Solomon is ONE!!

Solomon turned the big O-N-E yesterday! I REALLY can't believe it. It's been such a fast year with so many changes. He's such a sweet little kiddo and we're so lucky to have him. We had his birthday party on Saturday. A lot of family and a few friends attended. All in all, I think we had about 35 people, so our house was super full, but it was a lot of fun. My mom and sister made the special monkey cake you see pictured and some extra special cupcakes.. just ask me later about the humor I found in those... :) Solomon raked in tons of good clothes and toys. It was so fun to open fun stuff like toys and little clothes. Plus, he got some money for his college fund which we all know is the best.. at least it will be in 18 years when it costs an unimaginable amount for college. Let's just hope he gets a huge scholarship! Also, that's my nephew, Sam, playing Happy Birthday on the fiddle. It was such a treat. :) I'll post some video and other pictures once we get them loaded.

A couple of the other pictures are from our photo shoot last week. Alex took some photos of Solomon and a quick family picture as well. Solomon was so sleepy so we felt so lucky to get a few good ones.

My friend Amy and her husband Jeff stopped by last weekend as well to drop off a gift for Solomon since they couldn't come to the party. Their little girl Natalie is the one on the couch next to Solomon. It was cute to see them side-by-side. I like how their feet are touching and Solomon's gut is sticking out!

Things I've learned this year:

1. No first time parent ever has ANY earthly idea what they're in for before his or her child is born.


2. You spend half of your time as a new parent trying to get your child to sleep at night and as a result you get very little sleep.


3. Sleep is a cornerstone to my sanity, therefore explaining why I felt insane and outside of myself for most of the first four months of Solomon's life.


4. I used to waste a lot of time doing something, although I'm not sure what because now I get almost everything done, more or less, that I did before and take care of another person.


5. Boogers, poop, pee and puke are bodily fluids/solids that aren't as gross as I used to think.


6. I'm officially an adult.


7. A baby's giggle is almost the sweetest thing in the world.


8. A sleeping baby is even sweeter.


9. Solomon's little face is the sweetest and that makes me very, very lucky.

Our Little Walker

Every time I think to get video of Solomon walking, one of the following happens: he sits down, I can't find the camera, or the camera isn't charged. The clip below is very dark, but it's funny. He likes the guitar, but it reminds me of someone playing a harp.

So much, so little time

So much has happened since my last post! I had such a fun Labor Day weekend. I took last Friday off and got so much stuff done that I never have time to do. I went on a bike ride on my new bike which was so much fun, although a little scary at first b/c it's been so long since I've ridden a bike. Then, I cleaned and played with Solomon. The recycling place wasn't open so that's the one thing I didn't accomplish. My parents came over Friday night and helped us with some house stuff. I finally put the cabinet door kid-proof things on two of the cabinets in the kitchen. I was tired of dealing with Solomon opening them and discovering all kinds of potentially harmful chemicals. He can't get in now and it's one less thing I have to deal with.

Saturday, Alex and I dropped Solomon with my parents and we went to Lawrence. Erin, Cherie and I met up, had lunch, had manis/pedis and some drinks at Free State. It was so much fun to catch up and gossip. Then, Cherie dropped me off at Sol's and Alex and I went to the KU football game. It was sold out, record attendance. We had gotten suite tickets through my job and that was awesome. Afterwards, we hung out with Sol for a bit and headed to Alex's brother/sister-in-law's house. They are always so nice to let us stay with them. We actually slept in until around 9:00! Alex wanted to sleep more, but I made him get up. :) Meanie Kelly.

Sunday was my b-day!!!!!!! We hung out in Lawrence for a while, drove back to Wichita and relaxed a bit.

Monday, I went on another bike ride while Alex took Solomon to a political rally that he didn't end up finding! :) It was soooo incredibly nice out in the morning. We went for dinner to Saigon for my B-day and came back to my house for my favorite, DQ ice cream cake. My mom actually bought the new variety that is topped with reeces pb cups crumbled up... YUMMY.

in other news, Solomon is just changing so much everyday. He is walking all over, across the room and everything. He's doing his best to get into everything. He loves being tickled more than anything else so we do that a lot and while he loves sleeping at home he doesn't at school, so I think he recovers on the days he's home with me.... ahh to be a baby and be able to sleep whenever you want!

I'm a facebook member

I like this picture. Solomon has his Elvis shirt on. My sister-in-law got it for him at Graceland. it says, "Moms love me". It's so cute. Check out the video below.
So, I'm officially a Facebook Member. My friend, Dan, from high school convinced me to join and now I'm there. Check it out. Search for me. I've already had a small world connection.
Also, I've posted some new pictures in our gallery at: http://www.haverhillstudios.com/gallery/albun11.
This past weekend, we put the finishing touches on our bathroom that we mostly finished a month ago. All we have left is to dot the nail holes with some white paint. Can't wait to be finished.
Solomon is officially walking. He stands for long periods of time and walks across the room. He's just working on getting up when there's nothing to balance on and he'll be set. He's also dancing a lot.
My birthday is on Sunday! We're headed up to Lawrence on Saturday for a day of fun with my friends and KU football. I can't wait!

