What a difference a Year makes!

Today Paulie and I went to see Santa. Paulie seemed okay with the white haired fellow....until...I put Paulie on his lap! Oh no, bring on the drama. Seriously Paulie, could you not have at least cracked a smile or stopped crying for a second? What gives?!

I had a great idea to post last year's picture along with this year's picture, but much to my dismay Paulie's baby book is stuck in a drawer (literally, I can not get it opened...I think I may have to take apart the console table!). Soooo....in short, last year's picture was Santa holding a little blob of a baby (aka Happy Paulie). I remember last year's photo like it was last week. I remember the picture lady shaking rattles and jumping up and down trying to get a smile out of my little guy. I let her carry on like this for a few minutes then said, "He's only 6 weeks old, I don't think you're gonna get much more than what he's giving you now." $20 bucks later, I've got two 5x7 photos of Santa and my Paulie!

This year....well, let's just say I didn't spend the big bucks on a photo package. Sorry Santa, please don't let this influence the number of toys you bring us!

**I apologize for the not-so-great quality as I took a photo of a photo then had to tweak it a bit...you get the idea!

It's time for another....Update

Okay, so I know I have a TON of blogging to do...Where have we been for the past two weeks?! I feel it necessary to update the world on Paulie's newest developments (okay, so by the "world" I mean our family members who so diligently follow my blog).

Just a couple of things Paulie has been doing...

WALKING! I haven't counted, but I think he's walked a distance of 6 feet! He periodically lets go and walks to me or any other object/person of interest. He likes to walk while holding onto my finger (I have a hard time letting go, in more ways than one!).

Pointing...Paulie points at everything! Sometimes he points because he is signaling that he wants something and other times he's just pointing for the fun of it! His little finger is reminiscent of E.T. and I find myself touching his finger tip with my own...And other times I just want to bite his little finger because it is just so darn cute!

Learning more words! I've discovered that Paulie has a word of the week. He learns a new word and says it nonstop. Forget last week's word or all other words prior, he's a boy who lives in the present. This week is a tie between "Up" and "Out". Last week, his word was "Kitty-cat" and just "cat". The week before it was "Paul". The week before was "Car" (Everything with four wheels is a car)....Paulie's words include: Baby, Ball, Paul, Cat, Kitty Cat, Up, Out, Hi, Duck, Car, Uh-Oh, Book, Dada (his favorite word by far!)...That is all I can remember right now and that doesn't include the repeats. Paulie likes to repeat whatever I say, he's actually quite good at it! Yes, I think I might have a boy genius on my hands...JK.

DANCING...Whether it's the radio, a toy, singing, or humming Paulie will most likely bob his head and rock his body! Too cute for words, I've got to get a video.

EATING...Paulie is quite the eater. He likes to try anything that I'm eating and doesn't like to be ignored! He loves BANANAs! No cut up bananas for Paulie, he likes the whole thing and prefers to bite off pieces...very large pieces! Paulie also loves Grilled Cheese! I had been making it with Organic White Cheddar Cheese and Spray butter, but he was turned on to American Cheese and real butter spread while in PA and I have to admit it looks and tastes a whole LOT yummier!

Well, that's it for tonight! I am TIRED and ready for sleep....Someone else is loving his beauty sleep!

***These are a little blurry because I had turned off the flash as not to disturb sleeping beauty (I mean babe!).

More Family Time

Paul's father has retired from serving 35 years in the United States Army and we were blessed to be able to attend his retirement ceremony in Edgewater, MD. It was a special visit for many reasons, one being that this was Paulie's first visit with his Great-Grandma Hickey, Janie, Carol, Gerard, Jimbo, Pat, Harry, Laurie, Karen, Sue, and cousins, Emily and Margaret. There was not a shortage of people to love and hold Paulie, he was loving the extra attention!

I regret not having taken more photos of our visit in MD, but my camera battery was dead for the first couple of days (including the retirement ceremony and luncheon). Luckily for my blog, Harry took some fabulous pictures and I will borrow some photos from him (to be added at a later date!).

Kim, Paulie, and Abby enjoying the warmth from the fire!

Paulie was such a good sport and let anyone and everyone carry him around! Paulie looks as big as Margaret in this picture. Emily and Margaret took such great care of Paulie, they are naturals!

