I love the Bumbo chair. Whoever invented this is a freakin' genius. During my first pregnancy I saw this chair and thought, "What is the point of this goofy ass baby seat?" Then I registered for one anyways because that's what you do the first time you are pregnant: you register for anything and everything because you are trained to think that babies need an entire warehouse full of crap. Then you learn that they in fact do not need half the stuff you register for and you wind up with a whole warehouse full of pointless crap. The Bumbo chair, however, wound up being something very useful, as it helps with posture and holding their heads up. They also serve a great entertainment function. Look at this baby. I could die! I always think they look like little gnomes in these chairs. This chair is currently solving the crying/"Hold-me!" dilemma I find myself in with Viv when I'm trying to eat. Now she can sit on the counter in front of me and chat with me while I eat. She's so damn adorable in this thing with her proportionately too small for her big body teeny tiny feet that I almost can not handle it sometimes out of fear of geeking myself out to death.
Once I week I treat myself to a cup of decaf coffee from the bagel shop by our house. Putting my coffee drinking on hold while pregnant and then nursing is not as difficult this time around as it was with Jude- but I still miss this big part of my normal morning routine. Since Jude is at Playschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays, this is usually when I get the lion's share of my writing done, and the writing process for me will never be quite the same without a cup (or 2) of coffee. But I figure that I finally adjusted to the writing process without cigarettes over the past few years- something I believed to be near impossible at first- so unhooking myself from the caffeine IV isn't nearly as painful. As per my Paleo diet, I've found coconut milk creamer and the joys of Stevia "In the Raw" to replace milk and sugar in my decaf coffee- this has made for a nice, healthy placebo to trick my brain into thinking I'm having the "real" thing. Just the routine of doctoring up a cup of Joe and drinking it while I write makes my mind feel like I've got a caffeinated buzz going on. Hey, whatever works!
Niles loves to sunbath on Taylor's desk under the sunlight. Having been shorted on the photo shoots he once endured before human babies took over his turf, he soaked up every picture I took of him today, posing and flirting and getting his slut on for the camera. It was pretty ridiculous. I love this sexy guy.
Just when you think we've run out of ideas for things to do with our cars- I give you car bowling. Stack 'em up and knock em' down. This kills two birds with one stone: Jude's love of cars and his love of knocking shit over and making loud crashing sounds. Gotta love little boys. So easy to please.
Spent a big chunk of Wednesday at my mom's house and got to looking at old pictures of my family. Above is a photo of me as a baby next to my baby. The resemblance is pretty crazy if you ask me. It kind of blows my mind actually. Looking at your old baby pictures becomes a whole new world of interesting and entertaining once you've had children. It's pretty amazing the load of heavy thinking that accompanies spending a day looking at these photos and comparing them to your babies. I can't even imagine what my mom must have been thinking while she went through them with me.
Chris and I on the day he was brought home from the hospital
Chris and I hanging out in a sweet wicker chair that I wish my mom would have saved and handed down to me.
Why on Earth would I pump my kid full of red Sno Cone and take him to Toys R Us? Because I'm nuts or because I'm a kick ass mom? I think maybe a little bit of both. It was worth the sugar crash that Jude had later in the evening to see his face light up when we walked into the toy store and approached the huge aisle of Cars 2 toys. I never take him to Toys R Us because the place is overwhelming to me and I'm always scared that he will be THAT kid (you know which kid I'm talking about). But yesterday we had a special date to go do fun stuff. He doesn't get me all to himself too often now that the baby is here, so I felt he deserved a treat.
All day I'd been telling him we were going to Toys R Us later and he would do his stubborn 2 year old thing and say, "No want to go Toys R Us" (or his version of it since he can't say his Rs) since everything is NO right now. I told him, "Ohhhh buddy. You have no idea, but trust me. You WANT to go to Toys R Us."
