Christa is 7 Months and other random topics!

Loving her jumper

New favorite face (she copies Cline and I when we make that face)

Enjoying a visit from Harbin and Catherine (Kimberly's kids)!

Alright, so I'm unwinding. I just returned home from yet another traumatic attempt at getting pictures made. Maybe God is trying to teach me a lesson - that professional pictures, in the grand scheme of things, are not all that important, and that the world will not actually end if we don't get that "perfect" picture every time. We did manage to come through this session without any head injuries, so that alone made it better than last week. And we did get some good "classic" pictures of her sitting up. But she was nervous and screamed through a lot of it, so we didn't get any great, toothy smiles. Oh well. Maybe next time.
She is officially 7 months old today. She's getting to be a bit more squirmy - wants to lean all over the place when I carry her. She's a lot of fun, but I hope she'll go back to just letting me hold her once in a while. I'll post some more pictures later - she's recovering from her morning with a nap. She is doing really well sitting up, and is enjoying eating bread bits, crackers, and Eggo waffles in addition to her puree diet. She might be an Asian food lover like her dad. We went to Aunt Bethany's baby shower yesterday, and they had a Korean rice-bread dish. I think it's called "puffed rice." It's kind of like a rice cake, but really light and airy so it just dissolves in your mouth. Christa LOVED it so much that the nice girl who brought it sent us home with a bag, since it's not easy to find.
As I was surfing the internet a moment ago, in my own attempt to relax, I was inspired with a random topic. Today's question is, "am I the only one who's getting sick of all the tabloids combining Hollywood couple's names?" It all started with "Bennifer" which I'll admit I thought was kind of cute. Then came "Brangelina" which I still think is dumb. Then "Tomkat" - seriously?? The latest is "Brohan" - Lindsey Lohan and Somebody Brody?? Actually, you don't even have to be a couple to get a combo-name - tmz.com consistently refers to Lindsey Lohan as "LiLo." It just seems like overkill, and I'm tired of rolling my eyes at these stupid nicknames. (And this IS a major deal in the grand scheme of things:)

My So-Called Week

Hello all! We've had a fun and relaxing week. Christa and I got to spend the long weekend with Mimi here in Augusta. We had a very fun time playing with Christa's toys, going out to eat, and doing some post-holiday shopping. On Sunday night, I thought it would be a fun idea to rent a girlie movie with my mom, as Cline was working an evening shift, and there's just not a lot to choose from on TV right now with the writer's strike. I'd recently seen a special on Julia Roberts, where they showed some clips from her movie Closer. I'd never seen Closer and was intrigued, even though I had no idea what it was about. I only knew that it had Julia Roberts and Natalie Portman in it, so it couldn't be terrible, right? Um... not right. DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE WITH YOUR MOTHER OR ANY OTHER PERSON WITH EARS. If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, I really can't elaborate because this is a G-rated space. I also can not, in good conscience, tell you to go see it for yourself. So let me just say that the content was so embarrassing, we had to turn it off halfway through, and that's 4 dollars and an hour of my life I will never get back.
On Monday, we had a disastrous experience at the portrait studio. I took Christa in for her 6 month shots. My job was pretty simple - sit by Christa and make sure she didn't fall over while she was trying to sit up. Apparently I understood that to mean "do nothing as I watched her fall over and smack her head on the hard floor." She was fine after a few minutes of Mommy cuddling her and promising to buy her anything she wanted, but she (understandably) was not interested in posing for pictures after that. I felt awful - I might literally go crazy (if I haven't already by then) when she actually gets hurt doing something one day. At any rate, her 6 month pictures will now be 7 month pictures when we take them next week. Oh well.
Well, that about covers things. I'll be spending this next week getting our tax information together - look for what is sure to be a riveting post about that:)

Movin' on Up

Alright then - 4 pictures of only Christa - that should satisfy most of you for a while :) The top picture is her new bath seat she got for Christmas. She does much better in it than I thought she would. She loves to watch the wind up boat that swims around her. I'm trying to get the nerve up to throw out her baby bathtub. Cline says I should give it away, but it leaks! I HATE throwing anything out - I don't mind giving stuff away, but I hate to waste if there is any possible use for it. I could take the tub to the salvation army, and would happily do that, except I'm thinking that if someone paid even just a dollar or two for it, and took it home, they'd be frustrated and disappointed when they tried to use it. But it's taking up precious space in my apartment, so I need to do something with it if we've surpassed it's use. I am trying to make my peace with throwing out things as we get ready to move, though. The dumpster is just a short walk; the Salvation Army is a 20 minute drive. Anyway, off of that tangent. Christa has also recently discovered that if she puts her foot up to her mouth, she can suck on her toes. This is quite a fun thing, apparently, but of course, she stops as soon as I get my camera ready. The 3rd and 4th pictures were taken last night. She's very close to sitting up on her own. It's amazing how much progress babies make in just a few days. Her 6 month pictures are on Monday, and I'd pretty much written off getting pics of her sitting up on her own since she wasn't doing it earlier this week. Now I'm thinking we might get a couple. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the snow yesterday. It was really dark by the time you could have seen the snow, and Christa had messed up all of the warm clothes I'd brought for her, so she watched it from the back door.

In other news, we've been in Rome the past few days doing paperwork in preparation for our house purchase. It is so fun to go home and drive by "our" house. It's hard to believe that in 6 short months we'll be home for good. That's only how much time I've had with Christa - it seems like a day. I'm having fun looking through catalogs and picturing rugs and furniture. But as much as I complain about "the ghetto," I am going to miss it. We've made some really great friends here that totally made our 3 years here worth it. Augusta does have some great shopping, and it's an easy place to live compared to Atlanta. Plus, I'm convinced I'm going to find a way to deliver all of my babies here. The care I got from my OB and University Hospital is going to be hard to match and impossible to beat.

