August 31, 2009

Random thoughts from people 25-35 years old...

While I was in Atlanta for Ashley's bachelorette party the other weekend, all the girls kept talking about this ridiculously funny list of random thoughts that had been going around through e-mail. I had never seen it before until today and I couldn't help but laugh out loud and many of them. I couldn't help but share!

FYI - I did edit the list a bit to make it a little more baby blog friendly. :)

Random thoughts from people 25-35 years old
...

-I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option. (I still like Mapquest best!)

-More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can
think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell
my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves
me. (Wow, this is so unfortunately true. I really need to work on this one!)

-Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you
realize you're wrong. (Ryan know this one all too well! ;-)

-I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to
have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and
sticks when they've invented the lighter?

-Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're
going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to
be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the
direction from which you came, you have to first do something like
check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to
yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're
crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.
(I used to do this all the time when taking Austin on walks.
I just don't care anymore though)

-That's enough, Nickelback. (I don't understand this one, but the girls seemed to think it was pretty funny)

-I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger. (OH SO TRUE!)

-Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know"
feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose
not to be friends with? (I've heard someone say this before and certainly found it pretty funny, and true!)

-Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't
work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically
fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all
know how to fix the problem? There was no Internet or message boards
or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft. (I love technology, but what I wouldn't give for Austin to have the chance to grow up in the era that I did.)

-There is a great need for sarcasm font.

-Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and
suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first
saw it.

-I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually
becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting
90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's
laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little
bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the
only one who really, really gets it.

-How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet? (I've always wondered this...)

-I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than
take 2 trips to bring my groceries in. (Yeah, I totally admit I do this)

- I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear
your computer history if you die.

-The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to
finish a text.

- A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the
spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.

- LOL has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".

- I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger. (Probably the reason I can't seem to get rid of all this baby weight!)

- Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron
test is absolutely petrifying.

- Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart",
all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart". (Funny!!)

- How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod
and smile because you still didn't hear what they said? (If I say "what?" to Ryan more than twice he gets seriously irritated!)

- I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up
to prevent someone from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

- Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in'
examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete
idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and
said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"

-What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other? (Someone should do this...)

- While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and
instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

- MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I
know how to get out of my neighborhood. (Yeah, seriously)

- Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the
person died. (I shouldn't be so interested in this, but I am)

- I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the
shower first and THEN turn on the water.

-Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty,
and you can wear them forever. (My husband seems to follow this philosophy and gets mad when I wash his pants after only wearing them 3 times!)

-I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

-Bad decisions make good stories

-Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their
profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got
the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if
I do! (I am a sucker for pictures of other people's babies on FB!)

- Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year? (Wow, so true, how disturbing)

-If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring
would probably just be completely invisible.

-Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go
around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly
nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be
a problem.... (I feel this way every time we go to Bouncing Babies)

-You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work
when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything
productive for the rest of the day. (I certainly remember those days!!)

-Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't
want to have to restart my collection. (Ryan and I had this conversation just the other day!)

-There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are
going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

-I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me
if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I
swear I did not make any changes to.

- "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever. (or I will machine wash it anyway and probably ruin it by doing so)

-I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people
watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will
they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't
watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and
leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?' (I just pass it off to someone else)

-I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello?
Dammit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and
goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone
and run away?

- I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not
seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

-When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she
hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light
internet stalking.

-I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle,
then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

-Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising
speed for pedophiles...

- As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers,
but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

-Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still
not know what time it is.

-I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to
answer when they call.

-Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.

-Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car
keys in a pocket and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I’d bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time
every time...

-My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would
happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the heck do I respond to that?

-It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and
the link takes me to a video instead of text.

-I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they
drive behind obeys the speed limit. (I've always wanted to ask that to a police officer)

-I think the freezer deserves a light as well. (Hmm, my freezer has a light but the trunk of my car doesn't)

-I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or
Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

August 29, 2009

FYI


Another Friday Night at Fluor Field!





