Hats Off to You

Cute hat + cute baby = photo op!

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Just Another Glorious Day with Shae

Shae and I had plans to enjoy this beautiful Thursday afternoon at Memorial Park feeding the ducks, playing on the playground, and having a baby food picnic. I planned on getting myself and everything else ready to go during Shae's morning nap so that we could leave right when he woke up and enjoy a decent amount of time at the park before coming back home for that second nap.

Shae had a different vision. He just couldn't bring himself to stay asleep in his crib (not a problem we usually have these days). I'm not sure if his room was too warm or if his runny nose was bothering him, but I barely had time to pack his diaper bag before he was awake and crying. I watched over the video monitor as he pulled himself up in his crib and cried. I decided to give him a few minutes to see if he'd go back to sleep, but once I saw him stumble and take a spill in his crib and really start wailing, I thought I'd better go make sure he was okay. Great, I thought. He slept for less than half an hour and now he's going to be cranky all day.

I rushed in and scooped him up and he immediately layed his head on my shoulder. Okay, maybe he'll go back to sleep.

I sat down in his rocking chair and immediately noticed that this is no longer an easy task now that he's getting so big. I looked at his scrunched up legs and felt his heavy head on my shoulder. I hope he falls right back to sleep so that I can lay him down, I thought. I still have to get myself ready to go...Rocky has been shedding a lot lately and I need to vacuum...I really should just lay him back down in his crib because that's where babies are "supposed" to sleep...I wanted to get at least one load of laundry done before the park...I wonder what's new in the world of Facebook...

And then I said, Shut up, inner monologue.

I again looked at his scrunched up legs and felt his heavy head on my shoulder. I hope he sleeps in my arms for a long time so that I don't have to put him down. Moments like this are becoming few and far between.

He did sleep in my arms for quite some time. I relished it. Sitting in a quiet room with a peacefully sleeping baby gave me a lot of time to think. I thought back to how small Shae was just a few months ago when we rocked in that chair. I thought about how I would all too soon think back to this very moment and long for him to want me to rock him to sleep. I already felt nostalgic for this moment, even as I was living it.

We did, of course, still make it to the park. The laundry hadn't been done, the floors weren't vacuumed, and I hadn't checked my Facebook. My hair was a mess and I didn't have a speck of make-up on, but Shae didn't seem to mind.

Watching the duckies

Shae's favorite: the swings!

9 Months

9 months old! You read it right. Shae Dallas has officially spent just as much time outside of the womb as he did inside.

First things first: you must see how big he is getting!

Look at that face! Doesn't it just make you melt?

Nothing beats a good bath in the kitchen sink!

Shae is changing so fast! He's doing so many new things everyday. I think the easiest way to sum up this little guy is with a bulleted list.

• 
  
  Weighs 19 lbs, 5 oz, which puts him at the 25th percentile for weight
• 
  
  28.5 inches tall, which puts him at the 75th percentile for height (he's a long, lean baby)
• 
  
  Has 8 teeth (yes, 8!) and seems to be working on some more
• 
  
  He's an expert at "Army crawling" and is SO close to crawling on his hands and knees. In fact, he "kind of" did it this morning :)
• 
  
  Waves bye-bye
• 
  
  Claps his hands
• 
  
  Will hold up his fingers if you ask him where they are
• 
  
  Loves duckies and has been quacking for over a month now. His pediatrician didn't believe me at first on this one. I think he may have used the term genius. ;)
• 
  
  Says "Mama" and "Dada," although not specifically
• 
  
  Pulls himself up to standing while holding onto furniture
• 
  
  Gives kisses! I love this one! Although he'll rarely do it if asked, its usually just out of the blue. He especially loves to kiss the baby in the mirror.

It's so cool to see this little person developing right before our very eyes. He's a very active and curious young man and he is keeping us very busy!

Speaking of developing right before our very eyes, our house is coming along nicely! It's all framed and roofed and the windows should be going in any day now, if they haven't already. We've been making a trip out to see the progress every weekend, and are always impressed with how much they get done in a week.

Here's what it looked like last weekend:

Settling In

Well, we have been in our temporary home for one week now and things couldn't be going better. I just hope our gracious hosts feel the same way. They have made living here way too easy... we just may never leave. ;)

Shae and Rocky have both adjusted pretty well. They've both been enjoying the beautiful weather in the backyard. Rocky has made himself right at home, never feeling the need to mind his manners or be polite. My one worry with Shae was that he started showing some pretty strong separation anxiety. He started showing signs of this over the past couple of weeks, but it definitely got worse this week. I know that part of it is his age, but after doing a little research on the topic, I found that moving to a new place is a common trigger of this anxiety. Which makes sense. Shae doesn't understand what's going on, but his environment has all of a sudden completely changed. It got to the point this week that I sometimes couldn't even walk out of the room for a minute without him getting really upset. Poor little man. I feel bad that we're going to uproot him again in a couple of months.

