Double Digits!

Happy Holiday Craziness!  Man am I feelin' it this year!  I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that this is my first time experience the craze as a mother!  I guess I should start accepting this new pace of life, huh?  holiday madness or no holiday madness... I may as well get used to this!  It is truly amazing how slowly life moves when you're a child - the days seem to last forever - especially during the holidays!  We think Christmas will NEVER arrive!  With every year of my life I've felt things speeding up - but these last 10 months feel like a blink.  Zaiya will be a year old in 2 months - and I haven't even finished scrapbooking his birth!  So much for that - now that I'm a full time working mom!  I know I keep mentioning this blog after blog - but it truly takes my breath away every time I look at Zaiya and feel all the emotions of his birth all over again.  I am still stopping to take it all in whenever I can - trying to remember that these are the moments that I can't re-create.  Things are crazy busy at my job and I've been working a ton of overtime - which is great - but it just means more time away from the little one.  We do what we have to do, don't we?  It has really given me a great appreciation for the sacrifices parents make overall, especially mine.  This Thanksgiving was particularly special for me because I feel so blessed to have had such an amazing childhood and parents who sacrificed so much for me so that I could have all the memories that I have.  I hope that Zaiya feels the same way someday when he becomes a daddy himself!  :)  I also feel so full of joy (I've never used the word "joy" more than I have in the last year... it makes me giggle a bit, I must admit) when I think about how grateful I am to have such a healthy baby boy as well.  In the midst of some huge changes and challenges as of late... I take comfort in this gratitude.



Zaiya is now a professional crawler - he can get anywhere fast and he's quite confident in his stride.  Just yesterday I was watching him stomp across the floor with such determination - he seems to lift every limb with a bit of attitude - he slaps his hands on the hard wood floor as if to say, "Try and stop me, Mommy!"  He holds his head high in the air and does not miss a beat!  Speaking of beats...

Zaiya's new favorite activity with Mommy and Daddy is (perhaps this is not for the blog... oh well!) to turn on Michael Jackson and dance like no one's watchin'!!!  I do not have a video of this yet, but stay tuned.  Zaiya is all but standing on his own now and can hold on to anything close while bobbing one hand in the air and "gettin' low" with the best of em'!  It is HILARIOUS to watch and he giggles and laughs right along to every beat.  Our boy's got rhythm... now we'll leave it up to you all to decide who he got it from!  :)  HAHAHAHA!  (Obviously, me.)

Zaiya is eating, eating, eating now!  He had his first puffs this month and boy were they a hit!  He loves feeding himself and trying new things.  This past Sunday after a long day of traveling, we decided to give Zaiya some white rice to snack on... just to see if he'd take it.  We were able to capture this on video, but I must tell you that the first few bites were unforgettable.  It makes sense that he would "come alive" to the taste of some good ole' fashioned Haitian white rice, right?  Sure, but to see him lick his chops and suck his fingers and "mmmmmmm  mmmmmm mmmmm" right after the first bite was the funniest thing I have seen in quite some time (or, at least since the funny thing he did last month!  lol)  

 Just some perspective as to how big I am now... one of my favorite toys is the laundry basket... lol!

You can really see how much I'm growing in this picture - I look like a big boy!  Mommy says my face looks entirely too grown up in this picture!

I got to have puffs for the first time this month!  Yummy!  I love feeding myself!

This independence thing is prettty awesome! (So is my smile, am I right?)

I am so big and so good at crawling now!

On Thanksgiving morning, mommy made blueberry pancakes and I got to try them for the first time!

These blueberries are silly tasting!!!!!

It makes me make funny faces!!!

I finally decided that I really like blueberry pancakes... and boy am I cute wearing them!

I just love this life!

  A Thanksgiving Kiss from Mommy!

I mean, could I be any cuter!??

 All wrapped up for a walk with Auntie Kristen and Auntie Rebecca!

 Here I am with my cousin Connor again, boy are we going to get into some trouble together!!

Sleeping in the car... so peacefully... mommy loves my face in this picture!

Playing at Christmas with Mom-mom's family!

Hmmm Hmmmm Hmmm....

Mommy gave me rice for the first time on my 10 month birthday and OMG...

This stuff is AMAZING!

Seriously.  Have you tried this?

My daddy can cook some serious rice... I just can't get it in fast enough and then I lick all my fingers!!!

And, the grand finale...
the full effect of my first experience wtih Daddy's famous white rice!

We love you all!  Until next month... try and keep calm during th Holiday madness!

See you in 2011!

Is he really 9 months old?

Yes, little Zaiya.... time really is moving entirely too fast for mommy and daddy to keep up!


