First of all, let me just address the fact that I have been absent from blogging for a couple of weeks. No good excuse, really. Mostly just lack of creativity and wanting to hibernate in this horrible nasty weather. I turned the big 3-1 on Monday and haven't left the house since! My boss let me stay home Tuesday (usually a day I work, but that was the day we were SUPPOSED to get all of the snow) and I take Wed. & Thurs. off, so I don't plan to leave until I go in tomorrow! I am currently able to *enjoy* the snow from my window and watch the dogs frolic like bunny rabbits through the drifts.
Anyway, now to the point of my post. So, Steve and I, like many couples who are having children, have always wanted a boy and a girl. Not necessarily in that order, but we've always talked about having one of each. Ideally, the order would be older brother and younger sister (because I grew up with younger brothers... and well, yeah. Not that I don't like my brothers, mind you... but I always saw the older brothers of my friends to be caring and watchful of their younger sisters, while it seemed that my friends, myself included, with the younger brothers tended to get teased and taunted).
So, we have our boy "YAY!". Now, I desperately want a girl. I know there is no definite way to pick the gender unless we do some crazy genetic DNA stuff (which I am totally against)... but while reading through the different wives tales of how to pick the gender of your child, I came across The Chinese Gender Chart. I actually discovered this when I was first pregnant with Brett, before we knew the sex. I didn't put much stock into it, but it actually was correct on predicting that he would be a boy. I've since then talked with other parents who have told me that it was right for their kids too.
I know, it sounds a bit crazy, but what you do is look at the chart and pick the age of the female from the left column and then the month in which she conceived on the top column and then meet them in the middle (like battleship). For, example, I was 29 and conceived Brett in August of that year, which said he would be a boy (and note: don't go by the day of your last period girls... go by the date of CONCEPTION - sorry about the TMI).
Now, my question to you, my loyal blog readers, is how accurate was this chart for you if you have had a baby or are currently pregnant? I am hoping to cast an informal poll here by your responses to see if this is something that might have some credibility. And, if you have some other suggestions that seem to work (and please keep your responses clean... this is a family friendly blog!).
Again, the link is here...The Chinese Gender Chart. Check it out and please post your comments! (I have to manually approve the comments due to a jerk who posted something this past summer... but I WILL post your response!)
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Will You Be My Friend?
Well, hello there Mr. Bear!
I'm going to give you a big kiss...
....and pat your nose.
You look like you want to hear a story.....
....so the prince slayed the dragon and they all lived happily ever after.Saturday, January 17, 2009
My 9 Month Old Monkey
Okay, so you know the drill by now. We take pictures of Brett next to his bear to measure his growth. Not so easy anymore since there's so much to see and do. But, by the grace of God I managed to snap this one.
Anyway, Brett turned 9 months old on the 14th (yay!) and he had his checkup on Thursday (the 15th). Here are his stats:
Height - still off the charts! He's 30" even, which puts him in the 92nd percentile
Weight - still super skinny.. 18 lbs 1.6 ounces... 12th percentile
(I challenge anyone to tell me he's not his daddy's boy with stats like these!)
His head is still a little small, but not too bad. He's in the 28%... I usually don't keep track of that one too much.
Anyway, below are what most of the pics I took turned out like...
I am so not going to sit. That's boring and there's too much to do!
I am going to pull up on Mr. Bear and tell him a story...
(that's for next time. I got some really cute shots of him talking to his bear)
Anyway, Brett turned 9 months old on the 14th (yay!) and he had his checkup on Thursday (the 15th). Here are his stats:
Height - still off the charts! He's 30" even, which puts him in the 92nd percentile
Weight - still super skinny.. 18 lbs 1.6 ounces... 12th percentile
(I challenge anyone to tell me he's not his daddy's boy with stats like these!)
His head is still a little small, but not too bad. He's in the 28%... I usually don't keep track of that one too much.
Anyway, below are what most of the pics I took turned out like...
I am so not going to sit. That's boring and there's too much to do!
I am going to pull up on Mr. Bear and tell him a story... (that's for next time. I got some really cute shots of him talking to his bear)
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Bathtime is FUN time: THE MOVIE! (Part 2)
I wanted to include this in my earlier post, but stupid YouTube took forever to upload and I had to go... so here is Brett splashing around and having a wonderful time in the bath....
