In An Aeroplane Over The Sea

For those of you I know have been on pins and needles waiting to know if we made it across the ocean ;)...we did. And believe it or not travel really couldn't have gone much better. It was an absolute dream. I mean, we were traveling with our 10 and a half month old, but all things considered it was lovely. Nice weather, all flights on time, limited turbulence and no real meltdowns to speak of. We even got compliments on the behavior of our kid. In which I basked. ;) Best of all we arrived in Brussels right on time and today was a beautiful day here in Hasselt. So while Josh remedied his jet lag with a long afternoon nap, I forwent the luxury of sleep to spend the afternoon around town and chatting on the patio with my Mom.

And again, loveliness. However, Frazier became progressively out of sorts throughout the day and it's escalated to now where I sit in the living room blogging for lack of anything else to do and he's crying himself to sleep (hopefully) in the crib in our room. I figure he has to go to sleep eventually...I've tried EVERYTHING. And I mean that in the true sense of the word. The kid isn't into going to sleep. But he doesn't want to stay up and play either. I was up for that even though I've only had four and a half ours of sleep since Saturday night. I suppose it's the rigorous demands of time travel. After all, as Josh said, it's like we flew into the future!

Of course, since I, too, lost half a day my schedule's been disrupted too and I'm still not sure what time it is. I'm reasonably certain it's Wednesday. Yes, the computer confirms it's Wednesday and offers 0:24 as the time...so is that twenty four minutes past midnight maybe?

I took lots of cute pictures today and yesterday during our travel and perhaps one day...when my sleepy brain is working better, I'll dig out the camera cord and post some. Until then you'll have to imagine that out-of-sorts kid or not, we're thrilled to be here. And it's wonderful...really wonderful. I kind of can't believe we're here!

The Things They Carried

I love packing. Anything. I think it's because exhausting the possibilities is something of a hobby of mine. And a talent. Probably the former because of the latter.

I've been packing for Belgium since before we booked our flight, albeit only in my head at first. But for about two and a half weeks I've had the suitcases out--mine and Frazier's at least--and I've been packing them diligently. And making lists. Don't know where I get that from. ;)

I am pretty sure I've considered everything. Right down to the outfits we're traveling in which are laying out next to the bags. I have the big packing list, the list of things I needed to purchase before we left, the list of things to do before we leave, the list of things to do yesterday, the list of things to do today, and a list attached to each bag of things that still need to go in it. I even made a comprehensive packing list at packinglist.org and emailed it to myself. You may note the two lists taped above the bags to the left of my suitcase:Didn't help that for as long as I've been packing our bags...Frazier's been unpacking his.Here is the mountain of bags that's going to Belgium with us. Add to this mountain a stroller and a carseat. And a partridge in a pear tree.

I think we're ready. Ready or not, though, we're leaving tomorrow! Please say a little prayer for safe and happy travels!

Tot ziens!!

Repeat After Me

Frazier has babbled forever now, but just today he said Mama to me!! I'm not sure he knows that's actually me...but whatever. We'll count it as word one. :) I was just excited to hear him imitate me. Naturally, I made him say it for the camera.

They cut off abruptly because I tried to edit out myself praising him. I think I might sound crazy. ;)

Feed Me

For the sake of remembering I thought I'd do a post about all the things Frazier has eaten in the four months he's been eating "real" food. Fruit and vegetable-wise, he's had the following (but not necessarily in this order) and combinations thereof:

*butternut squash

*acorn squash

*sweet potatoes

*sweet peas

*green beans

*asparagus

*cauliflower

*rutabaga

*avocado

*banana

*blueberries

*pear

*watermelon

*cantaloupe

*peaches

*mango

*kiwi

*papaya

*apples

*carrots

*prunes

*apricots

*kidney beans

I'm reasonably sure that's comprehensive.

I boil, bake or steam the fruit or veggie, then puree and freeze it.

We have both the baby cubes (because they are individual servings with a lid that you can take with you, and we have the icecube trays with lids. I freeze those, then transfer them to a bag...that way I can keep more than two trays worth in the freezer. I thaw and mix them with either rice, oatmeal or multigrain cereal.

Fortunately we're in the realm of finger foods now, so the purees are on their way out.

He also eats Happy Baby puffs and yogurt melts.

After two failed attempts at breastmilk yogurt, I finally bought some Stonyfield YoBaby yogurt,

and he likes it so we've tried it in all four flavors available here: apple, blueberry, banana, and vanilla.

