Baby Noodle

Parental Advisory. Explicit Content. Seriously.

2012-02-08T20:13:00.000-08:00

Ok, Mom gave the OK. Here's Sir Winston ChurchHorse being violated...

Hahaha. Time to give the horsey a little bath I guess.

Teef

2012-02-08T19:56:00.000-08:00

Neve had a rough day today. We (Grandpa, Neve and I) went to do some maintenance on one of our rental units. Neve was not happy about that. Grandpa had to eventually drive Neve around the neighborhood while I did the work. I think Neve must be in a little pain with her new teeth. She officially has 2 that have poked through now...the bottom middle 2. Here's the best picture I've been able to get so far...

Mom's trying to put Neve to sleep as I write. I can hear on the baby monitor that it is taking a little work. This is the first day in a REALLY long time that Neve hasn't been perfect for me, but she has been having some issues at night getting to sleep.

I'm a little embarrassed to admit it, but my arm is sore from shooting Play Ball Hoops in the baby room...

Yes, that is an action shot. And I think I missed off of the wicker rim.

We just had a little episode with our dog Ollie and one of Neve's Christmas gifts. Grandma gave Neve a stuffed animal rocking horse. I think all of the granddaughters now have this toy. Some of my family calls him Clip-ity Clop. We call him Sir Winston ChurchHorse.

Well, I was playing with Neve in her room just a little bit ago. And I look over and Sir Winston ChurchHorse is being humped by Ollie! Which is surprising because Ollie never does that. I immediately yelled at him. Afterwards, I was actually a little disappointed that I didn't think to get a picture first. So, when Beth got home lo and behold Ollie started to do it again. So I grabbed the camera BEFORE I yelled at Ollie...

BUT I'm not sure if I'm going to post that picture on this baby blog. It might be just a little inappropriate. I think I may ask Mom first. But stay tuned...

Have a great night! I know Ollie won't!

Baby Blessings Part I

2012-02-07T20:36:00.000-08:00

The feeling when she FINALLY goes to sleep...

The smile just for me when she wakes up...

Watching her experience something new...

TO BE CONTINUED...

Have a great night!

Baby Book Sidenote...

2012-02-03T15:01:00.000-08:00

We're pretty sure a tooth has made it's way out of Neve's gums. Beth found it early this morning. I think I can see it. Neve doesn't like my hands all up in her grill so it's hard to check out. And really hard to try and take a picture of. But I'll keep trying.

Congratulations Neve on a big milestone!

Tough Cookie

2012-02-03T14:56:00.000-08:00

Neve had her 6 month wellness doctors visit yesterday. She weighed in at 14 pounds, 14.5 ounces and measured in at 27 inches. Of babies her age, she's in the 26% of weight and 88% of height. She received a couple of shots. She literally only cried for about 5 seconds. And then went back to smiling at herself in the large mirror in the doctor's office. She was in love with the examination table paper liners. She made a huge mess crumpling them up. But had lots of fun.

I think Neve is at the perfect age. She's becoming more interactive every single day (both physically and verbally) and she's not really that mobile yet. So, I get to sit her down, put some toys in front of her and watch the fun. I get to do things like this...

And sit her in the recliner to just chill...

(As long as I'm only a couple of feet away and paying really close attention, Momma)

Have a great weekend!

Warm Weather, Warm Milk

2012-02-01T15:03:00.000-08:00

I never thought I'd be doing this on February 1st...

That last picture wasn't easy to take one-handed, especially with a lens that doesn't focus closer than about 2 feet. I think Neve was wondering what her crazy Dad was doing.

Have a great day!

Zzzz...

2012-01-31T20:14:00.000-08:00

The first couple of days after Beth and I brought Neve home from the hospital, we tried to switch diaper duty at night. That didn't last long, though. Apparently, I'm a much deeper sleeper than Beth and she was finding that trying to wake me up in the middle of the night was just as much work as changing Neve herself. So basically since the first week that Neve has been in this world, I haven't had to do much baby duty overnight. I have offered on numerous occasions to take over, even saying that I could feed Neve with a bottle at night once in awhile, but Beth has been great and has done it all herself.

I do know it's a chore; Neve certainly doesn't look like this at night when she wakes up crying...

That takes a lot of hard work getting Neve to look like that. Lots of hair brushing. Just kidding, I've probably brushed her hair less than the amount of fingers I have on one hand. I'm sure you can tell that from most of her pictures.

Anyway, so lately I feel like the only time I have to myself is after Beth and Neve have gone to sleep late at night (well, that and Sundays for an hour and a half when they're at Mommy and Baby Yoga). So, for the last couple of months I've fell into a bad habit of staying up late at night doing things like watching movies, reading, writing my blog, playing Words with Friends, etc. But lately I really feel like staying up late and having an irregular sleeping pattern has really taken a toll on me. I do know that Beth has it much worse having to wake up numerous times during the night out of necessity to feed Neve. But hey, this is my blog and I'll cry if I want to.

