The Worst Blog

October

2011-07-22T14:00:00.000-07:00

So October was busy busy and as always my favorite month. We took a trip to Graue Mill with Aunt Molly and she got in on the action showing Fred the giant nest. They look like nutty squirrels to me!

Last of the garden harvest.

Preschool field trip to the local nursery a couple blocks from our house - Kinche's totally rocks!

Jeff ran the Chicago marathon - that would be his obnoxious support crew. The lime green is totally neccessary but the balloons may have put us on other people's hit list as they became a bit unruly.

Exploring a new forrest preserve, why I think that's a good idea to do on my own I haven't a clue.

Trip to the pumpkin patch!

"Some day boys, I'll buy you one."

I found the cutest one in the patch though!

Preschool party!
Fred the Tiger and Mariam the Chicken! I seriously could not get enough of her in that costume - it was just too hilarious!

The little goblins

Every good party ends with playing trucks

"Uh mom, not to alarm you but did you put my hat in the dryer? My hat has seem to have shrunk."

My adorable godson!

So from the moment Fred said he wanted to be a tiger I was so excited to have Calvin and Hobbes! Do you think I remembered to take a picture of them together?! DOH!

Cal as union labor.

Noah the method actor... "I am spiderman!"

Happy Halloween from the Worst Family

Enjoy the talking pumpkin!

September

2011-05-03T18:45:00.000-07:00

Hewes Lake House Trip - Oh so much fun!
20 children on a pontoon - what could go wrong?

ummm... really disturbing, I'm not sure if I need to be concerned or not....

no judging parenting skills!

SOUTH HAVEN!
A trip to the beach seemed to require us to pack a little heavy.Too windy to go - it was like being sandblasted! Only a semi-crazy father and son team braved the conditions.

Ahh much better - beach conditions greatly improved!

A tractor show! Could this trip get any better?!

Yes, apples.

First Day of School! ( I know he's only 2 1/2 but mommy thought it would be a good idea to practice listening to other adults)

Fire trucks helped calm our nerves!

End of July & August

2010-11-18T13:56:00.001-08:00

So now I need to summarize what we did for the end of summer, let's see...

Well I guess looking at my photo library I had a bit more of July to post:
Fred and I took Cal on his first out of state trip just over the boarder in Wisconsin to visit our buddies the Dippolds and pal Erin (I didn't take these photos but they were so cute!) Fred was in love with Ernie, and Ray liked Cal.

Very cute. But see what a few hours in Cheeseland did to Fred - he almost switched teams... oh the horror!

Cal meeting his new forced best friend Sam.

Lots of Splash Park fun, I think this is 4th of July too.

No, that's not Frieda cleaning our play house, just Fred and his unibrow of mud. He is a worker guy, likes to be busy with chores.

Bucket bath after "cleaning" the play house. Who doesn't love back yard bathing?

Our block party with fire truck... way cool in this jr. fire fighters book.

My sweet baby boy. Isn't that onsie fantastic? My childhood best friend made that for him, how special right?!

And he always has this expression of joy and wonder, it makes me laugh!

Day Out with Thomas at the train museum in Union, IL. So great but hot hot hot sticky hot!

Bumper Crop - we breed 'em big!

(FYI - I didn't personally grow that watermelon, but everything else sure!)

O'Leary instant family... you want to keep 'em? Looking natural Emmett (especially with knowing the secrete awesomeness of the ceiling fan)

Pirate Party for Nana Lynn's birthday!

Cal & GGP

Well after all that don't you think we need to take a vacation?

Did I really sign up for this?

2010-11-05T15:12:00.000-07:00

First off - no steeling this story and trying to make into a tv sitcom or motion picture because that's my plan to pay for these boys to go to college. Back in October I finally made it to get the boys pictures taken.

Take a look at my cute boys here.

Sweet, right? Now let me tell you what happened after this photo session.
As promised for good behavior Abby and I took our brood of boys to Red Robin for lunch. Now I knew I might be pushing my baby a little as far as his schedule goes but a promise is a promise to a two year old who needs lots of positive reinforcement. Well we ordered the boys food and they began to dive in the bottomless french fry basket (note to self: never a good idea). Cal became fussy and I thought if I held him maybe I could hold him off a little bit before he needed to eat. As I took him out of the car carrier I realized we had a blow out diaper situation. Never desirable, but I'm thinking to myself I can totally handle this too. Second time mama pro that I am. Abby's great friend Michelle joined us for lunch with her little 2 1/2 mo. cutie as well. So I ask the other mama's to watch my chowing toddler as I make my way to the women's bathroom to clean up my little Calveroo. Who had like poop up to his ears. There I go in the handicap stall to use the changing table, these kinda gross me out but I've got my own changing pad to lay over it. So I begin this process and I'm totally cocky in my head thinking, "Yeah check me out, I can handle this, I've got a spare out fit and a plastic bag to put the dirty clothes in. I even filled up two travel wipe containers so I have plenty for another change. This so would have freaked me out with Fred but now I got this whole mama thing down pat being all prepared". Decision time, nurse sitting on the john or do I go back to the table? The gross factor sways me to nurse under the table, besides no one was in the restaurant.

Oh, hmmm, seems the entire staff of IBM has been seated next to our little play date lunch outing. Ok, you can handle this, you've got your hooder hider. Sure everyone is done eating except for me but this will work. Michelle graciously switches places with me so I can nurse inside the booth and hide somewhat under the table. The waitress who had left my food under the heat lamp brings it to me while I try to nurse one handed as Cal tries to rip off this crazy covering his mama put over his head as if to say "MOM! I Will be nursed in the open, show your breast to everyone!". This goes well for about 5 minutes. Of course the other two babies are sleeping contently in their car seats. Abby being the awesome friend she is takes Cal so I can try to wolf down half of my chicken sandwich. It is at this moment the two year olds decide to play high chair bumper cars by rocking them. Fred has finally decided he's done with the high chair and wants out, as he wiggles his little bootie out and attempts to stand up in the chair. Michelle being the awesome caregiver and responsible parent she is, places her hand gently on his back and we all tell him in a calm voice "Oh no Fred, that is dangerous, we don't stand in high chairs." Reasonable right? Logical? Calm, doesn't seem like anything should overwhelm him. Wrong. He goes absolutely nuts, like irrational hysterics and lets out a primal scream that is so loud and absolutely filled with panic & fear (the kind you hope your kid would use if some stranger ever grabbed them) it silents the restaurant. People stop what they're doing, stare to see how the child was being tortured, then realizing it is just a 2 year old, the din of the place returns. It was like the scene from When Harry met Sally. Noise, no noise, then noise. I jump up and get him out the chair while telling him it's not OK to scream like that! He clings pathetically to my neck and goes into rain man mode of "I'm all done, I'm all done". I tell him he can sit next to me, while I finish eating. He nods his head in agreement. I'm getting us into the booth when suddenly he looks at me in the face (his little hands still wrapped around my neck) and proceeds to vomit all over me. The mac n' cheese, the mandarin oranges, the bottomless basket of fries is beginning to pool up in between us on my humongous bosoms. Fred looks up, "I spit up a little bit mama." Really? I didn't notice. And ps kid, after your done nursing you don't "spit up", you ralph, hurl, vomit, blow chunks & or throw up. Now here is where you find out how deep your love for your children is, cause no one - not even the most wonderful, caring, loving people in this world want to get near vomit that isn't theirs. Piles of napkins are placed on the table next to me. The waitress places a wet bar rag on the table for me. But here's the catch, I can't move my arms! Otherwise there will be a tidal wave of vomit every where. I plead with someone to just throw the towel on top of me and puddle of vomit. Then I wade through the dinning room (while holding Fred) back to the women's handicap stall. I put him down while straddling the toilet to dispose of the maximum mess in the bowl. Then its back to striping him down and wiping him down with the rest of the wipes. Michelle comes back with one of Noah's sweaters (he had an extra) which was hilarious because it was a mid-rift on him! But he loved it and went back to the table with Michelle (his now best friend) while I worked through strategies on how to clean myself up. Every time I thought I wiped off all the vomit I could still smell it, until finally I realized it had pooled up in my bra, & with my cup size that's about a liter's worth of liquid volume. I have no extra shirt, no extra bra, and I'm at an utter loss as to what to do except to send someone to Kohl's next door and by me an extra large anything to make it out of the restaurant with clothes on. The stall is a mess and now I have a garbage bag, poop bag, and vomit bag. Michelle brings Cal back to me in the stall because he is now soooo hungry it can't wait and so there I am sitting on the toilet in Red Robin, topless, nursing my baby, laughing so hard I have tears in my eyes because I've basically gone round the bend. All I can think is that there is some 19yr old mall security guard watching monitors saying to himself "What the?!" This is where I could use fate to whisper in my ear before I get out of bed something like "You will end up topless in a Red Robin" just so you know I can gear up mentally. Abby had a spare zip up sweatshirt that I was able to escape the mall (I said a little prayer that the zipper would keep in place to keep me from exposing myself to the world) as we raced back to her house to put all the kids down for naps, while I did laundry & took a shower. In my haze, I used the dog shampoo (I've been flea less ever since) and then repeated the lather with human shampoo. But as I folded the last of our laundry and prepared for us to go home I realized that I have been on the go since 8am and really didn't have a moment to exhale until both boys went to bed that night - so if there aren't annual pictures of the boys until they are 16 now you know why.

Not that I needed one...

2010-10-29T20:41:00.000-07:00

But here's an excellent reason for having babies (I refuse to delete this off the camera because I watch it over and over again!)

And that in a nut shell is my baby Calvin. Fred was a happy baby - but just so different, you really had to work to get a laugh, even now its hard to get him to sincerely laugh. Big fake laughs, sure, but to get a belly laugh from Fred is close to an oscar performance. Calvin is just so much more free with the smiles and laughter and its wonderful!

I'm sorry Cal...

2010-10-11T18:22:00.000-07:00

What can I say, raising two boys (one being a very highly spirited strong willed 2 year old), life gets really really busy. And so I'm sorry future Cal as you look at your electronic baby book here and say "Uh, mom where did I go for 3 months?" At the very least I did take the photos (and a few movies) so I will try to recollect our last several months here at the WORST household.

So first we kicked off the summer in June with a pool party at cousin Kelly's house! Oh all the cousins, it so fun! These fellas in the pool are the '08 batch of Fred, Nolan, and Kellen.

Now here are the fellas from '10 of Cal & Quinn

Cal "He's touching me!"

Of course a cutesy shot with GGP!

Then before you know it - summer is in full swing with the 4th of July and my baby is 2mos! Here are the two birthday boys together at the the parade.

Fred and his neighborhood buddy

A cool down on a hot holiday at the splash park - a new favorite family outing!

And a playdate with our friend Ellie (just realizing now that I failed in taking a picture of Colin and Calvin together - which would have been awesome because they are monster babies who may take over the planet.)

