Photo Challenge Week 5 - Emotion

Emotion...in a 10 minute span.

Next week...Photo Story.

Today Jack is...34 weeks old.

Halloween season is here and I am trying to make the most of it. Sure, Jack has no idea what the holiday is about but I'm trying to get some great photo ops. Isn't that one of the perks of having a baby? The pic above is from his first Halloween get-together. Then later in the week we went to a Halloween party with about 30 two and three year olds running around and acting like maniacs. Well, I should say the boys were running around breaking things and screaming and going wild. The girls were just playing on the swings and making art at the craft table. I am so terrified of having an insane toddler boy. But I suppose that's inevitable. Until then, Jack and the other 6 immobile babies hung out on the picnic blanket looking cute. My little puppy dog...

This week was ridiculously hot again and Jack figured out how to beat the 100 degree temperatures...jump in the pool!

Day after day he would lead me over to the pool with his tottering steps then sort of sit down on the edge and slide in. He thought it was the funniest and coolest thing ever. I hope this kid continues to love the pool. Here's John holding him back so he doesn't dive off the high ledge.

In development news, Jack is getting more stable on his feet and is pretty good at holding on to tables and chairs. He is desperately trying to crawl but no forward motion yet. (And that's okay with me!) He still hasn't gotten the hang of his sippy cup but he's pretty good at drinking out of a regular cup. Of course, I have to hold it but still...progress!

Somehow this past weekend John and I managed to escape for a very long time to attend a wedding. It was the first time we'd gotten dressed up since we became parents and I think we cleaned up pretty good. Of course, after 7 months of wearing flip flops and sneakers, 8 hours in high heels was pretty damn painful.

And now, more pics from the week!

Showing off the cut he gave himself on his cheek. Mommy needs to trim his nails more often.


It's a plane!


"Handsome like Daddy" indeed.




He discovered the remote. It's all over.


Showing off how far he can move without actually crawling.


Me and my little puppy dog.

Five for Friday: Things I Can Do

My Top Five Things I Can Do

5. Recite "The Breakfast Club" and "Top Gun"
4. Parallel park
3. Sing hundreds of camp songs
2. Bake a pretty good batch of brownies, chocolate chip cookies, and pumpkin chocolate chip muffins.
1. Throw and hit a softball

What can you do?

Breast Cancer, Ta-Tas, and a Giveaway

As part of October's Breast Cancer Awareness month, the Save the Ta-tas Foundation invited bloggers to write a post on breast cancer. Their foundation was created as a way to fight breast cancer using “laughter and fun”. And as a pretty big supporter of those two things, I am excited to get to write a blog post. The Ta-tas website donates a portion of all sales to the fight against breast cancer. Keep reading and enter the giveaway for a chance to win a one of their onesies. PLEASE MAKE SURE TO COMMENT USING YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IF YOU'D LIKE TO WIN.

I have never thought about boobs more in my entire life. As a new mom, they are constantly on my mind. In the past, they were just two things I had to contain in a nice, little, lacy bra. Okay, fine, I'll be honest…. A nice, not-so-little, comfortable t-shirt bra. But then I got pregnant. And things…intensified. They were huge. And hurt. I bought bigger, uglier bras. Then I had a baby and bought bigger, uglier nursing bras. Boobs were all over my life and I had better get used to it. After I gave birth, the hospital offered me a crash course in this new way of thinking when I had about 5 nurses pulling and positioning my breasts trying to help me breastfeed. A lactation consultant calmly examined my nipples and told me they were great for latching. I'd go to a mommy and me class and women were whipping them out and breastfeeding their newborns. Breastfeeding was, at first, quite a trial. Why in the hell don't they tell you how difficult it can be? So many books and classes made it sound like breastfeeding was the most magical, natural thing in the world and a newborn would latch on minutes after being born and angels would sing and bells would chime and there would be a pixie dust glow about the room. Maybe that's what it's like for some women, but not for me. It was a skill that both my son and I had to learn. But once we did we were off and running. I am now one of those women who breastfeeds in the mommy and me class and who casually nurses my son for an entire cross-country flight. I can certainly complain about some aspects of breastfeeding (and do) but only to my husband. And, well, maybe to the whole world wide web…the saggy boobs, the humongous size increase, the feeling like a human pacifier, the fact that your husband can't substitute for you at 3am, etc. All downsides to nursing. But most days I think of my friend and I am extremely grateful for this gift, saggy boobs and all.

Jenny is exactly one week younger than me. We've been to Italy together, we've thrown joint birthday parties, we've worked together for years. She's tall, I'm tall. She likes food, I like food. She's funny, I'm funny. So when she told me right after our 31st birthday that she had breast cancer, I was floored. 31 years old? My age? Impossible. She was so healthy! Way healthier than me. She would describe her 10-mile hikes, her yoga sessions, juice smoothies, and her exercise classes and I would shudder in horror. Yet suddenly I was pregnant and bemoaning my aching boobs, and she was about to have a mastectomy. And a few months later I had this tiny little being that I loved and, by some miracle, I could feed and nourish him all with my boobs. In the blink of an eye, our roles could have been reversed. I easily could have been the one who, early on a Saturday morning in the bathroom, found a lump rather than a positive pregnancy test. But here I was breastfeeding my newborn and I thought about what I would do if that opportunity were taken away from me. If these boobs I'd been complaining about and that nurses had been poking and prodding were no longer. And I was so sad. Then I was pissed. And then I was full of admiration for Jenny. She got her diagnosis and then refused to be a victim. She researched, she read every article and website about the subject, she fought her cancer with surgery, with Western medicine and with Eastern acupuncture and diet changes. She handled it about 100 times better than I ever could have. Breast cancer, like all cancers, is so damn unfair and cruel. And it doesn’t discriminate based on age. I could have easily been the one diagnosed in the middle of my 30s. I know women with double mastectomies certainly go on to have children and bottle-feed their newborns and I think that's so amazing. But to want to breastfeed and not have the option because of breast cancer… It breaks my heart. So even with my saggy boobs, stretched out nursing bras, bouts of mastitis, breast pads, engorgement pain, pumping sessions, and a teething infant, I'm forever grateful for this experience.