This picture doesn't fit here, but Neve is playing her own form of Peek-A-Boo with me...

I have noticed if I make an effort of going to bed early and read in bed, I fall asleep quickly. So, I just bought a Kindle Touch (with the help of a very generous Amazon gift card for my birthday from my in-laws that was supposed to go towards a food dehydrator. This is probably the first my Mother-in-law has heard of that. Sorry Becky :) but I do really like the Kindle!). I had told myself in the past that I never wanted a Kindle. I really do love the feel of books in my hands while I'm reading them. But I wanted to get something that was very easy to read in bed without making a lot of noise. So, I've been trying the Kindle and it's been great so far. I've gone to sleep at the same time as Beth just about every night since I've gotten it and I actually fall asleep a lot sooner. So, hopefully my sleep schedule will become more regular.

I've also figured out a way to have the best of both worlds (in my opinion) regarding books. I "borrowed" the Kindle ebook from the library (which is so cool that I can do that online and not have to pay the ridiculous prices of ebooks) of the same physical book I am reading (A Storm of Swords). So, I read from the physical book most of the time and at night I read from the Kindle using a nifty light. I also actually have a Kindle app on my phone so I can switch from reading the physical book to reading on the Kindle to reading on my phone (which I never actually do) fairly seamlessly. Crazy, huh?

Neve promptly had a blow-out after I took this picture today. I think those pants are a little too tight...

Wow, I just now noticed that it looks like she's giving me the bird. She must be smarter than she lets on sometimes. That must be payback for all of the embarrassing pictures I have saved up for her potential boyfriends.

What's out of place in these pictures I took of our yard today?

You got it, nothing! That's just my quirky neighbor taking advantage of the unbelievably warm weather and getting an early start on his "float" for the Mardi Gras parade. I love living in the city!

Have a great night! Thanks for listening to my rambling. Off to bed fairly early again...yay!

Happy Half Birthday Neve!

2012-01-30T22:20:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Neve's been in this world for 6 months already. It seems like it has just flown by! But I also can't remember what it's like to not have her around. Here's to the last 6 months...

August 2, 2011 ~10am Neve was almost exactly 2 1/2 days old in these pictures, and she was already smiling! We knew it was smiling and NOT gas! Little did we know how happy of a baby she would be...

August 30, 2011 ~5:30pm Just a few hours before Neve turned 1 month old. She looks so skinny. Well, she's still skinny I think. But just today we were at the hospital helping Grandpa out and someone looked at Neve while she was sleeping and sarcastically said "Well, you sure don't feed her enough!" I think she was referring to Neve's fat cheeks! The cheeks only started to bulge just a month or so ago. The chunky cheeks were non-existent at 1 month...

September 30, 2011 ~11:15pm Too Cool for Two (months). This was taken just about an hour after Neve was exactly 2 months old. This was a bad hair month...

October 31, 2011 ~6:45pm Neve was channeling her inner gnome for Halloween just 1 day after she turned 3 months old...

November 30, 2011 ~11:45am Daddy's All-Star at 4 months olds...

December 29, 2011 ~3pm There's that round face!!! I think Neve had just woken up or just finished crying, but decided she wanted to smile instead...

January 30, 2012 (TODAY) ~11:30am Happy 6 Month Birthday Neve! This was taken today before our day got hectic. I'm pretty sure Neve was yelling "Yii Yii Yia Yia Yia Yii Yii Yii," which is her new favorite phrase. Beth thinks she is singing. Maybe she was singing Happy Birthday to herself...

Have a great night!

How Many Fingers?

2012-01-26T21:19:00.000-08:00

How many fingers can I fit into my mouth?

One...

Too easy, I can defintely fit two...

Alright, let me give three a try...

Forget three, I'll go straight to four...

OK, this is getting a little harder. I'll just try the thumb...

You know what let's just go for gold. Both Hands!

Yay! I'm a winner. And NOT a...

Loser

Have a great night!

Crazy Hair

2012-01-19T21:30:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty sure Beth changed her hair color in between our first and second dates. I think Neve is going to be exactly like Mom and (self-inflicted or not) have some funky hair. Even now, unwittingly, Neve has the craziest hair...

She even knows it...

"Come on guys, Check it out!" -Neve

OK, the hat hair in this next one is my fault. The hat was a little too tight and needs to be retired...

OK, that last one is NOT her real hair. But I have no doubt that it will probably be her hair color at some point in her life!

***Just like her Momma***

Have a great night!

New Gear

2012-01-17T19:51:00.000-08:00

I'm used to getting excited about getting new camera gear or electronic gadgets or newly released books (like Bernard Cornwell's latest book in his Saxon series... that I got in the mail today... Yay!) But... baby bottles? Is it weird that I'm excited about some new baby bottle parts that we bought yesterday?