Well, I'm off to find places for our second load of Christmas presents :) I think it's almost time to start making Wal-Mart runs for moving boxes. I've been using Christa's diaper boxes, but she's not keeping up anymore.

Random Thoughts: Toy Story

Hello friends! My house is finally together again. Not a lot of news to report this week. I've mostly been reading about, listening to, and watching the election coverage, being the huge dork educated citizen that I am. It is taking every ounce of willpower I have to not write a lengthy post detailing my wise opinions on the issues at hand. For the time being I will stick to lighter, more pleasant topics... such as the warm weather and teaching Christa to sit up. She has finally embraced her Bumbo seat and will tripod for a few seconds. She has 6 month pictures scheduled in a couple of weeks, and I'd love it if she were sitting up by then. If not, that's OK too; I'm in no hurry for her to grow up.

Even though you're not going to be privy to my political wisdom (unless you call me on the phone, in which case I will happily talk your ear off about it), I will share my thoughts on yet another worldly topic that I think is especially fitting with Christmas having just passed. Today's topic is: Why do you need the jaws of life to open children's toys? I spent more time ripping apart cardboard, untangling wire, and throwing things against the wall in frustration the week after Christmas than I ever could have imagined. Every single toy had thick wire in a bazillion different places, permanently attaching the toy that I needed to keep to the cardboard I wanted to throw away. And each wire, once it was untangled, failed to fit through the microscopic plastic holes on the toy that it must have been magically inserted through. Furthermore, there was thick, clear plastic that I also wanted to throw away that was affixed to the toy in such a way that scissors, knives, and super-human strength were no match. Why do companies do this to parents? I understand the concept of preserving the quality and appearance of toys and preventing small parts from somehow getting out of the packaging before purchase. But isn't there a happy medium between a paper sack and a restraint system suitable for a crash test dummy? Just my two cents.

I'll post some pictures next time. I just got my first set of prints back from Wal-Mart, and although the pictures are good, the background is much much darker than it appears on the viewfinder and computer. I'm hoping this is a printing issue. As always, I welcome any insight into this situation. Have a great week!

Dear Jerk....

Dear Jerk who tried to steal my husband's car on Saturday,

I am not angry with you for taking the cash out of his wallet. I *choose* to assume you need it for food, in which case I'm glad for you to have it. I *might* be angry with you if I thought you were using OUR Christmas money for drugs or booze.

I am not angry with you for leaving the passenger side door open where it was obvious someone had meddled in our personal things and invited others to do the same. I am also not angry with you for busting the steering column in your lame and pathetic attempt to steal the vehicle. I'm a little annoyed you didn't succeed, because now we have to pay to have the thing fixed, but I'm willing to let bygones be bygones.

I am perplexed that you would want to steal an old, scratched Buick that rattles when you turn it to the right and requires tools to start occasionally. There was a nice SUV right next to ours; although I am not *angry* with you, I think your judgment is questionable.

I forgive you for taking my baby's carseat out of the car even though it took us hours to install in a secure way, yet at an angle where her head is neither bobbing forward, nor hanging upside down. (Although I'm not sure my baby forgives you because the chances of us getting it in at that comfortable angle again are slim.) Thank you for not stealing the seat. And thank you for leaving the Barnes and Noble gift card; I'm sure it was no use to you anyway. I suppose if you'd really wanted to inconvenience us, you could have taken the driver's license and credit cards, so I do appreciate those considerations. Your mama must be proud.

However, I AM angry with you for stealing an hour of our family time on Saturday while my husband had to file a police report instead of coming home. You see, he works hard and EARNS his money rather than just TAKING it from someone else. You wouldn't understand this concept because it requires a job and a work ethic. You already get a significant portion of this money he earns from our tax dollars - I guess that wasn't enough for you. (Don't worry - I have complete faith that our Democratic congress and possible future President will see that you get plenty more - they'll do the stealing for you so you won't have to be troubled again). At any rate, because my husband works hard and has developed a marketable skill, he can earn more money for our needs. But our family time is a precious and treasured commodity that is not replaceable. And you've stolen a chunk of it while we deal with towing and repairing the car. I do NOT appreciate that, jerk.

I am also angry with you for reminding me in a very tangible way that there are people out there who are willing and able to hurt my family. You have infringed on my security (not that I ever felt terribly secure living in Richmond County - it's kind of a ghetto place),but that's beside the point. You actually gave me a reason to be afraid, and I don't appreciate that either, jerk.

Also, I'm very upset with you for breaking the radio. That was a Christmas gift to my husband a couple of years ago. Besides, they have much better technology now than a cd and cassette player. Again with your questionable judgment.

I would like to be angry at you for several more things, because you deserve it. It's not nice to take things and break things that aren't yours. But I'm just not that mad at you because I am mostly thankful that all you took from me was stuff - stuff that we can work for and get back. And I mostly feel sorry for you because you must not know the sheer joy it is to take care of yourself with a family who loves you and brings countless smiles to your face all day, every day - a family who makes you want to do honorable things that would make them proud. And you obviously don't know what it's like to work hard for something and accomplish it through your own skills and efforts. Because if you did, you would never settle for mooching off the labor of another man. You must have a very sad life.

Sincerely,
A Family on Foot, Thanks to You