Whew! September flew by for me. That seems to happen more and more as I get adjusted to a routine. I measure time in weeks now instead of days and you only get four of those and it’s a whole new month! Time really flies in months were I travel like I did in early September. See the Albuquerque section below... I passed the rest of the month in the usual way. Playing at home with Ethan, going out on the occasional first date, (I had a record three this month!) and seeing Riverdance with my sister Sheila. That was SO cool! I highly recommend it. You will not believe what those people can do with their legs!! I also had my first experience leaving Ethan with a teenage babysitter and all three of us lived to tell the tale. Whew. :) It’s more expensive than leaving him with family (read: not free) but I don’t feel nearly as guilty about asking all the time. And I live next door to a 16 year old, a 14 year old and a 10 year old so I’m set for sitters for the next decade! I know a bunch of you will want to know about all my dates, but I’ll save that for when there’s something exciting to write about (which in and of itself should tell you something!).

Ethan had his nine month check up this month and is strong and healthy. Hooray! He was an ounce under 20 lbs and is 30 ½ inches tall which finally puts him on the height chart. He's started walking while hanging onto stuff – they call that cruising. At first it was just a couple of really awkward steps, but he’s slowly working his way up to a couple, then several fairly convincing steps. I don’t think he quite sees the transportation possibilities (which is not all bad). It’s more a method to get that high up thing that’s a couple of steps away. But I don’t think it’ll be long before he’s using it as his primary method of locomotion. Then watch out! His balance is very good and he can stand for about 10 seconds by himself or until he gets distracted by something and drops to the ground to make his way in pursuit of new thing X. He occasionally bursts into fits of clapping which is SO cute. He gets the motion of it, but keeps his hands cupped so it doesn’t make any noise. And his toothless grin is as adorable as always. Can you tell I’m smitten? Ethan is also starting to understand how to do some things. He knows to pull his arms in when I take off his shirt. He knows what it means when I tell him to put his hands down when eating and he even does it sometimes. He knows what it means when I ask him to turn the page in the story we are reading – that one blew me away! I wonder what else he understands but just isn’t able to communicate yet. He makes lots of burbling sounds, but I am not convinced that any of them are words. Lastly, he’s entered this funny phase where he has a constant drive to clear off any flat surface. Take for example a coffee table and a stack of magazines. Once he sees that there is “work to be done” he just can’t contain himself until every last one is on the floor. Then it’s onto his next project. He leaves a trail behind him, but he seems to really enjoy it. Almost as much as we enjoy watching! He continues to be the best part of my life and I am grateful to have him reminding me daily how to play.

Ethan and I flew to Albuquerque and spent a VERY fun-filled and totally crazy 10 days there. Ethan stayed with Lisa and Nicholas Miliatis (family of coworker Greg Miliatis) during the day and had a blast. And I worked a regular 40 hour week and was ready to be off on Tuesday night. Too bad for me! We squeezed in a bunch of visits with friends over lunches and dinners and I got to spend some quality time with the Whitmores and the Zucker/Zoechler clan while we stayed with them. I think the highlight for me was Friday night. Lee Johnson and Kathleen Sunderland hosted a party at their house for Jeri (pictured left) and Jason Stein, who just happened to be in town from Portland! I brought Joan (also pictured left) as my date and we all had a great time laughing. In some ways it was just like old times and that was really fun. But in some ways, being together highlighted how much our lives have all changed. It made me very grateful for the richness of my life today. I also realized that I am able to look back at my time in Albuquerque with much fondness, even though some of it was very difficult. It is a time in my life that I will always treasure.

In addition, the visit to Albuquerque really brought home to me how much Ethan and I have both changed since our last visit in April. I remember being totally panicked when I locked him in the car. And how much of a wreck I was when I had to leave him at the sitter for a couple of hours at a time. I have come a long way in feeling comfortable and competent in taking care of him. I’ve also realize that time spent away from him makes the time we spend together all the more fun! And how great is it for him to get to explore life a little without me. As far as Ethan is concerned, he is a completely different little boy from the baby I traveled with in April. I remember being able to set him down and have some really good conversations with friends! Now he’s into everything and in constant need of attention and supervision. In fact, I think it may be a long while before I can just set him down and not have to worry about then wreckage that will ensue. Until then, I’ll just have to schedule quality conversation around naptime. All in all, it was a wonderful visit. Thanks to everyone who took time out of their busy schedules to fit in a visit. We’ll hopefully be back in December!