30 is the new 20, or so I'm told.

Well I really had a great birthday. Thanks for all the birthday wishes everyone. My plans were pretty simple but being with my family is my favorite thing to do so it doesn't take much to make me happy. That and cake. (-: Saturday Jamie and I spent hanging out in Moncton. Adrian stayed with Nanny and Grampy so we were flying solo all day, which I must admit felt different. We didn't get home until 12:30AM!!! Sadly, I am not cut out for the nightlife anymore because I was almost dead by the time we pulled in the driveway. Sunday we went to Stickney to visit with Grammy & Grampy Underhill which is always a treat for me. I love spending time with my parents and I love witnessing the bond they have with Adrian. Watching your own parents and your child be so in love really is a gift in itself. Oh, and there was a big chocolate cake too!

A typical Thursday night in the life of the Underhill-Joneses

I snapped a bunch of pictures tonight and thought to myself that they really paint a picture of the amount of fun we have in a typical weeknight. We get home and get situated around 5:30 and then move directly to dinner because we are all hungry! Adrian has to find something to do to entertain himself while he waits (none of his toys will do) so lately he has taken to climbing. Tonight it was climbing the kitchen chairs. He got up on that one all by himself! As you can imagine, this makes getting dinner more difficult for me!

I took a healthy cooking class for toddlers this week so we tried our whole wheat pita pizzas with spinach and carrots last night. It was a hit. Jamie was late getting home from work so Adrian and I decided we would try my new healthy 'sunflower' cookie recipe since Adrian really likes to cook. He sat on the cupboard beside me and dumped all of the ingredients in the bowl and even tried his hand at stirring. I was surprised at how attentive he was. The cookies went in the oven and we went to his room to get ready for bath time. One of Adrian's latest accomplishments is helping undress himself. His speciality is taking off his socks all by himself. It takes a lot of effort (with audible grunting) but he sure is proud when he gets one off!

Notice the boo-boo on his chin... an inevitable climbing accident!

After bath time it is play time. We usually spend this hour before bedtime playing as a family, doing whatever Adrian feels like. Last night was extra special because he got to see the cookies in the oven and even got to sample one when they came out. He shared with Barkley (although not on purpose).

Adrian and Daddy played with his cars for a while and then read some books. 'Z is for Zamboni' is their book of choice at the moment... I wonder who always picks that one!?! (Daddy) Then it was time for some last minute shenanigans... peekaboo with Mommy's blanket. (Check out the teeth in the first picture... he nearly has the complete set.)

And then it was time to brush our teeth and go to bed. Adrian seems to know that by this point in the routine it is time to calm down and he is usually snuggled into arms on the way to his bed. As you can guess, that is my favorite part of the whole day. He usually goes to bed with no problems and even blows me a kiss on the way out. Thursday nights are fun at our house!

Melting.

Any parent can tell you how hard it is to be a parent. It can be emotionally, mentally and physically exhausting... all at the same time.

But all it takes is one little 'melt your heart' moment to make it all worth it. I had one of these last night... I had just finished bathing Adrian and he was on the change table getting his comfy PJs on. I had him stand up and face me so I could do the last few snaps up. From that position we were pretty much face to face. I was chatting away in my usual crazy mommy fashion and I happened to catch his eyes and he gave me the most pure and loving look I could ever imagine. It was in the running for the best 5 seconds of my life (along with the first time he ever smiled at me). And if that wasn't enough, he finished it will a gentle smile and then put his little arms around my neck and leaned in for a hug. I can't even explain how it felt other than it literally made me melt. My whole body felt like jelly for a second. I came out of his room carrying the little guy and crying. I am sure Jamie thought I had lost it (nothing new). A moment like that cannot be fully explained. That little guy sure has some big powers over his Mommy!

Can his eyes get any bluer?

Oh Adrian, you are going to be a heartbreaker.

Puppy love.

Is there anything more simple and heart warming than seeing a boy in overalls playing with his dog? It is a scene straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting! Adrian just loves Barkley and the feeling seems to be ‘somewhat’ mutual.

We used to be scared of Barkley hurting Adrian but it seems to be the other way around all of the sudden. Adrian is so curious about everything to do with Barkley. The other night I caught Adrian trying to drag poor Barkley around by his back legs… Barkley was just looking up from his pillow with this desperate look of ‘help me Mom!’ Barkley is so gentle with Adrian and seems to know that he has to be given special treatment. I am not sure who else could get away with dragging him around by his back legs without at least a growl. The funny thing is I think Barkley sort of likes the attention. I actually saw him pick up a toy and go over to Adrian to play for the first time last night. Ah… my two babies love each other!

"Sit, shake!"

"Somebody help me, please!"

Boy oh boy!

In case there is any doubt (I am probably the last one in denial), all traces of ‘baby’ Adrian are gone. He is 100% boy now. He seems to have had a little growth spurt in the past few weeks resulting in a whole new pile of clothes he has outgrown. It pains me a little bit every time I have to retire some of my old favorites. He is into sizes bigger than his age for the first time. (Getting into 24 months sizes… yikes!)

I swear he changes from week to week. It is quite amazing really but also a little confusing. Just when I think I have something figured out that works well for him he goes and changes. For a little while he was obsessed with ‘dipping’. So I gave him lots of fruit to dip in yogurt but after a week of that he seems to have grown bored. I can’t keep up! This week he is very into my lumpy oatmeal and gobbles it up as soon as it hits his tray. (After a half dozen tests to see if it is ‘hot’… and in his mind it always is and requires some blowing before he can eat it.)

He is also coming out with new words everyday. ‘Daddy’, ‘doggie’ and ‘hot’ were his first, followed by ‘eat’ and ‘sit’ (a command for the dog). Yesterday he was saying ‘Barney’ (the cartoon character) and ‘Matthew’ (my babysitter’s son). And he saw a Christmas bag with Santa on it and said ‘Hohoho’. There is still no sign of ‘Mommy’ and I swear I am not bitter. I swear.

2008.... So far so good!

We had a two very fun NYE parties... one with the adults and one with the families. Adrian enjoyed hanging with his gang of friends but is very much looking forward to Baby Boyle arriving so he will no longer be the 'baby' of group. He partied pretty hard, as can be seen by the 2nd picture taken on the way home.

We also celebrated Grampy Jones' birthday last weekend. Adrian was pretty excited that he got to steal the icing from Grampy's cake and got pretty brazen about it at the end. Good thing Grampy is an old softie!

Going back to work and daycare was rather eventful with that huge storm. I set out with Adrian thinking it wasn't too bad because our subdivision and the Hanwell were freshly plowed. However when I set onto Lisa's road it had not been plowed at all and I was plowing it with my car. I got pretty stuck but somehow managed to get out and made it back to the Hanwell but didn't get Adrian delivered. I must say my new Subaru is a beast! I can't believe it got us out of that mess.

Adrian seemed to be recovering nicely from the pneumonia but was a bit sick and cranky again today. We are not sure if this is a fresh dose of illness or the pneumonia making a comeback. Hopefully it is not the latter. I have a feeling we may be making a trip to our friendly doctor's office soon. No rest for that poor boy when it comes to illness!

Hope everyone is having a great 2008!