Memory Lapse

Since I keep this blog for posterity as well as for sharing photos and stories with faraway family and friends, I kind of rely on it to remind me of things that have happened. I love to look back at posts from a year ago and see where my mind was and what was going on around me. That’s why it sucks when I don’t post for a long time, and I don’t record the stories of my life and Kyle’s growth and entertaining antics.

So here are some random things that have been going on.

The Babysitter Search: After one week, 8 babysitter/daycare/nanny interviews, and lots of beer and tears, we decided on a home-based daycare just blocks away from our house. We decided on this nice lady mostly because she made us a cake.*

Walking: Kyle has been doing more and more walking and if I had time, energy, and patience I would certainly try to keep up with the Bloggers and post some video here. It is pretty funny: he lets go of whatever furniture/leg/animal he’s clutching and he toddles about for 4 or 5 steps with both hands in the air like he just don’t care, then he either falls SPLAT on his butt or forward catching himself with his hands. It’s so cute, and he’s so proud of himself when he does it. We have spent a lot of time with our Mommy Group kids this week and a lot of them are walking so he tries to keep up.

Talking: Still not much in the English department. Kyle has developed his own crazy gnome language that I am certain I’ve heard in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. His greatest exclamations come when he is throwing a ball: after he throws it, he flexes his arms like a body builder showing off his pecs and says “Grr!” Also, when I count “one…two…” he finishes with “AAAH!” which means “three!”

After Kyle’s birthday we got him his first haircut and his first pair of (ridiculously expensive) Stride Rite shoes. He likes his shoes so much that he tries to take them off to play with them.

Things I’ve learned:
-It is good to put coffee grounds in your coffeemaker when you are trying to make coffee. Otherwise you just get hot water in your carafe.
-Sweet potatoes that are already soft before you bake them are probably bad.
-Every Armenian household has a wizened old mother-in-law in the corner watching TV. She has at least 30 grandchildren and will be a benefit to your childcare experience.**
-A three-legged German shepherd can gallop.
–Gas is $3.25 per gallon today in my neighborhood.
-Kyle’s carseat fits perfectly into his umbrella stroller, thus making it a combo carseat/stroller. Strap on a bungee cord and it is a genius way to get through the airport.

This post counts as one for today and tomorrow, considering it is one here and the other there. Ha.

*Come on, you know it was harder than that.
**I’m just talking from experience. Three out of three Armenian babysitters that I visited had the whole MIL thing going on. And they turned out to be the top three, incidentally, so I guess that’s a bonus. They should put that on their resumes.