Deers

Today we saw deers. There were 5 in the backyard and Layden got very excited watching them from his bedroom window. He even got a bit upset when they left. He kept looking at me like he expected me to bring them back. A young deer kept trying to nurse and his mom would go running off. Poor kid, fawn, whatever. They looked quite fat and fluffy and fit. Layden finds the snow quite interesting. He seems to think it feels pretty cool. Maybe tomorrow I will find him a snow suit, bundle him up until he can barely bend his limbs and then dump him in the snow :).

Layden took another step today. This time it was to Lynda. He also seems to be getting the hang of saying Dada. It is mostly at the appropriate time now. Oli has the next three days off so hopefully we can get the new floor down. It will be quite the manuver (manuever? maneuver? manoover?) We need to slide underlayment under the tub, cabinet, trim, and toilet flange drain thingy. We haven't quite figured out how to manage all of that.

Leaking Toilets

So, yeah. As I mentioned my family was over for Thanksgiving and good times were had by all, in spite of the fact that my dad discovered that the upstairs toilet was leaking down into the basement bathroom. This led to the boys ripping out one wall in the downstairs bathroom and the floor (2 layers) in the upstairs bathroom. So now our toilet is on the back porch covered in snow, it would be on the front porch, which is closer, but I think Oli couldn't bear to be quite that ghetto. I agree. We are at a standstill in the reflooring because the subfloor needs to be screwed to the joists (the nails "holding" the boards down jump when the floor is pounded with a hammer). However, we do not have a bit for the drill that will work with the screws we have and today I have discovered that the local hardware store is out of that size bit. So Oli will have to pick one up on his way into work tomorrow and hopefully this weekend we can get to work on the floor. Once the floor is done we are taking the opportunity to paint, install beadboard, replace the sink and faucet and update the bathroom generally. Hopefully it will be quite pretty when we are done.
It has been cold. Quite cold. Today it got all the way up 20 degrees. There are a couple of inches of snow on the ground but by now most of the roads are fairly clear. Layden hasn't really gotten to see the snow yet because it is just too cold. He has been keeping himself entertained by trying to get the kitty to play with the dog's toy. Kitty isn't going for it though. He crawls over to her with a stuffed green monkey-thing with red dots and holds it out to her as if to say "See, doesn't it look like fun? If you could grab it with your mouth and pull I would think it was the most wonderful thing in the world." She looks at him as if to say "You are off your rocker." And walks away.

Eleven Months

I missed your ten month milestone because we have lost our free internet but so much has happened since you became nine months old that I just can't skip this one. You have spoken your first word. "Pak-boo" or sometimes "Pak-a-boo". You did this for Grammy. Mommy tried and tried and then Grammy comes and her first day her you bust out your speaking skills. You are also very close to being a bipedal organism. You did one shuffling step for mommy and daddy, you did two steps for Grammy. You seem to recognize your Grammy, Grandpa and Juncle and seem happy to see them.
You had a very fun time at the bookstore with the owner's little doggy. That doggy licked your face and ears and you thought it was the funniest thing in the world. Then the doggy played tug of war with you and that was even better. You giggle and laughed and smiled and wanted to do it again and again. You would like to play tug of war with Lucy. You bring her a toy and wave it around so she will grab it but she just doesn't seem to get it. You keep trying though. Occasionally she comes and takes it from you and that is pretty darn cool, so exciting you just have to clap.
You have very impressive muscles at this point. You can do squats with and without weights, you have a six pack and very well defined arms. You could win a baby body builder competition. Your strength comes in especially handy when you are fighting a diaper or clothing change as if your life depended on it. You just don't like getting clothes put on or having them taken off. You would be happiest if we left you in the same clothes until you got so big we had to cut them off of you.

Grammy brought you some new toys which you think are pretty great. You even put small toys inside larger ones and try to put the different shapes back in the cube rather than merely looking for opportunities to create chaos. You are starting to like your baths a bit more as well and will now take them on your own. Sadly you won't be able to take any for a bit because we have been forced to replace the bathroom floor do to a toilet leak. Very gross.
You give me very good hugs now and we have some wonderful conversations. Everyday we learn more about the amazing person you are and everyday I want to know more. You are ever so terribly wonderful. So smart and sweet and terrifying.

Update

Sorry this has not been terribly regular. We don't have internet at home and it is difficult to accomplish much at the library when Layden is with me. Today he is at home with his daddy so I have a short bit of peace.
Layden is doing well he is mostly over the sniffles now. He doesn't like getting his nose wiped but he still enjoys the nose bulb. He is starting to be quite the copy cat. I carried him into our bedroom kicking one of his toys ahead of me and when I set him down he sat in front of his toy and scooted around on his butt kicking it. I am working on feeding him more solid foods. Yesterday I threw some of my stiry fry in the blender and he seemed to enjoy it. I think it had a bit more garlic than the average baby food. But he is the child I caught gnawing on a raw clove of garlic so I doubt he minded. He is quite the chatter box. People who call always comment about hearing him in the background. No words yet but some of his gabbering sounds alot like momma or dadda, occasionally even at appropriate times.

Cold

Layden has a little cold now, courtesy of his Juncle. His nose is very runny, which means he has to take breaks while nursing so he can breath. I tried out the nose sucker out last night and at first he was unimpressed then I sucked some snot out. He looked up to say, that is sooo wonderful mommy, tilts his nose up so I can get the other nostril.
We visited my parents last weekend. Layden seemed to really enjoy visiting them. The ride home was a little rough, took us a couple hours extra.
The kitty has a pretty bad sore at the base of her tail. When we got back from the weekend it had grown so we went to the vet and now she has antibiotics twice a day. She is pretty good about letting me poke them into her mouth. Hopefully she won't be one of the kitties that gets GI upset from them. Layden has been learning to play with the kitty and it is incredibly cute.