First Spaghetti Night!

Last week when Monster and I were visiting my moms house for supper he had his first experience with spaghetti!

It was really just cut up spaghetti noodles with just enough sauce to taste on them. Italian food is my favorite so it's no surprised I'd be up for starting him young! ;)






Most of the spaghetti noodles ended up everywhere but his mouth.





Look at the mitts on that boy! ;)


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Playtex Ventaire Bottles

This week was grocery shopping week, and along with Monsters infant formula we also had to stock up on some Playtex Drop-ins Bottle Liners.

I decided on a whim that I was going to compare the price of a box of 100 Playtex bottle liners vs. A couple new Playtex Ventaire Bottles. Monster has not needed to be burped for about 2 months, and I've read the Ventaire bottles are very popular with other moms on my whattoexpect.com homeboard.

Pros to using the Playtex Drop-ins is that they are absolutely perfect for the busy (or lazy) mom who doesn't have all the time in the world to sit and scrub bottles. You toss the liner after each use. I was one of those lazy moms who saw the appeal when Monster was a newborn.

Admittedly I have more time in my day now that I have a partially independent 7 month old, as apposed to a "I want to be held or worn 24/7" newborn. The cheap mom finally beat down the lazy mom and bought the Playtex Ventaire Bottles instead of the Drop-in Liners. It was a dollar difference in price to buy a 100 pack of liners vs a two bottle starter package at Walmart.

Monster loves his food so the change didn't even phase him one bit and aside from the extra 5 minutes cleaning time per day, they're working out great! I can't say they'd be a good bottle for a newborn with the potential to be colicky but for a 7 month old who burps himself they work great, and they're more esthetically pleasing then the regular Drop-ins.

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Teething... Again.

Last week we were dealing with the dreaded infant cold.

Finally, after many days of steamy showers, booger sucking, Vicks Baby Rub, and saline rinses we've finally got the infant cold under control. Monster seems to be on the up swing, and the only thing that's keeping me from saying he's completely healthy again is the random sneezing.

For the last two days he could have been perfectly healthy too, but I'm reluctant to say it because infant cold symptoms are very similar to some infant teething symptoms.

Monster is 7 months and has not broken any teeth yet. He has been a drooly mess since he was 2 months old, but the coughing and chewing didn't start until around 5 months. Now we have to add the teething cough (typically happens when the infant is drooling a lot due to teething) and the ear pulling.

For the last couple days it's been hard to separate the remains of an infant cold with the starting of another phase of infant teething. Whoa is me. It seems that Monster has an overly sensitive bump on his lower left gum (around the bottom canine) so he's hoping it breaks out and doesn't torment Monster for another few months.

As for this mommy, I'm off to the health food store to replenish my stock of Hyland's Teething Tablets.




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7 Month Photo Shoot

In honor of Monster's 7 month "Birthday" we did our monthly photo shoot! Here are some photos that didn't end up being bloopers! I spent a couple minutes playing with the editing tools over at picnik.com. Enjoy! :)

He looks like he's cheering himself on for hitting 7 months old! So CUTE!

When I put him on the floor he automatically went up onto his hands and knees in the crawling position. It's really too bad that he flopped down onto his tummy, instead of taking his first few "steps".

An adorable picture of my boy! I always say he looks identical to his daddy, but in this picture it's so obvious!

I made this for our facebook fan page (visit us here!) in honor of my favorite holiday! Happy soon-to-be Halloween!

7 Month Photo Shoot - The Blooper Reel!

I have discovered that a 7 month old is not as cooperative when it comes to photo shoots as a newborn through to 6 month old is!

Today was Monster's 7 month Birthday! YAY! What does that call for? A 7 month photo shoot! Unfortunately it was left until the evening which is Monsters most uncooperative time of the day so we ended up with some pretty legendary bloopers! I want to share the "pee my pants" fit of laughter I had when going through them once uploaded to my computer. Here they are!

Ok, this photo is the best! Hubbs has a ridiculous "about to say something" look on his face. We like to call this "Vanilla Face" in order to honor my sister who is ridiculously gorgeous and photogenic unless someone else is taking the picture! Monster on the other hand looks AWESOME with his "pound it!" pose!

Here Hubbs clearly pulled himself together and made a smile... Monster on the other hand looks utterly disgusted at the potential kiss from his mommy. "Awwww Mom!"