The baby bottle gear that I got were these new medium flow nipples (as opposed to the slow flow Neve has been using) to use with our Tommee Tippee bottles. I fed Neve with the Tommee Tippee bottles for the first few months of her life. But once Ollie got a liking to the taste of breast milk (and before I realized this and was diligent about putting the bottles away immediately after using them) Ollie ate all of the Tommee Tippee gear. So we switched to Avent. But since I have the age old guy problem of not putting things away right after I'm done using them, Ollie ate those nipples too. So, I've been using Medela bottles since (that are actually convenient since they match Beth's pumping system). But, they're kind of boring and Tommee Tippee bottles are much cooler, so I'm excited to use them for awhile! Of course, until Ollie terrorizes them. No, wait. That's not going to happen. I'm going to put the bottles away immediately after using them! Hmmm...

Here's just a few of the pictures that I've taken over the last week...

And I have to mention...

Neve has been blessed with a new cousin last week... Vera! They haven't met in person just yet (not for a few weeks), but they have exchanged pictures and even Skyped together! Here are the 3 cousins or the "3 Graces" as Grandma likes to call them...

Have a great night!

Banana Poop.

2012-01-09T21:02:00.000-08:00

Neve had a dreaded blowout today. Since I've switched to using all-in-one cloth diapers (as opposed to prefolds), blowouts have become rare. But besides being a blowout, this poop was a little weird... it had these little dark strands in it. I initially thought that maybe Neve had got into some of Beth's yarn, however unlikely that might have been. I also thought they could have been some kind of worms. So, it worried me just a little bit. I took 2 pictures and since I have my trusty Eye-Fi memory card that uploads pictures online automatically for Beth to see, I knew that Beth would be able to help me figure it out.

When I was rinsing off the diaper, however, it was very clear to tell that it was banana! There was even a big chunk of banana that apparently just went right through Neve. I called off detective Beth and breathed a bit easier (at least after the dirty diaper was cleaned). I won't gross you out with pictures of Neve's poop, that's reserved especially for Momma.

The culprit...

I think this was Neve getting upset when the banana was taken away. But maybe it was her knowing her poop was gonna be weird for Daddy later...

Neve hasn't really had a lot of solid food yet, so I'll blame that on my newbie Dad response. We were told by the pediatrician that it's time to start feeding Neve solid food gradually. We have decided that we're going to very slowly introduce Neve to foods since Beth is planning on breastfeeding for at least a year. But Neve has tried a few things... very small bits of sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, bananas, avocados, refried beans, melted chocolate and rice cereal and sucked on watermelon, carrots, apples and green beans. OK, these foods maybe aren't exactly the recommended foods to start with, but like I said we are very slowly introducing Neve and she's just had a tiny bit of each. The way Beth and I eat, Neve will have plenty of time to be bombarded with a wide variety of foods!

Neve enjoying some rice tonight...

Of course, Neve likes to eat toys too...

We haven't fed her any Hot Cross Buns yet, but she likes reading about those...

Have a great night!

High 70

2012-01-06T17:38:00.000-08:00

I certainly did not think Neve and I would be hanging out here on January 6...

The weather was so nice today that Neve and I were hoping we could meet Beth for Neve's lunch at the Arch Grounds. Beth was a little too busy for that, but we did stop at Beth's work for a speed feed. And then Neve and I ventured over to hang out at the Arch for a bit. Although we couldn't see Beth, she was able to see us from her 9th story office as we waved.

After the Arch Grounds, we wandered over to Left Bank Books for a bit and then headed home for one last feeding before Mom came home.

It's crazy, but it was in the upper 60s today. It may have hit 70 degrees! Here are a couple of pictures from earlier in the day when we were hanging out at home with the door open!!!

Baby Book Side Note: We're playing with Neve right now trying to get her to sit up by herself. She's just sat up with no support for 7 seconds!

Have a great night!

Speechless

2012-01-05T20:57:00.000-08:00

Do I really need words...

I just want to constantly pinch those bulging cheeks and pull that ridiculously cute "mohawk" all day long!

By the way, the book we just finished reading in front of Neve is Lassie and the Daring Rescue, where we learned why Mr. Kent will always allow Lassie on his property!

Have a great night!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-03T19:56:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had as much fun as Neve did over the holidays. She got to spend a lot of time with both sides of the family...

She enjoyed opening her gifts...

And being read to...

OK, OK. Beth and I had a LITTLE fun too..

Who wouldn't have fun stealing their nephew's bike? ...Thanks Joshua!

With the New Year here, I made a few resolutions...

1. To exercise at least 4 days a week. Beth and I ran 3 full marathons in the 2 years before Beth was pregnant. During the pregnancy I started really slacking off. I actually ate a LOT worse than Beth and exercised a lot less. Did I ever mention that Beth ran a half marathon while pregnant? Since Neve has been born, we've both been slacking. Unless you count putting Neve to sleep by walking her around in the car seat... which is definitely a workout! (I've actually considered putting together a parody workout called the Daddy Workout or the Car Seat Workout...)

