Just as that day seemed to speed to a close before I was ready for it, so does the last month before Liam turns one year old. I've been neglectful of writing here, but not for lack of things to write. Like so many other things these days, it just seems difficult to make the time.
Since I wrote last, our lives have been busy, filled with kid-focused activities, as well as milestones in our own lives. Entertaining Lucy played in public as a 5-piece band for the first times over Labor Day weekend and then later that week. The whole family video chatted with Grandpa for his 70th birthday. We celebrated our anniversary by visiting the Museum Center (site of our nuptials) and attending the wedding of another "broomball couple," which required finding a new babysitter for the occasion. Charlie enjoyed riding more of the rides at P&G Dividend Day at Kings Island this year, since he has now surpassed the 36 inch mark (just barely!). Liam acquired a third tooth (off to the side on top) and had a nasty double ear infection that kept him from sleeping well for about a week. His formula was recalled and we went through a series of brief dietary changes (including starting to move him to whole milk and then retreating from that) before locating some non-recalled versions of the same brand to get him back on track. John upgraded his suit collection so that he could attend the ceremony where his work team was awarded the GBS Excellence Award for Building the Business.
While many of our friends were having fun with "back to school" activities, we had our own version of that season. Just after Labor Day, Liam started music classes one day per week at daycare and he loves them! That same week, Charlie started Tumblebees classes at the same gym where we held his birthday party. The first week went great, and after a minor hesitation and moment of shyness when he first met his teachers, he jumped right in and had a great time. He listened to instructions, and followed along, waiting his turn for each activity. The second week was rough, with a lot of fussing, and John had to go out in the gym with him to keep him calmed down. I took him back for the third week, and he screamed when it was time to go in, and said he didn't want to go. So we left right away and I got our money refunded. I used the credit on our account to enroll Liam in swimming lessons for the rest of the term. He is doing great, and seems to be a natural. Charlie has not mentioned tumbling since.
Meanwhile, at preschool, Charlie has made a great friend in Larry, who he had a blast with at Kings Island. His friend Odin from the toddler room just moved up to his room as well. He is saying goodbye to Katinka soon, when she moves "way over the ocean" to Geneva. We had a sad goodbye last week when Charlie had to say goodbye to Miss Shernaaz, one of his teachers, who moved to Chicago. He has really been enjoying playing doctor in the dramatic play area, and learned a great deal about dinosaurs last month while they studied them in depth. They made paper mache dinosaur eggs and later hatched them, went on digs in the sandbox for dinosaur bones, and learned how to tell what a dinosaur ate by the shape of his teeth and the length of his neck. Charlie still takes Spanish twice a week at school, but he misses his Stretch and Grow class which is on hold for the season.
Charlie's not the only one learning and growing like crazy. Liam pulled up to standing for the first time last Wednesday. He's already cruising around while holding on to the couch, or Charlie's table, or sometimes our hands. We had him back at the doctor today and it seems his ear infection is back. Hopefully this stronger antibiotic will kick it for good and we'll finally get some sleep.
Lucy, meanwhile, descends into puppy-hood, as she strives to maintain our attention. She is escaping the fence in the backyard more frequently, and has started to steal food from the counters or tables whenever we leave the house. I'm really hoping this is just a phase. The food is one thing, but she has also started to destroy some of Charlie's toys here and there-- luckily I've been able to shield him from it and it's been nothing important so far.
The whole family is looking forward to Halloween, always one of my favorite holidays. After looking through catalogs of costumes, Charlie went through a succession of what he wanted to be, which extended beyond Halloween and into "when I get big." Among the choices were a fireman, Batman, and a train. (I'm not sure how he thinks he will become a train when he grows up?) We have settled on Spiderman for a Halloween costume, and Liam will be a lion.
This time of year also brings the start of the fall broomball season, and this season John and I decided to play on a blender league team together for a few weeks. Charlie had a lot of fun watching us play on the big ice with Grandma watching over him and Liam. Beth also took Charlie to the last Reds game of the regular season. We had not taken him to a game since he was little and could easily sit in our laps without fidgeting. We've been watching some games on TV, and saw Gapper and Mr Redlegs at our local Skyline recently. And Great Grandma got him a t-ball set for the backyard for his birthday. So he was all geared up for the game. It was chilly, but we bundled him up, packed him a bag with some Teddy Grahams and a juice box, and he had a great time. When the Reds hit a homerun, and they set off fireworks, Charlie cheered and got excited. He told Beth that he wasn't scared of baseball fireworks. John got to see some Reds fireworks the week before that, when he attended the game where they clinched the division championship. Unfortunately, I saw no fireworks last night when I attended game 3 of the divisional series, and the Reds were eliminated from the playoffs after a disappointing error-filled run. Still even this Cardinals fan could appreciate the excitement in this city that hadn't seen a postseason MLB game for 15 years.
I will close with a promise (as always) to write more often, and not let so much time pass without sharing our life's ups and downs with our loyal blog readers. But as we head into the season of birthday parties, festive holidays, and outdoor celebrations, I know that this is a promise I'm only somewhat likely to keep. Perhaps I can keep my eyes on the road, though, and not miss my exit next time.
