"The One Where Brett Eats Solid Food"

Another big step for Brett happened this morning. Steve and I broke out the bib and started him on rice cereal. Now, technically, this wasn't his very first bite of solid food (as I wished it had been)... he was given some once last month. So, Steve & I weren't around for the actual first real solid food as we had planned & wished to be. But, we went on ahead and took pictures and videotaped it as if this was the first time anyway.

I know some of you will think it's kind of late to start him on the rice cereal, but I subscribed to the "exclusive nursing for 6 months" thinking (even though he had some formula when he was dealing with his jaundace - but that's another story). He's now 5 1/2 months old and starting to act like he wants more in his tummy than milk so we figured he got most of the benefits of exclusive nursing. (I'm still hoping to nurse for the whole first year - wish me luck!)

Hands & feet are normally my favorite things to munch on

This isn't TOO bad...

Actually kind of tasty!

This Is Why I Love Being A Mommy

These are the moments that make life worth living.

I am so blessed to have these two in my life! :)

Stronger Every Day

I can't believe how Brett is changing more and more every day!

He first rolled over from his tummy to his back on Labor Day, and then from his back to his tummy on Monday.

He's been sitting with a little support, but today I decided to see how he'd balance on his own...

Hmm... I think I can use this giraffe for support...

Nah, giraffes are for wussies...

Look Ma! No hands!!!

Next he'll be asking for the keys to the car! (*sniff*sniff*)

I Seem to have Misplaced my Brain....

Okay, I have always prided myself with remembering birthdays, anniversaries, etc. I’ll check my calendar from time to time, but generally know what event is coming up next and usually I’ll even have cards bought WAAYY in advance. I’m also usually very good at remembering details.

Umm… not so much anymore. Pregnancy, and post-partum have made me… more….how should I say… stupid?

I frequently find myself at a loss for words when trying to explain what I am looking for. For example, if Steve and I are cooking spaghetti for dinner…

Me: “Hey hon, can you go into the garden and get some things to put into the sauce?”

Steve: “You mean basil & oregano?”

Me: “Yeah. And can you get the noodles out of the thing to put in the thing on the stove?”

Steve: “Um, out of the cupboard to put in the pot?”

Me: “Yeah. I’ll take care of Brett, and change his whatchamacallit and put him in his bouncy thing”.

Steve: “Okay, whatever”.

Seriously. This happens all the time! I can’t remember words! I struggle to get what I mean to say out of my mouth. This is coming from someone who scored in the 90th percentile on the verbal portion of her SAT’s!

And, to top it all off, I drive one way to my parents house, and a completely different way to my house when I leave work. I either have to hit 465 north or 465 south. TWICE I’ve turned the wrong way on 465. Yesterday it was so bad that I had already hit 65 and was well on my way DOWNTOWN before I remembered (luckily it wasn’t too bad. I WAS eventually heading to my parents’ house to get Brett but I was going to stop and let the dogs out first since I was having dinner with the ‘rents. Dinner went pretty quickly so the dogs didn’t have to keep their paws crossed too long before I made it home).

Oh, and the birthdays and anniversaries? Forget about it. We’ve had so many happen this summer that we remembered literarily the day before. We made a few “oh it’s in the mail promises” (sorry families.. REALLY!), and got the cards out late. As much as I love and adore my husband, he is such an intellectual that he can be a bit scatterbrained (and he’ll be the first to admit it). Therefore, I feel we may be screwed… so if your birthday is in November, be expecting that card sometime next spring! :)

Baby GQ

Our "Other" Children

So, this blog is pretty much dedicated to Brett, Steve & myself. I realize that I haven't really posted anything about the other two members of the family... I meant to write about them before we had Brett, and how they would have to adjust to the baby and all. But, time got away from me.

But, besides mom, dad & kid - we have two pooches. Sydney is our oldest pooch (just turned 6 this year!) and Sasha is the baby (at 5). We adopted Sydney from the Humane Society right after we were married. She was a puppy and has been with us through thick and thin. She's a lab mix (they think with chow, but not sure) and is our guard dog. She's loyal... not uber friendly, but that's okay... and is always on alert, ready to pounce on any intruder.

