Video Monday: Rollin’

I’m going to try my best to post a new video every Monday to kick off everyone’s work week with a little dose of Riley.

How does that sound? Good?

Good.

Nola requested that I take a video of Riley rolling over both ways, and I caught him in the mood to do so the other day on the floor in his room. He wasn’t in the best of moods because it was almost naptime, but with the enticement of a few new toys and a little patience, I was able to capture his rollin’, as well as him putting his paci back in his mouth.

Two for the price of one!

Five Months

Five months. Wow.

Do I say the same thing every time I do one of these “birthday” updates? I’m sorry.

Speaking of birthdays, Riley’s five month one happens to coincide with his dad’s birthday. Happy happy birthday, Daddy/Kenny! We love you very much.

Riley doesn’t go back to Dr. B until he’s 6 months, but here are some unofficial stats:

• Weight: 18lbs 6.5oz
• Length: 28.25 inches
• Head circumference: 17 inches

And here are my notes from this month:

• He is eating 4 tablespoons of rice cereal twice a day, and he takes 6 ounces of formula at almost every bottle feeding. And, as of today, we can start adding baby food (veggies only at first) to his meals! 
• He is officially sleeping through the night, from about 6:30 pm until 6:30 am. Yay! He definitely prefers sleeping on his tummy, so we are not swaddling him anymore. We switched to a wearable blanket/sleep sack instead. And he’s getting pretty good at settling himself, although more so at night than for his naps (which are becoming a bit of a struggle). Kenny and I are so proud of him. (See this post for more sleeping info.) 

• He is a rolling machine, both from his back to his front and from his front to his back. He also still drools non-stop and sucks on his fingers (or anything else he can get into his mouth….toys, bib, burp cloth, paci leash, etc.) most of the day. (I’m wondering if the drool is 1. a sign of teething and/or 2. contributing to some of the problems with his skin. He still has a bad patch on his chin and left cheek every now and then.)

• We have solved the problem of his crazy hair! We stopped combing it after his nightly bath and it (surprisingly) does so much better.

• He’s getting good at grasping things, and he’s now trying to master bringing heavier objects to his mouth using his hands. We work on this every night during his bath with one of the rubber duckies leftover from my baby shower. He still loves his baths. He’s also enjoying being in the jumperoo for longer periods of time. 

• He is ultimately a happy baby, which is wonderful. He’s usually in a good mood when he wakes up, both for the day and from naps, although sometimes he does seem to get a little confused (read: unhappy/crying) since he almost always wakes up on his tummy. He’s definitely starting to develop his own personality!

• Most of the time, if he can see me while I’m doing something, he’s okay. So instead of leaving him on his playmat or in his bouncy in the living room, I put him in his Bumbo on the kitchen counter while I make my lunch or warm up a bottle, etc. This works most times. But he is definitely more interested in and curious about what’s going on around him. He also likes looking at himself in mirrors. 

• He has discovered how to pull hair. Fantastic. And he now loves grabbing my face, as well as Kenny’s. He sometimes doesn’t realize his own strength when he does this! He also discovered his feet about halfway through this month. And we noticed at the beginning of the month that he’s ticklish – especially his sides and the bottoms of his feet. He loves when the Tickle Monster gets him!

Kenny and I are having so much fun with him, and we just love him so, so much. Here is his official five month pic!

Ten Things

1. I almost forgot to post today.
2. Kenny’s family is in town visiting this weekend because tomorrow is Kenny’s birthday.
3. Riley will also be 5 months tomorrow.
4. I love my boots. I think I’ve worn them every time I’ve been out of the house since I got them. Granted, that’s not too many times because I prefer to stay home, but still.
5. My two boys are the cutest.
6. We watched Secretariat last night. It was phenomenal. It was also partly filmed not too far from where we live. And it further proves that I like horse movies (see also Seabiscuit).
7. I sometimes wonder what my life would have been like if I was raised with horses. Kenny was shocked when I mentioned this during the movie. I’m glad I can sometimes still surprise him.
8. Kenny read my mind and poured a small glass of Nassau Royale for us to share last night during the movie. That stuff is delicious.
9. I’ve been watching the latest season of American Idol and I have to be honest: Steven Tyler is so delightfully wacky. He cracks me up.
10. I love my boots.

