Li’l A was too li’l back in 2010 to really understand this whole Christmas thing. And, he was still a bit too li’l in 2011 to get very excited about it. But he did pretty well with the unwrapping part:
There was a lot of change over the past year. A year ago, Atticus couldn’t even crawl yet! I hardly remember those days. And then, suddenly, he could crawl. Which led to the few days we spent in hospital.
I actually don’t want to write very much about that experience. That he fell down some stairs, that we were utterly terrified, and that it all worked out okay in the end is probably to say enough. It was a nightmarish experience. More enduring is my eternal sympathy and respect for parents with sick children.
Then there was a whole period of time when he was pretty much constantly falling over as he mastered walking, and climbing. He climbed everything. He liked to throw his hands up in victory when he finally ascended to the peak. Sometimes he’d dance up there. Given his earlier fall, this sort of behaviour made me very nervous. And I’ll admit to hovering perhaps a bit too close.
Nowadays, he’s really quite talented in his walking and running and climbing. He’s even started walking up and down stairs holding the handrail.
Atticus in 2011 (click to enlarge)
Both J and I started new jobs in 2011, as well. And the months flew by. We went to quite a few weddings and celebrations. And then J graduated with her Masters’ degree. Li’l A didn’t take well to sitting still for a couple of hours, but he did wave to his mother before needing to be led away to the car for a nap. J and I also attended (what will probably be) the last annual Mess Dinner for my reserve uni: if having Atticus (or these grey hairs) didn’t already have me feeling old, realizing that I’ve been in the reserves for 17 years would do it. Oh, where has the time gone?
And we spent the last two months buying, selling, and moving homes. Moving is just about the last thing in the whole world I enjoy doing. So I’ve tried to enjoy the fact that this will be our last move EVER. It has all we need, with a great yard and deck. And it backs a school, and a park with two playgrounds, a wading pool, a sledding hill, baseball diamonds, soccer/football fields, and an ice rink. I’m sure we’ll get our tax-dollars worth out of them!
Although it was a whirlwind 99% of the time, I think we managed to get the better of 2011, in the end. Look out 2012: here we come!
The New House
