Issues Commenting on Blogger?

I was having this problem, and I know at least one other person was (Hi, Sara!).  I was googling around and found this and it worked for me.  Hope it works for you all, too.

http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/blogger/thread?tid=3115df39d8d4a613&hl=en

8 Months!

Drew,

You are 8 months old!  Actually, you are closer to 8.5 months old.  Why is this post late?  Well, you are moving now, and it has added a whole new level of work to having a baby!

You spent most of your seventh month trying to crawl.  First you would get up on all fours.  Then you rocked back [stopping to take you away from the curtains you were pulling on] and forth.  Then you did a modified version of the worm- moving [wow- beeline back for the curtains.  Stopping again] both knees, reaching out with one hand, lurching forward to land on your stomach, then pulling up again.  It got you where you wanted to go, but (lucky for me) it took some time.

[Putting you in our baby pool "ball pit" hoping to contain you] We baited you forward with all the toys we could think of, but really what caused you to move the fastest were (1) the dog's half-chewed rawhide bone, the iPhone, and a Reef.  I'm not sure why we spend the money on toys.

But then on Tuesday, June 21 (3 days after your 8  month birthday), you took off and haven't slowed down since.

You had another bout with illness this month, and it was worse than the last time.  About 10 days of a goopy nose and eyes and generally just feeling miserable.  You now run from your "nose sucker." [Taking you out of the ball pit because you seem to be stuck]

You are pulling up some now, and are quite proud of yourself when you do it.  I left you on my room (pre-crawling) to run to the kitchen for something and came back and you were standing at the ottoman at the end of our bed.  I screamed in excitement and you fell over (whoops- less enthusiasm, I guess.  You were fine).  You also greeted your daddy in a standing position after nap time, so we moved your crib down.

Drew, you are a GREAT baby.  You are pretty easy going (unless you are tired) and tons of fun.  You are changing every day [stopping to pull you out from under my feet in the desk, where you are going for a power cord].

If I had to make an educated guess, you are going to be a jeweler.  You have [stopping to prevent you from pulling over the fragile wedding gift that is sitting on the floor] been showing quite the interest in my wedding ring and watch.  You seem to have excellent taste.  Good news. [Stopping to take the business cards for my eye doctor out of your mouth] [Stopping to prevent you from pulling up on the desk][Stopping to pick up all the business cards you knocked over]

Ok, this has been fun.  You are a joy.

Readers, I think postings may get shorter and fewer.  Here are some pictures from the month.

Your dog just tolerates you, until you eat. She now knows you are a great bet for "people food."

Callegaris love Target!

Swimming

You guys help me paint (obviously pre-crawling. This would never work now).

Circus Freak!

Much love, son!

Mom and Dad

Grief

Much is going on in our lives right now (Drew's 8 month post is coming), but I have been overwhelmed with sadness for dear friends of ours this week.  Warning: Very sad story to follow.

One of Rob's fraternity brothers and his wife tried for years to get pregnant.  When they were told that would not happen, they turned to invetro, international adoption and domestic adoption.  Following their story was like taking one step forward and two steps back.  They thought they were close to the international adoption until a woman sent her son back to Russia with a note pinned to his shirt (remember that?) and placements significantly slowed down.  They had a birth mother for a domestic adoption, and then she miscarried.

So we were thrilled for them when they announced they had given invetro another go and were pregnant.  This was the dream they had hoped for and the prayer many of us had for them.  The babies-twins- were born at 28 weeks, but were in incredibly good shape.  Just a week after their birth they no longer needed breathing tubes.  They were getting bigger and stronger.

Last Wednesday (just their 3 week birthday) their baby girl got an infection, and passed Friday night.  

A parent losing a child is always sad, but knowing this couples story really makes you ask "Why them?"  Surely what they have gone through for the last 4-5 years was enough, did they need this tragedy too? 

I have no words.  I will just put this in God's hands knowing He will make everything work together for good.  Please pray for the continued growth and health of their little boy and that the parents can find some comfort as time goes on.

Mom Reality #7

Somedays require you to scour the internet to find out that pumpkin baby food and acrylic paint can be removed from clothing with Spray 'N Wash and hairspray (respectively).

Toys!

Today I noticed a new emotion in my child- boredom.  So many of the toys we have are really just brightly colored things to rattle or chew on, which, apparently, aren't cutting it anymore.  He sits in the exersaucer and stares out the window instead of playing with anything in front of him.  The walker, which has a whole table to play music, has now just turned into a vessel to pull the dish rag down from the oven handle or tug on the curtains. 

I'm trying to be intentional in the toys that I buy for Drew.  I really would prefer to not give my nest egg to Duracell or Energizer, and I'm not sure how I can one day convince Drew that playing outside really is fun when everything he has ever had lights up/sings/moves for him.

I ended up purchasing a shape sorter (he won't be able to sort for awhile, but it's something new), a toy where you push/pull/turn buttons and things pop up, some textured balls and a car that he can push that has balls that "pop" inside.  No batteries.  Nothing special.  Mostly stuff I had as a kid.

I'm not going to be one of those parents who insists on classic, wooden toys painted with lead free paint.  I know Drew will get plenty of crazy toys from grandparents, friends and family.  But I figure why add to that?

So friends with kiddos older than mine, do you have any recommendations?

Time Out

Until this weekend, the longest I have ever been away from my son has been about 18 hours.  So my long weekend was a test, but it was AMAZING.

Melanie, one of my best friends from college, moved to Boston to go to law school and stuck around almost 7 years.  Sometime "before October" (thanks for pinning that down, Mel) she is moving back to Texas.  I'm thrilled to have her closer, but I have LOVED getting to visit Boston several times while she was there. Back in March I booked a "farewell tour" and went out this weekend.  Since I took only one picture, lets revisit the weekend in list format, shall we?

