Can you spot the baby?

Camo baby. Sneaky!

A Mother's Bias? OR THE CUTEST BABY EVER?

I told you, this kid sucks his thumb. It's cute and terrifying at the same time. Braces. Better start saving money now.

I couldn't decide which picture to post from this series, so I just posted three of them. I love how blue his eyes look when he wears this particular outfit.

Depending on the lighting, this blond-haired baby (well, what little there is of it anyway) looks a bit like a redhead...

And for good measure, photographic proof that Juston owes me big time. I made him like 60 heart-shaped, frosted, and hand sprinkled sugar cookies for a work meeting today. Apparently, I'm too nice sometimes.

The Carnage Begins...

We're having the large, very dead tree in our front yard removed. Here is the first photo of the demolition:

Today they're outside, working on the trunk and making firewood out of it - the tree service also specializes in firewood. Smart, right? More photos to come.

Oh, a bad trip to Target...

On Saturday I went to Target. Target was fine, but the products I purchased have not done so well in the last two days.


Culprit #1: Jergens Ultra Healing Body Lotion. DON'T BUY IT! Unless you like smelling like Charlie perfume. Gross. The label said NOTHING about a scent and I was duped; I was expecting it to have a generic pasty lotion scent, not a cheap drugstore sickening 'eau de toilette' odor that you can't escape. I put in a complaint today and we'll see if they reply to my rather blunt statement about their lotion's stench.
UPDATE! The Kao Brands people replied and are sending me a coupon to replace my stinky lotion. Thanks! You can continue to patronize them and buy their products.



Culprit #2: Leap Frog Baby Gentle Vibes Teether Seems like a simple enough concept, right? Baby bites down on teether, teether vibrates. Oh no, my friend. Teether vibrates...and vibrates...and vibrates...nonstop...starting this afternoon and continuting until this very moment. It's driving me CRAZY. I threw it in the fridge at one point so I wouldn't hear its gentle vibrations. The fridge started shaking. It's now on a bookshelf in the laundry room where its vibrating terror cannot afflict me. I'm sure that I won't be able to sleep tonight because it will gently DRIVE ME NUTS. I've also put in my complaint (i.e. desperate plea for help) to the Leap Frog corporation.


Is it feasible to take things back like the aforementioned items? I do still have the receipt. If not, can you contribute to my 'buy Mary some non-stinky lotion' fund? Donations of all sizes are accepted, but we prefer a minimum donation of $5. :)

Babies Suck

...but not in the way you might think! Frankie is teething, and has started to vigorously suck his thumb over the past few days. I thought I'd dust off the old paci and see if he would take it. He struggles to keep it in his mouth, but he seems to like the results.

Bridget waits for the pacifier to fall out so she can eat it (it wouldn't be the first to meet this fate.)

Of course, it just fell out, I showed it to him, and he stuck his thumb back in his mouth; I guess the thumb is attached and harder to lose. Figures.

More Great Frankie Moments

Here are some photos of the baby. If you like them, you can always leave a comment so I can feel validated in what I'm doing. I thrive on validation.

Yeah, there's a lot of pictures of Frankie in his high chair. It's easy to take pictures when he's on lockdown.

Frankie passed the six month mark last week. It's hard to believe. We're also forcing him to sleep through the night. Last night, he slept through the night, but guess who else was up at 4:30 AM? I'm still adjusting to the possibility of having more than four hours of sleep in a row.

Backyard BBQ

Could this be any more pathetic?

Yes, that is the George Foreman. We make do.

And for good measure, a photo of our back porch and backyard...yikes!

Dad is Rad

A photo retrospective of Frankie and Juston

Peaches, not so much...

Food! Glorious Food!

It's so good that my mouth cannot contain my excitement!

Frankie started the solids a week ago. Much mess ensued.

Jealousy

Somepug is getting jealous of somebaby. Sometimes somepoop shows up in front of somecrib. Bad dog.

Frankie the Sailor Man

We took advantage of some unseasonably warm weather to break out Frankie's sailor suit and kneesocks. Someone asked me if this was "cruel and unusual." Someone else asked what boat he sails on - the S.S. Neversail? Oh, the things that we can inflict upon our children when they are unable to fight back! But you must admit, this kid looks disgustingly adorable.

