up on his own now (with the occasional face-plant to the front), he's turned into a complete jabberbox, he's eating pureed foods of any and ALL varieties (though he has a definite preference for bananas), and he's just very, very engaged in everything going on around him. He reaches for everything in his line of sight, he's laughing a lot, chewing on everything, including my hands, and you can see his little brain computing when he's seeing something new. All very exciting for me, a first time parent, and probably all very routine to everyone else reading this blog. But he's growing, growing, growing, and I can't wait to see what he does next!

 

The pictures for this entry are from our recent trip to Monterey, CA. I was going for work, and my two colleagues I traveled with encouraged me to bring him. Some called me crazy, a few called me super mom (or maybe that was my fantasy?), but all in all, it was as painless as can be when traveling with an infant. A bit fussy on the plane ride out to CA, he was a true star on the way back. Which was good, because my coworkers stayed on in CA, leaving me to deal with the two-day trip home by myself! I will spare everyone my tirade about American Airlines.

But Angus slept and flirted his way through San Francisco, Charlotte, and Baltimore, and we had some good Mommy & Angus bonding time :).

After a pretty brutal winter - though I do realize that we in DC had it easier than, for example, my brother and family in Boston - spring is finally starting to show signs of showing up. So hopefully, as my mood improves and as we get outside more, I'll be a bit better about updating the blog!

View of the bay from the hotel balcony- not bad at all.

On our free day, we walked around by the bay and stopped at a French bakery for treats - well, I got carrot cake, not so French :).

Again by the bay. Tons of boats. Must be nice!

Angus at the end of day #1 of our trip back. Stuck in Charlotte for the night, he was remarkably chipper. More chipper than me, for sure.

BUT he's still a baby and occasionally employs the dramatics.

Wearing the mock turtleneck onesie given by G&G Marden. Let this be the first AND last mock turtleneck he wears.

Really not sure what he was doing here.

Sleeping like an angel the day after we got back from CA. A little jetlag, perhaps?

At an Italian restaurant in Monterey with my two coworkers.

Goofy face at one of our job fairs. He was a better recruiter than me!

 

Too tired so a few pictures...

Angus has recently started waking up 4-6 times/night, such as last night when he woke up 4 times between 8am and 3pm, then wouldn't fully go back to sleep. I'm most certainly not the first parent to deal with sleep deprivation, and I definitely won't be the last (though I do have to ask, does it ever end????), but this doesn't change the fact that I'm exhausted both mentally and physically. Writing a witty blog entry is far beyond my abilities right now, so here are a few recent pictures of the pain in the butt himself and one video.

A First Trip and A New Year

We've now passed one major milestone with Angus with minimal casualties - his first time flying. I have heard countless horror stories about the perils of flying with small children (honestly, I'm fairly certain there is a support group somewhere for those traumatized by the experience), but I'm happy to report that Angus was, for the most part, very well behaved, and, though I did need to change Angus's outfit in the plane bathroom once, there were no majorly disgusting blow-outs.

Anyway, we flew to Denver so Angus could meet with great-Grammy Kay - and I had not seen her or any of the Denver crew in a few years. I'm pretty sure Angus passed Grammy's litmus test for great-grandchild-dom, and everyone else he met seemed to be pretty taken with his antics (which now include a near-constant protruding tongue). The Christmas meal was a success, if I do say so myself, and Angus came away with a nice haul of new clothes, books, and stuffed animals. He was pretty oblivious to his gifts, of course, preferring to try to eat the wrapping paper over anything, but his parents certainly appreciated the nice presents :).

Christopher flew back the evening of the 26th, and Angus and I went up to Estes Park with Grandma and Grandpa. Estes, site of many cousin shenanigans growing up, will be a place I always think fondly of, and hopefully Angus will have the opportunity to go back at least a few more times, as well. While the four of us didn't exactly bring the house down with late-night partying (the average bedtime, adults included, seemed to hover around 8:30pm), we did have some nice meals, have a nice drive in Rocky Mountain National Park, and Grandpa and I went on a short hike at the Y. All in all, not a bad way to spend the last days of 2013.

Now on to 2014 - I'm not sure if Angus has identified his resolutions yet, the little slacker. I'd imagine his list  would be something along the lines of "learn to swallow properly", "master the art of non-flailing limbs", and "EAT FOOD!!!", but maybe he's cooking up something I don't even know about. Who knows with this kid.

Angus attempting to stuff his face with one of his presents. He hasn't quite learned yet what is actually edible and, more importantly, what is NOT supposed to be eaten.

Hanging out at our cabin at the Y.

View from near Bible Point at the Y.

Christmas Eve dinner with great-Grammy.

I wonder what they're talking about?

The path to Bible Point was snowier/slicker than we'd anticipated, so we turned back before reaching the summit.

At our hotel downtown. King Angus looks pretty small in a king-sized bed.

Opening presents with his sisters.

Angus tried a bit of my pho broth. He seemed to like the broth well enough, though he LOVED the spoon.

Simultaneous tongue out and feet in motion.