Time to Baby Proof!

A new and exciting development is taking place in this household. Prior to yesterday, my baby boy would get on his hands and knees and sort of rock back and forth and then lunge himself forward to get what he wanted. Well, yesterday I saw four or five unmistakable crawling "steps" forward. I tried to get him to replicate the motion by enticing him with toys but to no avail.

This morning my mom stopped by and was wearing some bright green sandals. Well, my boy took one look at those and crawled himself right over to see them. After that he sort of realized that he could do it and now he's been a crawling machine. It's just so amazing (and scary!) how one minute they can't do something and the next minute they can.

I'm not sure I'm quite ready for this. Next on my to do list? - googling baby proofing and home safety hazards.

(Photo by MNC Photography)

Vegas

Well, I survived three days in Vegas, but more impressively I survived three days away from my baby boy. It was my first time in Las Vegas and my husbands 6th. (Damn bachelor parties...)

It was a "work related" trip for my husband. "Work related" because we went with work people but there was no work involved. I guess you could call it a reward for hard work trip. Translation: the flights, hotel, show tickets and dinners were paid for. Woo hoo! All we had to pay for were breakfasts, lunches and some cocktails.

We stayed at the Encore which is brand spanking new and unbelievably luxurious. I mean, it was totally over the top to the point that it made me a little uncomfortable. How many people have to lose at the gambling tables to pay for all of this!? Here are some photos...

We saw the Beatles themed Cirque show "Love," which of course I loved. Other than that, we really just ate like pigs, hung out by the pools, (There is something so wrong yet so right about having a "chilled" swimming pool in the middle of the desert.) and didn't even really do much walking along the strip. We didn't even go to any clubs. It was a perfectly lazy get away.

Some general thoughts on Vegas...

So, would I go back? - Yes. It's a nice get away that is easy to access via direct flights and a quick cab ride. However, now that I've been to one of the fanciest hotels it would be hard to go to one of the "lesser" ones. This poses a slight monetary problem. Everything is SO expensive. Like I said, I didn't do much sight seeing or anything, so maybe this was just the case at my hotel, but holy cow. $17 mojitos? $18 omlettes? A $4 banana?! Bottom line.. I think I'm still a mountain cabin or beach shack kind of girl but if you only have three days to be away, Vegas is a nice option. Oh, and if you have any reason to visit the Encore on someone else's tab.... Do it!!

So how did baby boy fair? He stayed with my Mom and did great. No problems there. I think he was glad to see me but that might have just been because it was close to feeding time and the boobs had arrived. He had had enough of that frozen milk stuff. :) I pumped and dumped while I was gone so my frozen stash has dwindled quite a bit. I was thrilled to see him and needless to say I pretty much smothered him with cuddles and the next day.

Oh- He did learn how to get himself up to the sitting position while I was gone. It is so strange to walk into his room after a nap to see him sitting up and waiting for me. I guess it's time to lower the crib!

Out Enjoying the Day...

We had a little outside playtime today so we could take advantage of the beautiful weather. I also managed to capture the very elusive smile. Normally my little guy is just all giggles and smiles but as soon as I whip out the camera he gets very suspicious and just stares at it. I got this one by playing a little peek-a-boo from behind the lens.

Hope everyone is enjoying this day as much as we are!

Non-Baby Photos

A few baby-free photos from the summer. These have been sitting on my little point and shoot camera that I rarely use now that I have the DSLR. The tiny camera is much easier to take out on "adults only" nights though!

Dinner in Milwaukee... I went to Milwaukee for less than 24 hours last month to attend a work dinner for my husband. I stink at taking photos. It was such a pretty party. Those turquoise tablecloths had sequins sewn in them and the flowers were gorgeous! Oh-- and my cheapo magenta peep toes not only survived the Milwaukee trip but the wedding below as well! $19.99 well spent!

