He's learning to swim. This slays me with cuteness. He's learning to kick his feet, blow bubbles in the water, and push himself along the wall. Living in Florida, it's just so important for him to learn how to swim...but I had no idea it was going to be so dang cute to see.
He says, "love you, baby!" A few weeks ago, he was shutting the door and called out, "Love you, baby!" before he shut it. Hilarious. I say that to him all the time, but he's started saying it to me out of the blue and it's precious. He'll also come into the room and say "Hi, baby!" and it cracks me up. Especially because he's very emphatic, so it sounds like, "Luh you, BAY - BEEEE."
He's becoming potty trained. In what will go down as maybe my greatest accomplishment to date (you think I'm kidding), Jack is almost all the way potty trained. PRAISE BE.
He calls out for things when he looks for them. He was looking for his phone (he has an old iPhone to watch movies and play games on, don't @ me) and he was going room to room calling out, "Jack's phone? Jack's phone?"
He'll skip to the end of his favorite movie on his phone to hear the credit song and then "sing" (not a single word right) along with it while he falls asleep.
He copies my workouts. We got a Bowflex, so I've been working out in the garage. He'll follow me out there, watch me for a minute, then start copying whatever I'm doing. Honestly, he kills it at squats. So funny to watch.
He wants to be Gatsby. He will circle Gatsby to see exactly how he's laying so that he can lay the same way beside him. Yesterday, he started "barking" at the vacuum. I cannot.
Tell me one of your favorite things about a role you fill (Mom? Partner? Friend? Neighbor? Let's hear it!) this week.
The last few times I've mentioned Jack, it's been in reference to his stomach virus week. In keeping with the focusing on the good (even though it's all good when it comes to him), I wanted to talk about the happier parts. My favorite things about being a mom right now.
He currently waves goodbye to literally everyone and screams BYEEEE whether they acknowledge him or not. We were at a rest stop the other day and he waved and said bye to every single car that drove by.
Chris opened the door the other day, and Jack walked up to him and say, "Hello, Chris!" and just walked away. I guess he's just heard other people say Chris? Either way, it was so funny in the moment. He seemed so grown up, it killed me.
He's talking a ton. I may have no idea what he's saying, but he certainly does. He'll say a bunch of jibberish and then pause and wait for you to say something back, and then nod like he agrees. I swoon.
When we were in Colorado last year, my mom made up a song about Colorado that they sing together. He'll randomly bust out with "Whoa whoa whoa, Colorado." The other day he was in the kitchen, crying and saying "Colorado" and pointing at the counter, where there was a bowl of avocados. I can't blame him, they're big words and sound similar. So now he asks for "Colorados" when he's hungry. RIP my heart.
I've been doing lots of yoga, and anytime I get my mat out, he runs to the closet and rolls a second mat out next to me. He mimics all the poses (and is actually pretty dang good).
Tell me your favorite thing about a role you play right now: Best friend, mom, neighbor, dog mom, co-worker, sister? Let's hear it.
Sleep regression? IT'S REAL AND IT DOES NOT ONLY APPLY TO NEWBORNS. (See also, send coffee, I'm tired).
They are SO SMART. I don't know why I just assumed kids were kinda just (I can't think of a nice way to say this so I'm gonna go with not-smart) until they were like five or so, but that's so not true. It blows my mind how quick he learns things and how he teaches himself how to put things together.
You will (I have) become a giant mess emotionally. Having an infant didn't make me more emotional. Watching that infant turn into a full-on functioning human? It blows my mind and makes me cry all the time. The world can be the ugliest place, but watching such a pure soul turning into his own person just gives me so much hope on the daily.
You will (I) have to pray for more patience daily (hourly) and no matter how much you receive, IT WILL NOT BE ENOUGH.
Most people on who have toddlers are liars. I'm only assuming this, but before I had a toddler the majority of people who I listened to who had toddlers talked a lot about things like "quiet mornings at home" and used words like "gentle learning time" and I'M CALLING LIESLIESLIES OKAY.
You will suddenly (seriously, like overnight) have to watch every single thing you do, because somebody else is watching every single thing you do. Jack woke up one day and started mimicking everything I do. Not joking, everything. I was doing squats, he was doing squats. I was like wiping the counters, he was looking for a rag to wipe the cabinets. So, rude finger gestures (not like I ever do those, obvs) or not-so-nice words? Those don't fly around here anymore.
