he walks and walk and walks and walks

If you went to Primary you probably know which song I'm alluding to in the title of this post.
But even if you didn't, you get the picture: Pierce is walking everywhere these days.

This video is actually nearly two weeks old now so it's already out of date but it's better than nothing. I need to post the latest but I'm too lazy to download and upload it tonight.

Pierce is now pretty much an all-terrain walker. We went to the park after church and he made his way through grass, gravel and plowed through piles of leaves. It's amazing to watch him progress. He's come so far in the past month. He took his first steps just before he turned 10 months and today he turned 11 months.

Enjoy! And, as usual, pardon my rambling narrative. ;)

happenings

These past few weeks have been a little insane. Shane worked around the clock to prep for a big trial and his mother came to town to help us get through it all. But with my work being slower (thank you, 2012 elections!), I've had a chance to leave Pierce with Grandma and bring Christian into the office a few times. He's really enjoyed the one-on-one time and now begs to go to my work with me.

I love that the pics above capture Christian's newly developed cheesy grin. He didn't use to cheese it up so much, but had a more natural smile. Now I can't keep him from squinting up his eyes and practically clenching his teeth when I'm trying to take his picture.

The other week we enjoyed lunch together over at Union Station (side note: it looks SO MUCH BETTER than it did when I first moved to D.C.! And AFTER we ate lunch we discovered it now has a JAMBA JUICE!) It took twice as long to walk across the Capitol grounds because he was busy checking out the plants along the way. It was a simple reminder to me to enjoy the little things -- since I pass them each day without much notice. We shared the California panini from Corner Bakery -- my absolute fave -- and he gobbled up more than his fair share. Next time I think I'll make this kid will get his own. He made his vegetarian mama proud -- enjoying all the artichokes and peppers and spinach stuffed inside and even requesting carrots instead of potato chips. My heart was bursting. Of course then we topped it all off with cupcakes from Crumbs, you know, to keep things balanced. ;)



Can you see why he likes me office? My coworker hooked him up with this expandable "ball" and he could play with it all day if I let him.

Christian's still sporting his short summer cut as we battle through a round of ringworm. Yes, ringworm. Gross, right? Don't let you kids play with other kids...or mud. Ha! The pediatrician said it could have come from either one. I think it's the mud, personally. This kid has no fear of dirt and nearly every time we play outside he needs to bath afterward. For now we're treating it with anti-fungal cream around the clock because he refuses to take the internal medicine but it's pretty darn stubborn so he's still got a patch on the side of his head. Good thing he's a boy!

Shane spent his last week of work winning his trial in Charlottesville. When he returned last Friday night it was such a relief to know he'll never have to work at his old firm again! It's been a three-year nightmare, really, and we're both so happy to have it over and done with. I probably shouldn't say this out loud but I'm very grateful he never did get an associate position there, even though it meant extra stress and uncertainty this past year.

This week we've been trying to soak in as much time with Shane as possible before he reports to JAG Reserve training this Saturday. Shane's father arrived on Sunday night and it's been fun to have the boys get to know him. This is his first time meeting Pierce and they seem to get along pretty well. We've been carving pumpkins, touring around town, and just enjoying this gorgeous fall weather together.

We've been talking about Shane going to training all year but now that it's finally here I'm trying not to panic. We know we'll get to see him in a few weeks (we're allowed to visit when he's in Charlottesville, about 2.5 hours away) so I think that's what is keeping me from sobbing...at least for now...we'll see what happens this weekend since I've never been good at good-byes. I'm tempted to just kiss him good-bye at the door and let him ride to Richmond with his coworker. Wish me luck.