My New Addiction

I use it several times a day, yet it's not something I feel like I should do in front of others, especially that often.... It's tall and slender and red... and plastic... Yes, it's my new Gazelle, a handy broom vacuum cleaner for hard surface floors. I have caught myself using it multiple times a day when no real vacuuming needs to take place. I just really like how handy it is and how I never have to sweep, my most hated household chore, ever, ever again. :)

The picture above was taken when we were waiting for the MARTA train in Atlanta. Solomon was such a happy traveler. It's fun b/c Cherie's kiddos have the same "My Dad Rocks" shirt. So cute.

Solomon is walking with just the help of me holding his hand now. It's so fun to watch him. He still like the ease of getting around via crawling though the best. He's just all over the place. Right now, he totally digs avocado, cheese, bread, bananas and dehydrated apples. He's also getting much better at the sippy cup. Hopefully, it won't be long until I can get rid of the dreaded bottles completely.

So, how exciting have the Olympics been? I have ALWAYS loved the Olympics, so this has been a really fun time for me b/c of the swimming of course. The gymnastics events are so strange this year. It seems like the judging is so messed up. Alex and I always laugh at some of the strange and awkward floor exercise "dance" moves. We also think the commentators are pretty funny at times but not b/c they are meaning to be. Some of the gymnasts are very odd too look at as well b/c they tend to be so compact and muscular. Did anyone see the woman gymnast who was in the vaulting finals the other night? She looked like a tiny middle-aged man. She was 33, which is ancient in gymnastics I guess.

Alex is not an Olympics fan. I just don't get it. He just doesn't get my love for the Olympics. I think it comes from growing up in a household where he just didn't watch it much. Whereas, we watched it all of the time. It's so strange to me especially b/c he's such a sports fan otherwise.

Speaking of sports, Alex and I are going to the KU football home opener in Lawrence on Aug. 30th. My b-day is the next day, so it should be a good time. Plus, I think Erin and Cherie are meeting me for pedis and manis that day! I can't wait for a little girl time!

Fake sunburn

Did I pay for a sunburn? Yes, in a way I did. I had my entire face (besides the desirable eyebrow part) waxed today. Never have had my cheeks done before, but did today... Ouchy that hurt, almost worse than the upper lip area. Anyway, I look like I have a sunburn right now or that I'm wearing lots of pink blush.
I posted some pictures today of our trip to Atlanta. There aren't many. Alex needs to add the whole family picture. We will soon. http://www.haverhillstudios.com/gallery/view_album.php?page=1
Solomon's newest thing is that he dances when he hears music. As you might guess, I find it amazing.... :)

Travel Highs and Travel Woes

So we've been on the road more than off the road over the past two weeks. Last Thursday, we took off for the Thomas Family Reunion in Atlanta, GA. I had cashed in some frequent flyer miles after Alex and I decided it might be too much of a pain to drive with a 10-month old that far. So, the plus was the trip there and back was basically free. The minus was we were delayed in a major way there and back. We had to spend the night in Chicago on the way there and were delayed about six hours on the way back. It was a serious pain. Airlines pretty much suck these days. I really don't think it would have been bad if we could have just skipped Chicago, but that wasn't an option this time around. Solomon was a great traveller. He liked all of the attention from other travellers and slept on the flights, which was great. We had a great time in Atlanta. It was actually cooler than Kansas b/c it was SOOO hot last week in Kansas. We did some touristy things and went to an Atlanta Braves game (see picture above), but mostly just spent some time with Alex's uncles and cousins that he doesn't see much. It was nice. We got back Monday the 4th and headed out Wednesday again for Topeka. I had a business meeting in Omaha so we combined the trips. It worked out great. We had our meeting on thursday night up there and I drove back Friday. alex and solomon hung out with his mom in Topeka. On Friday night, we stayed at Alex's brother Zach/Ray's house in Lawrence. Alex's sister and brother-in-law also joined us for a nice dinner! Saturday, I got to visit my BF's friend new baby, Cleo. She is SOOOO incredibly sweet. I love that little baby cry. It's just heaven even though it seems annoying when you're the parent. Then, we came back to Topeka for a get-together planned by Alex's friend Spencer. It was nice to see everyone, especially Bill and Christina's little boy and girl. Their little girl is so cute. their little boy, Dayton, played with solomon for a while. It was cute. Alex and I were so exhausted last night. We are headed back to Wichita soon. Good times, but I'm excited to get back for a while. I'll post some pictures later.