1. "June" doesn't mean "hot" everywhere.  I am thankful for the black sweater I threw in my bag at the last minute.  I wore it every day over every thing, whether it matched or not.

2. While I'm a morning person and no stranger to 6am, FLYING at 6am means that I need to get up about 4, which is too early for this morning person.  Oh, and 4am Boston time is really like 3am Austin time.  Note to self.

3. Not sure American runs on Dunkin, but Boston sure does.  And I sure did when I bought a cup at 4:45am.

4. Boston likes their bacon.  Almost every meal involved bacon.

5.  It's easy to "state hop" in New England.  We did a day trip to Newport, RI and had a fabulous time. 

6.  Boston sea food is way better than Texas sea food (duh).

7. Massage + facial + mani + pedi = heaven

8. Melanie drinks strong cocktails.

And on some more serious notes:

9.  Long term friendships are amazing.  I am so lucky to have several really fantastic girlfriends who have known me for years.  Melanie, thank you for your hospitality yet again.  I feel like a Boston insider at this point.

10. My husband can't be beat.  He encouraged me to go on the trip, took 1.5 days off of work so I could spend some time in Boston, and told me they "missed me but were doing great" every time I would call.  I don't think I could have enjoyed myself like I did if I hadn't heard those words.  Rob, thank you for helping me break out of the mom rut every once in awhile.  I love you.

Finally, here is a pic of me at The Breakers.  Nice back yard, eh?

Memorial Day- Monday

To start off, I am so thankful for all the men and women who serve in the armed forces, and for the sacrifice of their families.  I honestly can't comprehend what it would be like to have one of my loved ones overseas, but I do know that without that sacrifice from others, my life would be very, very different.  I am so thankful for those who serve.

Rob and I joked that Memorial Day really should have been "Labor" day around our house.  A few weeks ago we realized that we had a couple of home issues we needed to address- most pressing was a leak in the wall where the washing machine was hooked up.  The drywall back there was a little squishy, and I was just imagine the mold colony that we were growing.  Also, our deck was rotting and I would cringe when more than Rob and I were outside-- I felt like there was a good possibility that someone would fall through.  Less pressing was some siding that needed to be replaced and a fence that was leaning.

The week before Memorial Day, we decided to (hire someone to) address these issues. 

The deck came out pretty quick, and Rob and I were pleased to find a cobblestone patio in good shape underneath.  I was imaging a mud pit outside our back door until we put in a patio later this year, so I was pleasantly surprised.

The laundry room was a different story.  It took them WAY longer to do than they said, and I was without washing machine for the whole time.  I was actually conserving Drew's clothes.  

By Monday, the laundry room was done and I had new drywall that needed paint.  And since I hate to make things easy for myself, I decided to repaint the entire room a new color.  So Monday I got up close and personal with Sherwin William's Uncertain Gray.  Which is lovely.  After two coats of that, I decided the small hallway outside the laundry room also needed a different color, so that changed, too.  Then I washed off the outdoor furniture and put it on the newly-found patio.  Then I washed the dog.

How do you entertain a baby while you paint?  Set him outside the door, give him lots of toys,
and tell his favorite toy, his dog, to "stay."

Then I collapsed on the floor while Rob created a pretty awesome recipe for spaghetti and meatballs.  Have I mentioned that he is an amazing cook?  I am so thankful for that weekend- we had great fun as a family, got to see good friends, and made some excellent progress on the house!

Memorial Day Weekend- Friday and Saturday

WHAT a weekend we had!  Lots of events and celebrations- probably our busiest weekend since Drew was born.

We started the weekend on Friday afternoon when we went to Vicki's to celebrate Austin's graduation from Westlake.  Rob's grandparents, aunts, uncles and some cousins were in town to celebrate, so we got to enjoy some good time visiting with them.  The graduation wasn't until 8:30 at night (!!), so Drew and I left after the dinner to come home and put him in bed.

Saturday morning was a first for Drew- attending his first birthday party!  Our dear friend Sam(antha) turned one and had a farming party, complete with tiny pony and petting zoo!  Needless to say, Drew was in overdrive that day. 

Rob met us at the party, and I decided it wasn't fair to make Drew wait to go to the petting zoo, so we went in ahead of time.  I sat Drew on the ground and the chickens and bunnies came to visit.  As did this guy.

This guy sniffed around on him, but his pants, but his shirt and then bit his EAR!  Drew started crying and jerked his body away from the goat and ended up falling into the pin that was keeping the animals in and started crying even more.  The good news was the goat didn't break the skin (or even leave a mark) and after I scooped him up he stopped crying in about 30 seconds.  So since he is obviously fine it really was one of the funniest things I had ever seen.

Once the party was over (and naps were had all around), Drew and I went downtown to the Omni Hotel for another first- SWIMMING!  Auntie Melanie was in town for Memorial Day and wanted to see the little man, so we headed down there.  The pool at the Omni is on the roof and is a lot like being in Vegas.  Drew was the only person there under legal drinking age (and our group was the only one not filled with silicone).  All the adults were just standing in the pool, holding a beverage and chatting.  I am sure I was getting some looks, but I didn't notice because I was too busy dealing with a squirming baby and wrestling a diaper bag.  Which probably made me all the more obvious.   But the bartenders up there brought me glass after glass of sno-cone ice, which D loved, and he really enjoyed the pool.  We will have to do it again soon-- but someplace more child friendly!

Monday needs some background, so it's coming soon.  Now I will leave you with a precious picture of my farmer baby....