Christmas time is here again and it was another trip to see Northpark Santa. We arrived early, got our number (#68) and I proceeded to lose that number. We were bummed. We had already been at the mall for two hours and now we lost our ticket. Fortunately, the nice people taking photos happened to have an extra number (#92) and we were able to get our photos taken within the hour, rather than come back after 6pm. Hopefully karma makes a visit to the person who found our ticket and used it rather than turn it in.
As the tradition continues, here is the Baby and her visit:
We also took time to play in the courtyard and the Baby posed as creepy Scrooge.
The Baby and I also took a visit to celebrate her niece's third birthday. As usual, the Baby was her shy self but she warmed up once all the kids were there. They pretty much chased the one boy around the house.
We'll see how Christmas turns out this year. Hopefully the Baby can enjoy the fun in gift giving and ripping open presents.
Maybe a few weeks ago I was watching football on Sunday and the Baby ran up to me and brought me a ball and wanted to play catch. She can't catch worth a damn but the fact that she wanted to throw a ball around kinda got me thinking how cool it would to have someone else in the family who was willing to do athletic things. I tried to teach the Wifey to play tennis and she swears I was the meanest tennis coach ever. I thought I was pretty good but one lesson later she since hasn't picked up her tennis racquet.
The Wifey will agree that I am fairly competitive - we once played on a co-ed soccer team at the local Jewish Community Center and I thought it would be fun to write up weekly strategy emails and hand out player of the week awards. Reflecting back on that, I guess I am pretty crazy. So it would probably be in my daughter's best interest that if she ever decided to play any sports that I restrict myself to full-time spectator status.
But anyways, after cheering on some touchdowns with the Baby, I thought it would be nice to have a tomboyish daughter.
That thought lasted about a day. The Baby was soon introduced to princess gowns and tutus. And it was over. It was very over.
As soon as the Baby comes home she will rip off her clothes and put on a dress and twirl. It's a chore to keep the Baby from leaving the house in her faux wedding dress. Necklaces and heels, I am overwhelmed with girly stuff.
Hopefully it's just a phase and her extreme girly-ness will reach critical mass and I could have a normal child.
First off, everyone should take some time to check out http://eatthebabies.com/; it's not my site but a random guy who took the time out to buy the domain name. Something my literary agent should have done. But he has some funny stuff on his website and worth checking out- I had some good laughs. Keep up the good work site title twin.
Had we known that Big Tex was going to become a towering inferno with a creepy waving hand, we might have spent more time at the State Fair of Texas. Here is a nice little song in memory of Big Tex:
The Baby had a blast year and we hoped she would relive her crazy antics. For some odd reason, I always remember the Baby having the most grandiose time; jovial and laughing the entire time. Not being a terrible two bitch. This year, she was pretty well behaved.
We took the rail to the park because we're trying to be green and it's cheaper than the $16 parking. We've ridden on the rail before with Baby and she didn't do anything special but I guess she is at the point in her life where everything is cool.
She would watch the scenery buzz right by and just be astonished. Unfortunately the train ride was so much fun she didn't want to get off and threw a tantrum but all would be well as soon as we stepped in she was back to her normal self.
The day started off with an order or nachos for me and deep fried chocolate covered strawberries for the Wifey. The Baby loves chocolate. Absolutely loves it. If her fingers could always be covered in it, she would never stop licking her fingers. Our first photo op was the obligatory fountain picture.
Our first stop was the car show so the Baby could play in the cars. We probably weren't well liked by the car people but the Baby had a blast. For some reason she only picked blue and red cars.
She wasn't as interested in the dog show - which is sad because that is our yearly tradition to see the three legged dog splash into the pool. We left and went to Big Tex. Our last photo before Big Tex would experience spontaneous combustion.
The next stop was the kid's farm thing. Usually we breeze right through it but this year the Baby was actually interested in performing the tasks at hand. Feeding the chickens, milking the cow, riding the tractor.
We moved on to the petting zoo. The Baby has no fear. She would just shove her animal feed through the gate so the animals would eat. The Wifey was worried she would come out with one less finger.
