One

I am officially the mother of a one year old.

Cillian turned one two weeks ago and he is as happy and bouncing as ever... I sure love my tiny tot. He is our little sunshine - it sure takes a good deal to dampen his cheery spirits. I look forward to seeing his grinning dimpled face every morning, as he bounces happily in his crib, ready to start the day with me.

I've been blessed with a very happy baby...

We had a celebratory cookout for him at a park here in Indianapolis the Saturday after his birthday, and it went very well. I made a couple of car cakes (complete with racing stripes!) with the help of my neighbor and we had the classic burgers and hot dogs, fruit salad, green salad, potato salad, and cake and ice cream. We had a lovely turnout of family and friends and drove home with an extremely generous caboodle of new presents for Cillian.

I know it's the most cliche thing I can say on the subject, but I really can't believe how fast this first year with Cillian has gone... it truly flies by quicker than you can imagine. But wow, it's been a terrific time so far. Caleb and I love being parents, and I am convinced now more than ever that our decision not to wait for kids was one of the best we could have made for our newly married life.

Speaking of our married life, Caleb and I are approaching our second wedding anniversary coming up on July 12 (also Caleb's 27th birthday). And that is also hard to believe!

I am so happy right now. This is truly the best life I could have dreamed of having - better even. Of course it's better than I could have ever imagined. I'm blessed beyond understanding with the husband, little son, and family I have. What an abundance of blessings I have to be thankful for!

Back to Cillian... he is in the beginning stages of walking now. He can stand up without support for a few seconds at a time, always testing himself by lifting his hands off of whatever he's holding on to in the "So big!" way. He can also take a couple of steps when he's feeling more daring, but so far he's been slow and steady in the walking development. He'll be a pro in no time though.

One of his favorite things to do is dance - he loves bouncing whenever there is music playing. Some hits are Celtic music (the kid knows his roots!) and my piano playing. As soon as I play his song, he crawls over as fast as his little limbs can carry him so he can plink along with me while he dances like crazy. I love it...

He has been saying a couple of words too, which is fun - normally "duck" and "dog" only without the "d's." So we hear quite a lot of "uck"ing and "og"ing. Whenever he hears a sound outside (and most times, it's not even a dog,) his tiny eyebrows shoot up, eyes bright. "Og! Og...og. Og!" Every once in a blue moon a "d" will slip out, and we'll hear the legitimate "dog," but it is a very rare occurrence, nearly to the point of being mythological.

I sure am enjoying these simple days of just me and him during the day. His simple and predictable routine. Wake up, eat, play, sleep, repeat. We're in between teething spells right now, so I'm enjoying not having to deal with that for the present. The most upset he ever gets is when he's tired, hurts something, or can't have something. It's a pretty simple little world of Cillian's right now. We're in the beginnings of discipline, but even that is relatively simple.

Life is pretty easy with a one year old. I love every age he is in, and each stage he comes to is "the best so far." I wonder if I'll continue thinking that once he reaches teen-hood... Hopefully if I do my job right, I will be. :)

For now, I'm loving my one year old. He is my little man. And he holds my heart in both of his tiny hands.


Here's the Quote of the Day!

“My friend has a baby. I'm recording all the noises he makes so later I can ask him what he meant.”

~ Stephen Wright

Rude People are Everywhere

Hello everyone! Are you still there? I'm not dead, I promise. I've just been waiting for the writing urge teamed with a good reason to post something worth reading for the last two/three months. Apologies to those I've kept waiting for so long.

This is a very uncharacteristic post you are about to read, as it's quite unorthodox of me (no pun intended) to post it exactly after "Fr. Thomas Hopko's 55 Maxims." Well... you'll see what I mean in just a minute.

I've been mulling the idea for this post around for a couple months now I think, and it all started when my mom shared a particularly surprising experience she had with a Rudie at Meijer. I won't recount the entire story, but Ms. Mean Meijer Lady was certainly being deliberately rude. Naturally, my dear Mom was speechless at being so unexpectedly bombarded with such treatment, and came home to ask what we would have done in that situation. The indignant side in us began coming up with all sorts of hilarious comebacks (which, of course, you can do once you're not in the situation anymore).

And it got me thinking....

You never ever, EVER plan to go out one day expecting to meet a rude person. (At least, I don't.) And wouldn't it help if one was prepared for such situations ahead of time so that you're not resorting to swearing or stuttering! I think so. So, of course this means that one must have a pre-thought-out list of comebacks at the ready for any type of situation, so that when your brain freezes up, you can whip out that trusty little list and combat with, "Number 14!!!!"

So I have a couple of starters to get your thoughts rolling.

1 - "Oh, I apologize... for a minute there I had you confused with the center of the universe."

2 - "So, are you only rude on special occasions or where you just born this way?"

3 - My personal favorite.... Burst out laughing, "You think you're important! HAH!!"

I assure you, it's the last thing they'd expect for you to be quick on your feet with a witty (and humorous - that helps too) response.

I would love to hear some imaginary comebacks you have.... let's have a laugh!

More posting soon - I just needed a small one to get me going for more introspective stuff.


Here's the Quote of the Day!

"Whoever one is, and wherever one is, one is always in the wrong if one is rude."

~Maurice Baring