Bathtime is FUN Time!
I think I've posted another blog with this title, but I thought it would make more sense than "God Save The Queen" or "Bathtime Bop".. (which Steve and I think are funny, but some readers may not "get"). Anyway, I took these pictures last night while Brett was in a silly mood. It started with the mohawk, and then for the first time, Brett discovered exactly how fun it is to splash in the bath. We took away his bath seat a couple of weeks ago and now that he's taking a bath like a big boy, he can play!
And, Brett goes in for his 9 month appointment today. Yes, my baby boy turned 9 months old yesterday! I'll be sure to update with his stats later, but like Suellen, I'll reflect with pictures from his first bath, and from another early bath where we gave him a mohawk (and let me say that it took months for the kid to have enough hair to do that again!)
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
The Learning Curve
Now that Brett has learned to crawl, he must deal with certain dilemmas. For example, what do you do when you crawl under your exersaucer and get stuck? :)
Monday, January 12, 2009
My Name Is Carrie, And I Like Candy
Okay, so I'm not trying to play some lame introduction game, but I AM asking all of you, my loyal blog readers to introduce yourself!
My friend Amy saw something about "National De-Lurking Week" on a blog she stalks and it got her to invite everyone who reads her blog to leave a comment.
I know that there are more of you than Steve & my family who read ... so leave a comment. If you are on blogger, I'll check out your site too! If you aren't, you can still leave a comment (just be sure to leave your name with your comment). I'm not trying to call you out (well, yes, I guess I am), I just want to know who you are! And, if you comment all the time, you can still leave me a comment!
Please? Now I'll feel like a loser if no one posts anything - LOL
My friend Amy saw something about "National De-Lurking Week" on a blog she stalks and it got her to invite everyone who reads her blog to leave a comment.
I know that there are more of you than Steve & my family who read ... so leave a comment. If you are on blogger, I'll check out your site too! If you aren't, you can still leave a comment (just be sure to leave your name with your comment). I'm not trying to call you out (well, yes, I guess I am), I just want to know who you are! And, if you comment all the time, you can still leave me a comment!
Please? Now I'll feel like a loser if no one posts anything - LOL
Friday, January 9, 2009
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Bear Hunter
Check out the one-socked boy wonder as he hunts wild bear! (Thanks, Joe for the YouTube suggestion).
Yay for crawling!
Yay for crawling!
New Year, New Blog Changes
So, I've changed the title of my blog.... the other one was a little long and outdated. My mom gave me a bracelet for Christmas that said "Live. Love. Laugh." and I thought that about summarized everything.
Also, I've been trying to upload videos lately... have any of you had problems with Blogger and videos? This has been since Christmas, so I don't know if it's the new camera or if it's on Blogger's end. I'll keep trying...
Also, I've been trying to upload videos lately... have any of you had problems with Blogger and videos? This has been since Christmas, so I don't know if it's the new camera or if it's on Blogger's end. I'll keep trying...
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Misc. Brett Cuteness
It's amazing how much my baby boy has changed, especially in the last couple of months. Here are some of the cute things he does now...
1. He kisses. Okay, maybe it's not as graceful as it could be, but he'll grab your face and put his mouth right up to it and plant a big one.
2. He reaches for mommy and daddy. Oh, this one tugs on my heartstrings. After what seemed like forever of him not knowing the difference between us and total strangers, he'll now fuss and hold his arms open, wanting us to pick him up.
3. He gets sooo excited to see me when I pick him up. When I arrive at my mother's house to pick him up on the three days a week I work he starts jumping and giggling and smiling once he sees me.
4. He has started squinting his eyes almost shut in a huge smile. He only does this on occasion...we think he is just experimenting with different expressions, but it really is so cute. It looks like a Pokemon character.
And a couple of other things....
1. He's started eating finger foods. We bought some of those gerber puffs (which about made me have a mommy heart attack... have you read the list of ingredients?), and he's gotten very skilled at using the "pincher" grasp and putting them in his mouth.
2. We bought him a sippy cup this past weekend. After he tried one at his grandparents' in Chi-town and seemed to like it we thought we'd try it. He's already quite good at picking it up and sucking the juice out.
Again, it's amazing how he changes every day, and since he's started crawling, he acts like he wants to start pulling up.
