Happy 1 Year Baby Tate!

So this is the last time I guess I can publicly call him my baby. I’m sure I’ll still call him that in person for the next 20 years, but after December 5, “the books” refer to him as a toddler. That’s going to take getting used to.

I figured it was fitting to do his final monthly block picture (yes, I’m retiring the blocks after 12 months) in the bathtub. This kid is crazy for his baths. He could be in the crabbiest, most tired mood and then the second you say the word bath and place him in the tub, pure joy takes over. If you look closely, you’ll see the waves in the tub. This is from the constant, constant excited kicking. We all get a bath when Tate takes a bath.

This past month did have some firsts. The first big boy haircut. I was putting off paying $15 for a kid’s haircut as long as I could. But, as you can see, the hair was getting a little crazy. Before:



After:



I wondered how he would do. The place we went to had a little car to sit in with a steering wheel. Well, his Daddy taught him a love for steering wheels a few months ago. Ever since then, if he sees one anywhere near him, he will lunge practically out of your arms to play with it. So, he was in heaven. The poor stylist. He was having so much fun and was in full leg-kicking motion, so it was hard to keep him still. I was impressed with how good of a job she did.

And of course, as the haircut was happening, I cried. It just made him look so much bigger and grown-up. The realization that my little baby was turning into a little boy.

Tate also had that infamous right of passage in the life of a little one…his first spaghetti dinner. As you can see, he liked it very much. The latest on food is about the same. Spoon with yogurt…yes. Spoon with much of anything else…no. I really don’t mind letting him feed himself everything, but it makes SUCH a mess. I’m looking forward to the day that he can learn how to eat from a plate or with his own spoon. Right now, those are just thrown on the floor.

This past month also allowed for a lot of cousin time. He and my sister’s little girl, Mallory, are exactly 6 months apart and are getting to the age that they can play with each other more. It’s pretty fun to watch. They also had their first cousin bath. You know, they’ll hate this picture in 16 years. Tate is also very excited to meet his new cousin Morgan soon. She should be here any day now.

He still loves to read books, go on walks, swing outside, listen to music, listen to Mommy sing goofy songs, clap his hands for everything, and play parachute under the bed sheets with Daddy. He repeated the word bird one day with me at the park. But, I haven’t been able to get him to say it again. He prefers his own language, and his “Tateish” sounds and noises are ever increasing. He also broke 4 new teeth this month. All at about the same time. That was a long week for us all.


His physical therapy is still going well. One night last week we put him to bed but could hear him talking and playing for quite awhile afterwards. I went in to see what he was up to. Low and behold, he was sitting up all on his own. He's been sitting up for quite awhile, but hadn't been able to get into the sitting position from lying down. As soon as he saw me, he started cracking up. It was too cute. Now, he’s a pro at getting into a sitting position on his own and loves for everyone to clap and cheer for him. We’re seeing a lot more movement and finagling his body around.

On the actual day of his birthday, we met the A-Team (we already have them destined to be Tate’s best friend/college roommate and future wife) in Southlake for a fun picnic lunch outside. It was a gorgeous day, and the kids and the Moms had a great time.

And this picture may look like the middle of a tantrum. No, this is Tate in the full-blown-I’m-so-excited-I-just-can’t-hide-it mode. Happy screeching, kicking, and arm-flailing…all for the outside fountain! The kid loves his water.

Then the big day was capped off with dinner and birthday cake at Mimi and Grandpa’s house. This cake experience started like the first time around, but with some nudging, he realized that it’s some pretty good stuff.


Before Tate was born, I had read so many parents talk about how much they loved their children. Honestly, I sometimes thought you were just supposed to say that kind of stuff. Wow, I had no idea. I love this little person more than I could ever imagine. And, it’s truly an unconditional love. Even when he throws up on me, doesn’t take a long enough nap, or whines all day from teething, I still love him. It’s a mystery, but one that I’m forever grateful.