Anyways the toddlers got to go to the Palatine Hometown Fest with all the scary carnival rides. Fred and Ellie decided they would do the potato sack slide. Brian and I took the kids up to the top and then were uncertain if we should let them go by themselves or if we should ride down to... you can see us discussing this up at the top, funny enough Stan and JJ were having the same discussion at the bottom. When Fred hits the first "hump" I was terrified I'd somehow have to scale down myself to help him or worse yet he was going to go over the side. Note to self while he meets the "You have to be this high" rule, he's still just 2.

And that concludes July....
I'll pick up summarizing August, September, and October soon. I swear!

Sweet cheeks

2010-06-24T06:19:00.000-07:00

Isn't this the picture of perfection?

And I did not pose him... put him on the boppy yes, but make him look like a little cherub no.

Strawberry Beefcake

2010-06-23T17:33:00.000-07:00

Going along with our fruit themed summer....

Fred seemed more of a beefcake than a shortcake.

We literally are getting the first fruits of our garden with strawberries and raspberries. Like anything you grow, the taste of these guys is simply amazing. I'm not even a big raspberry fan but with these home grown beauties I could eat them all day. Fred really enjoys helping and being his own little farmer. He loves getting in the strawberry patch. We've only had a few not quite ripe ones picked and just a handful being turned to jam in the patch under toddler feet.

I got a rain barrel and compost tumbler for Mother's Day - and Fred already knows their function and what we are suppose to do. It's fun to teach good habits now. But even more fun is to hear two year old speak describe what is suppose to be done.

Cooking Watermelon

2010-06-23T08:03:00.000-07:00

A rainy day project and my sous chef got a little ahead of me while I was washing my hands .

And yes he polished off that half of the melon.

The Worst Father's Day

2010-06-20T12:38:00.000-07:00

Besides being a amazing, caring, sweet, funny, intelligent guy who also happens to be a highly engaged, silly, imaginative, helpful father - you should know I really only married Stan for the lifetime of jokes. This pun never gets old.

I love Fred's scowl looking at a screaming Cal as if he is ruining everything while a peaceful and serene daddy sits in the middle of his two boys. Best part of the day was when I told Fred he should say "Happy Father's Day" because it was Dada's special day. To which he mumbled out some sorta "Happy Dadaday. (pause) ok Mama now its Fred's Day. Happy Day to Fred," and proceeded to steal the last of Stan's ice cream cone out of his hands!
Happy Father's Day Stan - we love you!

Cal's first month and a half...

2010-06-12T09:22:00.000-07:00

Well let me just say - we breed 'em big here! Calvin has grown an inch and put on almost 2 and half pounds since birth. He's no 11lbs 12oz. We just seem to make boys that grow like weeds! I'm not sure how we can afford to feed them in the teenage years but we'll worry about that later.

As far as babies go - cal is like his shirt says "Cool as a cucumber". I don't know if it's just because he's the second and I kind of have a clue or if he's just that different from Fred, probably a combo. But will you check out those sweet cheeks?! They are too much to handle (a feature his brother never had!).

Fred is becoming more the man of the house, playing on his own. Thankfully we scored some great garage sale finds for the backyard - now if only the weather would cooperate and the bugs would go away we could be out all the time!

Fred wanted to share his cool look of sunglasses with Cal - because we ooze coolness at this house.

Fred is a great big brother, he's very concerned about Calvin. Doesn't like to hear him cry and will get the him his pacifier or little toys he's been given. He really likes it when they both sit in their chairs and watch Curious George or Thomas. It's been a really good month and half - if everybody's sleeping would improve I'm sure it'll just get better and better.

Meet Calvin Edward!

2010-05-08T07:42:00.000-07:00

He's here! And I will try to post pics, but lets be serious about how likely that's going to be so instead I will send you with this link to Abby's blog who has done a much better job of documenting my kids than I have!

Quick stats:
9lbs 4 oz
22inches
15 in head circ!

We are doing well and as of today (one day home) Fred loves his role as big brother... not sure how long that will last but it made a very nice homecoming. It also made me a hormonal weeping fool of nerves and more just overwhelming love for my boys (big one too)!

Monster Trucks before baby makes 4

2010-05-02T19:15:00.000-07:00

Well this is it kids - Wiggly will be here Tuesday! Crazy! Haven't had a lot of time to really process how there is a new person, I've been more focused on freezing meals, laundry, cleaning, organizing, purchasing crazy items like deep freezers, 1/2 a hog, double stroller, life insurance, and a mini-van! So all my consumer report research has pushed the idea of "baby" to the back. But its all done, we are all ready to go and now the nerves/excitement/anxiousness has begun to set in. Still no good feeling as to who is going to show up so you'll just have to stay tuned.

But in order to celebrate the end of our time as being a family of 3, we went to Palatine's big truck show and brought along our good buddy Noah and his prego mommy too! Fred was very anti-camera but did love getting up to the big trucks. It was a really neat morning and we got to top it off with hot dogs and chicken nuggets for lunch!

wailwoad picnic

2010-05-02T18:59:00.000-07:00

Knowing our time with just the 2 of us during our day is limited, the other week Fred and I had a spontaneous picnic at the railroad station. And really when you are 2 and love trains is there anything better? Oh yes, there is a bonus of watching a police man in go-cart thingy shooting his radar gun at cars crossing over the tracks, a mail truck, bus, and construction trucks cross too! Who knew transportation could be so fun!

Easter

2010-05-02T18:31:00.000-07:00

Long overdue...
Stan, Fred, and I had a quiet Easter just the 3 of us and it was really a wonderful weekend. All the grandparents were out of town so there was no mad dashes to get to spend time with everyone. The Saturday before was GGP's 83rd birthday and we got to take him out for lunch with Uncle Jeff and Aunt Mary. When we got to GGP's house who should be there to surprise us, but Aunt Mol and Joey! She was even able to stay to join us for the neighborhood egg hunt which was a blast and we hope to make it a tradition. And even though there were no grandparents to impress, I still was able to have Fred wear a button down shirt and real pants (no elastic waist for this holy holiday!).

Warp Speed

2010-03-21T17:42:00.000-07:00

No cute pictures, but just thoughts I want to remember...

So things feel like they are moving at warp speed around here. Wiggly will be here before we know it (May 4th) and is certainly flip flopping around inside to make me take notice that they are almost here. I've started freezing meals (which I don't know why but makes it seem like this baby is just around the corner). I'm also interested to see if Wiggles shows up early with the amount of contractions I've been getting already. I can't remember this many so far before having Fred... but there are a lot of things I can't remember anymore! =) So far my feet have stayed in human proportion, we'll see if that lasts.

Fred however is really making me feel like time is at warp speed. He has become the human sponge of knowledge and words. Anything he hears he can pretty much mimic and repeat (so keep your salty language away from him). He can recognize all the letters, a good amount of numbers, some shapes, he tries colors but rarely has success matching the correct color word with the actual color except for blue, and just about every emergency vehicle and piece of construction equipment. While driving he calls out letters he sees all over the place on signs etc. Whenever he finishes reading letters he always look to us and says "Fred", like he just spelled it. He tries to sing his "ABC"'s which is one of the funniest things as it is just a collection of random letters to a tune and goes on as long as he feels like it. He also just recently started trying to mimic back "Hey Diddle Diddle". Which is pretty stink'n cute. He also is just seeming more of a little person because of how funny he is! He makes us laugh all the time - but recently he has created his own joke. He started saying something that sounds like "Sammi-go-bee", I think just fun sounds put together. But he says it to be silly and in the funniest inflections, and we can say it back to him and he laughs. To have our own inside joke just makes him that much more grown up. It's happening all to fast yet is just soooo fun!

How to eat an Apple

2010-02-22T21:05:00.001-08:00

Dive in

Eat with gusto

You have finished when only 2 seeds remain.

Yes, he did eat the core, but daddy at least took the stem out.

Oh Happy Day

2010-02-22T16:50:00.000-08:00

Fred turned 2! And this sounds weird but I'm so proud of him. I don't know why exactly it makes me proud that he is two, but its just an overall feeling of "look at what you can do now!" We also have seem to have conquered our fears of birthdays as previously noted. There was a lot of practicing. Reading Arthur's Birthday and any other book that had pictures of cakes and candles. Singing the Birthday song occasionally, talking about the up-coming party... which usually ended with him shaking his head saying "No! NO! NO!" Then about 2 to 3 weeks before the big day, he started a passionate (well more like obsessive) love affair with Thomas the Train Engine. I got the Happy Birthday Thomas book from the library and we started reading that. I think too the whole "I get gifts & toys!" really helped. I made some Thomas & friend cakes in the hopes of not creating trauma when we sang. So here is a video of all our birthday happenings. It is long, and really meant as a reminder for mommy's electronic baby book I've got here. My favorite part is his high little voice of trying to hold it together and not cry while naming all the cake trains by name. So now when it's your special day you may just get a call from Fred wishing you a "Happy Day!"

to kathleen

2010-02-09T18:41:00.001-08:00

you were warned.

Big Boy Bed

2010-01-26T06:12:00.000-08:00

I know, I still have holiday posting but before I forget this story it needs to be recorded in the electronic baby book. Fred got his very own big boy bed on Saturday and was very excited about it. After two false starts of trying to sleep in the bed and ending up back in the crib, last night seemed he was determined to sleep in the bed. We were way impressed. He looked so cute and small in the bed when we went to bed (and just a tad sweaty from being wrapped up in covers and wearing a fleece sleeper).

2:00am - some whimpering and a couple of cries, expected. I get into the room and look to the bed, no little boy there. On the floor. Not totally shocking and I debate whether or not I pick him up and place him back in the bed or do I just leave him. He's semi-fussing and patting his behind meaning he wants a blanket and to be tucked in. I decide, I'll leave him on the floor, so I cover him up and go back to my own bed.

6:00am - morning fussing and cries but they sound weird. I enter the room carefully so as not to step on him in case he rolled closer to the door. Not expected, I can't find him anywhere although I still hear muffled cries, finally I spy two little stripey pajama clad feet sticking out from underneath the bed doing their best Wicked Witch of the East imitation.

I guess try try again?

Toddler - 1 : Mom - 1

2009-11-27T20:25:00.000-08:00

Life with the strong willed child: A battle to put pants back on after a diaper change, and a desperate attempt for more TV by attempting to give a full body hug to the electronic. I might not have won the pants battle but the TV stayed off.