2. To only eat meat on the weekends. So, I'll be a vegetarian Monday through Friday night. I've almost been doing this already anyway. Since Beth is a vegan, we never have meat in the house and when I cook I normally cook vegan. But this resolution will give me something concrete to work with.

3. To write at least 2 or 3 times on this blog per week! This one is the only one most of you will really be able to check me on. Except Beth I guess.

I will try my best with these. I pretty much HAVE to do better than last year. Last year my resolution was to drink less soda. But then I got a SodaStream for a gift! I've probably actually drank more soda as a result, but I buy almost no soda in plastic bottles anymore. Which I guess is something. Here's to trying!

I'll send out more pictures of our holiday celebrations later in the week.

Have a great night!

Happy Baby!

2011-12-28T19:34:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned lately how happy Neve always is? She wakes up every morning with a smile on her face. It's amazing. Lately, she's also been getting into moods where she'll just giggle and laugh at a certain song or sentence or joke. While we were in Florida, Grandma had her cracking up by saying "You need to go to SLEEP" in her best baby voice. Tonight, Beth got Neve to laugh pretty hard at Peek-A-Boo. Here's a video...

And pretty much any time I want (just by singing a verse from "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" or "Humpty Dumpty") I can get this...

Or this...

OK, I can't take credit for that one. That was all Great Grandpa!

Have a great night!

Merry Christmas from Santa Neve!

2011-12-25T09:15:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve Neve

2011-12-24T20:25:00.000-08:00

Neve's first experience with a Christmas tree...

Enjoying a banana...

Neve's First Christmas Eve's Eve On a Beach!?!

Have a great Christmas Everybody!

Slacker

2011-12-21T06:38:00.000-08:00

And just like that, it's been 2 weeks since my last blog. Wow. Time flies. Especially during the holidays. Especially with a baby! And besides taking care of the little one and my properties, I've been shooting some portrait sessions. I'm working on a website for my photography and hopefully will have it up soon. If anybody needs any photography done, contact me. I'll link up to my website as soon as I get it done.

I received an email from my Mother-in-Law entitled "Slacker" this morning, so I thought it'd be a good day to get back to it. Since it's still the holiday season, I won't be able to write much. But I'll try to post as many pictures as I can. That way, hopefully I can avoid flak from the Mother-in-Law :)

Here's a few pictures of our visit with Santa earlier this month...

What a face from Neve in this one...

Neve was diggin' Santa...

Especially his beard...

Neve's been lucky to be able to visit her Great Grandfather...

Great Grandpa Dick is Neve's last surviving Great Grandfather. She is blessed and does have all 4 Great Grandmother's around to spoil her!

Have a great day!

This blog is officially dedicated to my FAVORITE Mother-In-Law.

Happy St. Nick's Day!

2011-12-05T22:53:00.000-08:00

Neve,

Happy First St. Nick's Day! We left your favorite thing out for you...

Ok, well your second favorite thing... We couldn't really fit Mom's boob in your shoe. Don't worry, we won't leave it out all night.

Neve's fashion over the weekend...

Have a great night!

Three Men and a Baby

2011-12-02T22:32:00.000-08:00

I went to lunch today with my dad and uncle. Our server got a kick out of that. Three Men and a Baby.

Poor Neve.

Yet despite having to hang out with a bunch of guys, Neve was smiley as usual. Even when she's stubborn with her smiles, all it takes is a little singing. Her new favorite song is "Tootie Fruity," with a little daddy twist on it. I think I was singing that for Neve in this picture...

Neve's feet were also cooperating today when they posed for a picture we sent to mommy...

Have a great weekend!

12 pounds 9 3/4 ounces of Baby

2011-12-01T22:00:00.000-08:00

Neve had her 4 month check up today. She got a couple of shots, but was a trooper. She weighed in at 12 pounds 9 3/4 ounces and measured at 25 inches. For her age, that's 26th percentile in weight and 76th percentile in height. Guess it's time to bulk her up a bit. More sweet potatoes maybe?

Neve enjoyed her 4 month birthday yesterday with some activity time on her new favorite things. The table we attached to the bumbo...

Ollie wishing a Happy 4 Month Birthday...

We finally got the bouncy swing out. Neve is loving it (despite the nonchalant look in this next photo)...

Neve doesn't quite have the full grasp of the swing yet, though. She likes the taste of the swing more than the bounce. And somehow her arm ends up down by her leg...

And here are some shenanigans from today. If you look closely in this first one, there's an elusive eye booger that I just could not get out all day. Of course, it only took Mommy about 5 minutes to dig it out once she got home...

I'm not sure if Neve is laughing with me...

Or at me...

Or just trying to give me the Loser sign...

Why is the loser sign so close to the sign language for Daddy anyway???

