Happy Birthday to Miss P!

Another of Arlo's pals turned ONE this weekend!  We had a great time at her party!  Here is Arlo hanging with the birthday girl and her Grandpa.

Aaaand now he's got a DIFFERENT toy car in his mouth. 

Birthday cupcake!  (Man, you shoulda seen these cupcakes...they had mini Oreos for Minnie Mouse ears - so cute! And delish!)

The birthday girl and her big bro have the coolest toys.  Arlo loved this truck that makes all sorts of noises when you press the buttons. 

Birthday parties are so much fun!  We're looking forward to our own celebration in less than three weeks!  Can't believe my little munchkin's gonna be ONE!

Love, Katie

Belated football game #3 pictures

Arlo attended his second football game last Saturday!  It was a 3:30 game (and he usually starts getting ready for dinner/bedtime around 5!) so we weren't sure he'd make it through the whole thing.  Besides that, it was cold and drizzly...not exactly the gorgeous sunny day we'd had the week prior. 

But he did great!  Once again, he made it through the tailgate, the game, and the post-game and was super happy and smiley the whole time. I had lots of helpers/holders which is SO crucial.  (My arms get TIRED!)  Thank you to Ryann, Lance, Casey, Eileen, and Matt for their help, and of course to Chuck and Deda who spent the 3rd quarter and much of the 4th with a little visitor.
I didn't bring my camera in, but here are a few great pics and a super cute video courtesy of Casey:

The Heels were away this weekend, and unfortunately had their first loss of the season.  I'm tellin ya, my boy's good luck. :)

Love, Katie

Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town

I was fortunate enough to meet the newest member of the Monast/DiBiase family last week.  Her name is Ruby Alexandra and she is sweet as pie and perfectly beautiful.  Here she is snuggling with her also beautiful mama, Lauren. 

And here is me, trying to remember how to hold such a little thing.  Then again, my baby was never this little so I don't have much practice (although Lauren did point out that Arlo was in fact this size at some point...like when I was still 7 months pregnant or so).  :) 

Speaking of my little stud muffin and 11-month old, here he is being entertained by Kai while I swoon over Ruby's baby noises and smushy cheeks. 

She is a doll!  And no, she is NOT named after a catchy Kenny Rogers tune.  She's way too cool for that. 

Lots of love and congratulations to the family of Geese. 

Love, Katie

Gymboree!!!

Last month, I bought a Groupon deal for a discounted month at Gymboree, which is a kids' gym where they have learning, music, and art classes for different age groups.  The monthly fee is SO expensive (even WITH the Groupon!) which is such a shame because Arlo LOVED it and I know so many kids would benefit from having access to such a great program if it were a little more affordable.

We attended our first class this morning.  It's a play/learning class for 10-16 month olds.  Arlo was the youngest and the only not-yet-walker, but he was BY FAR the sweetest, cutest, bravest, friendliest, most adventurous kid there.  I was (as always) a proud mama.  :) 

I brought my old digital camera so I wouldn't have to lug the big 'un around.  It was a funny sight...I kept putting my eye up to the viewfinder like on my new camera, but there is no viewfinder of course, so my nose would just smush into the screen.  And I forgot how stinkin' long it takes to TAKE A PICTURE.  That is why so many of these look like something cool just happened.  It's because my slow camera just missed it. 

Like this.

 

And this.

The structured activities were really fun, but they are not too different from the songs and games we play at the library storytime for free!  But the gym equipment here is so awesome.  Everything is cushy, there are slides, climbing walls, tunnels, bridges, balls, mirrors, and lots of other fun stuff.  The kids have the greatest time just climbing on stuff. And this is something that is hard to find/replicate.  (Still so not worth the $70/month membership fee, in my humble opinion. Seriously!)

Silly face in the tunnel. 

One of his favorite things was this basketball goal. 

He also loves to touch anything that looks like a button, which in this case, was a metal bolt.  Fascinating.

Near the end of the class, they get out one of those big parachutes (doesn't that bring back memories from gym class as a kid?).  The kiddos play underneath it and then they sit on top and we pull them around in a circle.  They also blew bubbles (always a big hit!), played with musical toys, and played baby "soccer" where we basically swing the kids' legs into the beach ball in an attempt to "pass" it to someone else.  Arlo loved it! 

We had a great time and are looking forward to class next week!

Boys and their bottles

Wait a second...what's wrong with this picture?

Oh, Roscoe. 

When I grow up...

Hard to believe he might be as tall as Dad someday.

Silly face

For several months now, we've caught a glimpse here and there of this super silly weird face that Arlo makes, usually when he's really excited about something (most often a dog).  But it's been elusive and never actually caught on camera.  Until now. 

Are you kidding me?  How funny is that?!  How can this:

And this:

Even be the same kid??

Anyways, it makes us crack up everytime we see it, so now the face is not so elusive.  He knows he'll get a reaction when he does it so we see if often and he'll even do it on command. 

