One more week of maternity leave. One. More. Week. Aaaargh!

Tomorrow Julian and I are going to the childcare center in the morning to get his paperwork turned in. Then we'll play over there for a few hours...eat, visit with the teacher, try to nap in the crib there, hang out with the other babies. Since he is so social, I'm thinking that he'll really enjoy being around the other babies. He always loves his playgroup time with his baby friends.

I'm not going to go on Wednesday, since we have playgroup that day at Kelly's house, but I'll try to go again on Thursday and Friday with him for a few hours. Hopefully that's enough to get him feeling somewhat comfortable and used to the place. Thank goodness next Monday is a holiday. It's nice to have the first week be a short one. My boy...I miss him already.

I'm looking forward to getting a paycheck again, that's for sure. My savings account is dwindling down to a pretty low level. Time to fatten it up again.

I got my hair cut and highlighted on Friday. I held Baby J on my lap for the first hour and a half while I got my highlights, then Dan came down and watched the boy while I got my shampoo and haircut. Worked out pretty well.

And hey! I am back into my old pants! Even the small ones! It's a different belly and hips than I had before...I still have a funny-looking roll of loose skin around my waist, but it's still shrinking back, so I'm not too worried. I still have ten pounds to lose to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight, but I think some of that might be boobs. The most important thing is having my pants fit.

Julian's tooth is coming in quickly, getting long and very sharp! I forgot about those serrated edges that new teeth have. And every day he gets closer and closer to sitting up on his own. He can sit on his potty by himself as long as I keep a careful eye on him. Sometimes he tilts over sideways. Mostly he likes to lean *really* far forward so that he can grab his own toes...then he can fall off the front of the potty if I don't hold onto his shirt. Sitting is fun though.

The newest development is Grabby Hands! In the past week or two, Baby J discovered that his hands can be little tools, they can hold toys and smack the table, and wave around when he is excited. When he is happy he will lift his arms up and then smack his belly or legs...pretty funny! He used to just grab my hair, but now he grabs everything. I took him on a tour of the backyard last night and we touched the prickly tomato plant, a fuzzy fern, a soft rose, etc. Fascinating! Paper is another big favorite. It's great to grab a piece of paper and then CRUMPLE it, makes a good sound too.