Well, that's it. Peace out...

Have a great night!

Perfect Moment

2011-11-29T22:12:00.000-08:00

I just had a perfect moment.

Neve had been sleeping on Beth while we were watching a movie. Beth asked if I wanted some cuddle time. So we very carefully and slowly exchanged little Nevie. I got a few moments of sleeping beauty on my chest and then some time with her slowly waking up with a huge grin just for me.

I was fully immersed in that moment.

Which is more rare than I'd like. It was perfect. It was joy. Realizing that I had some small part in creating this beautiful, smiling baby girl. But it was also sad. I tried to stay present as long as I could, but the moment was fleeting and I could not hold on forever. My mind started drifting to how incredibly fast Neve is growing and changing and how soon it won't be the same. I know there will still be other perfect moments, but they just don't seem to last long enough.

Sometimes I feel like I take too many pictures of Neve. So some days (like today) I try to put down my camera and take a break. I did not take a single picture of Neve today. Sometimes I get so caught up trying to catch the moment that I'm not actually as present as I should be. But I guess the pictures may be one small way for me to hold on to some part of those prefect moments.

And I also have to think about friends and family and Grandpas and Grandmothers and Aunts and Uncles and Mommy when she's at work. For those who get even less of those perfect moments with Neve. And for me... for when Neve is too big to sleep on my chest. So, here's a couple of pictures for us...

Have a great night!

Pocahontas

2011-11-24T16:21:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful for...

...my little sweet potato!

Happy Thanksgiving!

My Little Sweet Potato

2011-11-23T20:22:00.000-08:00

Nevie will get her 2nd taste of food tomorrow at Thanksgiving. We're planning on letting Neve try some sweet potatoes. I thought it would be her first taste of food, but I forgot about this video from about a month ago when we were at Black Bear Bakery...

It's hard to tell whether Neve is even enjoying the watermelon, but I am excited to see how she'll respond to sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are one of Beth and my favorite foods. I'm sure she'll learn to like them whether she wants to or not. Kind of like me and vegan food.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Speedy Gonzales

2011-11-21T21:54:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how fast things are happening with Neve. Just about a week or so ago I was a little surprised that Neve wasn't using her hands that much. She wouldn't even touch the bottle when I fed her. So last week I started trying to put her hands on the bottle at every feeding. Well, when I fed her today she could almost hold the bottle the entire feeding by herself. Granted, she has a weird one closed fist, one open hand grip... but it seems to work for her...

She's also just been more interactive overall. She watches me constantly as I go around the room. And she's finally starting to pay some attention to Ollie. Which is especially overdue considering how much attention Ollie pays to her.

It's been a lot of fun watching her discover the small things.

When she's not grabbing at something with her newfound hands, her fingers are sure to be found in her mouth...

I can't wait to see what surprises this week brings!

Have a great night!

Stinky Stinky Stinky

2011-11-19T20:22:00.000-08:00

Here's a video I took of Neve yesterday. "Stinky" has been her new favorite word. Well, that and pizza.

Have a great night!

Elvis

2011-11-18T19:43:00.000-08:00

I was just going through some pictures from yesterday and this is the photo I should have used for Elvis Neve!

She's even got the attitude and everything!

Impersonations

2011-11-17T19:28:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of Neve's best impersonations from today. Can you guess who they are before scrolling down?

Impersonation #1

HINT #1: It's the crazy hair...

HINT #2: "You can't handle the truth!"

Impersonation #2

HINT #1: Check out that collar...

HINT #2: "You aint nothin' but a hound dog!"

Have a great night!

Jailbird

2011-11-16T19:43:00.000-08:00

Neve had her jailbird outfit on today...

..hopefully I have plenty of time before she wants to break free of me!

Neve and I went to a little grocery store down the street from us to pick up some food for dinner. Neve was getting a little tired while we were shopping; it was defnitely time for a nap. But when we left the store, a clerk held open the door for us and told Neve how cute she was and right on cue, Neve gave her the biggest smile (which she actually does quite a bit in public when people talk to her...she's a little ham). Not 5 seconds later, though, we got in the car and Neve gave ME the biggest yell. Not a cry, but a very distinct yell. I have to admit I was a little jealous at the smile the clerk had just received.

So, we hurried home for a nap and to make a 'sausage' bake and some blackberry cobbler...

My wife is a vegan, which can be challenging sometimes when we go out to certain restaurants. But it's crazy how you can turn most "normal" recipes into vegan recipes. Fake meat is available for almost any kind of meat. Soy, almond, rice and coconut milks can all be substitutes for dairy milk. And Smart Balance Light is awesome, I can't believe it's vegan (or not butter!). This is coming from the mouth of a newbie, but I think I'm getting the hang of vegan cooking just a little.

Doesn't mean I won't enjoy a nice steak every once in awhile when I go out...

Have a great night!

