Homecoming

Today Declan and I joined his Aunt Lulu and cousin Delana at the Grinnell homecoming parade! I swear, the entire town was there. It was very quaint.

Here's the psychological mystery of the day: why do marching bands make me cry? They don't make me sad, or nostalgic, or any other strong emotion. I was never in one, nor do I particularly *adore* their music, I mean, it's alright, but nothing to cry about... And yet, every single time I'm within 20 feet of a marching band, I tear up. I was lucky that today I could just blame it on my cold. Actually, now that I think about it, the same thing happens with large choirs. The mystery deepens.

Okay, anyway. Our colds are getting a little better, but last night was the worst sleep I've had in months. Declan woke up screaming every half hour or so. When Aaron came home from work at 2:30, he took Declan for a drive so that I could get a little bit of sleep before work. Ugh. It was like having a newborn again! Except harder, because now the magical boobies have run out of magic. Plus he's like 15 pounds heavier, louder and super strong, so when he thrashes around, hits, bites, screams, etc, it actually hurts.

On that note, it's off to bed with us. Wish me luck.

End of the Road

Our days of taking long walks, playing at the park in the evening, and hanging out in the yard with the neighbors are numbered. I feel it in my bones. There's a cold breeze at night, and even during the day, it's not exactly shorts-and-t-shirt weather.

I know it's super early to start whining about this, but I just hate winter. I hate not being able to comfortably spend time outside. I hate having to think about my outfits more than "Is this sundress clean? No? This one? No? Well does it smell okay? Yes? Okay. On it goes."

Declan and I both have bad colds right now. Between that and PMS, I woke up the worst mood EVER. It's a good thing I was off today, because I would have been useless at work. My head is throbbing and full of snot, and my tonsils are rubbing against each other and feel like sandpaper. I can't blame Declan for being fussy, if he feels how I do. I'm fussy, too.

Aaron was kinda sick yesterday, but he felt much better today, and he was such a good sport while I was wallowing in self-pity / kleenex / fleece blankets and being extremely lazy this morning. He definitely had plenty of ammo to start an argument, but he was super nice and kept Declan mostly entertained so that I could vegetate on the couch.

So in return, I got off of my ass this afternoon, went to the grocery store, cleaned out the fridge, and did like five loads of laundry. There are still dirty dishes in the sink, but hey, I have to leave something for him to do, right?

I'm about ready to brush my teeth and crawl into bed next to my snoring snuggle bug. Tomorrow I will try to upload the video I took of him tonight - right after he got out of the bath, we were playing patty cake (he usually just claps the whole time, while I do all of the other motions) and he decided to join in on the "roll it" part! So cute. The video also has him making out with Bruce, and some walking. Yay!

Number Two

No, not poop.

Although I wouldn't be surprised if I did blog about poop one day.

But today, I'm talking about baby number two.

I've been asked about 1,763,245 times when we're planning on "giving" Declan a brother or sister. And I always answer, "It'll be a while!"

I want Declan to be potty trained. I want him to be able to grasp the concept of sharing his parent-time / toys / space with a sibling. I want to be finished with my schooling. I want to be back to my pre-pregnancy weight or below. I want to be financially stable. I want to be older.

Basically, we are looking at 3-4 more years.

While we're on the subject of the next baby, Aaron and I have been discussing names more lately. I hate to ruin the surprise so early, but here are some that we're thinking of:

Archer (almost certainly our next boy name - no stealing!)

Sawyer

Jonah

Leo

Beckett (middle name only, to avoid confusion with cousin Becky.)

Annabelle

Everly

Isla

Rosemary

Violet

Hadley

Scarlett

Just felt like putting those out there. We're totally open to commentary and/or suggestions, since we have tons of time.

And number two won't be our last. Three is my minimum. Five is Aaron's maximum. We're pretty settled on three, but I might be able to squeeze a fourth in there (out there?) once he sees how fun three is. :)

Eleven Month Update

Blog redesign! Why? Because I caved and got a Formspring (http://www.formspring.me/natalie7s19), and I linked it to my blog, and I had to make it nice and bright around here juuust in case I get more traffic!