Learn more about donating to the fight against breast cancer by visiting Save The Ta-Tas. Ta-tas is helping me give away one of their baby onesies. To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment. For an additional entry and chance to win, you can follow my blog. Once we've picked a random winner next Wednesday 10/19, I'll email that person to get the desired size and address. Good luck! Contest valid for residents of the U.S. only. Must be 18 years or older and remember to provide a valid email address. We can't have an ANONYMOUS winner because I won't know how to contact you. Thanks!

What's in a Stroller?

Like everything else in the world, strollers have gotten fancy and expensive and trendy. There are brands that tend to "say" something about the mom that's pushing them. Of course, sometimes a stroller is just a stroller and it's ridiculous to give any weight to what brand allows you to push around your kid on four wheels.

I have many strollers. It's not really my fault. We got one great Chicco stroller at my baby shower and I love it. But then we got a couple of hand-me-down strollers from friends and I took them all. When I was pregnant I didn't really have any concept of what I would like or what the little guy would like. Mainly we use the Chicco one but the other day I busted out this little Maclaren lightweight stroller. Of course, I didn't really want a Maclaren stroller because, around LA, it just means fancy and rich and it's what the beautiful 105 pound actresses push their babies around in. (Babies who are named "Bear" or "Axel" or "Zuma" by the way.) But, I have to say, it's a great little stroller. I think Jack likes it because he sits really upright and is right out in the action, no tray to come between him and his trees. Of course, I wish it didn't have the words "Maclaren" blazoned across the seatback. But hopefully I don't look too cool for school in my sneakers, stained t-shirt, and ponytail. My son on the other hand... Maybe he should lose the shades.

Latest Favorite

This weekend Jack got a surprise from his Grandma... the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Table.
It is now his new favorite toy and, I have to say, it's pretty amazing. It's got 4 "stations" and they all speak numbers, letters, shapes, read book pages, make animal sounds, and play the piano. It also does all those things in Spanish. And plays lots of songs. And pretty much can talk to Jack. It's awesome. And will occupy Jack for a good 20 minutes at a time. A new record!

It gets better every day...

I've had two moms at the playground (on two different occasions) tell me that, after 6 months, it just gets better every day. In my charming "glass half empty" kind of way, I asked when it stopped getting better every day. Clearly, after seeing lots of 12 year olds at the mall telling their moms that they're stupid, I believe at some point it stops getting better and starts being quite trying. The moms both had the same answer for me. It stops being completely blissful around 18 months because the temper tantrums start. So what do you think? Is that about right? Just wondering how much longer Jack will be so completely awesome.

Photo Challenge Week 4 - What's in my Desk

When I was working I had a glorious desk. Big, L-shaped, power stapler, pens of every color, shape, and size, hole puncher, rulers, etc. Now that I'm at home, I don't even turn on my computer until 8pm, let alone have a desk I use. Everything I do, I do on my iPhone. It's my calendar, my address book, my camera, my email, my music, my games, my news source, my note pad. It's (sadly) my entire life. Thanks Steve Jobs.

Next week...Emotion.

Today Jack is...33 weeks old.

Jack had a lot of fun with all his toys this week. His big toys. He is loving his walker.

He can go backwards in it very well but is still working on going forwards. He is also still enjoying the jumperoo. He bounces and bounces all day.

Then this week we got a swing that we hung from a tree in our front yard. He loves the swings at the park so we thought this would go over well and, man, it certainly did.

He squeals in delight...the higher and harder I swing him, the louder he laughs. As for movement, nowadays when I take my eyes off of him, I look back and he's in a totally different place. He's not crawling. But what he is doing is scooting backwards, rolling all over, spinning in circles and, within the last couple of days, usually all his energy and grunting and struggling and inching forward. It's pretty comical to watch just because he's trying so hard. I also left him today sitting in his crib and I came back and he was standing up. So that happened.

This week we also had our first successful restaurant high chair experience. We went to a super super casual restaurant (no waiters) and the little guy sat in the wooden high chair for the first time. He picked at my steamed vegetables but mostly just dropped them onto the floor one by one. At the end of the meal I was extremely grateful that we hadn't gone to an actual nice establishment where I couldn't have picked all of his veggies off the tile floor. But it was a good start.

And now, more pics from the week!

Testing out his "new" hand-me-down stroller

Another trip to the Americana

Enthralled by the fountain

Updating his Facebook page

Five for Friday: Bad Guys from Childhood

My top 5 Childhood Bad Guys

5. Sheriff Nottingham in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves"

4. The Fratellis in "The Goonies"

3. J.P. and Natalie Sands in "Girls Just Want to Have Fun"

2. Johnny in "The Karate Kid"

1. Velda Plendor in "Troop Beverly Hills"

What are your top five?