Oh no she di'int!

I almost threw down with a another mom at our interactive infant reading time at the local library today. Yea, you hear right - infant reading time. See they have this play time at the end when they put out a bunch of musical toys and turn on some background music.

I'm a big advocate of letting kids just play in settings like these and not interfering too often in the interaction unless the munchkin is about to hurt another kid (poke an eye, step on a baby, etc). Even when the inevitable toy-taking happens, I still think a hands-off approach is best for now. At this age, they are just learning to interact and I don't expect a one year old to understand ownership, sharing or boundaries the same way an older toddler would.

Anyway, Little C grabbed a hand bell and was happily playing with it when another little girl (whose mom was off in a corner chatting it up and not paying attention) came up to him and took it away from him. He looked at me ready to cry and I just said "that was so nice of you to share sweetie!" and handed him another toy. The same little girl then tried to take that toy away. She got it away from him for a split second, but he immediately reached out and grabbed it back, and frankly this time I let him.

Out of nowhere, the little girl's mom storms up and grabs the toy away from Little C and hands it to her daughter and then turns to scold MY son wagging her finger and saying, "No no, she was playing with this first". I was furious, it was all I could do not to actually yank the toy back and smack this woman. Instead, I (maybe not so) politely told the woman that her daughter actually took the chimes from my son. The mom then replied (a little too loudly in my humble opinion), "no she didn't! I saw him take it from her!" To which I replied (through extremely clenched teeth), "no ma'am, if you had actually been here watching your daughter, you would have seen her take the chimes from him first."

She picked her daughter up and huffed back to her little friend in the corner who I'm sure then heard a story about how I was the most horrible woman in the world, but what can I say, you mess with my kid, you mess with me. I mean who in heck do you think you are scolding my son while I'm sitting RIGHT THERE?!?!?!?!

So bring it on lady! This library ain't big enough for the both of us!

On second thought....

...maybe teaching the munchkin signs wasn't such a good idea. You see, he has successfully picked up the sign for "Milk." A sign he repeated about 165 times during dinner.

He actually gets milk with dinner, but only a few ounces, and once they are gone we switch to water otherwise he either a. fills up on milk and doesn't eat enough dinner or b. doesn't drink enough of his bottle before bed and therefore gets up at 5am hungry.

I don't know which is worse, listening to a temper tantrum you don't know the reason for, or listening to a temper tantrum you know the reason for, but can't give in to.

First Haircut Today!

Took the kiddo to Cool Cuts 4Kids for his first haircut today. It went pretty well...Little C got to sit in a fire truck and watch a Baby Einstein DVD. He got a little upset when the hair dresser squirted his hair with water, but she was fast, and he was done really quickly even though she did the whole thing with the scissors - talk about impressive! When she was done, she gave me a little card with some of the hair tucked in a pocket for his baby book and that's when, of course, I lost it. I loved his little surfer boy/frat daddy look with the wispy curls in the back and on the sides. It's a look I'm sure only the cutest of babies can pull off as well as Little C did. Besides, it took SO long for him to ever grow any real hair, I kept having second thoughts about already getting it cut off. I just had to keep reminding myself about all the food he kept getting in his hair, and that it is just hair and would grow back. I'm sure in a few weeks, I'll be complaining that's it's already time for another trim. Anyway, everyone survived, even me, and when he was all finished, the kiddo got to experience another first - his first dum dum :)

The 'before' shot


Watching the movie


Not sure what to think about all this


Finishing up


Handsome boy - all done with a dum dum!

My Friday Lunch Date

This afternoon my son took me on a lunch date to Chick-fil-a. We enjoyed a free kids meal (thanks to a coupon), my usual #2 with an iced tea, and some play time in the play area. It wasn't free, as the whole meal cost me nearly $7 even with my coupon, but it was air conditioned, killed a good hour and a half and was a really nice change of pace. We were so cute, just the two of us on our date...if I had brought a camera, I would have taken a picture :)

Happy Friday Everyone!