"Okay Mom, hurry up and take the picture already so we can go inside and take off this ridiculous jacket!"

"What is this white stuff falling from the sky? And why is it so cold outside?"

Abby, Margaret, Paulie, and Emily. Paulie, I think your outnumbered my love!

Get used to it Paulie, the girls are just smitten with you! As am I!!

With Janie BUG and her girls! I think Paulie was eyeing up someone's plate of yummy food...

Alright....I promise to post more pics of our visit...including General Paul Izzo's retirement!

It has been a long one!

We had a nice long Thanksgiving "vacation" and it's been a long time since I've posted on my blog! I'm sorry my avid blog followers out there, please don't judge. I promise I haven't jumped ship, I'm just as devoted, just feeling a little overwhelmed with the many updates I need to post. I wish I could cut to the cash and summarize the last two weeks, but who am I kidding, I've never been one to make a story short!

Paul, Paulie and I went to Central PA for Thanksgiving holiday. We left on Wednesday morning before Thanksgiving and our flights went seamlessly. (I say "flights" because Paulie and I were on a separate flight from Paul. Why yes, I am a super awesome wife and mother for traveling alone with my infant son on a 3 hour flight while my husband traveled alone.) Paulie was a good sport and adapted well to the change in scenery. He skipped a few naps here and there....Woke up an hour earlier (It was silly of me to think that he'd sleep an hour later since we were on Eastern Standard time!) and some mornings he even woke at 4:30 am! But it was all worth it to see my loved ones whom I don't see nearly enough. My brother and Casey were fabulous hosts to give up their bedroom for Paulie (Yep, their bed was abandoned...don't ask!). Even more memorable was the delicious home cooked meals that I didn't have to cook...YUM-O!

Paulie liked GG's house, there were plenty of places to explore and knick knacks to knock over! My almost 92 year old Grandma made a comment that Paulie walked like she does - HA!

Four generations....So much to be thankful for....

Tyler: "Listen here Paulie, my mom just cleaned these windows so easy on the fingerprints and drool!"

Paulie: "What drool?"

"Yummmm....Thanks Uncle E for the soothing kiddy popsicles! They are just my size."

We made a trip over the mountain to my dad's house for some pizza and grilled cheese! Paulie got a real kick out of my dad and his stairs. For some reason or another, Paulie was obsessed with climbing his steep stairs. Fortunately, I was able to teach him how to go down the stairs backwards (nevermind that he only goes down one, then turns around to go down headfirst!).

Hailey and Paulie with Nana!

Paulie sure thought Uncle E was funny....(looking!)

Nana babysat the kiddies while the 'rents went out for a fancy dinner at Zola's to celebrate Paul's 30th Birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETIE!!

Jello Cake for my Paul! I made a gluten-free cake and hate to say it but it was yucky! Hey at least we didn't have to worry about eating too much cake?! This pic was taken just before I smashed the cake in his face (JK!).

I can NOT talk about our trip to PA without mentioning the CATS!!! Ethan and Casey have two, Yoda and Linx, and Paulie LOVED them! His eyes lit up every time they were around....He did a little dance and circled them trying to figure out how to touch them. Paulie can say "kitty cat" as well as "cat" and he would call them both! It was TOO cute. And the cats didn't seem to mind Paulie chasing after them.

Before we left for PA, Paulie had been taking one or two steps unassisted....But while visiting Ethan and Casey, he was getting very brave and taking huge steps!! I finally managed to get one of his jaunts on video....(I forgot to rotate the video, so you'll have to strain your neck for a minute or two!)

What's Happening with Paulie?

I can not believe it's been over a week since I've last blogged?! I don't know why I've been such a slacker. I guess I've been too busy with all my playdates and hob-knobbing! Tonight isn't really the best night for me to blog as I'm feeling a little blah...I think I'm coming down with a head cold? BUT since I am no longer Nursing (Yep, Paulie is officially weaned from the boob!), I can take some meds! However, the particular medication that I took made my head feel funny and I think I'd rather be stuffed up.

Mama's Big Boy drinking his morning milk!

WEANING...

