I knew the poop wasn't normal

I'm thinking back to a different time in my life. I was drinking my jack and sprite at the bar, wearing heels, and arguing with my friends about which Sex in the City character I was most like. Never did I think that in just a few short years I would be calling said friends to ask what their kids' poops looked like. Since some of you who read this haven't hit parenthood yet, we will skip the details. (Just know that one day, you will relate to this discussion.) Anyway, Russ' diapers were out of control and he was becoming fussier by the day. It took many doctor phone calls before someone took me seriously when I said that I thought Russ had a food allergy. Sure enough, he does. He is allergic to MILK. As Evan says, "Every Superman has his kryptonite."

So let me say this about food...I don't come from a family who diets. One time I bought reduced fat Wheat Thins and my Dad immediately asked my Mom if I had an eating disorder. Yes because 1 box of reduced fat crackers= eating disorder. Imagine what would have happened to me if I brought home coconut butter. I would have probably been sent to a juvenile detention center.

Well life has changed. I am now surrounded by hippie food. I happily serve Russ almond yogurt, soy milk, coconut butter, dairy-free bread, etc. I even make him Namaste pancakes, which get this, are $8.99. For pancakes. (* See previous post about me being cheap. This kills me but Russ freaking inhales them.) 

In 2 months we can try to give him food with milk baked-in. Some kids' bodies don't recognize the milk once it's been cooked. I'm hoping this is true for Russ. That would make things a lot easier! Either way, he is so much happier and I don't have to call people and ask them what their kid's poop looks like anymore. If you wanted to know, Russ' kind of looks like organic almond butter.

One is Fun!

Anyone who has had the joy of raising a child understands the excitement of the first birthday party! It the moment when you gather family and friends and throw yourselves a big bash. Let's be honest, who is the party really for? I mean, seriously, Russ would have been just as happy eating a Sammy Jammy in his teepee; It was us, the parents, who were ready to celebrate!

Luckily I didn't have to brainstorm much since we have 2 themes built into our last name.
Batt= 1) Baseball party  2) Batman party *) Maybe for his 21st we combine the two

So, for his first shindig, we made Russ our lil "Batt"boy and a baseball theme it was. If you know us as a couple then you know that Evan and I have a different style of party planning.  I immediately set out and started to make decorations with construction paper and glue sticks. The kindergarten teacher in me allows me to think that anything worth having can be made with construction paper. Also, as most of you know, I'm cheap. Evan is the opposite. He immediately started to google hot dog, margarita, snow cone, frozen yogurt and cotton candy machines. It got out of control so fast, we didn't even know what happened. Luckily, we were able to compromise and the party turned out perfectly! We had a FABULOUS time and want to thank everyone for coming. It was a SPECIAL day for us and we will be sure to tell Russ that he had a good time (well for about 15 minutes of it.)

Mustang Sally

Mustang Sally Evan:

It's taken me a month to blog about this. I wasn't going to for the following reasons:

1. Posting pics of your new car is only acceptable if:
 - It's something really cool like an old jeep.
 - You traded in your sexy car for  a minivan and you need people to tell you it's ok because it's "reliable"or to reassure you that you still got it!

2. This was not a Sally/Evan decision. (I will say that we have purchased 2 jeeps off of craiglist, fixed them up, enjoyed them for a few months and then sold them for a small profit. This car was supposed to be the same sort of thing.) If I blogged about it, I could no longer ignore this new thing in our garage.

3. If you are in a relationship, you probably have something you bet/barter with. For example, "I bet you a million dollars that I'm right." or "I'll give you a back rub if you will feed the dogs." In our relationship, Evan always bets/barters with a Mustang. Who in the heck actually believes that one must PAY UP in these actual situations?!

Side Note: Let me also say that Evan's spontaneity is one of my favorite qualities. It is what makes our marriage so much freaking fun. For example, nothing planned on a Saturday night? Let's get dressed in camo and go wrap our friends house. No NYE plans? Let's go to New Orleans for the night. However, surprising me with an old car did not get the response he expected. 