Walking Contradiction

2011-11-15T18:48:00.000-08:00

Today, I...

...ate a greasy, cheesy, meaty pizza sub sandwich at Penn Station for lunch... then made Vegan 'Chicken' and Dumplings for dinner.

...wore a shirt with a skull on it... and dressed Neve in a cute, pink onesie.

...installed an exterior door at a rental property... and played peek-a-boo.

...fixed a leak in a sink... and dealt with a leaky diaper.

...sang Mary Had a Little Lamb, Humpty Dumpty and There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly... then rocked out to Sir Mix-a-lot on the radio.

...enjoyed a few pages of a good book on the toilet... and wiped poop off of my daughter's butt (OK, maybe these are actually similar)

...took a detour from the hardware store to buy a binky (that I had forgotten at home).

Have a great night!

Milk, Milk Everywhere

2011-11-14T19:16:00.000-08:00

...on the couch
...on my clothes
...on the bed
...on the floor
...in Neve's neck folds
...on Ollie's breath

Ah! A couple of months ago, I used to change shirts whenever Neve would spit up on me. Straight to the closet. I went through a lot of shirts that way. Now, I'll go the whole day with the breast milk smell on me. I'll even leave the house and go out in public. Oh, the milk smell is even on my jacket. I have no shame anymore. I guess that's what fatherhood will do to you.

When will Neve start eating solid food???

My Mom and Aunts say I used to projectile vomit when I was a baby. Clear across the room. Neve has only done that two or three times. Plenty of spit up, though. Maybe it's payback!

But look at her...

Yep, that first picture up there has some drool if you look close. A little payback of my own, I guess.

How can I complain?

Have a great night!

Good Luck Charm

2011-11-13T19:26:00.000-08:00

The Rams' Good Luck Charm today...

Not only did the Rams win, but it looks like I'm going to win in both of my Fantasy Football leagues. Way to go Nevie!

Have a great night!

(I've added a video bar to the right side of the blog under the blog archive. Check out some of Neve's videos if you're bored.)

Double Overtime

2011-11-12T16:06:00.000-08:00

Daddy, Nevie and Mommy are all putting in some more overtime this weekend. Ollie is the only one who seems unfazed...

While Beth is finishing up a big project at work, Neve and I have been hanging out. She's been great! We met some family at Pasta House for lunch. A large number of the women on my side of the family were out for their annual shopping day. I think they begin at around 7 in the morning and go until the last one of them drops. Neve got a little glimpse of what she can "look forward to."

The last couple of days were not quite as pleasant as today. I have to say that Neve was, um... a handful. I think either she's getting a tooth in or has had some stomach issues. I think it may have been the stomach because the Poop Machine had slowed down... that is, until this morning! So, I guess Poopy = Happy in Neve's world.

Speaking of poop, one of the things that's been bugging me lately is Ollie's obsession with breast milk and poop. He's destroyed a few bottles and has managed to sneak behind my back and lick a couple of Neve's dirty diapers! Beth laughs about it, but I'm not as amused. I guess it's the bulldog in him that will eat just about anything.

But instead of leaving you with that image, I'll leave you with a few more pleasant ones...

Maybe I should change the name of this blog to Neve's Photo Album.

Have a great weekend!

Eye-Fi

2011-11-11T17:57:00.001-08:00

I just received a really cool gadget today. I got an Eye-Fi wireless memory card. When it's in my camera, pictures that I take are automatically uploaded to my computer wirelessly (and even online if I choose). This is basically AWESOME for Beth and I because all throughout the day Beth is sending me texts... "Please send me a picture?"... "Got a picture for Mommy?"... And, frankly, the pictures that my phone takes are crap. For example, can you guess which of the following pictures was taken by my phone and which by my camera? Click on them if you need to get a better view...

You got it, the one with the onions is the loser! Which, by the way, I took by the onions because I figured if Neve was going to cry all day, she may as well have an excuse. In her defense, she is sleeping in this picture and NOT crying. The first picture I've entitled "Amelia Neve-is-my-Heart." Get it?

So, here are some of the other pictures that Beth was able to view during the day today without me having to do any work to get them online other than taking the picture...

I haven't worked out all of the bugs yet, but I'm really pumped about this memory card. I think it's going to be a great tool for Beth to keep tabs on Neve and I, which I'm sure we're going to need plenty of times in the future.

Side Note: I did make Beth a vegetarian BLT tonight, but it wasn't exciting enough to take a picture of. I know it sounds crazy, but the veggie bacon does not taste that bad. Really. (not at all like the veggie cheese which doesn't exactly mesh with my taste buds)

Have a great Friday night! Don't party too hard and end up like Neve after I feed her too much milk...

