My kid is a ham

When William was born, he came out looking exactly like his mama.  People asked if there was a father that was even involved because there was no denying that he was his mother's child.  The nose, the mouth, the cheeks.  It all looked like me.  There was no denying I birthed this adorable baby that hubs and I cuddled up to and admired.  I'm pretty sure Adam was there for it, right?

Flash forward a few months and that question would be answered with absolute certainty.  His looks somewhat flip flopped and I sometimes am a little terrified that I am actually holding a baby version of my husband.  Identical.  Eyes, cheeks, blond hair, his expressions.  Seriously....borderline creepy how similar they look. 

There are only fragments of similarities between lil' man and me now.  A hint of resemblance in the nose and lips.  Who else could he have gotten that ginormous head from?  And lastly....he is a ham.

I'm sure my parents remember as clear as day memories of me yelling "Daddy!  Look at me, daddy!" while trying to get attention while I performed my latest trick or sang my newest song.  Home movies of me practically shoving my baby sister out of the way so the camera would be on me (What baby?)  It's no surprise I grew into a larger ham while performing in musical theater in high school.  To this day, I'm a ham...bordering (OK, probably over the border) obnoxious.  [Dad, I'm sorry - let's be serious.  There's no denying that you are the same way and I'm a mirror image of you....]

My son....a ham of the next generation.  When he does something, he will look over at you.  If you smile, he will get so excited and just grin from ear to ear.  If you do not look at him and smile, he will grunt.  I know that little mind of his is just trying to vocalize "Look at me, mommy!  I'm awesome and you need to see!"  Don't even mention the camera.  I'm not sure how a baby learns this but he knows that the back of my phone means it is time to put on an award-winning smile.  He could be gagging from a new, disgusting food I am feeding him, he will see the camera and BAM - beets dripping out of his mouth, he will put on a smile between gagging.  If the dog is in the way of him displaying his awesomeness - no problem, he can muscle him out of the way to display his talents.

It's kind of adorable and gives me hope that he has a little bit of his mommy in him.  It's not ALL that bad....

"What??  I'm not a ham....I'm a stud."

Wordless Wednesday - Messy

An Infant's Guide to Eating

Step #1 - Come dressed to impressed - it's the first impression and when you look good, you feel good. 

Step #2 - Concentrate.  This is important.  If you have to use Jedi mind tricks, do it.  Anything to get THAT food into your mouth.

Step #3 - It sometimes helps to use the double-fisted approach.  Twice the food in the same amount of time...

 

Step #4 - Make funny faces.  This doesn't help you eat the food, but food always tastes better when you are having fun, right?

Step #6 - You've made your funny faces, now turn up the adorable and look super handsome.  Work the camera and look good....

Step #6 - SHARE! Nothing shows off your charm more than if you share your food. Never mind that it's from the hand that you have been drooling on and licking for the past 20 minutes, it all tastes good.

Step #7 - Made a mess?  Just act cool.....this is the time to blame it on the dog....

Wordless Wednesday - grass

I'm boring you, I realize

So I'm pretty well aware of the fact that I have been overly dull around this place lately.  I haven't been writing much and I haven't been dropping in my hilarious sense of humor (wait, did I ever bring that?). 

Things in my life are...well...fantastic.  Lil' man is nine months old.  In baby growing terms that means he's all over the house and crawling and he's a minute away from walking.  He plays with the toys he is capable of getting out himself - although I have a feeling we have years away from him being able to put them away.  He has five teeth.  My kid has FIVE TEETH!  See, I feel that's perhaps why it's so dull around here.  THAT is what I find exciting these days.  HA!  He laughs and smiles and follows me around the house.  He reaches for me when he wants me to hold him.  He loves mango, zucchini and apple but HATES carrots.  He can climb an entire flight of stairs without hesitation in about 60 seconds.  He's terrified of the vacuum cleaner but thinks it's hilarious when you pretend to drop him.  His favorite toy is still his glow worm and he cuddles with him all night long.  He likes when I squeeze his nose and make a "beep beep" sound.  He has a personality the size of a house and I could sit and watch him play in the living room for hours (and I do...). 

The first months of his life, I snuggled and cuddled and didn't want to think about putting him down.  I thought THAT was fun then, imagine my surprise when I find it keeps getting better. 

So I only ask your forgiveness if I'm a little slow around here.  I'm just trying not to miss a second of this....

I can read...

