Domestic Engineer

My friend, T, signs her emails with the title, "Domestic Engineer". It makes me laugh every time I see it...until NOW! After today, I totally understand the meaning of Domestic Engineer!!!! In fact, EVERY Mom out there deserves this title. Here is what I did today. Doodlebug was supposed to be napping. I looked at the monitor and couldn't see him. There is one little sliver of the crib that cannot be seen by the camera and he usually squishes himself up in that little space (I think just to give me a heart attack). So I went upstairs to check on him so that I could stop worrying. Luckily I did, because he was getting ready to climb out of the crib.
So I picked him up and put him on the floor in his bedroom to play with his toys while I lowered the mattress. In my head I was thinking this would be a piece of cake and take only a few minutes. Ha! After 30 minutes of messing with it, I realized this was going to be more difficult than I anticipated. Not to mention, Doodlebug was trying to "help" me! So I went downstairs and set Doodles up in his pack and play and I did a really bad thing...don't judge me! I needed to keep Doodles occupied so that I could get to work, so I found a Baby Einstein DVD, unwrapped it, and stuck it in the DVD player on Repeat mode. Doodles loved it and watched it until he fell asleep. Meanwhile, I went back to the crib. I'll spare you the details and give you the concise version. I had to take the entire crib apart and put it back together again without any directions. Keep in mind, I was about 8 months pregnant when the crib was built so needless to say, I didn't have any part in assembling it. I felt like I needed a degree in engineering! Two and half hours later, I finally finished it! I'll end with a picture of Doodlebug wearing his "Future Harvard Freshman" onesie. He better start working on Scholarships now if that's were he plans on attending college. If you look closely, you can see his two bottom teeth!

Doodlebug can clap!!!

Here's a video for you to enjoy!

Doodlebug's First Out-of-State Trip!!!

Over the weekend, we all took a trip to Providence, RI to watch Doodlebug's Uncle graduate from college. We flew up last Thursday and came home that following Monday. We did loads of shopping, eating, and sightseeing. Here are a few highlights from our trip.

Uncle C graduated from Johnson and Wales University. Scroll down for pics of graduation!

Here we are at the Cheers Bar in Boston. The boys enjoyed a Blueberry Beer (with real blueberries floating in it!) They liked it!

Here we are sitting outside the bar relaxing and taking in the fresh air.

We went shopping at the Prudential Center in Boston. In the center of the mall is an outside courtyard. There were tons of people sitting and relaxing. Some were picnicing on the grass, while others sat in the shade and read. There was even a group of about 5 women sitting around chatting with their newborns on their lap. They must have been having a playdate. It made me wish we had some pretty parks here to do that.

Doodlebug turned 9 months old on Friday. Here he is sitting up like a big 9 month old. Don't worry, you can see my pant leg to see how close I am. What you can't see is the worried look on my face while I stood there ready to grab him at any wobbly second :o)

Here are two family pictures with the Graduate. Doodlebug wants to keep the Diploma.

Dad and Doodlebug at Flemings for dinner.

Here are the Orlando Hillbillies waiting to get on the bus for our Tour of Boston!

This is our tour bus. It drives on land and in the water.

Above is the real Samuel Adams tombstone.


Overall, we had a great time. Doodlebug loved the plane and especially loved the graham crackers the flight attendant gave him. He didn't cry and didn't act like his ears bothered him. He was such a good baby even when he missed his naps due to our busy schedule.

9 month check-up

We went to the Doctor's today for our 9 month check-up. Doodlebug had to get 2 shots and a finger prick to test his blood for iron. He cried for both of these, but got over it as soon as I picked him up. He's a champ! The doctor said he is healthy...yeah! However, he is in the less than 5%ile for his height and weight. He currently weighs 16.5 lbs and is 26.25 inches tall. The doctor said no matter how hard you try, two oranges can't make an apple...meaning two small in stature parents can't make a tall baby. So I'm off to google Equestrian schools. I guess I'll get Doodlebug some horseback riding lessons so that he can become a world famous jockey! I have always wanted to wear a BIG hat at the Kentucky Derby :o)

Milestones...

I wanted to make a list of Milestones that Doodlebug has accomplished because I'm starting to forget when he did things. Here it goes...

