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

New Year Resolutions - A New Spin on 2011

This is the first post of the new year, I believe! It's funny, the very second each new year hits, I automatically feel more motivated to work on things. Not that that is all bad, but what is it that makes people want to start off with a clean slate for a new year? Why can't we feel like this at the beginning of every month, or every week, or day? Thank goodness it at least happens to me at least once a year instead of once every ten years. 2011 is not an even number.

I am definitely one of those people who makes New Year Resolutions. And I do a fair job at endeavoring to keep them, but the effort in essence hasn't become a habit, so therefore, I falter right along with the February crowd. Every year.

Supposedly, it only takes twenty-one days to form a habit. Well... habits aren't necessarily lifestyles, are they? I think it takes a bit more than just twenty-one days to form a lifestyle.

And, in a nutshell, that is what I'm about this year in particular - I'm out to create a better lifestyle, made up of better habits. But I'm pretty sure it all starts with your attitude. If your attitude is in the right place, so will your motivation and determination, and consequently, you'll accomplish what you want.

For me, the biggest thing I want to start doing (for life) is living what I believe. I'm such a good talker... I'm so good in fact, that I'm hypocritical. I know exactly what I need to do, but while I'm preaching it, I'll be doing the opposite! So, starting now, I'm trying to do what I believe. It really does take courage.

I am including the classic lose weight/exercise more combo also. I still have baby weight to lose, and it's not going anywhere unless I make it! This stuff takes honesty too - brutal, unforgiving honesty. Still working on the exercise end, but the eating better is going alright so far. I bought a jump rope after I learned that you can burn up to about 500 calories if you jump rope for a straight hour. It was only $3, so I haven't really wasted any money by neglecting to use it yet. But I should start soon. I watched some YouTube videos of some crazy jump roping to psych me up.

In general, what I want is to learn how to be balanced and consistent and hard-working. Those three things will help me in my struggles right now; I'll become a much better woman as a result of diligently working on them. Along with pursuing a better spiritual life (I'll get into that next.) I think I tend to gravitate toward extremes, and when that happens, I'll go go go for one big burst and then crash like it never happened. So I want to be more consistent in how I'm doing things. I think the key with me is to make goals that are easily achievable and work from there.

On the spiritual end, I'm trying to keep my prayer rule. I want to be reading more Scripture, lives of the saints, and teachings of the Church Fathers, and I'm going to start meeting regularly with my priest to talk. I definitely need accountability and some direction from a priest.

So, I think I'm on the right track!

Some things I've realized make me feel best are:

* Doing something for Caleb every day
* Doing something for me every day: something I love or want to do
* Working around the house somehow every day
* Doing a good job taking care of Cillian every day
* Play piano a little every day
* Pray every day
* Eat right and do something active every day

There are many others, but those are the main ones that make me feel like I'm being a worthy wife and mother, and just a good human being.

So, all of that said - I hope you make it a point to start better lifestyles and not be so wrapped up in starting new habits! I think new and improved habits are good, but they only get you so far. If your attitude is willing, you can create any lifestyle you can dream of.

Happy New Year, folks! May it be a wonderful 2011 for all of you!

Here's the first Quote of the Day for the new year, from the 2011 Orthodox Daily Calendar:

"He who is not submissive in his talk will certainly not be so in what he does. To be unfaithful in the small things is to be unfaithful in the great, and this is very hard to bring under control."

~ St. John Climacus