Keeping up!

Stage 2 solids, finger foods, commando crawl, safety gates, first tooth...it's been enough to keep me from blogging. I have plenty of video and tons of pictures (still in the camera) and I'm afraid that they will all be outdated by the time I get them on here. So in the meantime, here is a little "before and after baby" list to keep you occupied. I'll try to be better about getting current stuff up, but no promises!

BEFORE: 8-9 hours of sleep and waking up well rested
AFTER: anywhere from 2-4-6-8 hours of sleep and waking up joyful

BEFORE: Date night at the movies with popcorn and soda
AFTER: Date night with Netflix and a bowl of cereal

BEFORE: Vacations were vacations and restored the soul
AFTER: What vacation?

BEFORE: Reading to feed the mind and gather information
AFTER: Reading "Little White Fish" for the 10th time, because, yes, he has a favorite

BEFORE: Time went by in minutes, hours, days...you know, the way it always had
AFTER: As they say, time really does fly

We are having a great time with our little mover and shaker. It's funny how the things that were semi-jokes at one point seem to manifest themselves into our guy's little personality and how some of the most minute details seem to have miraculously crept into his genetics (the ankle roll alone confirms that there is indeed a creator-with a great sense of humor I might add).

Children really are miracles. And let us remember that even though it's been a long time since we have slept in a crib, tried our pincer grasp for the first time, discovered the kitchen cabinets and their contents...that we too are miracles. At one time, each day was a new discovery for us with new things to learn and play with. So the public service announcement:

Growing old doesn't mean we have to stop discovering and stop playing. Keep doing what you do...until you don't!