Did you miss me? Oh, you didn't even notice I was gone?

So ... it's been a while. A really long while. I think about you often, all 3 of you who come to visit. But I keep telling myself I will wait till I have something interesting to say. But I never do. Isn't that sad?

Or I'll think of something semi-amusing but then realize that it's more Facebook status update material. And I think that the only people who bother to read this blog are probably friends of mine on FB anyway.

The more I hope for inspiration, the less it comes to me. I used to share creative projects, but I have absolutely no time for myself anymore. You know, work, 1-year-old, dirty house, husband. That's how it goes.

I still work at a newspaper 3 nights a week as a copy editor. I've been there 10 years. But I also work for Warehouse Fabrics Inc. doing a sewing blog. And then I started handling their social media. And then I started handling their monthly newsletter. And then I started handling their new inventory, posting it to their website. This is both thrilling and tedious because, on the one hand, I get to admire many beautiful fabrics, and that's almost better than sewing. It's like hanging out at a fabric store all day, and who doesn't love that? On the other hand, sometimes I feel a bit swamped and struggle to find time when Brock isn't whining and pulling on my arm to get up and follow him.

Last month there was a particularly huge amount of new fabrics and it took me weeks to finish. Now we are working on a temporary project to recategorize everything on the site for search purposes. I love me a good organizing project, so for that reason I like it. But, again, sometimes I stare at my kitchen floor and think about how it would be nice if my feet didn't stick to it and I didn't have to worry about my son picking up typhoid as he rolls his cars around on it.

I'm eternally grateful to Warehouse Fabrics Inc. for the opportunity to earn money from home doing stuff I really like -- sewing, working with fabrics, writing and computer stuff. It's fantastic. But I am definitely not finding the time to blog much over here. And, you know, I don't really care. I'm so totally lucky to have this gig.

On top of regular life, I was dragged into helping to plan my high school reunion. It's this summer, in July. July is kind of freaking me out.

First weekend: Stepsister's wedding/dad's birthday
Second weekend: Son's birthday
Third weekend: 3-day class reunion that I'm responsible for, in part.
Fourth weekend: 7th wedding anniversary

Phew!

I'm a little worried about how Brock will deal with the reunion weekend when we have to be out late. We could get a room at the hotel, but he refuses to sleep in a bed with us (there may be a baby-sitter on-site). As a matter of fact, he flat out refuses to sleep anywhere but his crib. Which is why we haven't traveled with him. I know that eventually he has to fall asleep, but by then, will we all be exhausted to the point of not having any fun? We don't have a baby-sitter, and my husband isn't very quick to trust a stranger in our house. We don't have any family members who would want to sleep at our house or stay there till 12:30 a.m.

The things I fret about for half a year, I tell you.

So that's my life. Busy. Kind of unexciting to everyone else, but really, really good.

I'll leave you with a slew of cutey-pie videos of the BrockMonster. Like you're going to watch them all, I know.

Locked in the Closet





Carousel Jabbering





Carousel Heaven





She's Not My Girlfriend!





Crazy Hair





No iPhone

Christmas

Yes, yes, we are all over Christmas, aren't we? It's Jan. 7, after all. But I haven't posted in a while and thought I'd better give you a very important update on what Brock got for Christmas so you can all stop holding your breath.

First up were these really cool talking dinos. They talk to each other!

This was the first gift he opened. I loved his reaction. First he's like, "What's this stupid box covered in paper?" Then we start tearing the paper off ...



Then there's the excited dino reax



And the dino used as vaccum




I got him an Alphaberry, which has lots of buttons with the letters of the alphabet on them and a small screen. It also reads the letters to him. He immediately thought it was his own cell phone and nearly had a heart attack.

He also got a tool bench, but he's not that interested in that. Like father, like son, I guess.

I later regretted not bothering to wash or style my hair because I look atrocious in most of the Christmas photos. I was too busy worrying about getting a turkey dinner on the table. This photo was the least offensive.

Brock's aunt and grandma got him a Cars big wheel. It doesn't even matter that he can't reach the pedals. It has an awesome dashboard that makes lots of noises, so just sitting on it is the bomb.

Christmas is immediately followed by Mark's birthday.

Mark's friend came over and his son and Brock were in serious agreement about something or another:



All in all a merry holiday season here.

Santy Claus

First I was all, "I gotta take Brock to see ol' Santy Claus!"
Then I found out how much it cost to get pictures with Santy Claus. Then I complained on Facebook, like anyone cared. But then someone sent me a link to a Groupon for $11. It was at the mall across town, but worth the savings.

Mark wants everyone to know that he spent a long time styling Brock's hair into a cute little feathered 'do. And even though that would normally not be considered stylish, it's super cute on Brock.

Unfortunately, you can't tell he has cute hair in this picture.

You could tell Santa definitely preferred hugging little Brocky over the horde of fat teens who followed him.

Partying like a true Brock Star

On Friday, my dad and stepmom retired. Yay for them! On Saturday, we partied.

Brock grew weary of sitting peacefully, and the dance floor was empty, so we set him free. He wobbled and tottered all about with his hands in the air, sometimes one of them splayed across his face as though he simply couldn't believe something.

Then he took off for the band. He discovered their maracas and said, to nobody in particular, "Don't mind if I doooooo!" in a voice that sounded strangely similar to Homer Simpson's. And off he ran, right through the stage and all of the instrument cords.

Yep, that's my kid. The one running loose and getting underfoot. The one stealing instruments and the show. Nope. He doesn't take after shy Mommy. He's more like Daddy, who is always happy to be on TV or radio.