He's also had Earth's Best teething biscuits, but makes a magnificent mess with them so we don't have them often.

Sometimes I give him tofu or rice pasta.

And speaking of eating...

Frazier finally got two teeth this last month!! You can see them pretty good here: So we added tooth brushing to our evening routine!

Lone Ranger

When we are out and about and for the most part when we are in, but other people are around, Frazier is attached to me like an appendage...a sweet and adorable, but usually sticky and wiggly and very heavy appendage.

However, during the day when it is just the two of us and we are home, he is quite the independent little fellow. He is decidedly unhappy when I leave a room (to take something to the kitchen sink or the laundry room, for instance), but often he'll leave me behind in one room and go to another and I really think he'd just as soon I didn't follow him...so he could unplug things and chew on shoes. I'm a real obstacle to him when it comes to those "fun" things. ;) *He's only allowed to be in his room (and the hallway outside it which is blocked from the rest of the house by a baby gate) alone...and that's only when I go to the bathroom. Which, by the way, I realize I do a whole lot less than I used to. I guess Mommies are like camels...storing liquids out of necessity.

Anyway, I sometimes find myself just sitting and watching him, because it often seems that he'd prefer to be left alone. Of course, he wants me within view or at least within earshot, but he doesn't demand my constant attention. Unfortunately, it's still necessary because left to his own devices he gets into things he shouldn't. Nevertheless this self-entertainment besides being intriguing to me, has made for more productive days on my part. I get a bath everyday now while he plays happily in the pack and play. I can do laundry and check my email and I've even finished a couple of sewing projects and just this afternoon I made a craft project (more on that later). All the while he walks along the window sills talking to himself or taps his turkey baster on the ottoman and the shelves and the end tables or chases a ball.

*Here there should be a really cute 1 minute video of him chasing a red ball around the kitchen...but the stupid thing wouldn't upload...so imagine it. It was cute.

I love watching him being so busy in his own little world, though sometimes it makes me a little sad to see him being so busy doing things without me.

No doubt, one day he will once again require me to be a more constant active part in his play and then I suppose the pendulum will swing the other way again, but for now I am enjoying watching him learn to play on his own...and the freedom it affords me!

This sweet boy...

...was 10 MONTHS OLD today!

Label Your Stuff

Today, sadly, was our last day of MOPS. Only half the people from my planet were there, which was doubly sad, but we had a nice time anyway. I never missed a meeting all year and, looking back, I realize I enjoyed it more than I ever imagined I would! I really feel that MOPS has been an extremely important part of my life and I'm so grateful I was a part of it. I already signed up for next year! (There are events throughout the summer, just not regular meetings.)
Anyway, I could go on and on about what MOPS has meant to me, and probably should sometime, but what this post is really about...is labels.

I left MOPS today feeling all warm and fuzzy about all the people who'd worked so hard to make it possible for us to get together twice a month (and for fun stuff in-between meetings, too!) especially the Moppets workers who keep the kids for every meeting. Aside from Sunday mornings, it's the only time I have a baby sitter. I'm still grateful to them, especially since I'm pretty sure my kid has cried the entire time he was there the past three months so he's not their easiest baby by far. However, today there was an incident.

When I picked Frazier up they informed me that there had been a mix-up with the baby bags. I should interject here that Frazier's bag does not have his name on it permanently anywhere, because I was trying to be practical. If I monogrammed them, they'd be useless beyond when Frazier is a baby. And I'd have to buy new ones for the next kid. However, they usually put a sticker on the bags so everyone knows whose is whose. I don't know what happened, but I do know Frazier had been given a whole jar of someone else's baby food and was wearing a diaper two sizes too small. He'd also eaten Cheerios which I don't give him. Not only that, but Frazier's expensive-special-order snacks were given to someone else.

I tried to let it roll off. I mean, obviously none of that was going to kill him, but I'm OCD enough that it affected me regardless. I know that sounds ridiculous, but it was beyond my control. Kind of like how I can't function when my nails are uneven. I tried to be flippant about it as I left and even managed to say something about how much we'd appreciated them all year. I think part of what bothered me so much was that I'd come really close to taking him a sippy cup of breast milk today, but ended up having time to nurse him before we left. If I had, they'd have given that to someone else!! Or worse, what if someone else had done the same thing, and they'd given that to Frazier! Or given him a whole bottle of formula or juice (which I don't let him have) or whole milk or something he was allergic to! That could have really made him sick. The point is, I packed his bag with stuff I wanted him to have. And if that had been this other person's baby food and Cheerios, that stuff would have been in his bag.

