Where is the love, people? I have a couple of people who faithfully leave comments, letting me know that at least TWO people are reading my blog and care about what's happening with the Fabers in Frisco. Where are the rest of you??? It doesn't take much...just click on the "comments" link at the bottom of each post and send me a note about what you think of the pictures I put up or our latest adventures with Annabel. Or just tell me how beautiful our baby is, we never tire of hearing that (no parent does)! Even if you're new to this blog, just let me know you're here so I don't feel like I'm blogging into nothingness... I would really appreciate you :-)
So I promise this post isn't just about nagging you guys into leaving comments (although, if you still neglect to leave comments, I will continue to nag). I've posted some more pics to Annabel's June/July 08 Photobucket album, including the ones that I included in my 4th of July post. Here are few of my faves.
One of my all-time fave photos... I took this as I was drying Annabel after her bath.
Paci? Or doobie? Annabel's chillin' in her car seat.
Another 4th of July family photo that I didn't include in my previous post.
Coming up... a few people have asked when I'll be recapping the second episode of Baby Borrowers. I haven't had time to watch it, but it's recorded on my Tivo, so I should be able to get to it this week (maybe even tonight)! Keep an eye out...
We had an enjoyable and relaxing Independence Day. We started the day by going to see an early movie together. Since I got to see the Sex and the City movie, I told Chris that he could choose the movie that we go to. What do you think he chose?
Iron Man?
The Incredible Hulk?
Hancock?
Or perhaps some other macho, action-packed man-film? No, no my friends... we saw...
That's right! My hubs picked a Disney/Pixar film. And I gotta say, it was EXCELLENT. We really loved it, and Annabel did great. She slept through the first hour, and then decided she was hungry, so ate and slept off and on through the rest of it.
My mini-commentary on the movie... it was beautifully done (computer animation just keeps getting better and better). But I'll tell you, this movie was FULL of messages. It warns about the consequences of the Wal-Mart/McDonaldization of America, taking the environment for granted, our dependence upon technology and the rising rate of obesity. Whew, I feel guilty already! Still, the movie has heart and Wall*E is such a great character. We really enjoyed ourselves. As a matter of fact, Chris said this was his favorite Pixar film out of all of them.
When we got home, we decided (OK, I decided) that we should try to do a family photo including the red-headed step-children. I have a remote for my camera, so while that made things a little easier, it was still quite an ordeal. Here are a few of the actual good pics out of the hundreds of shots that we actually took!
Our little family
The dogs hang out wondering when would be a good time to join in the foto fun.
Whew! Everyone gives the camera a big smile (except Annabel, who's thinking she'd love to lay out on the blanket and soak up some sun).
We also let Annabel try out her Bumbo seat for the very first time! Her buddy Paige inspired her to try it out. Turns out she liked it! Of course, I took a ton of photos. Here are just a couple.
Annabel wonders what the heck is going on... how is she sitting up without Mommy or Daddy's help?
Baylor wonders the same thing!
Annabel decides she likes it!
Later that evening we went to our friends' house for a cookout in celebration of the birth of our nation and the birth of our friend Marvin! Here are some pics from the evening.
Everyone chowin' down on some grub.
Annabel likes to be on the move, but that doesn't stop Daddy from eating his dinner!
We didn't go anywhere to see fireworks because Annabel needed to be in bed, of course. But we still were able to see the McKinney fireworks in the distance from our friends' backyard. All in all, a super fun 4th for Annabel and her folks!
On Monday, Annabel had her first play date with some other kiddos from our childbirth class. This is how we envisioned it...
(On a side note... maybe it's just me, but all 3 babies in this video look white, no? Maybe it's the quality of the video. Hmmm...)
Anyway, yeah, our babies weren't quite that cooperative. Here are some photos from the day...
JP says, "Check out all my ladies!" From the left, there's Paige, JP, Annabel and Regan. What a bunch of cuties!
Future Prom King and Queen? Annabel already knows how to strike a pose! ("What are you lookin' at? Vogue... vogue... vogue")
Paige and Annabel get ready for the shot, while JP looks around for the lucky penny he dropped.
Paige says, "What is going on here?" While Annabel wonders why Paige looks so distraught.
Annabel says she hasn't been practicing sitting up on her own in her Bumbo seat like Paige... so she's just going to lean on JP, who's feeling a little squished.
We Mommies had so much fun taking these photos. The kids were probably blind and in a little bit of shock from all the flashes. We know they're all really good smilers (we have photographic evidence!) but it's funny how they all look a little shell-shocked in these pics. We think maybe it's because they're used to being the star of the show and don't know about having to share the limelight.