Watching Jude realize just what kind of place we were in once we got through the doors was priceless. His eyes glossed over and you'd think he'd just shot up some heroin. He's pretty fortunate that I appreciate the importance of completing a set of something once you've started collecting. I've always been the type of person, even as a kid, to take care of my stuff and keep from losing my things- especially when I have a set of something. So even though he's only 2, I know that he won't be prone to losing the things that I buy him- because I'm that anal retentive mom who puts his name on all of his stuff and is adamant about checking to make sure everything is accounted for before we leave wherever we've gone to. I'm trying to train him to take care of and keep track of his things, because "money doesn't grow on trees, Sonny boy" (said in cantankerous old lady voice). It's not hard though. When he takes his stuff somewhere, usually a car in each hand, those cars don't leave his sight lest he have a melt down when he can't find them. He gets this from me. It drives me insane when something is out of place or missing- toys are no exception and the apple doesn't fall too short from the tree. Jude lost two of his collection series Cars toys for about a week and he and I both were nothing short of an OCD mess during that time. We could just feel that the chemistry of his racing team was all wrong. ALL wrong. When Nigel Gearsly and Holly Shiftswell (HELLO- of course I know all their names!) were finally discovered there was massive celebration. He's now 3 cars shy of collecting the whole set and I can't lie: I'm almost as excited about it as he is. Needless to say, his enthusiasm for his cars is contagious and I'm having so much fun with him!
My brother giving Viv a bottle for the first time. Why do guys hold infants like footballs? Considering my brother never played football, the awkward way he's holding his niece is probably a lot like the awkward way he'd handle a football. That's my guess. I literally had to physically position the baby on him, hoist her up with pillows and put the bottle in her mouth - and once I had this all set up, Chris didn't move a muscle the entire time he fed her. They spent the time eyeing each other as if to say without words, "Are you cool? Is this comfortable? Are you comfortable? Is this working for you? Ok, but are you SURE you're cool?" and remained as stiff as a lovely statue of an awkward uncle feeding an equally awkward baby.
I wondered a lot when I was pregnant with Viv how I could possibly love another baby as much as I love Jude. I mean, you have to wonder. Obviously you know you're going to love your second child just as much as your first- but that love for your first is so intense and so big that you really do stop and try to wrap your head around the idea of loving another baby that much. The picture above captures the very essence of the "Ah ha!" moment I have whenever I think back to that wonderment. It's images like this that make me have to stop sometimes and pinch myself because I can't believe this child is actually mine.
Oklahoma sunset last night. It was difficult to focus on the road while driving home from Norman because it was so flippin' beautifully distracting that I couldn't stop looking at it. Luckily the babies were in the back of the car, otherwise I just might have driven clean off the highway. I'm guilty of complaining about how bored I am of this state and how I would love to move away, but I have to admit that sunsets like these make me grateful to raise a family in such a wonderful place.
Someone is getting more and more of his Dad's sense of humor every day. He makes me belly laugh so hard sometimes that it gets tricky to stay being the parent and not get down to his level. He's already discovered the humor of tooting and the word "boobies." We assure him as he's cracking himself up that those two things never cease to be funny (but that we say "Excuse me" after we toot and we don't grab mommy's boobies). At some point he heard the word "butthole" and instinctively found it hilarious. He started marching around the house chanting, "Butt-Ho Butt-Ho Butt-Ho" and before telling him that we don't say that word ("we say bottom"), I would have to turn my head and cover my face to keep him from seeing me giggle to the point of tears because I'm immature in this department and am still learning how to censor inappropriate language around my toddler, because Repeaty Pete is repeating EVERYTHING I say now.
Paleo pizza. I was getting pissed trying to make the dough for this tonight (almond meal based) and was about to give up and throw it against the wall (and I might have if it weren't stuck like glue to my fingers), but in the end, it turned out FANTASTIC. Didn't think I'd dig a pizza without cheese, or normal crust for that matter, but once again I've been proven to be wrong. It's super good and super filling. It satisfies the pizza craving without all the delicious artery clogging cheese and crappy mystery ingredients of conventional pizza crust.
My newest head band for Viv. I actually can't take credit for the style of this one, as I found one exactly like it on Etsy. It was selling for $15 plus shipping, and it is the one that inspired me to get off of my butt and just start making them myself. I found the crafting flowers- same ones as the one on Etsy- on Overstock for $4 and sewed them to a ribbon. BOOM. The most fabulous element of this accessory? Viv's squishy naked body rolls, which have nothing to do with the headband and everything to do with AWESOME.