Sweet

I got up with Riley this past Sunday morning so Kenny could get a little extra sleep. Shortly after Riley finished his bottle, I could tell he was already getting sleepy again, as was I. So I decided to lay down with him in the guest room bed and see if he’d fall asleep next to me. This is what Kenny found when he woke up a half hour later:

And no, Uncle Jeff, it’s not staged! I may not have been completely asleep (for fear of rolling over him), but I was certainly not awake.

Such a sweet moment with my boy.

Favorite Things

Riley likes his hands.

Riley likes his feet.

Riley likes his hands and his feet.

Riley likes toys.

Riley likes being on his tummy.

And, last but not least, Riley likes being smiley. (Sometimes.)

These are a few of his favorite things!

Getting Out

As I’ve said before, I am a homebody at heart. But I do like to get out now and again, and last Friday was one of those days. I decided Riley and I would take a little road trip and bring lunch to Kenny at his office. It was a glorious day for a drive, and we really loved seeing Daddy for a few minutes during a work day.

Plus, getting out gave me another chance…..to wear my boots.

He Snores. She Wakes.

Kenny slept in the guest room almost all of last week.

No, I did not banish him from our bedroom. HE took himself to the other room.

Because he knew he was going to snore.

He did something to his upper back/shoulder/neck area a little while ago (I’m sure Riley was involved somehow), and now the only position that is comfortable for him at night is lying flat on his back. And that makes him snore.

That makes him snore LOTS.

And me, being such a light sleeper, cannot handle the snoring. He doesn’t even have to be very loud; I’ll still be able to hear only the snoring. And unfortunately my white noise machine isn’t THAT good.

(Sidenote: I love my white noise machine. I ordered it online from Amazon, and I am addicted to it. It helps to block out all of the normal nighttime noises of the house; otherwise, my light-sleeper self wouldn’t get nearly as much shut-eye. I even have a white noise app on my iPhone for when I’m away from home. Sad, but true.)

There’s usually only one position Kenny can be in and not snore: on his stomach facing right. I’m not sure why it has to be facing right, but he absolutely snores if he’s on his stomach facing left. It’s one of life’s little mysteries.

Anyway, so that both of us could get some sleep while he’s position restricted, Kenny just decided to start sleeping in the other room. I miss having him next to me, but I sure do love my sleep.

Have I mentioned before that I married a wonderful man?

Fair Warning

Riley is becoming pretty darn animated in the late afternoons these days. He can’t stay still, or even remain in one position, for very long (read: overly squirmy equals extra fun for me, his wrangler). And the pipes this child is developing….good Lord. I guess this is just his way of letting loose before he gets put into his crib for 12 straight hours. I can’t say I blame him.

I laid him on the rug in the living room one day last week and filmed this late afternoon, pre-bedtime-routine animated state of his. He was especially vocal because his dad was behind me making funny faces to get him to laugh. And that made ME laugh.

We’re all nuts.

Disclaimer: If you are viewing this post from your place of business, you run the risk of not being at all productive for the rest of the day.

Oh, yes; this latest Riley video is THAT cute. You may want to watch it more than once.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Happy Monday to all you hard-working people out there!

And a very Happy Birthday to you, Grams. :) We hope you have a wonderful day.

Blue

I played around with the color accent setting on my little Canon point-and-shoot camera the other day.

Color accent allows you to select one color to highlight in a picture. For instance, I could use a red color accent on a bouquet of roses and only the actual blooms would be in color. The rest of the picture would be in black and white. This makes the roses themselves pop into rich, vibrant, red focus.

In my case the other day, I chose to accent the color blue.

Because Riley’s eyes are beautifully blue.