The family even decided to go to the kid's rides and see what all she could ride. Unfortunately she is under 36inches in height so we didn't have many options. Our only choice was sitting inside a big, spinning bear. The Wifey was terrified because of the machine was creaking and making weird noises but the Baby absolutely loved it. Next year is going to be even better; hopefully she'll be tall enough to ride the rides herself. The Baby is such a thrill seeker.
Our day ended soon afterwards and the Baby was passed out on the train. A pretty successful trip to the fair.
RIP Big Tex. Circa 1951 - 10/19/2012
When my wife called to tell me she was bringing home dinner from Honey Baked Ham Co, I had to check my calendar to make sure I wasn't forgetting a special occasion. Typically we'll get a honey-baked ham for the holidays and a big plate of their ham is usually the only thing I can find solace in after another Cowboys loss. But my wife told me she wanted to try out Honey Baked's New Recipe Turkey Breast. I didn't know if I was more shocked that my wife had decided on dinner or that Honey Baked Ham actually made turkey as well.
The turkey didn't even make the plate before a piece was bitten off.
Much like the ham, the turkey does not need to be warmed up which makes for easy preparation. She also brought home sides of and broccoli rice casserole and herb stuffing, which took about an hour to heat up. I am used to microwaving my boxed dressing so I was easily impressed. The dressing was very herbacious and stayed moist after I took it out of the oven. It was a very nice complement to Honey Baked's new roasted turkey breast.
I don't think I have ever met a broccoli rice casserole I didn't like but Honey Baked makes one that I wouldn't mind to Facebook friend request. Cheesy, ricey, and broccoliy = delicious.
The roasted turkey breast didn't disappoint either. Serving the juicy turkey breast without warming it up guarantees my favorite part is still intact: the chips of sweet glaze that engulf the turkey breast. It's a delightful turkey dinner without the time and mess and the fight for the wishbone.
But the best part was the pie. I'm usually not a big fan of frozen pies but the Apple Caramel Walnut pie was a hit as it did not last long enough for to me take a picture. The walnuts were a great addition to the pie as it provided texture and crunch to the soft apple filling.
The only complaint I do have is the amount of cook time needed to make the sides and dessert. This is not something you can pick up from Honey Baked Ham Co., and have it ready as soon as you kick off your shoes. But it is worth the wait; especially if you'll be bringing it to a party or planning a nice dinner.
Honey Baked Ham Co., you have yourselves a winner. Now I'll be the favorite guest when I bring both ham and turkey to my holiday parties.
For anyone else interested in trying it out, Honey Baked Ham Co. is offering a $3 coupon at the link below:
I will pose a question: When do you realize that it's time to start selling off your kid's junk?
The Wifey is a pack rat. She keeps everything of the Baby's. I am still pulling out clothes from her preemie size days. Which, the Baby could probably still wear. But we have swings and pack N plays galore, just gathering dust in the garage. I said, "My love, let us sell these items!" And then she went off.
The Wifey talked about how we might need those because we still haven't decided if we would have another child or not and those items would be very expensive to replace. Mainly because we have an awesome grandmother who purchased them in the first place. And we wouldn't get that much money in the first place.
But those items take up so much room in the house and the garage. And they just keep accumulating. It's never ending. I wouldn't mind selling it all. The Baby's favorite toy right now is a little orange plastic football. Out of all the hundreds and hundreds of toys she has, she chooses an orange plastic football.
Maybe we'll compromise and actually sell some items but right now it's just piling up. I've come to the realization that we need to sell things a long time ago - I just wish the Wifey would do the same.
So far the new job has been pretty good. I work a respectable 7-4 shift but I could easily leave earlier if I needed to, mainly because I work through my lunch. The other day I was told by the Wifey that Baby wasn't feeling too well - she was in fact throwing up and just out of it. Luckily she wasn't at childcare but I knew I had the option of leaving early. Everyone at work is understanding. We even had one guy work from home because his wife was sick. I found that a little strange since his wife is a nurse but whatever.
It's also extremely convenient that the mother in law is so close to us and readily available. We are very grateful that she has no qualms about watching the Baby since neither the Wifey and I can take off. So even though it seemed liked the Baby only had a 12 hour bug, we wanted to keep her home instead of possibly getting the other kids sick. So the mother in law offered to watch the Baby one more day.
