Big Day for the Big Boy

Today, Tater turned six months old. Naturally, mommy wanted some photos to commemmorate the occasion. Tater is into practicing his scooting skills these days, so we thought he'd pose on his mat, but he was a little distracted by the letter "O."


Halfway into the shoot, he decided he needed to go into the kitchen. He half scooted/ half crawled from room to room. Luckily, I can still keep up. And good thing I started putting in those outlet covers.


Finally, mommy, er, Tater was sleepy and it was time for a short nap.... when I heard the little man playing in his crib. And I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes (and fortunately had the camera handy to capture the moment). But he pulled himself all the way up and into a standing position in his crib.

Watch out Mama and Deddy. Here comes Tater!

Conflicted

We are selling our house... I think.

For several years, Justin and I have talked about wanting to live closer to Piedmont Park. It was the area where we spent much of our weekends - dates at Apres Diem, exercising and fishing at the park, and close enough to shopping, etc.

Since Tater arrived, he has changed everything. At first, I was driving to my parents in Newnan A LOT for help with managing work and the little man. I wanted to be in Newnan. I was simply exhausted. Justin understood.

Once Justin and I spoke to a realtor (apparently pronounced real-tor and not real-a-tor like I say), we got excited about the prospect of a bigger house - something with more space than our quaint 3 bedroom/2 bath 1100 sq. ft. ranch sitting on 1/2 acre. We wanted room to grow, room for Tater to play and drive his jeep.

We have dedicated the better part of several weekends working on house projects - tearing down the eye sore of a car port that we really have not used in the 7.5 years we have lived in this house, working on the bazillion little projects that needed to be done, and just removing excess stuff. Mike, Justin and Brandon take down the last pieces of the carport.

Our realtor has been checking in and last week, said she had a prospective buyer that wanted to see the house this weekend - someone who is renting in our neighborhood and is interested in buying. So on Friday, we signed the papers to officially put the house on the market and the sign went up in the yard.

Justin and I went out for dinner that evening. Instead of Piedmont Park, these days, we spend most of our time in Brookhaven and Buckhead, which is right here where we live. Our Friday night date locale is Valenza, where we went of course this past weekend as well. We talked about how conflicted we are, and were relieved that the other had the same feelings.

We love our neighbors. We love the city. We love living in Atlanta. We love the restaurants. We love being a couple minutes from 85 but having options to circumvent traffic if need be. We love the places to go, the things to do... the overall vibe.

But we would like a little more space and a great deck area. And this was a starter house. Even though, it's a great house, it is an old house, which brings certain issues. We are tired of house projects. And tired of every project uncovering another project underneath it.

Justin works downtown and I currently work from home and go into the office once every couple months. But what if my situation changes? And how do I ensure that I stay active in the Atlanta tech community if I don't live as close? And what about when Tater gets to be school age?

The bottom line is we are not sure where we want to live. We don't want to move every couple of years, but maybe we will need to. We are looking everywhere between here and Newnan to see what fits us.

Until then, we'll see what happens.... Any advice?

No Flip Flopping About It

He's a cutie from head to toe.

Tuesday Tidbits

Borrowing an idea from Alice and Andrea - here are a few updates on what's going on in our lives.

• Tater just got over his first cold after his first week of daycare - a little tylenol, a humidifier, a lot of snot sucking and even more tlc.
• Tater is hoping to crawl soon. He is at the stage of getting on all fours and rocking back and forth.
• Justin and his brother, Brandon, have been working on home improvement projects - removing our carport, replacing doors, and many other odd jobs. I have been doing the fall indoor cleaning and supervising them. So far, one bandaid for Brandon and one scare when the chainsaw nicked Justin's dad's arm - that took a few gauze strips.
• We are getting a new roof. Can you believe it's things like roofs that get us excited these days?
• Justin and I are back on a workout schedule. We have lost 10 pounds each since July1.
• Justin and I are both keeping busy with work - he with running numbers and beginning the budgeting cycle, and I am running a $70k marketing campaign to promote Unified Communications solutions (very cool technology).
• My sister's counseling licensure was approved, and she can now add "LAPC" at the end of her name. Yea, Rachel. She is starting a new job in two weeks, and when she told some of her clients this week, several of the little girls cried. Awe, they are going to miss her.
• My Starbucks songster is moving to Minnesota...

Birthday Wishes

Happy 9th Birthday, Miss Bailey - the little artist and gymnast!

Olivia and Bailey hug it out.