Rocky enjoys the extra room around the highchair now and waits patiently for morsels to drop.

"Oooh, Mommy, let me see that camera!"

And our exciting house news of week: the foundation has been poured and our new home is well underway! Hooray! It's looking like a July closing date... hopefully.

Hard to believe we'll be living here in just a matter of weeks

Farewell, Float Court

The time has come to say good bye to our first home. Of course we're delighted to be moving on to something better... more space, a yard, a garage we can actually open our car doors in, and... STORAGE!!! This excites me beyond belief.

But saying farewell to Float Court feels a little bittersweet. This place holds so many amazing memories. We purchased this first home of ours in the summer of 2005 as Joseph Stanton and Alison Wilhelm, and just a few short months later, we started our lives together here as Mr. and Mrs. Stanton. It's in this house that I've learned what it means to be married, a soulmate, a partner in life.

Before we knew it, our family grew as we brought 1 1/2 year old Rocky home from the Humane Society. I don't think either of us will ever forget introducing Rocky to his new home and playing with him in the living room that first night. This place does indeed hold many Rocky memories. Running through the screen door, his first (and probably last) taste of champaign on our first wedding anniversary, the countless chewed up objects, and his arch nemesis, Buddy the Birdie who visits the pond out back every summer. It's in this house that I've learned how to be (somewhat) patient with an overactive, stubborn canine.

Rocky, how did this slipper get here?

That overactive, stubborn canine was by Joe's side (literally) for a year and a half as he wrote his first novel. From laying out ideas, to weaving them all together, Rocky and I witnessed Joe accomplish something huge. I'll never forget when Joe walked upstairs after typing those last words, looking so proud (and tired). We celebrated with champaign once more, but this time Rocky passed. It's in this house that I've learned how to be a supportive wife. And it's in this house that I've learned what an ambitious and talented husband I truly have.

Writing by hand out on the deck

And then there was the big one: Mr. Shae Dallas. I've never had such an indescribable feeling as I did when we read that positive pregnancy test, and I'll always remember exactly where Joe and I stood hugging and crying when we read it. This place holds a lot of exciting pregnancy memories, right down to the end when we timed the contractions in disbelief that the time was actually here. And there have been so many firsts for Shae in this house! First smile, first coo, first time rolling over, first tooth, first time saying Obama. It's in this house that I've learned what it means to be a mommy. It's in this house that I've learned unconditional love.

Shae's first bedroom

Playing in his crib

Future blackmail picture

Peek-a-boo!

Good bye Float Court! Thanks for the memories. The memories may have taken place in this house, but they live in our minds, and they're most definitely coming with us!

And so now we move on to the next chapter, where there will undoubtably be even more firsts and magical memories!

Happy Easter!

Okay, so I use the term "happy" loosely. Shae had kind of a rough first Easter. This poor little guy just can't get a break from the teething. He'd been doing great for the past couple of weeks and then he woke up on Easter morning feeling just miserable again. This pattern has been going on for months and it is absolutely heartbreaking and exhausting to see him like this. We even brought him in to the doctor about a month ago, thinking maybe there was something more going on. But Shae's pediatrician confirmed that it appears to be just teething and that those pesky little teeth are indeed giving Shae an exceptionally hard time.

But although Shae wasn't quite himself, we still enjoyed getting out for the day and visiting family. We started with lunch at Joe's Aunt Honey's place. This proved to be Shae's hardest part of the day so unfortunately, we couldn't stay long. We then mosied on down to the farm in Jordan and spent some time with my mom, step-dad, and siblings. Shae had his ups and downs there as well, but I tried to catch his happy moments on camera.

Hangin with Grandma

Sneaking in a snuggle with Uncle Andrew

Jumping on the trampoline!

Ripping up some tissue paper with Auntie Kimberly

Looking handsome with Daddy

Mommy sneaking on the other side of the camera

We hope that everyone had a fantastic Easter, spending time with family and friends!

First Word?

Sure he's quacked and said "gaga" but I'm talking about a real word here. While working on saying "mama," out it came, clear as day: "Obama."

Now that's impressive.