Lucas is walking!

Lucas is now 11 months old! Well, the little guy is just growing up faster than a weed, and he decided to start walking last week. It's been a work in progress for sure. First it was a step or two before falling over. In his excitedness and eagerness, he would get bouncy and lose his balance when leaning forward too much. I think he was ready to run before walking! This week he has made definite progress - walking halfway across the living room, from couch to music table, and all around his daycare classroom. I can't believe just a year ago I was still anticipating his arrival. And his 1-year birthday is just around the corner. My how time flies!

My sister visited from Seattle last week and my parents came up for the weekend. We had a good time driving up to north Georgia to taste some fried apple pies, photograph Lucas in a pumpkin patch, and make a short visit to the base of Amicalola Falls. Happy Fall, everyone!

Time flies!

Lucas at 9 weeks old!

Okay, so I have been a terrible blogger since the baby arrived! I spend most of my time on Facebook these days, but for those who are actually reading this, here's a quick summary of the last two months:

November 14, 2010: Baby decides it's time to make an appearance. I start contractions around 4 am, head to Piedmont Hospital around 7:30 am, and Lucas Cole enters this world at 5:28 pm. It's a boy! 7 lbs 8.6 oz, 21" long.

The rest of November and early December we kept to the house for the most part. My wonderful mother spent the first three weeks with us and helped with the baby, cleaning and cooking. My sister was able to come visit for Thanksgiving and spend a week playing auntie. My dad also visited several times between work and helped out with a lot of handy things around the house. A huge thanks to them all! We also had visits from neighbors, friends and in-laws.

December 18, 2010: My dear SIL Jennifer weds my brand-spanking-new BIL, Scott, in Pensacola! This was really a great trip, as we were able to celebrate a new marriage, introduce Lucas to the extended Bachmann and Williford families, and also get out of the house for a bit. It was a nice long-weekend trip, and I think we handled our first trip with baby pretty well. When we returned, we spent a nice quiet Christmas at home. My sister was able to visit the week after Christmas for another week, so it was great having our own in-house auntie/pediatrician with us once again!

December 28, 2010: My parents had a traditional Chinese 1-month party for Lucas (he was actually closer to 6 weeks old, but the timing worked out so that my sister could be in town for the dinner.) We had a wonderful dinner party at Shangri-La Chinese Restaurant in Augusta with about 45 people. Lucas got showered with many generous gifts and red envelopes from my parents' friends. We had a great 9-course meal, complete with angel food chocolate chip cupcakes and lucky hard-boiled red eggs for party favors made by Mom.

New Year's Eve was spent quietly at home with a few friends that came over for dinner and Wii games until the ball dropped. Lucas and I fell asleep shortly after midnight.

January: We enjoyed our last week with DH home before he started spring semester at GSU. But then we got hit with a major snow and ice event here in Atlanta on the 9th, so classes were canceled for almost the whole first week. We hunkered down at the house for 5 days, then ventured out for a short walk on Friday, however there was still ice on the roads. Things finally started melting when we got above freezing on Friday and Saturday.

Today: I'm working on finishing up many thank-you notes for many nice and generous baby gifts for Lucas. I'm also trying to get baby announcements done before I am heading back to work and Lucas starts daycare on February 1st. My, has my maternity leave flown by! Lucas had his 2-month appointment yesterday: 2 shots, 12 lbs 14.6 oz, and 22 1/2" long. He's growing up so fast! Happy New Year!

Due Date

Well, it's my due date and baby has decided to continue to hibernate. I had an appointment this morning and not much is happening. Baby is in position and snug as a bug in a rug. I don't blame it since it's been freezing outside each evening. Maybe it's waiting for it to warm up a bit? I'm back for a check-up on Friday, unless things progress between now and then. Meanwhile, we are about 1/2 way done painting the nursery, and hopefully once that is done we can get all the furniture in place. Maybe Baby B know's it's bed isn't put together yet and Mom and Dad need a little more time? Otherwise, I'm feeling fine minus a little allergies and getting lots of naps in while I can. Sesha has been a real snuggler with me on the recliner in the living room. Boy is she in for a big surprise soon!

Sesha's progress

As I was being attacked on while using the computer this morning, I finally thought to take another photo of Sesha in comparison to the computer mousie like I took when I first got her. It's been about 5 months now, and she's about 6.5 months old. I guess since I see her every day, it doesn't seem like she's grown that much, but looking at the photos, I can definitely tell! These days, she still has her manic, crazy kitten moments, and then the definite crashes where she's sleepy, lovey, and cuddly. Most evenings, she likes to climb up onto our chests (or belly) for a long evening nap while we're watching TV on the sofa. Thoth still tolerates her - he's such a softie that she usually gets her way, whether it's a food bowl (there's 2, but somehow the one he's eating out of is always the one she wants), an open windowsill, or a spot on a piece of furniture. She still attacks his tail, jumps on his head, and wants to play with him a lot, but he's a good sport and still enjoys alone time with us when she's preoccupied or crashed out in one of her deep sleep catnaps.

Eat Pray Love

I enjoyed a little movie night at the Picture Show (discount theater in Marietta) w/DH tonight - Eat Pray Love. It was better than I expected, and I had to laugh when the following line was presented - how timely! Too late to back out now...

"Having a baby is like getting a tattoo on your face. You really need to be certain it's what you want before you commit."
— Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love)

I think I might have to read the book now. Add it to my long reading list, after all the ones on pregnancy, newborns, and toddlers...

Eggplant Parmigiana

Heather, Jennifer, and I headed to Scalini's Italian Restaurant this evening to partake of their famous Eggplant Parmigiana - said to induce labor within 48 hours. (Well, Heather doesn't like eggplant, so she opted for chicken parmesan instead.) I had actually never tried the EP before, and thought it was rather tasty. The eggplant is sliced, breaded, fried, then baked with the cheeses and sauce. We also got a side of spaghetti with (I chose meat) sauce. Of course, there was also endless salad and the famous garlic rolls. We topped it all off with dessert (spumoni for me and DH) and made sure to take our photo with the baby wall on the way out. So, will anything happen in the next 48 hours? I guess we'll have to wait and see!

38 weeks

Well, it's my last week of work for awhile. Although I know it's going to be plenty of long hours at home, I'm still looking forward to it! The spackling of walls in the nursery was finished this weekend, so we just have to paint the upper half, then the furniture moving can be completed. Hopefully the baby will allow me to get things finished up at home next week during my week off before my due date.

I attended my friend Heather's baby shower last weekend - here's an updated shot of the three of us. Heather's about 38 weeks here, and Jennifer and I are about 37 weeks:

We're plannning a "baby eviction party" sometime in the next week to partake of Scalini's famous eggplant parmesan - reported to induce labor. We'll see if it really works. Other than the usual discomfort finding a comfortable sleeping position, swollen hands and feet, a little pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel syndrome, and some minor aches and pains, I can't really complain!