P.S. After lunch we stopped by Cool Cuts 4Kids to schedule the munchkin's first haircut for tomorrow - EEK! Definitely will take a camera to that!!!

I want more, more, more!

So for the past few months I've been sporadically trying to teach Little C some of the ASL's First 100 Signs. Nothing has really stuck, but I know that's due to my inconsistency in actually using the signs. Well, we've definitely reached that frustrating point where he has things he wants to say, but no way to communicate them. As a result, tantrums have become part of daily life around here, especially at meal time, so I decided it was time to get serious about this whole signing thing. Yesterday and today, I've been hammering home "more" "milk" "drink" "hungry" and "all-done." Today the munchkin perfectly signed 'more' about 30 times. I am ecstatic. I hope we can keep this up! I didn't want to push my luck this week, but if things continue to go this well, I might actually throw in some of those manner words like 'please' and 'thank you'. Wouldn't that be nice! :P

Pots and Pans Band

He prefers to play the pots like the bongos and just hold the utensil in one hand, something tells me that will probably change at some point, but for now it wasn't even that noisy of an activity, so I think we'll definitely try this one again. This first go-round, it only kept Little C's interest for about 10 minutes, but it was fun and made for some cute pictures.






We tried out the Toddler Reading Time at the library this morning. I think it's a little ahead of where we're at right now...the lady that reads is really animated and uses her voice to build suspense and then is really loud and dramatic when there's a 'surprise' in the story. This is something toddlers LOVE, but it scared Little C a lot. He spent a fair amount of story time clinging to me and crying when there was a climactic moment in the plot. He loved all the songs and dancing though, so I think we'll try again next week. Too bad it's only 20 minutes from start to finish. They do have an Infant Reading Time I checked out on Monday. It is more singing and fewer stories, but the songs are really designed to sit and hold your baby, and Little C likes to run around. I saw one walker in the class, but for the most part, it's really little babies. I still might try it out, but I think it's safe to say we're at an awkward in-between stage, where he's getting a little old for infant activities but is still a little young for a lot of toddler activities.

Bummin' Around

The temperature gauge topped out at 104 degrees or something insane like that today. Bottom line, it's HOT! Even the shade of our back porch doesn't make the heat bearable. Little C has been forced to stay inside until after dinner most nights. It stinks. I'm looking into an interactive reading time that our local library offers three days a week for infants and toddlers. I'll let you know how it goes - I've been dying to find something to do inside that's free. Oh don't get me wrong, there are LOT'S of indoor activities you can pay to do, but with gymboree costing a ridiculous $74 dollars a month per class, after I've used my 'free class' coupon, we will probably not be going back. Any other indoor freebies you know of - please let me know!!

Here are some pics from earlier this month when it was still in the comfortable mid 90's...oh the good ole days :)

'Hunting' in the back yard (for cats)


The illusive feline domesticus (look hard, she's there :)




Slide + Baby Pool = Baby Water Slide


Perfect Form


Slippery Landing


Recovers


What a finish!

Anniversary and Father's Day Staycation

We have been sans Little C since Friday...Mr. C's parents graciously offered to keep our little guy for us to give us a break, and an opportunity to celebrate our 4th anniversary. Even though it meant Mr. C would be without his only son on Father's Day, we jumped on it! Rule of thumb, when good people offer to take your child, let them! :)

I must admit, that was easier said that done, though. I was a sad sight when I said goodbye to my boy on Friday. I bawled...it was going to be the longest we had been apart ever...18 hours was our previous separation record. A little retail therapy helped me quickly put things in perspective, though, and as much as I'm missing him, I have opted not to go pick him up early, like I was sure I would do on Friday. So, tonight is our last night of childlessness before we resume our duties tomorrow.