Sasha, on the other hand, is a purebred lab that we got from a breeder (as a pup). She has been the "baby" of the family forever. Such a snugglebutt! We love her dearly, but were afraid of how she' d react once Brett got here.

Well, true to how we thought... Sydney was very "adult" about adopting Brett right in. She accepted him as part of the pack and immediately began to watch out for him.

Sasha, unfortunately reacted as we thought as well. She decided to constantly nudge between us and and Brett and we had to let her know that we loved her, but that it wasn't cool to get in between us and the baby. Well, as Brett has gotten older, he's become fascinated by Sasha. She's always coming up and I think they have been "sizing each other up". Recently, she's figured out that Brett has hands too and that he could pet her too! So, they've started becoming friends.

I took this video (unfortunately) while Steve and Brett were both wearing black, so it's hard to see the dogs. But, you can see how much Brett loves Sasha! :)

He's Got A Girlfriend Now

Brett is becoming quite the popular fellow!

Last weekend, he hung out with his best friend, Evan. And, today... he went on a *gasp* date!

Erica is a friend of mine who I used to work with. She got preggers last summer, and then I got preggers, and it was fun to keep up with her and see how she was feeling and I could let her know what I was going through. She was my "pregnant friend" (I really think everyone needs one of these while they are pregnant... it's so nice to compare notes with someone who is right there with you).

Well, I haven't seen Erica since the week before she gave birth in February! I've been able to catch up with her adorable daughter, Carly, through myspace but I have never gotten to actually meet her.

So, we finally got together this afternoon at Cheeseburger In Paradise, to catch up and meet each other's babies. Again, Brett was fascinated by a person his size. Carly is very similar to Brett in that she is long and lean. (Her daddy is very tall as well!). I think they'd make a good match!

Erica with her darling daughter, Carly

Me and the little man (who had more interesting things to look at then the camera, I guess)

So shy... how do you act on a first date?

Carly is getting a little bit braver... looking to make the first move...

Uh-oh... Brett didn't see that one coming!

No, in all seriousness... Carly was just beautiful... such a sweet and adorable little girl, and Brett did have fun meeting her... hopefully we can make this a regular play date!

Partners In Crime

Check these two out... pretty soon they'll be up to no good! :)

So, our little family went up to Chicago see our good friends Rick & Tina yesterday. They had last come down to visit us in June, and I TOTALLY spaced taking pictures of Brett and their son, Evan together.

This time we both took pictures. Evan is 20 months old and so much fun. Brett was watching him... learning some new tricks, I think!

Anyway, it was a great weekend. Both sets of parents got to go kid-free to Hollywood Blvd. for dinner, drinks & a movie (for the Indy crowd... it's like the beloved now-closed Hollywood Bar & Filmworks. The owners had 2 locations, Indy and Downer's Grove, IL - still open, thank goodness!). Steve & I used to go to both the Indy location and the Chicago one with them all the time before we had kids and enjoy their awesome pizza and martinis!

Tina's parents watched Evan, while we drove to Steve's parents (he's from Chicago too... and his parents are conveniently located near Downers Grove) to drop off Brett. Overall, a good evening for all involved (including the grandparents)!

Tina & I with our little "men"

Evan decided he'd be involved with the picture as long as he could hold a book. Tina carefully selected one with no "sniper on the front" - her words! :).

This picture cracked me up. It looks like Brett is pissed because Evan stole his toy! In fact, Brett was just fussy because he was in his carseat, and Evan was posing for the picture.

They'll get to see each other and size each each other up again next month when their "cool" moms go to see NKOTB!

Fierce!

On Labor Day, Steve and I decided to create our own photo studio for Brett. Not exactly professional, but we had fun, nonetheless.

Ah, creativity on a shoestring budget!

Okay. Seriously. For REAL?

Has anybody SEEN this news item?

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jj8FEmbV51mefR7brcbExIAOOtTQD931VSPO1

(yes, I am too lazy to figure out how to post it neatly).