That was very kind of her to do that but I know she was just doing what was best for the Baby. It makes me look back at my own mom and how she would watch my niece and nephew 5 days a week and still had a job. And she never complained; I know that really helped my sister.
We even checked the daycare here at my office since it would be extremely convenient for me to pick up and drop off the Baby. But they are subsidized by another company and it's just hard to budget for a daycare that is almost a third of the family income. It's like a Toddler Harvard.
But hopefully our schedules will get better so the Baby won't have to be in daycare or we can find a daycare that we can truly love - here's to hoping.
Now that I am finally back from the black hole that is Iowa, the family has to get our routine together. Previously I was working a nice little schedule of 4am to noon but that really put a strain on the evenings as the Wifey wouldn't even get him until 8pm.
So now with my new job, I have more flexibility in my schedule which has quickly prompted the Wifey to make me in charge of dinners and such. But the tough part is tailoring our schedule with Baby's routine.
As soon as I pick her up from daycare, she goes straight to the fridge (she's definitely my child) and demands juice and a snack. And she will continue to snack up until the Wifey gets home so she's not really hungry for dinner. But she knows she has to eat with us and she will always grab her plate and head to her little table and sit and eat. We usually sit in the living room and eat and instead of the Baby sitting with us, she's over at her table picking at her food.
And then when we go to bed, we watch a little television before she falls asleep. I will usually turn to her and tell her "I'm going to turn the tv off now, okay?" And she will either start whining but most of the time she will say "okay. goodnight daddy, I love you" and then go to bed.
This is the longest I have been away from the Baby since she's been born. I was lucky enough for her to come visit while I was in St Louis for a month but since there is direct flight to Ames, Iowa, I have been relegated to phone calls and FaceTime.
I called the other day to say hi to the Baby and it sounded like I was talking to a little girl - not a 2 and half year old. Her words are more pronounced and she answers questions with well thought out responses. It made me sad. Every day that I am away from her, I am missing every moment that she is growing up.
Maybe by the time I get back she will want to sleep in her own bed. I would be happy if she did but I have no complaints when she cuddles extremely close in the middle of the night. Anyways, the Baby is having a blast with her Nana which makes things a lot easier. She really is the Baby's best friend. Every time I talk to her she has to announce to me that she is at Nana's house. They were supposed to go to Florida this weekend to finally visit her great aunt - unfortunately Hurricane Issac wanted to change their plans. But we'll be in Florida soon.
I have another week in training and I finally get to come back. And then we'll be taking the Baby to her first camping trip. I don't know if she will love it or hate it; Bugs, dirt, and leaves - I think she will love it.
The Baby has gotten to the age where she is always mimicking every thing that we do. And most of the time it happens is when the Wifey and I are just having a casual conversation. The Wifey likes to cuss like a sailor and we might have heard the Baby repeat a few choice phrases. But now she is copying what we do physically and it's really fun to have her do weird things.
I just noticed the other day when I was cleaning the house and I stopped and leaned on the wall to send a text and I noticed the Baby leaning on the wall next to me pretending to send a text on her fake phone.
She will also grab her laptop when we're both on ours and type away. And if we happen to be cooking in the kitchen, she'll be in hers making dinner as well. But lately she has been pulling up a chair and helping us cook or clean.
It's really cute how she copies what we do. And sometimes the Wifey and I will do random things just to get her to do it. Like jump over random cracks on the ground or even P90X.
I can't wait for her to copy me and mow the lawn. That way I can get her a working mower to help with our yard since the Wifey can't do it. One can only hope.
One of the things the Wifey and I enjoy is how well the Baby will understand our moods. And then she will usually match how we are feeling.
I wasn't feeling very well yesterday after I picked up the Baby from daycare. Usually we play hide and seek and have dance parties or raid the fridge but yesterday I just needed to lie down. I could tell she was getting antsy but she just cuddled up next to me and would randomly touch my face or give me a nice neck hug.
And then as soon her Nana showed up she was back to her usual crazy self.
I do not enjoy how hyper-sensitive the Baby can be. She obviously gets that from her mother. Any raising of my voice or even a stink eye will get her to immediately frown and bury her face into her mother's shoulder.
I've been told it's only going to get worse. Especially the teenage years. I am not ready.