Another work-related function. This one's at the Four Seasons. We actually love going to these things even if they are work related. I love to dress up! This dress is one I still love even though it is several years old. Looking at these pics I am rethinking the shoe choice though....

And a wedding we attended last weekend. It was at the World's Fair Pavilion in Forest Park. I had a blast at the wedding and it was really beautiful but OMG. It was a roaster. 98 degrees all night long without a breeze in sight. The poor catering staff and band. Not to mention the bride and bridesmaids in their long dresses. It was a gorgeous affair though. They had a major fireworks display. Totally beautiful and over the top. And I got another wear out of the Anthro dress and cheap shoes!

Ok, I couldn't help myself. Yet another baby/pool pic. You'd think this was all we do!

Summer Reading List

I'm not going to be giving full reviews here, but I thought I'd give my two cents about some of the books that have been sitting on my bedside table this summer.

The Tender Bar - This was a pick from my book club. (Not my choice.) I would have never picked it up on my own simply because it's sort of "masculine." It's written by a man and pretty much about men and father figures and quite literally, a bar. (As in drinking establishment.) Come to think of it, I can probably tally the women even mentioned in the book on one hand. That said, I sort of loved it. Beautifully written. It's rare that I like a book that I would then recommend to my husband. Great characters.

The Help - My number one book of the summer. (I would say Tender Bar was #2) In contrast, this one is almost exclusively about women. I'm going to go out on a limb here and compare it to To Kill a Mockingbird. It deals with similar racial issues and I think it could become a real classic. I loved these women! I can guarantee you that it will be made into a movie... Who knows... maybe it already is. Read the book first!!

Heart of the Matter - I've read all of Emily Giffin's books... She happens to be a relative of mine. :) This is definitely in the "chic lit" genre. Of her five books I probably like this one the least. I might be biased but I love her writing and think her characters and writing style is better than most chic lit, but I sort of identified with one of that characters in this book, and it wasn't really in a good way. One women is a stay at home home who does just about anything for her kids and loves it and that is sort of cast in a negative light in this book. Boo. I do recommend any of her books if you are looking for a light summer read.

My Name is Memory - This is written by the author of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. It is billed as her first "adult" novel. It is also compared to Twilight. I'm going to guess that is because it involves unrequited love that spans lifetimes and centuries. I really like the concept and liked the characters and overall it kept me really engrossed. The problem? I didn't know it was the first of a series and it is the only one that has been released. It was sort of like all along I'm following the story with bated breath and then I realize that there are only like 15 pages left. Then I think "how the the hell is she going to wrap this up in 15 pages?!" The answer? -- She doesn't. You have to wait for the next book. And it's not coming out any time soon. Double boo. I should have waited for the entire series to be published like Twilight.

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - This one was sort of like The Da Vinci Code for me. Exciting, fast paced, dark, suspenseful. The crazy Norwegian names and placed can trick you up a bit, but if you can get over characters named things like Jorgenvuargd (made that up) you're home free. This one did have quite a bit of grotesque sex crime stuff which I have a hard time reading, but it's definitely one of those you can't put down.

I Spy With My Little Eye...

Something small... hard... and white...

A tooth!!!!! My husband actually spotted it on Monday and I thought he was crazy and that it was just a spit bubble. I was wrong! It's a little bottom side tooth and it's just the beginning of a stump but it's there! It's impossible to get a photo of and actually quite a challenge to see at all unless you poke your finger in there and move his tongue out of the way.

What a big boy I've got! Since there are no tooth photos available I will share another bath time one and get a little risque with some skinny dipping. :) Those rolls are too much!!

The Floor Plan

I thought I'd go ahead and post our floor plan. We've made a few tweaks since this version, but the new, finalized version has all the measurements and a bunch of other architectural mumbo jumbo making it pretty hard to read. These are just better for online viewing.

