Born to Shop

Courtesy of a baby gift from Aunt Lissa months ago, I ended up on a mailing list. As 'KrempaBurt' no less. Mommy laughed and Daddy tried to rip the mailer up. Daddy didn't like the last name or the implication that I'm a shop-a-holic.

Nor'easter and Other Picture-Worthy Happenings

Daddy is off at a meeting in Philly for a few days. A business trip is not unusual- however, his taking the digital camera and video camera is. Of course today it snowed. My first snow. Documented? Nope. Mommy refused to take me to the window because she said if she couldn't take a picture of me in the snow then it didn't happen. Yep, trees falling in forests don't make noise if people aren't there either. Loser.

I also decided that sucking my thumb is so last month and have taken to sucking my middle finger and ring finger when nodding off. Super cute, but you'll have to take my word for it because again no camera handy.

Tomorrow is costume day at group. I will have to do my best to describe the events with my not-yet-four-months-old-limited-vocabulary because Daddy will still be in Philly with Mommy's version of a security blanket.

Seriously, it's been rough happenings in the Krempa-Burt household...

He Had Me At Hello

Saturday was a special day. Yeo and Joe made a trip from NYC to meet me for first time. We planned out a fantastic day of feasting and hope we have created a new tradition.

Welcome to my home! Let's eat, drink and be merry!

Yeo is Mommy's friend from high school. She is a super talented artist and wonders how she can remain friends with someone so uncreative as Mommy. Anyways, she married Joe, who is also an artist. He makes comic strips and this is my shameless plug suggesting you check out his work at http://www.digitalpimponline.com/.

Yeo is such a good sport. She held me and didn't even flinch when I chunked on her shirt. What a friend! Daddy taught her 'Boogey on down, Samantha' and we danced and danced while Mommy stuffed her face with baked brie. Whew, she wore me out!

Here I am a bit dejected for fear that I will never have such lovely cheekbones.

Joe thought I was cool, but wasn't so sure about holding me.

We had great food and conversation. Since I am the first baby in their circle of friends, Mommy and Daddy shared stories about my delivery and first few weeks at home. If they were thinking about having kids, they aren't anymore. Mommy shared our sign language adventures (or lack there of) and suggested Yeo consider fish oil supplements to make her baby smarter. Yeo expressed some hesitation at Mommy's brand of choice. Joe, the ever supportive husband, looked Mommy right the eye and nonchalantly said, "No offense, but we don't really know if your kid is smart." Finally, someone to put Mommy and her crazy notions in place!

I know that Henry and I have a special relationship and Joe is a married man, but he managed to capture my heart. Mommy let me stay at the table most of the day so I could feel part of the action and I couldn't stop staring at Joe. Thank goodness Yeo isn't the jealous type or things could have gotten ugly.

After the amazing meal I went down for a nap while the grown-ups tried their hand at deep fried Oreos. Daddy was the official quality control guy, but he escaped the camera so no pictures to document his contribution to the adventure. Everyone totally bonded over this delicious treat and gleefully planned the next gathering to try deep frying other tasty morsels.

Ah, Joe and Yeo enjoying the most perfect dessert.

So sad, but all good things must come to an end. Sweet Dreams!

Friday Night Entertainment

I love Daddy and Me time. I also happen to love looking at myself in the mirror. When the two activities are one in the same I get positively giddy! Think there is any truth to Mommy's accusation that Daddy gets me all riled up before bedtime?



Daddy put me to sleep tonight while Mommy went out for 'grown up time'. Later, Daddy checked on me and he saw my new trick. Before, my feats were limited to wiggling my socks off. Tonight I learned how to pop open a snap and kick my leg out of the sleeper. Daddy laughed and Mommy bought me a one way ticket to sleeper sack central. Party pooper!


Here I am before Mommy hampered my talents.

October is Orchard Month

On Friday I slept until 8:45 and totally screwed up my eating schedule and missed my morning nap. When we went to group I wasn't sure if I wanted to eat or sleep. So, I did what any conflicted baby would do- I cried. I cried so well that all the babies at group wanted to join my choir. Then I slept (just a bit) until it was time to visit the other group for an outing to the orchard.


Here we are just before the walk. I'm staying toasty in my strawberry hat!




And a really bad self portrait after the walk. I wasn't a fan of the elements. Mommy suspects I won't be a camping kind of girl....






