little bits

Just wanted to jot down a few little bits of this and that before I forget them altogether.  Not too long ago, I posted that Theo got his top two teeth. It was about 6 weeks ago.  Well, about 3 or 4 weeks after that, he got two more!  So he’s got 4 on the top now and still 2 on the bottom.  But I think I saw those faint white lines next to his two bottom teeth so it may not be much longer before he’s got EIGHT.  Wow.  This is happening fast.  The 5th and 6th teeth were pretty much painless.  In fact, one of them was through the gums before I ever noticed that they were coming.  I guess I thought we’d have more of a break since it was 4 months between his bottoms and tops coming in. 

He’s eating like a champ.  He eats more people food than baby food.  I had the odd (yet frequent) craving for Mexican food the other night and usually I want “authentic” (or as authentic as it gets around here) Mexican cuisine, but for some reason I had a hankering for Don Pablo’s.  I hadn’t been there in, I don’t know, three years?  It was amaaaazing.  But anyway, Theo ate the cornmeal spoon bread, queso dip (no, I did NOT give him tortilla chips!), and refried beans.  He loved every bite.  On Christmas he ate green beans, homemade noodles, and mashed potatoes.  He also loves instant oatmeal out of the little packets.  Bananas and other small pieces of soft fruit…you name it.  I love watching him try new things and enjoy them so much.  He says baby food is for sissies.  By the way, my major cravings so far have been Mexican food (different from last time) and ice cold 1% milk (same as last time).

As a side note, I LOVE that he is so good in restaurants.  I’m embarrassed to admit this but it is probably not an exaggeration – I bet we’ve gone out to eat with him 100 times since he arrived in March and have only had to take him out of the restaurant twice for crying.  When does that change?  When do we stop going out to eat altogether?  I’m guessing that happens when he starts walking and doesn’t want to be confined to the high chair anymore.  Oh, speaking of high chairs, here’s something I’d add to my mommy must-haves:

 We got this on the spur of the moment, because my husband a.) thought it looked cool and b.) liked the penguins on the top.  It was $40 (after a 20% coupon at Babies R Us) well spent.  We take this to restaurants and hook it on to the table every time we go out to eat.  It collapses completely flat and comes with a mesh bag to carry it in so it’s perfectly portable to take to other people’s houses.  This thing is the perfect solution to limited space.  I don’t know if we would have even gotten a high chair if we’d known about this.  Okay, I take that back – I like our high chair at home because it reclines and that’s good for when baby is first learning to eat solids.  Anyway, here’s what I really love about it.  The younger/smaller baby is too little for regular high chairs at restaurants because their mouth/chin/neck is going to be level with the table.  Perfect for baby to suck on or lick that disgusting table and very inconvenient for self-feeding.  With the Chicco chair, baby is at the same level that you are and can easily pick up snacks, play with toys, etc. off of the table. 
Wow, I so did not mean to launch into a full-fledged review of that product (for free, mind you), but I just want moms out there to know what a lifesaver and wonderful product this thing really is.  To be fair, I will share a couple of gripes about it.  The part that you see underneath the table takes up so much room that, depending on the size of the booth, you are sometimes pinned in once you are seated.  I haven’t figured out how to wash the cloth seat in the washer, so it can get pretty nasty.  I just scrub the heck out of it with Wet Ones Anti-bacterial wipes and hope for the best.  The only other thing is that it feels a little big and awkward when you are assembling/disassembling it at the restaurant and people sometimes stare, I’m sure wondering what in the world kind of contraption you are putting together/taking apart.  But I can’t tell you how many compliments we have gotten from waitresses, other parents, etc. on our little chair.  It really is a wonderful product!  If you have this or buy this as a result of my post, leave me a comment and let me know what you think!  I don’t know anyone else with the Chicco TravelSeat and I’d be interested to hear someone else’s opinion.  I think the packaging says it’s good for up to 30 or 35 pounds.  *I just noticed on Amazon that it says you can remove the machine washable cloth cover so maybe I haven’t tried that hard.  Whatever.  
Well, back to my original idea for this blog…little updates. 
I’ll be 19 weeks pregnant tomorrow and over the last 2 weeks or so, my stomach has really started popping out.  It’s so weird and different this time around.  I was in maternity pants by 12 weeks with Theo.  I guess part of it was because I wanted to be in them and wanted to look pregnant SO bad.  This time, I’ve been in no rush to look the part and am still wearing a pair or two of my bigger sized jeans/cords.  I treated myself to a new pair of maternity jeans and two shirts last night.  Love them!  It’s always fun to do something to make yourself feel cute when you are feeling particularly un-cute.  Now that I’m starting to show, I expect to get stares and comments from nosy strangers when they see me with my infant son and obviously pregnant belly.  One other thing I was going to mention about the belly is that I started showing around the same time with this baby as I did with Theo, but it seems like I have gotten much bigger much quicker than I did with him.  Perhaps it is because the timing coincided with Christmas this year.  No further comment needed there.  *Ahem.* 
What do I love about having a pregnant belly?  Not feeling the need to suck in anymore.  Sometimes it’s just more comfortable to let your gut hang out.  And that is what I shall do for the next 5 months because you won’t know the difference.  It’s a little bit baby, a little bit Butterscotch Pie…you’ll never know which is which because it all looks the same…Hallelujah!
I’m feeling the baby move more and more and getting excited about seeing his or her little face in a few short months.  I go back to the doctor next week for the fetal anatomy ultrasound and 20 week check up. 
Not so excited about getting on the scale after all these delicious meals over the last few weeks…
~C~ 