1. Imperfect Birds - Anne Lamott
2. Operating Instructions - Anne Lamott (definitely recommend for any mother's out there)
3. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
4. Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
5. The Audacity of Hope - Barack Obama (audio book)
6. Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins
7. The Green Book - Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas Kostigen (definitely a book I would recommend for anyone interested in going green)
8. Firefly Lane - Kristin Hannah
9. Baby Proof - Emily Giffin (audio book)
10. Healthy Child Healthy World - Christopher Gavigan (go out and buy it! wonderful resource for keeping your family healthy while living a green lifestyle!)
11. Heart of the Matter - Emily Giffin
12. Bossypants - Tina Fey (Hilarious!)
13. Prey - Michael Crichton (audio book)
14. Julia's Chocolates - Cathy Lamb
15. In Defense of Food - Michael Pollan
16. One Day - David Nicholls
17. The Help - Kathryn Stockett (Loved it!!)
18. Dismantled - Jennifer McMahon
19. Always Looking Up - Michael J. Fox
20. How to Talk to a Widower - Jonathan Tropper (I will definitely be reading more of this author!)
21. Queen of Babble - Meg Cabot
22. One for the Money - Janet Evanovich
23. Lisey's Story - Stephen King
24. Two for the Dough - Janet Evanovich
25. Room - Emma Donoghue (Fantastic!) 
26. Three to Get Deadly - Janet Evanovich (currently reading)
27. Matched - Ally Condi (currently reading)
28. The Giver - Lois Lowry (up next - I remember this as my favorite book when I was younger)

I'm definitely digging the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich.  Definitely entertaining and easy reads.  I finished my first Stephen King book - although it was very long, I was intrigued and couldn't put it down.  The pain and the love was enough to make your heart break.  I would absolutely recommend Room.  It was wonderful and heartbreaking.  I can't even put it into words.  I couldn't put it down. 

Up next are some easier reads.  The Giver was one of my favorite books when I was younger and I can't wait to read it again.  Since it's a young adult, I'm imagining it will be a quick read. 

Any recommendations on what I should read next? 

My kid is sometimes hard to entertain

So we thought we would be the kind of parents that didn't let their kid have tons of toys.  The kid doesn't need that many - they will be happy to play with a cardboard box and a spoon.  Then you have a kid and realize they can get bored...easily.  He will crawl at the speed of light a kid who can crawl fast, right past the toys and go for the closest shoe, dog toy or remote control.  So I figured we just had some shitty, lame toys around.  That just meant that we needed to step up our game and get some sweet toys.

So Adam and I went on a date about a week ago and decided to go shopping and buy William something new.  This was a big decision for us at the store.  We walked up and down the aisle pushing all the toys' buttons and playing all the musical ones and analyzing the pros and cons of each. (yes...this was fun for us)  So we finally decide to get this light-up, talking, musical basketball hoop.  William was interested at first, then loved it and then was over it - all in the matter of about thirty five seconds. 

So last night, I was going through William's room and trying to see if there were any toys or clothes we should get out now that he's a little older.  BINGO!  I found this bubble-blowing, singing octopus thingy for the bath tub.  I can't wait to show William!!  I'm going to be the coolest mom ever!!

First he flinched.  Ok, that's ok - bubbles are new to him, he just gets a little scared before he realizes how cool this thing is.  The flinch passed and he stared.  Ok, he's skeptical, but that's only because he doesn't realize this magical bubble-blowing octopus also plays music!  Nothing.  Still nothing.  He actually tries to duck out of the way of the bubbles that appear to be annoying him. 

Hmm....well at least the hubby and the dog were quite entertained by it.

I think I would have bombed less if I would have just given him a shoe to play with - he always seems to like those.

"Whoa....shiny, slimy things in my face...."

[notice how excited Adam is at the new toy....]

[looking at singing, bubble-blowing Octopus]

"That's all you got?  Yeah...totally not interested.  I've seen dog toys that are cooler than that."

My kid's got smarts

So several weeks ago, I wrote about how I was slightly skeptical that William was old enough to understand and use sign language.  [Skeptic vs. Believer]  He was only seven months old.  Do seven months old really do sign language? 

Now lil' man is eight, almost nine (holy crap, nine) months old.  I'm going to go ahead and say it's safe to say he is capable of using sign language.  I'm kind of still amazed but I'm a believer.  My kid?  The cute blondie with the bright blue eyes?  Yeah him - he's got some smarts.

Wordless Wednesday - Fun in the Sun

Joey's Auction 2011

Yesterday was the kick-off for Joey's Auction held over at Snap, Crackle, Pop - the home of my bestie, Jaclyn.  Over the next two weeks, Jaclyn will be auctioning off donated, handmade items to raise money in honor of her brother, Joey, who has a type of autism.  Jaclyn does a much better job explaining it all here.

So head over there to bid on some of the goodies!!!  Make sure to check back each day as more items are posted!

Happy 2 years

It feels like only yesterday I was writing about my first wedding anniversary.  Seriously, didn't that just happen?  Didn't our wedding just happen?  During our first year of marriage, I couldn't believe all of the changes in our lives - married, new house, new puppy, became pregnant.  I don't think I fully understood the definition of change at that point.  Still married, same house, same puppy.  Now have welcomed our first baby, William, and become a small family!

I love this man as my partner.  I love this man as our baby's father.  I love this man for his support and love.  I'm one happy lady. 

2 years ago - 1st dance

Honeymoon - cruise

2 years later - anniversary dinner