Jan 30 2009

Making progress…

Tag: SeanAndrew,The HouseEmily @ 5:48 pm

I decided to try to make some progress on our 3rd floor today. Our goal is to move our office from the 2nd to the 3rd floor. We want to make 1/2 of the 3rd floor the office, and the other 1/2 a play area for Sean. It’s a very large space, so it will work well. That way, we can do some work on the computers, and he can play. Check out his side, which is pretty much done except for babyproofing the outlets and getting the gate up, which I ordered today.

Also, a few pictures of Sean playing before bed last night in his awesome firetruck jammies. 🙂


Jan 28 2009

These are a few of my favorite things…

Tag: GeneralEmily @ 7:58 pm

After having Sean for almost a year now (sniff sniff) I thought I’d write up a list of things that I just could not have lived without over the past year. These are things that I’d recommend to any mom that has, or is getting ready to have, a little one.

Here goes, in no particular order:

Diaper Duck
This handy little device holds powder scented bags to wrap very dirty diapers in. Great for on the go, at a friend’s house, or better yet, in the diaper bin. Seems like no matter how good your diaper pail is, it still smells. Once we started wrapping up #2’s in these bags, no more smell in the nursery!

Vick’s Baby Rub
This stuff was a lifesaver for us! Sean battled congestion for the first 9 months of his life, and still does periodically. It is safe to use for babies 3 months and up. Slather it on their chests or backs, and even goop it on the bottom on their feet and put socks on them. Weird, I know, but it gave us many a sniff & cough-free nights. Amazing stuff.

A&D Ointment
A&D is the best diaper cream I’ve found. I think its works wonderfully, and the best part is, it has no smell! I can’t stand the smell of diaper creams; for some reason they make me want to vomit 🙂 But, this stuff is very nice, heals diaper rash overnight, and has no smell. It even comes in a great one-handed use container, which helps with wiggly babies.

“The sucker”
The TRUE lifesaver. Sean always hated getting his nose “sucked” out. We had such a hard time with congestion though, and had to do it. Someone suggested getting one of these and it has changed our lives. Sean doesn’t mind it, sometimes he actually laughs at it. We can suck him out without any mess, and it gets so much! Gross, but amazing! Totally worth the $20! It’s actually called “NasalClear” by BebeSounds, but we refer to it as “the sucker.”

Bebe Sounds Monitor
We got this monitor when we finally succumbed to Sean’s stomach sleeping. It has a small board that goes under the baby’s mattress which detects movement. If your baby stops breathing, after 15 seconds, it starts beeping. This monitor really allowed me to start sleeping soundly. I’m sure other new moms are like this too, but I had a hard time really getting a good night’s sleep b/c I was constantly worrying about Sean. This monitor put those fears to rest. Yes, there were some nights where he would slip to the corner of the crib which made the monitor would go off, but well worth it anyway. We only stopped using it a month or two ago, when we stopped worrying about him in his sleep. We’ll definitely save this for future babies!

Space Bags
I’ve seen ads for these things forever, but never tried them. I finally got them to store Sean’s clothes. I’ve stored all his clothes in various stages in these bags and they are great. I have several bags so far, they are nicely labeled with a piece of paper inside the clear bag, and on the shelves in the basement. They hardly take up any room and keep Sean’s closet (and our basement) nice and organized. Much better than trying to put his clothes in tupperwares or big bags!

Vanicream
Auntie Megan and Grammy Cahill suggested this lotion for Sean because he had really bad excema. This lotion was a miracle. We had tried everything, every type of baby lotion, baby bath/wash, and nothing helped clear up the excema. After 2 days of using the Vanicream, the exzema was all gone, and he’s NEVER had it since! I use it on him nightly, and also put it on his little cheeks, which are always red and chapped. It clears up dry skin immediatly. It has again, no smell, and is very very safe and free of all kinds of harmful stuff. Awesome product. Great for adults too!