The amount of destruction that can happen in mere minutes is both horrifying and impressive. There is no explaining how it happens, so don't bother asking. The same tiny creature that takes approximately two hours to six business days to put their shoes on can destroy an entire room (and sometimes house) in a matter of minutes. Just stop cleaning, probably.
It's an adventure in every sense of the word. Sometimes it's fun (unexpectedly so), sometimes it's terrifying, sometimes you have no idea what you're doing or where to go from here, sometimes you end up in a place you never thought you'd be, but you love it.
And one thing that everyone did tell me and has been 1,000% true: toddlers are truly just like tired, drunk mini humans.
As summer winds down (which I'm sad about, for the first time in maybe my whole life), I feel so thankful for the things I got to do and the adventures I got to have. One of my favorite parts of this summer was getting to take Jack to the beach and see him love it so much.
I'm a big fan of life still consisting of the things you love once you have a baby. From the time he was just a week old, Jack has been to happy hours, pool days, brunches, margarita nights...and slept through most of them like a champ.
That being said, some things (like beach days) do take extra effort, especially now that the squishy little baby who would sleep through brunch is now a wild and rambunctious toddler. After quite a few beach days this summer, here's a short little list that made those days much easier. I'm not talking about things like sunscreen and water (because I'm assuming that you know your tiny human doesn't need to be sunburned and dehydrated), but a few little things that ended up being super helpful.
An inflatable pool. If you get nothing else on this list, you need this. So cheap, and will absolutely transform your beach day with a little. It's multi-purpose on the beach: 1) It's basically a playpen. Set it up in the shade, throw some toys in there, and let them play. 2) When it's empty, it's the perfect place to nap. Lay a blanket down and boom, it's a bed. 3) You can keep your kid cool without having to constantly bring them in and out of the water. Just put some water in, let them splash around and stay cool, and you can work on your tan. Win-Win-Win.
A half-tent. I'm not really sure what the exact name of this is, but my parents bought Jack one and it was fantastic, especially on windy days.
Baby powder. Through some kind of weird black magic, baby powder makes sand come right off. So when you've got a grumpy gremlin covered in sand, just sprinkle this on and wipe the sand right off (I'm talking about you, obviously, but it works on kids too).
Rashguard (long sleeves w/ SPF). This protects at least half their body from the sun, making your job of chasing them around reapplying sunscreen a tiny bit easier.
Cheap toys. The cheapest you can find. I'm a huge fan of buying things that will last, but I don't care what you shell out on beach toys, they will. not. last. They will wash away into the ocean. Another child will walk by and pick them up and you will be too lazy to chase them down. They will break. Basically, they're not outlasting the week. So save your money, buy the cheap ones, and your kid will never know the difference.
Bonus: All the towels. Way more towels than you think you need. I'm not really sure what happens to our towels, within an hour Jack had managed to soak/sand/throw them all into the ocean. Bring all your towels.
Have you braved the beach with a toddler?
It's no secret around here that Jack was a surprise. I had absolutely no plans to get pregnant and spent most of my pregnancy just trying to get used to the idea of having a baby (instead of doing research and planning for actually having him). So it's safe to say that most things about being a mom have been a surprise for me. But here are five big things that I definitely did not expect.
It's been easier than I thought it would be. I vividly remember one of the last times I went to Target before Jack was born. I was getting in my car, and I saw this girl getting out of her car with her baby. She had the baby in one hand, got her stroller out and opened it up with the other hand, and proceeded to load the stroller up with bottles and bags and who knows what else, all while bouncing her baby to sleep. It looked so hard.
But here's the thing...you figure it out. You just do. Overnight, it became second nature for me to have a baby in one hand and (at least one) bag in the other. It becomes instinct to swerve out of the way so you don't get spit up in your hair. Something happens and you just instinctively know all this stuff. That was incredibly comforting to me to realize, because I felt so behind since I hadn't made a five-year plan for having a baby. Spoiler: I don't think having a plan would have made a big difference.
It can be lonely. This is surprised me because I have friends. Great friends. But it can still be lonely. Because you're responsible for this entire little life. And when your little life is going through a loud phase, you can't just go out to dinner with friends. When they're going through a clingy phase, you can't road trip to see an old friend. This can result in feeling left out.