Play date was definitely fun, and Annabel's looking forward to more of them with her friends! Hopefully other friends can join in too... the more the merrier!
Ok I'm finally getting around to the child care discussion. It's just been so disheartening, especially after today, when we had a virtual "nannypalooza" of interviews planned.
The situation is this... a fellow friend from childbirth class and I have been looking for a part-time nanny to take care of our kids. Two days would be with Annabel at my house, and one day would be with her baby, JP, at her house. We figured it would be easier to find someone who would want to work for three days than someone who would work for two or one. The reason I only need two days is because I'll be working from home and need someone to watch Annabel while I'm working. (Conference calls with a wailing child in the background don't go over very well... I know, can you believe it?)
So to avoid paying exorbitant agency fees, we signed up for a couple of nanny job posting sites (the Monster.com for nanny jobs). We posted our job listing and searched for nannies. Our first interviewee had potential... she showed up for the interview! And on time! But she brought her 3.5 year old son, who was all over the place. So she ended up paying a lot of attention to him instead of the interview. She kept saying how she LOVED babies, but didn't really acknowledge either of ours until the end of the interview. Plus, she talked. A lot. Too much. We were annoyed.
Subsequent nannies we interviewed were either no-shows or really, really late. Most told us how much they LOVED babies, but again, didn't really pay any attention to ours. We asked one of them to meet us at Chick-fil-a, and she didn't know what that was. When she arrived for the interview, she wouldn't make eye contact with JP's mom! Some would show up looking completely disheveled, a total mess. Unbelievable! How can we expect you to take care of our children when it looks like you barely take care of yourself? Are we asking too much?? Are all the good nannies taken? When is freakin' Mary Poppins going to glide in with her awesome umbrella and spoonful of sugar to save the day??
Here's a photo of Annabel and JP awaiting the next nanny candidate. They waited so long, they decided to fall asleep!
On a positive note, we did find someone to watch Annabel for the days that I have to go to my office downtown. Her home is only a couple of miles from Chris's office, so he can drop me off at the train and Annabel off at her house. And if anything should happen, she's very close by, so Chris can get her easily. So at least that's taken care of!
If anyone has any other ideas on how we might be able to find a good part-time nanny, please comment below. Any suggestions are appreciated!
Those of you who've known me for awhile know that I'm typically not a fan of reality TV. I have to say that in general reality TV is a sign of the downfall of American culture (sorry Ginny!)... but that's just the opinion of little ole' me.
But, considering the baby-crazy culture that Hollywood is creating, I have to say that the "Baby Borrowers" show could possibly be a true "reality check" for teens. Plus, it's so relevant for us since we're starting on this journey of raising a child too! So I'm blogging while I'm watching the first episode that I have Tivo-ed.
So the premise of the show is these 5 teenage couples (most of them 18 or 19, and one of the guys is 20) will take a life journey, 3 days at a time. 3 days with a baby, 3 days with a toddler, 3 days with pre-teens, 3 days with teenagers and then 3 days with senior citizens. The show has 5 houses on a cul-de-sac, and each couple is living in one of the houses for the whole experiment. There are 2 couples from Texas (jeez, it's like Texas is reality show breeding ground), 1 from San Diego, 1 from Georgia and 1 from New Hampshire.
They open the show with intros of each of the couples, how long they've been together, how they're all like "we're so ready to be parents because we love kids" ... ok, so it's actually mostly the girls who are saying this, and the guys are just like "uh, yeah, I'm so whipped I'll do whatever she says. Plus it's cool to be on TV." A few of the guys say that they're hoping this experiment actually makes their girlfriends realize how NOT ready they are to be parents. I'm trying to keep an open mind here, so none of the couples completely annoys me yet. Not so for my dear Christopher, who thinks they're all stupid for wanting to be parents before they can legally wind down from a crazy baby day with a cold, frosty beer. (Not that we do that, mind you -- we're lightweights, remember? Unless it's some sort of fruity cocktail for Chris!)
Day 1 -- the girls have to wear pregnancy suits (read huge boobs and ginormous bellies) and the couples go to infant care class at the local hospital (too bad they didn't have Sgt Keely to teach their class. Those kids would have been scared straight and given up the whole silly idea then!). And we have a winner for the first girl to annoy me on the show! The honor goes to Kelly, the debutante from Georgia. She gets all insecure because her SO (his name is Austin) giggles when she puts the suit on... goes on and on about how she looks fat and that he's making fun of her, blah, blah, blah. Tears flow and then of course the dramatic locking of herself in the bathroom. Wait... who's the baby here? All these dramatics, and she doesn't have the excuse of having real pregnancy hormones surging through her body! Ugh, I just want to slap her. Again and again and again. Here... misery loves company, so enjoy a clip:
It makes me feel for Austin the way I did for Nick Lachey when I would catch the random episode of "Newlyweds" on MTV.