Except this time we had the pleasure of hanging out with the Johnson's and their cutie patootie, Tyler! The game was on a one hour rain delay but we never saw a drop. It was a perfect Friday night to be with friends and watch some baseball!

Austin and Tyler exchanged glances, clapped for the Drive, showed off their dancing moves, met Reedy Rip'It and both enjoyed some yummy vanilla soft serve. The babies had a blast and were still going strong well into the fireworks finale at 11pm!

August 28, 2009

Catch up!



Thanks to blogger, I have been having some serious posting issues this week so I thought I'd just do a weekly recap to make up for the lack in posts.

-Ryan got called out of church on Sunday because Austin wouldn't stop crying. Ryan thinks he's finally getting into that attachment disorder phase....I think he just missed his mommy!

-Thanks to my friend, Leigh, I have found the greatest bubble solution of ALL time. Austin and I have been blowing bubbles all week and I think I'm having just as much fun with them as he is! The best thing about them is that they stick and don't pop immediately which makes for some good bubble chasing fun. Go pick some up at Gymboree, you won't be disappointed!

-Austin and I ventured out for an afternoon shopping trip this week which started with lunch at our local McDonald's. This was the first time we'd ever been there for lunch and we were very pleasantly surprised! We split a Chicken McNugget meal and it was a fantastic treat for the both of us.

-Ryan's 28th birthday was yesterday and I surprised him with Braves tickets for the three of us to go see a game next month. We had to postpone the birthday celebration, however, because my dear hubby was at work into the wee hours of the morning and is back at it again today. Hopefully he will be free to relax and celebrate his big day this weekend. He's never been big on birthdays, so I try to keep things low key, but as a lover of all holidays and celebrations, it's very hard to do!

-I think my little boy has gotten bored with me, our house and his toys, but I don't know what else to do to entertain him! It's too hot to play outside (and our backyard is infested with mosquitos and spiders at the moment), shopping carts are just a device to try and wiggle out of, we can't eat out every day, and there just aren't many places to take a crawling baby boy where you can just let him loose. Hopefully we can arrange a few more playdates and we're certainly looking forward to Bouncing Babies starting back next month!

-This week marks the retirement of our good friends the Jumperoo and Exersaucer. They will be greatly missed, but a certain curious almost 1 year old no longer wants to be contained in the brightly colored contraptions for any longer than 5 minutes a day. At least my living room is looking a little less like a playground.

-That new show, The Fresh Beat Band, started on Nick Jr. this week and it's TERRIBLE! I cringe as I watch it but my dear sweet boy stays glued to the TV anytime that stinkin' show comes on. What's worse is that I can't seem to get all their cheesy songs out of my head! Therefore, I've decided to leave the tv tuned to the XM radio stations for the majority of the day.

-Austin is really starting to love his naps and will let me know when he's ready for one, but it is getting increasingly hard to get him to go to sleep at nights now! This week it has taken Ryan, myself or both of us no shorter than 45 minutes to finally get him down for the night. After a struggle for almost 2 hours last night I initiated night #1 of the cry-it-out method. I went up there once and laid him back down in the crib and after about 15 more minutes he was out and slept until 8am without a peep. I'll let you know how night #2 works out!

-And finally, in case you haven't noticed by the drop in quality photos, we sent back my expensive new camera that takes amazing pictures and are shopping for something a little more practical that takes almost as amazing pictures. Seriously, I just couldn't see myself toting a purse, diaper bag, child and camera backpack with 3 huge lenses everywhere I went and we couldn't afford to leave such a nice camera just sitting at home. (Not to mention I had no idea how to use the dern thing!)


August 27, 2009

Happy Birthday Daddy!


So, Austin was on my computer this morning because he really wanted to write a post and wish his daddy a Happy 28th Birthday today! However, my darling boy has been banned from all computer activities until further notice (or his 7th birthday, maybe?) so I promised I would write one for him.


Happy Birthday-

To the greatest Da Da in the whole entire world

I Love You thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis much!

