We have a sick child, and no, it is not H1N1.  Markus has croup.  Thankfully, it's a pretty mild case and he is able to sleep fairly well at night.  That barking like a seal noise though, is enough to make any mother want to cry.

1.  Markus is now a brilliant walker and so is into even more things that he was before.  He is also quite proficient at climbing UP the stairs, but hasn't yet mastered getting DOWN the stairs.

2.  Markus is constantly learning new words.  The latest ones have been "cookie" and "cracker" - imagine that!  He still can't say the word "ball".  It just comes out as "bbbbuh"

3.  I turned 39.  Now how in the world has that happened?  It seemed not very long ago that I turned 30.  I've decided not to have anymore birthdays for awhile.  I'm not sure I'm ready for the big 4 - 0, and I don't want my son to have an "old" mom, so I'm staying young at heart (and therefore, young in age).

4.  We've weathered our first round of colds for the fall/winter.  Hopefully they will be the last for awhile. 

5.  We spent a day outdoors at Ohiopyle State Park.  Markus got to stick his hand in the "raging rapids" while mom watched nervously on the rocks.  We also stopped and bought pumpkins on the way home.  And did we remember to take our camera on this beautiful day?  Of course not.  The drive in the Laurel Highlands was gorgeous, as usual.

6.  Markus has discovered how fun cars, trains, and trucks can be.  He likes to push them around on the floor, while he says "woo woo".  I ordered him Thomas's wooden railway for Christmas.  I think he'll enjoy this now (at least he likes the wooden trains at the doctor's office and at Barnes & Noble).

7.  The house next door to us has finally sold!  No one has lived there in the entire 2 1/2 years that we have been in this house, so I am very excited to have neighbors, and hope that I like them.