Last Fall flings

2009-11-22T19:21:00.000-08:00

Oh there was a good handful of fall happenings...
Pumpkin picking with the Engstrom's

Then Halloween which included the last farmer's market where they let the kid's trick or treat, then to the park district for a tot party, a quick rush of lunch and nap and then on to the main event of trick or treating around the neighborhood. All while wearing a really cool costume. Well, every kid but Fred. Fred was not a fan of the costume, he did not approve of such clothing deviations from his standard wears. So mommy did what every good mommy would do, she tricked him. I clipped two felt corners to look like ears and pinned them to his winter hat without his knowledge. So he was a bat or a cat or felt corner man, whichever you prefer. And how did the candy go over? Well he didn't know what it was (no problem I'll eat it) but he did get a kit kat at 9:30am and then a sucker after dinner. He mostly enjoyed putting things in his pumpkin and the best get of the day, some neighbor was a Caveman and had a box of fossils (yes rocks) and little plastic dinosaurs which was the coolest as he wroared around with it the rest of the day.

I was also going to present another little treat we got was the first glimpse of who we are referring to as "Wiggly". Poor second child, I have no idea when I'll get to scanning sweet little ultra sound pictures, but they are on our fridge to help remind us, that "Oh yeah, you are in there and will be coming one day!" Say Cinco de Mayo?

And finally I leave you with a little piece of video of Fred getting to talk to our magic pumpkin. Every year we have the talking pumpkin and our awesome friend Matt stepped in to do the voice while we both walked Fred around the block.

Safety First

2009-11-22T19:12:00.000-08:00

Fred trying to steal Daddy's bike, but knew a helmet is a necessary get away accessory.

Daddy is working on the bathroom and has been wearing safety googles, Fred not one to be left out of the act, got his own pair of polarizing glasses. After all when working with light fixtures it is important not only to make sure that debris can't fall into one's eye, but one should also be protected by unexpected bright wattage. I'm thinking now the Fred wants to help with the work, the job should get done twice as fast... or something like that.

A dream come true

2009-10-17T15:24:00.000-07:00

I have to share these pictures from 2 weekends ago when we went apple picking. Nothing exciting since then as I have been sick but am finally on the mend (thus the blog updates, about the only productive thing I can do from the couch). These pictures just make me so happy because it is like developing a role of film from my head, or to be a little more hokey, let's say heart. Stan and I are coming up on our 6 yr. wedding anniversary. And in turning 30 this month we also realized I've known him for 11 years. It struck me just how long but how fast its all been. So when I looked at these pictures I was reminded of when he and I were dating more seriously and I was trying to figure if this was "the guy". I would have these little day dreams of owning a house and it would be fall and we would be out in the front yard raking leaves with some little boy with red hair but it was hidden by his black cap that matched his daddy's. So here on our little trip to the orchard, it struck me with the two of them together that it actually happened! They are just the best boys, a super funny little guy full of personality that I get the honor to raise and an amazing daddy who would rather play with his little buddy than do anything else. Stan constantly comes up with new and ridiculous games for Fred to play that make them both look just so silly, as can be seen in the pictures of them crouching in the orchard rows as they "hunt" for good apples - like it was a big game safari or something!

mmmmm... apple cider donuts!

It's your party and I'll cry if I want to!

2009-10-17T13:13:00.001-07:00

So birthday's seem to be a traumatic experience for Fred. We are not sure if it has to do with cakes, candles, singing in unison, or people paying attention to someone besides himself. In August at my mom's birthday he burst into tears when we all started singing for her, when we stopped he seemed to get some control - so like any family we thought it would be fun to try again and sure enough the water works started flooding again. Then the last weekend of September we got together to celebrate Aunt Mary's, Daddy's , and Mommy's birthday, after all it is my 30th. The result of such celebration can be seen below.

I'm almost certain that's it's candles and the flame freaks him out as being a safety hazard, seeing as the other day when I had one burning in the kitchen he started signing "all done" and couldn't focus on anything else until we put it out. However, we know the perfect trifecta of candles, cake, and music seems to insure a meltdown. Can't wait for the holidays!

A boy and his box....

2009-10-17T12:54:00.000-07:00

Stan got a new copier at work and called dibs on the box. While fun, it was short lived as it took up most of our living room.

aye aye Captain!

peek-a-boo! I see you!

it's better when you can share with a good buddy

Noah Sitting

2009-10-17T12:50:00.001-07:00

How I wish it was every time...

How it usually is most days...

Cousin Owen visit!

2009-10-17T12:42:00.000-07:00

Cousin Owen came again in September and it was really fun with trips to the zoo and the farmer's market! We also just enjoyed hanging out together!

Dog Days

2009-10-13T14:15:00.000-07:00

In attempt to "summer"ize (ha ha get it? punny?) Here are our last shots of the dog days of summer during August and September.

We spent most of our days at Noah's country club. And sun protection is very important to these guys.

There was of course tending to the garden with Zucchini's that always seems to get out of control. I swear I check one day and the next they are the size of baseball bats!
There was also such events as playing in the park's sandbox, birthday parties (more to come on this weird and hopefully temporary phobia of Fred's), and a nudist colony in our own backyard (swim diapers are pricey!).

We also ended the summer with an amazing trip to the Hewes' lake house. High fashion on the high seas and baby wrestling.

But it wasn't all fun and games, Grandma & Grandpa had him swabbing the deck too!

Jazz Cat

2009-10-12T12:03:00.000-07:00

Fred is into music at the moment. I think it has more to do with learning which buttons to push on the stereos to make noise. He's got a little white boy dance with moves taught by his very white father, yes, Stan the dance instructor - its like Richard Simmons in a white t-shirt. He also has a voice as great as his mother, which is to say none at all. He will only sing to Etta James' "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" and it took me awhile to figure out what he was doing, until it dawned on me he was trying to mimic her crooning. May he have music wherever he goes.

sum sum summertime!

2009-08-25T10:53:00.000-07:00

It turned out to be a pretty busy summer and recently has gotten even busier and kept Fred on the go, which is a good thing for him and his mommy as it turns out. It looks like fall will continue to be full of activities and we started this week having our buddy Noah with us on Mondays and Tuesdays for the school year seeing as how his mommy had to go back to school (ha ha!).

So let's see what photos I have been meaning to post to show how big he is and how much fun we have had...
Here's Fred showing his new style of being a Paleontologist, because you never know where you might find dinos, it is necessary to carry around a whisk broom and shovel larger than you are.

And then the next exciting thing to happen to us, was to go on vacation. Now, when I find something I like, I get a little nutso passionate about it. For example, as friends of mine you will probably already know things that I love - fall & Halloween (a particularly disturbing obsession too, as it seems I'm on prozac the whole season long, but I assure you that is my natural state), Harry Potter, West Wing, Trader Joe's. It's not that I just enjoy this things, I LOVE them, they are sadly a part of my identity. And so too is my favorite Michigan town: South Haven. It's utopia to me, because there are farms and beaches and a little local town that is walkable and has toys stores and ice cream shops and you can bike any where. So we rented the cutest little house and invited all sorts of friends and family to stop by and enjoy our little piece of paradise. Here are photo's of Fred looking stylish again in his beach attire, it seems he won the yellow jersey and we all called him Lance. He wasn't sure about the strong waves of lake michigan but he loved a hole that was dug to the water table and we were happy to oblige in making a natural playpen of sorts.

BLOKUS! It's going to sweep the nation.

Fred ordering for us to enjoy some fine dining (Maria's Lasagna - the most delicious thing ever! The secret is the shredded carrots in the sauce to make it sweet - yeah that's right I asked!

Blueberry picking with Aunt Mary:

Ok maybe they weren't quite that big... However the philosophy was definitely, "One for Fred, one for the bucket, whole fist full for Fred, none for the bucket".

When we went to pay we realized we should have pre weighed Fred so we could have had a more accurate idea of just how much he ate!

There was also the most awesome park 2 blocks from where the house was on the way to the beach. It was this crazy wooden maze thing with slides and cubbies, one part looked like a pirate ship, and these balance beams and platforms. There was one that was unstable at all four corners so you could "pop" your weight around to swing and make the things jump. If you have ever seen National Treasure 2 (which really who hasn't?, you know you love it) it was that... ok maybe a little more safe but still totally National Treasure!

All in all an awesome vacation!

wroar

2009-08-06T13:55:00.000-07:00

Fred has been working on a lot of animal sounds, and lion is one of his specialities. So how exciting to get this in the mail today from Great uncle Jim and Aunt Toni, recently back from a trip to Uganda. Thanks guys, he played with it for over an hour and still won't let go!

Highlights

2009-07-14T19:18:00.000-07:00

Here are some of our bright spots over the last six months in photos:

February - Fred's birthday party was on Valentine's Day, we did a Bug (Love bug) sorta theme with a Hungry Caterpillar cupcake dessert. Fred wasn't too sure what to make of flaming candles put in his face.

Winter play

First hair cut (don't they look like spring chickens?)

Cousin Owen's visit!

Family get together, Great Grandpa with all his Great grandchildren (well not as great as his original grandchildren but still pretty cute.

Easter, was so fun and it really sunk in just how big Fred is since the last Easter he had his first smile, now if we could only get smiles on demand... maybe next year.

As winter and spring wore on, I realize Fred's style was looking more and more like a retired P.E. teacher, complete with little pot belly and saggy butt (courtsey of diapers) so I loved these photos as he got out for a workout running around the yard.

And like after any strenuous workout you've gotta carbo load. "Yo' ma', whadya mean your outta spinach ravioli and meatballs?!"

1st trip to the Zoo with BFF Noah

Cousin Nolan's 1st birthday party at this amazing park district facility in Roselle complete with Merry-go-Round, play tubes, and Elmo made an appearance! Fred is a big fan of the lovable furry red monster!

Fred has got this fisherman hat that cracks me up! From a kid who during the winter would kick and scream whenever I got near him with a hat, he now can't go anywhere without this hat. If he doesn't have it he looks at me and makes his "uhh" sound while point to his head as if to say, "Mom, I need my hat!". The hat's brim seems to take different shapes dependent on his mood, it can go from Grumpy Old Men, to Indiana Jones, or even Michael Jackson. He's got our style (or should I say lack there of).

And finally Father's Day!
There's that "worst" style again.

Consider your self caught up. Exciting no?

Excited to be back...

2009-07-13T19:03:00.001-07:00

The weather has been so beautiful and before we gear up for vacation we had to take a family outing to the zoo. I think Fred liked it, if you can't tell from the video.

Tricks!

2009-06-17T13:58:00.000-07:00

So even though I still have no new pictures to post (check Abby's blog, I'll be using that as my defacto baby book). I swear one day I'll figure out this computer thingy and I'll share his birthday memories and a visit with his cousin and Easter, I did not want to forget about these awesome tricks that he does now. And for people like my friend Kelly, who was not as wowed as I hoped in showing off these tricks, use her analogy (for you non-kid folks) the sense of pride you get when your dog listens to you.

