Kirsten and Mark

Seriously, this is what Britton does every day…multiple times. He’s constantly pointing to the drums and asking to play. He doesn’t care that they don’t really make noise, he just likes the motion. But, when we do hook it up to Guitar Hero, it’s that much more exciting. We really  might have the next “world’s greatest drummer” in our midst.

Brit was excited to give Mark his card and gift on Father’s Day. He drew on it himself and helped sign his name. The gift cert is to Amoeba, Mark’s favorite store in the world (it’s all music, what else?) When Brit and I went in to buy it he was enthralled. I’ve decided since they both like it so much, it can be a daddy-son activity from now on.

Because we love and appreciate him so much, he also got a new pair of shoes, and this most amazing “cookie brittle” with oreo and coconut. My friend Jewels makes it, and seriously, it is like the best thing ever.  Check it out at Celebritybakesale.etsy.com.

Britton has started to say dad really well, and loves playing with his daddy. They swing and play “toss the baby in the air” and with a look, Brit is laughing hysterically. The cutest is when he leaves for work, Brit waves and blows kisses! When he comes home, Brit runs in and starts laughing and wants to be picked up.

I love my guys!

Needless to say, it was a busy weekend. I got home from a short trip to Utah Thursday night, then after a day of catch up and Sprout Shell stuff, we headed quickly into a whirlwind of activity over the “holiday.”

Saturday morning we continued our condo search, with a mixture of results. We found one we LOVE that’s in an ok area, and then one we like a lot in an area that we like a lot better. It’s so frustrating!

On our way home the Getty Center beckoned. We haven’t been there together, and figured Brit would like the gardens. By the time we got to the top–an hour later–we were questioning our sanity, but it turned into a fun trip and we learned about the gardens there.

Brit really wanted to go into the water…we had to hold him back.

He likes the view from Daddy’s shoulders and had fun in this sculpture garden.

Very interesting poppies that looked like ladybugs. Brit wanted to touch all the flowers.

Sunday was spent relaxing and recovering from our adventure.  But, we couldn’t “waste” the holiday and sit around, so Monday’s activity was the Aquarium of the Pacific. We love having our season passes because we feel like if we’re only there a couple of hours we’re not wasting our money. Brit likes it more and more each time we go.  To prepare Brit has been practicing his sign language and now signs “fish” and calls them “shsh”

The rays were very interesting.

There was even a friendly ray who kept coming up to the surface and sticking his “arm” out of the water and shaking hands with people. Brit even got to feel a couple of times.

The friendly ray.

Squirting squids got Brit’s hand…over and over again…

Adoring the fish.

We had a fun day and ended up in Glendale to check out the area there. We really like it. It feels almost small town even though it’s right outside LA. We’ll see if we can find anything there.

Brit’s new favorite thing is his Baby Signing Time. He has learned how to turn on the DVD player–somehow he hits the right button every time–or he brings us the case. He’ll watch is 3 times in a row! Even today I turned it off because he wasn’t watching and he came back and turned it on again. When the first song called “Baby Signing Time” starts he makes the “baby” sign and then is glued to it the rest of the time.

He loves his milk too, and now that he signs for it, if we don’t get it fast enough, he’ll bring us empty cartons from the recycling to make sure we know what he’s talking about. Silly baby. He will now sign “eat” and today he FINALLY started to sign “drink” though, he can kind of say it, so sometimes it’s not necessary. He’ll sign “banana” and his other new favorite is “thank you.” He knows what other ones are though if we show him, he knows what they mean.

Another new trick we’re not sure how he learned is shaking his head no. He doesn’t do yes–even when that would be the obvious answer. But, when he doesn’t want something he’ll definitely let us know with an emphatic shake of the head. And, since he is a big fan of standing up in his high chair when he wants out, he now stands up and shakes his hands “all done” too.

He loves to dance and any time there is music he stomps his feet and moves around. We are having so much fun with him. There is something new all the time…next post? His new talent.

Whew, it’s been almost 2 weeks since my last post and I’m only getting to it now because I know that if I don’t I might not for another week.

Brit’s first Easter that he was aware of was pretty fun. We had a bbq with friends the night before and he gathered some eggs. He loved shaking them because that’s what we do with the eggs at Music Makers.

To get into the Easter spirit Kristie and I made sugar cookies. Someone (her) was more creative and perfection seeking than I. But, here are my creations.

She is a real full-service salon. She came to me, made cookies while processing color and cutting. Too bad she’s moving across the country!

We woke up Easter morning to this: Apparently the Easter Bunny likes Brit.

First he had to inspect his goods…

Then he realized he was excited about it. He really loved the bubbles and the eggs.

This is his Easter outfit. It looked really cute on him. Thanks Shanni for the pants…his shorts were a little long.