Vegan Pizza

2011-11-10T12:47:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how little that I get done some days. Today was one of those days. Once, shortly before Neve was born, I was at a Mall eating in the food court. While I was eating, a guy grabbed the table next to me. He had 3 little girls with him, with ages probably about 6 months old, a year and a half old and maybe 4 or 5 years old. Walking up to the table, he had one girl in a baby bjorn carrier (I know it was Baby Bjorn because I ended up asking him about it), one girl was holding his hand and the third was walking by herself next to him. I sat there and watched the whole time while he coordinated ordering the food, eating the food and cleaning up the food, all with his 3 little girls. I was impressed at the time, but now that guy is now my hero.

My Dad even came over for about an hour today (I'm very lucky he's retired and has some time on his hands). I was able to get a little speed cleaning done, which I think I've become pretty good at. Now regular, normal cleaning I still suck at. I was also able to finally plant some flower buds that my Mom brought over last weekend. I was supposed to get those in on Sunday. Sorry, Mom. I hope they survive.

Here are some cute moments of the day...

Yes, there are only two of them. Neve was a handful today. That's all I'll say about that.

When Beth got home, I did get a chance to make her a Vegan pizza though...

If you'd have told me, I don't know maybe 3 or 4 years ago, that I'd be a stay at home dad and be cooking vegan dinners, I'd have doubled over in laughter.

But I wouldn't trade it for the world!

Have a great night!

Photo Album

2011-11-09T19:33:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture album of our last couple of days...

Yesterday, Grandpa helping with an apartment that just became vacant...

Neve soothing her gums on a frozen dinosaur towel. I think it's a dinosaur, maybe it's a turtle...

Neve not quite sure how she feels about tummy time...

Neve definitely sure how she feels about waking up. Happy!

Ollie and Neve must have a secret...

Neve getting excited to go shopping (just like her Momma, uh oh)...

We had to decide on a dish that we will make for a family Thanksgiving get-together, which made Beth a little hungry. So, Neve and I made Vegan Green Bean Casserole for Mom tonight...

Ok, Neve cheered me on from the bleacher seats at least...

The awesome new toy (Lamaze Soft Chime Garden Musical Toy) that came from amazon today (I will be posting a video of this toy soon, it makes really cool sounds!)...

No, it's NOT a dog toy!

Just finished bath time...

I think those are real tears in Neve's eyes in this next one. The end of bath time is not quite as fun as the beginning...

Please don't cry that my blog is over... Have a great night!

Inkjet Printing on Fabric

2011-11-08T17:24:00.000-08:00

I've tried many different ways to print on fabric to make homemade tshirts and other gifts. But most of the premade iron on transfers and fabric sheets that I've used seem to turn out with an unnatural rough texture. I have been able to make some fun tshirts with those products, but I think I found a way to print on fabric using freezer paper that ends up with a better result. The great thing about this technique is that you can use just about any cotton fabric that you want (as long as the thickness will fit in your printer). You can use an old tshirt you have at home or fabric bought from your local fabric store.

Here's how I made the printed fabric square for Neve's "I Love Grandpa" onesie.

First, find an old tshirt or other fabric that you want to print on and grab some freezer paper from the grocery store or amazon.

Ultimately, what you're going to do is attach the freezer paper to the fabric and then cut it to fit in your inkjet printer (assuming you don't have a large format printer, that's going to be letter size - 8.5" x 11").

First, cut the fabric about an inch bigger than the size that your printer takes. For my project, I cut a rectangle of fabric out of an old tshirt that was about 9.5" x 12". Next, cut a piece of freezer paper that is just slightly smaller than that. Now, take the side of the fabric that you want the printed image on and lay that side down on an ironing board or other surface to iron on. Take the freezer paper, plastic coated side down, and lay it on the fabric. The plastic coated side of the freezer paper will be against the opposite side of the fabric that you want to print on. Iron the two pieces together. It may take a couple of minutes to get them to stick.

Next, take some scissors and cut the fabric/freezer paper to exactly 8.5" x 11". An easy way to do this is to grab a sheet of printer paper and trace around it on the fabric.

Now print! I've tried both the normal paper printer setting and the matte photo paper setting. I recommend the matte photo paper setting, as the ink seems to soak in just a little better and show more detail.

You have just printed directly on the fabric! Let the fabric dry, cut your design out and peel off the freezer paper backing. You now have a piece of fabric to make all kinds of fun gifts with.

(NOTE: If you want to create a colorfast piece of fabric that you can feel safe washing, you need to use a product like "Bubble Jet Set 2000" - It's a solution that you soak your fabric in before you follow the above steps.)

For Neve's "I Love Grandpa" onesie, I cut out the other pieces of fabric that I wanted to use and laid out my design.

Finally, call in the wonderful, talented wife to sew everything together :)

Ok, eventually I'll learn how to use that sewing machine, I promise. One step at a time for this stay at home dad!

Teething Maybe...

