For the hubby...

My Little Chirper

Rise up this mornin',

Smiled with the risin' sun,

My little bird Pitch by my doorstep

Singin' sweet songs

Of melodies pure and true,

Sayin', ("This is my message to you-ou-ou:")

Mmmmm, highchair

So I like sucking on my highchair, sue me. I also like sucking on my bug, my Bumbo, my blanket, my, wait I like sucking on everything!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while but Daddy has been out of town and Mom's been keeping me busy, not the other way around of course. I miss Daddy but he's coming back tomorrow. Mom, Gramma Bette and I have been keeping busy. For instance I now like to roll and roll a lot. The only problem Mom says is that I roll onto my stomach and cry. Yeah, that's right I forgot how to roll back. I used to do it all the time but I've had a lot on my mind. It's just easier to cry, make Mom get out of bed and come roll me back over. That way I get to see her every 20 minutes in the morning. Just wait until Dad gets back, than he can play that game with me!

Oh, I've also been laughing up a storm. I love it when Mom hides under my highchair and then pops back up. Man is that funny.

We're heading up to Lake Geneva on Thurs. and Mom and Dad are really excited. They say they need a "vacation" real bad. I'm not sure what this "vacation" is but I'm sure I'll enjoy it. Mom got me and Ava, that's her on the left, life jackets for the boat. If I fall off, which Mom said she'll have a grip on me like a steel claw, but if I DO happen to fall off it makes my head stay up and me on my back so my face isn't in the water. That's pretty cool. I may not post a lot but I know the 'rents are bringing the video camera. Peace out for now. Elias.

Green Clean & Booties

Green and Clean Mom is giving away four pair of Isa Booties. Go ahead and enter here. And while you're there check out her site. It is informative, witty and all around good for you.

Portrait of a five month old.

Wet & Wild

So Mom and Dad decided to take the day off from yard work and head to the pool today. It was my first time "swimming" and I loved it! We met Gramma Sonny there and went to the kiddie pool. It had fountains and jets and a slide. I'm a little too small to hit the slide yet but let me tell you, give me a year or so.

Mom & Dad also bought me a turtle, not a real turtle but a floating turtle. I floated around for a while and got splashed by a couple of little girls. I'm assuming because of my good looks that they were just flirting. They also liked my turtle. I'm looking forward to using it again in Lake Geneva in a week or so. After swimming I relaxed a bit in the ol' stroller.

Mom is hoping that all the fresh air will help me sleep. I haven't been sleeping well the last couple of nights. The 'rents think I may be teething but all I know is I've been crying for an hour and I only want to be held. It's only late at night but again it's gotta be done. Peace out...E

Mmmm, pears

So this is what happens when Mom lets me feed myself. I tend to miss the mouth and hit the forhead but that's okay. I still love her.

King of Cute

Electric Grant Avenue

Well we're broadcasting from a remote location today, Father's Day, since our power has been out now for 12 hours. Thankfully we celebrated Father's Day yesterday with Gramma Sonny and Grandpa Jim at our house. Dad cooked some great steaks and Mom made potatoes. Dad and Grandpa got really cool BBQ tongs and I got Dad a new bedroom TV. He's finally getting something called HD in the bedroom. He assures me when I'm old enough I'm going to love watching it with him. Especially old Bond movies.

Back to our broadcast. Mom, Dad, me and Marbie all headed over to Gramma and Grandpa's in Hinsdale to have a sleep over. Our power went out when we were at breakfast at Blueberry Hill. We came back and it was scary. There were trees down and branches all over. In our back yard was a huge branch that fell from our next door neighbors tree and dented our fence. Yeah, that's how big the branch is! Dad and Vig (the next door neighbor) are going to have to get it cut up and put on the street. Grandpa Bill is coming Tues. He may have to help. At least I get to have a sleep over in my nursery at Gramma Sonny's. Marbie even has his bed.

I wanted to end the post by saying Happy Father's Day to my awesome Dad who takes care of me every Monday and Tuesday when Mom's at work. I love spending time with you and I can't wait to watch these Bond flicks you're always talking about. Peace out...Elias.

Handy Dandy BPA-Free Wallet Card

Because being a new mom means completely and utterly losing your memory this BPA free wallet card is perfect. Now when you're at the store you don't have to wonder if that toy or teether has horrible toxic chemicals for your precious little one, just pull out this handy dandy wallet card. Z recommends has the PDF version for you to print out and save so click here. Also if you're unsure whether a product has BPA you can text that product to Zrecs and they'll let you know. Have a great, chemical free day.

Let the good times roll.

So Elias' rolling over has turned from super cool to making me nervous. He now likes to try and sleep in his side. I usually wait until he's asleep and then I move him onto his back. Well, most of the time he wakes up from this and gives me a whine of disappointment but then goes back to sleep. Last night, from 3 a.m. to 4 a.m., yes I'll repeat that 3 a.m. to 4 a.m. he decided to have a rolling over party in his crib. He wasn't disturbing us but with that video monitor I kept having to look to make sure he wasn't on his side. Twice I went and moved him, also mind you he did a FULL 180 degree turn. Yes his head was facing south when I put him down and when I went into his room later it was facing north. At approximately 4 a.m. he started crying. Well looking at our trusty video monitor we found him on his stomach with an arm outside the crib.