Seriously. On Wednesday, scientists are going to re-create the Big Bang Theory. Now I don't care if you believe in creation or evolution (as I know both camps read my blog). This ISN'T a good idea! I guess there is a very remote possibility of creating a miniscule black hole. And, according to my husband, an even remoter possibility of creating a black hole large enough to suck the entire solar system into it.

Okay, does my vote count? Because I say no. Why do like 20-30 scientists get to decide my potential fate? I know it's probably like 1 in billion... but the truth is, who REALLY knows what will happen when they re-create the conditions of the supposed creation of the universe. All I know for sure is that it's never a good idea when people start playing with atoms... splitting them and such (HELLO... does ANYONE remember Hiroshima?).

Just my two cents today... and really... I think it's a bit alarming that this story isn't front page news... it's more like a little side note. So, anyway... if there is anything big you want to do... I recommend doing it before Wednesday. Oh, and I'd hold off paying any more bills until Thursday :).

My Place In This World

Amy P. kind of touched on this in her blog last week... and I've kind of been feeling the same way. Lately, I've felt "all over the place".

Being a mother is a full 24-hour job... and it doesn't stop. And, no one gives you an instruction manual. Wouldn't it be great, if along with the baby, out popped a set of directions.. "Care and Use of Baby". But no, we are left to our own devices on how to raise our children. I think what's most overwhelming about the whole situation is that there is no "break". Even when I'm apart from Brett, I'm still thinking about him, you know?

And, beyond that, I still feel like I haven't found my groove. Starting a new job is always a stressful situation... I don't care what it is. If I'd just started at Mickey D's, I think I'd be stressed. It's beyond the job. It's about getting to know the people you work with and figuring out the style of the workplace and how your boss runs things. I feel like I'm starting to get into the swing of things now at work (and on another note... going from being the boss to being an employee gives me a whole 'nother vantage point... as a boss there were certain things that my employees did that made me happy... now I try to incorporate that, and stay one step ahead. I'm SOOO glad I'm not the boss anymore, can I just say that?). But I'm still not to the point where I was at The Orchard... where I just knew the place inside and out.

And, my days are just so drastically different. Three days a week I get up at the same time as Steve... drive 30 minutes to my mother's to drop Brett off (which I am SOOO thankful for... it's worth the drive to the other side of town). Then I drive ANOTHER 30 minutes in a completely DIFFERENT direction to work. While there, I stay pretty busy for 6 1/2 hours and then pick up Brett and come home. Then comes making dinner, getting on the treadmill and taking a shower.

The other four days a week I'm home. And, the two that I'm home alone with Brett can be sooo lazy if I don't get going in the mornings. I really do try though. I suddenly feel this pressure to be a perfect mother and wife. I try to get all of the laundry done, and the house all picked up an clean on these days... while entertaining the most social baby of all time. Other times I'm just soo tired that all I can do is hang out with the little guy.

And then, there are the weekends. Usually Steve gets going with his chores (mowing the grass, washing the cars, etc.), leaving me to watch Brett. Again, depending on my energy level... I either get things done or they go by the wayside.

What is missing in my life is a natural "rythm" of sorts. I don't feel 100% comfortable in my new roles yet, and it's stressing me out. Plus, I now make less than 1/2 of what I made before. This has made a significant difference in our lifestyle. Just going to Chicago for one weekend adds at least an additional $100 to our budget once you factor in gas and kenneling the dogs. I feel like we should visit Steve's family more now that we have Brett, but it's just not feasible.

And, the baby weight. It's not coming off as I had hoped. Now, granted, I'm not following a strict diet. I still enjoy dessert after dinner... but I'm putting the time in on the treadmill and nursing. I have to deal with those annoying body issue demons again... plus I may just have to buy new clothes again (ugh.. the money issue again!)

I don't mean for this to sound like a "rant" of sorts. I am just hoping for some magical answer to fall out of the sky as to how I can be the superwoman that I want to be.

I've been discovering many more gray hairs as of late and have been frantically pulling them out. I have a feeling my new life isn't helping the situation!