Oopsie Daisy

I put the wrong video link in the last post. This is the right one, it's much funnier.

I just spent three hours trying to make a photobook on Shutterfly. I received a free photobook offer that expired today, so I was trying my darnedest to get the thing done. Three hours later and I only have five pages. I figured I'd check and make sure it was accepting my free code, and wouldn't you know, it wasn't. Thank goodness I checked before I finished the damn thing at 3am. So no free photobook for me. Too bad, those things make me feel less guilty about not scrapbooking.
I did enjoy looking through all of Corbin's old photos. It's funny how many we have at the very beginning, and they slowly start dwindling down. I thought that only happened with the second kid?

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo...

How about you, you, you? It's a song on our Little People tape. That's right, it's the Little People. On TAPE! It's perfectly acceptable to be jealous, don't worry.

So my parents took Corbin and I to the John Ball Zoo on Monday. It's their off season so it was cheaper, and they did have a few exhibits closed, but all in all it was a good time. We met my friend Gina and her daughter Gabriella there as well. Corbin was far more interested in Gabriella than any of the animals, as you can see in the following photos...





Poor Gabriella was not quite as interested in him, but man, Corbin was really trying all his best moves. You can see in the first photo, he is simply trying some small talk, just to get a conversation initiated. Gabriella seems more interested in initiating some action from her sippy cup. In the second shot there, Corbin is trying out some of his best lines. Moving in a little closer, a little stroller touching, and if you look close you can see that he is actually attempting a little hair stroke/grab/pull. Very nonchalant, I've taught him well. He then tried to impress her with some hard core Frog knowledge, as you can see from this video. (Sorry I couldn't post it directly, it's stuck in my photobucket account). Poor Corbin never got a straight answer from Gabby, but hopefully she'll be thinking about him in his absence and the next time we all get together, she will share her sippy with him. For now I've let him watch extra Wiggles videos to soothe his broken heart. Oh, and he found a new little lady at the playhouse this morning, so I think he's going to be okay. That's my boy.

Couple of gratuitous pics, just cause you love them.




Later, Gators. :)

Repost from Corbin's First

I wrote this right before Corbin's first birthday on Myspace...just wanted to move it over because it gives me a little 'awwwww' moment anytime I read it. I just love my little guy.




This Thursday my baby boy turns the big 0-1.

It's hard to believe it's been one year since I was sweating my ass off, pregnant in the July heat. One year since I swallowed Castor Oil in hopes of getting this kid outta me before he got any bigger. One year since I found out I would have to have a c-section, and I cried and cried. One year since the nurse held this little, squished, wrapped up baby up to my face so I could see who this little person was that I would love for the rest of my life.
In one year Corbin went from a little, squishy, arms flailing, colicy, soft, good smelling newborn to a strong, smart, determined, adorable, almost walking little boy. In one year I went from a totally clueless mom who had barely changed a diaper, to a slightly less clueless mom who has many diaper changes under her belt.
Things have changed. We have less money, less free time, less sleep, less room. But we have more of everything that is important. I go back and forth between not being able to believe Corbin is one, to not being able to believe that only a year ago, I didn't even know this little person who is now so important to me. I can't remember what my life was like without having to worry about his bedtime, or his crusty nose, or his carseat. I can't remember (and don't want to!) what life was like without drooly kisses and sweet baby smiles.
When Corbin was a day old, Nate came back home to spend the night. I was at the hospital all alone, and had Corbin in my room with me for as long as I could handle (I couldn't walk well or bend over, because of the c-section). That night I sat in that hospital bed, cradling Corb and just talking to him. I told him I was his mom, and I would always love him, no matter what. I told him about his home, his dad, his family, his dog. I told him that I would always take care of him, and how blessed I was to have him finally here. He was actually awake and had his big blue eyes open and staring right at me; he knew who I was, I didn't have to tell him. That was one of the very greatest moments of my life; and with all of the chaos of the c-section, the pain, the difficulty breastfeeding, the lack of sleep...THAT is the night I will remember for the rest of my life.
That is the night I met my son.

Then


Now


Happy Birthday Baby Boy. Your Momma loves you, forever.