Standard:
- Walking, well pretty much running at this point, and I think we may have a ballerina in the midst as he loves to walk on point of his tip toes.
- Pulling out and pushing in his high chairs for mealtime. In fact it could be called his first chore, and he expects to get claps for it, and if you don't clap, well he'll clap for himself then!
- Waving bye-bye consistently and at the right time. And also at moving cars on the express way or any person who should pass by that catches his interest. And pointing at everything! That little finger is always out to explore and show.
-High Fives!
- Climbing stairs up and down, yet the down seems to be a bit of an inconvenience for him as he often stop, stands, turns around and attempts to walk off the stair in hopes you catch him and carry him down. He also has a very long "runway" to turning around to put his feet first. Some times he is crawling half way down the hallway backward to make the stairs.
- Kisses, big slobbery open mouth licks on your cheeks and mouth
-Dancing, he will kinda sway his little bootie back and forth usually when asked, and with his pointer finger up he whirls his hands around to music.
-Talking, he can do dada and mama if bribed with food but hasn't fully caught on to the true meaning yet. Abby swears she's heard him say dog. He can baby sign 'more' and vocalizes "mau" which he actually uses for everything in the sense of 'Give me whatever the hell I want and give it to me NOW!", in his sign only category we have 'please', 'thank you', 'eat/drink', 'help', 'bed', 'bath', 'sorry', and 'all done'. We are working on 'book' right now.
-Songs and play, he loves to follow with "Head, Shoulder, Knees, & Toes" and "If You're Happy and You Know It" and he can point to all those body parts and do the actions for the most part.
- Wearing a hat, for some reason this went from get it off my head at all cost to coming up to me in the yard to say put it back on my head.

Non-Standard (of course this is our weird child)
- fish face, if you make a 'bop bop bop' lip smacking movement he will do it back and the best part his that he invented this game which makes me laugh
- nose touch. You say it and he pops up to touch his nose to your nose.
-squat, you say it he does it which is so funny and was technically his first trick
-catching wind in the car seat. He loves when the windows are down and the wind is in his hair, he puts his hands up and shrieks with happiness to try and catch the breeze.
-wet willies - Stan had everything to do with this. He really wants to try to scratch your brain by entering that pointer finger in through your ear.
-Sumo stomp, if you imitate it he will do it back, but it started with his weird random goose stepping at times.
- Mr Adams vs. the Cow polk - A little explanation, at times Fred walks up on his tip toes with his hands held behind his back looking very proper and gentlemanly, when he started doing this we were watching the John Adams series and so we called him our own Mr. Adams. The cow polk is just the opposite of polite, thumbs in the waist band of the pants and sometimes a crotch grab. He's a boy.
-He's trying to jump which is hilarious because he doesn't get how you do it, but did it once on accident and has been trying ever since to recreate the first time he got air.
-Unloading groceries. If I bring bags in and he is not allowed to unload... look out your in for it. so we just have to assist in the glass jars and egg department. He loves diving into the bags.
-Kazoo and Recorder playing, it's fun to make music.
- Tauka tauka & "oh gaaa": His favorite verbal expressions. I ask him to say mama - no dice, you ask him to say tauka tauka and he will, it's also his default sound when playing and working things out. He also uses 'oh gaaa' when surprised with certain things and usually uses it in the appropriate place where someone would normally say "oh gosh".

He's a very clever little thing, and at time completely obstinate and willing to fight to the death to get whatever he wants. Very strong willed, independent, at times more aggressive than what I like (I have bite marks to prove it and he's not above hitting when he's frustrated or over excited in playing) but it is amazing to see the little wheels turning in his head as he takes it all in and works it out. He's very busy trying to take apart the world and figure out how it works. It's crazy how much he develops in such a short amount of time.

Promise pictures next time.

my how they grow up...

2009-04-25T08:54:00.000-07:00

So there is much to report with Fred's first birthday that happened months ago, same with the visit of his cousin, and all his new skills, but I thought I would put into perspective just how much Fred has grown up since the last time I posted. When he was a baby I hardly ever left him, and now as this new an improve toddler there are times when I have had to trust friends and family to watch him. It stunning to see how mature he convinced his 'Aunt' Abby he is, as she demonstrated on her blog. Well just wait, when I watch Noah the next time I think we will all go get piercings.

catch up

2009-02-12T18:00:00.000-08:00

so I was going to try to make a little Christmas movie to share the fun we had with the holidays.... and now its February. So here are a few pics... (I gotta post before any birthday activities occur)

Christmas eve with the Worst family ever, we had such a great time it was so nice and will be one of my favorite holiday memories for years I'm sure.

Silliness with Grandma's winter hat - now she knows why Aunt Molly won't go into stores with her when she wears it.

Holiday Magic at the Zoo, a new tradition that we are love to have with Aunt Mary and her other nephews and niece.

We almost loved Santa, then got freaked and there is just something great about pictures of him crying!

I need to download the rest of the photos and clear off the camera to capture upcoming birthday moments (that is if he'll stand still long enough... walking is a favorite past time)

New Year = New Tricks

2009-01-03T07:58:00.000-08:00

On New Year's Day Fred decided to walk. There were no photo's, no video, because we were so surprised but he did his little baby Frankenstein walk right across the living room of Stan's Aunt and Uncle's house. We'll try to catch some of the action and post it soon.

Favorite Toy

2008-12-30T06:39:00.000-08:00

More videos to come... but Grandpa Worst posted a fun video from Christmas Eve! Isn't this a fun gift from Auntie Em, Uncle Ken & Cousin Owen? And we are still walking and walking and walking...

The Boys say HO Ho ho!

2008-12-22T17:12:00.000-08:00

Fred had Noah over last week for a play date and to show his friends what a Christmas tree is. Click here to see photos. Yes, Fred is having fun learning all about Christmas, and we have many more adventures on this topic to share.

We have no idea

2008-12-16T18:43:00.000-08:00

A silly night at dinner that just makes us laugh. Luckily we were able to get Aunt Molly on Skype to be part of the fun - I love when Fred perks up with the dial tones.

What are these babies thinking I wonder.

Nerd... its in our DNA

2008-12-10T08:17:00.000-08:00

We were given this sweater by one of my mom's good friends, its handmade and you can't see it in the picture but there is a navy F knitted into the sweater, and the buttons are little crayons. We put him in it and it cracks me up. I think we found Fred Rogers replacement. Yes, I'm truly enjoying the power of "I'm bigger than you and will make you wear ridiculous things" - its so short lived I must take advantage! You will also notice some ridiculous faces he makes. My favorite is this "oh" mouth and he curls is tongue - it makes me laugh every time!

Happy Birthday Aunt Molly

2008-12-07T16:15:00.000-08:00

So we dragged ourselves out of our infected sick beds to get down to my folks the Sunday after Thanksgiving to say goodbye to Aunt Molly before she went back to school. We had big plans to play with her, but alas it didn't happen this visit. As an added bonus Aunt Mary and Uncle Jeff were there too!

We gave her, her traditional chocolate Christmas count down calendar, and fashionable "going out" shirts which thank god someone else picked out for me - because Lord knows fashion and I do not mix. The baby (Aunt Molly that is) is now 21. How crazy is that?! I remember when she was Fred's age. So it was a fun party, rumor has it Fred was given a potato chip by the birthday girl and she also gave him a lick of chocolate frosting, thus the all organic streak ended in a burst of high fructose corn syrup, glucose, trans fat flame of glory. However this is DEFINITELY not going to be the norm - got it sneaky Aunt Molly?! No spoiling with food, toys sure, food no!href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qk0mzPAeTOw/STxn_iCpr2I/AAAAAAAAApA/WNJ1_SqCjaM/s1600-h/IMG_2725.JPG">

Co-Eds!

2008-12-07T15:54:00.000-08:00

Fred is a ladies man. Well of course look at him! I have to be careful though. Fred has been able to gain almost unlimited access to the inside of sorority house on the Indiana campus, he's primarily been inside one of the girls bedroom. All the girls swoon over him and say hello whenever he is around. Its enough to make frat boys insanely jealous. Now how has this baby boy who can't even walk been able to get to IU? Aunt Molly and Skype. Whenever we dial up his face lights up with the ring tones! Now he has the appropriate college gear to wear to look like he belongs. Those thetas are in trouble, this cuteness factor is irrestitable!

WWM

2008-12-05T18:44:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Saturday morning smack down on the WWM (Wrestle With Mommy)! Fred loves to rough house.

He and I are forever gnawing on each others face and tickling each other.

The funny part is that only myself and Grandma Lynn seem to be the ones channeling this more aggressive play.

Daddy is much more calming... except when it comes to laughing at burps.

Biscuits!

2008-12-05T18:36:00.000-08:00

We love 'em!

I don't want to work...

2008-12-05T18:21:00.000-08:00

I just want to bang on that drum all day!

Well, not really. I was feeling bad that Fred didn't have any toys that required batteries, nothing lit up or made noises (ok I never even bought him a toy). We were at a store getting a birthday present for some other little fella and I saw this bongo thing.

I thought this is perfect, it lights up and makes noises when you whack it or knock it over - perfect Fred loves to do both! I think these pictures are the only time he played with it. We are much more interested in using the wooden spoon and pot on the kitchen floor.

Oh well, so now you know for Christmas - toys that have been paid for will not be played, go the freebie route. Better yet just boxes and wrapping paper will be loved!

Halloween finally!

2008-12-04T17:28:00.000-08:00

Halloween was fun, just hanging out in the front yard watching the kiddies go by. Fred did like checking them out. Also we think it may be the last year of our talking pumpkin, just because next year we will want to trick or treat. We'll see maybe we can figure out something next year. If you can't tell Fred was a bug, ahh what you can do with a $1.97 in felt, piper cleaners, and metallic pompoms. Grandma attached the antennas for us (aren't they so cute?)! I'm sure most of you will be seeing one of these pictures again very soon! Oh yes I also got the 'mom' hair cut, I think I might keep it for a bit.

We are back baby!

2008-12-03T19:18:00.000-08:00

The external hard drive is in my possession and a lot of other technically geeky stuff I have fixed (thanks to the Apple store and my own personal genius bar you know who you are EO) and so now it is on to fun and catch up with the Fredmiester. I know we missed a lot of the fall so I will try to catch up as fast as I can. Fred loved the leaf pile, I'll try to get the video up of him eating it.

Election day rocked, see previous entry with new post to compare the campaign pics of fred aging click here or scroll.

Napping has been a strange business in this house this fall. Sometimes we hit the nap hard (see picture) and other times there will be none. I could justify this on the count of two new top teeth, yet again maybe it was because he was stressing over perfecting new skills such as pulling to stand, siting to belly crawl, pincher grasp, etc., or perhaps the wicked bubonic plague like cold that laid us all up for Thanksgiving and had Fred's nose ooozing some toxic goo like substance (its hard to breath and sleep with toxic goo in your nose), but really I think I have to just toss this hit or miss napping to the enigma that is babyhood.

I'll hopefully edit some video tomorrow and post Halloween pictures (which is really pathetic to do in December but what are ya gonna do?) So we should be frequenting the blog-o-sphere more often now!