Our child is fearless. Or completely clueless. But either way she's crazy. We took a weekend trip to Galveston to catch the beach before the water got cooler. We took the first flight out and after hotel check-in and the drive in from Houston, we arrived at the beach a little past noon.
We anticipated the Baby to be skeptical as she would watch the tide roll in and her feet would get used to the brown Galveston sand. It didn't take long for us to realize that our daughter would continually be floating in the ocean like driftwood.
She would run into the ocean and keep on running until the ocean water would go up to her neck. Then the salty water would pierce her eyes and she would cry about the stinging in her eyes. And five seconds later she would be back in the water. She eventually would take the time out to play in the sand, mainly just fetching ocean water and pouring it into a hole. As we would escape the sun, the Baby would just walk into the ocean by herself. She really could not care if she was within reach of her parents or not, she just wanted to be in the water. It was definitely a very fun trip, even though we spent a majority of the time chasing her, it was well worth it. We're hoping to plan a quick getaway to Florida to see white sand and clear water. And we're pretty sure the calmer waters will make the Baby even crazier.
Even though I am flying home every weekend, I feel like every day I missing out on something tremendous. Every night for our routine webchat, the Baby's phrases are getting longer and more pronounced. If we ask her to say something, she does a good job of repeating it. It was barely a few months ago that she was still pointing and grunting. I have even missed the Baby start to play with her violin.
I can't wait to get home.Of course, all the Baby ends up doing is showing me all the new dresses and tutus she has or I just ask her to sing and dance the whole time but still, I miss it.
One of the big things we do as parents that we are not proud of is the fact that we give the Baby a little more freedom than she should. When we go to Target, which is a lot, we can get her to sit in the cart for maybe about 5 minutes before she gets antsy. Since I am not a fan of screaming children in public and the Baby gives the most pathetic frown in the world - I usually give in and let her walk next to us while we shop. That never works. It ends up being a mad dash down different aisles or just lying down in the middle of the store. Outside of the endless running, she isn't bad. She looks at everything and rarely messes with stuff. She might end up grabbing something and then takes off like it's Supermarket Sweep. And what makes it worse is she is just giggling the whole time so everyone thinks its super cute but my feet hurt and I am tired from chasing her.
Eventually, she slows down or gets tired and then she will start yelling "mommy, where are you?" and puts her hands to her mouth like a megaphone. Having a cute kid is a blessing and a curse.
But despite the fact that she is the devil child at Target, she has perfected the usage of niceties. Her manners are spot on as she can say please, thank you, no thank you, and you're welcome. And she doesn't abuse the usage of please. She really knows how to use it effectively and for the things she knows we will usually say no. Effective and straight to the heart.
I am spending the next month in St Louis for work. It's going to be interesting; I'm already a week in and I've already gone a little stir crazy and I think the room is making me sick because of the recycled air. Or maybe it's because I keep the room at a breezy 65 degrees - just because I don't have to pay the electricity bill. I even bought an air humidifier and it's somewhat working. My work situation isn't too bad - I get to go in whenever I want - but most mornings I am in the office by 8am. It's about a 30 minute drive from the hotel but I go against traffic so it's pretty smooth.
It's a trip like this that makes me extremely grateful for the Wifey's flight benefits. She and the Baby have already visited last weekend and returned two days later to spend 4th of July with me. Baby seems to love the hotel - she can get into all the cabinets, the mini fridge, play with the landline phones - and frankly we don't care. Plus there is a pool which is very necessary considering it's been record highs since I have been here. You know something is wrong with the world when Texas isn't in triple digits and Missouri is averaging 109 degrees.
Another thing this trip has made me realize just how lucky we are to have Wifey's mother. Nana is picking her up from daycare since Wifey isn't out of work until almost 8 pm and watching her every day until Wifey gets home. She has also sacrificed many hours to drive Baby to the airport so she and Wifey can leave as soon as she gets off. Nana is also taking care of crazy Shrek and I know he appreciates not having to be locked up at a boarding kennel (even if they do love him over there). I just am so appreciative of her help and know my trip to St Louis would be miserable without her help.