Anyway, I've done a pretty good job of giving the car the cold shoulder. I may have even hinted a smile when it broke down 3 times in the first week. However, I have started to check on it in the garage a bit. Maybe Evan is right, we have a little fun with it and then sell it, just like the Jeeps.

So, why I am writing about this 3rd wheel in our relationship? Because it may have just made our night last night. We decided to go on a date since we have had a hard week with a sick baby. Since Russ is finally better, we felt comfortable getting a sitter and going to dinner. We got all dressed and Evan asked, "Wanna take the mustang?" I asked, "Do you think it will get us there and back?"

Let me tell you, last night was awesome. We got in, rolled down the windows (no air conditioning), turned on oldies/ classic rock and were off. I don't know if he realized it, but Evan had his arm around me the whole time. He also kept saying things like, "I'm takin' my best gal to dinner." I couldn't help but smile the entire time.

So maybe I accidentally opened the door instead of rolling down the window, twice, while we were driving. Maybe we had to park it 4 times before we got the hang of it. Maybe we should still be arguing about it. However, before we do re-list it on Craig's List, I may have to enjoy it a bit.

 I couldn't help the feeling I got when we were both singing at the top of our lungs, cruising around like it was 1966.

Spur of the moment New Orleans trip- NYE

Our first craiglist jeep-: cost+ insurance+gas= sale price. Broke even on this one.

Wrapping Jake and Carrington's house. Sorry guys, we were bored.  (those are wigs.)

1966 Mustang

You Stuck a Lego Where? And other 11 month milestones

 As you know, I have not created a braggy, "my life with my perfect baby is just so glamourous and easy" kind of blog. However, I have bragged and smothered you with pictures of Ollie and Russ being best friends. All those pictures were so darn cute that I could have made a million dollars with the greeting card companies. (Wait. Be right back. Ollie just licked my peanut butter and jelly sandwich and now Russ is grabbing it...) Ok, like I was saying, those 2 were on their way to making it on that Channel 5 "Tell Me Something Good" segment. "Why is this all in past tense?" you may be asking aloud in front of your computer. Well, we actually have no idea. Ollie now hates the baby. He is terrified of him. He sees Russ crawling in and he takes off running. Tail between the legs, ears down and books it. We think Russ must have taken a lego and...well, you get it. So, while my dog & baby pics were getting more likes on Facebook than sorority girls in bikinis, this time in our lives has temporarily closed. Hopefully "to be continued..."

On a happy front, Russel has grown up so much this past month. While we had a rough 8 days of Mr. Screamies (yes, I took him to the doctor b/c I thought something was physically wrong- nope just a phase) the other weeks of month 10 were awesome!! Russ now crawls and pulls up on everything! He is fast, determined and all over the place. It has made our job so much more difficult but it is so fun seeing him grow and learn new tricks. Our favorite new trick is his head shake. He shakes it side to side like he is saying "no." That alone is cute but his timing has been amazing lately. It actually started a few weeks ago when Evan picked up some banh mi sandwiches from a local food truck. Those of you who know Evan, know that he is full of it. Evan was "explaining" to me that the French had formed colonies in Vietnam and together had invented banh mi sandwich. As Evan was bs-ing talking, Russ started shaking his head "no"and hasn't stopped since. One of the neighbors came up to us on a walk and asked Russ, "Are you being nice to you parents?" Head shake no. Another lady said, "You are going to be a shameless flirt." Head shake no. I ask if he likes Mommy more than Daddy. Head shake no- which we have found also means "yes."

Memories.

Russ pulling up on the toilet. I've obviously given up on being a germ freak.

