What one year will get ya

Well, here I am one year ago today - 33 weeks pregnant.

I remember this week well.
Nesting became a family adventure that week.

I'd been nesting for a while.
It started with cooking.
Then cleaning. I was obsessed with cleaning each inch of my house.
Then came the laundry. I could not stand to have any dirty laundry in the house.
James would joke that before his pants could hit the floor, I would have them in the wash.
In a week or so, I would start crafting.
However, this week, James got the nesting urge.

He borrowed this bulldozer from my brother.
With it, he bulldozed our entire backyard.
Then he planted seed and covered our very large yard with hay.
He had visions of a yard full of lush green grass come summer.
It was beautiful to see my husband preparing our home for our son.
But, I was pregnant. Very pregnant. Very pregnant and obsessed with having a clean house.
And we have two dogs - who use a doggy door.
And bring in lots of dirt.
So, that week, my obsession with sweeping also began.
I've been sweeping twice a day since then.

Here we are today. We met Andrea and Paola at the park for a picnic, walk and some play time.
Paola and I discussed the bittersweet feelings we have about our babes nearing their first birthdays.

This is such a fun age. Lane learns something new each day.
But on the other hand, he is not a baby any more.

Each day is so exciting. With each task mastered, papa and I exclaim,
"He's a boy genius!"
But, he is definitely not a baby any more.

Proof being, no more baby food. If we eat it. He eats it. And he eats a lot of it. We even order him his own food at restaurants now.
He mastered drinking from a straw. He loves it. Only problem, if we have a drink, he thinks he should be able to drink it too.
He continues to work on his balance while trying to master the task of standing on his own.
I now know that he understands the meaning of no. If he is doing something he should not be, and I catch him, before I say anything, he will shake his head no at me.
Same goes from his end. If you ask him to do something that he does not want to do, he will shake his head no and grunt "Uh, uh."
Then today, that dreaded doggy door caused chaos in my life again. Lane has been aware of its existence for quite some time. He spends minutes at a time banging it open and close.
Mom, don't freak out, but today it clicked. He understands its purpose.
At first, he took one block at a time from the block box to the door. He would then place his arm outside the door and put the block on the deck. I had about 20 blocks on the back deck before he realized if the blocks can go out then he can too.

So, for now, the door stays closed while the babe is home.
Which, is not so bad.
Maybe I will only have to sweep one time a day.