*SIGH*****  I am really trying to hold back the tears on this one, folks!  It's amazing how much faster time is going now that I'm working again!  Zaiya is now crawling like a champ, sitting and standing on his own... and has even begun to try and take a few steps while holding onto whatever he can find!  What happened?  In my post about 8 months he wasn't even crawling yet, nor could he sit himself up!  Now he's such a distinguished little man!  He is into everything!  He loves playing with anything except what I put out for him to play with!  Mostly, he likes to eat the mail, play with pots and pans, tip over the trash can in the kitchen, and follow mommy and daddy around in his walker (stubbing lots of toes!)

He has actually had a rough month as there hasn't been a week in the last 6 that he hasn't been on some kind of medication for some kind of ailment!  Our poor little guy has had a bad stomach bug, followed by a cold that seemed to last forever, followed by a double ear infection that was "treated" once and is now *hopefully* actually being treated b/c the first antibiotic 10 day treatments didn't really touch it!  It seems like I've been giving my baby more tylenol than milk this month!  :(  While we are all exhausted because it feels like we've had a newborn all over again who wakes multiple times in the night and can't fall asleep on his own.... I have to say that in the exhaustion I have really treasured all the snuggling that it's brought my way!  This weekend was the first quiet weekend we've had in a long time and so when Zaiya woke up from his nap on Sunday and seemed sleepy still, I sat in the rocker with him and we both fell asleep for another 45 minutes!  There have been lots of quiet moments like this and it's been really nice in the midst of all these changes we've been experiencing in our lives.

The news flash of late is that Zaiya is actually no longer in daycare!  The company Marc worked for in the mornings actually closed up shop so he ended up not having to work until 1pm each day - and we just couldn't stand having Zaiya in daycare with one of us home and not working (nor could our wallets!)  So, we decided to take him out of the daycare we spent sooooo long trying to get into!!!  Ah, life!  It won't surprise you that after only 3 weeks of daycare, he was already breaking hearts and got many sad faces when we left on Friday!!  We really did love his teachers and hate that he won't have more time with them.  It was a whirlwind of a 3 weeks... I'll skip the details but whoa is daycare hard.  I used to teach 3yr olds so I know how pre-schools are run and how crazy the days are!  And I don't know if that helped or hurt me in this process ... I think it helped me b/c it was very, very difficult to rush from work to pick up my lil' one and have only a small sheet of paper with very limited detail as to what he had done in the previous 9 hours!!  But I remember what it was like to have to keep up with too many kids at once - so I could understand the lack of detail.  However, being on the mommy end it was excruciating!!   It didn't really help that he was the smallest and the youngest in his class - and that he was almost always the last to leave at the end of the day b/c I couldn't get there until 5 minutes to close!   All of these things together make for an extra special kind of new mommy!  :)  (lol)  So...I have also decided that I'm not a daycare mommy yet - at least, not a full time daycare mommy.  I suppose if Marc hadn't lost the morning job that I would've been fine and I would've adjusted (his teachers really were wonderful - you really were, Shanda - I'm not just saying this!!!) just as Zaiya would've - but I think it may have been a blessing for our family that it worked out for Marc to be able to stay home with him in the mornings - and we have plenty of adjustments on our plates as it is... :)

I know Marc is thrilled to have so much time with him now, especially because he really only saw Zaiya on the weekends for the first 9 months!  I can't imagine how hard that was for him and I really am thankful for how hard he worked so that I could stay home.  Our roles have really reversed these last couple of weeks and it's been pretty hilarious (to say the least) at times, let me tell you!

In the afternoons, Zaiya will now be heading over to Auntie Brooke's house.  Some of you may know the Straders - Jenny (Brooke's sister) and I have been best buds since high school and we've always kept in touch throughout the years.   Their family is like a second family to me and I could not feel more comfortable leaving Zaiya with Brooke and her little angel, Jack Henry.  I hate that Zaiya has to make another transition so quickly, but I feel great knowing that he had a nice long morning nap and slept for an hour at Brooke's house this afternoon - he was out by the time we got home, too - and I'm crossing fingers and toes that he sleeps through the night!!

In a nutshell - I am really loving my new job.  I can't express how wonderful it is to work for a company that sincerely cares about my well-being!  QUITE the opposite of what I used to have!  I will leave it at that.  AND I will suggest that you all call me at work www.canvasondemand.com and order some canvasses!  I'll even give you a discount if you're really sweet to me!  :)  HA!  Seriously.  I wouldn't advertise for just anyone.  Really.  You know I wouldn't.  :)  They are WONDERFUL people doing WONDERFUL things with their company and I'm just so happy to be a part of it.  *Whew*

Okay... so brace yourselves for the pics of the little man... who is looking more and more like a miniature Marc every day!