Stats: 11 months, wears 24 month clothing, 26lbs, 6 teeth.
Favorites: Gerber Graduate Snacks, playing in the front yard, eating bananas

Napa

As I started unpacking tonight, I was thinking that wine tasting is actually one of my top 3 favorite activities. The others being a) going on walks with my boys and b) eating sushi and/or chocolate cake. Then I realized that both of these activities are more fun while drinking wine. So, I guess the point I'm trying to make is that I REALLY like wine. So when Evan's mom said she wanted to celebrate her birthday in Napa, we bought tickets the next morning.

Getting There:

Evan and I were terrified to put the Chunk Nugget on a 3.5 hour flight to Cali. Mr. Happy-Go-Lucky had turned into quite the pill lately. He was acting so crazy that I actually took him to the doctor to see what was wrong. Nothing, just a weird phase. So, let's just say Mr. Screamies (as we had been calling him for a week) lived up to his name. The first hour was filled with screaming as well as that weird arching back thing babies like to do. The second hour he slept (thank God!) after bouncing him in the plane bathroom for like 20 minutes. The last hour and a half, Evan and I took turns doing anything and everything to keep him entertained. ("Look at the plastic cup, Russ! Isn't it awesome?" chunk. "Oh look at the book! It's so great!" chunk. And so on.)

We successfully landed in San Fran and picked up Missy, Deepak, Nicole and Justin. After trying 3 rental cars, we found one that would hold all of us, our luggage and the baby gear. We fought the traffic and joined Evan's parents in the lovely wine country.

Napa:

Once we were there, it was amazing! My favorite thing we did was go to a winery called V. Sattui. It was absolutely beautiful. We bought food and had a little picnic on the grounds. We also bought a bunch of wine to bring home with us. Evan's parents even joined their wine club.  Heaven on Earth. I would recommend it to anyone going to visit the area. 

Russel at V. Sattui

We drank a lot of wine but we also ate a lot of good food. The CIA has a campus in St. Helena and you can eat in the school's restaurant. It is really fancy and delish. I was nervous about taking the baby in such a nice place but I was not going to miss out. Yes, the food was awesome and yes, the baby threw up on me 3 times there. It was one of those situations that will be funny later. 

Another highlight was celebrating Russel's First Easter. Evan's parents drove their "bus" to the wine country, so we had a little Easter party on 4 wheels. Russ enjoyed crawling around all over the place and even playing with the steering wheel.

Happy 1st Easter!!

Let's be honest though. Even with awesome wine and yummy food, what is the best part of being together as a family? Family game night. Evan's mom brought some game called Headbandz (yep, with a z.) Basically everyone wears a headband with a card facing outward. You can't see it but everyone else can. You ask the group yes or no questions and try to guess what is on your card. This game was ridiculous and even more so after drinking wine all day long. Some of our cards were the following: bra, beaver, Hong Kong, and Britney Spears. So yeah, you get the picture. 

So, this morning we were not ready to leave. We wished we had one more day of wine, food, family and Headbandz. We were also dreading the trip home with Screamies.

Trip Home:

We got to the airport with about 2 hours to spare (you have to place it safe with the San Fran traffic.) Russ had so much fun crawling around and making friends with strangers. It was time to board the plane and we were in line when Russ started tooting. As I was holding him, I realized we had more than just toots happening. I grabbed the baby gear and ran to the bathroom. As I was changing him, he did the newborn boy thing and peed EVERYWHERE! I ditched his clothes, cleaned him off and ran back out to the airplane line. TOTALLY forgot extra clothes (like a beginner mom.) Evan jogged off to a souvenir shop, bought some new duds, and we ran to get on the plane (which was delayed an hour.) However, once we finally took off, Russ was an angel!! Whew! He didn't figure out how to take the water bottle cap off and dump it all over us until we landed. It was kind of like the gatorade or champagne shower celebration. We didn't care! We had made it home without a screaming baby. 

The Batt girls at V. Sattui

Deepak would bring a milkshake to a wine tasting and then add the dessert wine.

