ermahgerd!

i need to just use this darn blog. be real and update. that's my resolution for this bad boy now. and really, i hate typing with correct punctuation and capitalization. i know better, i'm just too lazy to hit shift. so there, no more! rest easy, left pinkie.

so july happened: i turned 30 and didn't mind it. ben won the weight loss competition, but i'm close behind him having lost 8 of the 10 pounds i was hoping for. whit is almost running now, he took to walking so well. he's also starting to have tantrums. and pick up words. so far he says: itty (kitty), oey (zoey), dg (dog), mama, dada (or daddee), that, ight (light), baby, and something that means "get". amanda and pierce came to visit to celebrate our birthdays. my mother in law had a cancer scare and surgery, but turns out everything is fine. august: ben's mystery illness popped up. ben's dad and stepmom visited yesterday. and tuesday will be whit's one year birthday!

oh man, just realized i haven't posted whit's 11 month old pic and stats or a weekly collage in... um... weeks. i really am insanely busy. working full time, whit's been very clingy and teething, and the past few weekends have been planned out for me. and the next few continue to be. so, ashley, take it small!

today: the inlaws, whit and i all went to church. about halfway through the sermon i was paged back to the nursery to a red-faced, bright blue-eyed whit. tear-stained face and he had been crying so hard he was starting to hiccup. i just rocked him for a bit and gave him some tylenol. he had a molar break through last weekend and the other side's tooth has been trying to come through the past couple of days. my poor little guy!

so we walked next door to a coffeehouse called the frothy monkey (so good!) and had brunch. today was the first time i've ever ordered something specifically for whit and he really liked it. didn't come close to eating most of it, since it was way too much, but it was yummy.

cheesy farm eggs and local bacon....mmmmmm!

mama, more bacon, please!

then we walked over to the toy store on main street and i just let him loose. i'm sure we got some looks due to his bare feet, but eh, he was having a grand time walking around looking at stuff, poking the stuffed animals and "claiming" two dinosaurs. thankfully those were the only things he put in his mouth!

ooooh, dinosaurs!

i'm glad he's started to like particular things a little. it makes it easier to answer relatives' questions about presents. all i can say now is he really likes anything with wheels, water, and dinosaurs. it's tough, people ask what shows is he into, and he's not. i've kinda tried to keep him from tv, but even when he gets the chance to watch he doesn't care about it. when he was little he would watch baseball and football a little. last night he and i watched the new episode of too cute together. i would make noises to go along with the animals and he would giggle. it's a super fun show for everyone, if you've never seen it. the viewing advisory at the beginning is hilarious.

but past that, he's not a tv kid right now. i think he's going to take after me and like being outside a lot. he finally got over his aversion to grass and the three of us hung out on the lawn the other night. watching lightning bugs, pulling weeds, and getting eaten alive by the mosquitoes. i swear all three of us have the sweetest blood there is!

okay, now on to wrapping a few presents for whit's birthday. i should not have bought anything for him, but i can't help it! i have way more fun buying him things than buying myself anything. uuuugghhh, never thought i'd hear myself say that, lol.