Life lately...

It's been a whirlwind up in these parts over the past couple of weeks.

The biggest thing taking up the most of our time is trying to move.

Operative word: trying.

Mother Nature and my immune system have not been supportive of our efforts to get into our new house.

The first weekend we tried to move, we had -25 degree wind chills and wind gusts of 60+ mph.

And snow.  So we did some packing and only moved some non-essentials.

Max likes to help

 The following Monday, I fell down the stairs after putting Max down for a nap.  Don't worry, I'm fine (though my tailbone says otherwise).  I continue to be thankful for the fact that I wasn't carrying Max when I fell.  And I no longer traipse up and down the stairs in slippery socks.  I learn my lessons the hard way.

That night, we got a bit more snow and Victor had a snow day on Tuesday.  Perfect day to get lots of packing done and a bit of moving since it didn't snow that much, right?  Ha.  I caught a stomach bug and was hugging the toilet all night Monday and was too weak and sore (from falling) on Tuesday to be worth anything.  I don't typically get throw-up sick.  Didn't even have morning sickness when I was pregnant.  So that stomach bug wiped. me. out.  I HATE being sick like that.  So much that I now correct myself when I want to say something is so gross that it "makes me want to throw up."  Because I don't want to throw up.  Ever.  Again.

Ok, back to why we still haven't moved into our house.  We got even more snow last weekend.  Snowed all day Saturday.  We packed things, but didn't move anything.  It snowed some more Thursday morning.  This is the third weekend we've attempted to move, but now we're about to go on vacation, so we're waiting to move the rest of our stuff until after we get back.

Helping dad take the table apart

The moral of the story is: don't plan to move in the winter in Maryland.  Because Mother Nature will laugh at you.  She'll laugh right in your ecstatic little face.

Other things that are happening around here include:

-Max decided that the best time to poop today was when I was trying to put him down for both of his naps, riiiight as he was about to drift off to sleep.  I spent 1.5 hours of my day today trying to get him to take a flippin' nap.

 -I emptied Max's drawers and closet of all of his clothes that are smaller than 12 months size.  At his 9 month check-up last week, Max weighed in at 23 lbs., 14 oz. and is 30.5 inches long.  90th percentile for weight, 95th for height, and his monster noggin is in the 97th percentile.  But his pediatrician assures me that he's not going to be tall when he grows up because Victor and I are shorties.  The kid came out with red hair and blue eyes.  I say anything is possible.

-Max is cruising everywhere.  Around his crib.  Along the couches.  Behind his elephant and singing walker.  He's all over the place.  He's not standing or walking without support yet, so we're not completely screwed, but we're pretty close.

-We're preparing for a cross-country flight with a teething 9-month-old who's never flown before.  Prayers please.

 -I'm reading every night before bed and I'm LOVING it.  Currently reading Still Alice by Lisa Genova (also a movie starring Julianne Moore).  So good and so sad; it's about a woman who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease.  I hope to see the movie once I finish reading.

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Before that, I read Leaving Time by my favorite author, Jodi Picoult.  I had lots of dreams about elephants while reading this book.  For realz.  Also a great read.

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Before that, I read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.  'Twas cray-cray, that book, but so enthralling.  Also saw the movie a few weeks ago (very true to the book) but left the room during one particular scene that I knew was coming and I knew I couldn't handle since I read the book first.  How's that for being prepared?

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That's about it from these parts.  I'm super-excited to be heading to Arizona in a few days for some Cincinnati Reds spring training and to have some fun in the sun with my Ma and my Sis!

Goooo Redlegs!  This was from my trip to Arizona in 2012.