7 Quick Takes - Take One

This is my first Seven Quick Takes post - be gentle with me!

-1-

Teddy turned 7 months old yesterday! We celebrated my visiting some brand new friends -- Isaac and Adeleine - as well as their big brother Elliott. Mom is my friend Sarah (Dad is my friend Dave -- another Sarah and Dave -- who works in the same building as my Dave). The twins are one month old and so.freaking.cute. Sarah is amazing, too, juggling three with such patience and love.

We're so lucky - so many of our Ottawa friends have just had/are about to have babies. I am thinking of starting a Mom's group since I think all the mothers would get along. They're all friends with me, so they've that in common, and all these kids will be in the same grade in school. It'll be my first one, though - any tips?

-2-

So - 7 months. And I swear - each one is better than the last. He is such a happy little boy -- he rarely cries, and laughs all the time. He is eating solids now -- a blend of feeding himself and our spoon-feeding -- and he's such an enthusiastic eater. He loves vegetables; he inhales squash and corn and sweet potatoes and he adores roasted red peppers and zucchini. He loves being read to and bouncing in his Jumperoo, and loves to try to walk (with help, natch). He just loves people. If given a choice between toys or people, he'll choose people every time. He is one of those kids who smiles at strangers in church, on the street, in restaurants, anywhere. I love this. I'm a person who loves to interact with random kids, so I'm thrilled to have a child who will play along. We are so very lucky.

-3-

Teddy's baptism is next Saturday night. My Aunt Pat and (uncle) Fred will be his godparents and the families will be converging to witness the sacrament and to eat yummy Italian food (my Nonna is making her lasagna). My Mom found an outfit for him and he looks adorable in it. Not that he'll be in it for the actual baptism, though - it's full immersion. We have our fingers crossed that he doesn't defile the holy water...

-4-

Teddy will be able to wear his baptism outfit again (as well as another suit I found him - complete with bow tie) when we travel next month. We're off to the left coast for a cruise going from Vancouver to Los Angeles. Yes - Teddy will see the Pacific before the Atlantic! We'll get to spend time with Aunt Beth (and other friends) in Vancouver, with Katie in SF and we're going to meet up with one of my favourite bloggers - Mighty Maggie in Seattle. I cannot wait! We'll be celebrating my birthday and our 5th wedding anniversary while on board. Crazily - it's the same ship that Dave and I sailed on for our honeymoon cruise (though that was in the Med). My parents are coming, too, and we'll be celebrating my Mom's -0th a few weeks early. Any tips on helping children deal with jet lag?

-5-

I cannot believe that the summer is already nearly over. We've had a heat wave here over the past few weeks, and in my head I think it's early July. Nope - it's nearly Labour Day. Why did the weather have to be so crappy the summer that I am off? Oh well. Falls around here are usually glorious, so there's that to look forward to!


-6-

My work situation took an amazing turn for the better this week. I can't go into specifics here -- fear of getting Dooced -- and the general situation deserves its own post. But on Monday, I went from thinking "I have no idea what I'll have to do come January" to "I have a brand new and interesting job, come January". It's a relief, and now I don't have to spend the rest of my parental leave worrying about it. Positively providential. Now - on to figuring out child care.

-7-

I did watch the Mad Men season opener, which I really enjoyed. I am excited to see how the season unfolds. I am also getting excited for the new seasons of favourite shows - like Gossip Girl and Law & Order (original flavour). I have gotten sucked in to L&O again - the cast is amazing right now. I could not watch during the Elizabeth Rohm era -- she was such a bad actress - so I fell away from it. But I am loving it again. It's reminiscent of my addiction while in University, when A&E would show it twice a day. I still miss you, Jerry Orbach.