Full update on Shad--and I mean FULL (i.e. extremely long)

Thought everyone might want a little more information on how Shad is doing. He is now just over eight months old and about seventeen pounds. He is wearing six to nine month clothes for the most part although his up to six months onesies still fit best. (I am just guessing, but I don't think he will be a line-backer). As previously mentioned he is on the move now and managed to flop all the way from the bedroom across the master bath and into our closet where he tried to climb onto my road-bike. Wait, road bike in the closet? Yes, it was suppose to be more convenient for the winter so I could ride the trainer inside rather than get it from our detached garage every time I wanted to use it, however I broke my bike Tuesday among other things so . . . i digress. Shad was trying to climb on my bike-perhaps he is aware he has a road-bikers physique as opposed to the line-backer as well, we can only hope. Dan is convinced Shad is going to be the next great American cyclist-watch out Lance! Anyway, Shad is flopping, and proving to be pretty fast, and now I have to pay much closer attention. He also discovered Solo's water dish the other day and thought it was quite interesting until he was all wet on tile on a cold day. On the bright side, maybe he will avoid the water dish now.

He is also on solid food now, although I realize this is much more difficult to do than I had previously imagined. I figured, put food on spoon, put spoon in mouth, baby eats. Any mother knows that is a hilariously naive perspective. So...we are in that trying a gazillion things that he refuses to eat only to then prepare something he will eat and then also give him his cereal and nurse him phase. What a joy. There is a small list of things Shad will eat now, including: applesauce, bananas, some peas, chicken, rice on occasion, cheerios (he is quite into feeding these to himself) some home-made chicken soup our neighbor brought to us, and the only two things he has liked the first time he tried them; refried beans and Mexican rice. Apparently someone has some Spanish blood in them or he has good taste after all. I happen to love refried beans and Mexican rice. Things Shad refuses to eat include broccoli, green beans, mashed potatoes, spinach, zucchini, corn, and peas the first fifty times we tried them. One day it was so bad that after I had tried feeding him three different green things he finally refused to even eat his applesauce from a green spoon. Unfortunately, he still also wants to eat the dish rag every time I wash his face. He is also able to use a sippy cup now, although he prefers to play with it.

Shad continues to wake up very happy which is so great, since his mother is the opposite. At least when I get up with him at a ridiculously late hour in the morning he is very pleasant. He is also becoming very vocal especially when he is happy. He makes the most noise after eating and in the bath. Most of the things he says sound like "die, die, die," "gggrr" "yeh, yeh, yeh," or heavy breathing. All of them come out sounding like he is about to do something terrible to you which makes it all the funnier.

His favorite things to do are flop around -especially on the changing table, have you blow on his face so his hair blows back-he thinks this is just hilarious and makes a very funny face, pull Solo's hair and ears, suck on the washcloth in the bath-especially after wiping it on the side of the actual bathtub instead of the toddler bath he is sitting in-go figure, be tickled, sing songs, and read books-preferably touch and feel books or ones with animals since his mom does all of the noises and then Solo joins in and makes noises for all of them too. How fitting that we dressed up as the circus for Dan's parents Halloween party. Shad was a leopard, I was the ring-master and unfortunately Dan came straight from work and his wife didn't tell him what her plan was so he got stuck being himself as the side-show. It really wasn't a stretch, except the part where I was supposedly running the show.

As you can see we are doing well. Shad continues to be spoiled like crazy at his aunt Myndi's house every Monday and him and Dan still have their Manly Monday afternoons where they get to hang out which I think is a great thing. Unfortunately, Shad has decided he likes to go to bed earlier and is usually in bed before I get home on Monday or Dan gets home Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Last night was a pretty typical example, and so when Dan got home he went in, got Shad out of bed and cuddled him in the rocking chair for a little bit just to spend some time with him. Shad of course never knew the difference as he slept through all of it but some day we will have to tell him that even though his daddy missed seeing him before bedtime he still made sure he at least got to hold him. It of course, melts my heart when he does that.