2011-11-07T15:34:00.000-08:00

Besides being a stay at home dad, I also manage a few rental properties. Neve and I had to meet a city inspector this morning and thankfully the stair railing that we put up on Friday (and other projects that we've been working on) passed. Yay! Maybe I'll have to give my little helper a raise... maybe an extra 1/4 ounce at her next feeding. (Check out the end of my Poop Machine post for a picture of my little helper "hard at work")

Neve apparently was really happy to go to see the inspector. Don't worry, Mom, I strapped her in before we got in the car...

95% of the time, Neve is a PERFECT baby. She's all smiles and even lately, laughs. But she does have these random (as they seem to me) crabby moods. We had one of those moments today, where Neve cried harder then I've seen her cry when we've been alone together. I would almost call it her pain cry, sort of like a scream (I'm beginning to be able to distinguish between Neve's types of cries), but there didn't seem to be anything causing pain. I couldn't figure out what was wrong. So, I just sang her some songs and went outside (which almost always works) and eventually was able to get her to go to sleep on her swing.

Beth texted me that I should try letting Neve chew on a frozen towel. Beth thinks maybe Neve's starting to teeth. I've been feeling around Neve's gums and can't feel anything, but Beth thinks she may feel something. I did try the frozen towel after Neve woke up and she loved it! She got this fun, goofy look on her face that I tried to take a picture of, but don't think that I captured it...

I'm not sure if it was just something new for her to chew on or if the towel was actually soothing to her gums. Either way, she was digging it and I'll keep that in mind as a weapon against crabbiness.

Tonight, I will definitely try to come up with a tutorial for the "I Love Grandpa" inkjet printed and sewn onesie that we made over the weekend.

But you know how those best laid plans go...

Have a great night!

Mommy and Baby Yoga

2011-11-06T19:05:00.000-08:00

I took a break from watching football to visit Beth and Neve's Mommy and Baby yoga class today. Juggling my fantasy football team and Neve isn't an easy job, so the break was nice. Beth's been doing yoga just about every weekend since about her second trimester (prenatal yoga first, then Mommy and Baby yoga after Neve was born). All of the babies at the studio seemed really mellow... must be one of the benefits of yoga (I wouldn't know). Here's a few pictures of Neve and Beth. The instructor encouraged the babies to come in their Halloween costumes...

Plank pose...

Modified Boat pose? (I do this with Neve all the time, only standing up)...

And, here's a preview of what I'll hopefully be writing about tomorrow (if Neve lets me). Beth and I made Nevie a onesie to celebrate Grandpa's birthday dinner...

I think you can click on the picture for a larger version. I'll post a step by step on how we made it.

Have a great night!

Baby Overtime

2011-11-05T08:06:00.000-07:00

Normally the 3 of us (Neve, Beth and I) would be hanging out all weekend together. But Beth has a big project at work and had a meeting this morning. So, Neve and I are putting in some overtime ourselves. Neve's playing with her new favorite toy and my new favorite "AWESOME I can get something done while Neve is AWAKE tool". Thanks Aunt Katie and Cousin Clare for the loaner. Here's a picture...

I don't know what the toy is called, but it's an Infantino product (www.infantino.com). Neve can pull different objects on it and fun sounds play. I think I have a video of her playing with it that I'll try to upload later.

Until then, here's a video I took a couple of days ago showing off Neve's pretty blue eyes...

Luckily she takes after Mommy. Have a great weekend!

Poop Machine

2011-11-04T13:35:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my inaugural blog post!

I'm the proud Daddy of a beautiful (and smart) 3 month old baby girl named Neve (pronounced like Eve but with an N). We hang out during the day and have fun. This blog will just be my random thoughts on our days together.

Oh yeah, there's also a crazy french bulldog running around the house named Ollie. Neve is just starting to notice Ollie (although you couldn't tell from the picture below).

Neve changes constantly. It's crazy! Just a couple of weeks ago, she was going through a stage where she pooped once, maybe twice per week. Beth (Mommy) and I did some research and apparently that's fairly common with breastfed babies. As long as you're careful baby is eating and peeing enough, there's nothing to be worried about. So, I just enjoyed going most of the week without having to deal with poopy diapers.

Well, that fun is over. Neve is now a POOP MACHINE! She poops at least 4 times a day. And we use cloth diapers, so changing poops is a very hands-on experience. I'm realizing that I didn't truly appreciate how nice it was when she was pooping just once a week. I guess I have to settle for the fact that her poops really don't smell that bad yet. She still has the infant poop smell (for lack of a better way to describe it) going on, which I assume comes from not eating solid food. So, I'll hold onto that... for now.

Ultimately, maybe I need to be more Buddhist and embrace change. The concept of impermanence is sure in full force in the life of a baby!

I'll try to include at least one picture in every blog. But instead of grossing you out with a picture of Neve's poop (those pictures are mostly saved for future potential boyfriends OR funny birthday cards), here's a picture of one of the things Neve and I did today. She was Daddy's little helper and held the drill while I put up a stair railing...

Have a great weekend!