1 Month
-stares us down
-wakes every 2 hours to feed
2 Months
-mimics sticking his tongue out
-smiles back
-still nurses every 2 hours
3 Months
-kicks feet
-smiles more often
-nurses every 2 hours
4 Months
-rolls from back to tummy
-had first taste of rice cereal
-laughs when Daddy tickles his belly
5 Months
-rolls from tummy to back
-eats veggies (carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, peas)
6 Months
-begins to sit with some assistance
-imitates sounds back to you
-calls for Mama in morning when he wakes up
7 Months
-army crawls
-bottom two teeth come in
-says Dada and Baba
-loves to play pee-a-boo
8 Months
-waves...a little
-top two teeth coming in
-gets on all fours and rocks back and forth
-pulls himself to a kneeling position at the coffee table
-holds onto couch and stands
-sits without assistance
9 Months
-flew to Providence, RI
-toured Boston, Mass
-eats graham crackers
-claps hands
-goes from a lying to sitting position all by himself
-waves good-bye to people all by himself
-pulled himself up to standing position
-crawled on all fours for the first time
-clicks tongue
10 Months
-throws balls, toys, bottle
-takes a few steps while holding onto couch
-makes kissing sounds with his mouth
-cruises along couch and coffee table
11 months
-has 5 teeth (just got top tooth on his left)
-stands for a few seconds on his own
-eats milk free waffles and french toast
-turns the page of the book when I read him stories
12 months
-pulls puzzle pieces out of books
-points to what he wants
-eats whole bananas, points to them and waves his hands for more!
-eats hot dogs, tater tots, and cucumbers
-takes 2-3 steps to mom
-finger painted for first time on 9/1/09

Videos of Doodlebug!!!

This is Doodlebug playing with his blackberry. He already wants to be just like his Daddy!

Don't take the blackberry away or this is what happens!

Here he is getting into trouble! He loves to explore!

Finally, we're back in Orlando! Let me catch my readers up on the past week. My First Mother's Day was wonderful. It started with Hubby bringing Doodlebug into our bedroom to give me my cards. Doodlebug started to cry when I took them (he wanted to "taste" them first). My present was the Flip Mino HD video camera. (yeah! thank you Hubby!!) It's a tiny video camera that fits in my diaper bag and it plugs into the computer like a flash drive for easy uploading. So, you know what that means... lots of video is coming to my blog!!!! Next, Hubby's Mom and Grandma came over and Hubby cooked us all a delicious breakfast. He made waffles, eggs, bacon, fruit salad and Mimosas. Mmmmmm!

Then, we packed up and headed down for South Florida to visit with my parents. It was a Mother's Day surprise for my Mom. When we arrived she was shocked and happy. While we were there, Doodlebug took his first dip in the pool. Thanks to my new video camera you can see him!

Hubby had to work down South till Thursday, so we all stayed at my parents house for the week. Today has been filled with laundry and cleaning. Now I have to get ready for our next trip. We leave next week to go to Rhode Island to see Doodlebug's Uncle graduate from College!! Yippee!!! This will be Doodles first flight so you can look forward to lots of pictures and videos coming soon. Now I'm off to read my friends' blogs and cath up on their lives!

Wordless Wednesday!!!

Free Family Fun!!!

This weekend, Hubby took Doodlebug and I to The World of Orchids!! He read about it on-line and it sounded like a good time. We drove out to Kissimmee and we drove right passed it at first. By the ad on the Internet, we were expecting a gorgeous tourist attraction, saturated in colorful orchids. Instead, when we pulled up, the place looked like it was falling apart. I told Hubby the place must have closed down a few years ago. Luckily, Hubby doesn't judge a book by its cover. He went inside to check it out, came out a few seconds later and motioned for us to join him inside. The run-down shanty was selling the most beautiful and rarest orchids ever. Then you walk through the store and in the back is a greenhouse that you can walk through and look at the orchids growing in some unusual places (like zip-tied to a Palm tree). There were also several Coy ponds. It was FREE to walk around! And, of course, we couldn't leave without purchasing some more orchids! Their prices were unbelievably LOW compared to those in the stores.