Turkey Day

2008-11-29T13:44:00.000-08:00

So I'm sure you are just dying to see the adorable pictures of Fred plowing his face into a pumpkin pie? And all of us in our cute sweaters snuggling on the couch. Or the fellas taking a snooze while watching football. Me too....

We have no pictures, because there are none. The closest thing we got to a Thanksgiving was the turkey baster like nasal aspirator we used to get the gunk out of Fred's nose. All of us were at home with a bad cold. I don't think anyone even made it out of there jammies. We hope for a do-oever Thanksgiving day soon. The sniffles seems to be subsiding and hopefully we will be in full holiday mode.

Quick Stats

2008-11-21T17:26:00.001-08:00

Sorry this is boring since I have no pictures, but a few quick things...

the 9mo. check up took place and weighing at 21lbs. and 2oz & 31inches long is Fred the horse. I feel he's huge well at least 90% for length and 50th for weight.

I also realized I've never mentioned that crawling (well belly crawling) is a trick that we are very advanced at. Mobility = freedom and he loves every second of it. Also yesterday and once today Fred is able to pull himself up to stand - Very exciting, except for the fact that it looks as if he wants to climb as well... oh boy oh boy. Pictures should be coming soon!

Halloween Prep

2008-11-13T19:19:00.001-08:00

I still can't load any new pictures...I'm working on it believe me! But here is one of our pumpkins - I call it ode to Fred with squinty happy eyes, nice big wide mouth with two bottom teeth. I think he liked it - well he sucked on it, so I think that's a good sign of approval.

Its Not Easy Being Green

2008-11-08T09:12:00.000-08:00

Since having Fred, environmental issues, freak me out. Seriously, I had a meltdown during the summer when I heard that the polar ice caps had shrunken to an all time low, that they had almost completely melted, ad while I would like to blame the tears on hormones, I worry about what kind of environment my kids (& their children & so on) have been brought into. So Fred and I got on the G-diaper system. They degrade within 150 days in a landfill, are made from sustainable & recycled products. However many know of our saga that they clogged our sewer (they are designed to be flushable) yet the company was amazing and are giving us a years worth of free diapers (the plumber's bill was rather significant). I've been switching over all our household cleaners to Seventh Generation products, trying to buy more organic products (God bless Trader Joe's - I seriously think I should open a franchise of one). I got Stan this book for His birthday called Living Like Ed, by Ed Begely Jr. It is really interesting, and has increased our desire to get off the grid. (Create our own energy in solar panels & wind). I think the best part of the book is realizing that he is neighbor's with Bill Nye the Science guy - Hollywood cracks me up. Stan is beginning to look at hybrids for his next car & I'm thinking I could maybe get away with an electric for my next car (several several years off). All of this knowledge has sort of spurred on our pipe dream to build our "forever house". Did you know that you can insulate with recycled denim & newspaper composit? How cool is that! I'm trying to cut down on our waste but have been slow to get a compost pile going. We've also been looking into rain barrels. I guess the reason I'm spewing all this goofy granola, hippie, eco-nutter info is that I'm so annoyed with the energy lobby's tv ads! I hope as a society we can look back on them like cigarette ads. These pictures are from awhile ago (I'm re-looking at what I can post since I still can't load pictures) Aunt Kelly gave us this awesome t-shirt for our grassroots movement - by which I mean that Fred sat in the grass and pulled it out by the roots.

Hey Gramps...Watcha Doing?

2008-11-08T07:13:00.001-08:00

We love Grandpa Ed.

How can Gluttony be a sin when it's this cute?

2008-11-07T11:41:00.000-08:00

My son the Glutton. He is eating us out of house and home. We are talking about 12 - 16 oz of solids at a meal! Babies his age, I was told eat about two jars of food at a meal if that, which is around 8 oz. Fred easily can double that. For instance let me share what he ate for dinner last night:
4 oz. of Chicken Dinner (its a blend of sweet potatoes, chicken and apples I blend together)
1 1/2 oz. of lentils
1 oz. of carrots
3 oz. of peas
2 oz. of multigrain infant cereal
1 oz. of pears
1 oz. of peaches
probably about 2 oz of applesauce
a kiwi (around 2 oz)
Cheerios
juice from his sippy cup
and after all that he nursed before bed time! I don't even know if we have ever seen him full. He never turns his head that he doesn't want food, he'll keep eating Cheerios (I tried this game for over an hour till I finally gave up). And because I'm making almost all his food, I feel I live my life in the kitchen. I'm constantly making batches of sweet potatoes, or spinach, or fruit. There's all the cleaning, cutting, blending, and then clean-up - I swear by the time I finish one batch its time to feed him again. The ice cube trays are always in use freezing green beans or beats or whatever. I'm getting ready for him to just eat big people food because once I'm finished making him dinner, I'm making us dinner and it is crazy! I think we are packing on the pounds too. I'll be anxious to see where we are at when we go to the doctor's in a couple of weeks. He's still really long, but he now has the Philips cankles and his wrists are getting fat! He's certainly putting his two bottom teeth to work chomping on the Cheerios and chunks of fruit. I guess he's in need of all this food to power him, since he never seems to stop moving and is army crawling everywhere! He's speedy and tenacious to get to where he wants. Still it'll be a lot easier once we can go to all table food.

Election Day Baby!

2008-11-04T16:26:00.001-08:00

Look at how Fred has aged through out this campaign! The young one is on the day of the primary, the other picture of him coming out of the polls!

Technical Difficulties

2008-11-03T06:23:00.000-08:00

I have a few other pictures to post about Fred before my reserve dries up due to not having anymore memory or disk space on my computer. I need to get an external hard drive so I can down load the pictures from Halloween - because you know I would have been writing about that sooner it being my favorite and his first. But for the moment to quench your Fred longing take a look at my buddy's blog about our recent adventure to South Bend for a Fred Fest - so fun! Fred did amazing in the car which I was nervous about because the last time we did that drive coming home from summer vacation, lets just say by the time we got home, my car interior needed serious cleaning, the car seat needed cleaning, Fred needed a bath and rode home through the last part of the journey with out close and Stan would only breath through his mouth. But this time we had no such issues which was awesome for me since I was doing this on my own. I have other pics to post and will do so as soon as possible.

Hurry! Its easier than the SATs.

2008-10-30T05:55:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know I'm really bad but quick pick one the pictures are due today! Which one is he the cutest most model like (and yes I know my photography is bad, but nothing I can do about that now - I will crop & touch up). Submit your answers to the poll on the right.

a.)

b.)

c.)

d.)

"Bummer...

2008-10-30T05:47:00.000-07:00

doesn't look like any new post yet mom."

"Hold on Fred I'm about to put up a slew in a moment!"

Prepared to brag...

2008-10-13T13:07:00.000-07:00

So for my birthday last week Fred gave me these pictures in wallet size, because he heard that I was a bad mom who doesn't carry photos of him in my purse. My excuse is that I am usually caring him with me, so who needs a picture when the real thing is right there? When I got these pictures it struck me at how Fred got Stan's red hair, and my big mouth. I think every picture of me in college with my pal Rox we have our mouths open as wide as they will go - just like Fred here. But I love my gift, so I can carry my boys with me.

Fall into Gap

2008-10-12T10:45:00.000-07:00

So gap is having a casting call contest and I'm trying to get a goo picture of Fred because of course if people see just how cute he is, he'll win. However my little squirmy worm won't sit still enough for me to get a great shot. We've had several photo shoots however. I was trying to capture the season - me and my addiction to autumn. Some beauties right? The kid can take a cute picture, but when I try to get a close up with a plain background it just seems impossible. I have a few days left, perhaps I'll have to post a poll to see what pictures to post.

Apologies from a delinquent blogger.

2008-10-12T05:27:00.000-07:00

I know I seem to running hot and cold with postings, but it is really rather of me getting the time. I have a little one who has been boycotting naps. We have got a new feeding schedule and now we seem to be back on track. Much of our outings and exciting adventures are with our buddy Noah. We can't get enough of the kid or more like his toys. Fred uses him for his rainforest playmat and mom is now using them for the Wii fit, but don't feel bad for Noah, he got some organic homemade squash baby food out of the deal. Poor Noah is getting steam rolled by Fred. I have the hyper bully child who grabs things and it takes Noah a second or two to realize but then looks at us like "Moms don't just sit there and laugh, do something". I think we really freaked the poor baby out when we put both boys in Noah's crib together and Fred thought this was fabulous playtime and Noah just scooted to the other end of the crib in hopes that it would all go away and he could sleep. I'm confident that someday Fred is going to have to suffer a full on revenge assault by Noah's hands...as soon as he figures out how to use them a little more quickly!

Buoy Baby

2008-09-20T05:41:00.000-07:00

Noah came for the morning yesterday and joined Fred and I at our swim class. As a bonus for Fred, daddy stayed home to help a mama out! Its incredible that a half hour lesson is a two hour adventure with wardrobe changes, a group shower, and all the packing/unpacking! We were all wiped out! Fred is a total shrimp gipper with kicking and splashing all over the place trying to swim. Noah sorta just bobs in the water. He is so buoyant it is hilarious! His trunks fill with air making him look even puffier than what he is! Too cute! When we practiced floating the kids on their back the other one year old in the class wriggles to keep his head up, Fred tries to make like a clam doing an ab crunch in the water to lift his head out. I could have let go of Noah and he would have been content to just float with only his nose and eyes above water. Just another instance where these buddies are total opposites. We hope he can come again next time with his mom so she can get in on the fun! Pictures and movie from the locker room when we were trying to put on our best Michael Phelps game face, with chest bump! I think in any relay Noah wouldn't swim anchor, he would just be an anchor.

Watch out Will...

2008-09-19T12:15:00.001-07:00

Uncle Jeff has 4 nephews and a niece, 2 of his nephews are older than Fred is, meaning they have had more face time with Uncle Jeff. Fred is working hard to assume the number one spot of nephews. There is big competition out there. One of the nephews is even talking and using very cute phrases, such as "Jeff and Bama (Obama) on the plane?". The word "obsessed" has been used for this little one's infacuation with his uncle. And spare me the discussion about loving them all equally and that they are all unique. Fred doesn't want to hear it. Freddy is laying the charm on thick to get his Uncle's attention. Hopefully the red spikey hair and giggling will aide his cuteness factor because we are running a little low in the talent competition, I mean come on, talking & potty trained?! Now that's impressive!

To be 29...

2008-09-19T12:15:00.000-07:00

I don't usually do this so forgive my inside humor on this post, its a special day for a special girl. I hope it draws a smile no matter who you are.

Feeling nostalgic for H.S. days... Philie wanted just wanted to wish one the FL7(&Brace) (ha ha) members and very happy day.

Can you imagine the two of them running around in an old beat up Toyota Camry with a petrified blueberry mini-muffin and a pointed piece of metal as a key? What sort of band geeks will they be I wonder?!

