Stylin and proFilin

The room we often refer to as our office has until recent weeks been ... well let's be honest ... a dumping ground for all things that do not have a proper home.

Thanks to a major IKEA shopping trip a few weeks ago, we finally said goodbye to the old almond color beat up two drawer filing cabinet that had sticking drawers and awful sound effects ... and hello to some actual organization.

Should I ever wrangle the chaos now officially dubbed "office" I will post pictures. It is still in the works.

I spent a good portion of the day filing stuff. This is without a doubt one of my least favorite things to do in the world. I think all bill paying, insurance paperwork, etc. should be on my computer and paperless. And that isn't the tree hugger ME talking. That is the lazy, this is NOT what I want to do on the weekend ME. Filing this stuff seems so incredibly pointless except for that one time a year when I have to find a pay stub from April

Amidst the collating and alphabetizing, I attempted to entertain little man by providing him a basket full of teething rings and small rattles. He played right into my hands for all of 5 minutes! Holden dumped the basket ... just as I suspected he would. Then he shook and smacked together every toy in there before placing them back in the basket and then dumping them out, again ... which is of course how they remained.

Holden appears to be a bigger help in these pictures that he actually was.

In an abnormal fit of "rage," he grabbed hold of both my collar bones like handlebars with his pointy finger death grip, sunk his 6 tiny teeth into my left shoulder, released the hold and slapped my face! Twice! I sat there stunned. I have no idea what that was about. He was back to his normal sweet self soon after that.

"Well, that was different," I told him.

-Carmen

Thanksgiving

We decided for Holden's first Thanksgiving to spend it at home ... just the 3 of us.  Turkey, dressing, potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, wassail, fudge, Chex Mix, and pumpkin pie all donned our table. 

I mushed up all of the dinner items so Holden could participate.  He loved all of it and ate most of what was on his plate.  In true Stogsdill fashion, all the binge eating was followed with long and loud belches.  So gross ... so cute.

This is Holden signing "MORE" ... or at least his version of it.

Some of Jordan's out-of-town relatives were at Aunt T's and wanted see Holden so we stopped by so they could love on him.

A little slow to react from stuffing myself at lunch, I only took a few pictures of Holden with Nanaw ... Jordan's grandma.

We hope everyone had a very special day with their loved ones.

-Carmen

Waiting for that Turkey Coma

Happy Thanksgiving!

Go thank somebody.

-The Stogsdills

New Kicks

With the onset of winter, we thought it prudent to begin covering junior's chubby feet. 

I have been trying to put socks on him lately only to remember why I never put socks on him ... he takes them off and sucks on them.  

We don't put shoes on him because his Jet-Puffed Marshmallow feet don't allow it.

The dropping temperatures have caused more than one grandma-type person to scold us out in public when they see Holden's bare feet.  

I feel bad, I really do, but I can't seem to find a baby garter belt to secure his socks!

On Mrs. B's suggestion, I went to Stride Rite today and with the helpful staff person's assistance (her last name was HOLDEN!)  found the PERFECT pair of shoes for Holden's puffy feet.

They are so cute and they actually fit him.  He seems very interested in his new shoes, but hasn't tried removing them.

____________________

In other Holden news.... He thoughtfully stacks the toys in the corner of his cage (pack 'n play) and stands on top of them.  I think he is planning LIBERATION!

Holden has been more and more helpful while dressing.  He likes to unfasten his diaper, and he is a pro at pulling his shirt over his head and pushing his arms through the sleeves with no assistance.

Last week I sat him down in the pack 'n play to ready his diaper bag.  When I returned to fetch him, Holden had removed his socks, his pants, and his shirt.  He was standing on the crumpled clothes and stomping on them. "Libération!" he yelled in a French accent.

-Carmen

Email from Santa

We were recently contacted by Mr. and Mrs. Claus who have asked Jordan and I to help them with a new project. They are trying to be a little more eco-friendly and going "cyber!"

They would like very much to send out personalized emails to the kiddos. So we created this form to help the BIG guy with the enormous task.

If you would like your child to receive an email from Santa, fill out the form below and click SUBMIT. The form should clear on its own when your information is successfully submitted.

This is something "just for fun" we recently started doing for the kids in our family. Your information will be discarded once your email is sent.

Your child's email will be addressed from Santa's email address, eighttinyreindeer@gmail.com.

