it's been a while, so here she is

izzy is almost 7 months now, and i haven't updated you all in a long time it seems. we had a six-month appointment recently, and here are her stats:

14.2 lbs (i know. she's a lightweight.)
26.5 inches (she's up there, so i am pretty sure she will be much taller than me.)
head circumference--this one i never remember, because i feel that her head always seems proportionate to her body. no shrunken head syndrome on this baby.

she's been eating solids now for a month. we've been taking it kind of slow, because she has allergies to milk and shrimp when i eat it. cheese, for some reason, is okay. she loves everything except for sweet potatoes, which i find strange. it's one of the more tasty veggies in baby food form, to me.

she's also crawling around a ton. she's not that great at it yet. she does the downward dog position that all you yoga fans and previously-pregnant mommies know about. the only things that will get her moving are the kitty and a tasty electrical cord.

izzy's biggest acheivements though have been her first airplane ride, first hotel stay, and moving into a new place.



here is her on the plane. she did so good. there was only a little bit of fussing, but nothing that nursing or some toy couldn't fix.

so we flew out to seattle this past week to visit pete's grandma. we call her "big irm." those who like the movie "friday" might find that funny. maybe...

anyway, izzy takes a little while to warm up to people. she has to stare you down for a while, and it takes a lot of high-pitched talking, toy distractions and smiles from mommy and daddy to assure her that new people are okay. once she warms up to you, this is the face she gives. how could you not love this girl?





izzy also got her first intro to a dog. thankfully, the dog was willing and calm. i think it was love at first sight.



all in all, she is a lot of fun. her personality now makes up for all the crying she did in the first 3 months and even some of it now. we have to redo sleep training because of the trip, but she's still an awesome baby. if i could, i would make 10,000 of her and send them out as christmas presents.

i'm a turkey

i'm doing covert ops to spy on some people thru facebook, so that is why i joined. i know, i know. total hypocrite. if you see an invite from me, just be my friend.

don't judge me.

Dear Government...

Dear Government,

I would like a bailout. I mean i haven't been the best with my money, but I haven't been the worst. I've made a few mistakes here and there. We have paid our mortgage on time, our car payment, and we still owe some student loans. But I'm thinking of taking all of our money and investing it in something really risky. It might work, or it might not. I think i might let our mortgage lapse, and our car payment. I am also thinking of defaulting on my student loans (after MBA school) . Since we will be just as efficient with our money management skills as those who make far times the amount of money we do, we deserve a bailout. I don't really feel the need to make a good argument for this request. God knows no one else has. But I just want it, so therefore I feel I deserve it. Please email me for our newest address.

Hope to hear from you soon,

Pete

get used to it

after talking to a few people lately and reading other friends' blogs who are also moms, this topic came up:

so in an economic downturn and the intro of a child into my life, i am reminded of my days growing up in the angel household. (*angel was my maiden name, if you're confused.) to preface, both of my parents worked. my dad was always blue collar worker, and my mom worked several thankless and fruitless jobs just to help make ends meet. we weren't poverty-stricken, but we certainly were not rich. i'd say maybe middle middle-class. maybe.

anyway, we always ate home-cooked meals cuz it was cheaper. take out or eating out was reserved for special occasions such as birthdays or holidays. we even learned to cook on our own at a young age. fixing things ourselves was understood unless it was an item that required more expertise. clothing was traded among family members and friends, and my mom became an expert at finding sales and used clothing stores. needless to say, much of my clothing growing up was not that cool. thankfully, in high school, fashion was whatever i could make of it by scouring the thrift stores. asking for things required lots and lots of chores or getting an "a" on such-and-such test to get desired thing. many times, it was just "no, you can't have that right now."

well, my point of this whole story is that i want my children to know what "no" means. i've been introduced to the idea that you shouldn't tell your kids "no" too much, but i've never gotten the same reason for why you shouldn't say "no." coming from an upbringing like mine, "no" was normal. it was always heartbreaking, but it was the only option sometimes.

what is the deal? is there a study somewhere that proves that saying "no" harms a child mentally or emotionally? if there is, i want to read it cuz i don't believe it. are parents afraid of saying it, cuz they fear the backlash from the child? um, you're the boss. not the kid. are kids better off in the long run if they do get what they want every time? duh...no!

if you disagree with me, please tell me why i am wrong. i appreciate hearing other people's opinions, and i won't be mean about it. i just have strong opinions about this. if you agree, then holla!

camera advice

hey all you photography buffs. pete and i need to buy a new camera, because we lost ours. or maybe it was stolen. we don't know. we have not had a good year for electronics.

anyway, we want something reasonably-priced but at a good value. i know a lot of you actually have super nice cameras, as you are amazing photographers. but i figure you would know a little about other models too, right? any suggestions for a good point-n-shoot? or should we invest in a better model? what brands are best?

obviously, we want to take pictures of the baby. but we also want to take great shots of travels and whatnot, random candids, and do some night shots and close-ups. i'm not versed in the photo terminology, and you probably have seen how crummy my pics are. so maybe you can tell me what i need to do to take better pics or what camera will help me do so.

green about being green

so with my impending move this upcoming friday, pete and i have decided to consolidate our treasures and keep only the necessities. as some of you have done before, it still gets hard to get down to just the "necessities." you open a giant box of random pens and pencils and whatnot and think "i'll use that. no, really. if i don't use it, then my kids will."

anyway, in this process we had a garage sale. we only made $80, but the money wasn't the reasoning for the sale. again, it was minimizing. making money was just a bonus. we did come across some electronics that don't work and putting them in a free box did nothing to get them out of our hands. *note: garage sale trollers are not suckers. usually. often, they are very rich and very experienced at haggling and getting you to give up things you already had a hard time giving up as it is. free electronics to them translates as "garbage. don't buy me. i will just take up space in your garage."

being a little bit conscious of the environment, i know that i shouldn't just throw my vcr (that has a lost boys vhs stuck in it) into the trash. so, i went on a search...and what did i find?

this.
http://www.mygreenelectronics.com/home.aspx

it's a site that you can put in your zipcode and find a local business that takes old electronics to rebuild, refurbish, reuse, or recycle. i don't know about you, but i think that is kind of cool. so on monday, that is where i am going. it's in the middle of nowhere, but i don't care. i live in the middle of nowhere now, so what's a few extra miles into the sticks.

just one more time and then back to my general health

okay, so i know sarah shares the same gambling problem that i have so i don't have to ask.

the mcdonald's monopoly game ends this upcoming monday, and i am still missing boardwalk or golden ave (the most prized and least available pieces). i have been eating horribly for a little while now. not like 2 mcdonald's meals a day or anything. just 2 a week, which is still bad i think. i even go for the meal that has the most pieces availble--large fries, large drink, ginormous gut-buster sandwich.

so my point is: i know i won't win anything but a stupid mcflurry, but if anyone wants to share pieces with me to win some cash...let me know.

i need: pennsylvania ave., ventnor ave., tennessee ave., vermont ave.

chances are that you all need the same ones. maybe i should just get a large orange drink every day until the game is over...