Shhh... he doesn't like to talk about how old he is

2008-09-17T06:06:00.000-07:00

So have a mentioned that Stan turned 30?! Let me just announce that to the whole world wide computer internet web. There wasn't alot of hoopla other than a dinner with family which was very nice. I think the biggest show stopper was that Fred was wearing an "outfit". I didn't realize onesies and sleepers were not considered clothes, not being a fashonista myself. He got all dressed up for his dad, and I thought he looked rather dapper. So Stan started a new decade, it will be soooooooooo long before I enter that decade, he'll just have to go it alone.

Organic Farming...

2008-09-16T12:17:00.000-07:00

Something went terribly wrong this summer in the planting of our carrots. We don't use fertilizer or pesticides or anything, the garden is a Darwinian experiment gone amok. So when we pulled these bad boys out of the ground it was something to see! We think the ground was too compact and so they just grew whichever way they could. How bizarre is it that when we look at natural and organic food we think it is weird because it doesn't conform to the image of the prepackaged food we have in our head? Fred however has got his farm in much better order.

He loves this exersaucer and the farm animals around him. We have also decided that floppy hats are not a good look for him, he's more of a baseball cap kinda guy. This fall we will be wearing our Illini hat cap with pride! Sometimes the floppy sun hats get in the way and he looks like a mushroom top -but his farm is fabulous.

A new look

2008-09-16T09:55:00.000-07:00

Not only is the blog looking freshened up (including new blog links/descriptions and profile) but Fred is also trying to sport a new look - teeth! He has got one sharp puppy dog chomper on the lower gum. I've only been bitten once but I'm starting to get nervous..

Many more posts to come!

Shrimp Gipper!

2008-09-16T07:00:00.001-07:00

First off, I'd like to dedicate this post to someone very special, a daily reader, who has been tormented that there are no new posts of late because she would like to procrastinate from her studies. This one goes out to Aunty Mol - we hope you like it and we can't wait to get back on skype with ya baby!

eh-hem (cough, cough)....

So anyway, Shrimp Gipper is the name of the swim class that Fred and I are enrolled in. Stan likes to say the name of this class over and over again because it is ridiculous. It is the most hilarious thing to take a baby swimming! At first when we brought Fred to the pool I didn't know if we would last...

However he loves class! He is a total water baby though and through! There is only one other baby and mommy in class so it makes for almost a semi-private lesson. I think Fred's favorite part is flirting with all the granny's in water aerobics at the other end of the pool. You should see him shake his trunks! We think we will get to bring our buddy Noah to class this week should make for an exciting time!

Flavor Flav

2008-09-03T13:34:00.000-07:00

Fred now tasted food and flavor and can not be stopped although he was more interested in the spoon at first. We have ventured through rice cereal, oatmeal, banana, sweet potatoes, peaches, and are gearing up for avocados. I'm making most of Fred's food which is fun, but I had a little run in with making rice cereal. I was given this book called Super Baby Food and it has recipes for Super porridge and rice cereal and such. Well I first started I misread a direction and didn't really thoroughly cook the brown rice cereal I made. I gave a Fred a spoonful and made this really bizarre face and so I tried a bite and it was like eating a spoon full of sand I felt so bad! You would think that if I can make Thanksgiving dinner for 18 people I could make baby food but I think it is the most challenging because I get no feed back if everything is ok. The most fun has been to watch him eat the peaches. This peaches are so fresh and ripe and just bursting with flavor and so he makes the funniest faces by puckering up and blinking because the taste is just so intense - I imagine, especially compared with milk. Yet another milestone to make me realize just how big he is getting!

Pure Michigan

2008-09-03T12:03:00.000-07:00

So, oh my, its been about a month and I still haven't posted about the vacation. Sorry we've just been hanging out, watching political conventions, taking walks, doing our thing - nothing exciting but for whatever reason I haven't posted.

So the trip was really fun, only problem was I stepped on some winged stinging capability creature on the beach that launched its defense under my middle toe causing my foot to swell to pregnancy proportions and display a rash that itched like nothing else. It was a little chillier than I expected. Mostly we walked the beach, walked the little towns and window shopped and just enjoyed each other's company while watching olympics. Stan got to ride his bike for longer rides and was really excited about that, Molly got to tan, and my mom got to play with Fred. Fred rode a boat - he was safety director on our little pontoon cruise. Stan seemed to enjoy vacationing with his in-laws, Fred did really well even dining out a couple of times and being very flexible with changes to his schedule. Although he was not amused as we tried to put him into the lake water, it was extremely cold and just another display of how we are bigger than him and can force him to do what we want... poor baby - he'll get over it, we hope.

Toddler Friends, Famous Cupcakes, and a Sumo Fight

2008-08-19T17:39:00.000-07:00

Well we've been MIA because of a little Michigan vacation but before we get to that, the week before Fred and I took a drive in to the city to visit my mama friend JJ and her adorable toddler Ellie who had her 2nd birthday the other week. We were going to miss her party, so we went for lunch and for them to meet Fred. We walked to the local park and played a quick game of guessing is it the mom or the nanny (um, I will not be leaving my child any time soon after seeing some of the way these childcare providers suppossedly were caring for the kids!) we then went for a walk to a local bakery and I got Jeff a cupcake. Ellie is so cute and fun and loving, and then when we went to take a picture pulled the perfect toddler move of "there is no way I'm going to do what you want me to do" mini meltdown that was over just as quickly as it started. We are hoping for more visits soon.

Since Fred and I were downtown we thought we would surprise uncle Jeff at his office and bring him a cupcake - after all its not likely that Fred will be frequenting the city very often. I drove past the building to get my bearings straight and figure out where to park. When I passed on the street I saw this large crowd and I though it was some vallet backed up or a swanky trendy restaraunt with al fresco dining. I pulled out Fred's stroller and we started walking (side note: whereas in the morning the part of the city I was in was covered in strollers and dogs and city chic mamas getting out - I do not believe there was anyone under 21 in this part of town so we looked very bizarre). As I crossed the street to get to the building I spotted the black sedans, men in suits with sunglasses and ear pieces, and people on the street corner climbing up lamp posts and 'L' track truss braces. There had to be over 200 people across the street and on the corners looking at the motorcade, craning their necks to get a peek at the office building in hopes of seeing Obama. The one day I randomly choose to go see Jeff, Obama is in the building. Well now I start to ponder of how this would go down if I walk up to the office building (which is being kept clear by CPD) and try to go in with this ridiculous stroller saying I'm delievering a cupcake to my brother. Can baby say 'GITMO'? I call Jeff and thank god he actually picked up so he comes down to get us and is stunned to see this huge gathering. Now we look totally famous as we make our way through the street crowd and the cops are ushering us in as Jeff nods that I'm with him (how awesome to have power to say yeah its fine she's clear). We go up to the office and Fred wakes up in that "Where the hell am I?" mood and looks like he might give a whimper or a cry. Jeff wants to bail because Barack is behind that door working on a speech and blah blah blah. Meanwhile secret service I'm sure is just loving the comotion I'm causing all in the name of a chocolate espresso cupcake. Fred was that close to meeting Barack - maybe next time.

Then later in the week we got to visit with our buddy Noah and mommy friend Abby before their big move into a house to be closer to us (and Mike's work but whatever). While Noah is 6 weeks younger than Fred it is fun to compare their body types and sizes. Noah has real talent, while he's too young for the Bejing games he's already training for the London games in the Sumo martial art category.

After all the hub-bub of the week Fred thought he deserved a week off, next stop Michigan!

Like father like son

2008-08-06T05:26:00.000-07:00

These pictures are from my very good buddy Erin, who lived with me in So Dak on the rez. She came out for a visit the other week and we had so much fun, I was so happy that Fred got to meet such an amazing woman. So looking at the pictures, I think I only contributed eye color as genetic material for the kid and otherwise was an incubator for mini-Stan.

Confession...

2008-08-05T19:30:00.001-07:00

TV has certainly not been the focal point of our life as of late, but recently a new show has peeked our interest. Usually during the summer months with all the reruns and awful reality TV we are more of readers, but we found a new show that we are loving and I am so embarrassed to admit it but "I survived a Japanese game show" is a can't miss in the Worst household! I think it is because we got hooked on the human tetris Japanese game on YouTube (which is better because it's pure Japanese!). Japanese have the best games! Also this has seemed to be the least reality TV drama, I mean how can you take people running around in sumo squishy suits and ride teeney tiney tikes and the Japan's use of crazy American slang seriously? What's not to love? Check it out. Hiiiiii Majide!

FTK

2008-08-03T10:57:00.000-07:00

FTK for those not in the know it stands for "For the Kids", Molly's catch phrase for her work on the Dance Marathon Board at IU that fundraises for the Children's Miracle Network Riley's Children's Hospital. On Friday she had a garage sale and we all chipped in. She was able to raise over $600 despite the heat, so that was great! Somehow even though I dumped all my crap into the sale I ended up walking with a breadmaker, baskets, tart plates, and a bunt cake mold... after all - FTK!

Monkey Business

2008-07-23T14:23:00.000-07:00

Fred is 5+ mos now and it is amazing! He can roll (front to back or back to front) if he wants to - only if it strikes his fancy. He can pass from hand to hand. For his really cool trick he has been working on grasping and getting his nuk back in his mouth on his own. When he does I feel like he's such a big boy! Lots of grunting, whining, cooing, babbling, and my personal favorite making raspberries! He's such an observant little bugger swinging his head from side to side. Very nosey - I love it! Sleeping is awesome & we just love playing with friends and family. Other than that it's pure monkey business, as the video demonstrates (pardon my baby talk its a bad habit). The co-star was a gift from a set of triplets in my class this year (they were my favorites but shh! don't tell), Stan had to find a new puppet as Fred is his own man not to be controlled. Grow Fred grow!

The Wedding - Finally!

2008-07-21T11:12:00.000-07:00

I know, I know it’s been over two weeks since the wedding. Part was just getting laundry and things back on track & then we had an unexpected plumbing emergency, which sadly has dipped into Fred’s college fund – only public universities for him. It was a wonderful wedding.

The day started with hair, nails, and make-up. Mary looked so cute in her blue jeans, white button down, and veil. She walked back to her parents condo and I so desperately wanted a picture of her walking down LaGrange road - I thought it would be so neat, but I couldn't capture the moment as I was having hair pins inserted into my scalp and being shellacked with industrial hairspray which did not wash out until the following Thursday!

Back at the Philips' homestead, everyone was getting ready. Jeff was so calm and just ready to go. The was some assistance with way too many people to help get on a pair of Obama cuff links and Molly's favorite picture showing Stan strangling...uh I mean helping my dad with his bow tie and my mom looking like Debbie Downer in the background.

But don't we clean up nice?

Off to the church!

