GotchaBaby » baby will make four

The Joy of this Boy

Michelle — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 03:03:38 +0000

While we met inside, the kids played outside. The fox was in heaven. Sandy heaven.

I cannot believe that Friday night, we went to his preschool orientation.

That he’s made a light saber out of his infant toy (the Fisher Price Rock N Stack rings).

That he’s over three feet tall and nearly forty pounds.

I certainly haven’t documented his life nearly as well as I documented his sister’s (what they say about second children? it’s all true), but he’s growing up, whether I blog about it or not.

He plays with his cars, his guys, and his tools.

He’d live on hot dogs, chicken nuggets, graham crackers and yogurt if I let him.

He’s been planning his “Lightning” birthday for weeks — a chocolate cake, with Lightning McQueen, please. He knows there will be presents involved, and that it’s going to be “his” day. He’s got a Batcave coming for his birthday, and I think it’s going to be a BIG hit.

In many ways, I can’t believe that he’s going to be three, in other ways I can’t believe he’s only been on earth for three years, because I certainly can’t imagine life without him!

Happy, Happy THIRD Birthday, my sweet, sweet boy! (I’m getting this post up early, Tuesday’s his big day)

Sandy heaven, I tell you!

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Stonyfield Farms Yo Baby Yogurt: a Review and a Giveaway

Michelle — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:00:00 +0000

**THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. CONGRATS TO THE WINNER, Cassandra!**

Junior has just celebrated his first birthday, and his palate is *slowly* expanding. I don’t remember introducing solids as being a big deal with MAM, but for Junior, it’s becoming a tedious process. He’s particular about texture (he prefers no texture really), he’s particular about taste, and he makes fantastic faces to let me know how he feels about a menu item.

When Stonyfield Farms contacted me about reviewing Yo Baby yogurt, I was happy to, for YoBaby was already on Junior’s daily approved menu. He’s a big fan of the YoBaby yogurt with fruit and cereal, and when I can’t find that, YoBaby yogurt with just fruit will do. We took the free coupons they sent and went right to the store!

This yogurt, I must say, is probably on his short list of self-approved foods–he is happy to eat spoonful after spoonful. After this pictured feeding, he actually picked up the yogurt cup and started licking it.

I am happy to feed him spoonful after spoonful because of how good it is for him (yes, he is one, and content to be spoon fed for the most part). For starters, it’s organic, whole-milk yogurt (My word, have you tasted whole-milk yogurt? So smooth, so creamy, it’s almost like dessert!). Secondly, when I read the label, I can actually read the label. I am able to identify the ingredients, and find many in my own pantry.

If you already serve YoBaby to your little ones, you may have noticed the new packaging. The new look goes together with their new BIG campaign– to promote Brain development by making the yogurt with whole milk, Immune system support by including zinc, and Growth by including vitamin D. The new packaging is also more environmentally friendly, saving tons of packaging from land fills each year.

**THE GIVEAWAY**
Stonyfield Farm has put together a fun prize pack for one lucky reader. It includes 5 coupons for free YoBaby yogurt, a bowl with lid, and an organic bib for the YoBaby in your life. Isn’t it cute??

**TO ENTER**
Simply leave me a comment–this time, tell me your favorite food of summer. Is it strawberries? Blueberries? Corn on the cob?? Do tell!

For extra entries, tweet about this giveaway, and tell me in a separate comment.

For another entry, subscribe to my blog (button to do so is on the right), and tell me you’ve done so in a separate comment.

Winner will be chosen on Saturday, June 27, sometime in the afternoon. Good luck!

Fun at Kelsay Farms- A Giveaway

And now he is ONE

Michelle — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 12:29:00 +0000

One. 365 day. 525,600 minutes. A full year old.

On the night he was born, we weren’t expecting him. We had him penciled into our calendars later in the week, scheduled c-section, just like his sister. Scheduled babies stick to the schedule, right??