Brit and I enjoying a snuggle.

We had a great day. Church was lovely and we had Jared and Kristie over for dinner. I even got flowers–pretty purple tulips. There was ham, cheesy potatoes, green beans, rolls, carrots and strawberry short cake for dessert. After a year and a half we have a new table configuration too–it’s perpendicular to the wall now just looks better.

Also on Easter Brit learned how to stand up by himself from the floor. He makes a slight Downward Dog, then lifts up. He’s getting really good at it now and walks really well. He still falls when he gets too excited or goes too fast, but has great core strength and balances well, even to pick things up.

He started giving kisses. They’re open-mouthed and slobbery, but it’s super cute. Today at church he pointed to the circle in his shape book when I asked him where the circle was. He loves his shape book, so maybe it’s rubbing off!

Something we’re not loving is that he likes to turn around and try to stand up in his high chair. So not cool. So, we’ve resorted to putting a pillow behind his back so he doesn’t have room to turn.

In other news, Sprout Shell was on BabySteals.com last week (it’s a deal-a-day site) and they sold out pretty quickly, so we’re really excited about it. It also encouraged a lot of people to buy other designs from our site, so things are picking up. We won’t hear about the contest till the first of May…so we’ll keep you posted.

And, if that wasn’t busy enough, we’re looking into buying a condo in The Valley (seriously, I googled “The Valley” and that was the first entry). We’ve found a few options in our price range so far, so we could be moving soon. Mark’s commute time would triple, but his distance would quadrouple and he’d feel like he was actually getting somewhere instead of waiting at poorly-timed lights. So, we’ll see.

All of a sudden, there he was, letting go on his own. Standing firmer and more steady. Then, bam, exactly a week after his first birthday…there was this:

He did it several times before we got the camera out, so technically they weren’t his first, but it was still the same 10 minutes. Maybe he felt more confident wearing his awesome drum set shirt from RockerRoos. Maybe he felt a sudden surge of strength in his legs, I don’t know, but whatever it was worked!

During the past week he’s gotten more confident and will let go and walk for short periods of time to get to something else. He has really good  balance too most of the time, like he can bend his legs and stand back up without falling.

This, also a couple of weeks late…sorry!

I am also way behind on sharing some pictures…
Like, St. Patrick’s Day–nobody was going to be pinching him, that’s for sure.

Our baby the lounger. He just likes to sit back and relax while he eats.

Brit has also cut two more bottom teeth for a total of 8 now. They haven’t been fun, but he’s doing better!

A year ago we got the most amazing and precious gift. At 10:32 pm Britton was born and we learned about true joy. I can’t even believe  it’s been a year already.

Born 7 lbs 1 oz.  19 1/4 inches

Now 18 lbs 4 oz. 29 1/4 inches

He was so happy and cheerful today. Like he knew it was his birthday and it was a special day. Even without a morning nap–apparently he’s a big boy now–and an hour afternoon nap–an even bigger boy–he was still sweet and excited and had lots of fun.

He loved his bath toys…and books

Then we had lunch with Mark at Sharkey’s–he loved his quesedilla and black beans. Then we went to Crumbs for him to pick out his birthday cupcake. He picked a vanilla one with a raspberry cream cheese frosting.

Then we went to the party store and he got a balloon. I’m pretty sure that was his favorite present.

We went over and played with Mav for a while and then went on a walk.Well, Brit got to play with Mav’s toys while he slept.

We had pasta for dinner and he loved it…sorry no messy face pics this time.

Time for cake! He’s never had any before, but likes other sweets. So I thought he’d love this….

Not so much. All he wanted to do was pick all the sprinkles off. He took bites when I gave them to him, but he had no interest in eating it himself.

We had such a fun day. We’re so happy that he is in our lives and we get to be his parents. He is such a sweet angel! Thank you to everyone for the well wishes. He appreciates them all.

Happy Birthday Baby!

We’ve been accused of making this more like Britton.com, but, when he’s the most interesting thing happening in our lives, it’s kind of hard not to write all about it.

Here’s what you’d get about us: Mark–”Napster is great. I’m working on some interesting new projects that I can’t tell you about because they’re top secret and haven’t gone live yet. I don’t have to worry about getting laid off because Best Buy has a lot of money and our department is actually growing a bit–woo hoo!” Or something like that. More in depth and your eyes may glaze over and your brain could hurt. That’s what Mark.KirstenAndMark.com is for, even though he hasn’t been very good about updating it recently.

Me: I’m taking care of Britton and Sprout Shell, trying to find retailers and more customers. We’ll be doing some expos and be featured on some blogs/websites in the next few months trying to get more recognition.

