Awesome day!

Bret and a polar bear having a stare-down :)

Bret and daddy looking at ducks!

Quack, quack

Bret wanting to touch a Sloth bear...Grrrrr

After moaning and groaning all summer that we don't do anything as a family, we went to the zoo. It was a beautiful day; perfect to be outside.

Bret LOVED it - he kept looking around and pointing at things (indiscriminately) and screaming at times! We went on the safari train ride and he couldn't turn his head fast enough!! LOL

We walked around for a couple of hours until it was past Bret's nap time and then we headed home. I don't know who had more fun, Bret or Jason!! I've learned that the zoo is one place that may never get old no matter how many times you go because you see something new every time.

It was fun and I can't wait to go again!!

Say goodnight to the bad guy

Why does it sometimes seem like things backfire even when you have good intentions?

Jason has a 22 year old cousin who is pregnant with her second kid. Let's call her See, for the sake of this story. See's unmarried, living at home and can barely make ends meet. When See's SIL told me that she was preggers *again* she also told me some other things that weren't the best of news, including not taking a prenatal vitamin. I saw See last week and asked her why she wasn't taking a vitamin and she said that they upset her stomach. That's fair - I'm sure that has happened to a ton of people. But wouldn't common sense tell you that you should try another vitamin? Or at least attempt to find one that doesn't upset your stomach? Nope. I saw her tonight and asked her again about the vitamin and she said 'no'. She's about 18 weeks preggers and doesn't take a vitamin. Yes, I know 100 years ago prenatal vitamins didn't exist and babies were born just fine (some, anyway). However, we live in 2008. It is expected to take a damn vitamin. So, being the critical big mouth that I am, I told her to quit being selfish and take a vitamin. Now Jason is mad at me for saying something.

Yes, I'm critical. I internally criticize a lot, partially because I'm so critical of myself. It's a therapy issue, I know. I give dirty looks to people to smoke with kids in the car and I throw daggers at parents who give a 2 year old soda. So sue me. I don't feel guilty for saying something to See. The consequences (good and bad) of her choices will be forced upon this baby. Just because she's young and ignorant doesn't mean the baby should suffer. That's just my opinion.

9 month check up & sneak peek pics

Bret had his 9 month wellness appointment today. His stats have leveled off a bit. He weighs 19 lbs 7 oz and 27-1/2" long - 50th percentile for both. The DR said that it's not surprising since he started crawling. She said that she worries only when kids drop below the chart (and stay there). If she's not worried, then I guess I'm not either.

I asked her questions about finger foods since Bret seems to be pretty bored with pureed stuff. Since he technically only has two teeth (his tops haven't come all the way through yet), he really can't chew anything like cut up fruit, cooked veggies, etc - plus the puke factor. His DR said it's ok to give him Nutrigrain bars and stuff like that. Basically anything soft that he can mush up in his mouth. He's gained 2 lbs since his last appointment so I know he's not starving! LOL :)

Tara posted pics of Bret on her blog today so I want to share them with you, too!! I can't wait to see them all. These pics total capture Bret's personality - shy, inquisitive, determined and loving. Enjoy!

Inherited traits

When I was pregnant I remember thinking
"what is he/she going to be like? Is he/she going to be laid back like Jason or stubborn and hard-headed like me?" Well I'm starting to get an idea of what the answers to my questions are -

Bret picks his nose like I do (hey, I like to breathe!!), he is pretty stubborn and is very inquisitive. Unfortunately, he has inherited a trait that I was hoping he wouldn't; my pukiness. When I was little (like 5-8 years old), I would always seem to puke. If I didn't like something I ate, if I ate too much, if my spoon or fork hit the inside of my mouth just the wrong way. I don't know....but I was a puker. Bret has inherited my sensitive puke trait. Jason was feeding him dinner last night and Bret was eating great until I gave him some apple. I cut it up pretty small since his front teeth haven't come all the way through yet. Bret didn't seem to get that he had to chew it, then swallow it like his Cheerios. Maybe it was the texture that wigged him out. He kept chewing and chewing and chewing. Finally Jason was like 'ok it's been like 10 minutes and he still hasn't swallowed the apple. I'm getting it out of his mouth before he chokes.' Just as he said that, Bret starts the cat-hurling-a-hairball-noise and pukes. YUCK.