Love, Austin (and mommy too)

Quick tip:

Never (and I mean NEVER) let your 10 month old use your computer as a drum!

Here's the story...Austin was sitting with me on the couch this morning and reached over and started banging on my laptop with his fists and having a fantastic time doing so. However, when I noticed 2 keys had flown off the keyboard I had to put a quick stop to his fun. Unfortunately, it was not soon enough.

With his banging he dislodged several keys, turned off the wireless, put on Caps Lock, disabled the keyboard and put the computer in Standby mode.

After I put my little angel down for his nap I turned the computer back on and was greeted by a loud and constant beeping sound. I did the reboot thing a few times before my husband finally alerted me to the fact that there was probably a key stuck. I unstuck the key and was finally able to at least turn the computer back on...only to find out that the damage was much worse!

The keyboard was not working and I couldn't type a single letter and everytime I clicked on anything it brought up a box asking if I wanted to download it!? I could not type in a web address, a question in the search box or even open the computer's help mode. I have no idea what sequence of buttons my little darling pushed but lets just say he royally screwed things up!

After, oh, an entire nap time and then some, of fiddling around on the darn laptop, I finally got things back in working mode again. I'm pretty sure I got it working by doing my own kind of banging on the keys, but hey, it worked! There's no telling for how much longer though, so I figured I'd write a quick blog post in case I have to drop off the face of the internet for a little while!

August 24, 2009

Girls Weekend/Boys Weekend

This weekend I packed my bags and kissed my two favorite men goodbye and headed down to Atlanta for my friend Ashley's Bachleorette party. That was the longest I'd ever left my little man and therefore, the longest my big man has ever had his little man all to himself! I was not one bit worried that Austin was well taken care of, but I called every few hours to check in regardless. It was kind of nice to have a weekend away with nothing but the girls, none of whom have children of their own yet, so I was able to talk about a lot of non-baby related stuff, something I didn't realize I really missed.

Being a stay-at-home mom is wonderful and I wouldn't trade it for anything, but I do miss the social interaction that I got on a daily basis when I was a working woman. I miss the work friends and the after work social hours and just talking to adults and staying current with what's going on. Since having Austin I've fallen out of touch with a lot of my friends who are not yet parents themselves and even some of those who are. It was much easier to do than I ever could have ever imagined. Having a baby puts restrictions on you, and I self-imposed many of those restrictions because I wasn't comfortable leaving my son when he was younger. It's something I'm slowly getting used to, although I don't think I'll ever really like leaving, I'm seeing the good that it does for us all...especially after this past weekend.

Ok, so back to the weekend, me and the girls went to a Braves game Friday night and I made some signs for us to hold up and try to get on TV with. I'm not sure we made it to cable, but we were featured on the jumbo-tron and I was even able to snap some quick photographic evidence!


Saturday I got to sleep until 11am and it was ABSOLUTELY amazing. We went to lunch in Midtown and then went shopping until it was time to come home and get ready for the evening's festivities. We surprised Ashley with a lingerie shower and then went to a great Latin tapas restaurant, Loca Luna, for dinner and dancing. We ended the night at the Lava Lounge and were in bed by 4am. That was by far the latest I've stayed up since before Austin was born and I've been paying for it ever since. I'm getting in bed as soon as I'm done with this post to try and catch up!
I got home at 4pm on Sunday after a stop in Commerce for some outlet shopping and was amazed to find the house in order, the bottles washed, the high chair clean, toys picked up, diapers thrown away and dirty clothes in the hamper. I was also amazed to see this Sunday's church bulletin sitting on the table as proof that they got up and went to church without me pestering! However, my biggest surprise was when I realized that both my boys were gone and not at home to greet me! They were out running an errand together and getting in that last few minutes of male bonding time. At least Lucy was at the door, tail wagging so fast she could barely stand and very excited to greet me!

