Where, Oh Where, has the time gone?

Clay is 9 months old. People always told me the first year would go by quickly and now I know what they mean. These first nine months have flown by!

I feel so blessed to have such a sweet little boy who gives me oodles of hugs and slobbery kisses every day. He is pulling up on every piece of furniture in the house. He can cruise around to different pieces of furniture too. (I have to make sure we don't leave shoes or anything by the coffee table because he will trip on them. That happened today and I felt terrible!)

Clay has also learned how to point to objects with his index finger. Although I don't think he knows what he is pointing at; he just likes to lift his arm and point his finger. It's really cute. He has gotten very clingy now. Sometimes it seems like I cannot walk out of the room - or even put him down if I'm holding him - without a flood of whimpers and tears following me.

Oh, he can crawl normally (instead of "army-style"); but, he usually doesn't. He likes to crawl with his belly off the floor, but his right leg stuck straight out to the side. We think the right leg gives him more propulsion. Or, maybe he just wants to be unique. Regardless, it's adorable.

He has four teeth now. But, all his teeth are on the right side of his mouth. He has no teeth on the left - if that makes sense. I'm sure the left ones will starting coming through soon!

Our Little Monkey's Trip to the Zoo

Yesterday we went with some friends to the Nashville Zoo. It was Clay's first time visiting a zoo and he had a great time, but he really didn't notice many of the animals. Instead, he focused on the grass, trees, mulch, and the numerous other kids looking at the exhibits. The only animals he found interesting were the koi in a small pond.

[Koi pond]

I think in a few more months he will LOVE seeing the animals. We're planning to go back sometime this Fall when the weather is a little cooler and he's a little bit older. I took pictures of some of the animals he didn't notice, so he can look at them later.

Here's a funny picture, well, it has a funny story behind it. Rob was trying to show Clay the alligator (and fish) in this tank, but Clay wasn't paying attention to them. Instead, he attempted to grab that little boy's hair!

The Terrible Poppy Seed Incident

Late yesterday morning I was in the midst of preparing Poppy Seed Dressing for a spinach-apple salad I was bringing to a friend who just had her first baby. Actually, I was bringing her dinner that evening and I wanted to get a head start on it. Clay had finally fallen asleep for his morning nap and the house was quiet. I was excited about having a few minutes to really focus on the task at hand. The vinegar, oil, sugar, dry mustard, and onion juice were already measured and placed in a bowl. I just needed to add the poppy seeds and whisk the ingredients together and my dressing would be complete.

My little spice can of poppy seeds was new, so it had a plastic "quality" seal that needed to be broken and removed. I lifted it up and tried to pop it off, but it wouldn't budge. I tried again. Nothing. So, I tried using a spoon to pry it off. Nope, it didn't work. Getting slightly steamed, I used my fingernail to try and coax it off. Again, the seal stayed in place. Then, I had the realization that maybe I could pull the entire top off and just ignore the safety seal. Ah, yes, that's brilliant. I'm standing in front of my kitchen counter desperately trying to pull the entire plastic top off the little can. Good grief, this is difficult....why do they make these things so complicated? All of a sudden, BAM, the lid lifts off and billions of poppy seeds fly everywhere. My right arm is covered, the counter is covered, the floor is covered. Staring in disbelief, I try not to cry. I can't even remember what I muttered under my breath.

Quickly, I try to regroup. Okay, what would pick up these stupid seeds the fastest? Broom, no. Damp paper towel, no. Oh, a vacuum. That will be easy! I pull the vacuum cleaner out of the hall closet desperately trying to be quiet because Clay's room is next to the closet and ANY noise seems to wake him up. Oh, crap. The vacuum will probably wake him up too. Oh, well, I need to get these wicked seeds off the floor. I plug in the vacuum, turn it on, and start pushing it toward the massive sea of tiny blue dots all over the floor. Wait...what's happening? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! As the vacuum gets close to the seeds, the air from the vacuum scatters them before the suction can pick them up. Now, the poppy seeds are flying to every crevice, corner, and groove in my kitchen floor. At this point, all I could do was laugh. This is really funny, isn' t it? It is if you are going INSANE!

Once I finally cleaned up the seeds from the floor, as best as I could using a dustpan and tiny brush, my back and legs were hurting -they were already sore from a killer exercise class the day before- and my soul was weary. Today, I'm staying out of my kitchen and enjoying some quality time with Clay. However, I am still finding poppy seeds stuck to his little legs after he's crawled through the kitchen. I think I'll be finding them until he gets to high school!

Standing Up, Hanging Out, Etc.

" Look at what I can do! "

Clay is a very busy boy these days. I haven't had a lot of time to post pictures and add commentary - I've got so much going on right now. I will be back to blogging very soon. In the meantime, here are a few pictures from a typical day at Casa Pinson. We have a lot of fun over here!

"Don't you wish you had one of these?!?"

Clay at Play