A few nights before, I was feeding him and I put just a little bit too much on the spoon and he puked. Then some time before that, I gave Bret 2 Cheerios to eat (and put the rest out of his reach). He grabbed the 2 I gave him then banged his hand on the high chair tray (which moved the Cheerios) and grabbed THREE more, shoved them into his mouth and then didn't know what to do with a mouthful of food, so he puked. NICE. I give him credit for figuring out how to get the Cheerios to move, but seriously, why puke?! LOL :) Bret has inherited picky eating from Jason. The only vegetable Jason will eat is corn and it has to be either on the cob or kernel. He'll puke if it's cream of corn. Yes, he'll eat other vegetables but very sparingly. Bret is getting to be the same way. Meals are taking FOREVER to get through. I don't think he likes his high chair because for the past week, he whines whenever I put him in it. I think he's in the in-between stage - he doesn't want pureed foods anymore but he doesn't have enough teeth to really chew anything (I tried giving him ground up turkey and chicken, with no luck). He WANTS to eat what we're eating but kind of can't. I tried making some food a little chunkier so that the texture is different but - he doesn't like it and pukes. UGHHH it can be frustrating at times.

I swear, I'm afraid now of all the bad things I've done when I was younger because I have a feeling that they will come back to haunt me pretty soon!

Say cheeeeeeese

Bret had his 9-month pictures taken this morning. A friend of ours is a "lifestyle" photographer, that means no posing involved, which I like a lot. We set up a few things in the living room for Bret to play with and stand on so that his pictures could be taken. We changed his outfit and took him outside but he really doesn't like grass too much. Funny, because he did at first and not so much now!! He lasted about 5 - 10 minutes on the grass and was totally done. Didn't even want his toes touching the stuff!

I can not wait to see what she took of him!! I'll post a few when I get the proofs next week :)

In other news - Bret has mastered climbing the stairs. I for sure didn't think he could do it on his own when one day I was going potty (gotta love the baby terms now that we're parents) and by the time I got out, he was already up 6 or 7 steps. I had a tiny heart attack and then praised him for a great job. My fearless boy. He says 'ma-ma' but mostly when he's upset/crying/tired. It's really super cute. I love hearing him say it. LOL

Other than that, not too much going on.

Gehen wir!!!

On Wednesday we were taking a walk and having small talk. Jason was telling me about some career aspirations/possibilities and what he didn't want to have happen with his career. The conversation came around to an interest in an overseas assignment (3 months). He has mentioned this before but kind of in passing. Now, it sounded a bit more serious. I obviously asked where could we go. China and India are totally out of the question. I don't care how much of an impact those countries are on the global market. He named a few, including Germany. He's had a few co-workers go to Baden-Baden, which I keep hearing is beautiful. If we do take this seriously, then I'd like to go before Bret starts school. That would be super cool (at least the idea of it).

Yankee Stadium

The trip to NYC made me realize that I underestimate my son. I was nervous for about a week before about how he'd do on the plane, in the city and basically not being on a schedule for an entire weekend. He did AWESOME on the plane; there and back. He was in awe of the new surroundings and the people. Friday was spent at the Statue of Liberty. We were going to go to Ellis Island, too, but it was getting too late in the day for Bret. Plus it was really hot and I didn't know that it was going to take us 5+ hours (I brought Bret's lunch with us, but not his dinner).

Saturday we spent most of the day at the stadium. It poured up until about 1/2 before the game started. I was a little scared that a rain delay would be called. YIKES. I guess it's a guy thing, but I wasn't super impressed with the stadium itself. Yes, I know it's like 80 years old and it's the 'house that Ruth built'. The ambiance, aura or whatever else you want to call it, was cool though. There were a ton of people EVERYWHERE. People inside the stadium, outside the stadium, in the street. I swear, I've never been surrounded by that many people. That part was super cool and fun.

Jason and I rate several things on our trips. The stadium, the city and the hot dog (Jason, am I missing something?). Last year we went to Seattle (Mariners) and I think I had the WORST hot dog ever. In. My. Life. It was totally disgusting (although some of you may think all hot dogs are disgusting). The one at Yankee Stadium was probably one of the best. It was a Nathan's hot dog. Yum. I haven't decided if the one at Wrigley Field was better.

In other news, Bret's two front teeth are almost through. Thank God. His sleeping pattern has been crazy since we got back from NYC. I've been trying so hard to get him back on schedule and he's fighting me so badly. He's been waking up several times a night since we got back. Last night was the worst so far - 4X. I felt like I had a newborn again.

He has been a mobile machine. Crawling and climbing everywhere. Non stop!! His 'thing' is to crawl over Jason and me. It's hilarious.

He's starting to point to stuff. It's so cute. He grunts and points. He knows to point to the cat in a book. I've been trying to teach him a dog but he's partial to the cat. Probably since we have one.

We're getting his 9-month pics taken soon. More on that later.