School, work, and home

Ok, in order:

School: Tracy finished her first semester back in school with near-100 averages in Spanish and Algebra. She's now taking the next Algebra class online, and she starts the next Spanish class next month. I'm away from work for the next two 1/2 weeks attending the Army Basic Instructor Course, where I'm learning how to write lesson plans and give classes the Army way. When I graduate I'll be certified to teach my job to new soldiers. It'll come in handy when I start teaching the new report writing software (below).

Work: Tracy is now the Treasurer of the city's Mom's Club. Guess that accounting background is finally coming in handy. She still works out with the Baby Boot Camp and is planning to start working out on post, too. When I finish school I head back to the DC area for a week to show the newly-released report writing software I've been working on for the past year and a half. Then I'm back at work on the next update. As for the Army job, my rank has changed a few times. On April 26th, I was an E6; the next day I was an E7; three days later I'm an E5 again. Long story, but I'm working on getting it fixed. The rumored deployment to Boston got delayed from October to either mid-November or early December. We're waiting to see.

Home: Tracy's been moving plants outside in anticipation of the monsoon season (starting around the 4th of July). We have lots of planters on the back proch, both urns and hanging baskets. We've moved about 5 tons of rock from the back yard to the front and side, then this weekend I used a jackhammer to dig a trench for the sprinkler system. Next we plan to add topsoil and sod. Jordan can't wait to walk around the back yard without hurting his feet!

Still planning on taking vacations, but not sure when. Missing so much time at work makes it hard to ask for time off. Again, we'll have to see!

Portraits again?!?

Hi, everybody! Yes, it's been almost two months since I wrote, but I'm just so tired every day! Mommy and daddy make me walk everywhere. If I try to crawl, they pick me up. If I sit down, they make me get up by myself. Until last week, I had to pull up on something, but a few days ago I finally learned how to pull myself up without grabbing anything. I look pretty funny on all fours with my butt in the air, but it gets the job done.

I'm still walking like the mummy sometimes, both hands out in front, but I'm getting better and better. I hardly ever fall down, but luckily I still wear my helmet for a little longer.

I now has TEN teefers! I had seven for a long time, then three popped out in two days. I felt really bad a week or so ago, crying a lot and stuff, so mommy took me to see the evil doctor man and he said one of my molars was coming in. Ouch, it hurts a lot. Can't wait for it to finish.

I can say more stuff now. "Shoos" is an easy one, I really like mommy's shoos. I put my hands in her sandals and wrap my fingers around the toe, so they're both on my wrists, then I crawl around with them. I can say "baby" whenever I see one, even in a picture or on TV. "Cat" is still my favorite. I say "hi" and "bye" to everybody I see, and then I talk to them, too. I also speak what mommy calls "Lego talk." I say what sounds like "Lego lego lolly" a lot and can have a complete conversation in this language. Mommy and daddy can't speak it, though; it's all mine! Maybe it's cuz I have lots of Legos now that I can pull apart and put together. They're fun!

Mommy took me to get more pictures taken. She put me in a suit because she has an old picture of Daddy when he was young in a suit and tie. I wasn't really in the mood for it, but I really liked the thick rug they had and the teddy bear. I even took off my shirt to show how manly I am! They're in the latest album, 15-18 mo.

Hey, I'm walkin' here!

Ok, I know I was supposed to do this earlier, but I got here 5 1/2 weeks early, so I think I've put in enough overtime, don't you?

Today I started walking. That simple. Mommy and I were playing in the library and she was making me stand by myself and balance. I don't generally like to do that, preferring to sit on my butt (I get that from Daddy) or walk behind some of the bigger toys with wheels. Anyway, today Mommy thought it'd be fun to torture me by making me balance without holding on to anything, so later this afternoon I started walking. I only took 3-4 steps at a time, but I did it a few times so no one would think it was an accident.

When Daddy came home Mommy tried to show off, but I was too tired. Mommy worked me hard all day, so I just didn't want to do anything but play with the phone. When Mommy went to school, Daddy and I went up to the playroom. After fighting with this really big rubber duck, I decided to go stand next to Daddy. Then I figured I might as well let him see me walking, too. I got up to seven steps, but I get excited and keep falling. I'll get better, don't worry. I have to, because those dogs and that silly cat keep running away from me, and we can't have that.

I'm also bigger now, obviously. I'm almost 14 months old, weigh about 23 1/2 pounds, and am more than 30 inches tall. In Arizona, that means no more riding backwards! I have a new car seat and I can watch where Mommy is going now instead of where she's been. I'm also eating more solid foods, and while I still like pears, I LOVE pretzels! You can give me a few pretzels and go take a nap if you want; I'll be fine for half an hour.

I still like watching Jeopardy! Maybe it'll stick and I'll grow up smart like Mommy. I love all the books in the house, but for some reason Mommy and Daddy won't let me play with most of the ones in the library. Hey, if they didn't want me to read them, why'd they put them on the bottom shelf?

I'm still wearing my helmet, too, but maybe not for much longer. My head's almost completely round now, so maybe I can stop soon. Too bad, though, because now that I'm walking, I'll probably need it even more...

- Jordan