Wondering where it all went--

In the past few weeks, Ethan has gone from inchworming around to crawling to pulling himself up one everything and scooting around. He hates to be fed and insists on feeding himself. He had pizza and fruit for lunch; last night for dinner, he ate bites of chicken, sweet potatoes and peas. He's been a bit grumpy lately but I think that's mostly due to teething. He's not a baby anymore; he's almost a toddler. Again, let me reiterate that it happens too fast.

I'm also wondering where the year went. We did get the addition finished, but we never cleaned up the backyard. We never built the bookshelves or finished the painting touch-ups. We haven't decorated the new bedrooms with any artwork at all. And now we need to have the washer fixed, take care of the Subaru and move our stuff out of storage (speaking of storage, we never put a shed in the backyard). And then there's my own personal list-- I haven't lost the rest of the baby weight; I haven't completed the paperwork for my recertification; I haven't done the application to transfer my master's from a focus in Liberal Studies to Children's Lit. I need another good month or two in 2008 to get it all done (and a few thousand dollars).

I'm wondering where my old life went. I am thankful for such a happy and healthy baby boy, but some of my relationships and friendships have changed so dramatically. I guess I should have expected as much, but I was hopeful it wouldn't be that way. There are some people that can't, or don't want, to deal with the way I've had to make plans. Usually, I need notice to schedule a sitter and I was only getting at-the-moment invites. Now, from some friends, I don't get invitations at all. I've learned that friendships can take much more effort after a baby. I have also found that they can be that much more rewarding.

So here's a toast to 2008, in case I don't make it back to blog before it's gone. And here's another toast to all of the goodness 2009 will bring-- first birthdays, 29th birthdays (4th and 39th birthdays, too!), to working on bettering myself and to supporting those I love in their endeavors.