First a bit of background. This is a "custom" home. I'm not just trying to be fancy by calling it that. It's just the term that is used. What I mean by that is that it's not like new construction is "normally" done. It's not in a new neighborhood with display homes that we choose from. We could basically do anything we want given the restrains of the yard and what the community architectural board allows. (They basically just want something that fits in with the overall architecture of the rest of the neighborhood.)

And this is what we came up with... The lot is narrow and deep, so the house is as well. After going in a lot of newer construction in the area I discovered that I like a pretty basic center hall plan.

My "wish list" was as follows...

-Open floor plan. I know these aren't for everyone and are certainly a "popular" thing right now, but I love cooking and with as much time as I spend in the kitchen, it was just the way to go for us. Also-- It will be easier to keep an eye on the little man playing in the family room while I'm busy in there.

-Large master bedroom, bathroom and closets. The house is coming in at around 2500 square feet, so although it will feel big to us it's really not all that huge considering it has four bedrooms. I wanted a large master so the "kids" bedrooms had to suffer. And all these imaginary future children have to share a bathroom and have standard size closets. The horror! I'm a selfish mommy.

-Finished space in the basement. More then half of the basement will be finished and the stair well going down there will be open as well. The floor plan shows a bathroom down there, but while we are having the plumbing "roughed in," we won't be finishing the bathroom just yet. (Trying to save a little bit of moolah.) A bit of finished space in the basement was a must have for me. We've got to keep all those toys somewhere!

-Screened in porch. Yeah... I didn't get this one. Just not enough space and we wanted to have some semblance of a yard.

-Mud room and first floor laundry. We have a basement laundry right now and really no place to dump our stuff when we come in the door. I'm looking forward to the extra utility space.

My husband's wish list... A basketball hoop in the driveway and a butler's pantry with a sink. He doesn't ask for much, does he?

There was probably more, but I'll stop there. Here's the first floor...

Nothing is labeled, so starting from the back... Garage, then mudroom/laundry room, then kitchen/family room, then stairway/butlers pantry/powder room/hallway, then dining room(larger one) and office, then front porch.

Next we have the second floor. Once again, starting from the back... Master bedroom/bathroom, then 2nd bedroom and stairs, then third and fourth bedrooms, then bathroom.

And finally the basement. The half at the back of the house will be finished and the front will be unfinished storage.

So there it is... and coming up with that only took like 3 months. Seriously! It's a lot to consider when you can really do whatever you want. (keeping the budget in mind, of course.)

Splurge and Steal

We have a dinner this week that warranted a new dress purchase. I found this lovely at Anthropologie. It may not be a splurge for some, but for someone who has been wearing the same series of 5 nursing camis for the last 6 months, this was a major fashion purchase.

I love the dress but soon realized that I didn't know what the appropriate shoe color was (dress has green, navy and cream) and I was certain that whatever it was, it was not in my closet. I was feeling a little dangerous decided that a magenta peep toe was the way to go. I went to all the usual websites (DSW, Zappos, Nordstroms, etc) but there were no magenta/fuschia/dark pink pumps in sight. (Well, other than ones in the $300 and up range... not going to happen.)

I googled and after about a dozen pages of nothing I found these on ebay...

Perfect! And for the wonderful price of $19.99! And they even arrived on my doorstep on time! (See below post about the UPS guy and the snake.)

So the real question is.... given that these are obviously "made in China" cheapo knock-offs, am I going to be coming home from this dinner hobbling on one heel after the hot glue gives in and breaks the heel of the other one? :) Only time will tell!

First Order of Business...

Ok, maybe it shouldn't be the FIRST order of business, (I suppose the whole, demolition, digging, leveling, foundation pouring, building, etc. should be first, but I digress...) but when it comes to the fun part of getting a new house (the decorating!!!) a couch is one of the first pieces of furniture we need to purchase.

Since we are building new we are obviously starting with a completely blank slate which is both exciting and overwhelming. We need to purchase quite a bit of furniture as well as try to fit in existing pieces. Since we need to dive in somewhere, the couch is going to be the starting point.