And now, for some flying.

Lovey

Frankie and his lovey sharing some romantic swing time.

Utah, ho!

We went westward for Christmas and found ourselves at the family farm. Following are a few of the photos of our misadventures, in no particular order.

Isn't he just the cutest? (Name that movie quote.)

Frankie and Grandma.

Frankie sandwich - Uncle Jesse and Grandpa. All types of red stripes.

We went sleddin' - I'm the one on the sled. My ears nearly froze off.

Uncle Frank and Frankie.

Frankie and Bridget wish everyone a happy new year. Now go hit the gym or something.

Frankie squared

Frankie got to meet our friend Frankie. She'll be 90 years old this month! Frankie doesn't mind sharing a name with such a fantastic lady.

Family Party

I had a four-day layover on my way back to the East Coast. Thus, Frankie got to meet all of his aunts and uncles during our trip on both sides of the family. These photos are from my family's Christmas get-together last week.


My parents and my brothers and sisters. I'm in there, too.

Frankie with two of his cousins. What is it with female cousins between the age of four and nine absolutely fawning over every baby cousin in sight? Frankie is already quite the ladykiller.

Frankie with his aunt Tonia.

I kind of over-corrected the red eye in the previous post. I'll fix the demon eyes when I have access to my computer again. Until then.

Christmas Cash

Frankie thoroughly enjoyed his first 'cute baby' bonus. Unfortunately he'll probably never hold a thousand dollars again. Thanks, grandpa!

(For what it's worth, that wasn't actually our cash and is not in our possession. Just in case you were wondering.)

Oh yes.

Postings have been few and far between because of the holidays and our trip to visit the in-laws. I will satiate your appetite for more Frankie with our Christmas card, for those of you that haven't seen it yet. It's pretty amazing. If you see something in the sky above downtown Atlanta on Christmas Eve, it might be a wee babe posing as Santa and a pug dressed as Superman dressed as a reindeer.

Frankie Loves Santa

Well, maybe love is a bit too strong of a word...

Milestone Reached.

On December 6, at approximately 5:48 PM EST, Frankie rolled over, front to back, for the first time. He's well on his way to learning how to do taxes.

Sleepytime Serenade

"La la la la la...Frankie, you're beautiful, you're beautiful, you're beautiful, it's true."

(Juston really doesn't know how to play anything on the guitar. He was amazing us with one-note songs last night. We also DO NOT endorse James Blunt in this house. Your ears might bleed if you listen to that stuff for too long.)

Ready for the holidays! Hi Grandmas!

Happy Birthday, Britney!

I felt it was appropriate to honor the subject of at least four of my university papers, Britney Spears, on this, the occasion of her twenty-fifth birthday. In graduate school, I wrote a quite brilliant paper on the Spears/Madonna relationship; too bad they are no longer friends. Of course, 'Spears as an icon of motherhood' would be a fun paper to write. I also own the disaster that is "Chaotic" on DVD, because it deserves further analysis. Any excuse to watch music videos for academic reasons is right by me! Thanks, Britney, for being a staple of American popular culture.

Four month stats.

Frankie is four months old this weekend. In this exciting text-only post, I will relay his stats courtesy of his doctor appointment earlier today. Juston got the priviledge of taking p-nut to the doctor, only to listen to him scream the whole time, even before the needles came out. Apparently he wasn't in the mood.


Weight: 12 lbs 1 oz
Length: 23.5 inches


P-nut is still on the small side, but is growing nicely and the doctor didn't seem to have any complaints. We're supposed to start him on solids soon, but I think I want to wait just a tiny bit longer before feeding him the rice mush. Yum yum. He's been sleeping in his own bed for three weeks now, I think. I was skeptical at first about it, but I would highly recommend considering Babywise to anyone who might care. Frankie's babysitter introduced me to the concept and I'm sold; Frankie sleeps like a dream these days, even though he still averages two feedings a night. It's also a lifesaver for me, because I can count on my two or three hours a night without having to worry about baby and I can get important work done slack off and watch TV.


I promise to take more photos soon. There should be photo ops coming up with all of the Christmas whatnots going on around town.