Practice Steps

Here's new video of Baby MAC practicing his latest moves! He's wearing Wee Squeak shoes which makes walking much more fun. The shoes were a gift from his godparents. And, we're kind of glad the shoes fit now while he's only walking in short bursts. Enjoy!

Like sands through the hourglass...

...so are the days of our lives. Isn't that a catchy little phrase from the popular soap opera Days of Our Lives? That used to be one of my faves, that is, until Marlena became possessed. That storyline killed the soap for me. In college, my roommate Brenda and I used to record certain soaps that aired while we were in class and watch them later. Since that time, I haven't watched or recorded a soap opera. I wonder if Marlena is still possessed?

Here at home, our family life isn't quite that dramatic. We've been very busy though.

In August, we traveled to see my mom who was undergoing outpatient surgery. Unfortunately, the surgery didn't go as well as everyone expected, so a few days after the surgery my mom became an inpatient at the hospital. Then, after a few more days she underwent a second surgery. It's been two months and she's doing better. She even returned to Taekwondo classes! As much as she'd like to return to sparring, she has to sit those exercises out until her doc gives her the "okay." I'm thinking her doc should have recommended yoga instead.

While we were there Baby MAC spent most of his days in a private swimming pool. It was a one-man raft filled with water. Perfect for an 11 month old!


During this time, I learned of a cousin involved in a car wreck back at home. He's been in a coma since. One of his brothers updates his condition and any progress here.

In September, we celebrated Baby MAC's first birthday!


And in honor of our little monkey, I made monkey cupcakes.


My in-laws visited.


We traveled to the Cornhusker State to visit my sis-in-law Juli and her growing family. Baby MAC and his cousin Ian enjoyed each others company.


And, we visited the zoo.

Juli and Glenn are expecting a baby girl soon! Yea!

It's now October and Baby MAC has been a little sick. Luckily, no strain of flu has hit our home. Knock on wood and pass the Lysol.

Our little boy is easily entertained by a cell phone, especially an iPhone with an app made just for him. He loves the animal sounds on daddy's phone.

Music Man (Boy)

Each day is truly amazing as we watch Baby MAC discover new skills. In the past week, he spontaneously began clapping at dinner one evening, he's beginning to put down at least one hand as he learns to lower himself from a kneeling position (this really helps decrease the bumps and bruises on his noggin), and he has a new found musical passion.

This is his inspiration and source for musical entertainment.





We awoke one morning to this little elephant's lullaby. My father-in-law gave us this sweet gift when he visited soon after hearing our news that we were expecting a baby.

Baby MAC learned on his own that pulling this plastic ring would grind some gears and play a tune. Listening to the monitor, A. and I stayed in a bed enjoying our son's musical development. What a wonderful way to wake up!





I like to call him Harry Elephante. He's musical. Half our family is Spanish speaking. I think it's a good name.

10 months old today!

Seriously. Where is the time going? I just posted his nine month pictures, now Baby MAC is 10 months old!

Here he was trying to sneak a taste of a table. This kid licks everything!



I just love his little legs and feet.



We've also made new friends! These two cuties sitting with Baby MAC are the grandchildren of some longtime family friends.



Daddy's sunglasses aren't even safe. I told you this kid licks everything. And, I mean everything.

Check up and Stand up

Baby MAC recently had his 9-month check up. While we were waiting for our friendly pediatrician, Baby MAC was drawn to the nearby window where he decided to pull himself up to his knees. This was a fairly new move for him.




Then, he did this (see below)...for the first time ever!





We were so excited that A. called out for our pediatrician, who is also a dear friend of ours, and he got to witness the historic occasion too!





He's enjoying his room with a view.





Baby MAC continued pulling up to his knees once when we returned home, and we had to lower his crib mattress that same day. Now, he's frequently pulling himself up to a standing position. Looks like we need to lower the mattress yet again.

Baby MAC is 9 months old!

Wow, how time flies! Our baby boy is already 9 months old.

Swing Time

Here's Baby MAC on his first swing at the local park. He laughed and smiled while swinging back and forth.



He was such a good sport while Mommy exploited his handsome good looks and big blue eyes, all the while, clinging to the filthy public swing.
(Note to Mommy: pack hand wipes next time.)

Mama's Got a Brand New Bag

Thanks to the kind folks at JJ Cole Collections, I have a NEW diaper bag. Actually, I first need to thank my sis-in-law Glo for giving the graphite/green System Bag to me. But the last time I thanked her she said, "Don't thank me. You picked it out." So, I thanked her again.

Unfortunately, my first diaper bag started coming apart after less than eight months of use.




I decided to email JJ Cole and ask for help. The customer service manager soon followed up with a phone call, and based on a super-secret number in a special hiding place (okay, not that super-secret or special) I qualified for a Brand New Bag!




