Bet you didn't expect this.

So, a post every...oh six months. Not bad right?

Heh.

A lot has happened around here since last I posted. It would be silly to even try to play catch up. So let's just jump in here, shall we?

We had a lovely Thanksgiving here with Jus' folks and a couple of dear friends. It was honestly one of the most wonderful visits. Now, for those of you on the east coast, don't get me wrong...I missed you all on Turkey Day. But it was really nice to have family and friends around our table and just be.

Plus it gave us a chance to do some exploring around the area, unfortunately I wasn't the taker of all the pictures this weekend, so I don't have many yet to share. But here is one of Russell playing with the goats at the zoo. It'll have to do until I can get a copy of the others.



To all of you who have stuck with this blog despite my poor performance, I thank you.

Russell's first Haircut

Russell's hair is so fine and so blond that I almost feel like he doesn't have any. So, it was a hard to decide that he needed his first haircut. But I finally grew weary of him looking like a balding old man with the wispy stuff at the back of his neck and took him to get his haircut.

Before:

from the front:



profile:



We went to a chain place that caters to kids, so he got to sit in a car shaped seat that faced a tv screen. He loved it, until the buzzers were turned on.

During:

Playing with the car:



Then the buzzers went on:



Then the buzzers touched his head:



Then mommy had to put the camera down to comfort him.

But he looked really handsome when he was done. The other mother in the place (with 2 school-aged kids) commented that he looked older afterwards. The cut seems to have done his hair good, since then it's looked like it's fuller. He does have hair, it's just clear.

After:

'Helping' in the kitchen.

Russell has earned a new nickname around the house: 'helper'.

Yep, he helps you with all your chores.

He helps you unload the dishwasher by climbing into it and pulling out the sharp objects.

He helps you clean the floor by chasing the mop.

He helps you with laundry by emptying the clean laundry out of the basket and throwing it around the living room.

So, when you need a few minutes to do something, like cook dinner, you give him something to help with.

On June 30, I gave him a bowl, a wooden spoon, and a quarter cup of flour. Voila: cooking in the kitchen, helping mommy. And boy did he have fun.




He's gonna be a chef when he grows up.



And then, of course, the dingo 'helped' by licking all the flour off of the floor. What a team!

Delinquency is my middle name.

I have been so busy that blogging hasn't happened a lot lately, but cute pics of the babe have been taken, so I am going to work backwards and share the best of the best with you guys. Here's the first installment, July 1 - July 11 2009:

July 1st, 2009: Russell loves to sit and stare outside. Actually, most of the time it is him sitting and looking outside, and then imploring me to go outside. But you know, same thing right?



He does not understand that it is over 100 degrees out there.

The artistic version:



I love that photo.

July 7th, 2009: Russell loves spaghetti...it doesn't love him:



Just yesterday morning (7/11/09) I took this before we went over to the new house. He still loves his jungle mat.



More to come in the next few days...

Look who's 10 months old!

Cute as ever.

We bought him this rubber puzzle mat so that he could be outside on the patio with us, otherwise he only has cement and/or gravel. Unfortunately, he's a clever one, and rapidly learned how to pull all the pieces apart.

See:

pulling it up


playing with the pieces


And just plain causing a ruckus.


But he LOVES it, so we let him have his fun. At this point, he's much better about not banging his head on the ground, so if there are parts of the patio that are uncovered, it's not as big a deal.

The faster I work...

...the behinder I get.

I was just looking through baby pics and realized that, with regards to posting images here, you consistently get pictures about three to four weeks behind. Commentary without images is usually up to the minute.

For instance, these pics were taken on March fifth. I was sorting laundry. Russell 'helped' by finding the big pile of daddy's socks and rolling in it.



I guess a few weeks behind is the price you pay for uber-cute baby pics. (Or is that the price you pay for relying on me to post uber-cute baby pics? Same thing, right?)

In more timely news: I got out for a run this morning for the first time since...well looking back at the blog records, February 21st. Yikes! Knowing how long it had been, I went back a few weeks in the C25K program to see if I could gauge my fitness level at the moment.

Walk/Jog C25K Week 2 day 3.
Start time: 8:00 AM MST
Run time: 30ish minutes *see Notes
Distance: 2ish miles *see Notes
Pace: hard to calculate from 'ishes'
Estimated Miles on Sneakers:
Pink Adidas 4.80
Blue Brooks 14.83

Notes: So I felt really good today, week two is still under my belt with no issues. Having said that, I didn't finish it as it was supposed to be run because as I was coming up on the last 3 minutes of intervals, I spotted two stray dogs. Both without collars and in really good health, just trotting along separately down the street. I stopped running and pulled out my cellphone to figure out how to report these.