Junior starting making noises that he wanted to join the big bright world on a Friday night (June 20), so Jane forwent her own birthday cake and headed to the hospital instead. Junior was born a few hours later, in the wee hours of the morning, on June 21st.
It was love at first sight. This boy, this boy who weighed less than seven pounds, won our hearts in mere seconds. 365 days and almost 20lbs later, he brings smiles like no one else. His sweetness is palpable.

Happy First Birthday, Sweet Boy!

(and yes, he and Grandma often color coordinate)

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Oh Where Oh Where Has My Baby Gone?

Michelle — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 11:48:00 +0000

It seems like not so long ago, I was showing you the boy’s new Bugaloo shoes….fast forward 8 months and here’s a pair that will actually see some wear!! You can’t really see the design–they are puppy dogs–the boy isn’t much for posing these days. He’s more of an on-the-go sort of boy…at least until we strap him in somewhere. He’s partial to the swing at the moment. He’s is all about cruising the house and climbing the stairs these days. I’m very glad that these shoes have a brown sole–could a boy like this really have any other color for more than five minutes? (Photo above, 11.5 mos old, below at 4.5 mos old)

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Not the brightest jewel in the box…..

Michelle — Sat, 23 May 2009 17:06:00 +0000

Have I mentioned Jr. is a big fan of sleep?? Or should I say that he prefers snacking to sleeping, given the choice??? After a brief stint at sleeping through the night (the only memory I have of it is the mention I give it on this blog, really), he’s been back to waking up at least once, if not twice a night. EVERY NIGHT. (note: he just turned 11 months old)

So anyway, I’m not a very bright light these days. The obvious is no long a given for me.

Last night, we went to a race party at “the Pink Tower”. A big tent, free food, free drinks, music on a gorgeous summer night. Heaven. But I noticed something: armed security. I found it strange that the valet parking guys were armed. The doorman into the jewelry store was armed. The security guys inside tent were armed. It took me a good 15 minutes to put it all together.

(if you haven’t figured it out yet, go take a nap and think on it. I’m going to try for mother/son nap time this afternoon myself…..)

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There’s No Place Like Home

Michelle — Sat, 16 May 2009 17:36:00 +0000

Baby boy was released this morning, and is currently napping with Daddy. Thankfully, he improved over his stay, and the doc said it will be a few more days before he’s 100%. Basically, babies can get these respitory viruses which are wicked because like any cold virus, you can’t really treat/attack the virus, it has to run it’s course. And when it’s in your lungs, it’s a little scary. But while he was there, they gave him no drugs whatsoever, and he was no worse than in the ER the day before where they gave him 3 treatments in 3 hours.

The other tidbit she shared with me today is the it’s not uncommon for kiddos to get a bacterial infection a week or two out after he gets better from this viral infection. With his immune system weakened from the virus, bacteria can then move in and cause ear infections, strep or pnuemonia.

AWESOME. Do they sell Clorox Anywhere by the gallon?

Somebunny Followed Me Home

For a Change of Pace…..

Michelle — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 14:02:00 +0000

I’m going to blog about ear infections….but this time, Jr. is going to be the infected one. How’s that for mixing it up a bit??!?!?! Friday was our first official day of spring break, and we spent most of the afternoon at the doctor’s, and then at 2 pharmacies, and 2 med supply places attmepting to get the assorted prescribed goodies. Turns out, nebulizers (the boy also has bronchitis, and needs breathing treatments) are hard to come by in this town, and those with said nebulizers are draining the town of albuterol as well….thus the two pharmacies we got to visit. We ended up borrowing a machine from a friend (what a lifesaver),and after just 3 treatments, his cough is almost gone. As for the ear infection, he was showing no signs of one anyway.

Yesterday afternoon he was spirited enough that we went to my alma mater for the annual alumni Easter egg hunt. MAM is over her fear of large, furry critters, and the boy thought he was a hoot.

