Photo-tastic

So, my dear friend Laura Jackson Roberts came over to my house today and worked miracles. She took all these fantastic photos with a very huge Nikon. In addition to the subject matter being pretty adorable, I think Laura takes a pretty good picture. Thanks so much friend!! Thanks for coming over for lunch, too! I had a great time with you and Andy.

The one below might be my favorite. I love his expression.

Her camera magically made my house look clean and nice.

That's Andy, Laura's 3-year old, who is also adorable.

He looks like he's up to no good.

Check out my 7 teeth!

Where did you get those blue eyes, boy?

Aw, I love him. Thanks again for the pictures, Laura!

My little man.

He's making some serious progress. He can pull himself up to standing at the coffee table and at the ottoman. Most days now when we get him out of bed he is standing in his crib. He's also starting to crawl like a champion. It also appears as if he is trying to stand from a crawling position. It's like he is crawling and then he tries to push straight up on all fours. Not quite there yet.

Some cute little things.

This video could be a lot shorter, but I don't have any way of editing it!

He has his 9-month doctor's appointment tomorrow. I can't wait to see how much he weighs.

30 things I love about my husband on his 30th birthday.

1. First and foremost, he is the most incredible father to our son. I could not have dreamed up a better father for my child.

2. The first night we met, he approached me after my shift as a waitress at the Alpha. It was late at night, I had on no makeup, and I probably smelled like restaurant kitchen and he still wanted my number.

3. He asked me to dance to a slow song playing on iTunes right before we had our first kiss. (swoon)…. FYI, the song was “I was just thinking” by Teitur.

4. Our first Valentines Day together, he sent both me AND my mother flowers.

5. On October 9, 2005, after ten months of dating, he took me on a walk to a gazebo filled with flowers and asked me to dance again. He got down on one knee and presented me with the most beautiful diamond ring I had ever seen in my life.

6. Earlier that day, he asked my mother’s permission to propose to me.

7. On our wedding day, December 16, 2006, exactly two years after our first date, he had a full arm cast and didn’t complain about it except to say that he needed help buttoning his tux pants.

8. He got that broken arm two weeks before our wedding while playing basketball with kids at a children’s home.

9. He has shared many of his firsts with me, a couple of which include his first live NFL game, his first time on a plane and his first time seeing the ocean. (And he was spoiled, because the first time he saw the ocean, we were in the Caribbean, and now the Atlantic or Pacific will never be as exciting!)

10. Whenever I feel ugly, he tells me that I’m beautiful.

11. When we first moved in together the summer of 2005, I told him that if I was going to spend time in the kitchen preparing a meal for us, he was going to spend time in the kitchen after the meal doing dishes. After almost five years, he still does the dishes every night.

12. When I work on the weekends and have to sleep through the day, when I get home in the mornings, he always makes the bed for me.

13. When I was pregnant, he rubbed my feet whenever I asked him to.

14. The first couple of months after Owen was born, Clint got up in the middle of the night with me for every feeding and diaper change.

15. I haven’t changed the cats’ litter box in years, because he has taken on that glorious task.

16. I recently finished reading “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy. I had Clint start it as soon as I was finished, and he read the whole book in less than three days, only reading in the evenings. He loved the book for the same reason I did, because he imagined the boy in the story as our son, and he had to finish the book as quickly as possible to make sure that the boy survived. (Side note – excellent book by the way).

17. He looks the other way when I buy another pair of shoes.

18. On our first date, we were sitting on my couch in my dorm room watching Vanilla Sky, and he was examining my big red watch (that my Aunt Karen gave me for a birthday one year, I loved that watch) and he kind of sighed/laughed and said, “You’re cool.” I knew I had him then.

19. He is committed to everything he does. His family. His job. His Pittsburgh Steelers.

20. After too many years, we are involved in a church together, which has been more rewarding and fulfilling than I imagined it would. We love everyone at our church and have made some fantastic friends through it. (Especially my play date ladies!) With my new schedule, unfortunately I don’t get to go as often as I would like, but Clint takes Owen almost every Sunday, and that makes me very happy.