Another Caturday, Another Cat

Man, those things make me laugh. Anyhow, it's Saturday night, Nate is talking to his mother on the phone, Corbin is sleeping, and I'm about to watch "Ace of Cakes". Pretty par for the course here. Not too much to report on... I'm itchy, we have a house showing on Monday, Corbin and I are off to visit my parents for a few days. There's not always a lot to do there, but at least it's a different room to stare at, a different Meijer to go to, and a different TV to watch. Corbin has some different toys to play with, different books to read, different cupboards/drawers/outlets/boxes to get into. That's all we can ask for, these days.

Corbin was a real bear tonight. He did not take a nap all day. Not even a tiny one, nothing. He actually fell asleep in his high chair, for the first time ever. Poor thing was just bobbing and weaving all over his pizza and frozen peas. I put him to bed right from there, and the screaming began. Little guy was so overtired, it took an hour to get him to sleep. Poor little monster. Hopefully he'll at least sleep a while tonight...Mommy and Daddy always love that!
Anyhow, here's a quick video of Corb falling asleep in the highchair...



While I'm at it, I'll throw in a few more shots and videos. I know the grandmas love the videos and pics, the rest of you can just deal. I'm a first time mom, I take a lot of pictures. :P

So, how redneck is this kid? He's got a black eye, big old Cletus teeth, he's climbing our big old recliner, wearing nothing but a diaper and a Simba shirt. Oh, and he's got impetigo. Nice, right?


Like father, like son...watching a little Yo Gabba Gabba


Playing in the park. Apparently Rachel loves Cody, isn't that sweet?


Isn't he just the sweetest thing?


And finally, here are a couple of bathtime videos. Really, Andrea will be the only one interested in these, probably. :) It's mostly just her son acting like a goofball.
Nate usually gives Corbin his baths, and has given all of the bathtoys names, voices, and personalities. I love listening to them laughing and goofing around in there, so I took a little video.

Oops, I'm going to have to add the videos later, as blogger is going crazy right now. Keep your eyes peeled!

Poor little bug...

So Corbin had a bit of a rough time yesterday. He managed to wipe out and knock his head on the couch and five minutes later pull the chair down on his eye. Whoops! Poor little fella, the chair gave him his first shiner, and a good sized scratch under his eye. He took a nap afterwards and once he woke up he didn't even seem to notice. Man, these kids bounce back quickly! Anyhow, here's a couple of pics of his boo-boos. My poor bug!!!

Superman Ice Cream

It has recently come to my attention that Superman Ice Cream, that childhood favorite, is not available in most areas of the US. Being raised in Michigan, Superman ice cream was a part of my earliest ice cream memories. That creamy red, yellow and blue melting together into a weird purpley-brown color at the bottom of the bowl, that strange fruity flavor that you just can't put your finger on, the stained tongue, shirt and hands.... now that's childhood!

After talking to a friend who was not at all familiar with Superman Ice Cream, I decided to do a little research. This is some of the information I've come across..

Apparently Superman ice cream, although common in Michigan, is difficult or impossible to find in many parts of the US. Many comments I have read regarding this particular flavor have said that they used to eat it when growing up in Michigan, and/or they will get Superman every time they visit Michigan or the surrounding areas.

Although some other parts of the country do sell Superman ice cream, it is often simply vanilla flavor, with blue, red and yellow coloring added in (truly, an abomination!). True Superman ice cream, the stuff that is usually sold in or near MI, has a fruity flavor. Some places are more lemon, some are more of a fruit punch. The most common is a slight fruit flavor, rather than a really strong "sherbet" type flavor.

The easiest place to find Superman ice cream is in an ice cream shop, serving hard, hand scooped ice cream. Only a few dairies sell Superman in half gallon or gallon containers. Lucky for me one of them, Hudsonville Dairy, is quite nearby and their Superman flavor (Superscoop) is available at our local grocery stores.

Honestly, I can't imagine raising a child in a world without Superman Ice Cream. For those of you attempting this feat, I wish you luck and pity your children.


Yum :)

A list

I love lists. I love to write them, I love to cross things off of them, I love to leave them laying around and find them later and realize I've almost done everything on it and then write a new list with the things I have left. I add things onto my list that I've already done, just so I have something to cross off. My lists are rarely completed, but I will move on to new lists, just so I can write them. Anyhow, today's update will be in list form for the enjoyment of your's truly.

