Still here...

...but not much new to talk about. Summer is pressing on (it is HOT this weekend), and Aiden is developing faster by the second--I can't believe he's 17 months old already! But I do think I'm finally coming to terms with the fact that he's not a baby anymore--he's a full-blown toddler. He has completely mastered walking, tripping far less than even a week ago, and he's even made attempts to jump, which are just HILARIOUS (I tried to get a video, but the camera battery died). His vocabulary expands everyday; he's looking at my inquisitively when he doesn't know the name of an object, so I've been doing a lot of explaining. He's also become quite affectionate, which just makes my heart happy; I melt when he walks up to me, smiles, says "Mommy!" and gives me a big hug. Just. Awesome.
We're kind of in a holding pattern right now in the Cotter house--there's a lot of waiting. Waiting for my Buckeyes to take the field, waiting for the new fall season of my show to start (more on that in a later post), waiting for Aiden to start going to his new daycare, and waiting for our October vacation to Hilton Head. Lots of stuff coming up--guess I'd better enjoy this downtime while I have it. :)

Shamrocks in August

Yesterday, Mike & I had a much-needed date. I didn't see him much last weekend since I was at my folks' and he had to stay and work, and then with the normal work-week woes, I just felt as though we needed some time to reconnect. Luckily for us, the Dublin Irish Festival was this weekend! I had never been but I had wanted to for a long time. We had a great time! It was PACKED, despite the cloudy skies, but Mike & I really enjoyed walking around drinking beer and browsing all the celtic-themed booths. And although we saw PLENTY of merchandise that we might have purchased for ourselves (I was eying a neat shamrock plaque for the kitchen while Mike had his eyes on a soccer jersey), we giggled because the two things we did end up buying were for Aiden! I think he's look great in this fleece & T-shirt next spring.We left a bit early than anticipated due to some threatening skies, but it was time well-spent with each other. We already have plans to head back next year, hopefully bringing our little leprechaun with us.
In other news, I'm about to become a student again, something I SWORE I would never do once I received my bachelor's degree. But things change, and I think I would be a much more well-rounded employee with a MBA. Of course, the tuition reimbursement program where I work is a plus as well. I've already been accepted into a program; now if I can just figure out if I'm going to start in September or January, I'll be on my way.