21. Whether he likes it or not, everything I cook for him, he eats. He tells me that he likes everything, but fortunately for him I can tell when he’s lying so I know not to cook that again. The best is when I cook something that he loves.

22. He always knows when I need a new bottle of water.

23. When it was just the two of us, we could sit and watch movies or a television marathon all day and not be bored. Adding Owen to the mix complicated that a little bit. Owen does get bored.

24. He always takes the trash out.

25. He lets me sit on the computer and read all my celebrity gossip websites, even though we both know it is a total waste of time.

26. He isn’t jealous of my slight obsession with Edward Cullen.

27. When we go to Dave and Busters, he always gives me extra tokens off of his game card.

28. He wears polar bear pajama pants.

29. He always lets me steal one (or three) of his french fries.

30. I love him because of the way he loves me.

Happy Birthday Hugga Bugga! I love you for these 30 reasons and for 30 thousand others.

It's been a long time.

So, the most exciting thing, is that Clint is back to work. He was called back on September 1st and has been working a few weeks now. I'm so relieved. The only downside is that our insurance ran out on August 31, and instead of just continuing once he got called back to work, he had to open a new plan that will not be active until October 1. So we don't have insurance this month, and Owen has been battling a little cold. I'm praying that it doesn't turn into a big cold. We only have 9 more days until we are insured again!

And the kid is 8 months old! I can't believe he's 8 months old. I have given up on taking pictures with the bear, because he will barely sit still long enough to take a picture. I manage to get him every once in a while. Some big milestones this past couple of months include standing (with support), he rolls over extremely well, he can get up all fours and scoot around (not exactly crawling yet, but very close), he makes a lot more noise, he says dada, mama, hi and sometimes he says no. He is very close to pulling himself up in his crib and against the coffee table. He also apparently loves fruit. If I have an apple or nectarine or something, he will actually pull himself up my body to get to the fruit. If I set it down beside or behind me, he will crane his neck around trying to find the fruit.

This was the first time he had the fruit. I was eating a nectarine while getting him ready for his bath. I was holding him and taking a bite of my nectarine, and he leans in his head and starts biting the nectarine at the same time. It was so cute.

This was the apple. I'm trying to get him to eat cut up bananas in his high chair, but he apparently only wants what I'm eating.

The other big news is that I went to Iowa this past weekend. I left really early in the morning on Friday and had a flight out of Pittsburgh. I had a decent sized layover in Detroit, where I had some fantastic lobster bisque. There is a hallway in the detroit airport where the walls are backlit and the colors change according to the music. It's really neat. I arrived in Iowa to be picked up by Christopher, MJ and Nicole. We all hung out at Krista and Emily's apartment for a while. Then I got checked in to the sweetest hotel I have ever stayed at! The Coralville, Iowa Marriot Conference Center is SUCH a nice hotel. I got to have a king sized bed all to myself, flat screen TV, and all the toiletries were from Bath and Body works! The rehearsal went very well, and the dinner was awesome. I ended up reading "A Marriage" by Michael Blumenthal.

Afterwards we all went back to the Herbert Hoover Presidential (Sweet Ass) Suite. I drank a lot of wine and local beer. It was good times. Below is a picture of me and Krista. I'm in love with my pumpkin orange sweater. It was a great night. The next day, I spent most of the day by myself. I didn't really do much except hang out in the hotel room and relax. Had a good lunch in the hotel restaurant, and all of the staff everywhere was so nice. I like Iowa.

The wedding went off without a hitch. I almost cried during my reading, and I definitely cried a lot when they said their vows. Luckily I came prepared with tissues. The reception was at a golf club called the Brown Deer. There were awesome appetizers, open bar, great music. I sat with Nicole, MJ, Jessica, and Krista's cousins. I loved the whole pumpkin and wasabi colored theme. All the little napkins and seating cards and match books and stuff were so cute.