I still like our current furniture, but we are going to have a partially finished basement with a TV room/family room and a playroom. Our existing couch, love seat and coffee table will go down there. It is about 5 years old and has held up quite well. Love the stain resistance of microfiber! One thing I dislike about the couch is the cushioned back. It is super comfortable but as soon as someone sits down the pillows "squoosh" in and the whole thing just starts looking saggy. I feel like I am forever fluffing those pillows and smoothing them out. Our current couch looks exactly like this...

So, the first requirement for the new couch is a fitted back with no detached cushions so it will have a more tailored look. I'm hoping that I can find one that is tailored but still comfortable. The second requirement is exposed legs of some sort rather than a skirted base. That's just a personal preference. And the final requirement is that shape wise it needs to work with a pair of chairs that used to be my grandma's. Unfortunately they are being stored at my mother in law's, so I don't have pictures, but they are boxy and 50's-ish. Ok, probably not "-ish." They literally are from the 50's and I sort of love them. Or at least I will once they get a new fab upholstery job. They weigh a ton and feel like they were made to withstand some sort of natural disaster. They just don't make furniture like that any more!

Oh-- and finally, the couch needs to be available in a fabric that I like. That should probably be the first requirement. This really narrows down the pool. I want a green velvety couch. Not sage, not kelly, not mint. I have gotten dozens of swatches delivered and have only found one that fits the bill. It is "pistachio" in cut velvet. (I'm going to call it a cross between actual velvet and microfiber.) It doesn't have the cleanability of microfiber, so that could be a problem. Here's the online swatch, but in real life it sort of looks like the color of the couch in the photo beneath it.

Since I don't like things too matchy-matchy this means that I think I need a couch that is "curvy" in contrast to the boxy chairs. Here are two options I've found so far that are in our price range and come in the fabric I like.

Thoughts? I know the "button back" look is a classic, but at the same time is a bit trendy right now. I want my house to looks up to date, but not so trendy that I feel the need to redecorate in 3 years.

Aahhh!

I'm freaking out! The UPS guy just made a delivery here and when I opened the door he warned me that as he was walking up he saw a snake slither under our front stoop. I am not scared of much in the way of animals, but snakes sort of terrify me. I was so flustered that all I asked was how big it was..... he estimated 3 feet long! Eeeewww!!!

Now I wish I would have asked what color it was, how wide it was, etc, but I didn't. I doubt it's still under our steps. I have a feeling it was either A) just passing through or B) living in the next door neighbor's little "garden." I put that in parenthesis because her little pad is really just an overgrown nightmare which I despise because we live in a town home, so her portion of yard runs right up to my front door. A perfect hiding place for little (or big) critters.

I've got a serious case of the heeby jeebies. I realize that some snakes are good because they eat mice and other pests, but nonetheless, I don't want it living outside my front door. We live in the city... I didn't think I had to deal with that kind of "wildlife" here. Now I'm going to have to do a running leap every time I go in the front door.

6 Months!

My baby turned six months old yesterday. I can't believe it! I'm a little sad today to think that he is now closer to being a one year old than the newborn that he was just a moment ago. (Or so it seems.) Things are wonderful here and I think it's time for some updates...

Sleeping- My little guy has been a champion sleeper since the very beginning. He goes down at 7pm, then I wake him at 9 for a little more food which allows him to sleep until 7am. That is our usual schedule. Of course there are occasional days where he is calling for me bright eyed and bushy tailed at 5:45am. We are about to drop that 9pm feeding, so we will see how that goes.

Eating- We have made it to the six month mark with exclusively breast feeding. At our four month check up, the pediatrician said we could start solids any time. At four months I just didn't feel ready and I didn't think the baby was either. I decided to wait until the five month mark. At five months I still didn't think he was ready. Or maybe once again I wasn't ready. (There is something so wonderful and natural about your body being able to support another life all on it's own.) Well, here we are at six months and I think we are both finally ready. I don't know what it is that makes me feel this way, but whereas before I wasn't even looking forward to the concept of giving him food and almost sad about it, I am now looking forward to it. I think it will be fun to watch him try something new. I can also tell that he is taking in a ton of

milk right now and quite frankly I think some solids will help his appetite.

