What a busy week we’ve had, and it’s sure been fun!

At Brit’s 1 year doctor’s appointment he was declared to be in fine health and just fine in his development.

Stats? Not too different from those I posted last week…I guess I’m getting good at judging. He does weigh a little more… 8 lbs 13 oz. He’s at or below the 10th% in height, weight and head circumference–which is like 3 or 4% but, he hasn’t deviated too far from his curve so the doc isn’t concerned. He may be in his rear-facing car seat till he’s 2, but fortunately he doesn’t mind it much…especially since he still loves his froggy musical toy that’s attached.

His Grandma Karen came to visit too and was so fun to play with. They had a great time reading his books, playing with his farm animals and spending time together. Mark and I even got to go hang out with friends without Brit for the first time. Brit was sleeping, Karen was falling asleep and Mark desperately needed a hair cut…can you say 2 1/2 months! so we ventured to our all-night hair salon aka Kristie and Jared’s. Whenever we’ve gone out without Brit before it’s been to an event or something…not like we’d get a babysitter to just go hang out. But, it was nice.

Then we got to go out again on Friday night…we went to dinner AND an actual movie in the movie theatre! That’s been a while. Thank you Karen!

Saturday we loaded all our goodies up and headed to the park for Brit’s Fishy Party!

Brit’s favorite thing about his party? The balloons!

The spread, consisting of all things fishy: Goldfish, Swedish Fish, Shrimp, Fishy shaped PB & J, Fishy shaped sugar cookies, and of course, his Fish cake!

About the extent of his interest in the cake…boring!

What’s a party without some swinging?

Brit and his Kristie

Buddies Paige and Mav

Grandma! Yay!

Fun Teo!

Thanks to our true and wonderful friends who came and shared the day with us. I appreciate you more than you know.

Sadly Grandma had to leave us the next day. Thanks for everything! It was great having you around.

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!

Seriously, he ate his whole portion and half of mine too. He kept doing his scrunchie face in delight.

I think this is Brit blowing kisses.  He really likes to do it now, almost as much as bye-bye. Those poor red cheeks are getting better. I finally took him to the doctor on Friday because I was concerned it was an allergy or a virus or something serious because it started to spread onto his forehead and side. This was only the 2nd time he’s been to the doctor other than his “well-baby” visits. I really only take him when I think there’s something wrong…but alas, both times they came up with nothing. Doc just said it’s dry skin, put lotion on it. Like I hadn’t been. But, we got new stuff, and it appears to be working. They’re just a little rosy now.

Brit’s also decided to become an escape artist. He’s still in the early learning stages, so this is as far as he got. Seriously–how did he do that? He wasn’t very happy about it either. He was getting very upset the longer I took to get him out. But I couldn’t not get a picture…

This week he’s getting better at saying “this” or “that” and pointing to what he wants. Makes it so much easier when he refuses a bite to know what he wants. Though, he’s getting a bit of an attitude too. When he’s mad he lets me know and loves knocking things onto the floor. Especially his drink.

Mark and I have noses and mouths now. Still eyes sometimes, but noses are the most fun. And, a while ago Mark came up with the fun game of clapping his shoes together and making a loud sound. Brit laughed his head off…lots of fun. Now, Brit tries to do it with all shoes. He picks them up all the time and tries clapping them. Even his own. Awesome. At least he’s not trying to eat them anymore.

One more week…

We had quite a busy weekend cut out for us.

Friday afternoon I met my aunt and her friend at Santa Monica Beach. It was really windy and chilly, but pretty. Brit enjoyed it and we had a nice–but short–visit. That night I got to go to a Pampered Chef party. My friend Ruth is just starting her business and had a launch party. It was lots of fun and I came away wanting a bunch of awesome kitchen things–but, alas, I restrained myself and got mostly little gadgets that I’ve been wanting or needing for a while, but just haven’t gotten.

Saturday’s Schedule:

Morning–meet Brad and Melissa for a visit while they’re in town with a school group

Later–LACMA tour at 4 to see a cool exhibit

Visit Griffith Observatory

Pick up a few essentials at Target where they’re cheaper

Later than that–Baptism at 6 with primary children singing (hence, why I got to go)

Yeah–and with a baby who still naps 2 times a day. Crazy stuff. Well, Brit actually refused his morning nap! He’s never done that before. Acted tired, put him down. Quiet for a minute then cried till we brought him out. Silly baby.

