The New Iron Chef

Well, I doubt that making homemade baby food really qualifies me to be the Iron Chef, but it makes me happy =)...I have only made apples and carrots so far, but I like doing it. And really, I'm kind of cheating because I bought the Beaba Babycook (www.beaba.com) from Williams Sonoma to make it. But I do add the water and press all the right buttons so that's got to count for something. Mac is loving his apples. The doctor told me to give him only one food at a time for a 3 day span to make sure there are no allergies. Tomorrow we venture into the carrots. Here he is trying his apples for the first time:



I am convinced that Mac has some little teeth just sitting there waiting to pop out any day. The kid has really been drooling for the last 2 months and loves to bite down on anything he can get his hands on. He has now found something new that he loves to bite...me! I don't understand why he has chosen my boob as his new chew toy...he never latched on so it's not like he's reminiscing about the good old days. I also find it very strange that I'm the only one he does it to.

Unfortunately everyone in this house is sick right now...Eric has/had the flu (today is his first day back at work, but he's not 100%), I've got a milder version of what he had, and Mac has a cough/runny nose and has had a low grade fever on and off the last few days. So if you come to the Bethea house you better wear a mask.

And here is something that I have to get off my chest...have any of you seen that show "Toddlers and Tiaras"?...what is wrong with those people?!?!? I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with a kid being a beauty pageant but some of those mother's (and fathers) are just ridiculous. I feel so bad for some of those little kids. Some of the outfits/dances that those little girls do have gone way past the line of inappropriate. I'm sorry, but a 3 year old girl should not be trying to look "sexy" ....if you start telling a girl that young how important it is to be pretty all the time I think you are going to be in for some rough teen years.

Here are a few new pics of Mr. Mac:

Mac's new "just my size" football:



Trying to eat my nose:



Praying that Mommy will leave him alone:



My favorite =):

Gym Time!

We took Mac to Gymboree today and he loved it! Eric...not so much. I do have to admit, the people who lead the sessions are a little "enthusiastic" for me, but the kids seem to love it. Mac got to go on the slide, play with the parachute, and he LOVED the bubbles. I actually bought him some so we could play when we got home. Mac is pretty much amazed by everything so the bright colors just made his day.

The real excitement for the day started after lunch. We decided to swing by IKEA to look for a toy chest for Mac. We were eating at the cafe and Eric said he thought Mac needed to be changed which means "Alana, you need to take him to the bathroom and change him." =). I got Mac to the bathroom and it was bad...I got him all cleaned up and then realized it had creeped up his back and was all over his clothes. No problem...I'll just put his spare onesie on...BUT there was no spare onesie!!!! I had no clothes to put on him! My child is laying on the changing table in the bathroom of IKEA with only a diaper on. I stood in there for a while trying to figure out what to do...



That's right...I had to take my child through the maze that is IKEA with nothing but a diaper on. It was not my proudest moment. We were definitely getting some strange looks from people as we tried to hide our naked child with burp cloths....

Let's back track a few days...Mac went to his first Astros game the other night and had a good time. He just sat on Eric's lap and stared at the field...



Mac has really started to copy some of the sounds/facial expressions that I make...I love this video:



And by the way...I'm a brunette now. It's starting to grow on me so hopefully I can leave it alone for a while!...pictures soon =)

Why?

You know when things happen and you don't understand? A girl I went to high school with (she was actually my sister's age) just posted on Facebook that they had lost their baby at 15 weeks. As if hearing that news would not be hard enough she had to endure 27 hours of labor/delivery. She wrote about holding her little baby boy after his birth and it just broke my heart. I cannot even begin to imagine that kind of pain. I look at situations like that and immediately think why? Why should someone have to go through that type of pain. Why would God let that happen? Obviously God has a plan greater than ours, but that is one I just don't understand. There are things I guess we will never understand. I sit and look at my beautiful healthy little boy and I don't even want to think what I would do without him. I was trying to tell Eric the story last night and couldn't stop sobbing. It's all just so sad. Pray for them...pray for healing. I don't know that you ever get over losing a child, but pray that they will be able to find the strength to keep going....

He Did It!

Mac rolled over last night!



And here are some pictures I was taking when he rolled over =)

So Fresh and So Clean Clean!!!

So yesterday I had had it! Clutter is my enemy and so I decided I would battle it out with my closet. It was bad ya'll. I made a rule...If I had not worn it in 2 years (I gave myself 2 years instead of 1 since I was pregnant last year) it had to go. I have to say, I am embarrassed by how much stuff I had in there. So here was round 1: I found not one, not two, but 5 articles of clothing from high school that I honestly do not remember wearing since 1999. I have had at least 5 moves since graduating from high school (to the dorm, apartments, and our house) so how this stuff came along every time I don't know. I am such a pack rat when it comes to clothes. I always think in the back of my mind that I may need this later and then I guess it sits around for 10 plus years. Round 2: If it had a hole in it or was so faded that there was NO CHANCE that I would ever put it on again; it had to go. Now I know it sounds like a very easy thing to get rid of this kind of stuff, but I have such a hard time with it. Some of the stuff looked so bad and was so far back in the deep deep darkness of the closet that I don't even know if it is worthy to go to Star of Hope. Here is a picture of all the clothes hangers that are now in my closet floor....seriously; that is sad that I had that much extra stuff in there.


Yeah that's right...I just referenced an Outkast song =).

There are two more things I have to do now...go through Eric's stuff (I have promised not to throw out anything until he has had a chance to reclaim it) and to go through my shoes which might be more painful than going through my clothes.

I'm watching the Michael Jackson memorial service right now...I personally think he is one of the greatest performers that we will ever see. He sang, danced, and put on a show like not other! Regardless of what you thought about him as a person you have to acknowledge his talent. I really feel for his kids. And yes, I do recognize that those kids look nothing like him, but they are still his kids as far as I'm concerned. That's the only father they have ever known and I cannot imagine losing a father at such a young age. When his daughter spoke it broke my heart.

At the same time, I find it so odd that people from all over the world registered and traveled for tickets to a memorial service. I just don't understand feeling that kind of connection with a celebrity who you have never met. Regardless, it is all very sad...

So, just for fun...here's my favorite MJ video...I know it's everybody's favorite, but I love it!

You Are My Sunshine...

For some reason the word "sunshine" was the funniest thing he had ever heard. You can actually see a tear roll down his face he was laughing so hard!