I loved to meet new mommies and their babies. The only catch was I still hadn't recovered from my lack of sleeping. We were both exhausted at the end of the outing! Since I am the master of my own bedtime I went to sleep at 4pm and slept until Daddy woke me up at 7pm for my night time entertainment and dinner bottle.

Lunch Date

On Thursday Mommy and I drove down to Centocor to have lunch with Joan. We haven't seen her since her wedding and I've been really looking forward to catching up with her. Joan was so sweet to hold me so Mommy could eat lunch. She didn't even mind when I started to drool on her beautiful jacket. I'm not sure how she explained that one at her next meeting!



Here Joan is helping me play with my Lamaze Lady Bug toy. You can't really see my face because I am busy sucking on the toy, but trust me, I am having fun. If you look closely, you can see that I am grabbing the toy to give you the illusion that I am holding it up myself.



Joan tells such great stories! I can't wait to visit her at her home and meet her new puppy and maybe take a dip in her pool. I wonder if Daddy will let me wear my first bikini...





We also got to visit with Mommy's former manager, Christi, and Mommy's first FLDP roommate, Allison. Who knew so many cool people would be in one cafeteria? What a fun day!

Sign Language

On Wednesday we went to our group and then had bagels for lunch.

Here we are at lunch. And, no Mommy is not a professional photographer! Why does she always manage to catch an angle that gives the appearance of double chins?

Daddy came home early so Mommy could take a baby sign language class. Thank goodness for Daddy and me time.

Quick thoughts on baby sign language... What is Mommy thinking? She keeps signing to me and expects me to respond accordingly. Instead of using my words to tell her she's crazy, I just laugh at her. Wouldn't you?

Must be a Growin'

It's been an interesting week. I have been sleeping way more than usual, so things have been less than exciting. Hence the lack of posts. On Tuesday I napped from 9 to 10:30. Then we took a quick field trip into town. Woah momma! I need my beauty sleep. When we got back home I devoured a bottle and slept from 12pm until 3. Henry came over for a quick play date. Henry's mommy thinks I'm getting bigger. After Henry went back home, I tried to go back to sleep at 5pm, but Mommy slammed the brakes on that idea. Instead we read books and did our exercises. 7pm- back to sleep!

Here I am doing my exercises.

Official Date

Henry and I went to Starbucks yesterday to check out the local scene. Unfortunately, bottles weren't on the menu- go figure. Thank goodness our rides were on standby to help us out. Our Moms were able to relax and catch up while we did some people watching of our own.

Aren't we cute?

PS- I am totally into my Lamaze Ladybug toy on field trips. When I'm not talking to Mommy, then she can tell when I'm awake by the constant crinkle of my toy. At home I am lovin' the Lamaze Peacock and Mallory the Monkey that Mommy puts on my activity center along with Ollie the Octopus. I have so many animal friends!

Daddy Time

Daddy's home this weekend. Yeah for Daddy and me time!

I showed him my new trick- 'pants on the head'. It's not as creative as the papal tiara, but he was still impressed.

Here Daddy is helping me fly in our living room.

Here we are just before he ditched me to go to the Giants game. Maybe he'll take me when I'm older. I hear the hot dogs are way better than milk!

Quick Henry Update:

Here is Aunt Helen holding him on Wednesday- Aunt Helen, thanks for sacrificing your head for the sake of a good Henry picture! On Thursday he went to the doctors for his four month appointment. He is 18 pounds 9 ounces and 28 inches long.

On Friday he rolled over from his back to his tummy for the first time. Way to go, Henry!

Nighttime Update:

Here we are after dinner. I wish Daddy could play with me all the time. Look how happy I am! I was so excited for all this Daddy and me time and inspired by Henry's rolling over that I managed to roll over from my back to my tummy for the first time. It took me awhile to figure out how to get my arm out from underneath me because I thought it was way more fun to shove that fist in my mouth. Once I got tired of my 'fist in the mouth' trick, I pulled my arm out from underneath me and Mommy jumped for joy. Why does she do such silly things? Just for that, I refused to do the trick again in front of Daddy. Who needs all that action just before bed? Maybe tomorrow...

Flirting 101

Henry came a callin' this week and we finally caught it on video. Before, I was doing the courting, but in this video you can totally see the tides have turned because Henry is enamoured with me. It must be my cheerful disposition. As you can see from my onesie, I'm 'happy as a clam'!