 

Riley tolerated this impromptu photo session for a lot longer than I thought he would. We took a break for a bottle and some playtime, and then we went outside. I took a few more “blue” pictures, this time with the addition of his blue jacket. The light wasn’t great since it was late afternoon, but I still got a few decent shots.

 

I’m liking this camera setting.

I’m liking it very much.

Postscript: If anyone out there wants to send me a Canon Rebel T1i or a Nikon D700, I would not turn either down.

Close Up

Uh-oh…..

…..it’s official.

He has me wrapped around his little finger.

His daddy, too.

‘Tis the Season…

…for kingcake. And there isn’t anything like a big piece of the cinnamony, sugary, bready goodness with a hot, steaming mug of freshly brewed coffee for breakfast on a crisp, cold Saturday morning.

Yum.

The Booger Story

The story I am about to tell you has been recounted (gleefully, I might add) numerous times by my relatives. It was even told at my wedding rehearsal dinner (thanks very much for that, UJ). So, since a lot of people have already heard it and since it doesn’t really embarrass me anymore, I figured I’d share it with the rest of you.

When I was very young (a mere two years old), I spent the night away from home for the first time at my aunt and uncle’s (QP and UJ’s) house. I was snuggled in between them in their bed, watching a little TV before going to sleep. Unbeknownst to me, all of a sudden my aunt reached behind me and poked my uncle in the arm to get his attention. She pointed down at me to get him to look at what I was doing.

What I was doing with intense concentration.

My finger was most of the way up one of my nostrils, and I was going to town, steadfastly digging around for something.

My aunt, holding back laughter, calmly asked me, “Courtney, what are you doing?”

To which I very matter-of-factly replied, “I’m TRYING to get this booger.”

My aunt and uncle do not have children. Kids were never part of their plan. I was their first introduction to the world of small humans. So I can only imagine what they thought of this little situation at the time. I’m pretty sure they took it in stride and got a few good laughs from it. I also know that they weren’t afraid to have me spend the night again, boogers notwithstanding. Their house became a favorite overnight spot for my brother and me as we were growing up. But I’ll bet QP and UJ will never forget that first night with just me, before my brother came along.

I have a way with creating memorable moments. It’s a gift.

However, I’m a little afraid that Riley is destined to inherit this childhood habit of mine. Kids learn by association, right? I thought so: I’m already picking boogers out of his nose for him. Constantly. But don’t all mothers do that at one time or another? Isn’t it listed in our job description?

No?

Really?

Are you sure?

Either way, I’m already starting to wonder if a similar situation will come to pass when Riley spends the night with HIS aunt and uncle for the first time.

Aunt Erin….Uncle Jeff….are you ready for that? :)

Happy Friday everyone!

Reunited

Nola and Nopsi came to town this past weekend, both to visit the three of us and also to see each other. Mom has actually not gone back to Houston since before the holidays. She is supervising the (major) renovation of the backyard at their house in New Orleans, so she’ll be there for another couple of months. Dad, sadly, had to return to Houston right after New Year’s to go back to work. So they decided to meet in the middle at my house for a quick little reunion two weeks later.

They both arrived on Saturday morning. Mom and I escaped for a quick lunch out and then a run through at Loft (which kind of defeated the purpose of her spending time with Dad, but oh well), and then we spent the rest of the weekend all together watching the playoff games. None of us really care who makes it into the Superbowl since the Saints are out of contention, but we’re still a football-lovin’ family. 

 

Riley, of course, was the focus of everyone’s attention when he was awake. Both Mom and Dad were impressed with how well he is eating his rice cereal now. They both got to feed him, and neither could believe how far he had come in just two short weeks!

 

Dad left on Sunday around lunchtime, but Mom stayed one more night so she could watch (or, more accurately, fall asleep on the sofa during) the Golden Globes with me. It was a very short visit, but I’m glad we got to spend some time with them.

Thanks for coming to visit, Nola and Nopsi; we always like when you’re here!

 

My New Love

I recently purchased my very first pair of cowboy boots. Granted, they’re from Eddie Bauer and not what most would consider “true” cowboy boots. But still. Cowboy boots they are.

