Updating Soon

We had made the decision not to blog until Kaiya was home from the hospital. Since she's home now and doing much better, we'll be posting some updates soon!

HUGE Prayer Request

Our very dear friends Mark and Heidi DeKorne really need your prayer. Their sweet baby girl Kaiya is 2 months old and in the hospital with bacterial meningitis. Please pray for her quick recovery with no long term complications. You can follow their blog here http://dekorne.blogspot.com/

~Beth

Goodnight Who?

Hi.

So, I've been checking out this book every night before I jump in the crib. It's called "Goodnight Moon"... and it's the dumbest thing I've ever read.

Now for those of you who have never had the pleasure, the story is really quite simple. There's a room. And I am first shown everything that's in it - great. It's an ugly room, but I can go with that. We have a telephone, a red balloon, and a picture of a cow jumping over the moon (I smell foreshadowing). Blah, blah, blah... kittens... blah, blah, blah... mittens... blah, blah, blah... mouse.

And after I am introduced to everything in the room, I now say goodnight to everything - one by one.

One by one.

Goodnight bears. Goodnight chairs. Goodnight kittens. Goodnight mittens. Goodnight sense of intellect. Goodnight self worth. Blah, blah, blah...

However, my favorite spread says "Goodnight nobody." "Goodnight mush." There is literally a blank page that says "Goodnight nobody." Followed by a page where we wish the cold bowl of oatmeal (or whatever the heck it is) on the end table good night.

Question-

It was published in 1947 - and nobody has been able to do better than "Goodnight nobody - Goodnight mush" !???? 61 years and that's really what we're gonna hang our hat on?

Anywho... I just needed to process that with you. Sorry, it's late - I'm gonna chug a bottle and hit the sack.

Goodnight kittens.

Goodnight toy house.

Goodnight moon.

Goodnight air.

Goodnight recession.

Goodnight post-modernism.

Goodnight ceiling fan (I love you).

Goodnight left over hummus and pita in the fridge.

-Keller

Peas Please

This was a very unfortunate use of $.79

But on the other hand, just as entertaining as an $8 movie for us.

Incredibly, he had already bombed another white shirt with carrots earlier in the day.

After 30 minutes getting him out of his pea coat and scrubbing down his mug... it was time for naked jump-a-rooing

Beth has a hilarious song that accompanies Keller everytime he gets in here. I'll catch her on camera one of these times and post it.

I don't know how that creepy eye keeps showing up over his shoulder in these photos.

We took him to Downtown Disney for the first time during the long weekend over Thanksgiving. 

We Have Rollover

After Beth has stressed out for many weeks about the fact that Keller doesn't roll over, crawl, walk, or do jumping jacks - we hit a milestone this past week. On Wednesday morning before I left home he was laying on the living room floor on his stomach grunting and groaning away. I was down the hall when I heard Beth whispering urgently for me. I poked my head around the corner just in time to see Keller flop himself from his side over onto his back. We jumped around the living room shouting and high-fiving each other (Beth and I) in excitement.

So far, we've been able to get him to do it each day since then. Actually, we don't feed him until he does.

I'M KIDDING.

Here's a few pictures from over Thanksgiving weekend thus far.

Some Fun Stuff

Hello All-

Some random pictures and video to share with you.

First off, some of you may recall my post from many months ago about the space shuttle landing late one night and scaring the bejonkers out of me with the sonic boom. Well, Shuttle Endeavor launched again on Friday night in what is likely to be the last of night launches for NASA. I was able to get a few pictures from our back yard with the shutter open for 30 seconds.

You may notice I was able to work out the launch schedule with NASA so the full moon would be directly under the launch arc.

Second... The things that Keller finds fun are rather simple - thank goodness. Observe as he laughs like I've never heard him at the sound of my fake hiccups.

As long as he finds these entertaining and I don't have to upgrade to something like the actual heimlich manuever....

And finally, some photos from around the house-

The killer smile is for daddy. The creepy eyeball looking over my shoulder is for mommy.

It appears that as my mouth has grown, so too has my fist. This is a true dilemma.

This is a sweet picture, so dad won't ruin it

Two questions - 1) Why is mom so close I can taste lens?  2) What does it take to get dad to shave on the weekends? It's friggin' brutal on my head.

Your attempts at entertainment bore me.

You may be asking who took this picture for us...