One of them, a beautiful shepard mastiff cross, if I had to guess, trotted along beside me for a little while, then went off to explore someone's yard. I am (as I type this) on hold with the Maricopa county animal control office to report them, so that maybe someone can pick the poor things up before they get hit.

I only wish I had been capable of getting them to follow me home so I could keep them safe until the animal control officer arrived. But I am certainly not going to handle a unknown stray by myself, no matter how friendly they seemed. I hope their mommies find them...or at least that they find a good home.

Babies in high chairs: Part II

Russell is learning to use a sippy cup. Mostly this means that Russell is learning to turn a sippy cup over so that he can pour water (or juice, or formula) on the tray of his high chair. Occasionally, he even gets some in his mouth!

It was just another day.

Feb 26 2009.

I had a cute baby who demanded my attention. I had a digital camera. I think we all know where this is going.

Reaching for toys is so cute.



Hey Mommy!



Me and My Monkey. (Mommy made him for me at Build a Bear for Valentine's Day!)



One great portrait.



It makes him happy when I take his picture. It makes me happy too.

Crashed!

After a long hard play, you need a recharge. Sometimes however, you just don't have the time (or the inclination) to let go of your toys before you crash out.

Notice he still has Monkey in in left hand.


Still clutching big green monster's scale.


And holding on to his FAVORITE toy, Justin's wireless mouse.


Play hard. Nap hard. That's Russell's motto.

Did you know the zoo has animals?

When the family came down to visit a few weeks ago, Russell, mom and I went to the zoo. It was a beautiful day, and we just wandered around and looked at the exhibits.

This time, Russell noticed that there were ANIMALS! Not all of them mind you (the green metal railing around 80% of the exhibits was fascinating too.) but he did start to understand that we were looking at animals.

In particular, in the children's part of the zoo, the animals are more accessible. They are usually only behind a fence with a few rails like a barnyard, so kids can see them better.

Russell spotted the Xebu. He got this big grin on his face. Then he spun around in my arms and hugged me tight as if to say, "Oh my gosh momma, don't look now, but there is a big animal in that pen and it's gonna get me!". It was really cute.

He also got to pet the goat in the open goat pen while Grammy Nason held him.









Mom also took a great pic of Russell and me in the Monkey exhibit.



The zoo is more fun every time we go. For both of us.

Babies in high chairs: Part I

You know it's law to take pictures of your kids eating right? I mean, I'm just following the rules...

He had finished dinner, and wanted to play with the (somewhat messy) bowl. At this point he already had peas all over him, so why the heck not?







This last one is dangerously cute.

More knit things for Russell.

I finally finished Russell's jacket. It's a good thing too, because if he doesn't wear it soon, it's gonna be too warm for it. Right now, it at least is cool enough for a sweater in the mornings and after sunset.

I thought I'd show it (and him) off a bit. I think he's awfully handsome in it.











I've sworn that the next time I start knitting a garment for him, it will be at least two sizes bigger than what he currently wears, giving me a chance of finishing it without the mad last-minute "if I don't finish this now he will never wear it before it doesn't fit" moment. Let's see if I can keep to that.

Pic of the day: At home baby portrait.

I realized today how far behind I am sharing some of the great pics of Russell we have. So here is some catch up.

On the 29th of January, I took a series of portraits of Russell wearing one of the sweaters his Grammie Georgi made for him, and they came out pretty well, if I do say so myself.





He's such a fantastic kid, I think he even enjoyed the photo shoot.

How did I carry all that weight?

So today we went for a walk around the complex, it is so lovely out. Instead of pushing a stroller though, I used it as a practice run with the Moby Wrap (our baby wrap/sling). He was very happy all the way around the complex, but good god was I tired by the time we hit the apartment again.

I can't help but wonder how (just last week) I carried him +/- 10 lbs of 'other weight' that I lost in delivery. I cannot wait to have my stamina back up.

Pic of the day:



Look - already a Red Sox Fan! The thumbs up was all him - we didn't even notice until hours after the picture was taken. Looks like being born on Long Island doesn't automatically make you a Yankees fan. Good to know.

RMG pic of the day

(taken June 9th - 3 days old)

Yep, he's still cute.

For today's "mega-milestone" he puked on me for the first time today. Not really earth shattering, but quite exciting in it's own way.