1 year and counting

Hello everyone! I have to apologize. . .I thought for sure I had already posted CJ's 1st birthday pictures. Turns out I am behind more than I thought!

We spent CJ's birthday with Grandma and Grandpa Bavlnka then spent the next day with Grandma and Grandpa Moll. There were cupcakes, presents and toys galore. CJ was very unsure about getting messy with his cupcakes, and when his hands and face were covered with frosting and cake he got a little uneasy. He hated his bath that followed (we're still working on bath time) but had fun opening presents after that. All-in-all it was a good day. Not to mention that the day BEFORE his birthday, he decided to take his first steps! He quickly became a pro at walking and hardly ever wants to do anything else. By now, he's so independent that he won't ever hold our hands or let us help him. The way he walks is pretty cute. . .his holds his hands up in the air (for balance, I guess) at about shoulder level.

We've been doing swimming lessons at the YMCA together, and he's gone from being quite scared to being excited when he sees the pool. He hates the life jacket, though, and cried the whole time he had to wear it at lessons.

The other pictures posted are from this weekend at the NEW Zoo in Green Bay. We actually got to feed the giraffes, though I had more fun than anyone else, it seemed. It was pretty cool. CJ is still a little young to enjoy the zoo, but we had fun anyway. We are looking forward to going to the Milwaukee Zoo sometime this summer.

Cliff is done for the semester and has survived his first year of teaching at UWO. He's looking forward to a little more free time this summer, but has 2 research projects to work on.

Nothing new with me. Life is good but uneventful except in anything CJ related for me. I am working a little and getting a little more comfortable with my new job, but that's about it.

Looking forward to our upcoming party with the Bavlnkas. . .most of that side of the family has not met CJ yet! It's also been a long time since I have seen anyone. . .It should be fun.

Well, I better wrap this up, CJ is getting antsy. I miss you all and hope everyone is well!

A new look for CJ

Hey, everyone! It's time for another addition of the "Moll Family Blog". . .

Things are going well here for us. Cliff is getting ready to have a week off for Spring Break, I am getting ready to start my first shift off of orientation at work, and we just welcomed a new niece to the family. Baby Rylie Elizabeth Neis was born on March 9th at 1339. She was 9#7 oz and Erica was only in labor a few hours. I tried to make it for the birth, but was too late. Way to go Erica!

CJ is growing and changing so much. He had his first haircut at 11 months old because he had to tilt his head to see past his bangs (they were down to his chin). We cut about 3 inches off and still kept it long. He looks like a different kid and looks so much older now. His hair looks kinda curly still, but I don't know where he got that from. He isn't walking yet, but is standing for longer periods and is now really fast at both crawling and cruising the furniture. He pushes the kitchen chairs around the kitchen now, so maybe he'll be walking on his own soon. There's no "mama" or "dada" yet (at least not with association of what he's saying) but last week CJ started saying "hi" and waving at people (and objects, his reflection, Ruby, etc.). He seems to understand that it's a greeting and says it at appropriate times. It's really cute.

There's not much else new here. Great weather the last few days and no more snow on the ground. . .although the weatherman said there could be some snow this weekend. I don't think anything is supposed to stick, though. Yay Spring!

I miss you all and hope this finds you all well!

10 months old. . .

Hey, everyone!

Well, another few months and baby CJ is growing like crazy. He's teething. . .looks like he'll have his first tooth (or teeth) soon! He's into everything, crawling and pulling up on anything at least a few inches tall. Not walking yet. . .

I was hopeful that CJ was beginning to sleep through the night, but to no avail. He's back to being up 1-2 times most nights. . .oh, well.

We recently had a weekend in Wisconsin Dells with my parents, Erica, Brian and McKynzie. We had lots of fun at the indoor water parks and hanging out in the cabin we rented. Mom and Dad even let Cliff and I have a date night. Very nice! We did hibachi and went to a movie. It was good to get out for a night alone.

Cliff has just started his second semester of teaching. He even has a masters class he teaches in Green Bay. He had a nice 7 week vacation and is now back to the grindstone. During his vacation he worked hard on preps and on research. We also took a trip to FL for Cliff to defend his dissertation. He is now Dr. Moll! We had a great time hanging out with our FL friends while we were in town.

I am going to be off orientation at work soon. I am looking forward to being on my own, though I'll need a little help sometimes with some of the paperwork.

As always, I hope everyone is well and we miss you all!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to everyone! I finally have a few minutes to update y'all on what's new with us. . .

The last 2 months have been busy. Lots of family get togethers and time spent with CJ. I am orienting at work, trying to do at least 1 shift each week. Cliff has been watching CJ when I work and so far things have gone well for them together.

Cliff has been working hard on finishing his dissertation and finishing the his first semester of teaching. We are going to FL in early January to defend his dissertation and then he will finally be done! The semester went well, but Cliff is a hard teacher and expects a lot of his students. Some appreciate that, while others just want easy As.

CJ is growing like crazy. He has his 9 month check up coming up next month. His biggest new skill is that he can sit up from a lateral position on his own. He stands with little support while holding on to something, but can't pull himself up to stand yet. He hasn't started crawling or walking, but that doesn't slow him down. . .he just log rolls to where he wants to be. He has 1 little tooth bud, but nothing has come all the way up yet. Also, his attention span is growing. . .he can entertain himself for longer periods . Oh, and the biggest thing. . .he is sleeping through the night some nights, and when he doesn't make it all night he only gets up once. This is HUGE! I am finally getting a little sleep!

That's about it. I have attached some pictures. They are from his very first photo shoot last month.

Hope everything is going well with everyone. Happy Holidays!

Sorry for the typos in that last post. I didn't look through it before I published it. Ooops!

Finally

Hey, y'all. Sorry for the delay. CJ and I have been sick (now Cliff is getting sick, too) with colds and I haven't had time to write.

At his month visit, CJ was 19 pounds even and 27 1/2 inches long. He seems to be doing well and has met all his milestones except he still doesn't roll over from his belly to back. He is getting stronger and likes to stand up with support. He sits up really well, too. The bad news is h still isn't sleeping well at night. He gets up every 1-2 hours to eat and momma is getting pretty tired. The good news is he has been better about naps for the last week or so. He fusses a little, but seems to go to sleep better and sleep longer. Of course he is sick, so maybe it won't last. . .

To my FL friends. . .did you see on the weather that it has already snowed here? Nothing that stuck, of course, but last week we had snow flurries and in the morning lately there has been frost on the ground. Jealous?

I started orientation for my new job (a casual position at my old place of employment). So far, so good. A lot of the people I used to work with are still there, so that will be fun.

Nothing else going on. Cliff is still enjoying teaching and he's getting closer to finishing his dissertation. I can't wait until that's done! Probably next month.

Hope everyone is doing well. Keep in touch!

Dana

PS. I did have more pictures, but I can't get them to load. Sorry!

No time

Sorry it's been a while. . .and it's gonna be longer. No time to write, but here are some new pictures. I'll post asap with some updates!