No Big News is Good News

Not much too exciting has been going on lately, just a few little things I want to be sure to remember so I thought I would jot them down really quickly. First off, Shad cut his first tooth last Tuesday, the second. It only took him eleven and a half months, and he got the upper right rather than a lower, but I am sure it will be fine! (father, please refrain from freaking out, I almost didn't put which one because I figured it would stress you out!) Also, he is getting closer and closer to walking and loves walking along furniture etc. Right now, his favorite game is to breathe really heavy and chase you and then growl, or get chased and growled at. We did it for almost an hour tonight and he was still laughing every time one of us caught up to the other at the end. I just got tired of crawling around by that point. His favorite foods are bananas (still), string cheese, BREAD of any kind, applesauce, pears and chicken or turkey. He will still eat peas sometimes and surprised us by happily eating corn like it was no big deal for the first time last Sunday. It has been in discussion whether or not Shad has said his first word. About two weeks ago I called Dan and told him that Shad had looked at me and said, "mama" which he kind of blew off. Later in the afternoon Dan called to tell me that Shad had just called him on the phone and recited the preamble to the constitution, yeah he obviously didn't take me very seriously. However, last friday Shad was on the changing table making noise and I said, "mama, can you say it?" and he looked right at me and said it back. He also loves the word Peek-a-boo so I did it with that and he made a very honest effort at saying Peek-a-boo that came out like "ee-a-roo". He has been consistent with those two for the last few days so I think it is safe to say he is at least trying. He also heard an owl noise on a video last week and promptly looked up and went, "hoo!" all excited. He has liked the hoo-hoo noise for a really long time though, ever since he was about six weeks old. We have a book of animals and we go through it and I make all of the noises and then Solo sings along (even if he is in the other room-I will have to video it sometime) so needless to say animal noises are pretty popular at our house for both of them. Shad has also started snuggling with his stuffed puppy at night and for some reason it is just the cutest thing in the world to me. I don't know if it is because I always wanted a dog stuffed animal as a kid, or just that it makes him look like such a little boy or what, but it gets to me. After all, his parents still cuddle with a yellow dog every night too, ours just happens to breathe really heavy and heat up the bed for us. I probably just like seeing him get attached to things I like, who knows.

Dan continues to be slammed with school, work, and a practicum. I am not sure how he manages to shuffle all of that plus me, Shad, Solo (Dan is one of the most concerned dog-owner's I know when it comes to Solo's emotional state), and church but somehow he manages. Typically by the end of the week he has a bit of a vampire-esque look to him--very dark circles around his eyes and doesn't have the same spring in his step but he keeps going. And seriously, aren't vampires trendy right now? Fortunately, if you are a Twilight fan my husband looks much more like Jacob with his shirt off than Edward, not that he cares but he isn't all vampire, and I am pretty sure he is able to resist me without some massive super-power efforts. His failure to put the moves on me when we first met actually put a serious dent in my confidence for a while. Talk about resilient to me putting out the vibes, I could have worn a sign saying, "take me now please" and he would have simply asked where I wanted to go. But, back to family friendly, he is working hard and I can't express how much I appreciate that. Luckily he gets a break soon!

Shad's first birthday is just around the corner and next week I hope to put together a post of picture highlights of the first year. I sat down to do it the other day, but when I came across the pictures of the fire trucks from when he choked just three days home from the hospital I got hit with a major wave of sentimentality and sat and looked at pictures for an hour just thinking of everything that has happened since and wouldn't have if that moment had lasted just a little longer. No questions asked it was absolutely the most horrific moment of my life and I am glad that the before pictures aren't all we have. Can I also just say that the paramedics were the nicest guys in the world and kept telling me how adorable he was and that if I was ever worried about anything to call because they are just around the corner. For a woman in hysterics and a full blown panic attack that was the best thing they could have done for me. I can't say how much that helped, although the panic attack didn't end and my husband can tell you it took a while for me to get over it. I am just glad that we made it through it and look forward to celebrating with our family next week for Shad's first party! Hopefully, I can sit down and do a post with pictures without getting all sappy and pathetic again.