I wish I could say Mr. C and I went all wild and crazy with our copious spare time and went somewhere cool, but with the current economic state, we opted for a wallet-friendly 'stay-cation' to celebrate the weekend. We mainly spent the weekend relishing being able to stay up late, sleep in, eat at actual restaurants, and watch movies....A LOT of movies. I actually put all three of our Netflix in the mail today - and we just received them last week. That is unheard of around here! We also watched the ENTIRE Lonesome Dove mini-series that we previously DVR'd as well as Godfathers I and II that had been hanging out on the DVR for weeks and weeks. On top of all that, we snuck off to the movie theatre last night to see the first movie I had seen in theatres in MONTHS. I wish I could say we saw "Up" or "The Proposal" or some other undoubtedly adorable movie I would have picked out, but since it was Father's Day, I let Mr. C pick our movie selection. Three guesses as to what bachelor party themed gem we sat through. Yea, well, at least I got popcorn with extra butter, twizzlers and a sprite (Judge me not - I was on vacation remember! :)

The cherry on the Sunday? The cleaning lady came today. It was like having a hotel cleaning staff come clean up after you. The house was such a wreck when she showed up, I actually lied to her and told her we had been out of town....it was sort of true...we definitely have been in another state of mind :)

Anywho, here's a pic of us wild and crazy freebirds after a lovely dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.

Waterbabies go to the beach!

Not really - we actually just went to Portrait Innovations to take advantage of their $9.99 special as well as their very patient staff (although you should have seen the look on their face when our crowd descended upon the place :). Anyway, 12 babies, 15 parents (give or take), some impromptu nursery rhyme singing and lots and lots of snacks, and we managed the impossible - a single shot where not one baby is crying. It was miracle and, despite the chaos, a lot of fun. I'll admit, I almost bailed at the last minute, but I'm glad we showed up, it was the FIRST time all 12 babies have been photographed!! As always, we missed our precious Callie Mac, but I'm so proud to show off all 12 of our (currently residing in the US) waterbabies!!


A special thank you to Caroline's mommy for setting everything up - you're the best Betsy!

1st Birthday Party Pics

Sorry I'm so late in getting these up - creating a slide show takes me about an hour and if I have that much free time blocked off, I try not to spend it on the computer! :)

Little C's first birthday party was so much fun. I was overwhelmed by the friends and family that came, it meant so much to us to share the celebration with everyone! Thanks so much to everyone that came and a big 'thank you' to my mom for helping me through the weekend!!!

4 years ago today...

...I said "I do", and I'm so very glad I did :)

Engaged!!


The Big Day :)


First Christmas Card Pic (Newly Weds in Colorado @ Pat Green Concert)


First Halloween Party @ Joe and Tiffany's


First Anniversary @ Mona Lisa Fondue Restaurant in Old Colo. City


Second Christmas Card Picture @ Lindy's Wedding


Moved Back to Texas


Bought our first house!


Apparently we have no pics from our Second Anniversary trip to Bastrop/Austin

Baby makes three..


Third Anniversary exactly one month after Little C was born


And the family keeps growing :)


My favorite quote these days is:

"We are shaped and fashioned by what we love." -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Happy Anniversary Mr. C!! I Love you! Love, me.

Dinner Impossible

Not for us!! Tonight I had one of those moments as a mom when you just feel like shouting from the rooftops 'I DID IT!!' You can visualize the supermom cape flapping in the wind and you feel like a million bucks. Yes, these moments are usually immediately followed by an event that makes you wonder why they let you have a kid int he first place, but whatever, tonight I am a superstar! (said while lunging in Mary Catherine Gallagher pose)

Why??? Well because tonight I have won a mental challenge with my one year old! I got my son to EAT HIS DINNER. And not just any dinner, but the SAME dinner that we ate. Little C was given the green light to eat whatever we now eat at his one year check up. Thank the Lord! No more baby food and fixing separate meals! Right?? Notsomuch. I try to be a pretty healthy cook, and chicken breast, brown rice and steamed broccoli got thrown in our faces (or on the floor) long before he would put in near his mouth. And because I couldn't just let my one year old go to bed hungry, I always ended up fixing him a separate meal of turkey, cheese, mixed veggies, fruit, etc. Yes he's still eating healthy I realize, and yes I understand that a one year old probably needs more calories than a chicken breast dinner can offer, but still, it got annoying always fixing another plate for the munchkin. So I started menu planning things I thought he might like a little more...spaghetti, casseroles, chicken pot pie, that kind of thing. But honestly, there were going to be some nights when we needed a lighter dinner and tonight was one of them.

