Dax Wants To Crawl...

I mentioned in my last post that I've noticed Dax secretly practicing to crawl.... well, here he is.  Gearing up, at 5 months old.  SLOW DOWN BABY BOY!  I want you to stay widdle bitty forever!

Dax- 5 Months

I feel like I just posted Dax's 4 Month Monster photoshoot.  But, still here we are- 5 Months!  He is the most snuggly, squishy, lovey, smiley baby in the entire world.  I can never get enough of him!  He began daycare last week, and had a rough go the first few days (see posts below)... but as soon as we got everything ironed out (they needed to get a VISUAL on him rolling BOTH ways before he could nap on his tummy, but he rarely rolls to his back on purpose.  So we just had to beg and plead and threaten bribe)- he has been having a blast!  And being such a good boy- the ladies love him and his gummy smile and belly giggle. (of course!)

And, speaking of rolling both ways- he's rolling both ways!  :)  He's been rolling front to back, and we "hastened" the process of rolling back to front for Kids-R-Kids.  (He's VERY coachable, FYI.  He picked up the roll within about 20 minutes of practicing!  And hasn't looked back- I can hardly change his diaper in peace, now!)

I swear the kid is trying to crawl.  He can make it half way across the living room if you turn your head by "maneuvering" around- but I've been noticing some pulling up of his knees while he's on tummy time.  Yikes.

He loves to play in his jumparoo and exersaucer, but loves to nuzzle his face in my neck and snuggle, too.  He's a total Momma's boy, but also enjoys showing off and flirting.  He'll socialize with most anyone- but has an affinity for blondes wearing make up.  He even likes me a little more if I've got mascara and lip gloss on.

And here's the best part of the post- his monster photoshoot.  :) Llllllooooovvveeee.

Interchangeable Tie Onesies Complete!

O. M. G.  I'm obsessed with how these Interchangeable Tie Onesies have come out!  If anyone orders any, I'll have to make more- because I'm sending everything I've already created as gifts because I can't just hoard them in the darkness of Dax's closet!

How do I look, Mom!?

PS- I llluuuuuuuuurve my sewing/embroidery machine.  Most of these ties have been monogrammed after taking this picture- and it just takes them to the next level of adorable!

Solids, Ada's Art, Sweetish Baby, and Mama Bear...

Random post about some random things!  All photos are ones I took with my phone- poor quality, but cute.

Did I mention that Dax started solids, in addition to finally rolling the opposite direction?  It was a week of some big milestones for my widdle guy!



"I drew an airplane!"  And I thought it SERIOUSLY looked like an airplane.



She cracks me up.  Since I won't let her IN the jumparoo, she found a different way to play with it.

MorMor and I at a Sweetish Baby business meeting.  Someone is not working hard enough!



This is what I've been piddling around working on tonight- a onesie with interchangeable ties!!!  I've got 2 ties sewn and velcro on the ties and onesie.. and a TON of other adorable tie fabric.  I can't wait to put Dax in this for church on Sunday!  :)

 And, to close out this random late-night weekend blog, I want to post a Facebook conversation on my wall today.  Dax was still having a rough go at daycare up until this morning.  You will see why everything is dandy at the end of the post!  :)

Alicia: A mama bear will KILL you if you don't do what you tell them to do with her young.  Just sayin'...
Facebook friend: Tonight at 10, a Katy-area mom goes on a killing spree..
Alicia: Local 22 year old daycare employee, loved by all, was mauled and left for dead in Suite 100.  Mama bear still on the loose- tranquilizers ineffective.
FB friend: Officials advising residents to let Dax sleep however the f__k he wants.
Alicia (about 20 minutes later): This just in!  Daddy bear- who is much taller, bigger, and hairier (and also a fairly successful salesman)- stepped in and resolved the situation in 5 mintues!
FB friend: Mama bear maims and mauls, but Daddy bear kills in one swipe.  Which is worse!?

... if you are having trouble deciphering that convo: Dax's teacher was STILL refusing to let Dax sleep on his tummy (even though he'd proven he could roll over 10s of times) because she hadn't witnessed the OTHER roll (which he RARELY does on purpose b/c the kids hates being on his back- the issue in the first place!)  She also won't let him sit in the swing longer than 30 min.  Period.  They are woken up and moved every 30 minutes NO MATTER WHAT.  So, Casey called the director and fixed it so I could quit worrying about it.  :)  Love you, babe!  (BTW- Dax was happy as a lark when I picked him up today, and had taken 2 very nice naps in his crib, on his tummy.)

How 'Bout a Happy Post, Now?

Ok, I've taken some cute pictures lately, and need to post them!

Julie, Hanna, and Rylan came down for a visit!

At Christian's for his 46th birthday- devouring cupcakes.

Devouring cupcakes with Uncle Rick.

Swimming at Christian's!

The rest of these are just some silly shots I snapped while the three of us were snuggling in bed one morning- but I just think they are so precious!  I couldn't even narrow them down to just a few.

Look at my monster feet, Dax!

He loves to grab her hair whenever she's loving on him.

Gimme dat camera.

"Take my picture, Momma!  Cheese!"

A Rough Start...