Here are some new pictures of my big boy!
I am going to join Shay and play drums with her!
Blue eyes and a dimple... look out little girls! ;)
Sasha is the best dog in the whole world!
1. He kisses. Okay, maybe it's not as graceful as it could be, but he'll grab your face and put his mouth right up to it and plant a big one.
2. He reaches for mommy and daddy. Oh, this one tugs on my heartstrings. After what seemed like forever of him not knowing the difference between us and total strangers, he'll now fuss and hold his arms open, wanting us to pick him up.
3. He gets sooo excited to see me when I pick him up. When I arrive at my mother's house to pick him up on the three days a week I work he starts jumping and giggling and smiling once he sees me.
4. He has started squinting his eyes almost shut in a huge smile. He only does this on occasion...we think he is just experimenting with different expressions, but it really is so cute. It looks like a Pokemon character.
And a couple of other things....
1. He's started eating finger foods. We bought some of those gerber puffs (which about made me have a mommy heart attack... have you read the list of ingredients?), and he's gotten very skilled at using the "pincher" grasp and putting them in his mouth.
2. We bought him a sippy cup this past weekend. After he tried one at his grandparents' in Chi-town and seemed to like it we thought we'd try it. He's already quite good at picking it up and sucking the juice out.
Again, it's amazing how he changes every day, and since he's started crawling, he acts like he wants to start pulling up.
Here are some new pictures of my big boy!
I am going to join Shay and play drums with her!
Blue eyes and a dimple... look out little girls! ;)
Sasha is the best dog in the whole world!Monday, January 5, 2009
Resolution? Not to HAVE a Resolution
Let me start out by saying that I HATE New Year's resolutions. I've made some before in my earlier and more naiive years and promptly broken them. Maybe I'm just cynical, but c'mon. This is the time of year that you can't get into your gym because the resolution crowd is there starting their weight loss frenzy. People hopping on treadmills and running 5 miles when they've spent the last 3 years in their desk chair and can't walk 1/2 a mile without losing their breath. Also, if you go out to eat you'll notice everyone ordering salads and water. I can't deal with these people! I bet they've done this every year for the past 10 years and followed through with their "resolutions" for all of 3 weeks tops.
So, no, I am not into resolutions per se... but I have some general goals (that may not get RESOLVED... just on track) to becoming a better me.
1. Get back on track with the weight loss. Now, I look like a hypocrite, right? I just denounced all of those "get skinny quick" people in my paragraph above. Well, this is not a new thing for me. I've lost like 30 pounds since I had Brett and I've got 15 (scratch that - 20 since the holidays poured egg nog and chocolate all over me) more pounds to lose in order to feel thin again. More importantly, I need to fit into my old clothes! Well, now that we've eaten all of the cookies & all of the other highly caloric holiday foods in our house, we can focus on getting back to good ole' regular meals. So, I am basically just getting back to eating more sanely. Also, whereas the holidays kept me busy with things like Christmas cards and shopping, I now finally have more time to devote to my treadmill. We got all of our Christmas stuff put away this weekend so my focus can be re-directed. I was up to about 5 days a week on the treadmill, so I need to build back up to that. I'd REALLY like to drop those final pounds before Brett turns 1. We'll see!
2. Pay off our credit card. Honestly, I am trying to find a way to do this. We've been cutting back our spending so much that we are now only really buying groceries (with sales & coupons) that we need. I'm eating PB&J for lunch. I'm making Brett's food at home. We only eat out (occassionally) with a coupon and don't order luxuries like alcohol. We combine trips to save gas and we have cut back on our cell phones/tv, etc. plans. I guess now that the holidays are over, we can reign it in as tightly as possible. And, hope that Uncle Sam gives us a nice break for having a baby in 2008.
3. Keep our house in order. I took the opportunity to really deep clean when we put away Christmas and organize a few closets this past weekend. Our house isn't very big, and with Brett accumulating more and more "stuff" it can get overwhelming! I want to try and keep everything as tidy as possible. We've luckily been able to put some stuff away (like the swing, the boppy pillow, the playmat), which helps!