I'm going to call our pediatrician today but does anyone have any experience with this? I feel I shouldn't let him sleep in his side but he seems to SLEEP that way. Any words of wisdom would be great!

Oh what a night

Sorry I haven't posted in almost a week, egad, but it's been busy. It all started last Thursday night. First, and obviously best, Elias rolled over. You seriously gotta love those video monitors. If it wasn't for our video monitor we would have never seen it.

I was up getting ready for bed, Gramma Bette and Brad were downstairs finishing watching the news. I always like to take a peek at Elias on the monitor before I go to bed and as I turned it on I saw him trying to make his way from his back to his stomach. Well lo and behold he turned over. I rushed downstairs to show Gramma and Dad and then he rolled back over to his back.

Well, that was the last Mom and Dad got to see of the rolling. Gramma Bette said he did it twice (from stomach to back) while playing the next day. Brad is bound and determined to get it on video to show everyone but Elias is not having that. We do have a lot of video of him being tickled and laughing his head off, which I'll post shortly.

But wait, our night was not yet complete. Enter Hero Dog and Daddy.

The scene, around 11:00 p.m., I'm asleep and Brad is watching TV in bed. Marbie starts barking so Brad goes to investigate. He doesn't see anything so gives Marbs a pat and tells him to go back to bed. Just as soon as Brad is back in bed Marbie starts barking again. I hear him and ask what he's barking at. Brad again goes to investigate. Next thing I know, Brad comes running upstairs and tells me to stay put there is a very drunk man trying to get into our house.

Here's the scenerio, when Brad went downstairs the second time (thanks to Hero Dog's continued barking) he opened the door and saw a drunk guy at the bottom of our porch. Brad told him to leave or he'd call the police. Well he didn't. Brad called the police, told Gramma Bette to stay in her room and came upstairs to get our trusty baseball bat that is kept under the bed. When he got back downstairs the man was now trying to open the door. That's when Hero Daddy yelled, "If you try to come in this door I'll bash you *&^#$ head in." The drunk man replied, "But this is my house."

I then called 911 and the Brookfield Police were already outside. Thankfully the drunk was not a mean drunk, just a sloppy drunk. The police spoke with him and tried again to tell him that our house was not his house. They finally found a phone number and got him home.

After a very scary night, we all had a good laugh about how truly wasted this guy was. I mean, there is a guy screaming at you with a baseball bat and you still think it's your place. To make matters even worse it looks as though he might have driven. The next morning I got up and behind my truck, parked the WRONG way on our one-way street, was an unfamiliar car half on the grass. It was gone by the time I returned but assumptions point to our drunk guy.

To end this VERY long post I have to give a shout out to my 13 year-old Hero Dog who barked and barked to make sure we knew something was wrong and my wonderful Hero Husband/Dad who protected his family like no other. Big props and kisses to you both...Carly

The more you know, the more you grow.

Okay, I know I'm bombarding you with eco-friendly toys, but hey they're good for our kids and the environment. Check out ImagiPlay. They've got cute, eco-friendly wood toys made from splinter-free rubberwood with no toxic chemicals, paints, or dyes. I particularly love the Arctic Expedition!

Stress

So I'm really stressing out about childcare. We're waiting to hear back from some friend's about nanny sharing, which would be ideal, but it has to be okay with their nanny. I've been checking out other options as well. The idea of leaving Elias with someone I don't know, scares the hell out of me. I know people do it every day and maybe I'll get over the fact but right now I'm scared.

Since there are no "big" daycare centers close to home we're looking at either a nanny or in-home daycare. I would prefer a nanny. The price is higher but you may get some cleaning and laundry out of it. Elias gets personal service and I'll worry less (I'll still worry a ton mind you) that he'll be left screaming in a corner while they attend to other children. In-home is not bad either if there are not a lot of kids. I had one lady email me back saying she's licensed for eight at a time, but only 3 infants. Eight at a time! Are you kidding me. So you're telling me my child will get 1/8 of your time. What does he do the rest of the time? To me that seems crazy. Some tell me prices of $4 an hour (which seems really low) and other $8. For $8 I might as well get a nanny.

I think I'm more upset about Elias going into daycare or leaving him with a nanny than I was returning to work. When I came back to work I knew Elias was safe. He's with his grandparents. They love him, nurture him and take care of him like the miracle he is. If we can find someone who adores him even 1/10 the amount I do hopefully he'll be okay. Actually I'm pretty sure I'll never be okay. Carly

Aren't we truly "Organic by Nature"

Another great website to find safe toys for your little one. They offer organic apparel for Mom and Baby, chemical FREE skin care, unique Fair Trade toys, complete cloth diapering system for your little one, organic products for your pet and more! Check them out. http://www.organicbynature.ca/

Snoozing on a Sunday afternoon.