HAPPY BABY PHOTO CONTEST

Here's our entry to the Happy Baby Photo contest...for a chance for Anthony to appear on the cover of Dr. Sears new book-- Happy Baby: The Organic Guide to Baby's First 24 Months (due out in September 2009). He is the ULTIMATE happy baby...Wish us luck!!!

Playdate with Brody

Today we went over to "Miss Jenn's" for a couple of hours for a fun playdate with Brody. Brody is 10 days younger than Anthony. They were having so much fun playing with this little keyboard together!

Gettin Into Mischief

Well, for the past couple of days, Anthony has been pulling up to his feet on everything in sight. Here he is playing with the plastic piece that holds the cords for the sliding glass door blinds.

And here he is getting into the magazine rack...

And here he is getting caught!

Me and My Daddy

Here's a picture of me and Daddy playing the guitar...

Workin' the Plaid

These are for you, Josh! Thanks for the outfit...we love it!

Could he win the "cutest baby of the year" award, or what???

My First Black Eye

It might be the first time, but we all know it won't be the last time! Let's just say he had an "encounter" with the corner of a table!!!

This was the first day he was actually feeling better, mind you. Poor baby...can't catch a break!

My First Teeth

Okay, has anyone else tried to get a picture of inside the mouth of a squirmy, active baby?!? Be forewarned...it's next to impossible!!! :)

Cooler Days

Mommy let me play outside in the leaves, but I kept trying to put them all in my mouth!!! :)

Anthony's Illness

Anthony had a rough week last week, but he seems to be better now. He was running high fevers for 8 days, and no one could seem to figure out what was wrong. We had almost every test in the book...



flu test

rsv test

strep test

bloodwork

chest xray

rapid respiratory panel



In the end, everything came back normal, so the conclusion is that it was just a nasty virus. Poor baby...he had to get 3 rounds of antibiotic shots (one in each leg each time) just to cover any underlying bacterial illnesses. (They had to make sure it wasn't meningitis or sepsis or an underlying pneumonia). One time his mommy had to give one of the shots (on Sunday) because there was no one else there (besides Dr. Wong) to give the second one...(gulp! it's different when it's your own child!!!).

Here's a pitiful picture of just a few of his band-aids.

And here's a smile to say "I'm really okay!"

As of Monday, he has been over the hump and on the road to recovery. No more high fevers and acting more like himself (just a little cranky still). Today (Friday) is the first day he has been completely himself...playful, happy, sweet-spirited.

Little Daydreamer

Kinda makes you wonder what he's thinking, huh?

Uh-Oh!

While I was at work today, Daddy fed Anthony lunch...

Here's what went down while Mom was away...

If I let him eat like this every day, I would get absolutely nothing done except caring for my baby and cleaning up food--from the kid, the highchair, his clothes, the carpet, the lamp next to the highchair, and the blinds!!! Good thing Daddy had it all cleaned up before Mommy got home! :)

By the way, Anthony is a pro at eating nowadays.

Here's a list of the foods he's tried and likes...

Rice Cereal

Oatmeal

Apples

Bananas

Carrots

Butternut Squash

Green Beans

Sweet Potatoes

Pears

Peaches

Pumpkin

Braised Beef (with sweet potato and carrot)

And the food he's not sure about...

Avacado

Chicken (with vegetables)

I've been making my own baby food for the most part. It takes some work, but it makes me feel better because I know exactly what's going into his body. We're still in the process of introducing new foods, but if any of you have more food suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them.

Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween, everyone! We had a fun, action-packed day. We spent the morning in Canton, TX for the outdoor market trade--IT'S HUGE!!! They have it once a month...takes us an hour to drive there. A couple of girlfriends and I (and Anthony) spent 4 hours there, and we didn't even see it all!!! They have everything -- holiday things, furniture (hand made, high end, very nice!), jewelry, candles, art, clothing, food (like corn dogs and funnel cakes!), kids stuff, home decor, etc!!! It was AWESOME! I'll have to go back some time soon. I bought a great clock for whenever we get a home! Anthony was perfect the whole time -- slept a lot in the stroller, didn't fuss once! What a great baby I have...I'm so blessed he has such a sweet disposition! Here he is posing with our snaggle tooth pumpkin (to match his little one and a half teeth) right before we left.




Later that night we went trick or treating with our friends Jenn (and Brody) and Carly (and Evan). Evan's two now, and he had a great time running to all the houses. He pooped out after about 10 stops for candy. Jenn and I just followed along for the fun of it. Some people were sweet and donated candy to the "mommy sanity fund" as I like to call it.

Here's our baby in his Tigger costume! So cute! It was more like a little "fat-suit" because Tigger has a big belly. You should've seen Anthony trying to crawl around in this thing! He dragged his belly on the ground and kept toppling over and had a hard time getting back up...I couldn't help but to laugh! (I know, mean mommy)

We had a difficult time getting him to sit still for this photo shoot. All he wanted to do was pull up the grass and leaves and try to put them in his mouth. The two pictures above this were snapped while Mario was dangling my keys up next to the camera.

Here's Anthony with his buddy Brody. Brody is a bat. Don't they look like they're having a blast!?!

Hope you all had a Happy Halloween too!

Happy Fall!!!

Awww...look at our little punkin-head!!!

We were on our way to Dr. Goebel's office yesterday, and it was so crisp and cool that it really felt like fall! Anthony would hardly sit still for me...He was too busy crawling to the edge of the sidewalk and pulling up the grass!