Say It Isn't So

How quickly time flies! Just eleven days ago I was smaller, quieter and had a lot less gas. Now it's Aunt Helen's last night with us and I already miss her.


All of Grandma Burt's tasty frozen treats ran out just before Aunt Helen came. When presented with a similar challenge, Aunt Helen did an amazing job refilling our freezer with goodies. Mommy and Daddy loved being spoiled and wondered how such healthy food could fill them up and still make them lose weight. Lest you think this visit has been all roses, I will let you in on a little secret...She was a bit too generous with the salads and veggies and, boy, have I had major stinky diapers and 'bubbles' in my tummy!



Here I am devouring one of the super charged bottles.





I have really learned the gift of gab. We sure know who I got this trait from! I will talk to everyone who will listen and even jabber away to the furniture when left alone for 'quiet' time.


I'm going through another growth spurt which is causing Mommy to tear up a bit when she packed away my baby clothes today. Must be all the good, healthy food that Grandma Burt and Aunt Helen made for my parents!



Here is Aunt Helen helping me to fall asleep so I can grow big and strong.




I so enjoy visitors and can't wait for more family and friends to come play with me!

Horton Hears A What?

Aunt Helen knew we had a big day ahead of us and made sure I tanked up. I'm getting so big it won't be much longer that I need help with my bottles!

Every October mommy visits Peddler's Village. She likes to see their scarecrow contest and visit the Soap Opera to pick up treats for Aunt Helen to enable her minor obsession with fancy dancy soaps. This year was special because AH could join her (and me) on the field trip.

We made the trek through the soap store and I had to beg mommy not to get me silly bath toys. She just doesn't understand that I'm not interested in plastic pigs propped up in life preservers. I much prefer the kitchen sink and faucet these days!

Once that adventure was knocked out we went around to all the scarecrows. What fun! I need to start thinking about my submission next year. If you have any ideas, please post a comment.

Here I am in front of the Dr. Seuss character Horton.

Here I am in front of the Coco Chanel scarecrow. With my hip strawberry hat I must say that my sense of style is more appealing!

Columbus Day Weekend

How do you welcome out of town guests? Freshly scrubbed with a big smile, of course!







Woo-Hoo for three-day weekends! Mommy's parents had Monday off from work so they came on Sunday and Monday to visit with Aunt Helen and me.

I love when Grandmas hold me in their lap so I can look all around. She told me stories about my mommy when she was a baby. Check out my buddha belly- my mommy had one, too. Maybe I should hold off on the horizontal stripes for awhile.

Grandpa held me while making funny faces and telling me stories. Grandpa is so silly!

Bath Time

Chunky, but clean!

This Just About Says It All

This reminds me of Mommy. I'm so glad Aunt Helen is taking care of me this week!

Visitors

Aunt Helen came to town on Sunday and, boy, do I have a lot to report. It started off a bit iffy because Mommy thought it was cool to bring me to Newark airport during my normal nap time. I managed to deal with the lack of sleep part okay- until a crazy man came up to me and touched my hands. He totally violated my personal space and it took quite awhile for me to calm down. Aunt Helen got to spend some quality time with us in the parking garage while I sipped on my bottle. AH contemplated starting her own valet service to pass the time and Mommy said she should have chosen a spot in long-term parking.


Once I got my bearings it was smooth sailing. I LOVE being the center of attention! It's so cute how these crazy grown-ups are completely under my grasp and will do anything to make sure I am happy, healthy and comfortable. Here we are at bottle time. I'm multi-tasking, taking a bottle and trying to rip that damn camera from Mommy's grubby hands. Damn, missed again!




Monday morning meant up early to send Daddy off to work and then we were off ourselves to PJ's Pancake House. Yep, those are chocolate peanut butter pancakes. Tasty!

In the afternoon Henry and Aunt E came over for an impromtu play date. AH has been looking forward to meeting her future nephew-in-law and he totally stepped up to the plate. Here she is holding Henry and he only has eyes for me. I'm just off to the right, on my activity center, of course.

Aunt H and I have been organizing Mommy's kitchen cabinets and we've taken the liberty of hiding Mommy's tupperware all over the place so she'll have to ask me if she wants to find anything. Ah, power!