So, we met up with Brad and Melissa at the Grove for a SUPER quick visit. It was great to see them! I haven’t actually seen her for more than 5 minutes since Brit was a month old! We had yummy crepes and looked at all the cheesy souvenir shops at the Farmer’s Market before they had to get on the bus for their next stop. I poached this pic from their site:

Then, we had a couple of hours before our scheduled tour. What to do? Well, Kristie and Jared had invited us to the Griffith Observatory and they were on their way there…so we though, why not?

After a couple of phone calls, we found out that going on the tour was out for the day anyway, so it all worked out perfectly.

So, apparently Brit saw this orange ball from the floor above–there was a railing–and had to play with it. It’s a model of Jupiter. It spins, then when it stops the liquid/gases inside keep swirling.

It made him very happy!

The observatory was really interesting. I didn’t know you could just go there for free. I thought you had to pay, and have tickets and only get in a certain times. No wonder it was super crowded! There are so many displays and exhibits explaining all kinds of things–from how seasons work to tides and eclipses. You can also see models and read detailed information. It was a lot of fun! All the time there may have also had another effect. I got him a Baby Einstein about the sun/moon/stars/planets etc thinking he’d love it; he wanted nothing to do with it. Then, this morning we put it on for him and he sat through almost the whole thing!

Brit has also started saying “ball” that was a new one from Monday. He loves playing with all of Teo’s balls and decided he’d actually say it. No updates on the walking front. He did stand for about 10 seconds (did I post that last week?) but that’s about all. He just wants to go so badly he doesn’t want to wait for the balance.

Oh–and he’s started blowing kisses! I saw him do something like it on Sunday an asked Mark if he taught him that. Nope. It was probably just him figuring he could put his hand over his mouth, but we’ve now taught him it’s “kisses” and he does it a lot. So cute!

He can also tell you where your eye is. He has a bit of trouble with other things, but lately he’s obsessed with poking us in the eye, so each time we tell him what it is. Yesterday I asked him where my eye was and he pointed to it.

He turns 1 in two weeks–I can hardly believe it!

First–and update on my Lucky Me–Lucky You post.
The contest is still open… I have 5 commenters, but only 3 have followed the requirements so far. So, at this time, something fabulous is still up for grabs!

Apparently Mark and I are restaurant cursed. We don’t know what we’ve done to bring the wrath of the restaurant gods down upon us, but it must have been pretty bad. We’re sorry! And promise never to do it again! What’s the curse? Having our order get lost/not get to the chefs twice in a row! The first time it happened when we went to Taste–see previous post. The order got lost behind the stove, so we had to wait extra long for our food and my feet froze for an extra long amount of time. Then, this past Friday we went to our second symphony performance at Disney Concert Hall and decided to eat at Cafe Pinot beforehand since I had a gift card from my awesome bosses at CBS.

We weren’t planning on doing the Dine LA menu, but since it was there and it looked good, we decided to do that instead. We’re waiting, we’re waiting. Our show time is getting closer…and the manager came to inform us that when the order printed it got all crumpled up and never made it to the chefs. Yay! So, by the time we got our appetizer we had half hour to be our the door. It was terrible having to rush such good food. The french fries were fantastic! and the dessert–chocolate lava cake and apple crumble–were heavenly too. By the time we left, hopped on the shuttle and ran to our seats they were closing the doors behind us for the performance!

Sunday we visited with Auntie Pat and Uncle Ken and had a yummy dinner with them, followed by Oscar watching. Brit was sooooooo tired since he only got one nap–church totally messes up his schedule–but he refused to go to sleep. I think he just wanted us to leave, so right before the end, he pushed some button on the remote that changed us from the recorded tivo part to live–which was already over–so we missed the very end. Oh well. We had a great time.

Since last week Brit’s love of the balloons has not waned. They are seriously his favorite toy right now…that and his books. But, he’s also taken to kicking them. He has great aim and does really well. Add that word to his vocab. “Kick” “Kick” “Kick” he says it for every one. Yesterday Mark taught him how to catch the balloons too.

I think a full-blown “Catch” isn’t too far away. Yesterday Brit also stood on his own for about 3 seconds. He’s getting a lot more daring and will let go and take a step from the table to the couch.

New foods he loves–asparagus and tuna. He still eats a ton too. I think he’s done, but if I bring something out for me, he wants it too!

His hair has been out of control for a while. It’s super long over his ears, uneven in the back, and extra long on top. So, today he got it cut. It went from  looking like this:

to this:

What a super cute, stylish baby!