No pre wedding jitters just ready to get married. Oh I should note here that some of these pictures are mine, but most were taken by the fabulous Nick, a bridal attendant for Mary, and my new bff. He had awesome photos that I had to steal. Isn't he a doll?

Mary's niece and nephew did so well walking down the aisle - super cute. The ceremony was beautiful.

It really was just about perfect and almost went without a glitch, until Mary was ready to yell at Molly and I for being talkative. It wasn't so much that we were talking as arguing. And it wasn't so much as we were arguing as I was trying to rationalize with a semiconscious individual. It was rather warm up on the altar. Molly has a tendency for ummmm, shall we say dropping like a sack of flour during such moments has choir concerts, Thanksgiving Day parades, and when people play with her hair. So I asked her during the first few moments of the ceremony if she was feeling all right, I could feel her breathing on my back. She responded all annoyed in that tone of "yes mother!" that she was fine. Ok, so I went back to paying attention to the ceremony. Not more than ten minutes later I hear "Jess... Jess...Jess" and can feel her breathing all weird on my back - someone locked their knees. So I quickly looped my arm around her waist and propped her up. I was trying to get her to sit down but she was arguing that everyone would be looking and she was fine. Now while Molly is a stick it was pretty obvious that I was supporting all her weight while standing up and we were both swaying back and forth, not the most subtle of moves yet in her mind sitting would be this big distraction. Finally we were all to sit. I told her to stay sitting, but she assured me she was ok now, as people began to bring her little cups of water from the congregation! The wedding party was to go up to the kneeler to take communion - I told her to stay there and she said she could do it. So we all stood up and as she got into kneeling position her head starts bobbing back and forth like she is going to take a head dive over the kneeler rail. I can just picture her butt flying up into the air. So I pick her up around her waist again and drag her over to the nearest pew. What a fun little side show we are. The Priest is coming down the line offering the host and looks at the two of us sitting to the side with a quizzical look as if to say "This is not how we practiced it girls. If you don't want communion just put your arms across your chest." Now the ushers start bringing us water, and we are able to get back into our chairs with the rest of the bridal party. She starts to argue again that she is fine, and through gritted teeth I tell her "If you don't drink every last drop of water you are not having one drop of alcohol at the reception". Mary's older sisters Julie and Krissy are silently laughing behind us, as well as the other bridal attendants. Guess who started chugging all the water? Stan is having a field day laughing at her on the other side of the altar while some of the other groomsmen show concern. Molly was able to get back down the aisle with out dropping so all was well. Jeff and Mary left in grand style.

On to the party!

They had their reception at the Danada House. It is this beautiful old estate that that is on forest preserves property and has an equestrian stable and grounds.

Cocktails and appetizers were served out on the grounds and in the house and then dinner was in an atrium that attaches to the house. It was a really lovely setting. Mary and Jeff had such a neat idea for tables, each table had a card with a catch phrases of things that were important to them and then on the back of the was a he said/she said description on the story – it was such a nice personal touch and people were trading the cards to read more stories.

The toasts were marvelous, the décor was simple and elegant, and it seemed everyone was just waiting to get out on the dance floor. Lynn had practiced some Napoleon Dynamite moves, and Harry did his legendary twist.

We had so much fun – I think next to my own wedding I had the most fun at this one. And that’s it now – all over after a year and half of waiting no more showers or parties and I think Jeff and Mary are fine with that. They had an awesome time on their honeymoon, the house they stayed in looked amazing. We got to catch up with them this past weekend at my folk’s house celebrating my dad’s birthday and Jeff’s 27th b-day. We just love getting together as this big family!

Fred's First 4th (F cubed)

2008-07-15T05:34:00.000-07:00

Fred's first 4th as Stan noted being completely dependent on independence day. Our neighborhood was freakily quiet. I don't know if people went away, but it felt like we missed an evacuation order. We spent or day, napping, taking walks, and packing for the next day. We were so lucky to have some ridiculous neighbor shoot off a fortune in illegal fireworks that we were able to see from our back door. Next the ceremony....

The Rehearsal...

2008-07-14T05:27:00.000-07:00

If I keep trying to post everything for the wedding its not going to get done so let me just post in chunks...
Well the first thing was that the Wednesday before the wedding I went and got a spray on tan - as most of you know I'm an idiot when it comes to these girl things & somehow I always end up looking like a fool in wedding pictures - so I was determined to get it right this time. Well the tan turned out wonderful, but I had to race home to feed Fred his lunch. He was starving and after he gulped down his first side I pulled him off to discover the tanning solution had not quite completely dried and I tanned his nose and cheeks. He was still howling for more so I put him on the other side and by the time he was done he had a nice bronze glow on his face - all I could think was "your father is going to kill me!" We were able to wash it off for the most part that night in the tub, why is it I can't use beauty products like a normal person without complications? So Thursday we all at the church for a very through yet tightly and quickly run rehearsal followed by what I can only describe as an enchanting dinner and evening on my parents porch. I know that sounds corny but really - it was so magical and lovely. The weather was perfect, the yard was beautiful (with tents and the soft glow of candles and twinkle lights), the food and drink was amazing (yeah for having a full glass of wine for the first time!), Jeff and Mary have such nice friends so it was fun to mingle with everyone. I kept thinking I wish I had my wedding in the yard it was so fun! We put Fred down but then popped him in the car seat to get back home so we left I guess what would be considered early has these young single guys hung out around the fire pit until 2:00am! Friday everyone just got to relax and enjoy the holiday and catch up on sleep which was really nice. It was the most fun I've had at a rehearsal dinner, so laid back and enjoyable - it was just a wonderful evening filled with people who loved Jeff and Mary. Jeff I don't think even was annoyed with Molly and I as we toast/roasted him.

Saturday Mornings

2008-07-08T17:08:00.000-07:00

Fred loves saturday mornings because mommy relaxes a little with her schedule and we all walk to the Farmers market and the coffee shop for Saturday fun. Mommy lets Fred take his morning nap in the stroller if he wants, but she is still protective of the sun. There is no one cooler at the market than stylin' Fred cruise'n in his stroller - especially with his feet propped up on the snack holder.

A Trip Across the Border

2008-07-08T14:20:00.000-07:00

Fred and I made a trip up to Wisconsin... Fred's first out of state adventure. Two states down 48 to go. We went to visit a friend of mine who was my boss in South Dakota and her kids. They have great names just like Fred... Erma, Ernie, and Ray. Stan said it sounded like old people getting together at a sauna - I said he's one to talk. It was so fun and we hope to see much more of them - despite our differences in baseball and football teams. PS - watch Ray in the background of the video, its my favorite part. This video also exhibits Fred's awesome baby mullet. There is no plan for a hair cut any time soon.

Cousin Time!

2008-07-08T13:26:00.000-07:00

Ok let me back track to just about a month ago... the fabulous cousin Owen was in town. He and Fred seemed about the same size yet Owen was non-stop bouncing from the time he woke up to going back down - bounce bounce bounce. Fred would watch him, and by the end of the visit Fred was testing out his own bouncing skills, and while Owen looked like Tigger and ready to pounce down the road, Fred has a slow motion expression that might involve one or two bounces and then a rest. Owen also has the funniest way of expressing himself, it sounds like a sick cat whereas Fred has taken the donkey sounding approach. Owen also lets you know how he is feeling by using his whole body - when he gets excited he can't contain himself and does a full body tense with a squeal of delight - the most precious thing ever! Owen can flip flop all over the place by rolling from belly to back and back to belly with the greatest of ease. He was able to pass things between hands (which Fred just started doing with some proficency this week). It was so neat to see what is down the pipe line for Fred. They only have six weeks between them. One thing that really struck me was Owen's attachment to his little lion toy. Fred doesn't really show a preference for any such specific toy. Lion went in the crib and was used as a helpful smiling prop for professional pictures and a must during stroller rides. It was super cute to watch his face light up with love for this great little toy. It was wonderful family quality time with walks to the farmer's market and just out in the neighborhoods. We miss our cousin. So the video below is the typical interaction between the two cousins. Now don't judge or pay any attention to the mamas in the background because it is 7am and while it maybe babies happiest time, I was not ready for a close up.

Chill Out Dudes...

2008-07-02T13:29:00.000-07:00

Fred will continue to update but he's a busy guy this summer. Uncle Jeff is getting married this weekend so maybe after that mom will get a chance to update, but for right now cats & kittens be cool, cause its summer time and Fred is having fun.

Strike A Pose

2008-06-28T19:51:00.000-07:00

Stan's sister Emma, her husband Ken, and their adorable new bundle - or should I say jumping bean - Owen (of Air Traffic Control fame) who is 6 weeks older than Fred came for a visit last week. I have lots to post and show on that subject, but until I can get the time to post pics and video of a wonderful visit you will just have to be satisfied with a link for all you adoring Fred fans to a slideshow of professional pics we had taken for this special family visit. It is so hard to decide what prints to purchase! More tales about the cousins summit coming soon!

Father's Day...

2008-06-27T09:40:00.000-07:00

Seem like a life time ago and we didn't even really do anything big - we had a very low key and quite day at home and got prepped for our upcoming visitors. Still I think Stan was pretty stoked that he just got celebrate the day! Truly the world's best dad, Im so blessed to have such an awesome and loving partner.

Saying see ya later!

2008-06-27T05:57:00.000-07:00

The queen of the blog - my pal Rox and her daughter Anni have now since left on their journey for Africa, well actually they are still in NY at the moment but will be leaving for Kenya then finally arriving in Tanzania for their three year stint. Fred and I loaded up and headed to the city to say our goodbyes. I'm going to miss them! We had so much fun and Fred got to be introduced to my dear friends Andrea and Jill. Roxi posted about our gathering much more promptly and with better photos. You can check it out here. Her blog is something I aspire to, even when they didn't have a bed she managed to post - now that's dedication!

Isn't she lovely....

2008-06-27T05:43:00.001-07:00

So part of the fact that I have not been very good about keeping the blog up to date is because we have had so much going on! Some things in fact that have not involved Fred - like mama getting out to help with a shower for Fred' very soon to be new aunt Mary. It's getting to be wedding central as Jeff and Mary are going to tie the knot on the 5th of July. Her shower was back in the beginning of the month which I think turned out rather lovely, and last weekend was her bachelorette party (so much fun). Isn't she going to b the cutest bride ever? She's the petite one in the center next to her cuttie pie mom. Molly and I look like amazon women bookends.

SCHOOL OUT FOR SUMMER...

2008-06-26T18:09:00.000-07:00

SCHOOL OUT FOREVER! That's right, that recent move I alluded too in the previous post was me unloading all my stuff from my classroom. I officially resigned a few weeks back and can now look forward to playing and being with Fred full time. Part of me was really sad because I do love teaching so much but on the other hand I know it was the right decision as I would not be able to devote the time I want to do it the way I think teaching should be done. Fred & mommy will miss our silly school friends (like these tech lab goofs!) but we'll be around for visits.

