I love you, you love me....

Yes my friends, that is the opening line to Barney's theme song. How do I know it you ask? Because it plays in my head daily now. Welcome to the Barney stage. Somehow I thought I'd get until at least age 2 before we developed a fondness for gigantic creepy puppets dancing and singing. I was wrong. A couple of times a week when Gideon is particularly cranky, we put Barney on for 5 or 10 minutes to chill out. We sit, we snuggle, we prepare for our nap. It is a lovely time. I suppose I should take the credit for his love of the purple beast since I wield the remote. I digress. One day while flipping, I came upon Barney. Instant attraction. Gideon sat up, took notice and fell in love. Sigh... Since then, I've tried Sesame Street, Veggie Tails and something called the Backyardigans, which in my opinion, is the most darling childrens show ever! Gideon will have none of this. If it ain't purple, dancing like a lunatic and singing stupid songs, he's not into it. What have I done? Noah wants me to find some sort of Christian Barney. Some giant muppet that preaches to our boy about the love of Jesus. Yikes, that thought scares even me. None the less, they don't make one. I have looked. Recently I was at a church sale and came upon a stuffed Barney toy, and his friend Baby Bop. I swiped them quickly. Gideon now carries Barney around by the tail in his mouth like some derranged lioness. I think what we have here is a case of first love. Hopefully he'll out grow it soon. I hear Thomas comes after Barney, then on to Transformers and Batman. Sheesh. I have entered into boyland. It is quite foreign to me. I was My Little Pony and Rainbow Bright all the way. I hope I can survive this phase and get to the next, where I'll likely go mad singing that theme song all day long too.

Wherever we go, whatever we do, we're gonna go through it together...

I have this wonderful invention. It is a piece of cloth. It allows me to go anywhere, do anything, with my little one in tow. It is my sling, and next to my stroller obsession, it is my most favorite baby invention. It was a long search, but I finally found a sling that is just perfect for Gideon and I. And I wouldn't part with it for all the ergo carriers in the world. I lucked out and found it online for cheap and while the color isn't my favorite, it works so darn well. Those Ubangi women are on to something, wearing their babies all day long. Gideon and I go everywhere in our sling. I love it because I get my hands back and can get my work done. He loves it because he's up high and near momma. Stellar! Recently we went to the zoo with our good friends, the Winters, and when Gideon got a little cranky, into the sling he went. He spied on monkeys and elephants for a while and then drifted off to sleep. Lovely! This past weekend we went to a wedding and after a full day of fun, our boy was so tired and cranky. But, there was just too much fun going on for him to go to sleep. So, I broke out the sling and he soon conked out. Like baby crack, this sling is. Wonderful! It is also the only way my house gets vacuumed and mopped and my yard gets mowed. I've even been known to cook dinner in my sling and hose off the deck. It is a marvelous invention, this little tube of fabric.

Gideon Giggles

Just makes me smile every time I see it! I love this kid!

10 down, 2 to go!

Today is the Giddy-man's 10 month milestone. Hard to believe he's been here 10 months. How he has changed our lives! Mostly for the better even! ;) It's been a rough couple of weeks. As he's growing and changing, he's having a hard time with things. Understandable, but sure makes for a rough ride for mom and dad. Currently he's "crying it out" trying to go to sleep. Sigh. I sure hope this run ends soon. Until then, I'll try to focus on the good things our little guy has going for him. He's been crawling for a few weeks now and has pretty much perfected it. He can scoot from room to room in seconds flat. Keeps mom on her toes. He's also sitting up by himself and pulling up on things. Can cruising be far behind? Eish! Each morning he greets me with a toothy grin while standing in his crib. I think he's rather proud of himself. He should be. He's come quite a way from the little 4 pound critter he once was. Today was a rainy Saturday, but we still made the most out of it. We went garage saleing in the am, and then dinner at the Chinese place with Grandma and Grandpa for dinner. A good day for our little guy. I'm posting a few pictures taken this past week at the park. Noah got home early one night and we decided to go for a little walk. What a happy fella we had! The pictures tell the story. Good times were had by all!

4th of July Fun

Yesterday, Gideon experienced his first Fourth of July celebration! Our all American boy had a blast! Each year, Lawrence has a parade that comes right down our street, and then fireworks follow in the evening. So we invited everyone we knew with little ones (and even some without!) to the parade in the morning and a cookout afterward. What a time we had! Children and babies everywhere! The fruit punch was flowing, and the hot dogs couldn't be cooked fast enough. My trash was overflowing with diapers by the time the day was done. Whew! Once again, I couldn't help but remember how things have changed now that Gideon's in our life. Noah and I used to hold an annual Christmas party each year. That was our big "thing". We'd invite everyone without children, and our list of party supplies was completely different than yesterday's necessities. How things have changed! Now, our Christmas party was never wild and crazy, but it was definitely a lot more "adult" than yesterday's shindig. Yesterday, we served kid-friendly fare, and had endless sugar free beverages. Instead of having a place for our smoking guests to go like in Christmas parties of years past, we now had a quiet area for mom's to take their babies. So much has changed! But, I think for the better. It is so wonderful watching Gideon experience all of his firsts. I am so thankful to get to see things through his eyes. He loved the parade, and especially watching all the other kids scramble for the candy. The fireworks were a big hit too, but they were past his bedtime, so his interest wasn't held too long. I think overall, it was a roaring success. Adjusting to life as a parent has been quite a wild ride so far. But a good one. I can't wait for the next big adventure! The pictures I'm attaching are of Gideon and Emma, of course.