I went back and forth for about a week, internally debating whether or not to buy them. Would I really wear them enough to justify the money, even though I caught them on a pretty good sale? Did I really need them, even though, as I learned long ago from my mother, it’s not always about need? Plus, since I delayed a number of days on account of indecisiveness, my original color choice (brown) sold out in my size. That only left me with gray, which I REALLY wasn’t sure I would wear.

I ordered the boots in the gray anyway, figuring I could always return them to my local EB store if I decided I didn’t want to keep them.

Well, that ain’t happenin’. I LOVE my new boots.

These boots are cute, comfortable, and they make a loud, sharp sound when walked in on non-carpeted flooring. (I just love that sound. It makes me feel powerful.) I also ended up really liking the color. The gray is different enough to be interesting but not so different that it won’t go with a lot of the clothes I own. Perfect!

I wore my new boots this weekend when my mom and I went out to lunch and did some shopping at Loft. I must have told her half a dozen times, “I love my boots.”

I realize this post is a tad on the ironic side, considering what I wrote about a few days ago. But I can love my new boots AND still take them off the moment I walk into my house.

That way I can admire them from afar. In all of their gray glory.

And at the same time not interfere with my barefoot inclinations.

Withdrawals

I realized that I have not posted anything Riley-related in a few days. For that, I am oh-so-very sorry. I didn’t mean to cause anyone unnecessary withdrawals.

So, here are two videos. The first one was taken on Christmas Day. Riley started making this funny sound shortly before the holidays, and I (sort of) captured it on video (listen for it around the 25-second mark). It’s definitely funnier to hear it in person, especially when he really gets into it, but I hope you enjoy the video all the same.

And I hope you don’t mind; the second one is another laughing video. This time he’s in the bathtub, cracking up at his dad swinging colorful plastic rings into his line of sight. Not sure why this struck him as funny, but it did.

Okay, so neither is the greatest video in the world. I’ll try to do better next time!

Fetch Puppy

My brother Jeff has been working on a major project for some time now that is finally coming to fruition. Jeff helped to build a website called Fetch Puppy, and the site officially launches today.

Similar to Groupon, Fetch Puppy offers a different daily deal for various businesses around New Orleans. However, unlike Groupon, Fetch Puppy allows you, the community, to go out and land deals at places you want. YOU contact the business and settle on the terms of the deal. YOU send the deal over to Fetch Puppy. The FP staff then verifies with the business that the deal is in order and puts the deal on the schedule to be featured on the site for one day.

 

Also, as part of the Fetch Puppy community, YOU get to vote on which deal YOU want to be featured next. Once a deal has been verified by the FP staff, it will be listed on the site and voting will open. The FP staff have the final say on the actual schedule, but they want input from the people who will actually purchase the deals so they can determine what the community really wants.

But you know what the best part is? If YOU submit a legit deal to Fetch Puppy, then YOU will receive a portion (10%) of the profits from that deal. Seriously!

Say for example that I contacted the aquarium in New Orleans and set up a deal with them similar to the one they featured on Groupon on November 15 of last year. Just over 3000 people purchased that deal for $9. If I had submitted that same deal to Fetch Puppy and got the same results, I would have made just over $2700.

Score.

Plus, Fetch Puppy is going one step further. The site will also feature a local charity for one week that will also get a portion (10%) of the profits from ALL of that week’s deals. How cool is that? And, as part of the Fetch Puppy community, YOU can nominate a charity YOU would like to see benefit for one week.

I love the concept of this site. And I’m so proud of all of the work Jeff put into it. I hope it becomes a fast success.

So spread the word, tell all of your friends and family, and get to thinkin’ about some deals to submit!

Visit www.fetchpuppy.com for more information.

Footwear Aversions

I don’t really like wearing socks. Or shoes, for that matter. If I’m in the car, as long as I’m not driving, my shoes are usually off a couple of minutes into any trip of decent length. Whenever I come home from going somewhere I usually kick my shoes off the minute I step inside. I also have a tendency to leave my shoes under various dining tables at relatives’ or friends’ houses because I can’t seem to make it through a meal with them on. And, more often than not, I forget about them after we leave the table and usually spend a few minutes searching before I remember where I left them. I just need to start checking under the table first.