I can’t thank God enough for the gift of this past year. This little boy brings a special joy to my heart like nothing else. I love seeing that already he has unique characteristics and a personality that is all his own. I hope that I can foster that and help him grow into that special person God created him to be. I can’t wait to walk alongside him and watch as he learns all about this world.

Bring it on year 2!

It's Official!

As of yesterday, Tate is 1 year old, and we have officially survived a year of parenthood. I'm still working on his 1 year post (don't think I've been on time once with those monthly pictures), but until then, here's a recap of the past 11 months with our little man Tate. It's so crazy how much he has changed and how different he looks. What a journey it has been for all 3 of us!

One Month Old


Two Months Old

Three Months Old

Four Months Old

Five Months Old

Six Months Old

Seven Months Old

Eight Months Old

Nine Months Old

Ten Months Old

Eleven Months Old

**Yes, it does stress me out a tad that he's wearing the same shirt in the 10 and 11 month pictures. Deep breaths, and I'm sure I'll be OK. :)

Twas the Night Before

I'm a sucker for nostalgia and am one of those people that is always saying, "Remember a year ago when..."

So tonight, I'm remembering December 4, 2006. Who knew that less than 24 hours later (although he sure did take his own sweet time arriving), we would meet this precious little boy and love him so much?

The Party

Alas, a post about the big party. Well, it was as big as you can get for a 1-year-old that has no idea what is going on. We celebrated with family and friends a week and half early over the Thanksgiving weekend. We were all already together for the holiday, and this way Aunt Shannon could be there. (This was her last weekend to travel as she’s due to have Baby Morgan in 3 weeks.)

The party went great and was lots of fun for us all. Here ‘s Tate is his super-cool 1 T-shirt saying "Let's Party!"

This is probably his first and last party that won’t be totally themed out with some kind of superhero or sport, so I took advantage and enjoyed having all of my favorite party food and decorations. Although, this is the first party we’ve hosted where two of the main dishes were chicken nuggets and goldfish crackers. Thanks to my sister for helping me all morning with the food, we had lots of good stuff to go around.

Hanging from the chandelier were all of his monthly block photos. After we take his picture on his real birthday (December 5), I’ll post all 12.

The party started with lots of play time for the kids and catching up for the adults.

Then all of those at the party that knew how to write filled out a little card about Tate, including their first or favorite memory, how they would describe him, and what they think he’ll be when he grows up. Some of my favorite responses were heartbreaker, soccer player, swimmer, Dallas Cowboys’ Tight End, and “anything he sets his mind to.”

Then the big entertainment of the afternoon was my ode to Gymboree. Yes, I’ve fallen for all of their marketing ploys and bought home versions of the fun games that Tate loves to play at his weekly class. We had bubble time that the kids loved, followed by parachute time. It’s amazing how universally-loved those are by kids most ages.

I think we wore Alex out.

Then, it was time for cake. To use an Oprah term, I had a “full-circle” moment as I ordered my son’s first birthday cake at the same bakery I ordered my wedding cake almost 9 years ago. Surreal! Since Tate is such an independent self-feeder and major grabber, I had high hopes for a classic cake-all-over-the-face Kodak moment.

Not so much. I think 20 people singing and staring at him kind of overwhelmed him a tad, because he wanted nothing to do with that cake. At least the rest of us enjoyed it...yummy!

Then on to the presents. As expected, the tissue paper was much more exciting than the presents at the time. But that has changed. He has loved playing with his new books, activity station, cars, push toys, magnets, bath toys, and ball pounder. And, he has a few more cute clothing items to add to his collection. Thank you everyone! I’ll save his present from us until the big reveal when it arrives and is put together.

Here are all of his sweet friends and cousins that spent the afternoon with us. Even though he didn't quite say it, Tate loves you and your parents all very much!

This picture just makes me laugh. “Put up your dukes or stop laughing at me. My Mom said I look adorable in this goofy hat.”

How is it possible that we are now parents of a toddler?

