William stands.

Today I awoke from a sleepless night (okay, not completely sleepless, there must have been some sleep I just don't recall when) and found William standing up in his crib. He's been perfecting this trick for a while, grabbing things, pulling himself up on things, falling down. But this morning he was not only standing, but dancing, his pride showing through that big gummy smile of success.

Later this morning, while William was "napping" I heard a kind of banging noise coming from his bedroom. That is not the sound of an asleep baby, thought I, and went to investigate. William had yanked down his mobile (I probably should have taken that down a while ago but, no worries, he did it for me). The mini bears were strewn about like the unfortunate victims of a Godzilla attack.

Every day William shows another sign of grown-upedness, so now he's ready for his first camping trip. By "camping" I mean bringing large quantities of junk food into the woods and trying to prepare it over an open flame. That's what the boys and me will be doing from Sunday to Sunday. My parents took me camping when I was an infant, so it can't be that hard right?

Three Generations of Filipowicz Boys

We were at my in-laws' for dinner today and my mother-in-law took this picture. You can see that there are strong genes in this family. Strong, handsome, square-headed, Polish genes. William is looking to the right because I was there, making faces and singing "William, William, what a nice name..." Intergenerational photos are fun, aren't they?

In other news, there is a big wet spot on the carpet under Adam's computer desk and we have no idea how it got there. Something leaked, but what? It's not near the wall really and it definitely didn't come from the ceiling. Perhaps some gremlins peed there. Adam told security and filled out a form. Someone will check it out on Wednesday (by check it out I mean they'll get the form, I don't actually know if anyone will check anything out). Adam tidied the bedroom in case.

Someone bought a t-shirt!

This one.

That's right, your chance to be the first to own an original atheistinthecloset.com design has passed. But never fear, there are plenty of designs that noone has ordered yet! (Including the "I Believe in Cookies" shirt. That one is classic).

On a completely unrelated note, check out my son in his new polar bear sleeper. Can you believe it's cold enough in August to wear this thing?

We have a mortgage! (and a floating baby and a business)

We have signed both mine and my husband's souls over to the bank, along with our life savings, just for the pleasure of paying more money for the condo we already live in! This is a big deal because not only will we get some equity (which I think is bank-talk for magic fairy dust), but it means we have fulfilled all my previous mental requirements to consider myself "a grown-up":

• a)grown-ups get married (check)


• b)grown-ups have kids (check)


• c)grown-ups have a mortgage (check)

Yikes! I'm going to have to come up with new criteria. Like, perhaps I need a real job before I truly mature. This journey into adulthood seems unsafe....like maybe I should be wearing a life jacket...

Speaking of life jackets (and really forced segues), William wore a life jacket at water babies today, look at him all cute:

In case you're wondering, no I am not naked in this picture, that is a strapless bathing suit. Anyway, notice how I'm not holding William at all? He can swim ALL BY HIMSELF.

In other news, I would like to end this blog entry with a shameless plug for mine and my husband's new online t-shirt business, which I have doubts will ever make any money. But if you happen to not believe in God, and want to advertise that fact on a t-shirt, go to: atheistinthecloset.com . In the closet....because we sell t-shirts...which you store in your closet...get it? Anyway there are nine super-cool designs so far. Some of them I think are cute even if you're not an atheist. So throw us a couple bucks will you? We have a mortgage for Spock's sake!

William Eats Cereal!

It's official. My baby boy is all grown up! Look at him taking the spoon like a pro (pros can be messy eaters, right?) Anyway, he had a big helping of booby for dessert, so there are no worries yet about him going off on his own and not needing Mommy (although this is the beginning of the slippery slope toward independence).

Law and Order: Special Empress Unit

When William and I got back from Mother Goose class this afternoon we saw five police cars parked in front of our building (by "we" I mean the royal we, William was asleep and didn't see anything). I asked our security guard why we had a sudden need for the squadron of law enforcement vehicles, but he didn't know.

I rode the elevator with two officers, both of them sporting bulletproof vests and packing heat (that's cop lingo meaning they had guns). I asked them why they were here and they said "we're looking for a missing person."

A missing person eh? A missing serial murderer/rapist who preys on innocent condo residents? I locked my door just in case. Anyway, in the unlikely event that any of those cops are reading this: Good luck in your search.

Future Olympian

Adam can't always get off work on time to take us to water babies swimming lessons, so my parents help out. Here's my Mom (aka Omi) with William in the changeroom. I love the rolls of baby fat on his chest.

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And here William is way too interested in looking at the pool to waste time on more photos


Here he's smiling because I just told him that he is the best swimmer in the whole class (in my unbiased opinion). Well, to tell you the truth, I really wasn't looking at the other babies, but William can kick and everything. He's advanced, I tell you.


Let's use this photo to compare mother and child. I think he's starting to look a little like me. Same-shaped eyes, similarly-shaped nose, both wearing a goofy expression.

Yes, all these people are with us. From left to right: William's Daddy, Auntie Eireann, Uncle Craig, Omi, cousin Hunter. My dad (Opa) was also there (he took the picture). William is a novelty right now and thus my family's favourite source of entertainment.

William Signs "Doggie"

As part of my ongoing quest to create a child genius, I've been teaching William baby sign language for a while now (by "teaching" I of course mean waving my hands around like a mad woman while he giggles and drools). Today I was at my parents' house, and my dad was playing with Morty the Jackapoo, and William was on my lap watching them. And he made the sign for doggie.

Now, to be fair, "doggie" isn't one of those signs that involves contorting your arms and fingers in a bizarre way. It's a simple slap of the knee with open palm (as if you're calling a dog) and is the type of gesture that William (and I assume every baby) makes randomly when happy and excited. But this time he did it over and over while watching a dog play.

Adam wasn't there at the time, but William was kind enough to repeat the sign for him later when I was telling the story. My hubby needs more convincing before he will "consider" that William's first sign.

But I'm the Mommy, so I say William signs "doggie" and is clearly a baby genius.