Unsocialized Baby

I am a pretty easy going person, and it really doesn't bother me when people come up and say odd things or offer me weird pieces of advice about how to raise my baby. But today I wished looks could kill. Ok, not really. I wouldn't kill anyone over something stupid they said, but I wish he knew how much I did not appreciate his comment.

I was at the commissary doing my grocery shopping and this older gentleman became my "aisle buddy" - the one I would run into on every aisle because he was going one way and I was going the other, so we'd bump into each other at some point in each aisle. He was pleasant and would chat to me every time we passed each other and would try to get Judah to smile or chatter to him.

For whatever reason Judah would NOT smile or chat to anyone. I think he was embarrassed because he'd pooped his pants. *smile* Anyways, Judah would just stare at everyone with his eyes wide open.

The man must have gotten offended, or frustrated, or SOMETHING, because he finally says to me:

"You know, you should really get your baby out more so he socializes with people."

EXCUSE ME?!

I have all these lines in my head to use if people say rude things to me - the Nov '07 BabyTalk magazine had some great lines:

If someone says "Is that formula you're feeding your baby?"
You say "Is that soda you're giving your 6 year old?"

If someone says (which they won't, b/c I don't have twins, but this one is hilarious!) "Twins! Was it fertility drugs?"
You say "A double chin! Was it cheeseburgers?"

If someone says "She's not still in diapers, is she? At her age she really should be using the potty."
You say: "You're not still in underpants are you? At your age you should be wearing Depends."

Ok, so I would *never* say any of those, but they are tucked away in my head and will give me a giggle if anyone says something that could warrant that response.

But an unsocialized baby?! I was speechless, but even now I can't think of a clever response that I could have given him!

After that comment I re-routed my aisle shopping so that I didn't have to bump into him again.

So, any clever come backs I could have used?

The Cutest Paper Shredder

Judah's favorite thing right now is to tear up paper. He is pretty good about not sticking it in his mouth, he just loves the crinkle and crunch that paper makes in his hands.
And isn't his outfit so sweet? A friend picked it up for him in Australia.

The Meringue Recipe:

• Whites from 3 large eggs at room tempature
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar, preferably super fine (I used regular sugar, they tasted fine!)
• 1 tsp spearmint extract or 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
• Food coloring (I suggest GREEN!)
• Chocolate chips (my aunt suggested using mint chips next time, yum!)

1. Heat oven to 200F and prepare two baking sheets with nonstick foil (I used one big sheet)
2. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in large bowl with mixer on medium speed until peaks form when beaters are lifted.
   
3. Gradually add sugar. Beat on high for 3-4 minutes, scrapping down sides of bowl with rubber spatula, until stiff, shiny peaks form. Beat in extract and a few drops of food coloring. Add desired amount of chocolate chips and stir.
4. Spoon onto prepared baking sheet - recipe says it makes 24 meringues, if you want a reference point :)
5. Bake 3 - 3 1/4 hours until meringue is dry and crisp all the way through. Cool and then eat!

They can be stored in an airtight container at cool room temperature for up to 2 months.

The Right Way To Make Them

I got a Christmas cookie cookbook in the mail this weekend and *just happened* to have the ingredients for the Meringue recipe on hand. So of course I had to try it out - just to see if I wanted to be making them for Christmas time. Mmm! They were delicious!
My mum use to make meringues and she *always* made them green. This recipe called for red food coloring. Red meringues?? I think not! Meringues are not meringues unless they are green. So I made them green.

Judah's First Fair

I really am not on a blogging strike ... I just have a mobile baby. Totally changes EVERYTHING. Instead of hanging out inside and watching the ceiling he now does stuff. He will crawl through tunnels at the park, squeal with delight when we go down the slide, and make goofy faces when pushed in the swing. He wants to feed himself, climb over, under and onto any available surface and pull off his diaper and decorate his bedding, crib and walls with the contents therein. He has a long way to go if he wants to be an interior designer.
My baby is now FUN and rather than blog about it, I am having fun with him, and enjoying every moment of it :)

Last night I took Judah and my friend Sarah to a fair. I wanted to see the demolition derby... Judah seemed to love it - really, what boy wouldn't?! Loud, bright and crashing cars.

Here's Judah and Auntie Sarah watching the demolition:


There was a petting zoo at the fair and they had some of the coolest animals either Sarah or I had ever seen in a petting zoo.
Judah adored the animals, and loved it when they licked his toes.

Judah in a Box

Baby on the Move

I have been a little bit lazy at blogging - ok, completely lazy about it!
Paul went back to work on Thursday, for an overnight mission. It was a shame that was the day he had to be away because Judah chose that very day to be insanely wild. He tried to climb everything. And I do mean everything. The tv stand, the blinds, his play pen... everything. He also decided that if you can stand WHY sit?
His favorite nursing position as of Thursday is to stand beside the couch while I lay on my side on the couch.
From the moment he awakes in his crib he pulls himself up and stands there, walking himself around the crib, fully entertained with his freedom to get around.
He is full fledged 'go-go-go' baby - and I love it :)
Here he is sitting for a few brief moments on the couch (I have a movie of him getting off the couch, will upload it later!) And then he discovered his diapers and wanted to get them out...

Ya Man

So- guess what?! Here is what I didn't blog about last week - Paul and I finally went on our *very* belated honeymoon (2 1/2 years late!) We went to Jamaica for seven nights while my sister came down to watch Judah.

Paul is still off work until the middle of the week.

Jamaica was amazing! But it is nice to be home with Judah :)

Here are a few pictures from Jamaica, I will load more later!

Vacation Time

Picture taken Spring of 2003

WOOHOO! Paul is officially on vacation for two weeks now! We had a great start to our vacation - Judah slept for a solid nine hours, woke up to nurse, and then slept for an additional three hours... and he woke up all coo-ey and sweet!
We are going away for a week, and plan to explore this area a bit more (now that it's not over 100F outside! :) and so I think I am going to take a two week break from blogging too... I will be back! I am just going to be spending the two weeks with my family.

Have a great two weeks ya'll!

Tuesday's Freebie

Sample of Tide Detergent

Laughter Began with Baby

I just love having a BOY - Judah is an absolute riot and every single day is filled with laughter because of him. Paul and I had a conversation about this a few days ago.

ME - "Judah is so funny. We never use to laugh this hard before he came."
PAUL - "You're right we didn't."
ME - "What did we use to laugh about before Judah?"
PAUL - "We didn't use to laugh."

K, so that's not really true... we weren't exactly solemn logs before Judah came along, but we laugh so much more now that he is here! Judah has perfected his crawl and is now into every corner that is not barricaded off. He is also trying to crawl UP everything! His favorite thing when he is in his playpen to try to scale the playpen walls... crazy boy! He has this new passion for climbing things ... or more specifically, climbing ME. It is so cute to see him so proud of himself for having - all on his own - pulled himself into a standing position while using me as a prop. This evening he even let go of me and stood for a few moments on his own. He was just beaming and crowing with pride.

Judah loves to roar and make spit bubbles and roll around with someone on the floor. Some of his babblings are sounding more and more like words but I don't think any of them are... other than his three 'dada', 'mama' and 'ada.'

Paul and I both desperately wanted an exciting and active baby, and we got it! Woohoo!

Monday's Freebie

Betty Crocker Warm Delights Minis - looks yummy! :)