whirlwind of a week

Sorry for my lack of posts lately – Christmas week was quite the whirlwind.

Wednesday morning, I made the quick trip home – I don’t mean 20 minutes home from work, I mean 5+ hours home – for my best friend’s grandfather’s funeral.  It was sad to say goodbye but endearing to hear so many wonderful stories about him and see those stories through old photographs.  I love old photographs.  I hope it made a difference to my BFF that I was there…that’s all I wanted, just to make her feel loved. 

I got back early Thursday afternoon and there was a laundry list of chores (including laundry) to get done before we could go to my in-laws’ for the holiday weekend.  We rushed around and got there in time for dinner.  Friday was relaxing and then Saturday – Christmas day – came.  Whew.

Can I just tell you how excited I was to get my shiny new iPod touch!? 

I’ve been using my Original iPod from 2005 all this time and swore that I wouldn’t replace it until it crapped out on me. 

The thing won’t die.  After playing with a friend’s touch over the summer, I was in lust all over again.  I thought it was a bit of a stretch but secretly hoped that I would get the touch.  Santa Baby delivered, alright.  I could hardly wait to get through the rest of my presents to go get my iTunes transferred and Angry Birds downloaded (oh.muh.gah. SO ADDICTIVE!) when I opened the biggest surprise present of my life…
Behold, my newest and most prized (material) possession:

I’ve complained here about hating my current point-and-shoot digital camera and ooohed and aaahed about my freinds’ wonderful professional quality cameras.  Well, I’m part of the club, folks.  I have a lot of learning to do.  I’m pretty sure you could have knocked me over with a feather when I unwrapped this gift.  I started having hot flashes and got light-headed and said ridiculous things like “you have to take this back!” and “what were you thinking?” all while clutching that beautiful red and black box to  my chest.  I have already taken 100 or so pictures and the difference is stunning. 

I can’t wait to take loads of pictures of my babies with this fine piece of equipment over the next several years.  I’m a happy camper.

Theo had a good Christmas, and got more stuff than he can ever play with, but he didn’t “get” it.  He didn’t open presents without hand-over-hand assistance.  I found that pretty ironic considering the fact that we couldn’t even hang out in the living room w/the tree because he was constantly crawling over there, trying to grab a present and threatening to destroy my pretty ribbon bows.  Don’t you love packages with satin or cloth ribbon bows?  So pretty.

Anyway, overall it was good with the exception of the funeral.  Sadly, I also found out that the friend with breast cancer that I mentioned a couple of days ago is going to have quite the battery of treatments.  I don’t know what she (or I) expected, but I was disappointed to find out that it sounds quite invasive.  She’s such an upbeat lady and so much fun to be around.  I hope she doesn’t lose that wonderful spirit to such an ugly battle.  I’m sure she will come out stronger and more endearing than ever in the end.

I just wanted to post something in my recent bloglessness, but I will soon post pictures from Christmas and a few post-present shots from the new camera.  Seriously, I can’t remember the last time I was that surprised or thrilled about any(material)thing.

Hope your holiday was just as exciting.

~C~