He would toddle toward someone with the world's biggest smile on his face, and they'd open their arms to greet him, and at the last second, he'd swerve. DENIED. Little tease with the big eyes.

With grandpa:

I do have some video, shot on someone else's camera, so maybe I'll eventually get it. And we'll have some pictures soon of the whole shindig.

In other news, my brother and his family are coming all the way from Maine this week to visit. I have never met my youngest niece, and none of them have met Brock. It's a family reunion I am so excited for!

Random Brockiness

I realize that I really haven't had an update about Brock's development. I'm sure everyone is just dying to know. Brock is 12 months old.

Mobility
Brock is walking, but not very far. He walks along in a hilarious manner with his hands above his head. Then he loses his balance, falls and starts crawling without missing a beat. I'd say he started walking right around his first birthday. He was cruising very well before that.

Eating
We are trying to phase out the bottles. Eating is sort of hit-and-miss. Some days he stuffs his face with table foods and shuns baby foods. Others are the opposite. It's scary not having bottles to rely on. So far, if he wakes up too early, he still gets a bottle and goes back to sleep. He also gets a bottle before bed and sometimes one during the day if he seems to be having a bottle meltdown.

I think the key is not letting him get too hungry and feeding him frequently. But it sure is a lot more time consuming coming up with a balanced diet he is capable of eating, and the actual act of eating it can take a while. I sure do sweep the kitchen floor more in one day than I used to in a month. Wish I was kidding.

I don't know why this bottle thing is so hard for me. I wanted to feed him bottles till he was 18. Easy to pack his lunch that way! I guess it will be nice not washing all those Dr. Brown's parts, but I'm still not sure how to handle 5 a.m. hungry wake-ups.

I tried introducing a sippy (soft and hard spouts) at 9 months, but he wasn't ready and didn't get it. I tried again later and he managed to figure out the soft spouts, but he still doesn't get to tip the cup back. I have found the straw sippies are the best for us. I started with the Playtex trainer and he got it right away. I bought several of those. And lost several before learning to move the trash farther from his high chair. Now he gets milk in his straw sippy throughout the day as much as possible.

Talking
Brock is very vocal, but he's still not really saying any words that I'm aware of. He seems to say Daddy but not Mommy. And sometimes when I ask him a question he seems to say "yeah." But I'm really doubting it. And a few times after I say "no," he seems to say "no," too. Which reminds me to use more variety when I "scold" him. So he's not talking much, but he did get compliments on his nice handwriting on his birthday thank you cards, so I guess I can be proud of that.

Playing
Brocktopus would rather get into mischief and mess with anything but his toys. He got so many toys for his birthday, but naturally anything important or dangerous is much more interesting. Sometimes he just crawls around looking desperately for something to knock to the floor with a dash of naughtiness. He does enjoy his little pool and getting out the backyard, but it's sort of hard when he's not walking that well and he doesn't like crawling on the grass. Plus, I have to prevent him from eating rocks, hummingbird poops and old birthday cake he finds in the grass from when he sent his slice overboard.

A very blustery photoshoot

My friend Sonya Cogan of Sonya Cogan Photography took Brock's one-year pictures. At first, we were so pleased that it was overcast because the lighting was great. But a few minutes in, a big windstorm kicked up. And a windstorm on Albuquerque's West Side means plenty of dirt.

So we didn't get to finish our session, but here are some that we managed from this round.

Brocktopus turned 1!

It's hard to believe my baby boy is pretty much a toddler now. We had a huge bash on Saturday, and the dude partied hardy. Despite a house and yard packed to the brim with guests, Brock never panicked and had a blast playing. Here are some pictures:


Just before the party, me and Brock.


Nani and Grandpa brought balloons.


The spread. Doing cold foods (we also had deli sandwiches) really simplified things.


Babies loved chillin' at the pool. Brock is the one in the water.
Incidentally, the children LOVED croquet. They saw the set and dove right in. I thought they'd be like, "what the hell is that antiquated game that doesn't involve a screen?" Nope, not at all.












My grandma got to come! She's been pretty house-bound since breaking both hips and lives in a group home now.




He wore his birthday hat for about 10 seconds and a "1" onesie from Target.


Cake! My mom made some wonderful cupcakes and this cake.




You've gotta have milk with your chocolate cake. In case you're wondering, the best place to set your milk cup is directly in your cake. Repeatedly. Until you've thrown your cake on the ground. Then throw your cup on top of the cake like a little pill.


He put a strawberry on my white shorts at the beginning of the party. By this point, I also had chocolate cake on them.


That Clifford. He's a red dog, indeed.


Mark wore an outfit that matched mine just to embarrass me.


One of Brock's favorite presents was a kitty keyboard that does all kinds of cool things. One of my favorite features is that you can choose the sound the keys make, like banjo, bells, piano and MEOW! The keys meow when you play them. And there are a bunch of built in songs about cats, too. It's awesome.


All that partying requires a boy to kick back and relax with Dad.

Walking (sort of) and talking (sort of)

Little Brocky, where has my fat baby gone? He sat on his ample tush for so long, and then BOOM, he took off and never stopped moving again, except to sleep (which he does like a pro).

The rolls of fat on his sumo thighs have melted away. I think I'm going to try this weight loss routine. Crawl, pull self up, sit down, crawl, pull self up, cruise, repeat infinitely.

Here's a video of him trying to balance without holding on, and just maybe a mini-step:


And one of him yakking away:


Brock's birthday party is just weeks away. I'm excited and shocked all at the same time. My co-worker made these a-w-e-s-o-m-e invitations for me:



And some Brocktopus pics:

Lonely singer/songwriter:



52-card pickup:



Eating rocks:



Happy boy: