Has It Really Been a Year?!?

Let me begin by apologizing. I am embarrassed that more than a year has passed since my last blog. If you have children, you understand (although many of you are inspirational "bloggers" who put me to shame, nonetheless); if you don't have children, at the risk of sounding cliche (and maybe a little -okay exactly -like a Johnson & Johnson commercial), let me just say, baby changes everything. Being a mother, a wife, and a professional officially whips my tail multiple times in the same day (all in the best imaginable way possible, of course). I am also not so tech-savvy. But, whatever... excuses, excuses, excuses. I know what you all really want to see are pictures of Henry, which I can handle uploading. And I love reading and seeing pictures on everyone else's blog, so I figure it's only fair I share our joy in return. What's a few more minutes of lost sleep these days anyway? Certainly a small price to pay for keeping in touch with our far-away friends. So, that said, I am committed (or at least seriously well intentioned) to blogging once a week. If you haven't given up on us already, please stay tuned.

Now that I have fed my guilt monster, on to Henry... He is 15 mos. old now! Wild. He has been walking since 10 mos., so I consider him an old-timer toddler at this point. I know every first time mother thinks every age (with the exception of the first six weeks) is the best age, but truly this child grows more entertaining by the day. At 15 mos.:

• He can show you his muscles and how old he is.
• He can pat his tummy, rub his head, stomp his feet, wiggle his fingers and toes -all in a book he loves to read right now. (It is called Clap Your Hands, and I highly recommend it.)
  
• He can also moo like a cow, bark like a dog, baa like a sheep, quack like a duck, and roar like a lion, to name just a few.
  
• He loves camels, but I don’t know what sound they make. (I think the spit, but not sure I want to start that.)
  
• He also loves tractors and points to airplanes in the sky.
• He adores going to school (most) everyday.
  
• His favorite thing to do in the morning before leaving for school is to give the dogs treats.
  
• He can say Boo-Boo and tries to say Scout.
  
• He also shakes his head “no” when they try to steal his food, although more often than not, he ends up feeding it to them anyway.
  
• He gives kisses and lots of hugs.
  
• He can say water in Spanish, and if you ask him where his shoes are, also in Spanish, he will get them for you.
  
• He likes to dance while watching So You Think You Can Dance, and claps for himself when he is done.
• However, his most recent noteworthy accomplishment... A couple of Sundays ago, he took off his dirty diaper and dumped his "earnings" on the kitchen floor… Very proud moment for him. Me? Not so much.
  
• Tonight, he pooped in the big boy toilet. Marked improvement from the kitchen floor. Don't worry, we aren't potty training yet. It was just bad timing on my part with the diaper change. He is super squirmy for diaper changes these days, so I didn't think I'd have enough time to get another diaper on. Plus, what's another terd on the floor at this point? So instead, I just ran him across the hall. I am happy to report he made it, and waved bye-bye as we flushed. Who knew poop could be so cute?

Enough with the narrative, on to the visual...

Like Mother Like Son

First train ride -he took it VERY seriously.

A perfect Saturday morning: a fun run with friends, followed by feeding the ducks.
It's too hot now to run, even at 8:00 a.m.
But the three of us (and the ducks, I am sure) are looking forward to fall!