1. Have you seen the "Yo Gabba Gabba"? It's a show on Noggin and Nick Jr., made for little guys. It is freaking awesome. It's the only show Corbin will actually pay attention to, and it's crazy weird. They are these people dressed in monster like costumes, they sing little catchy songs and dance. They are all "owned" by a dude called DJ Lance Rock who wears a orange jumpsuit and furry hat. They are insane. We love them. Nate and I sing their songs all. the. time. Here's a picture so you can see the craziness. DJ Lance is in the middle.

Look them up on You Tube. You will enjoy them, methinks.

2. I've always sworn I would not add any apps on my Myspace account. Today I broke that promise. I just can't turn down stickers, regardless of how virtual they might be.

3. Corbin fell asleep tonight on his own, after only a little rocking and barely any sippy milk. Such a big boy.

4. We have a showing of the house tomorrow. We will be cleaning tomorrow morning. Yes, these things are related.

5. Nate actually worked today, thank goodness. I hope this job works out like we are hoping. Please send good thoughts.

6. Do you enjoy my lolcats? Perhaps you would also enjoy some political lolz. http://punditkitchen.com/ Funny, funny. My favorites are making fun of Palin, but I'll take the ones that make Obama look awesome as well. ;)



7. Corbin was such a nerd today. I took a little video, especially for any of your reading who might not see him often. He's just so much fun to watch when he's just hanging out, I wanted you to be able to see him too. He shows off a couple of his "tricks" in this one....



That's it for the list today. I'm exhausted and have to get up early to clean (you may notice my brand new laundry mountain in this video :P). Off to bed for me...

When it rains...

...it pours. Or so it seems in the Starr household.

So, today was Nate's first day of training at his new job. Awesome! He's up, has directions, is dressed in his scrubs, runs out the door.... the car won't start. Of course. Turns out, the starter needed to be replaced. My wonderful, generous parents had to come out here and help us out. A few hundred dollars and a few hours later, it's running again, good as new. Why the car picked today, of all days, to crap out on us, we'll never know. Sometimes I think everything (including our vehicles) is out to get us. If it weren't for bad luck, we'd have none at all. I blame Nate for the luck.

In other news, we took Corbin to the doctor's today to look at some weird spots he had. Turns out he has impetigo, so we had to start him on an antibiotic. Gross, but he took the meds like a champ and hopefully it will go away soon.

That child continues to amaze me daily. Yesterday I decided it was time to try to switch Corbin off of bottles for good and only use sippy cups. He was only taking a bottle at naptime and bedtime, but he was pretty hard core about those ba-bas. Last night I gave him a sippy instead of the bottle. He wasn't a fan, but drank some and sat and rocked with me. I put him to bed awake (like always) and he cried for only a little while. Tonight we did the same thing and that child went to bed awake, laid down, and fell asleep. He did not cry at all! Not even one second. What a big boy!! I can't even believe how good he was. He is also starting to talk, a little. He says Da-Da and actually knows what it means. I think he also is saying "tit eee" for kitty and "waaasat" for what's that? I may be reading a little too much into his babbles, but mothers are allowed to do that kind of thing.

He's getting too big, too fast. Today he's done with bottles, tomorrow he's in a big boy bed, talking, going to school, moving out, getting married, having his own babies, and then putting me in a nursing home and not visiting. :( I may be getting a little ahead of myself, but lately I'm realizing how quickly he has grown. I tried to appreciate every second, but it seems I've turned around and I have a little boy on my hands.

Here's a picture of the big boy (wearing a leather jacket from a Build A Bear) looking delightfully redneck.

Oh, and at the doctor's today he was 27 lbs. and 32 inches. What happened to my tiny (well, tiny is relative...) little 10 and a half pound newborn? Where did he go??

Too big, too fast. Enough with the growing already, child!!

Good Day, All Around

Oh man, it was a pretty good day.

First of all, we went to Target. Nate and I lurve looking at Halloween deco, costumes, etc. We rarely buy anything, but love looking. Oh, Nate is a big fan of looking at the Halloween candy too (surprised? didn't think so). Anyhow, Nate has been freaking out waiting for the stores to put out the Halloween stuff (yeah, we start a little early). Our Target has finally started putting out some stuff, including all of their signage. This is a picture of their main display....