Mama said there'd be days like this...

2008-06-11T16:57:00.000-07:00

Fred decided to wake up every hour last night after having a really hard time going to sleep. Then we wrestled with him trying to take a nap this morning - although he did sleep long enough for me to unload my car from a recent move (more to come on that). I think because I am tired the house is seeming super small, cramped, cluttered, and messy. Everywhere I turn I feel like there is a pile to be put away but I'm not sure where! Then Fred wakes up 30 short minutes later, I go and wrestle him for another hour trying to coax him to go back to sleep to take a longer nap - finally I realize this is a lost battle as it is almost time for him to eat again. After his lunch I put him down in his crib which he stayed awake for over an hour with off and on screaming bouts. By this time lack of sleep, trying to function (you know get dressed and eat), and attempting to get the mommy chores done, manifested into a wicked headache. So once he went down I decided I needed five minutes to relax, I decided to go pick some strawberries in our garden, a chance to get out, fresh air, be happy with the garden, get good organic fruit! I started to lift up the netting we placed over the patch to keep out the birds when all of the sudden I saw two furry things rising with the netting way too close to my hands... two chipmunks somehow got entwined in the netting and choked themselves. Chip and Dale's corpses freaked me out so bad it left me silently screaming as not to draw every neighbor to the backyard. By the time I got back in the house and washed my hands a thousand time just incase I brushed against one of them - Fred was crying, waking up from his nap and there was no getting him to go back down. We played, he ate again, I got another load of laundry done and I decided we needed to get out go for a walk. Instead of using the stroller I figured I minimize the hassle since we were just going around the block and used the front snuggli carrier. We said hello to a few neighbors and as we were nearing home a bird pooped on us. Even nature was against me today I swear. I was so grossed out and felt like crying at this point so I just had to laugh because really that's the only option that was left. But today has a happy ending with a little boy giggling all through out dinner, a nice bath, a good feed, a bedtime story, and no fussing being put to bed - which allowed mama to finish reading a magazine and recycle it as not to keep clutter around, have an ice cream sandwich, and curl up with hubby to watch an episode of Psyche. And now I'm off to bed, hopefully for a full night's sleep.

Will the real Fredshady please spit-up?

2008-06-05T19:37:00.000-07:00

So can you tell which one is Freddy? This is Fred's body double to do all the stunts that his contract doesn't allow for, you know napping, doctor's appointment, getting his nails clipped etc. This is baby Myles, Stan's one time companion, and the only guy in town who can beat Fred in a staring contest. You should see them go at it during the Cross Town Classic, and you thought Fred was rough on Tigger - yeesh! So just remember in case you see Fred in town and he doesn't wave hello or register who you are, it maybe that Myles is filling in for Fred that day.

Fired Up.... Ready to go!

2008-06-04T06:13:00.000-07:00

Usually this space is set aside to brag about Fred - but today I'm giving a shout out to another amazing guy my brother Jeff or should I say Montana's GOTV (get out the vote) director. He was in the first state and helped win the last state! Way to go Uncle Jeff - I'm sure Barack will be calling with an offer for press secretary. oh yes and any time you want to come home to visit your nephew or see your fiancee (sine the wedding is in 4 weeks) that would be great to!

It was a dark and stormy night...

2008-05-30T07:32:00.000-07:00

On rainy days like this it makes Frederick want to stay in and work on his great novella (you know Snoopy style with his typewriter on top of the dog house). Oh yes, he is quite an accomplished storyteller. Here are some of his works:

The Pain of Morning - A sad story of gas and being backed up by the feeding the night before, will there be a happy ending with a blowout diaper?

Cool Breezes & Taking Chances - A heroic tale of a beautiful woman who risks everything (laundry, cleanliness, her sense of smell) all in the sake of trying to fasten a clean diaper.

Remains of the Nap - Still tired and needing rest our young hero is faced with a choice of going back to sleep or staying awake in order not to miss a thing but end up cranky.

Taste Like Chicken - A suspenseful thriller to see just how many fingers can be placed in a mouth and what happens when trying to dislodge a fist from a toothless jaw.

Smile Behind the Nuk - A shy babe is coaxed by his father to release the pacifier in order to give a smile before the dad must make the long journey to work. A heartwarming tale coming soon to cloth book, don't miss the equally heartfelt sequel A Tug on the Goatee.

Burp Interrupted - A young man's story in coming to grips with the idea that a pause in a meal for a burp doesn't mean it's over. This motivational and inspiring tale will have you wondering if you shouldn't spit up too.

Making the Stretch Marks - A historical fiction retrospect on time in the womb.

Fahrenheit 100 - An action packed thriller as a family tries to get the kitchen sink bath to 100 degrees. Can the clothes be taken off, the diaper changed, and make it to the warm soothing tub before its too late? Will you get burned? Hurry before you are left in the cold! Soon to be made into a major motion picture.

All these from the author who brought you Dying Batteries in the Swing, Comfort in Boppy, Bored in a Car Seat, Speed Stroller, Milk Curds on Mommy's Shoulder, Tales from the Tummy Time, Life Behind the Bib, Enough with the Cameras, Making People Look Goofy, the breakout smash comedy Suck on Everything Within Range of My Mouth, and many more. I don't even think Agatha Christie has this many works! If you would like to purchase the complete Worst works send $49.95, for a limited time we'll throw in a drool seal of authenticity.

HOLY COW!

2008-05-29T06:34:00.000-07:00

It's baseball season and Grandpa Harry is enjoying his new full time job... just waiting for his little buddy to get a little bigger to bring him to the games - no reason we can't dress the part.

Memorial Day Weekend

2008-05-28T08:45:00.000-07:00

Some people go to lake houses, some BBQ, others party w/ friends and family. Freddy here had different plans. He logged about a gazillion miles on the stroller, flirted with neighbors, found smaller beings than him that he could dominate (Gnorman our friendly helpful backyard gnome), enjoyed our backyard (at least we think),

and of course wrestled a fierce and ferocious jungle cat...

it was a pretty intense battle,

that once the beast was back in his cage everyone took a nap.

Now that's what I call a weekend!

Grandma Lovin'

2008-05-21T06:57:00.000-07:00

Fred has fabulous grandmothers - they both adore him, love his little tricks, and can laugh at all his flirtatious faces! We've already been on a tour with Grandma Worst (we might need a new nickname) to her favorite place - The Morton Aboredum.. can you tell they are having a blast?

Grandma Philips (again - is this the nickname we want?) is counting down the days till her summer vacation so she can join in on Fred adventures, we try our best to wait around for her after school but it makes travelling home for dinner right at rush hour - but in a week or so well see lots more of her. What a blast to have such awesome Grandmas!

Three Month Fred... and that's what its all about

2008-05-13T18:31:00.000-07:00

I haven't updated as much as I would like too, but we have been busy with the outdoors! We've been taking adventures in the stroller, walking the neighborhoods, visiting grandparents, hanging out with Aunt Molly or our buddy Noah, meeting new friends etc. and thus when we come home the day is mostly filled with laundry, bath time, diapers, nap time, doing dishes, and cooking - doesn't leave much time for this electronic hobby. So while we've been out enjoying nice weather and introducing the world to Fred, he has turn 3 months! He is almost 14 weeks old - I can't believe it. He's growing so fast! I've recently discovered that he loves music... I use the term loosely as I don't know if that's what you could call me singing. His favorites include itsy bitsy spider, twinkle twinkle little star, someone in the kitchen with Diana, and any other I can remember the lyrics to. We've recently been rocking out our tummy time and play time to a CD called Baby Loves Jazz - that's right he's one cool cat. We do baby yoga in the morning, which he loves, and peek-a-boo is always popular on the changing table with his must have bib (a must have to avoid the massive amounts of drool this kid produces!). He loves to sit up and look around. I have him sit on the 'edge of the pool' as I call it, he sits on boppy with his feet dangling off so he can check out what's going on. Eating and sleeping are going well, right now I think we are in a schedule change of him giving up the 3rd nap but going to bed at 8pm. He is so long and I'm sure close to 14 or 15 lbs by this point, last doctor's appointment he was just under 13lbs. His neck is super strong as he can lift himself up and look around while on his belly, he can roll from his back onto his side, he can track anything moving, is starting to grasp his beloved butterfly toy, beginning to associate noise with things, has found that he has hands and feet - but only if he could control them, burps like a champ (its hilarious how loud he can make them), and is talking up a storm. The coolest part is his ability to recognize the two of us and smile when he sees us, it makes you want to stare at him all day long. He gave a giggle here or there back a week or two a go, but it mostly sounded like "huuuh" in a whiney tone, but today he and I had a laugh fest, although I'm not sure what about - well I know I was laughing at him, so maybe he was just laughing at looking at me. To celebrate this quarter birthday he thought he would pull out all the stops and give a dance... (mostly I just wanted to show off his cute new polka-dot sleeper).

A Grand Day Out!

2008-05-12T18:35:00.000-07:00

Last week Fred got to visit with his buddy Noah and Abby and introduced to his new friend Kelly! Kelly of course was a natural with the kids, especially her stroller driving skills. She only shrieked in horror once (Fred had gas) and didn't even drop either of the boys. Ginger beware I see some maternal instincts rising to the surface!

Mother's Day

2008-05-12T18:19:00.001-07:00

Stan has not been feeling well, the weather was blech, and my little boy was a grumpy gus at nap times. We had Stan's parents up with his grandmother, I made a roast. I think they had a wonderful time - I know they enjoyed spending time with Fred. Stan bought me a gardening book and took a really cool picture of a barn for me and Fred slept through the night on Saturday and Sunday. What better gift is there? Besides, its pretty grand just being a mom - he's so awesome...

Antonio Banderas where are you?

2008-05-08T07:04:00.000-07:00

You know that commercial for some seasonal allergy medicine with a bee voiced by Antonio? No? Well there is one and my poor Fred needs some. I'm on snot patrol. He hates it, I hate it, but it must be done so he can breath. Imagine having all that gunk and you can't blow your nose, so instead you try to sneeze it out but that doesn't get everything, so then some giant leaning over you starts prodding your nose with kleenex or an aspirator (you know that turkey baster looking thing). Fred hates that aspirator thing so much that every time I've used it to try to clear up gunk he cries so hard he starts choking because he can't breath so it ends up with him throwing up. My poor baby! He doesn't seem to mind other than feeding is a little harder and Stan and I are working on trying to teach him when it comes to sneezing 'say it don't spray it', to no avail.

I'm a real live boy...

2008-04-23T17:40:00.000-07:00

One of mom and dad's favorite games with Fred is making him our own little puppet. Our Fred puppetry is becoming more and more advance and complex. Here is a video of a recent manipulation of our poor little boy - but we were amused! Yes, this is now what we do on a rocking saturday night. My apologies on watching the clip sideways, I rotated the camera and I can't figure out how to rotate it back, tilt your head - it's still funny.