And last but not least, after we said our goodbyes, had a nap, and settled back down that night, we brought his cake out for one more try. Wouldn’t you know it, he loved it!!

More sappiness and nostalgia to come in the next few days as we get closer and closer to the big day.

Those Pesky Resolutions

So, remember way, way, way, way back when I was full of optimism and excitement for the new year? With all the fortitude and naivety I had, I declared my resolutions for 2007. What was I thinking??? This is proof that crazy hormones and sleep deprivation do strange things to a person.

Even though I have all the reasons in the world (I can reason my way out of anything) to bail on the half-marathon resolution, I figured that I really needed to do this. After all, it’s only a half-marathon, I’ve already done a full marathon before. What’s the big deal?

Sad to say, it is a big deal. I completed (walking, not running) a full marathon in June 2004. Here are a few differences from now and then.

Back then, I trained with a team. I was fundraising to support an important cause. On high mileage days, the team support set up the course, water breaks, etc. We had a personal trainer to ask questions and help with stretching. That was before I got my new job as a manager, which then led to two years of 10-12 hour days sitting at a desk in front of a computer, driving all over Texas, sitting at the phone on conference calls, or sitting on an airplane (which translates to not much physical activity!). Oh yeah, and my body has been through a few changes. A year ago, I looked like this...YIKES!

So needless to say, training for this half-marathon has been almost harder than training for the full marathon 3 years ago. And needless to say, I have not been near as good at following the training schedule. This time around, I just get whatever miles in that I can get in. The good news is that hopefully the weather conditions in Dallas will be a little better than when I did the full marathon. For some crazy reason, I thought it would be fun to complete my first-ever marathon in Hawaii…in the middle of the summer with 90+ degree days…on the IronMan black lava rock course. Here’s my fake smile from the middle of the course.

I truly was so miserable, I had to muster something up to look like I was having a good time and came up with the goofy thumbs-up! By this point in time, I was sunburned, dehydrated, and had completely numb feet from the sweat and blisters. Doesn’t that sound like fun to you? Honestly, Dallas' 30-40 degree temperatures would be a welcome relief from that.

Since I’m just about 10 days out from the big day, I figured it was time to truly hold myself accountable and put it out there on the blog. I have no expectation for a fast time, since I seem to be much slower these days. My goal is to just finish all 13.1 miles. The fun part is that my Dad and several friends are all doing it as well. I’m sure they’ll be able to complete a full marathon by the time I finish the half.

But hey, we all get the same T-shirt!

PS: For any of you that watch The Office, walking a marathon is not near as dorky ask Andy made it seem. Or maybe it is, and I'm just in complete denial. If so, please don't tell me.

Many Thanks

It may be years before this dining room table will ever have the pleasure of hosting a Thanksgiving dinner. Is that sad? Isn't that the pinnacle achievment in the life of a formal dining room table?

With both of our families here in town, I'm realizing that I may never have to cook a turkey. Since I'm not one to enjoy much cooking anyway, I've always been pretty OK with that. This was the first year that I BRIEFLY...I repeat...BRIEFLY thought to myself, maybe I'll give it a try one year. Now in my process of motivation, I need several Thanksgivings of thinking that to work up the courage to actually do it. We'll see. Check back with me in about 5 years.

Despite the aroma of a big, cooking bird in our home, we still had two rounds of a wonderful Thanksgiving. Round 1 with the Enrights was a week early. All of the family was there along with our family-friends and their new grandbaby. It was a fun time to see everyone and wrangle 3 kids under the age of 2. As it is every year, my Mom's cooking was great. Too bad the night ended with me at home with a 101 degree fever and horrible sore throat. Seriously, what has happened to my immune system?

Round 2 began on Thanksgiving Day with lunch for three at Whataburger. I'm pretty sure the Pilgrims made some kind of version of french fries, right? We then headed to Frisco and had an overnight hotel excursion with the rest of the Strzineks. We had a delicious Thanksgiving dinner together that night and a day of shopping on Friday.