St Louis, much to my surprise, is very family friendly. Granted, I've heard crossing the bridge takes you to another place (Nelly's hood). Practically everything is free - the Science Museums, the zoo, most of the touristy stuff - it would take a dedicated weekend to get through all the free stuff.
I am also grateful for webcam/FaceTime capabilities as it makes it easier to communicate with the Baby. She only likes to pretend talk on the phone with her pretend friends but when it comes to her parents she likes to play mute. At least with the webcam she will give kisses and hugs. Makes this trip more bearable in between the visits.
Today I am working for a few hours (hello overtime) and then we are going to head to downtown STL for Fair St Louis which is St Louis's 4th celebration.
Seems pretty fun as there are a lot of activities, good music, and fireworks over the river. I am pretty excited for it. Last year we just stopped at the first firework place near my work and still had a good time but today should be more fun I hope.
Anyways, I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July.
Next week I get to spend an entire month in St Louis for work. This would be the longest time I have spent from the family, ever. Luckily with the Wifey's flight benefits, we plan on seeing each other every weekend; either home or in Missouri.
Not a lot has changed. The Baby is thoroughly enjoying the day care even though she does cry and pout when she gets dropped off. But she will come home and grab her toy phone and have an animated conversation with her friend Chloe. She even takes her phone and hides in her playroom tent to talk. Obviously her fake conversation is far too private for her father to be within an ear shot.
The Baby's communication skills have vastly improved. The interaction with other children has really helped her vocabulary. She no longer just points and whines, she can almost clearly say what she wants. We're hoping she can get to the point she can tell us what she wants for dinner so her parents don't have to have another argument over what's for dinner.
One of the things that the Baby does that makes us proud is her overall courtesy and manners. As long as you're not a stranger (unless you're the baker giving her a free cookie at Target) she will always say "please" and "thank you" and "no thank you" and "you're welcome." And she will say it without being prompted.
Everyday when I pick her up from daycare, she will hand me the remote control and say "tv" and as soon I turn it on she will thank me. In fact, she will say thank you just for turning it onto the Sprout channel. And then she begins her barrage of snack attacks. The other day she kept grabbing my hand and saying "Applebees" and pointing towards the door. There was just an Applebees commercial on the television, so I assumed she wanted some tasty riblets. I soon realized she was saying "apple, please" and was pointing to the fridge.
The next month will be trying for me just because the Baby has become really fun; with her immense appetite for knowledge, curiosity, and the fact she mimics everything we do, I am going to miss the time spent with her. I am going to really miss when we go to bed at night and she will proactively give us a hug, a kiss, and say "goodnight daddy, I love you daddy". At least I'll have wi-fi and FaceTime is a viable alternative.
We recently put the Baby in a home daycare and we have already seen such an improvement in her vocabulary and her ability to form sentences.
The Baby is now actually talking to us. Whenever I pick her up she will tell me that she "play with Chloe" and then she will point to everything outside, like 'tree' 'car' 'bug' truck'. And as we drive home she will have conversations with herself.
But with daycare she is also doing other things such as throwing tantrums and banging the ground with her fists. It's kind of funny actually. She will also scream "where did it go" when we try to hide stuff she shouldn't be playing with.
She also has decided that performing is going to be her specialty. Such a great video:
I am amazed that the Wifey and I have been married for five years today. I am definitely surprised she hasn't hit me with a cast iron frying pan...yet. But it's also crazy that we have been dating for 9 years.
When we planned our wedding five years ago, we only had two major requirements - lots of friends, lots of alcohol. Our main goal was to just throw an elaborate house party - and just like any typical house party we had random hookups, a car window being broken, and a bloody fist fight.
The carefree atmosphere of our wedding easily flowed into our marriage.
Do I think we have a perfect marriage? Hell no. Just like I have said many, many times before - the Wifey can't cook, can't keep the house clean, and rarely does the laundry. Those are minor things - every now and then she surprises me with Shake N Bake, a clean kitchen, and the laundry is another story. But she tries. She does her best to make sure I am happy and the family is taken care of.
We'll always have our fights and I will always remind her where the door is and how to google "do it yourself divorce in Texas" but we are both too cheap and lazy to go through with it.