Well, it was my redneck neighbor Wendell and his wife Evelyn. Hey, I don't call them anything they don't call themselves.

-Justin

Happy Birthday Juice!

Justin's 29th birthday was yesterday -- last one before the big 3-0! I had a big day planned: we were going to give Keller to my parents and go to Disney for the day. Unfortunately, I had a head cold come on with a vengeance and was flat on my back all day so we just spent his birthday hanging out at home. Justin said he really enjoyed spending all that time with the baby.

It will come as no surprise to anyone who knows Justin that he is an amazing husband and father. I feel lucky every day that he eventually liked me back. :)

Happy Halloween

Hello. Beth here.

So, I've never been good at dressing up. As a kid on Halloween I would use it as an excuse to wear makeup. Put on a pretty dress and makeup and I could be a princess or.... basically just a princess. In High School during spirit week on "crazy hair day" I'd put some clips in my hair or on "toga day" I would dress normally and then bring a sheet to school so a friend could help me do something with it. I don't have the best imagination when it comes to this kind of stuff.

So, I realized that everyone would be updating their blogs to show their cute kids in all kinds of adorable costumes for Halloween. Well, I hadn't prepared anything for Keller and I just happened to pick a "hand-me-down" outfit out of the closet (thanks Shelley) that was orange so I figured this would be my cute Halloween picture. :)

I do have a great idea for next year though. See - I'm so bad at this stuff that I have to plan a year in advance.

Also - just a side note. I never thought about the parents of the United States when I thought of daylight savings time. What a nightmare for parents who have worked their butts off to get their kids on a good schedule and then this thing throws it all off!

Nana Jo's Visit

Mom was able to get a plane ticket at the last minute to come down for a few days. Keller's twice as old as he was last time she was here, so it's been a lot of fun. Here's a handful of pictures - for the full gallery on Picasa click here

Just so you know...

Toasted cheese + hummus + jalepenos + onions = amazing

That's 11 Heidi - and it's only the 15th!!!!

-j

It's that time

For adorable seasonal pajamas. Special thanks to Great Grandpa & Grandma Swanson!

There is literally a pumpkin on  my butt! How funny is that!? 

I will run circles around you with my pumpkin feet - then eat them.

Oh, and these are 9 month PJs. I'm 4 months old. Maybe I could cut out one protein shake per day.

How do I know I'm a little pumpkin? Because - look - it says right here.

I SAID there is a pumpkin on my butt! Are you guys listening to me. This is HILARIOUS!!

4 Months!

Keller had his 4 month appointment yesterday. He weighs 16 pounds and is 26 inches long. He's in the 75th percentile for weight and 90th (!!!) for height. My doctor said I basically have a 6 month old. That terrifies me. How big is this kid going to get? Plus I don't want him to grow up too fast!

Because he's growing so fast and eating so much it's putting quite a strain on me so we're starting to explore alternative food sources. Our sweet little boy refuses to take formula so far (awesome) but I gave him rice cereal and he seemed to take it ok --- I was VERY excited :) Of course I had to document the experience:

Pre-Food (not quite sure what's coming):

During Food:

Post-Food: (I love it - he looks so content)

Also - I thought this was a fluke, but the only onesies he fits into now are 9 months. So today I put him in a different brand and to my dismay it fit perfectly as evidenced below:

Small Detour

Sorry blogger. It's been a busy night. I need to request that you scroll down to the post titled "Dear Heidi" and work your way up.

But don't you dare think it's related to Project Runway.

It's not.

I don't have time for that hot mess.

Now get scrolling. 

Slowly.

Don't trip.

Some of us don't have health insurance.

-Justin

p.s. Seriously

3rd Time's A Charm

...and then you realize it's a snake charmer.

So, I realize I've made a few comments about my job now without much explanation. Just to give a quick update-

I've been working at Island One Resorts / Club Navigo since August 1st as  the Creative Director. This being my third job in 2008 after a couple other opportunities that didn't go quite as planned. I thought sure that the corporate route was more safe and secure. But now after laying off about 130 people and cutting remaining salaries by 20%, it's another story. Basically, I've been informed that it would certainly be in my best interest to jump ship before the icy water.

So now there's enough of us looking for jobs that I'm building a website to post all of our profiles, portfolios and resumes. So if you know of anybody looking for some good people in the creative or sales/marketing field... look me up. Actually, creative, sales/marketing, HR, construction, or PR. You know what, while we're at it, all of those in addition to; custodial, food service, house painting, postal delivery, aquarium cleaning, chimney sweeping, window washing, factory labor, crash test dummying, parachute testing... pretty much anything that offers a pay check and is hiring. I'll post our website soon.