Everyone went back to the room to party a little more, but I was so tired and full from 'racing MJ' and taking advantage of the open bar the last hour of the reception. I went back to the room and took a shower, then got most of my stuff packed up and passed out.

Most of the way home was spent reading "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. Another Rich recommendation. One of these days I will read another book that has not been referred to me. The book was incredible. Tragic. Heartbreaking. Hopeless. An actual EXPERIENCE for a parent. All in all, a good read. I kept crying during the difficult parts and the people sitting next to me on my flights probably thought I was mentally unstable.

When I got home, I was so happy to see my little boy. I missed him so much it was insane. I brought home Wellsburg DiCarlos on the way home from the airport. Yum. I ate kind of poorly over the weekend, but I'm back on track now.

The Wellness Bridge has been fantastic. In one month I lost 11lbs and 12.5 inches from all over my body. Last week alone, I lost almost five pounds. Woohoo!

Some little videos. In both, please excuse my horrible sounding voice. There aren't any excuses...

H20 troubles

So, the water is out again. There is a massive waterline break in downtown Wheeling, AGAIN, that happened around noon yesterday. So, we haven't had water for almost 30 hours. This wouldn't be that big a deal, except it is a big deal. We have a baby here, who needs water in order to EAT. We have dishes in the kitchen that need washed. I can't cook. I can't wash vegetables. We have been giving Owen baths with jugs of water that we bought at the grocery store. And... we have one bathroom... and THIS SUCKS.

Erin was kind enough to host a play date today, where I washed baby bottles and filled up extra gallons of water. It was fun hanging out Laura and Erin, Andy and Alexander!

Then I took Owen shopping with me so I could buy new shoes for Iowa. He did not nap. He hadn't slept at all since he woke up from his mid-morning nap at 11am.

The good news is - I have been back on the Wellness Bridge for one week, and I have lost three pounds and 3.75 total inches. YES. Great success.

We had to get out for dinner, where Owen was awesome. He sat at the high chair and ate puffs and flirted with the waitresses, wearing his chick magnet bib. He was super pleasant all through dinner.

Driving home, we hear a loud pop and then I'm swerving in my little red bug. Tire blowout. We had to call Clint's brother to come and get me and Owen so I could get home and put him to bed, then Clint had to call a tow truck to come and take the car to the only tire place open in the Ohio Valley after 6pm. So, $140 and 30 minutes of screaming baby later, we are all home, wanting a shower, washing our hands with jugs of water, in a kitchen full of dirty dishes. I just pray that it's fixed by Friday, because if I have to go without water most of the week at home, I think I might gouge my eyes out if I have to go all weekend without water and air at work. FML.

I literally almost cried when Clint just told me he couldn't find my corkscrew.

But hey, 3lbs. Well-behaved baby in the restaurant. Found the corkscrew. Little things to celebrate...

It's been awhile.

So, it's been a long time since I have updated the blog. I apologize to my faithful reader(s). There have been things going on, but I just haven't felt compelled lately, I don't know why.

Things are no better on Clint's job front, and we are losing our insurance at the end of the month, so that's that.

Owen has been making major strides lately. He says "DaDa" consistently. In fact, we slept in the same room with him last night for the first time in months, and the first thing he said this morning, -- and for several minutes after that -- was Dada. This was earlier this week. The video gets pretty good around the 45 second mark.

He has four teeth now. Top and bottom two. The top two are kind of far apart, and it looks so freaking cute, I can't stand it. They aren't far down enough yet to see unless he smiles really big. I'm sure they will get closer together as other teeth come in, but it looks so funny and cute now, I love it. I want to take him to get professional pictures done soon. Maybe I can twist Laura Jackson Roberts' arm into taking a few artsy ones for me for a small fee.... ?