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Baby Bottle Saga: Final Installment

Michelle — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:38:00 +0000

Here it is, the third and final installment of the Great Baby Bottle Suck-Off of ’08. In ’09, because I’m timely like that. In August, I described the contenders. And now, after months of continuous use, I can declare a winner.

The Gerber BPA-free cheapo bottles win! (I’m sure there’s a technical name, but at the store, find the cheapest Gerber bottles marked BPA-free, and this will be them. We are talking less than $4 for a 3 pack)

The spitting up and the gas, I think, for the most part, were an age thing. We are revisitng the spitting up thanks to solid food and teething, but the gas has subsided. After doing days of exclusively Dr. Brown’s and days of exclusively Gerber, there was no difference in Junior’s digestion or temperment.

As far as the cleaning goes, the Dr. Brown’s are kind of a pain. And even with the little brushie that’s included, there are still parts of the valve that get cruddy. And then there is the attempting to try to assemble the straw/valve part in basically the dark at 3am. No fun for anyone.

The Gerber bottles are inexpensive, widely available and clean up is easy. My one complaint? The fact that they are a narrow necked model makes cleaning not quite as easy as the wide necked bottles, and it makes the cap freakishly small. How small? Small enough that they get confuse with medicine cups, left at restaurants and dropped everywhere never to be seen again. And of course you just can’t buy replacement caps.

So there you have it……..I’ve declared a winner. Know what’s crazy? We have 6, 7 months of bottles left, TOPS. It is all so fleeting….

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6 Months Olds?!??!

Michelle — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 14:05:00 +0000

Seriously, how did this happen so quickly? Just yesterday we got the call that Jr was about to arrive–how has he tripled his birth weight and started eating baby food so quickly??

At 6 months old (officially celebrated yesterday), Jr. is a chunka-monka-hug-a-bug. Never before has there been a boy so mellow, so cuddly, so easy to please as he. He can sit up with some assistance and some propping, roll from tummy to back, scootch backward, and he is pretty good at grabbing for what he wants. He loves sweet potatoes, applesauce, squash and carrots. He has officially slept through the night for an entire week with fairly consistent sleep/wake times (yipee!).

He smiles, coos and shrieks when he’s happy. He wails when he is hungry. He is officially, today, closer to his first birthday than from his birth.

With MAM, it seemed like she was a baby forever. I couldn’t see past the moment, couldn’t see how fleeting it all was. With Jr, I can’t believe how fast it is going. I whisper to him that I’d like for him to stay a baby awhile longer, but I think he has other plans…..

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The Bottle Saga: part deux

Michelle — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 02:12:00 +0000

So we’ve been messing around with bottles now for 8 weeks, and 4 styles later, no clear winner has emerged.

First, there were the old school 4oz Evenflo bottles. There was a lot of gas and spitting, so we changed them (and the formula going into them).

Secondly, there there crazy Playtex drop-in liners. There’s the whole disposable constantly-buying-liners thing vs. it’s awesome-not-to-clean-those-suckers debate. The air does get squeezed out. But the spitting up and the gas?? Still strong. Strong.

Thirdly, because I am in the running for mother of the freakin’ year, there are the Gerber BPA- free bottles. You may be thinking, why Michelle, why, oh why are you buying more bottles? Well, when you are on a road trip,and the baby needs to eat and you realized you haven’t packed any bottles for the entire weekend, you buy more bottles. Thankfully, the Family Express gas station in Nowhere, IN sold them. And they were BPA free. (not that I cared at that point) Spitting up and the gas? Still going strong.

Fourthly, I finally bust out the Dr. Brown’s BPA-free plastic bottles. The pieces aren’t nearly as bad as I thought they would be. Now I only have three, and I’m not really “on” it enough to exclusively use only these bottles, so I don’t have a clear experiment done yet. I will be sure to post the sure to be fascinating results. Are you sitting on the edge of your seat??

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