See, Brit stuff is way more interesting. So, here we go…ok…a few more things about us first:

Friday we participated in Dine LA, where restaurants offer a prie fixe menu in 3 different price ranges and you get to try stuff you probably never would because you can actually afford it a little bit. We went to a place called Taste. It was really good! They did go a little overboard with the white truffle oil, but on the whole we’d love to go back and try some other good things we saw on the menu.

Valentine’s Day was great because I got my ring cleaned and inspected on it’s bi-annual schedule. It’s now a 3 year old ring! Mark also had a wonderful day because he finally got his BLU-RAY player! Merry Christmas/Valentine’s Day/Birthday! Best Buy had a discount day for Napster employees (since they’re technically Best Buy employees now too) and we got a great deal on it.

He smiled the rest of the day.

Brit loved my roses. He loves all flowers, but these were especially appealing.

Brit was in love with that elephant at the store, so that was his V-day gift. It took some getting used to again, but after we put the camera away he snuggled it and carried it around.

We finally put Brit’s books in the living room where he can actually get to them and read them rather than wait for me to get them off a high shelf. He’s loving it! They’re constantly all pulled off and he’s surrounded by them. He picks them up and lifts their flaps or turns the pages and goes on to the next one. Great idea…

And, the balloons! Oh, he’s been in heaven with the balloons. They’re so fun to play with and make float around. Seriously, for the past couple days when it’s a little quiet I go looking for him and he’s sitting in the middle of his books or playing with the balloons. So funny. He is also a good kicker. He walks up to them and kicks and kicks–with his left foot–until it gets in a spot he can’t get out of.

The past few days have been full of new things. He started signing “More” when he wants more food. It’s the only one he’ll do. He understands a lot more, but won’t do them. Also, he mimics words  a lot. Like kick, bye, banana, apple, hi, yeah, that, etc. When we say it he tries really hard to copy us.

There is no standing on his own yet, but his balance has improved greatly over the past couple of weeks. He can do pretty good with just one hand now, and last night he let go of the coffee table for a second to try to get me. So, it’s coming along…maybe by his 1st birthday–a month from today–he’ll be there. We’ll see.

Oh-and he loves to play peek-a-boo if he’s the one doing it. Yesterday he was pulling his bath hoodie down and up “hiding” and “being found” and laughed his head off when I “found him.” Then he did it later by hiding his head in his arms on the coffee table and looking at us. He thinks he’s so funny–and it’s true. We’re laughing our heads off these days.

So, for a while Mark’s been wanting a new portrait lens for his camera. Since we take so many pictures of Brit, we figured we might as well get him one. Especially since he hasn’t gotten his Christmas present yet…complications.

Saturday we went down to Long Beach near the Aquarium and took a bunch. Here are some of our favorites:

We also had a fun time at the Aquarium. He really likes the fish.

These are two lorikeets who were fighting in a circle.

Brit’s saying bye bye now more frequently and without as much prompting. Most of the time it’s more of a buh buh, but he’ll get there. He loves it when Mark tosses him in the air, and claps the bottom of his shoes together! He laughs his head off.

We’re all finally better, so that’s been great!

Wow, it’s Thursday already and I haven’t really thought about posting because nothing really interesting at all has happened this past week. I guess here are some highlights:

It’s been super dry–like 8% humidity one day–so, we’ve been having a hard time breathing. Being sick hasn’t helped. Tuesday I actually went and bought a humidifier. I’ve never used one in my life.

Mark is having a hard time getting his immune system back up and running. He got mine and Brit’s cold a couple of days ago. Poor guy, he’s been sick most of the past 2 months!

Brit turned 10 months old Sunday. He’s such a funny, curious, sweet little angel. He definitely knows what he wants–and doesn’t. He now completely refuses to eat until he’s had enough of his drink first. Then, he’ll take bites until he wants a drink again, then refuse and lift his hands out like he’s reaching for it until he gets it, then he’s fine again. Silly baby. He’s also learning to clap. Mark was helping him with the “if you’re happy and you know it” song on his train.

After struggling for a while trying to decide whether or not to cut Brit’s hair, it came time that it just needed to be done. He had a couple of strands in the back that were an inch longer than the rest, and he had a serious V in the front. So, Kristie came over and helped us out.
At first I think he thought it would be ok:

But then it quickly turned into this:

It’s too  bad, because it would’ve been pretty fast and painless, but he was struggling. I guess that’s what you get when you have a sick kid who doesn’t want anyone but Mom. He’s been fine before when we’ve trimmed the sides.

Oh well…

On Saturday we took some pictures of Brit. He’s fun to photograph because he has so many different expressions.

He also enjoyed watching the Inaguration of President Obama on Tuesday morning. He sat with wrapt attention focused on the tv. Especially when Aretha Franklin was singing. It was a great site to see.