THAT, my friends, is a Domo Kun. I love him. You don't see much Domo stuff around, except online and at Hot Topic. I like to imagine I started a trend, although it is far from the truth. Anyhow, Target has this giant stuffed Domo hanging, with a ton of awesome Domo signs all around. You must go see. They also have little stuffed Domos, Domo candy, all sorts of stuff. It's awesome. I wanted to just stand there and laugh at it all. He's too freaking cute.

Number two fantastic thing of the day...
We had fun with Corb today. Nate chased him around and he laughed and laughed. He had his bath, lotion, pjs, bottle and book like every other night. We've gotten him to fall asleep on his own, after a year of nursing him to sleep every. single. night. He cries for a little bit every night, but it's getting to be less and less. Anyhow, tonight I take him into bed and lay him down, still awake, not crying. I tell him goodnight and walk out of the room. He doesn't cry. I sit down to fold laundry. He still isn't crying. That kid fell asleep, all on his own, without even crying. I cannot believe it!! This may be the only time in his entire life that he does it, but still, I'm excited.

Oh yeah, the third good thing from today.... Nate got a job!!!!!!!! He went in to fill out his new hire paperwork today and starts training on Monday. It's a CNA job as a Home Health Nurse thingy? I don't totally get it, even though he's explained it a million times. :P Regardless, he will be working doing something interesting, something that he can learn a lot from, and something that will give him an actual paycheck at the end of the week. Thank God.

So yes, pretty good day, all things considered. :)

Cookie Monster

2 more quick Corb stories...

So Corbin has never been much of a dancer. He will clap if we clap, but never does the bouncy knees, swaying, baby dancing bit. Apparently we've just been playing the wrong type of music. Here's Nate introducing him to Tupac and Dre with a little California Love. (excuse the mess, his toybox is blocking him from the cable box and the laundry is waiting to be folded on the chair :P)




Then later today Nate and I are sitting in the living room talking. Corbin is running about, getting into things and otherwise causing havoc, as usual. He has figured out how to push one of the kitchen chairs out of the way and gets into the cupboard where the plastic bags are, pulls them all out and drags them around the house. Whatever, we've given up on it (don't worry, we do watch to make sure he doesn't suffocate on them or what have you). So we hear him rustling around and are waiting to see him come running into the living room, with Meijer and Walmart bags blowing in his wake. He doesn't come. I go in to investigate.

This is what I found...









Yes, those are cookies. Chocolate Chip cookies, to be precise. He was just sitting there quietly, chowing down on some cookie goodness. He managed to push aside the high chair, open up the bread drawer, pull out the cookies and eat four of them. Four! What a monster. This is why I like to keep him in his cage...

Anniversaries and Car Keys

See, I told you I'm not very good at keeping up with blogs. Eh, I'll recap.

Yesterday Nate and I had our three year anniversary. We've been through some crap together in that short amount of time, but we've never let it affect us or our marriage. He makes me a better person, makes me laugh every day, gives the best hugs and is a fantastic dad to our little man. I never forget how lucky I am to spend every day with my best friend.

We celebrated by going grocery shopping, eating cheap steaks and watching America's Got Talent. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. Nate's mom was sweet enough to send us some money to go out to dinner, and my parents got us movie tickets, so this weekend we went to see Hamlet 2 and had our celebratory Pizza Hut dinner. My parents watched Corbin for us, and a good time was had by all.

So yesterday, during aforementioned grocery shopping trip, Corbin was being his typical fussy self. His favorite thing to do while shopping is to turn himself almost completely around in the kid seat part of the cart, reach his skinny long ass Larsen arm into the back of the cart, and grab whatever item he can. Then he brings said item into the front part of the cart and begins to chew it apart. We've actually had cashiers apologize for the chewed up boxes we are purchasing, until we explain that our little monster is the one eating them.

Anyhow, he's getting super antsy so I take him out to the car while Nate checks out. I stick him in his car seat without buckling him, so he can move around while we wait. I'm standing next to him outside of the car, he crawls out of the car seat and into the rest of the van. Whatever, I'll just go around to the other side and get in, so I can keep him from eating whatever random garbage he will find in there.

Um, the other doors are all locked. I don't have the keys. And I can't reach the unlock button from the one open door. That little stinker was crawling all over in there, getting into everything he knew he wasn't supposed to, until Nate finally finished and came out with the keys. Just in time too, as Corbin had just picked up a battery he found God knows where. What a little monster.