Check it out...all shiny and new, still wrapped in plastic with tags attached. Okay, time to do the ol' switcheroo. Have to send the old bag back to the company before it turns into a pumpkin.

Makeover Magic

Oh, how this room bores me...



But now, I find it very exciting!



I love it! It's beautiful! I'm no longer embarrassed by this room in my home.

And, see that talented man sitting in the chair...that's Jeffrey Evans of Jeffrey Evans Design. He's a wonderful friend and a great designer.

While A. was out of town recently, Jeffrey and I plotted and designed a plan for this sad little space. Okay, truth be told...I didn't design a darn thing. This is the first room you see when you enter our home. The goal was to make it livable and useful. A. can now meet clients here.

Most everything in this room was already in our home. We...uh...I mean Mr. Jeffrey Evans relocated some furniture, hung artwork and pulled all the pieces together. He really worked with me and found some fabulous items at Target. See the chocolate rug on the floor? Target. And the yummy red curtain panels? Target. Plus, the two red throw pillows and the aluminum starburst mirror also came from Target. The only other item purchased (unfortunately, it's on the other end of the couch so you can't see it in this shot) was a large pottery piece to hold tripods and stuff and some whatnot too.

It's so nice to walk into this room now and sit down, relax and enjoy.

First Impressions

This kid just cracks me up!



Check out the impression two of his fingers left on his forehead. He likes to nap on top of his hands. Maybe we should all try this technique...he obviously woke up happy.

Watch out world...here he comes!

Baby MAC is quickly gaining speed. Now, if I can only stop him from prank calling our family and friends.

Hey, look what I can do!

As a first-time mom I take germs very seriously. Until recently, I would throw a pacifier into boiling water for a couple of minutes just to sanitize it for my baby's safety.

I've since gotten over my need to annihilate germs and now settle for warm, soapy water.

Below is proof why boiling water, a pacifier and a busy mom don't mix.

Ting Along

I recently discovered this song by The Ting Tings and I'm totally addicted! I can't shake the lyrics from my head. And strangely, it makes me miss my MTV of yesteryear. The MTV that used to stand for Music Television and actually air music videos. Hello? Anyone?

There are two videos out there of "That's Not My Name," and I couldn't decide which one to post so I'm including both.

This one reminds me of 1980's MTV.

And this one is pretty cool too. I figure my brother Doug will appreciate the drums.

Rock on!

Heartbreak

Seriously, why aren't we new parents given more information by those of you already raising children? Or even by those of you who have completed the job of raising your children (if they're nearing 40, shouldn't you stop now)?

Immunizations. Why didn't anyone tell me the sight of my child in his crib, unable to turn over because his poor little legs hurt from three different shots, would bring me to tears? Why? Whyyyyyyyyyy??? I still might have shed some tears, but at least I would have been prepared.

Baby MAC had his 6-month check up this week which included shots. He's done so well (no tears, barely a whimper) at his previous check ups. Not the case this week. He cried with the first shot and the two that followed. Of course, we had a different nurse this time. Maybe it was her technique. After some hugs and kisses, we calmed down and made our way home.

When I put him to bed later that night his "tired" cry turned into a "painful" and "frustrated" cry. I went into his room thinking I would rub his back for a little bit and see if that would quiet him. Instead I found the saddest little boy. His face was red from frustration and wet from his tears. He's rarely sad and it broke my heart because not only was he in pain and exhausted from the day, but he couldn't turn himself onto his stomach. It's a simple movement he does every night to put himself to sleep. But, his legs hurt too much to kick them over and give himself momentum to roll onto his belly.

I gave him a hand and rolled him onto his belly and began rubbing his back. He was fast asleep within three minutes.

C'mon, give a new mom some info, won't you?!

What Cuervo Needs

My friend Alyssa (Out on a Lam) tagged me in this funny little Google search game. Basically, you type your name and the word "needs" in the Google search box and then take the first ten results (or the first ten that make any sense) and type them here for the world to read. Of course, maybe I should have known better than to do this seeing how Alyssa herself said she should have known better than to take on this challenge from another friend. And yet, I follow. Hilarity ensues.

1. Cuervo needs...to keep his job while he goes to law school (my husband barely makes time to sleep, let alone go to law school)

2. Cuervo needs...a little more work on his potty training, but he's almost there (we're no where near potty training yet)

3. Cuervo needs...to relax and let the bike do its thing (huh?!)

4. Cuervo needs...to find some new brains to steal from (this is true most days since I'm a sleep-deprived mom of a 6 month old baby)

5. Cuervo needs...a blender to make a margarita on the rocks (admit it, you thought this "need" would come up earlier in the list...me too)

6. Cuervo needs...a Cuervo margarita! (where's that darn blender?)

7. Cuervo needs...seven more titles to move into third place all-time (do we have to settle for third place?)

8. Cuervo needs...no government interference (sounds good to me)

9. Cuervo needs...around 8 to 12 years to mature (is that all?)

10. Cuervo needs...no digestion (are we still talking about margaritas?)

Solid Food and Stitches

What a title...but it truly describes what's been going on at our house.