I have even been known to remove my shoes while eating out at a restaurant and tuck my legs up underneath me, getting comfy and settling in. While I wouldn’t do this at a fancy restaurant, I often do at more casual places. It’s just how I roll.

Socks get almost the same treatment from me. Most of the time I prefer to be completely barefoot. However, there are times (like now, when it’s very wintery outside) when I will cave and put on a pair of thick, soft, comfy socks. I don’t usually last very long before I take them off, though. This behavior of mine is especially fun at night in the winter months: Kenny just loves when I get into bed and stick my invariably freezing cold feet on his warm legs. If I started to wear socks regularly, I wouldn’t be able to torment him so.

And even thought he’d never admit it, I just know he’d miss it. Right, dear?

The only problem this creates is that my feet are almost ALWAYS really cold when I get into bed at night in the winter. And sometimes I like to give Kenny a break. So I choose not to freeze him out with my feet. But that leaves me with really cold feet. And burying them deep within the recesses of my bedding doesn’t work fast enough. I don’t ever achieve the pocket of warmth my feet desire within a reasonable amount of time. This really is a perpetual problem I have from December to February.

I realize there is a simple solution to all of this (just put on some socks, genius!), but I’m stubborn. And if I accepted that simplicity, I wouldn’t have this delightfully random topic to write about here. I bet you didn’t expect to read something like this when you clicked on the link to my site today.

What can I say? I’m an equal opportunity blogger.

And I’m just trying to keep it real, people.

Small Changes

As Kenny and I were getting ready for bed the other night (….at 9pm. Don’t make fun; that’s when you go to sleep when you have a four-month-old who may or may not be truly sleeping through the night. It’s true. It’s in the manual.) I commented that I wasn’t quite as enamored with my pillow as I used to be.

This is a big thing. Not long ago I absolutely LOVED my pillow and could not sleep well without it. I’d get all depressed if we went to stay overnight somewhere and I forgot it. I bet pregnancy changed my view of it. So I can blame Riley. Awesome.

My ever chivalrous spouse offered me his pillow, which is one of those memory foam ones with the depression in the middle of it, you know, for proper spine alignment and such. I have tried pillows like that in the past and found that I just don’t like them. When I said this to my other half, he responded with, “Okay, but just think of all of the things you hadn’t given a chance before you met me and now you’re hooked on.”

So instead of going right to sleep and not thinking about it like any good mother of a four-month-old (who may or may not be truly sleeping through the night) should do, I gave Kenny’s statement some thought. A few things popped into my head right away, and of course I had to get out of bed and open up my laptop so I could get it all down before I forgot something. (Remember, that’s been known to happen on many an occasion. Just think of all of the wisdom crap I could have imparted in the past but didn’t because I forgot before I could get to my computer. Now you’ll never know.)

None of these things are really life-changing. I for one do not believe one should change the way they are for the one they love. If you start out one way then you should stay that way. My husband fell in love with me for a reason, right? Sure, nobody’s perfect (certainly not me!), but that’s what makes us all so unique. He loves me regardless of all of my idiosyncrasies, so there’s no need to change. With all of our good and our bad, we’re perfect for each other. These “changes” listed below are just small, everyday improvements in my life as a whole, not changes to me as a person. Or at least, that’s what I think they are.

Wow, sorry about that slight deep diversion.