 We went to a pumpkin patch with Auntie Kristen and my cousins to get our first pumpkin of the season!

I am king of these pumpkins!  (Really, I don't even know they exist.  All I care about is mommy's water bottle.  For REAL.)

Mom-mom got me this awesome baseball outfit!  I wish it was still warm so I could still wear it!!

I had so much fun with mommy's family at the Pumpkin Farm!  I'm mesmerized by the corn pit in this picture! 

Come on... has there ever been anything cuter than this? 

Mommy and Daddy took me to vote for the first time!!  I got a sticker!!!

I learned how to stand up and now I've got to keep stretching so I can start walking soon... :) 

See, I can pull up on my crib!!  Mommy says I look so scrumptious when I'm trying to concentrate! 

I LOVE showing off for mommy! 

I just found my tongue... and man does it help me focus!  (Mommy says I look like Mom-mom in this picture!!!  hahahaha!!) 

I'm pretty amazing, aren't I?  I'm going to be a tight rope walker one day... you just watch me!

Happy Happy Boy!!!

 HAPPY 1st HALLOWEEN!

I'm mommy's little pumpkin today!!!  (And every day!)

Zaiya's First Day at School!

Cue dramatic life soundtrack music!  Currently on the iTunes player: Dance With Life from the Phenomenon Soundtrack!  Yes, I am relishing this moment.  I have done very well so far... a few tears right after I let the classroom door click behind me, but instant comfort as I went straight to the office to watch him on the video camera!  I only hovered there for about 10 minutes, and then I left.

The weather this morning was a little crispy - so the chill obviously stole a few more sniffles from me.  It was strange.  All I wanted to do was come home.  I thought I was going to want to distract myself and run errands, but  this is all I wanted to do: write.  Nothing comforts me more than this.  I just love technology --- I just dropped him off this morning and I get to share all my feelings and the very pics I just took two hours ago with the world!  

It really doesn't feel real, I guess that's part of the reason I'm holding it together so well.  I feel like I left someone else's child at the daycare because I still have a little baby boy - a little baby who is nowhere near big enough to sit in his own chair or sleep on a cot!  I remember like it was yesterday what it felt like to hold him when he was just 5 pounds small... how fragile and magical it all felt.  I can still remember every moment of his birth, every moment of his first doctor's visit, his first little preemie outfit that I bought him, his first little curls... now he has a head full of curls and is wearing big boy shoes and jeans and shirts!  He's just figured out how to sit himself back up after being on his belly.  He's not quite crawling yet, but his little scoot gets faster and faster everyday.  

The house is quiet and feels pretty empty without my little guy.  Currently on the iTunes player: Angel by Sarah McLachlan.  I know for sure that my little buddy has plenty of angels watching over him now! As do I, which is the comfort that I am clinging to.  Life feels very quiet now, and as I was driving with an empty car seat and no baby cooing in the back seat, I have to admit the only song playing in my head was from the Pamper's Commercial:  "I'm a BIG GIRL now!"  LOL!  I wanted my phone to ring instantly... somebody, anybody, call me to check on me!  But I'm a mommy now and it's time for me to do the calling and checking!  I decided to give Marc at least another hour to call and check before I accused him of abandoning me on my big debut... errr.... Zaiya's big debut... ;).  And, of course, when he got a free moment he did call to check on us!  

Currently on the iTunes player: Wake Up Everybody by Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes.  It really would help if you all could hear these songs.  "Wake Up Everybody" has the perfect lyrics.  If you click the link you can listen to it!  It's the perfect song... I am quite sure that this is only the beginning for my little man.  I know that he is pretty much destined to make a change in this world in one way or the other.  Between Marc and I, he should have enough passion to carry him through just about anything.  I can't wait to watch him in all of his learning and discovery.  Maybe that's another reason why I'm doing so well - I am so excited about Zaiya's entrance into education.  I, of course, am having visions of him graduating from college, and then Graduate School, and then getting his PhD in something super exciting like, "Why parents expect so much from their children."  HAHAHA!!!  

I think I am starting to ramble... so I'll end it here.  Thank you for sitting with me in these first moments with an "empty nest."  ;)  I have a feeling dropping him off tomorrow is going to be even harder, for some reason.  When I was pregnant, I remember thinking about how overwhelming and strange it would be to have a baby in the house all the time... when for so many years it had just been me and Marc and quiet was all we knew!  Now, it is overwhelming and strange to have the opposite.  It didn't take any time at all for me to adjust to the laughter and noise that Zaiya's presence brought into our world... now I don't really know what to do with myself without it.  