Another way motherhood can be lonely is that it comes with the feeling that you can't make anyone else understand what you're going through. This is obviously a lie, there are millions and millions of mothers in America, so you're not the only one who has ever felt a certain way. But it can sure feel like it, especially if you're the only mom in your friend group. Michelle has been a lifesaver for me lately when it comes to this. Because someone who doesn't currently have a toddler might not understand how a skipped nap and a Target tantrum left me dissolving into a puddle of tears for three hours, but since she's in the thick of it, I can just say, "HEY THIS HAPPENED" and am immediately met with a hurricane of both sympathy (need a little bit) and you're-not-alone-because-me-too (need way more).
I actually feel a closeness with Jack, not just love towards him. This is surprising to me, because how can you feel like a one-year-old is your friend? I expected to love him, of course, but I expected it to be a one-way street for awhile. Guys, it's not. It's insane to me how early human's personalities develop, but they do, and when Jack shows his and "talks" to me and runs around doing all of his tiny little routine things, I don't just feel love for him, I feel like he's my tiny little bff.
It made me more laid back. I guess I thought the opposite would happen? I wouldn't necessarily say I was an uptight person, but I was definitely a neeeeed to know kind of person. I needed everything to have a plan. The thought of being just a few minutes late somewhere would make me cry. But becoming a mom totally chilled me out. Can I come to your BBQ on Thursday? No idea, depends on how the afternoon goes. Will I ever be on time for church again? Probably not. And you know what? It's all okay.
I am still 100% myself. I still listen to rap music in the car. I still go to happy hours (when my tiny human is in a good mood, at least). I still have people over. I still go to the pool all the time. I still read books and do yoga and blog and all the other things I loved doing before I became a mom. I wrote about it here, but to summarize: Becoming a mom reminded me of who I was. It made me more myself than I've ever been. And that has been the most welcome surprise.
If you're a mom, what are some ways it has surprised you?
In magazines, blog posts, and advertisements on Facebook, I keep seeing Mother's Day gift guides pop up. They're pretty, usually pink, and full of things like expensive candles and body scrub. And obviously the people writing these are doing a good job, because I'm a mom, and I nod along and think, yes, yes I do want that.
But, since I am a mom, and Mother's Day gift guides are for people buying gifts for moms, I thought I'd give you a little inside peek on what I really want for Mother's Day.
Sleep. All of the sleep. Seriously, all of it. I cannot stress this enough. I don't mean I want a nap or to sleep in on Sunday, I want all. of. the. sleep. So if you could just pack up a few of your extra hours and wrap them up with a bow, that's what I want.
Coffee. All of it. There could be a river of coffee flowing straight through my house and it still would not be enough lately. I need it all. Like this, but with coffee:
My pre-baby body. Actually, if we're getting technical, here's what I really want: My pre-baby body, my post-baby hips, and my newborn days boobs, because hot DANG those were nice. So basically I want like a Frankenstein kind of situation. Is that too much to ask for?
A magical new caffeine source. Something stronger than coffee, but not quite illegal drug status, ya feel? I would like it to leave me wide awake but also feeling as if I'd taken a mild sedative. I'd like zero shakes, 100% awareness, and also the ability to fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. So like a coffee-wine hybrid, but way better. Again with the Frankenstein gifts, I guess.
A glam squad. If by some chance, I am unable to be gifted all of the sleep and all of the coffee, I will settle for this. A group of people to follow me around, who's sole purpose in life is to make it look like I've had all the sleep and coffee in the whole wide world.
Length-changing hair. I want the mom chop because it's easy and because you don't know what pain is until your kid rips out a handful of your hair while you're half-asleep. But also I want long hair because top knots are the easiest. But also I want short hair because I don't want to wear my hair in a top knot every day and look like a slob. Can someone please fix this cycle? It's Mother's Day and I AM A MOTHER.
Okay, okay, this is getting a bit excessive and I don't want to come across as greedy. I am so blessed to be a mom, and truly, I don't need all of this.
I'll just settle for that Frankenstein bod.
I found out I was having a baby three days after we had re-signed our apartment lease. Our tiny, beautiful, studio apartment. Sometimes when I say studio, people think I mean one bedroom. I do not. I mean one room...period. The kitchen, the den, the bed...all in the same room. After begging to be let out of the lease and told no, we had to figure out how to have a baby and two adults live in a studio apartment.