I think it's all about how you perceive marriage. A lot of people see it as spending the rest of their lives with their significant other or their spouses. Not to be cliche but I get to spend the rest of my life with my best friend - who happens to be hot and only gives it up to me. It's kinda like Dawson's Creek except I don't need to climb a ladder.
At the end of the day, 5 years is just a drop in the bucket.
We are officially nearing the departure of our beloved Nanny. In just a short couple of weeks, she will be moving out and onto better things.
The Nanny officially resigned last Friday.
I am sure the Nanny won't miss the constant disarray we kept the house in - and we are very grateful for all the little things she had done that were not in her normal work responsibilities - such as putting up the dishwasher or taking out the trash or sweeping/vacuuming the floors or folding towels- you know, stuff the Wifey should have been doing.
Ever since day 1 we never felt nervous leaving our child unattended with her. The Nanny just had a comforting personality and we knew the Baby was in good hands with her.
So if anyone is needing a babysitter, please inquire within.
Looks like the power of the internet has gotten the Creepster (MeadowsMommy02) banned for stealing pictures.
I had a lot of people tell me how I should have been livid and bashing heads for justice. But frankly, despite the overall twisted nature of the whole ordeal, it's water under the bridge.
I took a risk by blogging about the Baby and the internet is public domain. It is fair game. One person's need for attention guided her to steal pictures. I hate to sound so vain and egotistical but at least someone saw the uber-cuteness of the Baby and decided to use it as her own.
On another note, this story has seemed to be making front pages everywhere: Couple Steals Foul Ball.
Quick summary of the story: Baseball player tosses ball into stands. Couple grab ball in front of three year old. Three year old cries like a little bitch. Gets another ball later. Couple, who stole ball, burn in Hell.
There's the argument if you are over the age of 13, you do not deserve the ball, as seen in this handy chart from Deadspin.
But here's the thing, it is so damn hard to catch a foul ball. Juggling beers and hot dogs and fingers being covered in buttery garlic fries - it is an impossible feat. And let's add in the fact that my depth perception is extremely skewed and every time the ball hits the bat, I swear it's going out of the park. But then again, as a Texas Rangers fan, it probably is out of the park. *High five* *Angels are nine games back*
So when a player is that close to gently toss a floater in your general vicinity - you go for it. No rules apply. The kid was a three year old. There is no possible way he had the hand eye coordination to snag a gently tossed baseball from 15 feet away. Baseball players know this; that's why they hand the kids the ball. I toss balls at the Baby from a foot away and just watch it ricochet off her alien head.
And when you are presented an opportunity to achieve something that most guys fantasize about before a ballgame: getting a foul ball / homerun AND while you are on a date, tunnel vision ensues. Clear the mechanism. You get that ball. You freaking celebrate.
In the 9th grade I intercepted a pass and scored a touchdown. I can still see that football just float in the air as if it had angel wings just whispering my name. And I seized the opportunity. Greatest event of my life. Ever. So who are we as the general public to raise our pitchforks and condemn this couple? Sure they were pretty shitty to take pictures with the ball as the little kid was crying his head off. But the guy earned it. If the dad wanted the ball for his kid, he would've dropped that little cry baby bitch and gotten after it. But he didn't, he could care less because as the above article states, the kid already gotten a foul ball last year. Now the kid is just being greedy.
So kudos to the couple for grabbing the ball and kudos to the parents for ignoring their kid. If you want something, you go get it. Don't be a crybaby bitch.
Now that the Baby is famous and people are assuming her cuteness, I figured I would provide a quick picture update.
Texas is the only state that literally has people lined up on the side of busy state highways for a flower that is only in bloom for three weeks. It's insane but oh so Texas.
We had our friend Steff take these pictures, who also took last year's pictures, so if you like her work, please inquire within. I think we get 50% of every referral, which is a sweet deal. Thanks Steff!
I thought this stuff only happens in Lifetime movies. I didn't realize that there were people creepy/sick/crazy enough to actually do this. An anonymous poster clued us in the comments section and the Wifey and I were not very pleased:
It's really truly sad. I created this blog for our friends and family to stay up to date with the Baby. I've kept it public for those in our family who don't know how to sign in with Google or don't know what Google is. I guess I will have to watermark every picture I take.
