Great Eight

It's been birthday weekend around here, yesterday was Park's 10-month birthday and today was Zoe's 8-year birthday. We'll write more about the festivities later, but here's a little shout out to our little girl who celebrated turning eight with some singing, some homemade brownies and of course, some gifts.

Happy birthday Boog.

Crib Notes: Month 9

Park's ninth month was a busy one (so busy, that we're just about at the tenth month mark).

In anticipation of the one year birthday just around the corner, we introduced the sippy cup so he could start getting used to drinking like a big boy. For now, it just leads to one big mess. More than anything, the water ends up all over his front and he hasn't caught on that you have to tip the cup to get anything out. We'll get there.

Another big discovery was a third tooth. We prided ourselves on identifying the signs that some teething action was taking place, so we were prepared with Tylenol in hand each night before bed. What we didn't realize is that Park's teeth decided to come in on their terms. The books say that the top front teeth typically come in after the bottom front teeth, so we kept looking and looking but didn't see anything. I was beginning to think we were giving him Tylenol for just being cranky. Wrong. We finally noticed a third bottom tooth creeping up in his little mouth. The kid is now fascinated with using his tongue to play with them.



And what would another month be without some quality cousin time? We made our annual trek to Houston for the half-marathon in January. This was Park's first ride in a wagon (thanks for letting him tag along, Hagen!). And Maisy made her first road trip for a quick 24-hour visit (Park was having an especially crazy hair day for the occasion).







The remaining photos capture some of the boy's common expressions. What they don't show, however, are his new talents of pointing, reaching and grabbing. We'll save those for next month.

Armenian Idol

Hammer time ... again

Tired of reading about Craig's recent brush with fame? Well, I'm not tired of watching this video clip showing just how the homie hug was done.

Another famous Lindeman male?

Carrie and I saw a new Subaru commercial the other night that made our jaws drop, either there's a dog "actor" out there who looks exactly like Luka or the little guy is holding out on us. In the commercial we saw, the passenger looked a lot like Zoe, but obviously her rates were too high.

Judge for yourself.

Here's Luka.



Here are the videos:

http://www.subaru.com/enthusiasts/index.html

The Famous Lindeman Boys

To update you on the fallout of the previous two posts, Park and I have really hit the big time. WSU Homecoming was the big break both of us have been waiting all of our lives for.

First, this morning as I was looking through the Wichita State Sunflower (the student newspaper) I came upon this:The caption reads, "A future Shocker observes the festivities while sporting Shocker gear."

Next, I was casually scrolling through Twitter and noticed that MC Hammer had tweeted the picture of he and I with the message, "Throwing up the deuce!!! PEACE is what we need now more than ever." And here's the kicker, it went out to all of his 1,826,703 followers.

U can't touch that!

Moments later we hugged like homies.

My funny Valentines

Last night was a big one for the Lindeman males in the house. Park attended his first homecoming - bonfire, dancing and college girls! And just an hour or so after this photo was taken, Craig got his first hug from a hip hop legend. (hint: he's too legit to quit) Yep, M.C. Hammer was a special guest at WSU's first homecoming in 20 years.


And here's father and son enjoying a little pre-bathtime belly buzz. This was taken a couple months ago ... back when we laid the kid next to the knives as we prepared him for his bath in the kitchen sink. No worries. We've since moved bathtime to mom and dad's tub where he sits next to the razor blades.



Happy Valentine's Day!

It's the little things

During a run this week, I found myself reflecting on the little things that make life great -- those little, trivial things that we could survive without, but why would we want to? Here are some of those little things that are a big deal for me right now.

The Quiet Spot
I love the doggies, but I hate how they have to stand right by Park's bedroom door during nap time, shake their furry heads and rattle all the tags hanging on their collar. In the early days, they had a 99% success rate at waking Park up. After months of going collar-less, I discovered these sweet little Quiet Spot thingamabobs that hold the dog tags and eliminate most of the rattling. Yeah, the logo couldn't be any bigger (always a fun request by a client), but it's reflective, which is a plus for those late night walks. Now if only we could work on the barking...

New Brooks Ghost Running Shoes
I've struggled getting myself back on the track since Park's birth. That's changing in 2010. I had put off getting a new pair of running shoes until I knew I was committed, and wow, had I forgotten how a brand new pair of cushiony sneakers makes for a good run. Two miles flew by earlier this week. At this pace, I just may be ready for Kansas City's half marathon in October. (Who's with me?)

Old Shuffle
While the new kicks are a must-have, so is my old iPod Shuffle. This was a Valentine's gift from Craig several years ago and the old champ (not Craig, the shuffle) has been clipped to my side for many a mile.



Magic mouse
Gone are the days of using a little ball on the computer mouse to scroll up and down. We've upgraded to the magic mouse and it is ... magical. I love how you can scroll up, down, right and left. It has a bunch of other tricks I haven't even figured out yet.

The nuk
I can't imagine the day we have to take this away, but for now, Park is nuts about the nuk. He also thinks it's really fun to take it out, put it back in his mouth sideways and flip it around with his tongue. He even tried putting it in my mouth the other night. (Is there a hint here I should be taking?)

Burt's Bees Lip Balm
I think I've tried just about every brand. This stuff rocks. And I have a tube in every coat pocket, purse and car console to prove it.

Little Yogi

It all started back when I was sporting elastic pants for every occasion and losing my breath climbing our flight of seven stairs. I was pregnant. And I needed to find some kind of exercise that didn't wear me out after 10 minutes or require shoes with laces. My option? Mommies in Waiting yoga. They had one class a week at a yoga studio down the street and I enjoyed every minute of the hour-and-a-half session on Monday nights. It was part therapy (imagine a room of pregnant women with so much to share) and part preparation for labor (breathing, stretching and great positions to try and remember for the big day). It was also a fun bonding time for me and the little one before he was here -- if you've ever taken yoga you know it's one great excuse for tuning out the world and just focusing on yourself for that hour or so. Totally indulgent and deserved.

After Park was here and I no longer had my connection with the mommies to be, I sought out opportunities for Park and I to have a fun activity together but also to meet new moms and little ones. It wasn't until last month that I finally came across something I was really excited about: Mommy and Me yoga. It's a new class started by a new mom who has been teaching yoga for several years. It didn't take more than 24 hours for us to get signed up.

Now, with two classes behind us, Park and I are experiencing a whole new kind of bonding with each other and with other new moms and babies. This time, instead of sharing stories about how big our feet are getting or what color we're decorating the nursery, we compare who got the most sleep the night before and ideas for homemade baby food. And while I thought Park would enjoy some time with little ones his age, all he cares about is flirting with the instructor.

Side note: That is not Park in the picture above. The little stinker has mastered sitting and rolling, but putting weight on his legs? Not even close.