I'm going to continue breast feeding for his "liquid intake" and starting Monday we are going to try a bit of rice cereal. After he gets the hang of things I'm going to continue on to the veggies. I will be making my own baby food which as far as I can tell is incredibly easy. Someone gave me a "So Easy" baby food kit as a shower gift so we'll see it the title holds true.

*A feeding side note... We are going on two short trips without the baby soon. (two nights each) We have to take a plane which means that I'm going to have to bring along my breast pump and throw away all of that "liquid gold." I hate doing that!! I have been pumping every morning to boost up my freezer supply to cover him during my absence. I have pumped here and there in the past but never really consistently. I must say, I have a new found respect for the working moms that continue breast feeding. I hate pumping! I mean, you have to do what you have to do, but the working pumping moms are truly doing a labor of love for their little ones.

Appearance- Well, other than being pretty much the cutest baby in the whole world... galaxy...UNIVERSE!, my little buddy is also becoming a blonde. He kept his brown baby hair but it had started to rub off in a few places leaving little bald spots. Those stuck around for a while but there is now brand new big boy hair growing in and it is most looking quite blonde. I haven't trimmed the remaining long brown hair, so the current effect is looking a little marbleized. I should probably do something about that. The top pieces are like 3 inches long now so he also has a bit of a comb over. I just can't bring myself to cut it! I would report his height/weight but he doesn't go to the pediatrician until next week, so that will have to wait. His eyes are staying blue and I haven't seen any teeth yet.

Housing- Well, after much deliberation, paperwork, red tape and a little biting of the bullet I can now officially say that in somewhere between 6-8 months we will be living in this little beauty.

Holy cow do we have our work cut out for us. I should say that I have my work cut out for ME because I was the one that convinced my husband that I could handle all of the decision making when it comes to the construction. This also means that I get to handle all of the decor choices. Woo hoo! Time to get a baby sized hard hat. *There will be plenty more details on this to

come!*

Me- I'm really feeling great. I'm getting a hang of this mommy thing. In some ways it's easier than I thought and in some ways it's harder. Before you become a mom you see women changing diapers, soothing cries, wiping up drool, etc and it just looks so hard. But really-- it's totally different when it is your own baby. The harder part for me is living by such a schedule and being so attached to the house. I never set out to keep my baby on a tight schedule, that's just how it worked out, and trust me, I am not the one in control of it, the infant is. :) He is like clockwork and when he starts giving me the nap cues he means it! I've got to be back at the

house every day from 8:30-10, 12-2 and 3:30-5 and then home for good at 7. (Of course he can nap elsewhere, but we are at home for the most part.) That doesn't leave much time for outings, etc. I feel like I'm a slave to the clock. Other people don't quite get that. Of course, I shouldn't complain because other moms would kill for such a good napper. Plus, I get quite a bit done around the house during these nap times.

Summertime- We are having plenty of summertime fun around here. We live right by a playground so we take a long walk every morning around 7:30 so I can get some exercise and then stop by the playground. Baby likes to watch the bigger kids on the playground and sit on my lap while I swing. He is also a big fan of the pool. My grandpa has a pool so it is nice to always have somewhere to go that is clean, private and FREE! Occasionally the baby likes to skinnydip. :)

Lordy... I am starting to ramble. The heat is getting to me. Hope everyone is staying cool and enjoying the weekend! We are off to my Mom's to "play" with grandma and my sisters. :)

Why don't friends with kids have time?

Love this article! It's from May 2007 so I'm sure it's made it's way around the blogosphere more than once, but it's new to me. I can't figure out how to make it big here, so there is a link to the text from the article below.