The Baby's second birthday is fast approaching and as always and as cliche as it may sound, time sure does fly.
The Wifey and I went back and forth as to whether or not we would have a birthday party because honestly, the Baby has no friends. It would essentially be pointless to invite all our friends to watch a two year old be shy and play with toys. We debated going to an indoor trampoline park but it would be dumb just to see a bunch of adults jumping around. We even decided to do a family gathering but that would be unfair to our friends who enjoy the Baby as much as we do, or so they tell us.
We finally opted (and last minute) to just go to the Baby's favorite place to eat, Chick Fil A, and have a small get together of family and friends. Not too many kids so the playground is sufficient but enough chicken nugget platters to keep the adults happy. I am sure the Baby won't complain. At least she better not.
The other day the Baby discovered a bottle of bubbles and we decided to go outside and play. She thoroughly enjoyed it.
I should really do a better job of not doing monthly updates.
Hopefully, with my schedule changing to more normal hours in a few weeks, I can provide more consistent updates.
Everything is going well with the family This past weekend we signed up for a family membership at the Dallas Children's Science Museum - a new one is opening next year - so we figured we go ahead and jump on it now.
The Wifey and I are going out of town without the Baby for the first time next week. It should be interesting. I will probably cry before the Wifey will so we'll see how it goes. The Baby has woken up with either one of us since she has been born. And we'll be gone for a good three days. Luckily we'll be in Vegas so it won't take too much to forget our sadness. The Grandmother should have a ball with the Baby - we're hoping she's a perfect angel and sleepovers can happen a lot more often.
And of course, a happy Valentine's to the most important women in my life, Wifey and Baby. I can honestly say that they are both my best friends and both will do anything to make me happy - my wife for always making sure I never go hungry and for the Baby for always enjoying Asian food. It's a win-win situation.
Happy Birthday to the best mom/wifey ever. Although she gives the Baby a big bowl of whipped cream to chow down on, she's still a pretty good mom. Only because I have the incredible ability to sleep through a crying, screaming baby.
I know it's cliche but man, this year flew by. I almost forgot how we threw a last minute New Year's party at our house and the Baby spent most of the night sleeping in her crib.
Now she is taking up half the bed because of a change in our work schedule's it was too much work to try and get her accustomed to her crib by herself. Luckily, we have an awesome mother-in-law who is helping us upgrade our mattress - goodbye College Station mattress, but you have reached the end of your life.
I started this past year knowing I was going to get laid off from my previous job. It was a good job; I made my own hours and I worked from home. So it was easy to hang out with the Baby and make last second changes if anything came up. I was fortunate enough to be offered a job a couple of weeks later but I ended up taking a job that works in a 24/7 operation.
The Wifey decided to leave the job she loved at Dave & Busters (goodbye free food & games!) to take one at Southwest Airlines (hello free flights!). It was a big change, especially for the Baby, but we're managing.
Every year we end up taking a trip for the Wifey's birthday but we had to skip it because of unemployment status but she was able to take the Baby to Boston during my birthday...without me. Oh well. We ended up taking a trip to California in June and spent our anniversary at In 'N' Out Burger because I thought the Mavs had already lost to the Heat in Game 2. Boy was I wrong.
The Baby got to experience Disney and she was the perfect child - she didn't have a major meltdown and she allowed us to experience both parks. She also got a taste of the Pacific Ocean when the Wifey casually threw her into the waves.
In order to lessen the burden on the mother in law from watching a baby that was increasingly becoming more and more active, we decided to hire a live-in nanny.
And for the most part it has been a very good investment. It took a bit for the Baby to finally warm up to her but now the Baby doesn't fuss when I leave for work. Plus we can tell the Baby is learning a lot new stuff with the Nanny.
The Baby did the Halloween thing but wasn't as into it as we wanted but she did wear a cute costume. We also did our annual trip to Santa and as always, she hates him.
It's amazing to see how fast the Baby is growing and how much she is learning but it's also a challenge. We know the Terrible Two's are around the corner and we're just getting a sneak preview but man, she is a little brat. But for ever 1000 bad things she does, she does one cute thing that makes up for it all.
I don't know how to put pictures behind a cut but here they are from this year, they are all out of order but I think details how much she has grown up.