Okay, so here are the four items I came up with, in no particular order:

• Toothpaste: I was solely a Crest girl before I met Kenny. Then he told me about Arm & Hammer toothpaste with baking soda. I admit, the first time I tried it was out of necessity (There was no other option as we were traveling. I probably had forgotten my pillow, too.) and I did not like it one bit. But Kenny convinced me to give it a few more chances and he promised me I would be hooked. And you know what? I am. I’m hooked. I can’t stand Crest anymore. It tastes like candy compared to Arm & Hammer. Normally, that wouldn’t be a problem, but not in this case. “Candy” and “clean teeth” just don’t really go together. The baking soda in the Arm & Hammer toothpaste just leaves your mouth feeling so fresh and clean. I dare you to give it a fair try (at least a week). You may never go back to Crest, either.
• Green peppers: I’m not sure I had ever tasted a green pepper before dating Kenny. This is mostly because my mom never uses them when she cooks because my dad just can’t handle them. They do bad things to his stomach. And while I can’t remember the exact moment I first tasted one in all their glory, I do remember that it was Kenny who introduced me to them. I don’t know what I ever did without green peppers in my life. They are simply delicious, and I’m so sorry, Dad, that you can’t eat them. You don’t know what you’re missing. Oh, well; more for me!
• Separating laundry (or lack thereof): Like my mother taught me when I went off to college, I dutifully separated my whites from my darks whenever doing laundry. This changed when I had dated Kenny for a few years. He was putting a load in once and I remember he hadn’t separated anything. Whites, darks, towels, undies, you name it! He just threw enough in until it was full and let it whirl. (Dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria! Name that movie.) I soon realized that this is much easier than separating everything out (with the exception of sheets and towels; I do wash those separately) and have adopted the practice of NOT separating ever since. And I believe I have only inadvertently turned something pink once. Perhaps twice.
• Classic rock: I have an eclectic taste in music that runs the gamut from Top 40s to Country to New Age to Showtunes. And while my parents also exposed me and my brother to lots of great music from their generation that I still love to this day, I hadn’t really listened to much classic rock. Enter my husband. He’s a true classic rock fan. He introduced me to lots of songs I had never heard before that I now really enjoy. These days the radio in my car is practically permanently tuned to the local classic rock station. And that’s what I listen to, except for those times when I just need a Glee fix. That’s when I plug in my iPod and sing as loud as I want to, persons in the cars around me be damned. Sometimes you just have to belt out a good showtune. It can make everything better. 

So thank you, my sweet, wonderful, dearest husband, for introducing me to the aforementioned things. In doing so you have made my life better.

Now if you’ll all excuse me, I have to go make a second pot of coffee so I can remain awake to take care of my four-month-old (who did, in fact, sleep through the night). Maybe I should just keep pen and paper in my nightstand so I can avoid having to get up and type when I should be sleeping.

That would make a lot of sense.

Quality Time

Back in high school, I was the oddball in my group of friends: I did not want kids. Period. Ever. I was already focused on what career I would have, and while I did dream about what kind of guy I would marry, I didn’t ever see kids in the picture I had of my future. I wasn’t what one would consider “maternal.” I didn’t babysit as much as my friends did, I didn’t go gaga over babies like they did. I was, quite frankly, awkward and uncomfortable around young children. I was convinced having kids of my own was just not in my makeup.

All of that changed when Kenny and I started dating. I knew fairly soon into our relationship that we would raise a family together. I’m not sure how I knew it; I just did. I could see it. And I became excited about the prospect.

So while my life now is nothing like I pictured it back when I was in high school, I wouldn’t change it. I may have a master’s degree, I don’t have much of a career right now, but what I do have is a beautiful little boy.

I’m actually kind of proud of how fast I picked up on this motherhood thing. I went from knowing practically nothing (it’s true: ask my friend Karen how much I picked her brain when I was pregnant on how to raise a kid!) to figuring things out as I go and continually learning along the way. You’re sort of forced to learn quickly with a firstborn child; you ain’t got no other choice!

And you know what? It’s not always easy, but everything works out in the end. Even if you make a mistake, you just try another way. And I know as long as I continue to feel the overwhelming and unconditional love that I have for this little creature I helped to bring into this world, all is well.

Being able to stay home and have so much quality time with Riley has been wonderful, and I hope I can continue it for a long time. Otherwise, I would miss out on many special moments like these:

 

Even though you really didn’t have a choice, I still thank you, Riley, for letting me be your mom. I love you!