Will you have a goal this year?

*These are my friend's Arnold's adorable and loveable kids (Emily & Nathan)

Ok, so it's almost February and we're all past making New Year's resolutions or tackling challenges for 2010. Are we? I don't think so, and neither does my good buddy, Arnold, over at his newly created blog. Shameless plug for him, but please check it out. You might get inspired to create a "Project 365" for yourself and if anything else, enjoy reading and seeing what photo he'll post.

In addition to making some "resolutions and challenges," I saw this post over at Simply Modern Mom about "Project 52" instead of "Project 365." It's a challenge to create 52 date nights (can't have the same date twice) on the cheap, no kids allowed, and your partner and you take turns planning it. Hmm, I would love to take this challenge on. As is, Mr. Fliz and I do try and have date night once a week, and we don't necessarily leave the house to do it--so maybe this can work. I won't be documenting it, but I like challenges and coming up with creative ways to reconnect and spend time together without having to cough up a lot of dough for a date.

I think some people have taken on these new projects inspired perhaps by old blogs like the Julie/Julia Project. What will you take on this 2010?

From pips & squeaks to babbling to "Dog"

Oh my, Micro is a talker. He's always been a very vocal baby, but now as he enters toddlerhood, he's become quite talkative. If I'm on the phone with someone he is in the background giving his "two-cents" on everything. I can barely hear myself think. His first word was spoken during our holiday vacation in the East Coast and it was "dog." Now, he can't stop pointing to every four-legged, furry friend that comes our way. He loves dogs and squeals when one comes near him to play. Unfortunately, he's also taken to "wrestling" our little dog Mo on the sofa. And I mean, tackling him and hitting him as if he's some stuffed animal.

Micro has expanded his vocabulary with "mommy, ball, shoes, goat, hi, go, uh-oh." He knows where his nose, ears, and feet are. It's been fun watching him learn and understand words and meanings. His favorite activity these days is walking our dog Mo (he insists on holding the leash and has become quite good at it--though Mo would prefer a more experienced walker such as "moi.").

Life has been busy since the New Year and I'm just trying to keep up with Micro. "It's his world and we're just living in it," as Mr. Fliz and I like to say.

Bye Bye 2009!

Well it was certainly a very memorable holiday season for Micro, Mr. Fliz, and I. We survived a great blizzard during Christmas and managed to actually stay up till 12 a.m. this New Year's Eve. Last year, we were struggling to celebrate with a one and half month old newborn. Now it feels like that time was so long ago.

I am hoping (praying, actually) that 2010 will be better than this past year for many people, including myself. If you're like me, who is trying to get back on the healthy eating, more exercising bandwagon, check out my posts for lettuce cups and roasted stuffed tomatoes here. My goal this year is to do more volunteering around my community and learn to relax and not rush-through my "down time" as a mommy. I tend to not fully enjoy the time I have to myself and always feel that I need to get back to help raise Micro immediately.

We did have a wonderful holiday season with family. Micro got to spend good quality time with his cousin Noe and learned quite a bit from watching and being around her. Oh yes, he did! He's now feeding himself, says and knows the meaning of "mama, mommy," and his first word spoken was "dog." As soon as we had come back from our East Coast vacation, it was like he was a whole different toddler. Yet he's still my little munchkin of a man and brings me smiles when I'm having a tough moment. Mr. Fliz and I are looking forward to discovering all the neat things Micro will this year. Share with me some of your favorite 2009 moments with your kids below.