Flashy Ducks
I got these ducks for a shower gift and they have been one of Sean’s favorite toys! They light up and flash all different colors. They have been great in the tub, in the car, and on the plane! He’s loved them since he was really little. I need to get some more, since after 11 months of play, some of the batteries are wearing out. I saw them at a store once, but I can’t find them anymore…

Ringtoy
This has been an all-time favorite of Sean’s since birth. He loves to play with it. I’m not sure why this is his favorite, he’s just seemed drawn to it since he could pick out a toy to play with. He loved looking at it as a newborn too. I don’t really remember if we got this from someone, or bought it ourselves, but it’s been great.

Huggies Overnights
These diapers have been a godsend. Sean started peeing through his diapers at night a few months ago. We spent countless nights changing diapers, clothes, and sheets in the middle of the night until I read about these on the internet. I tried them and we were saved! Sean can sleep 12-13 hours and still not pee through these things! They are a little expensive ($9.99 for 30) but well worth it. You only use 1 a day anyhow. They are a little bit hard to find; I can usually find them at grocery stores; Babies R Us don’t seem to have them.

Fischer Price Rainforest Series
This whole series of items has been terrific. Between my mom and I, we have infant bouncy seat, high chair, jumparoo, and swing. Anyone still wondering about which brand / style of these items to get, GET the rainforest items! They are all very well made and held up wonderfully. They all had things to keep Sean entertained, nice music and lots of options. A must have!

Rainforest Soother
This is actually another part of the previously mentioned series, but I had to make it it’s own item. This is a music box that hangs on the crib rails. My cousins gave it to me at a shower, saying that their children couldn’t live without it. Sean has really grown to love this. It plays really nice music and has lots of options for music/lights/movement. As Sean has grown older, he turns it on and off himself. Sometimes I’ll hear him wake up in the night, whine a little, then I hear “click, click, click.” He turns in on and off a few times, then falls back to sleep with the music. It’s been really nice, and has helped him self-soothe and learn to fall asleep by himself!

Well, I could probably go on forever, but I’ll end the list there. These are things that we couldn’t have lived without. Hope this helps anyone that’s looking for great baby items!!

-ec


Jan 27 2009

Very, very stubborn tooth

Tag: GeneralEmily @ 10:04 pm

As you can tell if you scroll down on our page, on 1/17, I posted that a little corner of Sean’s front tooth was poking through his gums. Well, it has YET to move any more. Poor guy, it looks like just a sliver of gum left over his tooth, but no matter what we do, we can’t get it to break through. I just can’t believe it’s taking this long!

On a funnier note, Paul and I walked Sean to school today in his new sled that his Gama (my mom) got him. Since we had about 5 inches of snow, I thought it would be perfect. We headed down the sidewalk and he didn’t seem heavy enough in the sled to push down in the snow, so even our footprints were making the sled bob from side to side. I looked back for a second since the sled seemed a little easier to pull, and there was Sean, a few steps back, face down in the snow LOL. Poor little sweetheart. He didn’t know what happened to him! I picked him up, dusted him off, and we walked the rest of the way along the side of the street, since there was only about 2 inches of snow there, and no cars driving.
When we got the 1.5 blocks to daycare, we realized it was closed, and had to walk him all the way back. His little cheeks were pretty rosy by the time we got back. I guess we’ll call tomorrow to see if they are open before we head out. No more face plants though, we promise!


Jan 24 2009

Motivational thought for the day

Tag: GeneralEmily @ 7:32 pm

My dad sent this to me in an email…I think it’s worthy of a copy/paste into our blog:

Motivational thought for the day:

This little animal is called the Naked Mole-Rat and is from Africa .
So if you are having a bad day and feeling sorry for yourself, remember…
Things could be worse. You too could look like a penis with buck teeth!