Some Photos

It's 9:00

Has anyone in the Grand Rapids region had a baby yet?

10 Ways To Save Money During Your 3rd Job Transition of the Year

•  Lots of homemade hummus
•  Daily electric blackouts from 4:00 - 7:00
•  Pulling clothes from high school out to get altered instead of buying new ones
•  Don't buy every great domain name that hits you in the middle of the night
•  Coffee filters and grounds can be reused
•  Condiment packets from gas stations make a great ketchup soup
•  Cold... cold... showers
•  Claim the cats as dependents

Crap, I can't even come up with 10. We're screwed.

Agoraphobic

Did you guys know that means 'fear of leaving your house' ?

crazy

Bring your baby to work day

On Friday Beth and Keller came to see me at my office and eat lunch with our creative team. We had a good time hanging out with Lauren, Ashley and Jamie for what turned out to be our last lunch together as a group (more on that later).

While we were hanging out in the design pit, Ashley snapped some pictures for us.

Why are the three girls winking at me?

That yogurt was delicious... on the way down and up.

Dear Heidi

I was settling in with my laptop for the night to work on my resume, portfolio, and hopefully find a promising job lead since I'm expecting that when I show up at our office on Monday morning, there will be a fleet of moving trucks out back and my key card won't work.

But apparently, I've got more important things to do for the sake of our readers. I apologize for shirking my responsibilities, especially since people appear to be counting the number of entries per month and holding me accountable.

Please forgive me Mrs. DeKorne. I will refund all of your monthly subscription fees immediately and hope that you'll consider becoming a loyal reader again in the future.

I'm just kidding Heids! But speaking of shirking responsibilities... aren't you 2 days past due for having a baby?

Hugs,

Justin

[ Overheard ]

• "Who spilled carrot soup in the crib?"
• "Hold this while I go throw up."
• "Did you give him a ba-.... we need to give him another bath."
• "I don't like him watching the TV. But at least he's quiet."
• "He doesn't fit in that one anymore."
• "Can I buy Use Somebody by Kings of Leon for his bedtime mix?"
• "No."
• "I'm glad he's ready for size 3 diapers since Publix brand is $5 cheaper."
• "Who's my big boy? Are you my big boy?"
• "Squeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaal"
• "Who are you calling big?"
• "What's that sm...... oh, it's your turn."
• "Can we get a second coffee maker?"
• "Yes."
• "How do we Skype them this smile?"
• "9 month clothes? He was born in June." - "Oh really? I think I was there Justin." - "I'm just sayin'..."
• "Who wants to sit with daddy while he approves locked picture?"
• "Remember when we used to go to Church?"
• "Can you please put a shirt on when you hold the baby?" - "Can you please make it less than 93 degrees in September?"
• "Did you buy Use Somebody?" - "Buy who?" - "Use Somebody" - "Some who?" - "ITUNES SAYS YOU BOUGHT IT" - "Well, if iTunes says it... it must be true."
• "Do you think the baby is bored?" - "Yes. I heard him telling all his friends that sleepovers should always be at somebody else's house 'cause we're horridly boring."

New Advances

Well Keller has reached a new milestone. This isn't the best picture since it was taken with my camera phone but I had to capture it right away since we're finding it hard to believe that he's holding himself up this well already.

He's 3 1/2 months and he's laughing, smiling and interacting with us more and more every day. I think he's starting to teethe as well because he can't stop drooling and chewing. We're getting such a kick out of him!

"Things I Learned From Uncle Ryan"

• That my dad has a twin brother who's 5 years younger
  
• How to say "Holla" when I answer my cell phone
  
• That hats are meant to be worn off center
• Chicago-ans are scared of babies (see first photo)
• Car rides are more fun with somebody in the back seat
• Laughing is kind of like coughing and hiccuping at the same time
• Kitchy sayings are for T-shirts and tattoos
• Remotes don't work themselves
• A dirty diaper is a sure way to get handed back off to mom
• Nap time is for adults too
• Apparently if you don't have to wake up to nurse me or rock me back to sleep, you look a lot more chipper in the morning
• It is OK to use a baby that's not yours to pick up ladies