Since I stole the camera to take with me to Atlanta, I don't have any photographic proof of what my boys did all weekend, but I imagine it consisted of a lot of this:

August 21, 2009

6 AM


This is what 6 am looked like at the Harris Household today. This is a time I haven't seen in SEVERAL months and was not prepared to see this morning after a late night out celebrating our 2 year anniversary with a wonderful Italian dinner and great seats to see Chicago at the Peace Center! (And all that jazz...)

I am just NOT a morning person and Austin seems to understand that most days and doesn't get up until 8 am, but he seemed very anxious to get up and see his mommy and daddy this morning. I guess it was because for the first time in his 10 months, mom or dad didn't put him to sleep, that chore was left to one of his favorite babysitters (aka Grandma Jo Ann).

I'm just glad that someone besides us can actually get him to go to bed now. I forgot how much fun it was to go on real dates, you know, the ones that last from 5-midnight? I missed my little man like crazy, but I sure loved having some alone time with the other man in my life!

All that being said, I'm taking off this afternoon and going to Atlanta for my friend, Ashley's bachleorette party. This will be the longest time I've ever left my little boy and the longest Ryan has ever had Austin to himself. Please say a little prayer for us all!

August 19, 2009

Poor baby!


I can't put my finger on it, but something is not quite right with my little munchkin! When he is with me during the day he is happy and cheerful and all smiles, but lately a couple nights a week and even during some of his nap times he has been waking up and SCREAMING like he has been terribly injured! It's the most terrifying sound I've ever heard and I don't know what's causing it.

Of course I race up the stairs as fast as I can whenever I hear him and half the times he is still lying in his crib with his eyes closed and the other half of the time he is standing up in his crib just waiting for me to come and get him with tears streaming down both cheeks. He will go back to sleep easily once I cradle him in my arms and rock him when I find him lying down, but if he's standing up it takes awhile to settle him back down again.

My first thought was that it was teething pain since he's currently getting 3 more in at this very minute, but they've already popped through the gum and they don't seem to bother him one bit during the day when he's awake. Another thought was gas since we've just switched to the Costco brand formula to save a little cash, but would gas really cause him to scream out in such horror? My final idea is that maybe he's having bad dreams or "night terrors" as I've often read about. I can only hope this isn't it because it would seriously pain me to think my baby was haunted by terrible dreams while he slept.

Austin has always been such a good sleeper so I am quite baffled to say the least. I've thought about calling the peds office and requesting an appointment, but wouldn't they think I was a little overprotective bringing in my child because he wakes up crying? They would probably just tell me it was one of the three things I mentioned before so I think I'll save myself the co-pay.

I can only hope that whatever it is bothering my little boy stops sooner than later. I just hate to see him in pain! I'm not sure if you can tell in the picture above, but this is after one of the awful wake-from-nap-screaming times and he's still got tears running down his face.....but Mommy mananged to get a smile regardless!

Take me out to the ballgame!


Friday night we met up with our friends Jeff and Aaron for dinner and a Greenville Drive baseball game. Aaron is about 12 weeks pregnant now and they were getting a little taste of life as parents. Austin had recently gotten up from a late nap and was going full speed all throughout dinner. He wiggled and squirmed around in the booth, kept trying to crawl on top of the table and was grabbing at whatever was in his reach. Of course, this is pretty much normal behavior for us and as Aaron and Jeff looked on with confusion while we juggled our little man around, we just hoped they weren't rethinking their decision to have one of their own!

The baseball game was surprisingly a different story. Austin sat calmly in Ryan's lap (for the most part) and watched the game and peered around at all the people. He started flirting with a 70-something-year-old woman in front of us and I think it really made her day. Aaron and I wanted to take our turns holding my sweet baby but he would not sit still for either one of us. However, while passing him back down the line to his daddy, Jeff got a hold of him and Austin seemed content. I don't know what it was, but he wouldn't stop wiggling and squirming for me and Aaron, but he was perfectly calm and content sitting with either of the two guys.


Jeff held him for a good part of the last inning and into the Friday night fireworks show after the Drive took home a victory. Austin sat back and watched the fireworks until one of them startled him and he practically went flying into the arms of his daddy. Once in daddy's arms, however, he went back to enjoying the show.