I think I went through all the stages of grief. I'm at acceptance now, but it took me several hours to get here. ;)

If only I had a dollar for every time I've said, "I might have overreacted..." since Frazier was born.

Here is the potential positive that has come out of this situation: I shall be henceforth known as The Queen of Labels. I blame myself for the mix-up...I should have labeled better; that's all there is to it. Believe me when I tell you I had to keep myself from leaving the church parking lot and going straight to the closest place that does monogramming and having every item in the car that belonged to Frazier emblazoned with his moniker. What I did instead, was come straight home and design and print labels in multiple sizes to be used on everything he owns. I even printed some on inkjet window decal paper which works perfect for sippy and snack cups! It can be removed and reused!

So let this be a lesson unto you:

LABEL YOUR STUFF!

Pictures From The Weekend

It's hard to follow a sweet post like Josh's Mother's Day post...

...but it must be done.

Because I've got pictures to post!

We had a pretty busy weekend.

Friday night we had the Lowerys over for messy shrimp.

Recipe:

1 24oz bottle italian dressing

juice of 3-5 lemons (depends on size)

1/2 c black pepper (it really calls for 2/3 c. but that's a heck of a lot of pepper...I think 1/2 c would be plenty)

1 lb melted butter.

3 lbs shrimp.

Put it all in a pan and bake it for 45 min. or until the shrimp is cooked through.

Enjoy!

Now back to the weekend:

Saturday morning we got up and went to Cracker Barrel in Shreveport for breakfast with my grandparents and my aunt and uncle who were here from North Carolina. I totally forgot my camera so until I get the pictures my grandfather took, I've no photographic proof of the event. It was great fun, though and we were glad Aunt Melody and Uncle Tommy finally got to meet Frazier!

Saturday afternoon we went to our first, and perhaps only :(, crawfish boil of the season! Crawfish, burgers, and fried alligator! Mmmmm.Sunday, of course, was Mother's Day! We ichatted with my parents and then Josh's parents and Mae Mae and Pop came over and we grilled burgers and had a really nice time visiting! It was an unusually cool breezy day so it was nice to be outside! Debbie took this picture, but I thought it was funny. Apparently, something got lost under the TV cabinet and Grampa Jim had to fish it out!

Happy after mother's day to our awesome moms...and moms of our moms! :) We love you!

World's Best Mom?....I think so!

To avoid confusion, I should first mention that this is post is by a guest author...me...Josh. This post is in honor of Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da's creator, and until now, its sole author, my beautiful wife, Randi. For approximately 19 months now, she has devoted her time, resources, and effort to being the best mother she could be. "But Frazier is less than 10 months!" you exclaim. This is true, but since the day Randi found out she was going to have a baby, nearly everything she has done has been for Frazier's sake and for the sake of our family. For me being at work all day, most days, it is of great comfort to me to know that Randi is home with Frazier because I know that she is doing the very best she can for him.

I'm writing this post in hopes that I can, in some small way, express a sense of appreciation for what I have in Randi, what a Godly mother she has become, and to commemorate her first Mother's Day with Frazier here with us. I just hope that I can maintain this appreciation on a day-to-day basis when she needs my help.

Also, I know I'm not the only one who appreciates Randi this Mother's Day, I'm just the only one in our house that can type. ;)

Thank you Sweet Heart.

I love you,

Josh

P.S. Randi's signature could not be deleted below. Sorry for the confusion.

A Real Stand-Up Guy

He's been pulling up for awhile now. Then walking around the table and along the windowsills and pushing around the dining chairs and finally walking while leaning against the wall,...but this week he stands unsupported! He's getting the hang of it lately and can stand for several seconds at a time. He can even stand while holding something in both hands.*Why he isn't wearing pants. 1) changing his diaper is hard enough, putting the shorts back on? Hardly worth it. and 2) It's like, 90 degrees here so pants, like socks and shoes, are purely optional. Unless we go out....in which case only the socks and shoes remain an option.

Happy Wednesday!

Leavin' On A Jet Plane

Our flights are booked so it's official...

WE'RE GOING TO BELGIUM!!

In just three short weeks, actually. We have our passports, even Frazier's, and they're all color coded and ready to travel!

And while our bags aren't packed and ready to go--though I did get Frazier a new suitcase...
I do know when we'll be back again...a couple weeks after we leave!

Smile for me,