Wow. What a week it’s been! And, as I’m writing this Brit was making his final preparations for Earthly entry 8 months ago today! I can hardly believe it. He’s grown and changed so much and is becoming quite a little boy rather than a baby.

A couple of weeks ago, this was as close as he got to standing or pulling up on anything at all

Now, this is what we have all the time:

Seriously, I can hardly do anything without him climbing on me and everything else.

Sometimes he’s a little sneaky about it,

But, usually he just pops right up.

He’s also loving the coasters too. Apparently they’re a great teething toy. Maybe that cow is good too.

But, whatever it is, it’s sure exciting.

We just love this smiley, happy, curious, smart and sweet little boy!

We had our Sprout Shell sale on Saturday with great results. There are also some new developments in the wholesale and promotion departments, so that’s really exciting.

On Friday Brit waved to Mark as he left for work. It was mostly just raising his arm and moving it a little bit. So cute! He’s also gotten his two bottom teeth. Now he has his 4 front teeth coming in all at once! The one on the top is really coming in the fastest, but the other ones aren’t far behind. He’s actually doing pretty well with them, but is a lot more cranky than usual, especially in early evening. I’m excited for when they’re actually visible in pictures.

That night Mark and I had our Four-Year Dateiversary. It’s amazing we’ve been together four years. It’s gone by so quickly, and life has never been better. We “celebrated” by going to dinner with some of his friends from the Art Institute for a couple of their birthdays. It was a lot of fun, even if garlic was everywhere. The Stinking Rose is a very appropriate name.

Brit also sneaked in giving “High-5s” just before his 8-month mark. Mark tried it last night, and he put up his little hand and did it a few times. I tried it again today and he’s done it every time–except when Paige was here. There he drew the line. Maybe it’s just a mommy/daddy thing. We think babies and little kids are funny like that. Like the singing frog. They’ll do lots of things for their parents, but as soon as anyone else is looking, they have no idea what you’re talking about. Here is a video of Britton giving 5.

The days are going by so fast, and yet so slow at the same time. I can’t believe it’s the first of October already–but, most of the time days are long without much seeming to happen this week.

We did have a fun day out on Saturday. is quite the exciting place with a baby and an 18 month old. Our cousin Shannon was getting a table and chairs for her adorable little boy Mateo and asked if we wanted to come along. Ikeas are so huge, with so many products it’s easy to wander around for hours and still not see everything. But, we did have success with the intended mission. And, we found some frames that I’ve been needing forever so I could put up some pictures in Brit’s room.

We got home just in time for me to throw on a dress and head to the Women’s Conference. I wasn’t too excited about going by myself, but what do you do? Then, Mark called and said they were broadcasting it online! So, I whipped right around and settled onto the couch in my comfy clothes to watch instead. He took care of Brit and made sure that I was paying attention and not multi-tasking. Thanks Sweetheart! It was good and I learned more about the importance of Relief Society and it’s purpose.

Brit hasn’t been sleeping well lately. He used to go down at 10, sleep till 3ish, eat, sleep till 6ish, eat then sleep till 8 or so. No more. He goes down at 9-9:30, sleeps till 11ish, cries for his binky, sleeps till 12ish, wakes up and cries again. Then sleeps till 2ish, cries again for his binky. Sleeps 20 minutes then wakes up again. Sleeps till 4, cries till I go in, quiets down then fusses 5 minutes later. Repeats this till I feed him. Sleeps for another few hours till he does it again. It’s getting really annoying. I think he’s teething.

Last night we gave him frozen binkies with water in the nipples and he LOVED it. I got the idea from one of my magazines, and apparently it works. He went right to sleep. Poor guy. So, I think I’m going to get him some teething tablets to help him out.

Monday Brit participated in an infant study at the UCLA Baby Lab. After he was born we got a thing in the mail to fill out if we’d be interested in participating in their studies. My friend in DC, Marianne, worked for NIH doing child studies and it always sounded interesting, so we filled it out and sent it in. They contacted us and we went in. He looked at a computer screen that had 3 moving shapes. Two were the same, one was different and the different one always popped into an object, like a star or monkey or octopus toy or something and made a noise. They tracked his eye movements to see where he was looking, and he ended up doing the same thing the 7 babies before him had done: After a few times, he started looking at the different shape, anticipating its change and following noise.

It was simple and easy, but he did well and he even got to take home a gift. He picked a rubber ducky. I’d definitely do it again if they asked.

With all of his movement lately he gets into some pretty interesting positions and places.

Just lounging with his toys….

His new favorite spot!

When he’s in the bath it’s so cute. He loves to splash now.

He’s getting so big in his chair!

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