It was difficult, but through trial and error, I learned a lot about how to make it work, and I thought that might be helpful to someone else!
Get rid of any and all excess furniture. We had a big sectional couch, and it was awesome, but it also took up all of the space and wasn't completely necessary. So we traded it in for a love seat and a rocking chair. The same goes for all non-functional furniture. If you have a nightstand that's just pretty and doesn't really do anything else, it's gotta go.
Let go of your idea of what a nursery should look like. One of the hardest things for me was seeing all these Pinterest-perfect nursery pictures. I just assumed that whenever I had a baby, I would make the cutest little nursery for him, not be sharing a room with him. But if you're in a studio, practical has to win out over aesthetically pleasing every time. Bonus: Once he got here, I realized how little the matching, color-coordinated stuff meant. He was perfectly happy in his mismatched things.
Buy everything in a travel version. Absolutely everything. Why? Because you can fold it up and hide it when you're not using it. Baby stuff takes up so much room. For example, this is the baby bathtub everyone recommended. Great...but where am I supposed to put that all the hours of the day I wasn't using it? We got this one instead, which we folded up and kept under the sink when we were done.
A few other things we used in travel version: This portable baby swing, the Rock 'n Play, which we folded up and put behind our bed in between nap times, and this portable bouncer. Anything that says "travel" or "portable" is going to be easily packed away, which is going to give you more space during the times you're not using everything.
Get a storage unit if at all possible. Getting a storage unit saved us a lot of money in the long run for a very simple reason. When you're pregnant and have a baby registry, it's the only time in your life where tons of people are going to buy you baby things. So take advantage of that. You don't need things like a high chair right away, but it's better to get one as a gift now than to have to go buy one in six months. We paid $18 a month to store all those "later" baby things, and it was 100% worth it.
View your trunk as a closet. It may sound weird, but hear me out. Think of how much space you have in your car. We kept Jack's stroller (and several other non-essential) things in my trunk. It's way easier to walk out to the car than to go to the storage unit.
You don't need a crib. Am I the only one who didn't know that babies usually don't sleep in a crib right away? Probably. My best advice to people bringing a baby home to a studio would be to skip the crib. Register for one and store it if you can, but for now, you don't need it. Get a travel bassinette or Rock 'n Play for the first few months, then use a Pack 'n Play. Jack is almost 15 months old and he could easily still sleep in a Pack 'n Play if he didn't have his own room. There are actually special mattresses that fit the Pack 'n Play, just for this reason. It's not as cute, sure, but it works and folds right up during the day!
At the end of the day, it's totally possible. You can love on a baby anywhere, and that's what's important.
First, let's clarify: This title is slightly misleading, because I'm not including clothes, diapers + wipes, or formula. The first because chances are, everyone you've ever known will buy you baby clothes because it's a cheap and adorable baby gift. The second two because those are monthly expenses, and the things I'm including here are necessities that you would buy before the baby gets here.
Secondly, this is not a dream list. No gorgeous crib or handmade sheets off of etsy or toys. Are those things wonderful? Absolutely. And I hope you have a wonderful baby shower and people buy you all the extravagant things. We were so blessed and were able to get a lot of "extra" things like that, but before that happened, I made a list of everything we might need and how much those things would cost.
Within twelve months of finding out I was pregnant, Chris had to apply for residency interviews (expensive), travel to all the interviews (SO expensive), I had to actually have the baby (hospital bills), we had to buy a baby-friendly car, pack up our apartment, and buy a house. Also, getting pregnant was a surprise, so there was no baby fund anywhere. So when I say we tried to do things on a budget, you can trust that I truly researched and shopped around and budgeted like it was my job.
So now, having gone from finding out I was having a baby and knowing nothing about what I needed, to having a perfectly happy and healthy one-year-old, here are the things I would say are necessary and can fill the gaps of other, more expensive things.
Pack 'n Play:
$79
Works as a crib, as a play area, as a changing space, and you can pack it up and bring it anywhere with you. Jack still sleeps in this whenever we travel anywhere.
Rock 'n Play:
$54
Budget post or not, I still consider this an absolute necessity. It's the only thing that helped my baby sleep more than 90 minutes at a time. MAGIC.
Swing:
$70
Swaddle cloths: $35
These work for everything. Swaddles, blankets, spit-up clothes, breastfeeding covers, etc, etc. There are cheaper options, but these are the ones I have and they have survived 13 months of use and washes.