So, school is right around the corner. I'm officially back on "duty" next week.  Waaaaaaaaaaaa.  I'm weaning Dax into daycare this week.  I don't like it one bit.  And neither does he.  :'( 

Dax sleeps on his tummy- he has since he was just a few weeks old.  It's a huge "no-no" these days.  But he was waking up about every 30 minutes at night on his back (even swaddled)- so his chances of a SIDS tragedy were about 1 in a 1000, but his chances of something else terrible happening because of a severely sleep deprived mother were much worse. He's been pretty much sleeping through the night since we flipped to his belly.  Anyway- they can't let him sleep on his tummy at Kids-R-Kids.  (They didn't care at Tigerland, so the thought never crossed my mind as something to worry about.  Or I would have- of course.)  I understand and respect their adherence to policies- but it made for an AWFUL first day at school. He bawled the entire time.  He arrived exhausted, and wasn't able to nap.  Then, once he was belligerent enough, couldn't settle down. 

I was distraught all afternoon and evening- wondering how I could solve this issue.  He has to be rolling over *both* ways for them to allow him to sleep on his tummy.  (And they still won't *place* him on his tummy.  He has to make it to that position on his own.)  So we worked on rolling the opposite way than he already rolls.  And, after 1.5 days, he DID IT!  We officially have a back-to-tummy and tummy-to-back rolling kiddo.  Now, he just has to figure out that when he goes down on his back at school, just flip over and drift off to dreamland. (I tried to catch it on video, but he started fussing immediately after I flipped out the screen.  Typical!  I still haven't captured the tummy-to-back roll he's been doing since he was 2.5 months old!  Mostly because he doesn't do it a TON, since he hates being on his back.  Why go there on purpose!?!?)

Anyway, this has turned into a ridiculously long post, when I really wanted to just blog about the following pictures!

These are the photos I sent to decorate his crib with.  He's got the coolest pad in Suite 100.  :)

And, my sewing machine came in!!  Sew I've been pracicing (HA!  Get it!?). I decided to create Dax an absorbant cover for his lunchbox ice pack because it gets condensation EVERYWHERE the minute its temperature drops.  I've got some serious perfecting to do, but I think it's a cute idea to try to sell over at Sweetish Baby!



I was initially going for my go-to child's character, a monster.  But realized it is really more of a frog.  Whatevs.



I even sewed in some velcro!  :)  I want to be able to take it off and wash the thing.



I freaking love this boy.  His day was MUCH better today, BTW.  He even showed a glimpse of his true personality with a few smiles and giggles for the girls.  He's going to be OK!

New Business Venture! Meet Sweetish Baby-

OK, I've been DYING to blog about my latest adventure, but was giving some of the items pictured below as gifts, and didn't want to spoil the surprise!!  But they should have all arrived safely (and hopefully soundly!) by now, so I'm so excited to introduce to you: Sweetish Baby! 

Online Boutique-  www.Etsy.com/shop/SweetishBaby
Blog- http://www.sweetishbabyboutique.blogspot.com/

It's a business that began with MorMor and I collaborating on these adorable baby blankies-

These will be the primary focus of Sweetish Baby (read the profile on the website - www.etsy.com/shop/sweetishbaby-  for a more flowery description of our services)... but I always have funky "pop art" ideas inundating my mind and thoughts, so I will probably sporatically paint some pieces for the site as well.  Here are a few that I was moved to create just yesterday!

Obviously, these are nothing special. I'm not what you would call "artistic" or "talented"... but I am creative and resourceful, which sometimes counts for something!  :)

So, I've already been picking MorMor's brain on the sewing front (I've actually purchased a sewing/embroidery machine already- I'm SERIOUS about this, and so optimistic!) , putting her to work with the few orders that we have already recieved (by networking, not via the site.  YET!), and now the floodgates have opened in my brain and the ideas are pouring in!  :)  Follow us at http://www.sweetishbabyboutique.blogspot.com/ for the latest shop scoop!

You Look Like A Beach Angel!

We ventured back down to Moody Gardens this weekend! But this time, we booked a hotel room and made a mini-vacation out of it. We also hit up the strand, the beach, and the hotel pool- making it an action packed, exhausting weekend! Lines from that Travelocity commercial kept popping in my head all weekend: "Our girl's a genius!" "Our boy's an architect!" "You look amazing." "You look like a beach angel!"

In the gift shop at the dinosaur exhibit-
Ready to see some scary sharks!

Surprised, as usual, to look up and see me staring at him-

Locked in the shark cage, ready to dive!

At Palm Beach-

At the Ice Cream Parlor/Candy Shoppe on the strand-

At the REAL beach!! Notice Ada's new swimsuit. I forgot her other swimsuit at home. Who does that? Forget their kid's swimsuit on a vacation centered around swimming? Me.

MiMi was gracious enough to come along for a third set of adult hands, too! I had a cute picture of MiMi, Ada, Casey, and Dax- but it didn't upload. And if I upload it now, it'll screw up the alignment of all of my text. I'll post it on Facebook! :)

Solids!

Dax got his first taste of cereal today... not just a taste. He inhaled the entire bowl!

He scarfed the stuff down, fussed if I took too long to re-load the spoon, and gobbled it up like he's been eating solids since before he was born! Yumm...