He also has started standing. I think he is a little late in this development. His buddy Alexander has been standing for months, I think. However, he finally has it, and now he never wants to sit. He will also stand against something by holding on to it. And yes, that's my blue bowl that I made that he is gripping. Everything must come off the coffee table now.

He also loves to roll now. Clint always puts him on his play mat, which I object to now, because it restricts his rolling. But him on a big blanket on the carpet and away he rolls. This means we need to do some serious baby-proofing now that he is on the move. I had him on a blanket on the center of the rug, and when I left the room, he was under his swing. He made good time. I wasn't gone for more than a minute...

Nothing is too exciting for me. I got new glasses. They have zebra print on the inside of them, but I won't hold that against them.

New favorite music - Bon Iver. I love For Emma and Skinny Love. Just over a month before I head to Iowa for the BIG DAY!! So excited! Still reading Cormac McCarthy - The Road. Slow moving, not because the book is slow moving. I am slow moving.

Also somewhat exciting, I'm joining the Wellness Bridge again. I got my old coach back, who I love. I have my first meeting next Wednesday. YES.

ALSO - we went to Columbus to visit Scott and Cristie again yesterday and we figured that Owen was old enough to stay overnight somewhere. Well... although the visit was great, I don't think we will have him spending the night anywhere else for a good long time. They have four (beautiful) kids, who all love Owen, and they are so attentive and interested in him, and they love to play with him, which is so adorable and fun to watch. However, sometime around early evening, after a day of high stimulation and one twenty minute nap, taken completely against his will, he had just had enough. He started crying and didn't stop until he was asleep (about an hour later...) He cried all through his sink bath, all through his getting dressed, took a short break to have his bottle and then I had to let him cry himself to sleep, because he just did not stop crying!! Then, we about had a heart attack when he woke up around 2:30, we were terrified he was going to be up for hours, but it turns out that he had peed out of his diaper somehow (I really need to buy those overnight diapers), and his whole leg was wet. So we got him out, changed his clothes and then put him back to bed, and he went to sleep. Thank God. Then this morning, he reached the end of his fuse right after breakfast, and in an event to calm him down, and give the Kimmins' some peace and quiet, we high-tailed it out of Columbus and Owen was dead asleep in the car after 15 minutes and slept until we were crossing the bridge into Wheeling. UGH. Otherwise we had such a fun time. Clint played with the kids all day, and Cristie and I played with the babies. This morning and all day today I was so exhausted. Clint actually drove home from Columbus (gasp!) and I fell asleep in the car! And I promise, I only had a little bit of Jack Daniels last night! It was just a long fun-filled day.

And today, Steeler (pre)season begins, so if no one hears from Clint until January, that's why...

Big news

Whenever Owen is particularly "chatty," Clint and I always try to say little words a lot that he may be able to pick up, like "hi," "dada," and "mama." He has been in the foulest mood today. He isn't napping like he should, fussy all the time, and gets bored with everything after five minutes. Today it felt like Clint and I were just taking turns dealing with his crabbiness. It's those teeth.

But. When I was getting dinner ready, Clint was changing a particularly poopy diaper and I heard them talking over the moniter. Clint called me into the room, and Owen was chatting away. So we start saying "Hi Dada," and then gave him a chance to respond. He was looking at us intently and we said it again, and then he totally repeated us! Me and Clint were so excited, we started jumping up and down, and we hugged and kissed, and Owen got scared and started making his pout face. So I got real close to him and said it's OK! And then we tried to get him to say it again - and HE DID. He said "Hi Dada," three times. It was so awesome. After that, he must have gotten shy, because he mouthed the words and smiled but didn't make any noise. <3

Then, during the bath, I decided to reward him by putting some new bath toys in the tub that squirt water. That scared him so much that he started crying, reached for me, and held onto my tank top strap for dear life.

You can't win them all, I guess.