Monday February 16, 2009 Mark turned 30!

We had a “Favorite Things” day, which included ice skating because he used to play hockey. He had a great time out on the ice, and so did Brit!

But, sadly, after only a few trips around the ice, Mark was told Brit wasn’t allowed to be carried. He was pretty bummed the rest of the time. He kept watching and reaching for the ice.

But, a few other friends came to skate with Mark…like Ray,

And Kristie twirling, and Jared was there too, he just never did any cool, camera worthy tricks. =)

And me…so graceful.

Then it was home, to Reeder’s Rancheria for some other favorites–like Mexican Food!

The peeps…chattin’ and having a good time…

Then…it was time for another favorite: Music! at Reeder’s Rock Arena and (though, we were a little light on rock, or music in general…)

He’s a great candle blower! This is his Flourless Chocolate Cake…no basic white or yellow for him.

Just so people know, we do spend time together and exist together. See, here’s a picture even.

It was great getting together with friends and celebrating Mark’s milestone. Happy Birthday honey, I love you!

I couldn’t stand it anymore; it had to go. That boring website was no longer welcome. It was cute at first, when it was our wedding website, because it was our wedding colors and everything matched and all. But, then when we had to change it to acomodate a cool photo trick Mark did in the “developing Britton” era we didn’t do a great job of making it very attractive.

Well, that time is over. We picked a new theme and I can change it about 100 different ways. This Word Press thing isn’t as “user friendly” as Blogger, so there aren’t all the cute backgrounds and things. But, we do what we can.

So, hope you enjoy. I’m might even like looking at our site now.

Also, we’re almost pictureless this week. This is all we’ve got:

Yes, he does sleep like this. Bum in the air, arms tucked under. Sometimes he tucks his back up against the rail or side too. Funny sleeper.

This picture is from a couple of weeks ago when he was sick. He just looks so sad and miserable, but so adorable too I had to put it in.

Last week our stake had a Youth Fundraiser Auction and Bakeoff. My friend Kristie and I made some homemade Oreos with Funfetti cake and Spice cake. The frosting was rose, teal and lime green Awesome! Then, we made the most delicious chocolate cake! It was really moist and fudgy, but also light and fluffy. It was meant for a 9×13 pan, but we thought that wasn’t very pretty, so we made 2 rounds and put cream cheese frosting–from the Oreos–in the middle. Then, a chocolate icing went on top.  I’m really bummed we didn’t take a picture of our masterpieces. We were sure it would win first place. Then, after seeing the competition, I was even more convinced. But alas, Mormons don’t like different or delicious or something because it didn’t win a thing!  Truly, a dark day for bake offs when chocolate fudge cake doesn’t win.

So, have you ever ordered something, been escited about it, and then when the day finally arrives and you open the box, your heart drops because it’s not what you expected?

Well, since you’re smart readers, I’m sure you know where I’m going with this. We ordered Brit a big-boy carseat that was supposed to look like this:

This is what we got:

Yeah, that doesn’t quite do it for us. They don’t have any more of what we wanted, so this is what we’re getting instead:

Oh well. This is more neutral.

Hope you all have a great week! Happy Valentine’s Day!

ps–my friend Paige is an awesome designer and just started a blog/site displaying her fantastic kids clothes. You can find them here: RockerRoos.blogspot.com.

Well, here’s a special non-scheduled post because my amazing friend Ashley posted this to her site, and anything made by her is guaranteed to be fantastic, so I want it!
But,  this is also a chance for some of you to get something made by me! Lucky you–I hope.
The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It’ll be done this year.
4. You have no clue what it’s going to be. I have no clue what it will be. I’m not the most creative and crafty person, but when I do undertake such an activity I’m pretty perfectionist about it, so unless I’m satisfied and would be proud for someone to know i made it, said item will not be given until it meets those criteria or a new item will take its place.
5. I reserve the right to do something I’ve never done before. The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a creative and crafty homemade gift by me!
* * *Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it! That will be lots more fun!

Last weekend we entered the world of Dr. Seuss for Mav’s birthday party. Mav is Brit’s friend (well, in the sense that they sit in the same room to play while Paige and I talk) though, they are interacting better as they get older. Anyway, we had lots of fun. There were lots of toys, other kids and yummy fish-shaped Jello jigglers that Brit loved!

This week Brit got a fun package in the mail–a box packaged like it was containing very fragile materials–from Grandma Karen. They’re a couple of Christmas presents that hadn’t made it yet. He was thrilled.

