How Old Are You Deddy?

We celebrated Justin's upcoming birthday with the Turners in Pine Mountain last weekend. Here are a few pics!

Even Tater gets a seat "at the table" (or more accurately, on the table) with his Deddy and Uncles Jason and Brandon. Notice the candles on the cake. Is that 43?


Aunt Danielle, MawMaw, MawMaw PhyPhy, PawPaw eye the cake. 43, huh?

Olivia and Tater.... Even Larsson is surprised Deddy hasn't noticed the 43....

Oh, that's better - 34. Phyllis's famous strawberry cake. SO DELICIOUS! I would like to officially put in my order for strawberry cake for my birthday (July 4th in case you forgot).

Deddy, don't cry. You are a young and good looking 34! Oh, are you laughing at what Olivia said when she gave you the biggest strawberry?

Guess Who

Turned 12 weeks old yesterday?!

A Language Lesson

[I have written a couple "diaper chronicle" posts and while this references the topic, it is not gross. I promise.]

Tater was not feeling well for a couple days. He was fussing & crying, and we were trying to diagnose the problem when we realized that he had not "made poo" for a couple of days.

So Tuesday morning started off as most... I went to pick up Yuri at 8:30. [Yuri is the nice mexican lady who watches Tater and cleans the house on Tuesdays. If you read my previous post about Yuri, you will recall that she does not speak much English, so I have to rely on my rusty Spanish if I want to communicate.]

While on our drive to the house, I tried to make conversation. So I asked her how she was and then told her I had a call with my boss at 9:30. Then I thought I'd try to tell her to let me know if the baby has a dirty diaper.

So I said, "Necesito saber si el bebé tiene.... [I need to know if the baby has... <hmm, how do I say this?... Ah, yes, I've got it.>] numero dos en pañales [number two in the diapers]."

And I got in return.... look of confusion.

So I said again, "Ya know, bebé [baby].... pañales [diaper]..... numero dos [number two]?!?!"

And she said, "oh, Rebecka," and smiled but had NO CLUE what I was trying to say.

So I gave up for the moment, but couldn't help but wonder a) if the "number two" saying is perhaps not a language universal and b) what she thought I was really trying to say?

It's Fun & Games Until a 2 Yr Old Pokes An Eye Out

So I have recently observed that not only are adults entertained by babies but that little ones seem to be fascinated by even littler ones. By little ones, I mean the "2 and under" crowd, and by littler ones, I am referring to Larsson.

Some little ones just stare. Some want to sit next to him. Some want to move in circles around him (ahem Finn). Some want to touch him. And some..... take their pointer fingers and go straight for his eyes.

This must be common because it is interesting to watch the mothers of the little one. They stand guard, ready for anything that may happen.

Is it because they recall their thoughts as new moms? Is it because they know not what to expect from these cute and active little ones? Or perhaps they can tell I don't know what we might be in for?

Whose Boy Are You?

"I think he is going to be a mama's Boy, Rebecka," someone recently said when they saw Tater looking up at me. To which I smiled but thought to myself, "Please, oh please, don't say that in front of Justin."

Whether or not you know Justin, he is a very proud and devoted father. He would be glad to be a stay-at-home dad, and he is slightly envious that I get to spend more time with Larsson, as I am working part-time.

But I got a taste of what he might feel like yesterday when we attended a birthday party for our four year old neighbor at Hippo Hopp. Justin went ahead of me holding Larsson and sat down at a table while I finished gathering and bringing in our mobile home (aka diaper bag and stroller).

As I approached the table where J and Tater were seated, I heard a lady comment, "Oh, he looks like he is going to be a Daddy's boy."

I was instantly furious at this stranger. I did not like her. I did not want to meet her. I did not even want to sit by her.

So I pretended not to have heard the comment and tended to my boys.

After a few minutes and a cupcake, sanity returned. And I was glad to have a partner that is such a good daddy. And I was glad that someone else recognized it and paid him a compliment.

And I know that no matter what anyone else says, Tater will always be OUR boy.

Baby's Got a Brand New Trick

Tater debuted his new trick on Mother's Day.... right as I turned my back. And he did it again the next day for his daddy... while I was cooking dinner in the next room. But I caught the third, fourth and fifth time.

Earl on Diaper Genies

From last night's episode of "My Name is Earl".....

".... which by the way there's nothing magic about. It's just crap in a bag."


This made me laugh.

We agree, Earl, which is why we opted for a simple trash can instead.

1991

This morning, a local radio deejay read a letter to the 2009 graduates, who as she pointed out were born in 1991.

1991!!!!!

OMG. That makes me feel old. I was expecting her to say 1980-something. I remember 1991.

It was my freshman/sophomore year in high school. We lived in Oklahoma City on NW 60th Street, and I went to Putnam City High School. I got up early every day that fall to be at the school by 7 a.m. for marching band practice (Yes, I was in the band, played clarinet in case you were wondering and looked awesome in my orange and black polyester uniform), and I rode to school with Candy and her boyfriend Mike who had matching burgundy 1960-something Mustangs. I was infatuated with the drum major.

My best friends at the time were Keri and Jessica. Keri was in band also and her parents never let her do anything. Jessica was on the dance team. Jessica got her license that year, and her parents gave her the biggest and loudest blue pickup truck they could find. They insisted it would keep her safer than the cars that she would have preferred. I always heard her coming well before she arrived, and she usually took up a parking space and a half. But that monster truck got us around - typically to the mall or Sonic for lunch (we had open campus). We could not get enough cherry limeade.