Anyway, Declan is officially eleven months and one day old. And he is getting so freaking smart. Just earlier, I was opening the bathroom door (which we keep closed because Bruce is a total trash-hound so the garbage is in there) and carrying Declan (because God knows he has to go everywhere Mommy goes) and he reached out and knocked on the door and said, "Dadadada!" He must have seen me knock on the door while Aaron is showering (captive audiences are the best!) one too many times.

He loves to make motorboat sounds with his lips, he can take up to (but not more than) five steps by himself, he eats all day long, and he's still crazy about bathtime.

His nose scab fell off today :)

Still working on planning his party. I have given up the ordering-super-cute-themed-decorations idea, because it was just going to cost too much money. I'll try and con Aaron into going to a party store sometime, so that I don't have to resort to Walmart paper plates.

Also, family that's reading this, will you put Aaron and me in the name draw for Christmas, and let me know when you draw names? And can we (you) do it kinda soonish? Because there's not that many paychecks before Christmas. Yikes!

More importantly, the new season of House premieres tonight.

Addendum

Nevermind about the presents. Turns out I misunderstood - Aaron actually wanted to drive an hour to Toys R Us in Des Moines to get gift IDEAS. So we go through the whole store, I'm thinking we're here to buy stuff, then Aaron's like, "Ready to go?" It was confusing and a little frustrating. But honestly, I think I want to order him stuff online. Because I was sorely disappointed in the selection of age-appropriate toys at the store.

BUT!

THE BIG NEWS!

THE REASON I AM POSTING TWICE IN ONE DAY!

Declan is walking!

I've seen him standing on his own a few different times today. So tonight, I was sitting on the floor, he was standing at the toy chest, and I held out my hands... he took three steps! I was thinking it was a fluke, so I tried putting him a few steps away, and he did it again! And again! It's so exciting. He's not too steady, and I think five or so steps is his max right now, but it is coming!

The Presence of Presents

Today we're going birthday present shopping for Declan. Yes, we know it's a month away. However, with our crazy schedules, we're not sure if we'll have another full day to make the trip to Toys R Us and back.

So our only definite buy (in my head, anyway) is a little picnic table. I remember loving mine. Other ideas include a play kitchen, play food, shopping cart, puzzles, books, a toy laptop, and musical instruments. We'll see.

On one hand, I can't wait for his birthday. I can't wait to make a cake, see his face when he opens presents, and celebrate with friends and family. On the other hand, I am really struggling with the idea of not having a BABY anymore.

I am already feeling like I have a little kid. Yesterday he fell down on the sidewalk and scraped his nose. Babies don't scrape their noses. Toddlers scrape their noses. Anyway, he looks silly.

We're On?

Okay, we have the internet again. I hope it lasts this time. It should, since we're paying for it ourselves.

Declan is almost 11 months old now! I am busy planning his first birthday, and I think I've finally settled on a plan: After I get off of work (2 pm), we'll meet up with family and friends at the local pumpkin patch, which has hayrides and stuff, then for dinner we're reserving a room at a pizza place and we'll have pizza, cake, and presents.

In the meantime, we're enjoying our baby while he's still a baby and not a toddler (which will be very soon!) He has four big ol' teeth, he babbles all the time, and when he's not babbling, he's eating. I swear, it's like he has the body and brain of a baby and the stomach of a teenager. Tonight for dinner he ate like 25 mini ravioli, half an apple (diced), and he's on his 3rd graham cracker with no signs of stopping.

Declan is starting to bite us for fun. I don't know what to do, because he doesn't understand discipline at all. Any tips would be great. I've tried yelling (not at him, just like, "OW! That hurts!"), ignoring him, picking him up and putting him on the other side of the room...

Anyway, more later. I forgot how to blog without rambling. If I ever knew how.