Jan 22 2009

Another great movie trailer

Tag: GeneralPaul C. @ 1:13 pm

This is not safe for work due to language. Its another movie by the Broken Lizard gang whoe wrote Super Troopers and Beerfest. Its got many of the same actors and some from recently popular TV shows. Reminds me of a movie that came out in the early 2000’s that was a spoof on the night of the restaurant staff of a TGIF type of place


Jan 22 2009

You know that band..The one on TV?

Tag: Fun,Fun Links and Stuff,GeneralPaul C. @ 10:31 am

I stumbled across a video of the band called “Band from TV” and watched the video that I will embed below. Its comprised of a bunch of actors from current/past TV shows like Heroes, House, Desperate Housewives and others. Here is a Synopsis from their Website:

The Band From TV lineup includes a powerhouse of well-known and acclaimed actors including: Greg Grunberg (drums), a veteran of shows such as Alias and Felicity and currently starring in the NBC hit HEROES; Teri Hatcher (vocals) currently starring in the ABC hit DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, James Denton (guitar), currently starring in the ABC hit DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES; Bob Guiney (vocals), who appeared on THE BACHELOR and is currently seen on TLC’s DATE MY HOUSE; Bonnie Somerville (vocals), starring in ABC’s new fall series CASHMERE MAFIA; Jesse Spencer (violin) currently starring in the FOX hit HOUSE; and rounding out the band are accomplished musicians Chris Kelley, Barry Sarna, Jon Sarna, Chris Mostert and child-star turned bass player Brad Savage.

Pretty impressive bunch actually. They play for charity, and they do a good job.


Jan 19 2009

Good looking movie!

Tag: GeneralPaul C. @ 5:38 pm

The fact that this movie auto-plays everytime you visit the site got annoying. If you want to see the trailer for this promising flick, click HERE.
-pc


Jan 18 2009

Watch out world, here I come!!

Tag: SeanAndrewEmily @ 8:25 pm

We finally got it! Sean was in his jammies ready for bed, but was still bursting with energy and walking from toy to toy so we decided to go ahead and try to get the video you’ve all been waiting for! It turned out great, and the last part of the video was his longest walk yet! Luckily I’m off work tomorrow, so I’ll be babyproofing the house for sure!


Jan 17 2009

Busy Day

Tag: GeneralEmily @ 8:41 pm

Sean was eating a graham cracker at the end of lunch today. I, like always, was sitting by his high chair watching him. At one point, he looked at me, said “mama!” and held out his graham cracker toward me. I took a bite and thanked him. He laughed and took a bite himself. I said “what about Dada?” Sean looked into the kitchen where Paul was and held out his graham cracker toward Paul. Paul came in a took a bite and Sean again, laughed. I, of course, cried. Our little boy is growing up so fast, I can’t stand it! I can’t believe he’s starting to share *sniff*

Oh, one of his front teeth broke through today too! It was just a little corner, but you can definitely see a white speck poking through the gum 🙂

The other amazing thing about today? He slept until 10:00am this morning! What?! He went to bed around 7:30 last night, woke up around 6am to get his pacifier back into his mouth, then slept until 10am. Paul and I were shocked! I guess the emerging tooth made him extra exhausted. 🙂

We are STILL trying to get a video of Sean walking. He wouldn’t walk for us today or yesterday. We’ll keep trying, we know you are all anxiously waiting!


Jan 15 2009

Bathtime first

Tag: SeanAndrewEmily @ 8:17 pm

Sean has diaper rash pretty bad, so I decided to give him a long bath early tonight, instead of waiting until bedtime. I had his diaper already off, so I just brought him into the bathroom and he stood by the tub like always, watching the water fill the tub. When I went to take his shirt off, I noticed that he was standing in a big puddle…doh! He peed on the floor! Got the floor cleaned up, and got him in the bath. He was having a grand time, like always, then I noticed about 15 minutes later, he was grunting. Yes, when I pushed the bubbles aside, he had pooped in the bath….niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice. Got him showered off and downstairs, and waited for Paul to get home so I could give the tub and toys a nice Clorox bath 🙂

Guess there’s a first for everything!


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