4. Keep TV off except for when we are watching a planned/Tivo'ed show, and limit my computer usage. When Brett was first born I had the TV on A LOT. We'd watch Ellen together (which is like THE BEST daytime talk show), and then it would stay on through the day through Dr. Phil & Oprah. Then, Steve would come home. This wasn't a huge deal at first because Brett wasn't really aware of things. Then, when he started playing, I noticed that when the TV was on, he'd stop and watch and forget what he was doing. That was over the summer... and since then, I've tried to keep him focused on his toys. I'll put music on in the background sometimes, but I try to keep him interesting in playing and developing all of his baby skills. The drawback? I don't know what's going on in the world! LOL - The RCA dome imploded and I didn't even know about it until a week later when my Chicago in-laws told me about it!
Also, what goes with this is limiting computer usage. This is what I am the most guilty of. I'll put Brett down with a toy next to me and I'll check my email. This happens like 10 times a day. I keep my email/facebook/myspace open all day and refresh them constantly to see what's new. I took a break from all of this while we were in Chicago a couple of weeks ago. I need to cut back on usage... maybe check it like once in the morning and a couple of times in the afternoon. What is the worst part is that I usually spend a lot of the time Brett naps on the computer and sometimes if his naps are short, I'll get no laundry, no dishes, NOTHING done!
5. Be a good mom to my baby. This is a very general and vague goal, but I really want to be the best mom I can be for Brett. He is noticing EVERYTHING right now, and I feel like I want to set the best example possible. That's why I really want to focus on goals #1,2,3&4 in 2009!
So, no, I am not into resolutions per se... but I have some general goals (that may not get RESOLVED... just on track) to becoming a better me.
1. Get back on track with the weight loss. Now, I look like a hypocrite, right? I just denounced all of those "get skinny quick" people in my paragraph above. Well, this is not a new thing for me. I've lost like 30 pounds since I had Brett and I've got 15 (scratch that - 20 since the holidays poured egg nog and chocolate all over me) more pounds to lose in order to feel thin again. More importantly, I need to fit into my old clothes! Well, now that we've eaten all of the cookies & all of the other highly caloric holiday foods in our house, we can focus on getting back to good ole' regular meals. So, I am basically just getting back to eating more sanely. Also, whereas the holidays kept me busy with things like Christmas cards and shopping, I now finally have more time to devote to my treadmill. We got all of our Christmas stuff put away this weekend so my focus can be re-directed. I was up to about 5 days a week on the treadmill, so I need to build back up to that. I'd REALLY like to drop those final pounds before Brett turns 1. We'll see!
2. Pay off our credit card. Honestly, I am trying to find a way to do this. We've been cutting back our spending so much that we are now only really buying groceries (with sales & coupons) that we need. I'm eating PB&J for lunch. I'm making Brett's food at home. We only eat out (occassionally) with a coupon and don't order luxuries like alcohol. We combine trips to save gas and we have cut back on our cell phones/tv, etc. plans. I guess now that the holidays are over, we can reign it in as tightly as possible. And, hope that Uncle Sam gives us a nice break for having a baby in 2008.
3. Keep our house in order. I took the opportunity to really deep clean when we put away Christmas and organize a few closets this past weekend. Our house isn't very big, and with Brett accumulating more and more "stuff" it can get overwhelming! I want to try and keep everything as tidy as possible. We've luckily been able to put some stuff away (like the swing, the boppy pillow, the playmat), which helps!
4. Keep TV off except for when we are watching a planned/Tivo'ed show, and limit my computer usage. When Brett was first born I had the TV on A LOT. We'd watch Ellen together (which is like THE BEST daytime talk show), and then it would stay on through the day through Dr. Phil & Oprah. Then, Steve would come home. This wasn't a huge deal at first because Brett wasn't really aware of things. Then, when he started playing, I noticed that when the TV was on, he'd stop and watch and forget what he was doing. That was over the summer... and since then, I've tried to keep him focused on his toys. I'll put music on in the background sometimes, but I try to keep him interesting in playing and developing all of his baby skills. The drawback? I don't know what's going on in the world! LOL - The RCA dome imploded and I didn't even know about it until a week later when my Chicago in-laws told me about it!
Also, what goes with this is limiting computer usage. This is what I am the most guilty of. I'll put Brett down with a toy next to me and I'll check my email. This happens like 10 times a day. I keep my email/facebook/myspace open all day and refresh them constantly to see what's new. I took a break from all of this while we were in Chicago a couple of weeks ago. I need to cut back on usage... maybe check it like once in the morning and a couple of times in the afternoon. What is the worst part is that I usually spend a lot of the time Brett naps on the computer and sometimes if his naps are short, I'll get no laundry, no dishes, NOTHING done!