I don't know who took it the hardest, Paulie or Mama?! We have been gradually weaning Paulie for the past month. First cutting down on the day time nursings and limiting his bedtime nursing to 10 minutes. Then about a week ago, Paul took over the nighttime routine without me and without nursing! Hooray, can you say Freedom?! I thought it would take a long time for Paulie to adjust to the no bedtime nursing thing, but surprisingly he took it quite well. He cried for a few nights but only for a few minutes. We started offering Paulie milk at night, but he's not hungry before bed which is a good thing since we brush his teeth after his bath. Lastly, the morning nursing was eliminated...much to my dismay! I was willing to hold onto this last feeding for at least another week, but Paul thought it best to tackle it sooner rather than later. I have to say, Paul was right! No sense dragging it out any longer than we have to. Paulie fought this elimination the most, but after a few mornings of crying and resisting he gave up and took milk from his Daddy. I could not be anywhere in Paulie's sight or else he would get hysterical. All the better because it would have torn me up to see him cry for me. I'm happy to admit that I've only cried once during this whole process...It's so hard letting go! But I know this is just the beginning of "letting go." I have to give a shout out to my dear husband, he was my rock during this whole process and he remained strong for all three of us! Yesterday was the first night that I put Paulie down without nursing and this morning was the first time I didn't nurse him...Wow!

Well, I think that's enough blogging for one night as I am now in tears! Is it my hormones returning to normal (now that I'm no longer nursing) or is it this crazy Sudafed?!

Self Portrait from Today.

Just another week in the life of US...

Okay, so it's been over a week since my mom has left Texas to go home to North Carolina....but Paulie and I sure do miss having her around. She was here for just over two weeks and it was a great visit! It is much easy to say goodbye when I know I'll see her again in just a few weeks for Thanksgiving. Geez, is it really November already?! Speaking of Thanksgiving....Guess who's turning 30 at the end of the month???

Random....I thought I'd share a picture of my new kitchen table. I've wanted/needed one for some time, but just couldn't find one I liked...Or I was just too lazy to look for one?! Anyhow, I really LOVE this one and it matches another green piece of furniture (in the background) that I own to perfection!

Paulie and I found a new favorite park, not sure of the name but I've nicknamed it the "Train Playground" because of the large cutout of a train, duh?! It's a great playground for crawlers because of the rubber floors. Endless hours of fun for all ages!

My favorite by far is the swings....And by the looks of it, it's Paulie's favorite as well! I will never tire of his adorable smile. Look at all those teeth (7)!

Back home, Paulie enjoys playing with his favorite birthday gifts....the BIG and little school buses!

Paulie received some Clemson gear (Courtesy of Stephen and Kim AND the Knepp Family) for his birthday. I was trying to snap a photo of Paulie in one of his new Clemson t-shirts, but trying to get this kid to sit still and look at the camera is near impossible!

Paulie was enjoying a popsicle after lunch today! I only allow him to eat them when he has eaten a well balanced meal...This day he had chili with ricotta, cornbread, yogurt, and butternut squash! (I guess he was hungry!) The popsicles feel good on his gums and he sure loves eating them...

Feeding himself some popsicle chunks while Mama catches a little Ellen in the background...Sneaky, I know!

This is another random picture, but I thought it was hilarious that Paulie climbed into the dishwasher the other morning. Now if only he could unload the dishwasher and put the dishes away....Hmmmm....It's never too early to train him, right?!

Wings Over Houston

Since Paulie loves airplanes and all things that fly, we thought it would be fun to go to the Wings Over Houston Air Show on Sunday. Right after Paulie's morning nap, Nana, Paul, Paulie and I packed up the car and headed to the Air Show. Little did we know that within minutes of arriving at the show, there would be a full out war reenactment with bomb explosions and everything! We hadn't a minute to buy our ear plugs and we were running for cover! It was so LOUD I felt so bad for Paulie, but I made sure to cover his little ears for the explosions...which seemed to last for 15 minutes!

Paulie had a death grip on me for a good 5 minutes after the explosions had ended. He knows that his Mama will protect him from any danger!

We so seldom get a picture of all three of us, so I was rather giddy...can't you tell?! Paulie was a little distracted by the diverse herds of people passing by.

Afterwards we found a nice spot on the grass and set up shop. Paulie had a few snacks and we enjoyed the air show.

Paulie had had enough of being stationary in his stroller. It was time for a stroll around the crowds to see what everyone was doing OR drinking! Paulie stop staring, it's perfectly normal for a two year old to be chugging Coca-Cola Classic from the bottle....Ummm, really?