It seems that while my little guy is quite the mommy's boy during the week, when Ryan is home for the weekends, Austin just can't get enough! He's so lucky to have such an amazing father!

August 18, 2009

Enjoy a night off!

New giveaway posted over at The Everyday Mommy in honor of all those kiddos and their fabulous teachers starting back to school today! Head on over for your chance to win a $25 gift card and enjoy a meal out. Only two entries last time so your chances are probably pretty good!! :)

August 15, 2009

Teriffic Ten Months!



That's right, my baby is in double digits! He is 10 whole months today and only 2 away from his 1st birthday (gulp)! This time last year I was 30 weeks pregnant and didn't think he could possibly take any longer getting here, and now that he's here the time is just whizzing by!

So many great things went on at 9 months that I can't wait to see what's going to take place in these next 30 days! I told you about my little mimic and he seems to imitate and learn something new every day. Austin is clapping his hands constantly or anytime he hears us say "yay!" or sees someone else clap. He also shakes his head when we say 'no' or when he sees us shaking our heads too. Austin just started blowing kisses, or his version of blowing kisses which consists of him putting his fist to his mouth and then pulling it away while making a popping noise...it's amazingly cute. He's also starting to wave bye-bye but seems to only do it when he's done eating and I'm getting him out of his high chair...go figure!? The absolute most precious thing he does now is dance anytime he hears music. It really is quite adorable because he looks like he's head banging while he's shaking his head front and back and he moves his shoulders up and down and bends his knees and bounces. He's quite the boogieing machine and just loves to move to the music!

Austin's favorite activities right now are pulling his diapers out of their cubby and spreading them all over the floor, clapping his hands and dancing to music, opening and shutting doors, putting anything he can find in his mouth, trying to get into the toilet (I know, gross!), swimming like a little fish, ballroom dancing with mommy around the living room, riding on daddy's shoulders and constantly wanting to read Pat the Bunny! All of his other books have taken a temporary back seat to the good old classic and Pat the Bunny is the only one he currently wants to hold, touch, chew on or read.

Physically, not much has changed but Austin can stand on his own for about 5 seconds, or until he notices he's not holding onto something, gets scared, and sits down. He still cruises all around the house and furniture and is a crawling machine. I've tried to work on his walking skills but he tends to go "limp noodle" on me most of the time and wants to get down and crawl instead. His weight is still the same as last month give or take a couple ounces and I haven't attempted to measure him yet but he might have grown half and inch or so. He also has one tooth that is all the way in on the bottom and 3 more well on their way.

I guess the biggest change this month is that we've almost completely done away with pureed foods (or baby food) and switched him almost exclusively to table foods. He's not a huge fan of noodles with any kind of sauce but he loves about any other carb filled food I give him. Waffles, pancakes, french toast, and raisin bread are a few of his faves and he likes rice and potatoes as well. His favorite fruits hands down are bananas followed closely by apples and pears. He wasn't a fan of mandarin oranges at first but likes it when I mix them with orange jell-o. Austin is also a huge fan of chicken nuggets and ate 2 whole McDonald's nuggets (minus the skin) for lunch the other day. That was just a special treat, however, we usually stick to foods of a healthier variety.

I guess now it's about time to start planning the big 1st birthday bash. I've already custom ordered his outfit for the big day, jotted down some crafty ideas and scheduled his portraits. I'm really hoping it will be a birthday party to remember....you only turn 1 once!

August 13, 2009

Chompers!

Well it took him 9 months to get his first one, but now those little baby teeth are showing up left and right! Just this morning during our wrestling match...I mean...diaper change...I noticed that one of Austin's top teeth had broken the skin and so had another bottom one! That makes three so far and that second top one isn't far behind.

So here I thought I was going to have a toothless toddler when all of a sudden, here come the chompers! I think I'm really going to miss that cute gummy smile of his, before too long it's going to be nothing but pearly whites!