I don't know where he learned this face.  My mom says my sister or I used to do the same thing and she called it the "smurf face."  Don't know why.  What do you think?

I call it Silly Face or Scrunchie Face. 

To get the full effect, you have to see it on video.  It comes with sound effects: he breathes in and out loudly through his nose.  Wanna see?

What a silly guy.  It's so fun to see his personality continue to develop.  Lately he is all giggles - everything cracks him up. 

Speaking of giggles, I saved a bunch of money with coupons at Walgreens today, so I figured I'd waste that savings on one of those stupid little impulse buys you see at the registers.  I'd been eyeing one for a while now; they are called "Happy Pills."  Appropriate, huh?  So I finally brought one home...here is the reaction it got:

I know, I know, I know...this is going to get REALLY old very fast.  But it makes me laugh and it makes Arlo laugh and it freaks our dogs out, so I figure one of them will pull the guts out and we'll be rid of the maniacal laughter soon enough.  Or maybe Arlo will slam it down on the floor a few more times.  :)

Love, Katie

We did it!

We made it through an entire tailgate, football game, and post-game tailgate!  Arlo was such a trooper. 

He was having such a great time at the tailgate that we decided to give it a try, with the understanding that I would leave early with him if he got grumpy or sleepy or antsy.  I didn't bring my camera in to the game, so here is my play-by-play and commentary.

First quarter: After checking things out (including the cute co-eds sitting next to us!), he mostly played at my feet with a pom-pom.  It was a noon game so the sun was HOT, but between my tall husband and our tall friends, we were able to make a little shade for him.  (I also lathered him in sunscreen from head to toe.  Gotta be careful with my fair-haired little boy!)  Towards the end of the quarter, we went up to the concourse and sat in front of the fantastic air-conditioned wall for a bit to cool off. 

Second quarter: Played with his sunglasses almost the entire time (which was fine since he wasn't going to wear them anyway!). 

Halftime: After listening to the really beautiful 9/11 tribute from the marching band, Charlie and I took Arlo back up to the concourse and we hung out in the shade for a bit. 

Third quarter: GranDeda and Francis took baby duty up on the concourse while Charlie and I watched the game.  Arlo had some frozen lemonade which he LOVED!  They had to dole it out slowly or he would have gulped it down and ended up with a brain freeze!

Fourth quarter: We headed back to our seats and I brought out a few snacks.  When he was done with those, I gave him my special secret weapon (all mommies know this trick): my keys.  That occupied him for the rest of the game. 

Overall, he was smiley and giggly and curious and happy THE WHOLE TIME!  Not that I don't have faith in my child, but for an almost-11-month old to go for nearly 6 hours outside in the hot sun without a nap and not put up a second of protest was pretty amazing!   He did (technically) go to several games when I was still pregnant, so maybe he's just a natural!  He didn't even seem to mind the sounds (and it's LOUD where we sit because of the band and the students). 

It wasn't until the walk back to the car that he fell asleep.  Charlie was carrying him and I look over and he's conked out.  And this is not a sleep-anywhere baby.  He usually doesn't sleep unless he's in his crib, so I know he was SUPER tired.

When we got back to the car, we turned on the A/C and let him keep sleeping on Charlie for a while.  (Charlie is not sleeping by the way - just closed his eyes for my picture-taking.)  These pictures make me melt.

A little bit later, he was right back at it.  Woke up happy and playful. 

Climbing stairs.

Modeling his glasses and hat in the only manner he'll keep them on for any length of time.

Hanging with Grandaddy. 

And high-fiving!

BTW, the Heels won (2 and 0 baby!), although it was a little too-close-for-comfort.  We had the best time - it was so nice to be able to go as a family!  I know it might not always go so smoothly, but I am encouraged that we made it through at least one!  Hope to see you all at the game next week!  Go Heels!

Love, Katie



Little Mr. Red Head

The other morning (which was COOL and LOVELY!), Arlo and I were playing on the back porch and I noticed how RED his hair looks!  It really just depends on the day and the lighting whether it looks light brown, blond, or red.  Seriously, this child has highlights that people pay big bucks for and they STILL don't look this good. 

By the way, we looove this water table that I bought on clearance at Walgreens for like 12 bucks.  It came with little boats and a water wheel and cup.  A HUGE hit!  The only problem is he wants to play with it now every time he sees it (which is often when we let the dogs in and out).  So it means lots of costume changes and wet clothes. 

And did I mention the teeth?  He's got so many teeth coming in!  It really looks like a whole mouthful.  He's got the four on top and four on bottom that he's had for a while.  A few weeks ago, the two canines on top poked their sharp little points out and are still emerging.  Now we've spotted at least four more on the bottom and I think four more on top.  And these suckers are HUGE!  Big honkin' molars that look like they've got to hurt.  He's had a fussy afternoon every now and then, but mostly has been his sweet, happy, chill self so I guess those teeth are no big deal.  He's really a "super baby."  :)

Love, Katie