Thursday, February 25, 2010

Parenting Grade for the Day ... "F"

Lately, Van has been, well, let's say "fussy" when we put him on the changing table to swap out his wet, dirty diaper for a nice, dry, clean diaper. He wriggles, squirms, whines and tries to roll over (which will put him head first onto the floor).

For our sanity and his safety, we tried to bribe him with some "Parent's Choice Little Puffs - Banana Flavor." Made with whole grains, Parent's Choice is a puffed grain snack for babies beginning to self-feed.

If you think you know where this is going, that is, a fine review for these tasty snacks, you are wrong.

Jen and I took these tasty treats in hopes of bribing Van into some sort of stillness whilst wresting a poopy diaper from his body. Jen had the lower half, I was working the top half of kiddo. I popped a treat in his mouth and then handed him the container as a secondary distraction.

To recap the scene: Van on his back, treat in mouth, container in hand; Jen removing old diaper attempting to reinstall new one; Kenny distracting/pinning Van into position.

It was about then, I noticed a small warning label on the back of the Little Puffs container which stated:

FOR YOUR INFORMATION
Little Puffs should only be given to children who are familiar with eating solid foods. Children should be seated and supervised while eating. Packaging not intended as a toy.

Well, at least Van was supervised.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Two Peas in a Pod


Cute matching beanies made by Auntie Tonita!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

7 months.. a bit late!

Van is going to be 8 months in a few weeks and I figured I'd better get his 7 month update on here before then!

This last month has been one full of changes- probably more than any other so far.

He is officially crawling and is FAST! He chases Pilot and can get anywhere he wants to go. He is no longer limited to one room, but will crawl all over the house.

A few days after Van turned 6 months old, he started to pull himself up to a standing position on his own. It took only a day or two and then he started pulling himself up on EVERYTHING! We lowered his crib to the lowest setting because he also loves to climb. It is so much fun to go into his room to get him in the morning or after naps and see him standing there waiting for us. The only problem is that now when he wakes up, he automatically stands up and won't fall back to sleep!

A few days after Van learned to pull himself up, he started to cruise around the furniture. He can go from ottoman to ottoman to the couch and back again with ease.

Van has been skipping his third nap most days and has gone a few nights without the dream feed. His sleeping at night started to be a bit inconsistent since he wanted to practice standing and crawling in the middle of the night instead of sleeping. He also had a cold this month which didn't help matters.

Van doesn't really "talk" much and mostly just squeals and laughs, but he did start saying "Ma" this month. Most of the time he only says it when he is crying or wants to be held, but every once in a while he looks directly at me and says "Ma" or "Mama". It is cute to hear him start putting together sounds that are closer to words. I can't wait until he truly means what he is saying.

Our kiddo is definitely an explorer. He is always go-go-go and doesn't slow down! We love you and your adventurous spirit, Van!


Attack the Teddy Bear!



Standing on the couch!



7 months old :)



Places to go... I'm outa here!

Friday, February 19, 2010

Flight 2386 to Chicago

So I was sitting on a bench in front of my hotel in Las Vegas waiting for the shuttle to arrive. I will admit, I did look quite dashing in my fine Schubachian pilot garb, and perhaps, just perhaps, that is why she asked me:

"Do you know if my flight to Chicago is delayed?"

I looked up, "Huh?"

"I am trying to get home to Des Moines, but my flight outta here goes to Chicago and it is snowing in Des Moines and I was wondering if that would delay my flight to Chicago."

I lied, "Actually, I just checked with dispatch and they told me your flight was going to leave an hour earlier so they can be beat a blizzard that is coming in over the Great Lake. You better hurry!"

Wide-eyed, she exclaimed, "Uh, oh, okay, I'll skip breakfast and go pack right now. Thank you sir."

I felt I had done my mischievous act for the day pretty well.

Okay, at some point during that story, I divulged slightly from the truth. Maybe about the point where I told her that her flight was leaving early. But the rest is true, I swear :)

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Cutest kid ever... EVER!

Van's Big Hike

Okay, I am wide awake and ready hike!


Check out my cool hiking boots.


And then 30 minutes into the hike.


60 minutes into the hike. Zzzzzzz.


Still asleep...


Nearing the end... I think I hear him snoring!


Maybe it was the nice straight path we walked that put him out :)