Sorry we missed you today. We were SO looking forward to your roller skating party, but unfortunately, Tater was still getting over his cold. We'll celebrate with you soon.



And more birthday wishes to my Aunt Dianne in Chicago. The little guy would like to meet you. Hope to see you soon!

And Many More....

Mormor and "her baby"

Today we celebrate your 61st birthday - your first birthday as a grandmother, and 30+ as a mother and wife.



Happy Birthday, mom!

Celebrating 60 in NYC

Insert Here

We are finally introducing a new food after success with cereal, and Larsson tried for the first time today (you guessed it) - sweet potatoes!

Larsson, what do you think about those sweet potatoes?

Baby Blair Witch

This is a video from Tater's monitor that makes me laugh. When he wakes up, he always finds the monitor and looks right into it.

First Day of School

I dropped Larsson off for his first day of school this morning. He is the one sitting in the car seat while the teacher showed us around the room and where to put his things.



By the time I left, he had already made a friend.
(Larsson is the baby in the bouncer in the front right of the photo.)

Walking Can Be Hazardous To Your Health

It was my first day that I was going to have all to myself. I had planned to relax all afternoon before going to a bachelorette party in the evening – until I answered the phone.

Rebecka…

Mom…

Something happened….

The Panic Ensues.
What?...

I don’t know, but they called and said that Dave fell and they were sending an ambulance. I am at the emergency room and he is not here yet. I don’t know what is taking so long….

Okay. Umm. Is he okay? Who called?

I don’t exactly know. A neighbor found him laying in the street and he couldn’t get up. He was bleeding a lot apparently.

Okay. I’m coming.

The Moment of Truth.
When I arrived at the hospital, Justin and my mom were already there with my dad. He was hooked up to an IV and had been in for x-rays of his arm and head. He was conscious, smiling some and slurring a bit – perhaps because of the percoset. They were waiting for the test results to determine what had caused the fall and what additional damage he had incurred. He had badly banged up his face – apparently where he took the fall – and was missing a front tooth. His hands, arm and knee were in pain and severely bruised.

When You Know Everything’s Okay.
As I joined them in waiting, the nurse checked in a few times. She was very friendly. I told her that her haircut was cute. My dad added that she was cute.

Later, he told her that he hoped the make-up would cover up the bruises because he was expected on set again at the filming of Drop Dead Diva on Tuesday. They had filmed last week as well, and he got to meet Paula Abdul, who was playing a judge in the show.

Finally, the nurse asked if my dad needed anything. He asked for a popsicle. While she went to fulfill his request, my dad asked, “Becky, what are those pills? Vi? Vi?” We all knew where this was going.

At that point, my mom piped in. “Dave, if you ask for that, you really WILL be walking home.”

He did not ask for the Viagra. I suppose he reconsidered after assessing the damage from his previous walk of the day.

The Diagnosis.
The doctor reported that all tests came back fine. The fall must’ve been a result of two left feet because he did not see anything wrong. And fortunately, no broken bones or permanent damage. Just hurt pride and a missing tooth – both of which can be fixed. We are thankful for that.

Baby's Off to School

When we were pregnant, Alice and I made a pact that we were not going to become one of those women who lose their identities with motherhood. Ya know, the ones you see on TV – typically on a makeover show - who are wearing the jeans that were cool 10 or 15 years ago that are now referred to as “Mom” jeans. The ones that are so giving to their families that they lose themselves. I never thought I’d get it, but after a mere five months, it's easy to see how “The Mommy Syndrome” starts, and I felt like I was beginning to fall prey.

So Justin and I have made a decision to start Larsson in daycare. I am sad and happy at the same time. Sad because I am going to miss my little man being in the next room and hearing his squeals, as he is delighted by some toy or that he can wheel over to the couch in his Jeep. Happy because I will have dedicated and reliable care for Larsson while I work and even get a little “me” time.

It is part of his education – his opportunity to make friends and learn things that I can’t teach him at home - and I am trying to keep that in mind. And even though, I feel a little guilt, I do know that this is the right decision for us, and that having a little me time will only make me a better mommy.

So as many other kids across the country start school this week, so will my little Tater.

Happy Birthday, Jason!

Happy Birthday, Uncle Jason!

Hope you enjoyed your day. Sorry we could not be there to celebrate with you on your birthday, but we were thinking about you. We look forward to seeing you soon to celebrate another year and to supporting the Dawgs this fall! Larsson needs a solid education in good SEC football.