My first Mother’s Day was very special. I had already received my new AppleTV and have been enjoying it ever since. I use it more for music and pictures than movies but we have watched quite a few of those as well. We went to Calypso Cafe for lunch (my favorite) and I enjoyed a fruit tea and Tuna Salad. When we came home, Thane had bought me some very colorful flowers and a matching card.

We spent a rainy Memorial Day at Vince and Annette’s. Since it was rainy, we got to enjoy their newly built patio room. When the clouds broke, we also got into the hot tub. I use the term “we” loosely because pregnant me just put her feet in while Jay, Annette, Thane, and one of the other little girls there (she was 3) enjoyed the bubbles. Annette was pretty impressed with how well he did in the water. He was standing on the ledge, holding on to the wall, and even putting his face under water of his own volition. She made us promise to come back for more pool time. Considering that we start swim classes on June 2nd, we will definitely take her up on that.

Thane is rapidly approaching his first birthday. He is a very curious little guy. Put him down anywhere and he is quickly racing all over the room, looking at everything, playing with toys, climbing, and being an all-around little boy. Still no walking but he can stand (sort of). He is going through another round of teething. Jay compared him to a baby shark, he has so many coming in. He is eating a vast variety of foods, almost exclusively on his own, including toast with jam, mom’s yogurt pancakes, stir fry veggies, tilapia, and lots of watermelon!

And, in Stephanie news. Last month, I applied for a Director’s job. A bit of a lark but it seemed like a great opportunity. I was one of the final 2 candidates and although I did not get it, I impressed the VP, who asked me to come to his side of the organization. With that, I have been promoted to Senior Manager in Technology Delivery. I started a week ago. I was not looking to leave my current role but this looks like a great move for me.

Finally…drumroll please…I have been accepted to the Auburn University College of Business for their MBA Program. I have decided to defer admission until Aug 2009, probably best with the pregnancy and the international trip in March. I called the admissions office and I am enrolled!

Here are some pics from the last couple of weeks.

Walking on the hot tub ledge










My mother’s day flowers, chocolate and card



Crazy Hair Baby



We gave Thane one of his birthday presents early. An outdoor water table.








My little chef likes to help mommy when she cooks.



Learning about Oranges with Apple Pear Orange Bear

A colleague of ours, Rob, from New Jersey, gave us the playset his 2 boys have outgrown. Jay put it together and Thane absolutely loves it. He climbs up the rock wall, plays at the steering wheel, crawls or holds the rails to walk the bridge and slides down the slide. There is even a little table with chairs for him and his friends. He still is not too sure about grass, but there is an area of it on the ground that has a floor, so he likes to crawl on that.

Here are some great pics of him enjoying the new playset. Thanks Rob!

(If you click on the image twice, you can see a larger image)

On other news, Thane signed at school yesterday and they were so impressed. Apparently he was sitting at the table eating Cheerios, looked up and made the milk sign at his teacher. Michelle actually stood there for a second to grasp it all. I guess it is one thing to hear that he is doing it and another to actually see it!

He is also making a modified version of the change sign. We are not 100% certain because he is not truly consistent, but I think it is what he means. He also made the milk sign when I was eating some creamed corn last night at home. Apparently he associates it with anything food. Makes sense. I rewarded him with some creamed corn….about half the can! Yummy!

We had Thane’s 1 year photos done at Sears on Sunday. I, of course, spent way too much money on them but we got a CD of them all, so it is worth it.

I think they turned out great. I put all of them on Flickr for you to see.

Mother’s Day was wonderful! I had already gotten the Apple TV last weekend but was surprised by a wonderful card, beautiful flowers, and my favorite Ghirardelli Chocolates. We also got our cars primped and pampered with a very detailed car wash (interior and exterior). I love driving in a clean car! I almost got new tires, but somehow $146 per tire turned into $780. That is some funky math. Guess we need to order them from Sam’s Club afterall.

Finally, Thane’s signing is off to a grand start. We have begun introducing him to other signs now that he is consistent with the milk sign. You should see his face when he realized, hey, they know what I am asking for! We think he is doing a modified version of the change sign too, which we introduced a while back as well, but have not been great about doing each time.

This morning, when I picked him up out of his crib, he gave me the milk sign using both hands. That must mean, “Mommy, I REALLY need some milk…NOW!”