Link

Great Couples

Romeo & Juliet

Lucy & Desi

Bogart & Bacall

Ross & Rachel

My Boy and His Sophie

Oh the passion.... :)

Etsy Purchase

One of my favorite outfits on the little guy is this adorable romper that he received as a gift. I love any outfit that shows off those chubby arms and legs.

Unfortunately, by the time summer rolled around it barely fit him. (It's a 6 month size) I just ordered a little replacement from Etsy. Green seersucker? Adorable! I actually think monograms are a little "fancy" for my boy, so we went with the actual name on the front. Can't wait to see him in it!

It's Been A While

I'll start out this post with some pictures of my favorite person in the whole world...

I knew it had been a while since I last updated the blog, but I didn't realize that it had been almost two months! Now that's embarrassing.

Life is great. The little man is now four and a half months old. I can't believe it. Here are some baby updates..

-He's been rolling over since just before his four month birthday. He now sleeps exclusively on his belly. (Just like his Momma.) I place him on his back but he just sort of looks at me like, "when are you going to learn that I like to sleep on my belly," and immediately rolls over. He can roll from his belly to his back as well, but rarely does it, which is a little funny because they say that belly to back is much easier. While he can roll over he hasn't quite figured out that rolling over continuously can get him from place to place, so he isn't quite on the move just yet, which is great. Less for me to worry about. :)

-At his four month check up he weighed in at 17 lbs, 4 oz, which put him in the 75% for height and weight. Maybe he is leveling off a bit because at the previous check up he was in the 95%.

-Our pediatrician said we could start him on rice cereal (solid foods) any time after the four month mark. I've been doing a lot of reading on starting solid foods lately and I think I'm going to wait until at least five months and possibly six. Breast feeding has been going very well for us and he never seems unsatisfied after a feeding. Infants under six months get all the nutrition they NEED from milk/formula. I am also doing a lot of reading on making your own baby food, which I am strongly considering doing. I'll save more detail for another post.

-The little guy is still a total snoozer and STILL sleeps for like 17 hours a day. That means he sleeps basically from 7pm to 7am and takes three 1.5ish hour naps. That's a crazy amount of sleep. I think I'm the only mom out there Googling "does my baby sleep too much?" Most moms have the opposite problem. My pediatrician says it is totally fine and to enjoy it while it lasts. He's just a sleepy little guy!

-It kills me to say this, but I think he is a little behind in the laughing department. He smiles all the time and has laughed quite a bit but not consistently. He laughs, then realizes what he is doing and laughs some more but then seems to forget how to do it and I won't get laughs for days. Maybe all of my funny faces and noised and tickles aren't funny enough for the little guy.

-He is a thumb sucker. ( see picture 2 above) It happened all of a sudden at around three and a half months. The pacifier is old news now and the thumb is where it's at. I don't quite know how I feel about it yet. I actually think it's cute, but when the time comes to break the habit... well, that's another story. It's a lot easier to get rid of a pacifier than a thumb. :)

In other updates--

It looks like the hubby and I are taking a little vacation in August. It is a work related trip to Vegas and technically lasts three nights. That is a bit more baby separation than this mommy can handle so I think I'm going to come home a day early. Think of all the planning I'm going to have to do in terms of breast pumping. I can't even worry about that now. Like Scarlett O'Hara I will think about that tomorrow.

We are still working on the housing thing. I will divulge that we are in the works to build a new house. Nothing is official yet because the property we are looking to build on has a structure that would have to be torn down. I have been hacking through red tape in terms of permits, etc for a while now. Most people seem to think I'm crazy for taking this on. Well, maybe I am. The municipality the land is in is reviewing our prints this month, (we have already worked with the architect and have the plans, etc) so hopefully they will approve them and we can move forward. The building process would take at least 8 months which means we would be in our current home way longer than we planned. Hopefully all the effort will be worth it!

I have more to share but Mommy duty calls. I'll be better at blogging though!