The menu? Broiled chicken thighs (more calories and moisture than chicken breast so the kid's got to love 'em right?) steamed broccoli and brown rice (his rice had butter). We sat down, put a few pieces of chicken, a few pieces of broccoli and brown rice on his tray, then waited with baited breath. First thing he tried was the rice...didn't love it. Next the broccoli, spit it out. And sadly the chicken never even got tasted because by now (seriously it took three seconds to go from zero to 60) he was throwing a full blown temper tantrum and the bulk of his food was on the floor. I was furious. I REFUSED to fix him a different meal. HE was going to eat this food if it killed me. So I scraped everything he hadn't pitched on the floor off his tray, put it back on the plate and proceeded to get him down. Yes, I was going to let my child go hungry (at least for an hour or two then we'd try again).

BUT before I got him down, I looked at his plate with all the broccoli and rice mixed together and had an (BRILLIANT) idea. I grabbed a small creme brulee cup, mashed as much broccoli and rice down in it as I could with a fork, tossed a slice of colby jack cheese on top and nuked it in the microwave for a minute. Viola! Broccoli and cheese casserole! As soon as it cooled I gave him a few spoonfuls and he (drum roll please) ATE THEM. It was the perfect consistency for balling up into little meatball-sized pieces...kinda sticky but mushy. Yes, he gobbled up the whole thing and then happily devoured his chicken. So yes, I realize there was a little extra prep involved, but this is a huge step. HUGE. Yes, I am mom, hear me roar!

Skinned Knee

I guess when it rains, it pours...this past week, little C busted his lip on the side of the pool and then Saturday he got his first skinned knee while we were at a friend's 30th birthday party (happy 30th birthday to Caroline's daddy!). The munchkin was a trooper, though, and recovered in no time, and was even feeling up to riding the train they had at the party (the train was one of those tractor types with the carts and had been hired for a child's birthday party across the street, but with so many kiddo's at the 30th birthday bash that were watching the train, the conductor gave our crowd a spin before he packed up!)

Here we are on the train


Here he is not loving the loud sound of the engine


Showing off his battle wounds...the healing lip and the knee.


I'm obviously going to need to start stocking up on band-aids and polysporin!

Waterbabies turn one!!

We had a really special birthday celebration this past weekend, almost all of Carter's little waterbaby friends have turned or will be turning one in the next month or so, and with a limited number of weekends to celebrate all these birthdays, we decided we should have one big party to celebrate the milestone. Almost everyone was there with one exception, miss Callie who now lives with her mommy and daddy in Saudi Arabia. Nature of living in Texas...everyone's either in oil or the military it seems, so long-distance friends become part of life. We sure missed our Scottish waterbaby, though, and send lots of birthday wishes her way!

This wonderful group of women has been a life-line for me during the past year and even before that! (you can read more about them here). I cherish these women and just adore every one of these precious babies - they are all just too cute - I mean, seriously, you have really never seen a better looking group of babies in your life!


And what about us moms?? We don't look too shabby either!


I mean, even in the out-takes we look good! :)


Happy Birthday everyone! We did it!

And we celebrated even more good news - with a group of a dozen first-time-moms, you just had to know these kiddos wouldn't be flying solo for too long - we are expecting our first waterbaby sibling in October and another in November! All I can say is, (thankfully) neither will be mine! :P But I promise I'll babysit anytime Wendy and Tally! ;)