No. 7

Sigh. Max's 7th tooth errupted a few days ago. This hasn't been a pretty one. Typically he'll be fussy for a day or 2 as one comes through. For whatever reason #7 has been especially ugly. For the past week he's cranky as can be and his sleep is completely disrupted...as is mine of course. I feel badly for the guy. I mean, can you imagine? A sharp bone-like thing starts pushing up through your tissues and wants to slice a hole to errupt through? Yeah, that sucks.

As I sit here right now I have my makeup halfway on, hair halfway out of a ponytail, and snot/spit smeared on my shirt from his aggressive nuzzling. Wouldn't you love me to include a picture of that? I'll let your imagination work for you. Right now Max is napping so I'm going to go jump in the shower.

Massacre of a Pear: A Picture Story

Andrew

This is Andrew, one of Max's buddies. Isn't he adorable? He smiles on command as you can see...

Addiction Confession

I admit it. I am an addict. A baby gear addict.

I have long prided myself on being a thrifty, well-researched shopper. I must have made a hundred changes on my baby resitry for Max, searching for the exact combination of value and utility. When you consider that I work in Strategic Planning this overly anal obsession with preparation may not come as a surprise. My husband teases me mercilessly about my Excel spreadsheets for managing personal tasks.

When I decided that we needed a jogging stroller I reasearched consumer reviews, prices, etc. We're talking hours in front of the computer. I finally determined that the InStep Safari swivel was the best choice for us. This was followed by hours of comparison shopping. I finally found the best deal and the best color option at Baby Depot / Burlington Coat Factory. The stroller retails for $139 there but I was able to knock it down to $125 by participating in a phone survey for an additional discount. What a shopper's high! (sad but true)

My obsession with a good value has led me to Craigslist. I blame this on Alex who found a jumperoo for Max this way. From there I've bought a Peg Pergo high chair ($30), an 8-section playyard ($40), an Ergo infant insert ($15), MetroLite stroller ($20), the list goes on. Right now I have my eye on another high chair for my mom's house. Let the hunt begin!

Max Learns to Share

Max's buddy Naomi came over to play today. She gave him a lesson in sharing. Although I'm going to guess that most boy babies would be happy to share with a baby as beautiful as she is. Max has learned an early lesson in the charms of women!

He's Cute and He Tiles? What a Catch!

One of the leftover projects in our basement remodel was tiling the bathroom (shower and floor). We received a bid several months ago for $3000-some for labor alone. Eek! This didn't exactly fit in with our budget. We considered our options and figured since we've completed several tiling projects around the house, we'd be up for the challenge and the savings of this do-it-yourself project as well. Why not, right?!

You might think this is a recipe for disaster but my dear, sweet husband worked tirelessly and the final product is fabulous. Alex completed the final last wipe down this morning ....although if you asked him now, he might say the $ would have been worth it! ;-)

Thank you, honey, for all of your hard work!