The spell has been cast- AH thinks I am the most happy, content baby and is super impressed to see me put myself to sleep for naps and bed time. She thinks I'm this way all the time. Let's be real here. Christmas is right around the corner and I am really hoping to score some great loot. Bad babies get socks and good babies get toys. I just need to keep up the act until we drop her off at the airport next week and then I can fuss all I want. If Mommy ever complains about me, AH's got my back and will tell everyone that Mommy must be exaggerating because AH has seen how wonderful I am. Suckers!

Chet

I absolutely love sticking my tongue out at people and things if they are too far away to make drool contact. Mommy and Daddy have started calling me Chet because they say I remind them of a character in the movie Weird Science who was turned into a fly eating monster.

I also like to pretend I'm catching flies. Yummy!

Fun Fridays

Yesterday was so much fun. We started the day with bath time and Mommy loved how wild my freshly washed hair was that she wouldn't comb it. I really don't understand why she kept laughing, do you?




Then we were off to our Friday group and I spent some quality time on my tummy. I've been waiting for the crisp air to move in so I can scoot around and show off my strawberry hat. Thanks Aunt Elizabeth for making this for me!





After group I headed over to Henry's because his Grandma was visiting and it's been awhile since I've drooled on her. Here I am perched on her lap watching my boyfriend across the room. Gotta get in good with the family, right?




Of course Henry and I played on Paradise Island. Can you believe we're only 4 weeks apart in age?? Oh, and Mommy FINALLY got a picture of me smiling. I smile all the time, but that damn camera flash makes me mad so my smiles rarely make it into print.



Here is a close up of me, the tv addict, straining to catch the most recent attraction on the HGTV channel. If we were at my house it would totally be That 70's Show or Growing Pains...

When Daddy came home from work we had some one on one time. We danced and excercised and I drooled and cooed a bunch. Oh, and I let him think he's the baby whisperer by going right to sleep at bed time.

PS- I bet I'm the only baby who can say they've sat through the entire series of Wings because Mommy had her own addiction while she was pregnant with me. What's your favorite tv show?

Quick Play Date

Today Henry and I got to play together for the first time in a few weeks. It sure is tough having a demanding social schedule!

Henry was on his Mommy's lap and Mommy put me on hers right next to them. He stopped fussing as soon as he saw me and I was so excited to see him I tried everything I could to impress him. I mean everything. I drooled, blew bubbles, smiled, giggled, cooed, reached for him, tried to kick him and leaned forward in hopes he would open his arms to catch me. All of this was good practice for when I get older, but it was in vain this morning. Back to the drawing board!

Then we went to Paradise Island (his version of my activity center) and I rolled towards him and he warmed up to me, evidenced by clutching my pants in his little fist.

We need more play dates and Mommy needs to keep the camera handy as she missed super cute moments today.

And How Was Your Day?

Tuesday was adventurous enough to make Mommy crawl into a cave for the remainder of the week. Here's what happened....



All started out well as we did some tummy time. (Yeah for no more baby acne!)



Then I started to get super excited to meet up with Aunt Kathleen at Teaberry, fabulous tea house in Flemington, that I got my nap schedule out of whack. I was super calm waiting to meet up with AK, but then all sorts of people starting streaming in and filling up the tables. At capacity at 12:30? What did these ladies think- it was lunch time? What happened to high tea in the late afternoon, this place should have been a ghost town.


Here's the calm before the storm.




Anyways, people overload sent me into hyper stimulation mode. Bet these ladies all call ahead next time to make sure it's a baby-free zone. Needless to say I can power through a screaming rage for about 55 minutes before Mommy will dump me in the car for a ride through town. Then I nodded off for three hours of blissful sleep.

We got home and Mommy saw the 'big surprise' that started in my diaper and migrated all up my back and all over my onesie. Once the plumbing cleared out I was ravenous and plowed through almost 7 ounces of my bottle- and then threw up all over Mommy.

As she was telling this story to Aunt E with me, Aunt E looked down and said, "I hate to tell you this, but you have poop crusted on your arm." Yes, remnants of the 'big surprise' kept that incident alive for longer than necessary.

Then we met up with Baby Henry again later that evening for no more than 10 minutes outside and Mommy was rewarded with bug bites the size of Texas all over her arms. And people say she isn't sweet!


After this super crazy day I just looked up at Mommy and she forgot all about the bad parts of the day and gave me a big hug and lots of kisses.