Nine Months

A few special facts about our little baguette:
It sounds like he says Dada & MomMom but we could be kidding ourselves
He absolutely loves playing with his toothbrush
All the sudden if he smiles really big he also squints his eyes really hard
If you tell him NO you risk getting slapped in the mouth
And because of that he now gets spanked... alot
We have no idea how he learned to waive hello
Sometimes we catch him standing on his own for brief little moments
He thinks he is so cool when he uses our low windowsill as a seat
He refuses to hold his own bottle and properly use his sippy cup
Daddy says he has a "pumpkin mouth" because he has teeth coming in everywhere
(Daddy is referring to what normal people call a Jack-O-Lantern)
When you help him walk he takes giant steps with his right and kinda drags his left leg along
If you say "shake yo bootay" he will give you a little jig
He has eight teeth
He can now pull things off the desk & table if he stands on his tippy toes
He requires the Backyardigans to finish most bottles
You gotta watch his hands when he gets a diaper change our else he is grabbing a dirty wiggy
He is such a big sharer and he will try to feed us with his nasty gummy hands
When Daddy is off for the weekends he refuses to eat and sleep on his normal schedule
He learned in less then two days how to slide off the couch without hurting himself
&
It is such a joy to watch him grow and it makes us feel utterly blessed that he is such a happy and healthy little boy. We couldnt feel more proud to be his Mommy & Daddy.

Just Keep Swimin.

Yes, this blog is about fish.
Hence the title tribute to Finding Nemo.
Our little family finally decided that, although spending relaxing weekends at home are nice, sometimes you just gotta get crazy and head to the aquarium. So we did just that.
We were pretty excited to introduce Khage to this magical world of life under the sea.... under the sea. (I stated that last phrase twice to keep up with the fish movie references... The Little Mermaid, just in case you needed some help).
We were sure he would love the colors and the movements of the fishes as they swam right up against the glass. And they had these little bubble things you could sit in and get as close as possible to being underwater without actually getting wet or attacked by the man eating stingrays. Khage was very serious the whole time as he watched everything moving about... he was not into any funny business like laughing or cracking even a smidge of a smile. Apparently the aquarium is no place for fun and games.
Op, here's a smile.

Hood rat.

Khage has this hoodie and we cannot get over how friggin adorable his little face looks all bundled in it. We got this hoodie for only 1 single buck and once you see it you will probably understand why. Most of the men in the family have one of these hoodies... including Brad, Jason, Trevor and Zach. And once winter rolls around they all like to bust them out and every time I try to walk at least fifteen feet behind them in public. But Khage is growing into a mini version of his father so it was pointless to fight the inevitable... so he too got himself a MexiHoodie.
While this hoodie is rough on the eyes this little hood rat couldn't be cuter.





Isn't this last picture of him sticking his tongue out just too darling? He is still young enough to get away with such acts of vengeance. Soon enough that little number is going to be followed up by a little soap in the month. Something I am looking forward to by the way. And that is not backed up by hostility towards Khage... I am just looking forward to enforcing future disciplinary actions on all my children.

Pinterest

I love Pinterest. I cannot get enough of that place. When Khage is napping and the dishes are washed, laundry is folded, and I have watched all that I can on Netflix... I pinterest.

(And sometimes not in that exact order).

But I refuse to be one of these people

So I actually do all most some of my pins.

Here are the pins that I have done, my opinions on them and some minor improvements if necessary.

These burritos are amazingly delicious and this recipe makes at least 16 of them to freeze for later. Brad & I loved them... they were so easy to make... and fast for those of you who dont have time for a hearty breakfast {like Brad} or those who refuse to wake up to make that hearty breakfast {like me}.

This recipe for homemade OxyClean really did work. It did remove stains... but it failed to leave a nice little airy fresh scent like the real OxyClean. Something we prefer to fork over seven bucks for.

I swear by this carpet cleaning solution. I have lived in a number of rental homes and it is always a fear of mine to permanently damage the carpet and therefor have to pay to replace it. But this solution not only cleaned up all of our little stains but also removed the one stain that remained even after the professional cleaners had left.

These cake balls are amazing and so easy. I made two batches, the first one I followed the directions completly and the second one I only used 3/4s of a container of frosting. The batch with the less frosting was better, it wasnt as sweet at the original recipe. I would rather less sweet so I can have more... just saying.

Oh man were these little badboys amazing? Yes. Yes they were.

Heres a tip for you: remove the brownies before you splodge in the peanut butter or else good luck diggin them out of the muffin pan without destroying thier cute little muffin look. Aside from that they were simply delicious.

Isnt this lens buddy so cute! It is supposed to gaurantee a smile from you little wees everytime. Well he and a few of his friends are sold on etsy ranging from $5 bucks to $30. But because I am the ultimate DIY enthusiast (or if we wanna take it back to grad-school: ultimate copycater) I kept my money and made this guy myself.

To make this all you need is wood or canvas, a staple gun, and some lovely fabric. It was pretty simple... although I do recommend two sets of hands for the streatching & stapling. If you choose to go the route we did and make your own fabric streatchers with wood be sure the wood is absolutly flat when laid against the wall or your gonna have corners that wanna pop off the wall. We ended up having to take them down, soak the wood with the hose (with the fabric left on), dry them in trash bags (to make sure the fabric didnt get dirty, and rehang them.

And this guy is down right genius. It has saved me quite the hassle when hanging frames... the biggest problem we had with these little dudes was getting them since were not soda drinkers.