**Pictures coming...eventually...With all this teething going on I can't seem to get a shot without something in my little one's mouth!

I just wanted to say a quick congratulations to Angela & Doug on the birth of their twins, Jaxen and Graesyn, delivered yesterday. Congrats guys, we can't wait to meet them!!

Also, belated congrats to Mary & Rodney on the birth of their little boy Emerson. He was born on July 29th while we were at the beach.

Congratulations to all the new parents!

August 12, 2009

Dog food wars

We honestly just can not keep Austin away from the animal's food bowls. All day long it's like our little game - Austin starts crawling towards the food, looks back at me to make sure I'm watching, continues to scoot his cute little tush across the floor, screams with delight as he makes it to the bowl, sloooowwwly starts to reach in, and then I swoop in just in time to carry him away.
I'm serious, this happens at least 8 times a day!

So, my smarty pants hubby suggested I let him go one time. He thought that maybe if Austin touched and tasted the food that he would no longer be interested. I wasn't so sure.

I finally got fed up with playing baby wrangler one morning and I gave in and let my curious boy go at it. He had a paci in his mouth and didn't feel like dropping it for a taste of the dog food at first, but he had a marvelous time scooping out and throwing handfuls of the little brown crunchies all over the bathroom floor.


Finally, the moment I was waiting for happened....after about 5 minutes of playing in the food and emptying the bowl, his paci fell to the floor and into his mouth went a few delicious nuggets. I did my best not to stop him but had to interfere when 1 or 2 pieces was about to turn into 5 or 10.



I figured that after the taste test we'd had about enough for one afternoon and poor Lucy was looking quite distressed at all of her food sprawled across the floor. I put my stinkin' cute dog food eatin' baby boy in the bathtub and washed off all the crumbs and then we went back into the den for some less repulsive playtime.

We weren't sitting on the floor for 5 minutes when off he went for that dern food bowl again, and this time it wasn't a game. He crawled full speed ahead and didn't even hesitate reaching in the bowl once he got there.


It would seem my (I mean my husband's) plan backfired! Silly us for thinking we could outsmart a 10 month old!!

A breastfeeding doll?

I saw this doll on the news today and I just HAD to post about it! A Spanish company has come up with a doll for children that simulates breastfeeding, called Bebe Gloton.


Ok, I'm all for the promotion of breastfeeding and all, but this might be taking it a little too far! The child actually has to wear a halter top that has fake nipples in order to pretend breastfeed their doll baby. The doll even makes sucking noises and cries when it's hungry.

I can kind of see what might have sparked this idea because I have seen first hand how interested a toddler can be when their mother is breastfeeding a new baby and how they might be anxious to mimic the act, but I think this may be a little to contraversial for today's society.

What do y'all think about this doll? I'm interested to hear some opinions!

(Here's the link to the Fox news story if you want to read more: Link)

August 10, 2009

Wild Weekend Wrap-up!

This was another adventure filled weekend for the Harris family! Saturday we drove to Charleston for the wedding of Davis and Allison. Since we had just spent a whole week away from home we decided to make it a day trip, which made for one long day! Austin was a happy little boy once we made it to the Chapel and got him out of his car seat, but he wouldn't keep talking and making noise during the ceremony so Ryan had to take him to a back room and wait it out. Not surprisingly, they weren't the only baby and daddy combo waiting back there!



The reception was at the beautiful Citadel Beach House in the Isle of Palms and we had a lovely time. Before we left, we made our way to the beach to greet the newlyweds who were just coming back from their photo session. I couldn't resist putting Austin down in the sand for a photo op of our own, but since he had been in a car seat or our arms all day, as soon as I set him down he took off crawling all over the sand! I knew he was getting really sandy but I couldn't bring myself to stop him because he was having such a great time. Ryan and I just stood there and chatted with friends and let him do his thing since we were about to put him back in the car seat for another 3 hour trip home. We did have to strip him down out of his sandy clothes in the parking lot, however, and he rode home comfortably in nothing but a diaper!