Sleeper Swaddles:
$14
These have velcro so the little bubs can't break out at night. I tried the more expensive one everyone raves about online and found no magic difference.
Breast pump:
$140 (Storage bags:
$8)
Yes. So glamorous, and so necessary (if you're going to breastfeed).
Bottles:
$6
I bought 5 different kinds of fancy bottles before finding these. NINE BOTTLES FOR $6. They're Jack's favorite. Moral of the story: Sometimes you should start with the cheap stuff.
Shampoo/soap/lotion: $8
Buy a gift set of these, it comes with all three. You don't need a lot because babies are tiny so these bottles last forever.
Diaper Rash Paste:
$ 7
This stuff is gold, works like a charm, and also lasts forever.
Car seat/Stroller Combo: $169
Being able to click the car seat right into the stroller is a lifesaver and makes things so much more convenient.
Pacifiers:
$3
Of course you'll end up getting more things than this. I hope you get every tiny, adorable little thing your baby-loving heart wishes for. But I know that when I was pregnant and price-checking, it would have made me feel so much better to know I could afford the basics. $600 is not cheap, but when you google what you need for your new baby and every list recommends a $250 baby swing, $600 is a steal.
It's totally possible to go without here. A diaper genie is awesome, but if you can't afford one, you can put diapers in old grocery bags before tossing them in the trash. A crib is ideal, but a pack 'n play can totally work. A playmat is fun, but you can use a blanket for now. And on, and on, and on. See? You don't have to be rich to have a baby, trust me.
I'll blog soon about all the fun, "extra" stuff we bought and loved, but for now, just know that you can afford this. It doesn't have to be trendy, it doesn't have to be pinterest-perfect. You've got this.
If you have a baby, what would you say is absolutely necessary?
Jack turned one last month, which means I have been a parent for an entire year. That is both mind-boggling and very normal feeling, which is pretty much how I would describe all of parenthood.
Now that we're a year into this thing, I thought it'd be fun to think back on what my expectations were before Jack was born and see how they lined up with reality.
Expectation: It would take me awhile to feel like Jack was a part of our family.
Reality: Not at all. It was instant. We had to go to Publix the day we got released from the hospital because Chris couldn't pick up my pain medicine without me present and I will never forget how normal it felt. Walking around the store waiting on it, picking up macaroni and cheese and fried chicken for dinner, things feeling just as normal as ever.
Expectation: I would meticulously document everything. Baby books, monthly pictures with signs about how many months he was, etc.
Reality: Did not happen.
Expectation: I would do a sleep schedule with him.
Reality: He was a horrible sleeper from the beginning. It wasn't until I dropped all semblance of schedules and let him sleep when he wanted and wake up when he wanted that he started actually sleeping for more than a few hours. Guess he's a type B kinda guy.
Expectation: Breastfeeding would come naturally.
Reality: Nope. Jack did. not. like. boobs. He just didn't. So much so that when the lactation consultant come to see me in the hospital, she said, "Hmm...that's weird. I don't know what to say." It was quite the struggle.
Expectation: Babies don't need a lot of stuff.
Reality: They really do.
Expectation: You get everything you need at your baby shower. If you don't, you'll buy it before the baby comes.
Reality: I went to the baby section of Target and BuyBuy Baby a lot before Jack was born. And I went even more after Jack was born. Example: Turns out, just because a bassinette is pretty, doesn't mean your baby will like sleeping in it.
Chris and I found ourselves stumbling around the store late one night looking for a solution, and a stranger saw us standing in front of the Rock 'n Play.. She came up and said, "You need to buy that. I spent so much money on so many different things and that's the only thing that helped my daughter sleep." SOLD. Moral of the story, I didn't even know Rock 'n Plays existed before Jack was born. You'll probably need some extras that didn't find their way on your registry. PS: That thing was worth every single penny. Solid gold.
Expectation: I would feel quarantined to the house because we couldn't get out anymore.
Reality: False! When Jack was two weeks old, we took him to our favorite sushi happy hour. We would also take him to the roof of our apartment and just hang out, drink sangria, and talk about life (which was my ideal day before he was born, too). When he was four weeks old, we took him to Universal. We took him to the pool, to friends' houses, to food truck rallies, to the mall, everywhere! He's been coming with us everywhere pretty much since he was born, and I really attribute him being such a chill little guy to that.