Thirsty Anyone?

The other day Brad wasn't feelin well and he needed some NyQuil so he ran off to the store. Just in case you feel like putting me on trial for being the unkind and cruel wife who didn't go to the store for her sick husband, I would like to add that I did offer. But Bradley also wanted tea and he didn't trust me to pick out his new tea flavor... yes he takes his tea that serious.

Lets just get back on topic.

When Brad arrives home he pulls a little something out of the grocery bag and proceeds to tell me how he got me a surprise.

 Yes. Olive Oil Nourishing Sheen Spray. 

So what I am telling you is that Brad was exhausted, congested and coughing and yet he still found it necessary to visit the ethnic hair care section to find me some assistance with this ragamuffin mop I call hair.

  

All I have to say is, its nice to finally know what Brad thinks about my hair... dry, thirsty & in need of some sheen!

And sick or not Brad just couldn't stand it anymore.

Please excuse me while I go quench its thirst!

Work it Khagey.

 Khage's first semi-professional modeling gig. 

And I use the term semi-professional loosely because as of now we both could use alot of work; me on my photography skills and him on listening to the photographer's direction. He refused to look at the camera just about the whole time... therefor I made his feet, hands, and even his booty the main focus a time or two or three. I even brought a rattle to get his attention, Wilbie to get him to smile and I was making obnoxiously loud farm animal noises the whole time thinking he would at least give me one of those your so silly mom but I will smile just so then maybe you will stop kinda looks. All of which couldn't compete with the many things that were stealing his attention, like the dirt, and rocks, and the spat out sunflower seeds that he found on the ground in the dug out... and that I later found in his mouth.

 But boy doesn't he look so darn cute all jeans cuffed at the bottom and barefoot. I am so glad I get to keep this kid.

The one above looks all 1950's little boy on a ranch.

 I just dont know if it can get any more adorable then that.

Oh wait yes it can continue on down...

 And here's hoping we got ourselves a little t-ball player

Oh and do you like my jamee mae photography stamp? 

Yeah I'm legit!

your favorite

You finally have a favorite toy. For the longest time you didn't have an extreme fondness for any of your things... no blankets, stuffed animals, or toys. And frankly I was a little worried that you were going to end up kinda weird because of your lack of attachment to anything but me & daddy. But its been a few months now and the affection you have for this guy has remained. When we hand him to you, you immediately pounce on him with your face buried in his fluff... your cute little baby version of a bear hug I guess? And were always sure to place him in your crib next to you while you sleep so you don't ever wake up alone. Although we have noticed he has become, next to the pacifier and blanket, one of the things that gets tossed aboard from the crib in the morning. But were pretty sure you just really like the idea of throwing things about & Wilbie shouldn't take it personally.

Vroom Vroom

One of Brads friends had a three wheeler that was completely old and trashed and he was thinking about junk'in it. But Brad, being the most amazing fix it guy I have ever come to know, decided to save this little three wheeler from it's miserable life of destitution and turn it into a means of family fun. It took alot of ripping apart, tons of tinkering, and (again) Brad's incredible mechanical skills before this bad boy was ready to hit the pavement vrooming.
And because Daddy was riding it we couldn't possibly deny Khage the opportunity.

He doesn't seem to love it, but in the same breath, he didn't hate it either.
So our hopes are high for the future.

^{Safety Disclosure: We are fully aware of the safety hazards associated with putting a baby on a three wheeler and because of that Daddy is just puttering around the neighborhood with Khage and not driving like Evel Knievel.}

Underdressed baby.

I just realized that alot of my posts include my baby underdressed.
I promise that he isn't always hanging around the house just in his under roos.
He does have a wardrobe... we just try and avoid it at all costs.
The less he wears the less laundry that needs to be done.
What can we say were frugal (and Mommies lazy).

<sup>just for the sake of evening out the "naked baby to dressed baby" ratio on this blog here's one of him clothed from head to toe

love him.</sup>

I apologize ahead of time for the sappiness.

I have been going through some things recently... we can call it "the reintroduction of a certain woman thing" or maybe a "sappy obsession over my baby" but non the less its getting serious. It all started the other day as as I watched Khagey play, crawl around and get into things that he couldn't have cared less about four months ago. In fact, four months ago he probably didn't move much aside from a wiggle here and there and the occasional roll over if we were lucky.
Next thing I know I am talking to Brad on the phone and crying that my baby is no longer baby'ish. All I can get out is mumbles about the magical first day we brought him home and how he used to hold my finger while he napped on my chest and now it seems like I am no longer getting the attention that I once did.
Hes on the move now and getting into everything that strikes his little fancy. And before we could do what ever we wanted with him and he would just go with the flow and now he has an opinion and hes able to show us (with small grunts and flailing hand gestures) things he doesn't care for (like the texture of mashed potatoes). He was once our baby baguette with little going on upstairs and now we can watch the hamster in the wheel working in his head as he attempts to figure things out by himself.
Its all just changing too fast in the sense that I am slowly loosing my baby to a toddler. But I do love his toddlering... its just that this stage doesnt require so much needing from mommy.
And thats what I miss.
So I realized that there really is no solution to my problem... but there may be something that can ease this blow. I need to smudge this kid with paint and slap it on some paper as a means of documenting his tiny size before its gone. Its sappy, this I know. But every week that rolls by I am tossing clothes that no longer fit into a box and watching my baby outgrow his need for his mommy. So if this craft can make me feel just a smidge better then by golly I am doing it.