Here are the pictures I took of the little man on his first big day... enjoy!  But I'm warning you... they might make you cry too!

He left the house a little baby...

And I left him at daycare a big boy...

Currently on the iTunes player: Rise Again by The Rankin Family... and... here... come... the tears.  LYTM, little Zaiya!  I'm so proud of you!  GO GET EM'!!!

The Wonder of Eight!

Our baby is 8 months old!  He has grown so much this last month - you won't believe it!  He now has two bottom teeth (I like to affectionately refer to them as fangs).  I thought I didn't want to lose the toothless grin, but the grin now with those two first little baby teeth is so priceless!  He is so close to crawling - right now he is still doing the alligator crawl/scoot across the floor... and he's getting faster and faster with each day that passes!  I seriously cannot believe he is already on the move!  Since it's cooled off significantly (YAY FALL!!) we have been able to spend more time outside, which Zaiya loves.  He loves to watch the trees and play with the grass - he'd probably dig a whole to China if I'd let him!  :)  He has loved all the rain we've had here as well.  He loves to be in the car when it rains and watch the raindrops fall on the car - it puts him to sleep every time but I love to stop the car and watch him watch the rain... I love the wonder and excitement in his face!


He's really started showing his personality this month as well.  We had a very interesting battle over spoons and he won... now he gets to hold one spoon every time he eats while I feed him with a different spoon!  (Hey - otherwise he wasn't going to eat!  Give me a break!)  He also has figured out that he can administer medicine himself - and he gets pretty angry when he wants to push the tylenol dispenser himself... as in... screaming bloody murder!  You can ask Auntie Kristen about this one... :)  We would like to give a shout out to Auntie Kristen for letting us borrow the miniature bottle dispenser for medicine because unfortunately Zaiya has needed a lot of it this month and it has made our lives so much easier!  This kid definitely has an opinion and Marc and I are prepping ourselves for lots of fun times ahead!!  :)  (I mean, I have no idea where he would get a strong personality from, do you??)


In other news I finally found a job!!  I'll be working for Canvas on Demand, a wonderful company that I interviewed with a few years ago but had to turn down an offer to work at UNC (sigh) b/c the benefits were so much better at UNC (sigh).  But I dug up the owner's email and thought I'd see if they were still hiring and sure enough, they were and they remembered me!  SCORE!  AND their company has grown significantly and so has their benefit package!  We are very excited to be entering this next era... and a little apprehensive, of course.  To be honest, I am tearing up just writing this!!  I know that it's the right thing for me to go back to work and I feel great about where I'm going - but... ;) I really don't wanna leave my little guy.  Since I got the offer I've really been pausing to soak up every bit of love and laughter I can get in these quiet moments that remain.  I know life will really never be the same as it has been during these last 8 months.  But we are both so thankful that we've been able to establish this solid foundation for Zaiya.  He's a happy boy and I am sure that all the new friends he is about to make will love him... ALMOST as much as we do!  :)


Wow, I really feel like I could go on and on about all the new and exciting things this little guy is into.  We are continuing to love every minute with him and we hope you have enjoyed these updates... because I can't promise those to come will be quite as extensive... ;)  

Having some fun after bath time!

 

This is what I look like with tamed curls!  Pretty cute, huh?  My hair is getting so long!

 I'm pretty serious about my big boy sippy cup!

 And here I am making my new favorite face!

Well, Marc got his wish: His very own little Barack!

 Another photo session with mommy!

Practicing my weight lifting form... and checkin' out my muscles!

 This is now one of my all time favorite pictures... the first time Zaiya wore real shoes!  Incase you can't tell, he thinks shoes are the greatest things since toes!  :)

 Well, he still thinks toes are pretty cool too... especially Mommy's!

Look out, world... here I CRAWL...

Um, actually, I think I'll check out my shoes again.

Okay.  I'm ready again... Here I go... watch me...

Hahahaha!  I was just kidding I can't really crawl yet!

Now.  This time I'm serious.  I can do this.  Don't mess with me.

Who needs this crawlin' stuff anyway.  HMPH.

And finally... here he is... live in action!

So happy mommy is home after her first interview!!
I wish she didn't have to go back to work!  (me too, buddy!)  ;)

Look at me! I can stand!!! (With help of course!)

I love Mommy and Mommy's Crab Plant (and Minkie) ;)

We had so much fun taking pictures before running errands on this day; I wanted to take pictures by my flourishing "crab plant" and it took Zaiya about 2 seconds to grab hold of a leaf 

and put it straight to the mouth!  :)

Our little man...

Our little guy is all grown up!  And we love every inch of him!

Happy Fall Everyone!!!