Home, sweet home

Well, it's actually happening...Jess and Parker are moving into a place of their own. I just never thought it would come and I mean that in both a "I'm so excited to have my own place again" way and "I'm really going to miss them" way. It's hard to explain what it's like living in a 2-bedroom, 1-bath place with 2 adult women and a baby boy. At times it was frustrating and cramped and we had trouble getting along, but I will always cherish this time since I got to be a part of his early upbringing and was there to experience a lot of his "firsts":

* his first tooth
* watching him eat his first jar of baby food
* his frog-like rock/hop that took 2 months to become crawling
* his first hair cut
* his first precarious steps that eventually became walking
* being there for his first bowl of mac 'n cheese
* learning how to wave

Things I'll miss:

* the way he wakes up in the morning - with his sleepy/shy smiles
* the time he'd spend with me in the mornings (usually while I was putting on my makeup) - we'd play and talk
* tickle time which could happen just about any time - there's nothing quite like a baby's laugh, it's beautiful and innocent and totally pure
* dinner time - that boy can eat!!
* bath time - he loves to splash :)
* sneaking peeks at him while he's sleeping

Don't get me wrong, I'm going to miss my niece too, but I've already watched her grow. She doesn't change all that much anymore. But Parker is my latest ray of hope and love and sunshine in this world. And even though my niece hates it when I say this, he may be the closest I come to the experience of having a child of my own. I just love him so much! Look at how much he's changed in the 7 months they've been with me:

January 29th...


August 31st...


I can't believe he's going to be a year old in less than 2 weeks. WOW! I still remember when his momma was a baby.

Guess I'll just have to get back to the other love of my life...dancing!!