Expectation: I would be exactly the same after he was born, just maybe a little more sleep deprived and a little less thin.
Reality: I changed tremendously, just not in the way I expected. In fact, I became more myself than I had ever been. I wrote more in depth about that here, but short version: Having Jack helped me find my way back to the version of myself I love the most.
If you're a parent, what are some ways reality was different than your expectations?
When you're having a baby, you get a lot of advice. You also get told a lot of "facts" about life once your baby gets here. Some things you just smile and hope beyond hope that whatever someone told you isn't actually true, and some things you cling to like the actual truth itself.
Obviously, things are different for everyone, but here are ten "facts" people told me about having a baby that were just complete lies for me.
They start sleeping much better at six-weeks-old.
See also: Eight-weeks-old, twelve-weeks-old, etc. See also: They sleep better once they can have rice cereal, they sleep better once they start eating solids, etc. ALL. LIES.
If you breastfeed, all the weight you gained during pregnancy will just fall off.
The magic weight-loss breastfeeding fairy did not visit me. But do you know who did? Her evil step-sister, the weight-gaining fairy witch.
Cocoa butter prevents stretch marks.
I was so sick throughout my whole entire pregnancy and just the smell of most things made me puke. But still, I loyally slathered myself up with cocoa butter every. single. night. Still got stretch marks. Still can't smell cocoa butter without feeling nauseous.
Bonus: Something else no one told me: My stretch marks didn't show up until after I had the baby. The more weight I lost, the more marks showed up. Super fun.
Babies don't really need any stuff.
To be fair, this advice mostly came from my minimalist friends or much older women. Your baby just needs a few outfits, some diapers, and you! Lies. Lies lies lies. Sure, your baby doesn't need a hundred toys. But some things are called "must-haves" because they are exactly that. I can only think of one thing we received at our baby shower that we never used. And we ended up buying many more things once Jack was born. Bottom line: Your baby is gonna need some stuff.
Parenting comes naturally.
It feels natural now. It did not feel natural at first. So I don't think it just comes naturally, I think you figure out what you have to do and over time, that starts to feel natural. The first time I took Jack somewhere by myself, I felt clumsy and awkward undoing the stroller, packing his diaper bag, making sure he was okay. Now, I can balance a stroller and a bag and a baby and all his stuff and my stuff and whatever it is we're going out for like it's nothing.
You can sleep when the baby sleeps.
Unless you are able to fall asleep at any given moment and then wake yourself up 8 minutes later when the baby has decided he actually didn't want to nap, this doesn't work. And even if you're one of those who can, well, most of the time you're going to have to do other things during those eight-minute stretches. Like eat, or shower.
Your instincts are always right.
My "instincts" told me to not give Jack any formula and that if I just kept trying to breastfeed, eventually he would start getting enough nutrition (false). And do you know how many times my "instincts" have told me that I needed to bust into his room during naptime because I needed to check if he was breathing? Too many. Maybe my instincts just sucked at first, or maybe we sometimes get new-mom-instincts confused with new-mom-anxiety.
Nothing changes. Your life is still your life, you just added a baby to it.
Ha. Ha ha. HA HA HA.
Of course, this is still my life and I am still me, but literally everything changes. In the very best way.
Your baby needs a strict schedule.
We took Jack all over the place when he was just weeks old. He went shopping, out to eat, to the park, on walks..never on a schedule. I totally credit this for the reason why he's so chill now and can nap anywhere, no matter where we take him.
I'm almost afraid to type this here, because I know it's a bit controversial, but Jack doesn't have a bedtime. I wait until he's rubbing his eyes and fussing, or falling asleep crawling around (adorable), and then I put him down. He didn't start sleeping through the night until I started doing this. It actually makes sense to me..if you were hanging out at 7:30 and were made to go to bed immediately, could you instantly fall asleep? Probably not. (Even if you were slathered in lavender and all the lights were dimmed and I had been talking to you in soothing tones).
Parenthood isn't really rewarding and fun until your baby is two or three.
Guys. Jack is ten months old, and this has been the most rewarding and most fun ten months of my entire life. I can only imagine how much more fun it gets as he begins to be able to talk, but man is life good right now.
Do any of these sound familiar to you?
$79
$54
$70
$14
$140 (Storage bags:
$8) 
$6
$ 7
$3
