More that CAN'T be said than can...!

Life is funny. Like hysterically, roll-on-the-floor-until-your-sides-feel-like-they're-going-to-burst hilarious. Unfortunately, that is also the kind of hilarity that brings on nausea after it has had its way with you.

That's where I am right now.

Between people breaking things (father-in-law: neck, grandfather-in-law: hip and/or leg), traveling for work, the insanely fast progression of my son from 'little baby' to 'ginormo', and a few other things I'm not entirely ready to share just yet, this has been one craaaaazy year.

But I am here to focus on the good!

Bruce had his 9-month check up yesterday morning, and is doing very well! He weighed in at a nice 23.75 lbs, with a 19.5'' head, and 30.5'' body. He's definitely a big guy, but not only is he proportionate, he is also extremely active! That ensures that his cute baby rolls stay "cute", and don't morph into "cankles" down the line. He has four teeth now (two on top have broken through, plus two on bottom), and is able to wave his arms and say "Eahhhh!" for "Yay!", clap his hands on command, and shake his head 'no' when asked a question... regardless of the real answer!

He is now a crawling machine, not content to stay put longer than about 1.3 seconds! I love watching him figure out what toy or book he wants to go after, because you can really see the thought process play out on his face. He has mastered pulling himself to standing, and has recently decided that he's ready to walk; he's not, of course (the poor guy keeps falling down...!), but it's still adorable to watch and help him waddle across the room by holding his hands. Cruising (walking along the edge of the couch for support) has also begun, slowly but surely.

As for food... he's a machine there as well! Not content to suffer through regular canned baby food, our little man prefers finger foods - prepackaged and not. Last night, he ate herbed chicken in wine sauce right along with us!

I'm loving my job, and may be up for a promotion (so to speak). We need someone to start doing some hardcore marketing to our members and potential members... and that's where I may come in! I'll find out more about that in a month or so, so stay tuned.

Steve is still considering a career in Radiology. After two years, he could be an Ultrasound Technician, and make some serious money... serious money that we could really use to pay for Bruce's ever-shrinking wardrobe, my coffee habit, and a house of our own!

Finally, we're in the early planning stages of an early-December trip to Florida to visit my Papa and step-grandma. They have yet to meet Bruce, and are in no condition to be flying across the country to do so. I hope to hear back from them soon about this, as there are some killer deals on tickets right now...!

(Internal) derby bruises, and my Bruiser

There have been more than a few occasions this week that I've found myself thinking, "What the HELL have I gotten myself into?". Then I remember that yes, while falling (and bouncing) on my ass while skating is painful and slightly humiliating, I want to do this.

My skating skills are nowhere near where I'd like them to be, but I'm working on it. That's all I can do, right? I've gone to as many Open Skates as a I can, even though I had to miss the PFM practice on Sunday due to exhaustion (read: 2.5 hours of sleep the night before). My main goals? Crossovers, crossovers, crossovers.

Tryouts for Rat City are Wednesday, August 11th. I have this sinking feeling that I will (1) not only be passed over, but (2) asked to get my ass off the track before I hurt someone. I wonder if my in-laws will let me skate indoors... or my work...

Happy topic anyone? (I'm bumming myself out with my pity-party crap.)

Bruce turns 7 months-old tomorrow...!
My sweet Bruiser; he's 22 lbs of drooling, grasping, stomping love and I can't get enough of him. He's learning how to wave 'Hi' and 'Bye' right now - he started doing it on his own! - and it's adorable, even if it's completely off. Seriously, he'll make this scooping motion with his hand, with his arm stretched out towards the person he's directing it to. Admirable, but hilarious!

What else? He's going through a mini growth-spurt... again... which means we've had to increase his food intake from one serving of baby food a day to two or three, depending on his mood. His favorite form of mush? Butternut squash, and anything with apple in it. He's also a big fan of the Pear & Mango combo his grandpa brought home. He's still taking more than a full day's worth of formula on top of that! He comes from healthy stock...? HA! His two bottom teeth keep shooting up, making his love-bites pretty painful at times. I don't see signs of any more teeth coming in, but basically once a kids starts teething, a tooth can come in at any time over the next two years. *whimper*

So, between work, family, derby, school, and attempting to see friends, my life has suddenly become very, very full. I'm amazed at how quickly things can change... and how some things never ever seem to.

Just... adorable!

Last weekend saw the arrival of Bruce's 23rd week. Not a significant number, admittedly, but still an amazing thing!

To start the weekend off, we took Bruce to his first Mariner's game on Friday. The M's were playing the Twins (and ultimately lost after going into extra innings... boo...), the weather was great, and I wanted to cash-in my Mother's Day gift of a baseball game! At first Bruce was a little spooked by the train - and the resulting whistle - as well as the cheering, but being able to hold my hand while in our new baby backpack seemed to do the trick. By the time we got to our seats (Section 347 is AWESOME, by the way), he was golden! He interacted with everyone nearby, snuggled with Daddy, and gave me tons of kisses.

Steve, Bruce, and I headed up north to Bellingham to visit with Jason, Merrilee, and their 10-month old son, Baxter on Sunday... and man, is that kid adorable! It was very cool to see the differences and similarities between our sons, and to just chat with "new" parents our own age.

Granted, I also had a mission while visiting our friends. A couple of weeks ago, I went to an open call for a local talent agency, hoping to get started in the voiceover (and maybe acting) field in the greater-Seattle area. I had my acting resume, but... headshots. Yep. Kind of need those, too. SO, since Merrilee is a whiz with her spiffy new camera, she agreed to take some headshots for me! She and I headed to a local park and got the job done - which is no small feat, considering as how I had NO idea what I was doing! She's a pro, I'm telling you. Merrilee also took some great shots of Bruce, which she edited and sent our way as well.

So, just because I'm so impressed (and freaking proud of how handsome my little man is!), here you go:

And yes, being the sentimental mommy that I am... I cried when I saw this picture! My sweet baby!

This picture, aside from being insanely adorable, is great; this is the face he makes before deciding to do something 'new' - a new way to roll, a new way to smile, a new "something".

Some of my headshot options:

Now, these are just THREE options! She sent me way more to choose from - these are just the ones I pulled off her Flickr account (I hope that was okay, Merrilee!).

All-in-all, I'd say it was a great weekend!