Baby MAC is enjoying solid food these days. We recently started with rice cereal and have since introduced sweet potatoes (which he absolutely loves) and bananas (he's still not too sure about this fruit). Green beans are next on the menu.




(Disclaimer: Don't look at the next picture if you're squeamish.)

Poor A. got a really deep cut while trying to fix our ailing lawn mower from last season's tree stump attack. I just hate it when nature attacks. Five stitches, two antibiotics, one tetanus shot and one x-ray later he's on the mend. By the time this picture was taken a few of the stitches had already fallen out. Notice the swelling and colorful bruising too. And just to the right of the stitches you can see another scar from a previous injury.



And we're thankful for friends with teenage sons because there's one apparently looking to add an extra lawn to his summer vacation. Perfect timing!

Spring Snow

If you weren't in our neck of the woods this past week, then you missed out on some wacky weather. It rained a lot. We had some thunderstorms. There was even a day when pea size hail fell from the sky (twice on this particular day) void of the usual accompanying rain, wind or lightning. It was just strange to see hail all by itself.

Then we had a wild spring snow shower, and I do mean shower. The morning started with rain then mixed with snow...and the snow fell for several hours. Here's a peaceful look at the snow and our neighbor's house.

Back by popular demand

It's the amazing and talented Baby MAC (we have all sorts of nicknames)! Check out how he entertains the masses these days. Just don't blink or you'll miss the fun.

On a roll...sort of

Baby A. can now easily roll from his back to his belly...it's rolling from his belly to his back that needs extra work. This is particularly troublesome at bedtime because he seems more upset at the end of the day that he's on his belly.

We'll roll him to his back again to see if that helps, but he insists on rolling over again and again.

Of course, I now find myself waking up more often so I can walk into his room and make sure he's still breathing and not completely blocking his nose or mouth.

We're also preparing to take Alex on his first airplane ride. We'll share details from our trip soon.

Valentine's Day poem

Roses are red

Violets are blue

All guys really suck

Let's go grab a brew!

This Valentine's Day poem still makes me grin from ear to ear. My college roomie, Brenda, left this note for me one Valentine's Day. I wish I had kept the note, but the memory is just as hilarious. Obviously, we were single. And yes, we happily hit the town together that night.

Happy Valentine's Day. I hope it's a memorable one.

XOXO

Lesson Learned

Sometimes I just like to learn life's lessons the hard way. It can be fun. Take today for example:

As we're driving to church I say out loud, "I feel like I'm forgetting something." The novelty behind this little phrase is that it proves itself true for me quite often. Once inside the church, the organ music played and Baby A. began to cry. Naturally, we tried to console him when we realized the glorious pipe music wasn't the source of his discontent. It was a dirty diaper. Hey, I'm a new mom and a first-time mom so dirty diapers make news around here.

Wondering what it is that I forgot? Answer: a change of clothes. Why is this important? Because "dirty diaper" brings on a whole new meaning when the "dirty" part is pushed up and out of the top of the diaper soiling Baby A's clothing. We hurried downstairs to the nursery where we looked at one another and our soiled son (who was laying on the changing table smiling at us) and considered leaving church or keeping Baby A. in his soiled clothes. Luckily for us the church nursery had some spare clothing for new parents like us.

For Baby A's entire short life, I've carried a change of clothes for him in my diaper bag. Last week, however, I decided to remove this clothing from my diaper bag thinking he'd outgrown it. My mistake was not replacing this clothing.

We're so thankful our church nursery had spare clothing. Can you imagine if we had taken him back into church with a big poopy wet mess on his back? Yuck!

Crib Talk

Baby A. is now four months old, and he loves to talk to himself in the mirror. Any mirror. Recently, I found him chatting to his monkey mirror in his crib following a nap. The video is a little dark, but I couldn't very well turn on the overhead light or open the blinds because he would have stopped talking and you would have missed out on the fun. Enjoy!

Crop Circle

Happy New Year from our home to yours! We're so happy for the family and friends we were able to visit with this holiday season, and we send lots of love to those around the world that we'll see soon.

Alex is almost 4 months old and fascinating us with his physical and emotional growth.

For your viewing pleasure (and our amusement), take a look at the crop circle he's created on the back of his head. He moves himself down along his crib mattress...apparently by the skin on his heady head head. The three little pigs have nothing on this little boy. We're looking into baby Rogaine.



He's a fairly happy baby...except when he's not. He loves to smile and show off his dimples.



Alex enjoys practicing with his new voice, bath time with daddy, smiling at mommy's funny faces and making dirty diapers to share with everyone.