All before noon

The day started off rather fine. I took Lee out for a short car ride so that I could pick up a package. He fell asleep on the way home and I was later able to put him in his bed. Then the fun began. Shortly after being put in his bed, Lee began to cry. I tried to calm him down but it didn’t work, so I picked him up. He continued to cry with his eyes closed for several minutes. So I put him back in his bed. Nope, that wasn’t what he wanted. I picked him up again. Still not the solution. I put on my moby wrap and put him in. His eyes were still closed and being in the moby wrap seemed to help. I walked around the house but he still didn’t settle completely, so I went outside for a walk. That was the answer. He slept fine.

I came back home and did a few things around the apartment while he was still in the wrap. He eventually woke up and seemed to be in a pleasant mood. I set him in his swing while I did some things in the kitchen. He smiled and giggled, then he pooped and continued on with the smiling and giggling.

I picked him up and took him to his changing table where I discovered he had a diaper blow-out. He was messy all the way up his back so I thought it would be a good idea to give him a bath and clean everything off. I filled up the bath tub and managed to get his clothes off of him without spreading the mess around too much. I had just gotten him in the bath when the door bell rang. I was expecting someone to come pick up to packages that I was returning. I pulled Lee out of the bath, wrapped him in a towel, and answered the door. Once I brought Lee back to the bath tub I was feeling quite successful because he didn’t cry through the interruption. After a minute in the bath, he peed in the tub. Now the question comes – do you keep bathing him in the now dirty water or take him out and start over? I decided to start over. He stayed calm and happy through the whole process – whew!

After his bath I put him back in his swing so that I could have something to eat. He started fussing, so after I had my snack, I gave him something to eat. All was well until he realized he was now quite tired from the whole bath ordeal. I held him and walked with him, but it wasn’t enough. He wanted to go back in the moby and walk around the neighborhood again. Back outside we go for another lap around the neighborhood. I was already tired from an exercise class the night before, and didn’t really feel like walking around the neighborhood some more. However, Lee was able to fall back asleep. I brought him home and put him in his bed. I looked at the clock, only 12:30 PM…. it feels much later…. I wonder what other adventures this day will bring.3

Misadventures

Misadventure: (noun) An unfortunate incident

I wanted to buy strawberries last week. German strawberries are in season right now and they are quite delicious. I thought it might be a nice treat to have strawberries with dinner. So, I wrapped Lee up in my Moby carrier and off I went. Lee quite enjoys his Moby and usually has a nice nap while I walk around with him. I needed to drop something in the post box on my way to the grocery store, so that was my first planned stop. I got about 100 meters from our front door and Lee threw up on me. He has recently learned to suck on his hands, but he hasn’t learned how to keep them away from the back of his mouth where his gag reflex is. It wasn’t too much throw up, so I went to the post box and back home. That was day 1. Day 2 – once again I though I would get strawberries from the store. It is only a 3 minute walk and I expected Lee to be asleep by the time I got there. Into the Moby he goes and we were off. He started sucking on his hands again…. 200 meters from the door he threw up on me – it just kept coming. So there I was on the side walk, covered in vomit, trying to decide if I was too dirty to go to the store now. I was. I went back home. No strawberries. Lee got another bath.

An outside view of the damage – not too bad….

Side-view – ok that is something people might notice

Mess on the baby – he was not happy about it

Gross.

I finally did get strawberries – just a few days later.

Spit-up: A gift of love

You know how when you have a cat sometimes it will bring you little gifts? A (dead) bird, (dead) mouse, or something along those lines, all to show how much your cat loves you.

I have a theory – the spit-up theory. I think when your baby spits up on you, it is really a display of love. When Lee spits-up it is usually followed by a BIG smile. It is almost as if he is saying “Look what I gave you! I love you so much that I wanted to give you something nice. I don’t really have anything to give except milk. Milk is my favorite thing, so maybe you would like some too. Isn’t it the best present ever?” Gee, isn’t that nice. Afterwards, I get to wear his little present until I get the chance to change. It sure is nice of him to share like that.

3 Minute Miracle

I will admit that I am a creature of habit – I have eating yogurt for breakfast with some sort of cereal for over 10 years. Every Morning. If I don’t the whole day just seems wrong. If I find a product I like, I will used it over and over and over for years. Coming to Germany interrupted some of my habits, one of which was what hair products I use. I have yet to find shampoo/conditioner here in Germany that I really like. Until now…. 
When I was in high school, I started using Aussie hair products. They were no where to be found in Germany. I have missed them. 
While I was standing in line at the drug store last night, something in the shampoo aisle caught my eye. I am somewhat sleep-deprived at the moment so it took some time for me to process what I was seeing. I looked and looked and realized I was looking at the familiar Aussie logo. MY SHAMPOO! IT’S HERE! I left the check out line and picked up this 3 minute miracle pack. Oh how excited I was to use it. It’s the little things that bring a smile :)

Robin’s Birthday

This year when I asked Robin what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday, he told me he wanted penguins. We had seen a penguin “cake” on Facebook and the idea stuck. So, here we are with a penguin birthday cake.

The “ice” they are sitting on is a rice cake with a yogurt glaze. The penguin body is meringue covered in chocolate (I bought it at the store). The beak, feet, and chest are all marzipan. The eyes are frosting with a sprinkle in the middle.  Here is a close-up:

The left-overs were also enjoyed. Here is what happened to the penguins the next day – penguin sandwich.

Before

After

Hi. My name is Lee.

Meet Lee. Born 30. March 2013.

Last Pregnancy Photos

These photos were taken one week before Lee was born

View from the side

View from the top

Seated view

Reupholstered chair

We have this chair… it has great “bones” the the chair but it didn’t quite look the way I wanted. I painted it white about two years ago. Since then, I have been searching for fabric I liked to cover the seat with. It took quite some time, but I finally found something. Here is the finished product.