14 1/4 months old

Hi everybody! Happy inauguration day! We watched President Obama get sworn in this morning ... very exciting to feel history being made!

Matthew came back on Sunday from chilly Toledo, where it's been snowing heavily and as low as 17 degrees below zero, or -27 degrees Celsius. It was only marginally better here in Florida, down to 46 degrees Fahrenheit or 8 degrees Celsius! I've been bundling up Thomas for our morning walks in a snowsuit that I had bought for Asheville, North Carolina. Might as well use it as long as I've got it, right? Sometimes Thomas is so cozy out there that he falls asleep in the stroller and has to be very carefully wiggled out of his snowsuit when we get back, lest he wake up and be grumpy because his morning nap was cut short.

Thomas has started trotting quickly all by himself. And he is hardly crawling at all now -- he finds it much easier to walk than to crawl already. Mom and Dad went dancing for a three day stretch, and they were amazed at his progress while they were gone. He went from careful stepper who watches where he puts his feet to a steady zoomer who really gets up speed even while holding multiple toys! He is much more comfortable holding one hand while walking, and he frequently strikes off on his own. I'm trying to learn how to steer him since he has quite the mind of his own.

One day, I see that he is standing on one of the socks that he is supposed to be wearing. I ask him, "Thomas, where's your sock? Where's your sock?" He looks down and around his feet and slowly, carefully walks out of the room. A minute later, he walks in again, holding a matching sock in each hand! And I don't even know where he got them! And sometimes we will be in his playroom (the solarium/porch/lanai/Florida room), and he will wander out and then walk back in again, saying "nanana" -- and holding a banana in his hand that the had picked up off the table. As in, I'm hungry for the rest of this banana that is leftover from lunch! Feed me!

Oh yes! I went back to work! Part time, twice a week, to cover the other interpreter's days off. Later this month we are moving operations over to where Delta is to begin the integration process (Northwest and Delta are merging).

Amazing developments this week!