I also like to spy on Dan through the video monitor when he goes in to check on Shad or fix his blanket before we go to sleep. He is quite meticulous about Shad's blanket being just so and likes to give him a kiss or little back rub too. I know it is hard for Dan to be gone so much and he does such an awesome job of trying to spend quality time with us whenever he has the chance. I can't imagine there is any more anybody could possibly want to know following this post so I will rap it up, if anyone has even made it this far.

For your enjoyment . . .

Sew what . . .

Not that anyone is probably very concerned, but it has been a while so I figured I would inform everyone on what I have been up to. If you want to skip to pictures and ignore the post, "just call me Molly," pretty much gets the gist of it. First off, an new skill . . . I actually learned to operate a sewing machine. Amazing what too much time at home and hideous vertical blinds can motivate you to do. To be fair, I made curtains from already existing curtains. . . however I did add two stripes and remove the tabs at the top and make a single long pocket for the curtain rod to go through. Why all of this for some curtains you ask? First off, I detest vertical blinds, however my husband feels they are extremely functional, especially with Solo popping his head through them. So, what do you do when you can't get rid of a problem? You cover it. I had some rather nice looking curtains from when we first got married however, in order to cover the afore mentioned blinds they needed to grow fourteen more inches of length. I also just happened to have a red duvet cover that I knew we would never use again (very pretty but it was an absolute hair magnet which is a massive problem if your dog sleeps with you and has light hair). So, I cut up the duvet cover, cut up the curtains and then kindly asked my neighbor to show me how to put them all together. She was awesome and let me touch her machine (I didn't mention the last time I touched a sewing machine was my mother's and she had to take it to get repaired after I managed to kill it until after she let me use it). She also played with my son the whole time I sewed at her house so I could get them done start to finish in less than a week. Here are the final products hung in the living room . . .

Not too shabby I thought.

In addition to sewing, I have of course been knitting like crazy. Since finishing the dress I have done a pair of wrist-warmers for my sister (who has yet to receive them, SORRY), two children's hats, a pair of booties and mittens for shad and have started my next big project- Aiden's blessing outfit!!! As nervous as I am for it to turn out well, I am of course completely honored to be doing it. Here is Shad decked out in a sweater I knit while I was pregnant (bottom picture) and a couple other knitting pics just for you Jessie!!

In other news, Shad is doing great and is officially mobile although not crawling. He has opted for a flip-kick and flop method that proves to be quite functional although I think he uses WAY more energy than it would require to crawl. Funny enough, in all of my thoughts about kids and dogs I always saw the dogs chasing the kids, but Solo is Shad's greatest motivation to move across the room, and just as he gets close enough to pull on Solo's ears or kick him in the head Solo stands up and walks away so they can start over again. He is also becoming more and more like his mom (read this as saying he sleeps 12 to 13 hours a night when given the chance).

Although his mother, absolutely never wakes up like this . . .

Dan is still busy in school but seems to enjoy it and is reaping the benefits of me expanding my recipe collection on occasion. He miraculously manages somehow to still find time for Shad and I and exercising. I pretty much married Super Man.

Pony Ride

Shad has officially been on his first pony ride. Unlike me, who waited until I started riding lessons at ten, he got to go at just seven months. And this was no boring miniature little pony, he is a half Percheron-half thoroughbred and over seventeen hands tall!! It is a terrible picture, and never-mind the bare feet-I wasn't planning on riding either! I purposefully wore flip-flops and jeans that are uncomfortable to ride in so my friends wouldn't feel like they had to let me ride--but obviously that didn't work. Shad fell asleep and I caved quite easily when Karissa suggested I get Bentley out. He was sooo fun to ride too-great purchase Kris! I put the picture of my dad on freckles so you could truly appreciate the size of Bentley. You have to compare things in the background to really get it. Also, if you are wondering how Shad ended up on the horse if he was asleep . . . he of course woke up very soon after I got on. Thanks again Karissa and hopefully this is the beginning of a love affair for Shad-although I don't think he really cared yet.

Bentley and I in front of the barn . . .

and my dad and Freckles, notice how much lower my dad is sitting.