So, he got 2 vaccines, and on top of that he has his first tooth popping through the bottom gumline, so he's not feeling very well today. :( Hopefully we can lay low for a bit and get back on track quickly!

Enjoy!!!

Like Father, Like Son

Courtesy of Ma Mammina, here's the picture of Mario I made reference to in my earlier posting. Identical expressions!!! I guess it's confirmed who Anthony takes after the most!!!

Here's Anthony's pic again so you can compare!!!

6 Month Checkup

Here are Anthony's stats for his 6 month checkup...

Weight: 15lbs, 70z (20%)
Height: 26 3/4 inches (60%)
Head circumference: 41cm (3%)

He's functioning at the level of a baby between 7 1/2 to 8 1/2 months! Big boy!!!
So, we'll go back in to the office next week to get a couple more shots (including the flu vaccine).
Then, we don't have to go back until his 9 month checkup!!!

Here's a picture of his silly grin.

Oh, and by the way, he's finally babbling some bababa's!!!

"Uncle" John Comes to Visit

Here's a pic of Anthony and John Blake...he came to visit us on Friday. They seemed to hit it off pretty well, wouldn't you say?

John is beginning his own company/ministry called TBCC (Teambuilding, Coaching, and Consulting). Their mission is to assist Christian education leaders to more effective ministry by understanding their unique role within the Body of Christ. Over 80% of churched students from Christian schools fall away from the Lord when they go to college. His hope is that through his ministry, he can help to lower this statistic. Please be in prayer for him, and if you are interested in financially supporting him, let me know, and I'll get you in touch with him.

Saying Goodbye

This very well may be the last picture of our thumb sucking. We are limiting the pacifier to night time only, and both daddy and mommy are being persistent in redirecting Anthony's hands to a toy when the thumb starts going into the mouth. (Some days Anthony is more persistent than both of us!!! haha!) However, we couldn't resist one last picture of it because it is just too darn cute! I think there's a picture of Mario when he was about this age sucking his thumb with the same irresistable expression on his face!!!

Sitting Yesterday/Sitting Today

Sitting on the sofa yesterday

Sitting on the changing table today

Okay, he's growing so fast even I can hardly keep up!!!

Any textbooks you have shoved in a closet?

Mandy??? Anyone?

Just go to www.cash4books.net and enter the isbn number (on the back of the book) to see if they will buy it back from you. They specialize in textbooks, but I think you can luck up with other books too. If they are buying it back, they pay for shipping, so it's a great way to make a little extra cash!!! I think you need to have a paypal account. We just did this with a couple of books Mario wasn't using anymore and got about $30!!!

And, yes, I got this idea off of moneysavingmom.com!!! :)

Good Luck!

CVS Deals

Okay, so, I know this blog is mostly about Anthony, but I couldn't resist sharing with you the great deals I'm getting at CVS by implementing the couponing techniques from moneysavingmom.com! I have a link to her blog on the right. I've been doing this for a little over a month now. Here's what I got at CVS today...

One Accu-Chek monitor
One Dawn dish soap
Two Colgate toothpastes
Two rolls of paper towels
Two bags of Sour Patch Kids
Two Cover Girl lip glosses
Five BC/Goody's pain relievers

Total spent out of pocket...(are you sitting down?)...$2.90!!!
It would've been even cheaper, but I messed up on one of the coupons!!! So I don't exactly need an Accu-Chek monitor, but why not if it's free? It originally retailed at $78, so it's a good one! Let me know if anyone needs it!
So, this is becoming a sort of fun game for me (plus a way to save our hard-earned cash and be a frugal wife/mother). I'll keep you posted with more deals in the weeks to come!

Anthony Playing

Here are some pics I took today...I'm the luckiest mom in the world!

So much for laying out a blanket for him to play on...now he just rolls right off!

Such a happy child! Getting stronger arm muscles! We've caught him on his hands and knees a couple of times lately!!!

Anthony and Brody

here are a couple of pics of anthony and his buddy brody (jenn's little boy) from when i babysat him week before last...

i tried to get them both holding their tools, but they never would both do it at the same time! here's anthony just smiling away while brody was fussing at me.

take 2: anthony is still smiling; i had to plug the other kid up!

take 3: anthony is looking at me like "you've got to be kidding me...you're going to keep trying to get this other kid to smile? i'm so done. who is this kid, anyway?" :)

First Foods

Well, we're starting solids around here...I don't think we've got the hang of it quite yet!!! We've been attempting it for about the past couple of weeks. Anthony has tried rice cereal, bananas, avacado, and carrots. I know I just have to have time and patience to figure all this out...for him it's a new taste, new texture, new place to sit, new experience...but as of yet, we haven't accomplished more than a couple of bites (and those were my feeble attempts at distracting him and shoving it in!)

something's gone awry!!! when i told him he needed to eat, i forgot to explain that it's actually what goes "on" the tray that he chews and swallows!!!

i made the rice cereal as thin as i could with a lot of my milk so hopefully it wouldn't taste that different from his usual meals...evidently it did! (classic face!)

we'll continue forging ahead into this unchartered territory. let me know if you have any tips!

Bathtub Shenanigans

if he gets any more flexible, he'll turn himself inside out!!!

Anthony's Baby Dedication

hi everyone! sorry it's taken me so long to get these pics out...we loved having you all here! can't wait to see you soon. anthony's baby dedication weekend was a huge success! here are the pictures courtesy of gramma mammina. thanks to all of you for making the trip down...it meant so much!