This proud moment was directly after Monster punched Hubbs right in the eye. He looks proud.

We have more the one shot of a very cute, funny Monster face.... With his eyes closed! This can also be referred to as "Vanilla Face". Every shoot has a blooper reel, some photos are just way too hilarious not to share!

Grandma and Grandpa Photo Shoot Flop!

Monster and I visit my mom and dad at least once a week for supper. Hubbs is usually sleeping in the evening, so instead of making dinner for just Monster and I, I head over to moms! Last week I took some "Time with Grandma and Grandpa" shots. Here are some good ones!

This is my mom "teaching" Monster how to crawl! A skill he is working so hard at mastering!

Monster didn't want to cooperate for the photo shoot as well as we'd hoped. There are just far too many fun and interesting things to see when you're trying to crawl. Hence the no so impressed look on his face. I'd like to point out my hilarious pug-kid LOLA. This is a supreme action shot for her. Epic!

Monster is special to my dad not only because he is his only grandchild, but because he is the only boy in our family too! Both of Monster's grandpas have dreams of teaching him "big boy" activities like fishing and golfing!

The two happy grandparent with Monster! All and all the photo shoot wasn't fantastic... We didn't get any photos of Monster just sitting nice and smiling for the camera but it was fun to attempt!!

The Social Network - Movie Review

Anyone who has a computer with Internet access has heard of facebook.com. That is not a proven fact, however I strongly believe it to be true.

The Social Network is a film made to tell the story of how the website facebook.com came to be the multibillion (yes billion) dollar company it is today. I can't say that I was ever overly interested in learning about how the site came to be, that was until they made a movie about it.

I am a pretty huge movie buff, I thoroughly enjoy watching hours of cinematic adventures! I was intrigued but the actor Jesse Eisenberg, he has a strange appeal with the potential of becoming a very talented actor. The movie was a well written (and acted) reenactment of something that is actually kind of boring. The creation of a website? Without the amazing script and actors it would have been as interesting as a high school computer class tutorial.

Jesse Eisenberg, and Andrew Garfield are two strong young actors I anticipate we'll likely see a lot more of in the near future.

Amazingly enough, the highlight of this great movie for me was the cinematography. It was filmed and edited so beautifully. They softened parts of scenes so that the viewers attention is on strictly what is essential to the storyline. Artistically I was in awe of the film, anyone who knows me would probably be shocked to hear me say that. I'm known to be strictly addicted to characters and their emotions.

All in all, there is so much going on in the film, I feel like I should watch it twice before deciding whether or not to buy it and add it to our epic collection.

Successful date night!


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Finding Me - Interests in Photography

Recently I blogged about trying to figure out who I am, and what I love aside from my Hubbs and Monster. Click here to read Finding the Me in Mommy blog post.

I have some mild interests in writing which is why I do this. I blog for me, and eventually so my child(ren) can read about our adventures when they're older. I'm sentimental like that, I also saved about 30 old Cosmo magazines from the early 2000's in case I have a daughter who is interested in fashion and retro styles like I am. They are in pristine condition and I can't wait to look at them in 20 years!

Anyways, I also have some interest in photography, mostly floral and natural photography. I adore photographing flowers, leaves, sunlight and other natural things, and then editing them. Both banners this blog has had have been my own photos, edited myself. I am happy with the camera I have for what I need it for, but if I plan on attempting to develop into an amateur photographer in the future I'll need to look into getting a much better camera with super amazing features. Like I said, that's definitely for the future though.

Here are some sample photos, all completely unedited. Please click the photo to see it full sized:

These first two were taken two years ago now... My neighbors garden.

The floors at that grow on the side of my house. One of my interests is not gardening so I'm not sure what these are...

Company golf trip this summer... I just loved the lighting! Thanks A.C for being a good action shot model!

Amazing lighting in my moms backyard this summer. The banner for my blog was taken at the same time as this one.

My engagement ring hanging out in my moms rose bush.

This photo was taken at the golf course during the company golf trip. It was clearly a beautiful day. I guess learning the names of the flowers would be a good first step in becoming an amateur floral photographer..?

Rockin' Bed Head! - Photo

My boy just rocks bed head! Please don't remind him of this post when he's 13 and I'm screaming at him to comb his hair before he leaves for school...





He wasn't overly impressed by the early morning photo op. Please note: Adorable fuzzy Carter's jams!!

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