First he loved the bow. That was as good as it got as far as he was concerned. But soon…

He discovered the yummy horse.

Oooh, there were even more cool animals…a little horsey and a sheep! Look Mom, see?

Woah, and a book too? There are fun things to touch on it. (And, the Alphabet is easier to make out in this photo than when you actually look at the book…Maybe it’s an up close thing.

We must read it right now!

So, these gifts all put together were a “barn” with a mommy and baby horse, cow  and sheep. He really likes them. The book is full of touchable textures with a an animal from every letter of the alphabet. Even Zorillas, which look a whole lot like skunks to me. Thanks Grandma!

And, Brit has a little bit of a hard time with “screams.” He can do it, but when another baby does it, he freaks out and starts crying. I thought he’d gotten over it, but apparently not. My friend Jenna was over yesterday. She has an 8 1/2 month-old girl who is super sweet. When Brit woke up from his nap and came out she was excited to see him and started squealing. It totally scared him and he started crying hysterically. This pattern repeated itself about 5 more times. I just had to comfort him, but couldn’t help but laugh too. He is such a sensitive little soul. By the time they were leaving he was fine. We decided he just needs to keep being around squealers and he’ll get used to it.

I am also proud of him–and myself–because he’s stopped eating at night! I know this is something I should’ve stopped MONTHS ago, but it was so much easier to just feed him and get back to sleep in 5 minutes than try to deal with getting him back to sleep without it,  so I didn’t push it. But, I decided I was done and could be strong and just went for it. Uh…what took me so long? He was fine! I gave him a drink of water when he woke up and held him for a bit, then put him down. Last night, he woke up at midnight, I gave him his teething tablets and then he slept till 4:30. I got up to go in, but he went back to sleep on his own! Let’s see how long this lasts.

And, yes, we’re back to teething tablets because he’s getting more teeth. It appears to be 2 more on top.

This week I’m super excited about the fact that Sprout Shell is now only 4 from the top of the 2nd page on Google when you type in “infant carrier cover.” It’s thanks to all the links that other people have posted and given us. Now…to have that generate some sales would be great!

As I type, we’re getting some rain. Yay! We’ve needed rain here. SoCal is in a serious drought. The weather has been so strange though, going from 80 to 60 back up to 80 from day to day. I wish it would just decide and give us a winter or not at all.

Poor little Brit. I thought he was sick last week…but apparently not. Now he really is sick with a cough, congestion and a slight fever at night that came on suddenly Tuesday. He hasn’t been able to sleep very well and just wants to be held. He’s such a sweetheart and I feel so badly for him that I haven’t really minded being up 6-7 times at night like I usually would. I’m hoping he gets better soon because as everyone who’s been sick before knows, it’s no fun!

Last night he was so tired he fell asleep at the table while eating his dinner. I ran to get the camera, but he woke up before I could take a picture…bummer! Also this week he’s made as slight step toward walking. He doesn’t insist on holding both of our hands before he’ll walk around, he simply prefers it. As of Sunday it was 2 hands or nothing. He’d actually sit down if we attempted to make him walk holding just one. Then came Monday morning and it was ok to have just one, but sometimes it’s still scary, so be there just in case. Silly baby. He really is pretty cautious about some things. Others–he’ll go right for it.

This morning he said bye bye. I think we might count it as his first word. Mama has been said for a while, and he knows it’s me, but I’m not convinced all the time. But, today Mark was leaving and waved as he said “bye bye” and Brit looked at him, gave his arm wave and said “ba ba.” We looked at each other in amazement, and then Mark said it again to test him. Again, Brit said “ba, by.” Cool! Now we just have to wait and see if he’ll ever say it again.

And, those of you who read Mark’s comments on Facebook or Twitter will know this already, but I’m super excited to announce….we have a dishwasher!

We used money given to us for Christmas and bought a countertop model. It’s not as convenient or cool as a normal one would be, but so far we’re loving the face that we don’t have to wash silverware, bowls and glasses anymore! It came in a really big box, so Mark and Brit had fun with it.

We also have a little musician He loves Guitar Hero drums, Mark’s keyboard and the guitars. Dancing to any music is now one of his favorite activities.

On another note,  Sprout Shell is in the Leading Moms in Business competition, and we need your help! Just click on the “Vote Now” below to vote for us, and then you can share the button on your blogs or emails or whatever too…that way we can get lots of votes, and lots of publicity and lots of sales! I know you all love them–or since you follow our blog, you must like us, so either way, voting is good.