5. Be a good mom to my baby. This is a very general and vague goal, but I really want to be the best mom I can be for Brett. He is noticing EVERYTHING right now, and I feel like I want to set the best example possible. That's why I really want to focus on goals #1,2,3&4 in 2009!
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Chapter Two: Christmas Day
Okay, so it's January 4th and I am just now getting this done! Needless to say, we have been busy.
Where did I leave off? Oh, yes. We had just completed Christmas morning at our house. And the pictures I took? The VERY last pictures ever on that digital camera. Seriously. We'd been having problems with that camera for awhile now. We had received it as a Christmas present from my parents back in 02 or so. It has taken thousands of pictures for us and I'd say we got the most use we could out of it. Recently, though, I've had trouble turning it on and forget all about the zoom feature. I was miraculously able to turn it on long enough to download those pics and that was it. I couldn't for the life of me get it back on!
So, that explains why I have no pictures of my family Christmas here in Indy! Basically we went to my parent's house and saw my grandmothers and my brothers and their wives and children. We had what has become a family tradition that I cannot live without...Shapiros corned beef and my grandma's german potato salad. Good stuff! Brett got to open several awesome presents and we had just enough time to eat and hit the road.
The drive was actually really easy. No problems and Brett slept through most of it so he was energized for Steve's family Christmas!
We arrived and spent the evening with his family...
More toys... yay!
I'll stop and smile for the camera
I LOVE my new CD player
I'm ready for my Christmas dinner, mommy!
Luckily for us, a brand new digital camera was waiting for Steve and I under the tree in Chicago! Thank God! Or, we'd be out yet ANOTHER electrical device (since Brett has been born, we've replaced the computer, printer/scanner and am working on a new iPod).
We stayed in Chi-town through Sunday, hitting the big annual family Christmas for Steve's side on Saturday (he seriously has like 20 first cousins.. this is a big event!). Brett was awesome for that as well.
Overall, a great baby's first Christmas.
Where did I leave off? Oh, yes. We had just completed Christmas morning at our house. And the pictures I took? The VERY last pictures ever on that digital camera. Seriously. We'd been having problems with that camera for awhile now. We had received it as a Christmas present from my parents back in 02 or so. It has taken thousands of pictures for us and I'd say we got the most use we could out of it. Recently, though, I've had trouble turning it on and forget all about the zoom feature. I was miraculously able to turn it on long enough to download those pics and that was it. I couldn't for the life of me get it back on!
So, that explains why I have no pictures of my family Christmas here in Indy! Basically we went to my parent's house and saw my grandmothers and my brothers and their wives and children. We had what has become a family tradition that I cannot live without...Shapiros corned beef and my grandma's german potato salad. Good stuff! Brett got to open several awesome presents and we had just enough time to eat and hit the road.
The drive was actually really easy. No problems and Brett slept through most of it so he was energized for Steve's family Christmas!
We arrived and spent the evening with his family...
Steve, Brett and I with his brothers Chris & Eric
More toys... yay!
I'll stop and smile for the camera
I LOVE my new CD player
I'm ready for my Christmas dinner, mommy!Luckily for us, a brand new digital camera was waiting for Steve and I under the tree in Chicago! Thank God! Or, we'd be out yet ANOTHER electrical device (since Brett has been born, we've replaced the computer, printer/scanner and am working on a new iPod).
We stayed in Chi-town through Sunday, hitting the big annual family Christmas for Steve's side on Saturday (he seriously has like 20 first cousins.. this is a big event!). Brett was awesome for that as well.
Overall, a great baby's first Christmas.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
He Did It!
This is a short post, but I just wanted to share that Brett decided to start the new year as a baby on the move. He's been so close to crawling for the past month, but today he briefly put all of the pieces together. He had a couple of short travels from the middle of his room to different toys. Definitely not very graceful, but it counted! What is funny is that since he has learned to sit up from his knees, he sometimes ends up sitting instead of moving forward. How cute... but as a couple of people have already said, he's now on the move so things will get a lot more interesting!
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