Hello, baseball!!

Yesterday was a holiday, of sorts, at our house. Baseball's here! Finally!!! Spring training is underway, which means warm weather, hot dogs and BEER are just around the corner!!! It was also the first (radio) broadcast of a Tigers' game this season.

The Tigers won their first Grapefruit League game, beating the Atlanta Braves 5-4. Hopefully, it's a trend that will continue well into the actual season.

Here are some pictures of our Little Rookie, celebrating with us yesterday :-)

"What the....???"

"Oh, Ok, I kinda get it...."

"'K, I'm done with this now"

"No, really Mom, I'm done playing. I'm ready for night-night"

"Are you STILL taking pictures, woman?!?"

"Ahhhhh, much better!"

Rice, Rice Baby!

Last night was a very big day.... Graham had his first bites of "big boy food!!" I decided to start him on it a few days shy of his 4-month milestone primarily because he's going through his 4 month growth spurt, and Erik and I are both thisclose to losing our minds. You see, our son is ALWAYS hungry, trying to get enough fuel to facilitate his mammoth growing skillz And how did Graham take to his cereal?? I'll let the pictures tell the story....

He likes it! Hey, Mikey likes it! :-)

Oma's birthday surprise....

I've been waiting for what seems like forever to make this post.... we had Graham's three month professional pictures taken a few weeks ago, and the results are STUNNING.

Now, I know I'm *just a titch* biased, but damn, do I have an adorable son! And Jessica at Mod4 Photography captured him perfectly -- I have a perfect mix of his smiley, goofy faces, his Serious!Baby! looks, and his adorably pouty faces. I couldn't have wished for, hoped for, or planned for pictures any more perfect than the ones Jessica took. Unfortunately, I couldn't share them with the world, since I had planned on presenting my mom (Graham's Oma) with one as part of her birthday present.

We spent Saturday afternoon with my mom, and she LOVED the naked baby pictures we gave her. So, without any further ado, here are some of Graham's three month pictures. And be sure to follow the link at the end of this email to view (and have the option to purchase) the rest of the 64 spectacular pictures Jessica took:


To check out the rest of the pictures, go to Graham's Gallery. The password is our last name, in all lower case letters.

A Guanka in a Bunkaquank*, in Eskimo....

Graham went to smile
Graham went to play
Graham went to meet
A cat, in a hat!, yesterday

Some babies fussed
Some kids were dazed
But Graham Matthew just sat there
Unaware and unfazed

A few pictures were snapped,
We had lunch with a friend
And when Graham got sleepy
Our outing came to an end




* And yes, I did spend all afternoon singing to Graham:
"cat, hat; in French, chat, chapeau
in Spanish, el gato in a sombrero
in German I'm a Katze in a Hut, and don't you know,
I'm a guanka in a bunkaquank in Eskimo"

Cool Aunt Karen

Graham's one pretty lucky kid. He has an amazing extended family that loves him to bits and pieces. Grandparent, aunts and uncles, cousins, and godparents who all think he's the best, sweetest, and most deliciously cute baby ever (and in my completely un-biased opinion, they're completely right!!!).

Graham's particularly lucky to have his Aunt Karen* around - and by extension, so are we. This past Friday, Aunt Karen came over to babysit so Mom and Dad could spend some much-needed time out, baby-free. It was our little pre-Valentine's Day surprise for Daddy!!! Erik and I had such a great time out; we went to a quick dinner, had some minor movie-time drama (hey, you didn't expect us to have an entire night free of chaos, did you?!?!), and caught a show. We HIGHLY recommend Taken, the new Liam Neeson movie that's out right now. We loved it, it was a good mix of drama, action and a good plot-line. And I'm sure *those* of you (and you know who you are!) that find Liam super-sexy won't be disappointed either!

Anyway, back to Aunt Karen... she just loves her little nephew. I can honestly say that Graham and I wouldn't have enjoyed my maternity leave nearly as much without K around to lend a hand, entertain and provide much-needed respites. I can't count how many times I've been saved from a near-breakdown or been on the brink of chaos, only to have Aunt Karen come to my rescue. So, it's time for my public acknowledgment........ THANK YOU, SIS! You rock!

Nostalgic moment: 3 week old Graham
shopping with Aunt Karen on Black Friday

*aka: the chick legally known as Karen Marie, but who insists on being referred to as Karin....

Nothin' but Neck...

We don't have a whole lot to say here, as the entire family has been busy recovering from a variety ailments, germs and downright ickies. Thankfully, we're all headed toward feeling normal again, and I thought I'd post a few pictures from Graham's most recent tummy-time adventures as he works on strengthening his neck:







And here he's looking all Serious! Baby!

The.Best.Invention.Ever!

Six years ago, when I bought my house, I loved that it was an older...er, a "more mature" house. The plaster walls! Original light fixtures! Its "character"! Nowadays, notsomuch love to be had. It's just impossible to keep clean. Granted, the two busy adults, a kid and all the kid "stuff" and a pair of wild animals running through here defintitely contribute to the untidiness. But honestly, it's the 55 years of accumulated dirt and grit that get to me. It's to be expected, but still... aaarrgghhhh. It's enough to make me all angry and fighty most days.

Then one magical day, I thought I'd finally found a solution. Erik and I were watching the DIY channel (which, for those of you who don't know, DIY stands for "Do It Yourself...as long as you have the help of a major television network, their slew of incredible tools and gadgets and a crew of really good looking handy people, and such."), and they suggested placing a Brillo pad on a orbital sander, and cleaning old tile floors with it. Eureka, right? Nope. My mom had a better idea. Enter, the Black and Decker ScumBuster, heretofore known as The.Best.Invention.Ever. It scours! It scrubs! And best of all..... my bathroom floors are no longer a disgusting shade of dark grey.


Yes, I am that big of a dork, and took Before and After shots. But that's only because *someone* woke up from his nap as I was in the middle of cleaning, and when I came back to finish the job, I was amazed at how fantastic it looked. I just HAD to take a picture :-) Unfortunately, there's nothing it can do about the putrid army green tile color, but at least the grout is clean.

So, if I ever give you a Scum Buster as a gift, please know that I am, in no way, implying that your house is dirty, gross or scummy. I'm mearly passing on the Cleaning Fairy's magic wand. Because I big pink puffy heart this thing.

And oh yeah, Mom, I hope you didn't plan on getting your ScumBuster back!!!!

Three Months Old!

Graham's three months old today, and I cannot believe how quickly time has passed and how big my little squeaker has gotten. And squeak he does, he talks to his toys and to his puppies and to us - it sounds like we have a little dinosaur in the house.

Here's Graham's 3 month photo, taken next to Mommy's old teddy bear. Someone's not happy with getting so old ;-)

And here are exhibits A and B, as testimony to my son's miraculous growing powers:

One Month Old

Two Months Old