Next task... prepare the nursery! Apparently there's not much drama here, because this part of the show lasts all of 2 minutes. I do have to say that I'm liking the couple from Katy, Texas. He's a Southern gentleman through and through, and he tells his "pregnant" SO to go rest while he puts the crib together. My hubs was the same way!
Day 2 -- The babies arrive! The parents introduce the couples to their babies (at this point, Chris says, "These must all be their second children because there's no way I would let these idiots touch my Bellie." Our poor, someday-to-be second child! Apparently, he/she has big shoes to fill already from Big Sister.) and provide them with very thick binders complete with instructions on how to care for their child (eating habits, bedtime routines, preferences, etc). NO FAIR! God didn't provide us with a handy dandy binder! The show producers are quick to point out that each couple will have a professional nanny living with them who will not be involved with the care of the child, but just keep constant watch for the safety of the baby. Also, the parents will be close by watching surveillance video of the "idiots" caring for their child.
Chaos ensues at each of the households. I won't bore you with the deets, but we have another winner for most annoying girl. That would be Alecia, from Houston. She's trying to feed her baby, who, like a normal baby, doesn't necessarily want to eat his veggies. He'd rather be held and be given a bottle. Of course, at 7 mo, he needs solids to complement the formula he's being given. Alecia tries time after time to shove the spoon into little Karson's mouth and he keeps spitting it out. She starts cussing and finally throws down the spoon and says, "Fine. Don't eat then." At which point, the shocked mother of Karson (rightfully) storms over to the house and rips Alecia a new one. Woo hoo! Go Mom! She tells Alecia that she needs to put the baby's needs first and get over herself. Alecia argues that the baby doesn't want to eat, just wants the bottle. Mom says that Alecia should be making the decisions, not the baby. Alecia throws a temper tantrum after Mom leaves and says she won't touch the baby any more because she doesn't want to deal with Mom. She says she's here to learn, not to be criticized. As one of my friends and fellow bloggers says, WTF? Again... who's the baby here???
The show closes during Night 1 when they're all trying to get the babies to sleep. My fave couple from Katy seems to be doing well. I love the guy, Jordan, who shows his frustration but still plugs through and supports his SO (Sasha) through all the crying. The couple from New Hampshire completely forgets to bathe their baby, change her diaper, or even put her into her PJs before trying to get her to sleep. The guy in that couple (Sean) annoys me because he keeps referring to the baby as "it". So baby's Mom storms over to rip him a new one. He had "jokingly" said to his SO (Kelsey) to just put the baby in the crib and let "it" cry because that's what "it's" going to do anyways. Mom is pissed! She says that's nothing to joke about. After Mom leaves, Kelsey cries upstairs in her room because she knows Mom has a right to be mad, but it still hurts anyways. While Sean is downstairs grinning because he says his "plan" is working because Kelsey is not happy and now she won't want to have a baby with him. Ugh. I want to punch his smug face in. Jeez, this show is making me violent.
You've probably noticed that I haven't mentioned anything about the couple from San Diego. Much like Texans seem to be stereotyped on TV as all being hicks who wear cowboy hats and ride horses to school/work, Californians seem to be stereotyped as surfer dudes. Hmmm... which stereotype would you prefer? Well, the Cali couple on the show actually ARE surfers! Awww... how... ugh. Anyways, the girl is completely orange (and my evil mind is thinking, maybe they'll do a follow-up show with them 10 years in the future and she'll have leather skin before she turns 30) and the guy is... well, he's a surfer dude. As a couple, they're not very interesting, but their baby Miley (whose Dad is Wiley) is the cutest baby of the bunch. She's adorable! I wish I could find a clip of her to show you, but alas, none to be found. Honestly, we could be biased because Miley is part Asian :-)
About two-thirds of the way through the show, Chris is ready to shoot them all. He is totally empathizing with the parents and probably imagining Annabel as each of the babies. I don't think he'll be joining me in watching future episodes.
On the next episode, we see the remaining 2 Baby Days. One person in each of the couples has to go to work, while the other is the SAHM/D. Diaper doody ensues!
i'm married to the most fantastic husband in the world who is also my best friend. we have a beautiful baby girl and two vizslas who keep us busy and laughing every day.
After a hard day of playing, brother and sister are ready for a good night's sleep!