The style at this high school was Z. Cavaricci's or Guess jeans, braided belts, Banana Republic tee-shirts, and Cole Haan leather loafers. I spent my summer trying to earn money to buy a pair of Cole Haan's because my parents were not into spending $100+ on one pair of shoes for a teenager.

My favorite music was Boys II Men and that boy band group from OKC whose name escapes me at the moment....

What was memorable for you about 1991?

Spicy Factor: 8 out of 10

Some days the time just flies by and before you know it, it is 5:30 p.m. And the phone rings and it is Justin letting me know that he is getting ready to come and see about us. Dinner hasn't been started. Tater needs a diaper. Then Tater needs to eat. Burp. Eat. Diaper. Change outfit. Etcetera. Etcetera.

So Monday was one of these days... And Justin, being the wonderful hubby he is, decided to treat us with dinner from our favorite local Thai restaurant. As we sat down to enjoy our meal that we knew would not only be delicious but also require only minimum clean up, J informed me that he ordered pad thai with “spicy factor: 8 out of 10".

I began to eat this delicious heap of noodles and very quickly, my mouth got hot. Very hot. On fire hot. I drank Sprite to help cut the burn. Ummm, more Sprite please. I tried several more bites, but it was so hot that I couldn’t eat it any more. And I LIKE spicy.

That’s when the “Uh-Oh” moment came. What I eat, the baby eats. How was HE going to handle “spicy factor: 8 out of 10?”

And my answer came about 2 p.m. the next afternoon when I was feeding Tater. We were taking a break from the bottle when out of nowhere came a big, juicy wet fart followed by an explosion. A BIG EXPLOSION. One that erupted up his back and out his diaper leg, covering MY jeans.

So much for minimal clean up. Gross Factor: 10 out of 10.

My 1st Mother's Day

If You Love Mommy, Do Something Cute!

Such love!

Making Friends

Getting Handsy

It is so fun to watch Tater develop and do some new trick every day. Recently, he has started to learn how to use his hands. Now when we give him the pacifier, his hand typically follows and pressese the paci against his mouth and sometimes his hands try to help put the paci back in his mouth once it starts falling out.

The other day I would swear that he picked up his toy keys. It won't be long before those hands are into everything.

Meet Alecka

Rachel recently moved into my best friend Alice’s condo, and in the process, she came across this photo.

Meet Alecka (or perhaps Reice). According to a booth at a popular entertainment venue, she would be the product if Alice and I had a little girl together.

It’s a good thing we found Justin and Ervin because while Alecka is kinda cute, she scares me. Is it because she looks a little like one of the 'children of the corn,' or is it her potential for awesomeness?

Pitcher Perfect

On Monday, we were getting dangerously low on diapers and wipes, and we had a gift certificate to the big baby store. So Tater and I loaded up and went shopping. While we were there, he slept, so I shopped and look at things like the teethers and bibs. He slept some more, so I looked at the books and movies and CDs. So when we had worked our way around the store to the final corner and he was STILL asleep, I looked there too.

In this corner was the photographer station. They take photos of children and print them on site. And there was no wait. And when I found out that there was no sitting fee or obligation to buy that day, I woke Tater up. Luckily, he was already picture perfect.

Eating Crow

For those that know Justin, sometimes he can be a little absent-minded. He has been known to forget his wallet in restaurants, leave his keys in the doorlock on the outside of the house, put his shoes on top of the car and then drive off,… you get the picture.

In his defense, many of these things happen when he is doing something sweet like treating me to a romantic dinner or getting necessities for Tater or picking up groceries on his way home from work.

But from time to time, I find that I need to tell Justin and make him aware of the things that he doesn’t know he is doing. Which frustrates him. There is nothing quite like having the little things pointed out to you, especially when the other person doesn’t think they do those things.

So…. This morning, Justin got up to warm a bottle for Tater. He walked into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and there on the top shelf was MY cell phone… WITH the alarm going off. (....and he had actually NOT been the one to place it there. Would this be a good time to blame the baby?)

He brought me the cell phone with a smirk on his face but didn’t say a word. Somehow I am pretty sure he felt satisfied just the same.

It Was The Baby, I Promise!

Tomorrow I go back to the ob/gyn to check my blood pressure - AGAIN. Last time I went was about 3 weeks ago and I brought Tater for the first time to meet everyone in the office. Since I had appointments twice a week for most of my third trimester, I got to know just about everyone in the office on a first name basis and they were looking forward to meeting the little guy.

At that particular visit, my doctor was running WAY behind, so we sat and waited and waited and waited in the small waiting area with several other people - two expecting couples and two women. Tater thought it was the perfect opportunity to catch some Z's, and since he was so content, I thought I might should do the same. So I positioned the stroller in front of me, sat up in my chair, tilted my head back against the wall and closed my eyes.

Oh, how wonderful to relax and rest... Then I heard this loud roaring snore - a quick one, like the kind that you might work up to or that wakes you up in the middle of a great nap. I shot right up. My eyes opened wide. I heard laughter coming from the corner, and before-I-knew-what-I-was-saying, I blurted, "It was him, I promise."

And it WAS Tater. I too was surprised by the snore but was more surprised by my reaction. I am sure they thought, "Right, lady. Blame the baby."