Tate thoroughly enjoyed his first Thanksgiving with all of the family and friends around that love him so much. Each day, I was reminded of all the many things in my life that I'm thankful.

Now for a teaser, the weekend finale was an early "1st Birthday Party." More coming soon...

Thanksgiving

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happy 11 Months Baby Tate!

So this is only about half a month late, but who’s counting? It has been a little crazy around here, but I think my tardiness in posting is really a subliminal act of denial that my little baby is 11 months old. Which means…he’s almost 1 year old! I just can’t believe it. Seriously, how has it gone so fast? Anyway, on to a recap of the last month.

Tate continues to bring us so much joy. That may sound like such a cliché, but it is true. If Wade and I are both home when Tate wakes up from a nap, we usually both jump pretty quickly to be the one to go get him. Most of the time, he wakes up so happy and has one of those smiles that lights up his entire face. I love it!

One of the biggest challenges this month is with food. As I said before, he has quickly come to the conclusion that he is now too big for baby food. I guess we’ve got an independent type on our hands, as he has decided he must feed himself all food. That is except for yogurt. He is still coo-coo crazy for his yogurt. But pretty much everything else must be something he can feed himself. That has put me in quite the bind considering I don’t like to cook, and it’s often a battle of wills as he changes what he likes just about every day. So we’re just learning as we go. His current favorite foods are peas, turkey dogs, cheese, bread, black beans, bananas, raisins, and good ol’ macaroni and cheese.

And of course, this past month was full of Halloween fun.

As far as his physical therapy, we are actually going to go to two sessions a week. The therapist said he’s showing some signs of improvement and is tolerating it, so we might as well tackle it head on. When I get bummed out about it, it's because I don’t want him to miss out on anything, and I know he can get really frustrated. At our Gymboree class each week, I have to work real hard at not comparing him to the other kids that are crawling and walking all over the place. But, he’s working so hard and every little improvement here and there makes me so proud!

Although he’s still not standing or crawling yet, the kid can still get around. He is a master roller, which usually lands him in some strange places.


He continues to amaze us with the sound level that can come from such a little person. If he is happy, you (and all of the neighbors) will know it. Some may think that loud, screeching noise bellowing out of his mouth is because he is upset. Nope. That means he’s happy. And he’s happy a lot, so we hear that a lot. Guess the origin of his name that means “he who talks too much” may be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Oh well, we still love it…ear plugs and all.

He has said Momma quite a few times now. Although, I’ve noticed the only times he really says it is when he is upset or tired. Not sure what to think about that. He seems to understand a little more, but he is still mainly speaking “Tateish.” It’s pretty hilarious when he picks up a book, puts it in front of his face, and starts jabbering away like he’s reading the book himself. We have yet to figure out the translation.

And finally, Tate has made it to his third state. We went for a weekend trip to visit our friends Bert, Paige, and Anna in Little Rock. It was gorgeous, and Tate handled the 5+ hour drive surprisingly well. Here we are at the Old Mill.

It’s so hard to believe he’s been with us for almost an entire year. Now, we can’t even imagine life without him.

Said in a true "Chandler" tone...

Could I BE any more excited??!!

LOVE this show!

Back to the 30-somethings

I originally began this blog as a tribute to turning 30. Although I still only feel about 25, I've embraced my age and am looking forward to the big 3-2 in a few months. After all, 32 sounds better than 31 for some reason.

Anyway, I guess the founder of MySpace needs to learn a little lesson from me. While reading my beloved Newsweek the other night (yes, you read that right, beloved), I was so intrigued by this story. It appears as though he's been lying about his age.

The fact that he was lying might make more sense if he was really 50+ while marketing a product to teenagers. (Sorry to any of my over-50 readers, but surely you agree.)

But no, he was lying about a whopping 4 years. He's actually 36, not 32. The horror!

Isn't that strange? Who knew that being 32 was so appealing???