Sunday was just as adventuresome as we met up with friends Gerald, Megan, Ben, Tonya & Tyler for a day out on Lake Hartwell. It was a gorgeous day for boating and we all had a great time. Austin and Tyler had a fun time after they both got used to wearing those bulky life jackets. We found a cute little island where we set up camp and let the babies play life jacket free while the rest of the crowd did some skiing. When they made it back, we did a little swimming until the fish got hungry and started biting Ben and Ryan. Afterwards we had a great time tubing, but I am sadly down a pair of sunglasses after that little adventure!




Austin took 2 little cat naps on the boat but was pretty exhausted by the time we made it home. He slept until 9 am on Sunday morning and until 8:30 am this morning. He's down for his morning nap right now and I have a feeling it's going to be a long one! At least we have a pretty calm week this week so he can get back into his routine and catch up on his sleep.

By the way, I just think it's so cool that you can see Death Valley from lake Hartwell. Not too much longer before football season starts...Go Tigers!!

August 7, 2009

Where are the pictures?!






Ok, so I just scrolled down the blog and realized that WAY too many posts have gone by without any pictures of my little cuteness! So here he is as of Wednesday afternoon. Isn't he getting so big...and starting to look so grown up? My goodness how the time flies by. He'll be 10 months next Saturday!

My First Boo-boo

Last night was about one of the worst nights I've experienced so far as a parent. I am a very laid back person and I can handle a lot of things, but Austin's first real boo-boo was one I wasn't prepared for!

It all started around 6:30 pm and of course my dear husband was still slaving away at the office. Austin was just as happy as he could be, getting into everything, crawling around, chewing on a toy, opening and closing the drawers on the end table, the usual. I was sitting on the couch taking a breather from the constant up and downs and baby wrangling that had been taking place that afternoon when Austin started crawling back down the hallway towards the stairs. I sighed and prepared to go chasing after him for the 47th time when he suddenly stopped, put his head down and started shaking in a way I had never seen.

I ran to my baby and scooped him up and saw that his face was red and his mouth was wide open but no sound was coming out. I made it halfway across the living room when he unleashed a painful cry and started shaking again and kicking his legs violently. I saw nothing wrong so I held him to my chest and ran to find him a paci, assuming he was just frustrated, tired, or his knees were hurting from crawling on the hardwoods.

Austin was limp in my arms and still screaming when I made it to the kitchen to get his paci. I pulled his head away from my shoulder to give it to him and that's when I saw the blood. It was on my shirt, on his shirt, and just flowing from his mouth and down his chin. I didn't know what to do so I panicked and held him tighter and started crying hysterically. I grabbed the phone to call my husband but he didn't answer. I was hoping he would tell me what to do because I honestly had no idea. I paced around the living room while holding my screaming, bleeding baby for several minutes before I calmed down enough to try and figure out what was wrong.

I laid him on the floor and wiped away the blood with a cloth while he laid there whimpering and looking at me with pleading eyes. I had the phone ready to dial 911 when I finally got a good look in his mouth and noticed it wasn't the horrific injury I was expecting, but a tiny cut on his upper lip. Apparently he bit his lip pretty hard with none other than that one and only little bottom tooth that popped through a couple weeks earlier.

I finally relaxed a little...well...enough to clean up his mouth, fetch the Tylenol and a bottle and concentrate on helping my little guy feel better. We were both exhausted from the boo-boo disaster and after we cuddled up and watched an episode of Go, Diego Go, I put my exhausted baby to bed.

I was in bed reading an hour later when Ryan finally got home and it took me almost 2 hours after that to muster up the courage to tell him what happened. I couldn't hold back the tears as I told him the story and showed him the blood on the tiny t-shirt with the turtle applique.

I know it all seems a little dramatic for a cut lip right? I can only imagine what the ambulance drivers would have thought when they showed up to my house, sirens blazing, for a busted lip. I just hope nothing worse ever happens while I'm here with Austin by myself...I just don't think i can take it! Good thing I never went into any kind of emergency care profession, right?

