back to school

So it’s back to school - except this time it’s for us both...which is probably why this blog is way overdue. Finding time was already getting difficult but things lately have just been taken to a whole new level. It's pretty clear that we have taken on a bit more than we imagined. We both need to do homework, so who babysits? It's fun. So what are we going to do about it now? Nothing really, let it play out. It’s all in motion and will end this December. I am missing my time with Elias very much to say the least. It's been hard to listen to reconcile both sides of myself: one that is questioning all of my decisions and the other that is very excited to be back in school. It’s confusing and conflicting and interesting all wrapped together. How do we find balance for this kind of stuff? I’m guessing it’s just another see-if-it works parenting moment. I have to believe that we’re setting a good example for Elias: the world is your oyster, you have to work hard to accomplish your dreams, what you put into something you get out of it...you know, all that kind of stuff.

Speaking of school, one of the premises of becoming a counselor is that you have to take on your own inner workings and bring to the surface your stowed away baggage (emotionally speaking) and put it out in plain sight. I’m not saying that the professors are making us dump our dirty secrets for all to see, moreover that if we are to become competent professionals and truly serve our clients we have to be aware of ourselves and what we bring to the table. I just had to write a paper explaining my personal theory about what makes a person who they are. It seems kind of like a simple question, but if you genuinely try to answer what makes you who you are, what makes us who we are, why are we this way, what IS personality….well as you can imagine there is a lot of digging to do. In my personal laundry-doing I have found that there are some wounds that I have not properly addressed in my life. I am not going to lay it all out for you all here due to the obvious personal nature of the topics, but what I will say is that sadness just doesn’t disappear. A theory in physics explains this idea best: energy can nether be created or destroyed. We may think feelings have gone away…but oh-no…it isn’t so! What do you with them then? People choose many avenues in dealing with life’s adversity. Some want to tuck it neatly away while others like to swim in its mess. It’s amazing that we all experience life seemingly one in the same, and yet everything about it is so very different. And to take it a step further (which is why I’m discussing this here) I believe that these explorations directly relate to who and what I am as a parent. What shaped me will shape Elias, and so on and so forth. I may not ever be the perfect parent but I can strive for being an honest and open one.

As for my little photogenic ham-bone, I think I should now refer to him as my giraffe baby!! The stats came in today: tall and skinny! He's 30" long (93rd percentile) and 21.1 pounds (57th percentile). Kind of makes a Greek mama worried, am I feeding him enough?! Except I KNOW that he eats plenty! Then you look at pictures of Mo as a child and the long bean-pole figure is definitely an inherited trait :) He'll be alright. As for other changes, it seems that in general his easy going personality just gets more and more fun. I get a lot of compliments from other parents in daycare that he's "just, such a good baby". I'd have to agree, he really is. In general, I think he's just slowly coming into his own and it's truly a joyous ride. He's a mover and shaker! He's both dying to walk and very interested in people and socializing. His vocabulary now includes uh-oh, ma ma ma, ba ba ba and la la la. I of course love the ma ma's - except I'm not so sure he relates them to me or not. He still loves to mimic both sounds (within his vocabulary) and hand motions.Things like counting to 5 or waving his hand are pretty exciting. He still loves music...like LOVES music! We randomly had on some concert on TV and he just stopped and listened, didn't move, became entranced by the concert (It was Eric Clapton playing the guitar). It's interesting to see what we love even from the beginning.

So, without further delay here's my not-on-the futon 9 month photo shoot! Daddy got in on the mix and I really think they turned out nice. OK, so we have a few on the futon ;) But then we decided to go out for a walk!

Here he is! 2 teeth on the bottom and 2 teeth poking threw the top (not sure you can see them here).

Look at those eyes...

Acrobatics with ba ba ba (that's what he calls Mo, we think)

How sweet is this pic!

It's a bird, it's a plain, it's a baby!

Where's Elias? With that camo shirt he looks like a floating head! 

So proud and loving trying to walk.

Ringo happiness

We also had a family adventure to the great NYS Fair! It's not something that we do every year - I can't find many gluten free delights and Mo doesn't prefer crowds - but Elias enjoyed the farm animals and it was fun just to be out together.

Mama drinks a wine slushy, baby drinks a bottle...it's all good :)

Elias likes the sheepies...obviously!

...not so sure about the pigs!

And he's a good Greek boy - happy at the Gyro stand :)

So that's that. I'll do my best in the next couple of months but things around here are about to get 

b-a-n-a-n-a-s! I wish you all a happy fall!