Emails will be sent December 1 - 23rd-ish.

To expedite the process, please fill out the form completely. Everything in the email will appear as you have spelled it here.

If you are looking for this form at a later time, check the sidebar, I have included a link to this form below the About Us section.

Enjoy!

-Carmen

First Boogie

The pictures are unrelated to this post, I just thought they were cute.

Holden was strutting his stuff for the first time tonight.

Have you ever seen that show Yo Gabba Gabba!?  Well it is atrocious, but Holden LOVES it!  

It is the only show other than Baby Einstein he will sit all the way through.

Tonight there was a lot of dancing, and for the first time Holden very obviously was dancing along.  He hoisted himself up on a box and bounced, swayed, and giggled while looking back and forth between the brightly colored characters and mommy.

It cracked me up!  He has never danced before!

Holden was also waving HI to that pink-tear-drop-shaped female thing on the show.

So cute!

-Carmen

 

Are you SICK of this KID yet?

I wish I could make myself talk about something other than my son.  We do actually have OTHER things going on in our lives, but who cares?

Holden started signing MILK without prompt over the weekend!

He was hungry, it was time to eat, and he told me ... er uh ... showed me.  We praised him profusely now he is using the sign every few meals.

He has also started waving when people say "bye" even if they aren't waving.

Holden showed the very first signs of shyness yesterday.  He usually will go to anyone that outstretches her arms.  

Jordan took him to physical therapy yesterday and then brought him by work to say HI.  During the standard meet-and-greet with co-workers and center participants, he buried his head in my chest!  He has never done that before.

Later I mentioned to Jordan that he must have been around too many people at once, but Jordan said he did the same thing at therapy with the ONE therapist.  Go figure.

Holden has been a lot more clingy over the past few weeks.  He plays in the floor for a few minutes and then wants to sit in our laps and cuddle.  I certainly don't mind.

-Carmen

Happy 10 Months!

My favorite thing about life with Holden this month is that he has started mimicking us.

I was sitting on the couch looking at a magazine with Holden next to me.  He saw a magazine on the other end of the sofa, crawled over to it, sat up with magazine in hand like he was scanning its pages.  He looked over at me to see if he was doing it right.

Holden has also become very fascinated by water.  He likes to dive face first into his bath from a seated position.  Apparently, he is comfortable holding his breath!  Holden also sits at the faucet while I fill the tub and likes to stick his hands and HEAD under it.  It makes me kind of nervous, but like I said he is holding his breath.

-Carmen

Cure for a Bad Day

If you have spent much time with Holden you know he is one happy kid.  I haven't been able to really capture his hypnotizing laugh on film.

Jordan was successful, today.

So turn on your ears.

WARNING!

May cause audible giggling.

-Carmen

Turtle Turvy

As mentioned previously, Holden chills in his boppy chair, strapped in of course while I get ready in the morning.  Picture a little blue papasan for babies.  

Holden has developed a new game of picking up toys and tossing them.  Pick up the rattle .... throw the rattle ... pick up the teddy bear .... throw the teddy bear.

This morning while I was covered in shampoo, I peered through the foggy glass of the shower wall to see Holden leaning forward reaching for a toy he hurled .... just out of reach.  

Leaning ....

Leaning ...

Leaning some more ...

OH!  Too far!

He toppled over onto the floor still strapped in the boppy chair.  

As I scrambled to rinse the dripping shampoo from my face and hands, I saw his left leg pop out from under the chair, then the right .... a hand, another hand .... and then his head.

Still determined to get that toy, now pushed to the other side of the bathroom in the midst of the commotion, Holden popped up and scurried on all fours with boppy still attached.

He looked just like a turtle scooching across the tile!

Even as I tried to extract him from the grips of the chair, he couldn't stop reaching for that toy!

So what does one do with their suddenly mobile and very curious child when they are too big to be strapped down to a boppy chair?  Mommy has to take a shower sometime and baby boy gets up at 5:30 a.m. ready to go.

-Carmen

  

When in Gnome

Holden seemed to really enjoy his first Halloween.  We went to four houses trick or treating and baby was worn out.

Mommy and daddy were worn out, too.

To see the pictures, please click on the trio of pictures below and you will be redirected to the album.

We hope everyone had a great time begging for goodies last night!

-Carmen