Nathan watched a little too much TV while The Targo was gone. Mostly Sesame Street, but still. He now talks about the characters and talks to them on the phone. It used to be only Elmo. Now, he talks to Oooh-nee (Ernie) ... and other Oooh-nee (Bert).
Nathan is at that point where he talks ALL THE TIME. We hear him over the baby monitor, talking in his sleep. It's usually something about his pacifier (which he calls a "bao" or "bow" ... whatever your phonetic preference is) or a doggy. He talks and talks and talks when we take him for walks, pointing out everything he knows the word for. He now recognizes most uppercase letters, so he gets excited about pointing them out and saying their names too!
Anyway, on the way to work today, he was babbling. I understood about 2/3 of what he was saying. So, I started asking him questions.
"Nathan, who are you going to see today?" He started talking about the letter M or something equally important. Then I rattled off the names of two kids he goes to daycare with. "Are you excited to see X and Y?"
He started clapping and did this "YAY!" thing and said "Anna! Reed!" who are two of the other littles at his daycare. It was just so cute. And yes, I know you had to be there.
Really? That might be too dramatic. Things have been C-R-AZY. Not a bad crazy, just busy, crazy and okie dokie.
(aside: this post will be full of unnecessary punctuation, sentence fragments, and very likely bad grammar.)
The Targo spent a month traveling for work. Now, it wouldn't have been the biggest deal if it hadn't been to India. And also, the circumstances aren't the greatest. I can't go into that here... but prayers are always appreciated. He's fine and he got to experience some interesting things, but it took a lot out of him.
Like everyone else, my workplace is going through tough economic times. We get regular emails from our HR department asking people to leave of their own volition, lest EVERYONE lose their jobs. Fun stuff.
Despite these stressors, I know how very lucky we are. It's not quite Thanksgiving, but I've realized ticking off little items of gratitude has helped me recently.
We have a healthy little boy who really enjoyed Halloween ... he was the cutest Penguin. The Targo says he'll upload pictures soon. "Soon" in Targo is like, sometime between now and the next time we change the clocks. I kid. Mostly.
As for right now, we both have our jobs. Despite the constant threats, we're employed.
We have a roof over our head. That makes us better off than much of the world. And, we never worry if there's going to be food on our table.
We have parents who are both involved and concerned. We don't need help now, but if we did I know that they would all do what they could.
We have amazing friends. While Joe was gone, several people kept me company and had playdates with Nathan and me. Many more simply called or sent "hi, how are you?" emails. While I was fine, I passed the well-wishes onto Joe. It meant a great deal to him.
So... that's about it. My life is pretty boring right now. A little frustrating and stressful, but definitely not enough of a train wreck to make it interesting. Regardless, I've learned that I need to write some of my thoughts out - whether or not they're grammatically correct or cohesive - to keep myself from falling into self-pity. It's pretty awesome to have a little space on the interweb to do that.
It just occurred to me that the newest photo in the header is from a year ago, when we went to the pumpkin patch. My kid has grown just a bit since then.
I know I keep whining about time flying, but it for really is flying. I'm just so frustrated that I can't hold it a little tighter, for just a little longer. I feel a little out of control. I wonder if everyone has this frustration, or if it's a little unique to the working parent. I see Nathan a whopping three hours a day during the week. I know some of the professionals out there would be grateful for that. But really, it's not nearly enough.
Soon, the Targo will be traveling for business, and those two hours that he gets with Nathan will turn into just a few minutes over Skype. But still, I feel blessed. I feel blessed that we both have our jobs, that food continues to magically appear on our table, that we have a roof over our head, that we have an old, yet reliable vehicle. And mostly, I'm thankful that I have a husband for whom this time away will be hard.
I'm not quite sure where the summer went, but I'm sure I was there. I've seen the pictures. And I know it's been eventful. We've made two trips to the east coast, Nathan took his first train and plane rides, we've moved ... and it's been a beautiful time with friends and family.
Although fall is my favorite time of year, I can't help but feel a little sad that the summer is over. Nathan is nearly 20 months old and is so quickly growing into an independent little person. The Targo and I are at a loss! How did this happen? Every day he seems to be more of a little boy. This season of change, while bittersweet, has been truly amazing.
I live in Chicago with my husband (The Targo), our 21-month-old son(Nathan), and my cats (Mystic & Magic). I used to say I was "finishing up" my PhD, but it killed my soul. So, I no longer talk about it. I'm a crazy cat lady who loves bad TV. I know, you're totally afraid I'm that neighbor who's going to make your property value go down in 40 years. You're probably right.
I'm not quite sure where the summer went, but I'm sure I was there. I've seen the pictures. And I know it's been eventful. We've made 