Russel and the birthday girl at Mumm

Family at Louis Martini

Russ, waiting for his new gear.

***Ok, I am so excited to announce this!!!!! I didn't include it in my original post because I wasn't sure if the word was out. I just got permission to share! Russ is going to have a baby cousin! Justin and Nicole told us in Napa that they are going to have a baby!!!!! I am so excited that I can hardly stand it!!!! YAY YAY YAY!!

10 Months

Whew...it's been a long time since I have been on here. It's cute that I thought I would have time to sit down and type every few days.
Yesterday Russ turned 10 months old!! If you do the math, that means I will have a ONE year old in 2 months. What? Anyway, I'll admit it; Month 9 has been my favorite. Let me start off by saying that Russ is the WORST sleeper ever. This problem is even worse now that he has learned how to sit and pull up in his crib. Oh and he also learned how to scream at the top of his lungs. So it goes like this: 1) Russ wakes up in the middle of the night. 2) He sits up and then pulls up trying to make a break for it. 3) He gets freaked out and then screams. 4) Mom and Dad start the "sleep training" process and ignore him. 5) Mom decides this is ridiculous. 6) Mom is up for 10-30 min comforting child back to sleep. 7) Russ remembers all the fun stuff we do each day, so he decides to wake up at 6:43 on the dot every morning. (Unless he decides that we should get up earlier.) 8) Mom inserts coffee into her veins, hears Russ laugh and then decides that waking up at 6:43 was probably a good idea anyway.

Fun Facts:

-My 10 month old is busting out of his 18-24 month Batman pajamas.
-During month 9, he crawled twice to the one dog in our family who has no interest in him. (Why do guys always want the girl they can't have?)
-He learned how to open drawers. Darn it.
- He says "Dada," "baba," and "woah," which probably all mean "Mom" in Spanish.
- A 5th tooth is coming in which is cute but has turned him into a vampire. He gets all hyper and bites me. It is hilarious but painful.
- He is pulling up on everything, especially on us and the Boxer.
- He loves going out to eat. He enjoys "real people food" mashed up into small pieces.
- Adventures this month included a trip to my parents' house in Boerne, a stop in Temple to visit cousins, and a field trip to downtown McKinney for an afternoon.

Hanging in the Hill Country in his cousin's truck. 16th birthday present?

Our lives as we know it are over.

Now that he can open drawers...

Russ passed out sitting up.

9 months

Little Man is almost 9 months old and all of a sudden has so many new tricks.  It's about time because I was sick of answering the same questions: "Does he roll around a lot?" "No." "Is he sleeping through the night?" "No." And my ABSOLUTE favorite one that makes me take a deep breath so I won't punch someone: "Does he crawl yet?" "No. My baby weighs more than all 3 of your kids combined (and could eat them) and is happy just hanging out.

Even though he couldn't do these "tricks" he was still more awesome than anyone I know. He has 4, yes 4 teeth. He has bright red hair that usually spikes straight up in the air. He laughs at all of my jokes. He can pet the dogs, play with toys, play the keyboard, and melt your heart.

HOWEVER, this past weekend was huge! He learned how to roll and won't stop! He rolls around all over the place and thinks it's a game. He can "drive" his car forward and now tears around the house. Tonight he "crawled" backwards (naked.) Russ also discovered new instruments: the drum, bells, and his new favorite, the tambourine. Today was the first day that I made him his own plate of lunch and dinner. He ate meatballs, veggies, and fruit. He drank water from a sippy cup. Afterwards he splashed like crazy in his tub. Ok, ok, now I'm just bragging.

I thought I would also share a list of his current 3 favorite things:

1. His new Teepee

Evan bought himself Russ a teepee

2. Pedro- Mimi sent him a new toy and we thought it was a mistake. It looked like something from a Mexican market. However, Mimi was right and it rocks. We named it Pedro.

Russ + Pedro= Party

3. Ball Pit

Wanna join me?