August 5, 2009

Another Fabulous Giveaway!

Make sure you visit The Everyday Mommy on Thursday morning for my in-depth review of the Inglesina Fast Table Chair and your chance to win another fabulous prize!

I will be giving away (2) $5.00 e-gift cards to your choice of either fragrancenet.com or euphoriababy.com courtesy of Swag Bucks. Make sure you come by and visit tomorrow morning for entry rules and your chance to win!


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Favorite Things Tuesday...I mean, Wednesday!

I'm a day late with this, but I really wanted to participate in Sugar and Spice's Favorite Things Tuesday since I know so many mommies-to-be right now and who doesn't need a few baby item recommendations?!

Here are some of my favorite baby items:

Avent Bottles - Go visit my new site, The Everyday Mommy, to read why they're my fave!



Mam Pacifiers - No matter how much I hate it, Austin LOVES his paci and I'm dreading the day I have to take it away from him. Mam is my favorite brand and the only one my dear boy will even take. I like them because they don't have the handle like other pacis which Austin would play with and then accidentally use to pull out of his mouth. He is now able to put his paci in by himself, but he still won't take any other brand.


Huggies Overnites - I have to agree with Kate here, these things are lifesavers! Austin would be woken up at least once a week in the middle of the night due to a leaky diaper before I found these. We haven't had a single accident since we've started using them and I won't put my baby to bed without one!

Finger Puppet Books - Austin adores books but these are by far his favorites. I love the cute little rhymes and he loves to watch me wiggle the the animals around as I read to him. He also likes to put his finger in the hole and feel the puppet. These books are a diaper bag staple!

Baby Star Quick Change - Speaking of diaper bag essentials, I LOVE the Baby Star Quick Change! It's big enough for about 4-5 diapers and a travel case of wipes. When we're out somewhere and I need to change a diaper, I can leave the big, bulky diaper bag with Ryan and just grab my quick change and my baby and we're off! There's nothing worse than wrestling around with a squirmy baby on a diaper station while searching for your diapers and wipes in a messy diaper bag. This really makes things easy!


Pacifier Pod - Maybe I should just title this "Diaper Bag Essentials" because here's another one! As I mentioned before, Austin hearts his pacis and when we're out and about and I need quick access to one (like when we're at dinner and he's screaming at the top of his lungs and the entire restaurant is giving us the evil eye) all I have to do is reach into the paci pad velcroed to the strap of the diaper bag! It's great for storing them and keeping them clean and makes them very easily accessible.

Gerber Puffs - I love these things so much that I wrote a poem about them here. They work wonders to entertain the little guy in his high chair as I finish making his meals and when we're out and he starts to get fussy.



Exersaucer and Jumperoo - I call them baby jail and I don't know WHAT I'm going to do when Austin outgrows these two things! Austin goes to baby jail when I've got to take a shower or cook or get some cleaning done that I couldn't finish during his nap time. It is the only way I can keep him out of trouble long enough to get anything done and he actually enjoys them both...for a very limited amount of time. He adored them before he was crawling, but now that he's mobile he will only tolerate them. He is usually calmer in the Jumperoo but the Exersaucer folds up for easy travel and was a staple at the beach last week when Austin wouldn't stop taking off for the stairs every time anyone turned their back!
Inglesina Fast Table Chair - As we all know, restaurant high chairs are just yucky and they never seem tall enough for baby to sit up comfortably at the table. Not to mention, they don't seem safe enough for younger babies who can topple out and the safety straps are usually old and worn. Well, the Inglesina Fast Table Chair is a fantastic and portable solution! We've had this hook on high chair for awhile now and it stays in the car so we have it anytime we go out to eat. People are always stopping to comment on how handy it is and ask where we got it. It hooks on very securely to almost any table or surface and we've yet to come across a place where it wouldn't latch on! We've used it at tons of restaurants all over the place and have only been 1 place where they wouldn't let us use it...and that place was Trio's in downtown Greenville. I have no problem calling them out either because they were extremely rude about it.

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