Fashion Plate

Do these stripes make me look fat???




Thank you Tanya!

Christmas Cheer

Christmas was extra special this year. Not only is it Cortland's 1st Christmas, but I also got two new brothers.

Han Joon is from S. Korea and is the politest young man I have had the pleasure to meet. He also has great taste in childrens hats.

Carl is from Sweden and he got the ball rolling by initiating the trimming of the tree. He also boiled me an egg.

Both of the boys are a wonderful addition to the family and I'm looking forward to when they visit in the Spring.

It was 14 degrees in KS so we stayed in most of the time. Cortland and his Grandma Gunn had no problem with the arrangements. They got along like peas and carrots.

Cortland also enjoyed the company of his Great Grandma Roehl while we were there.

We are currently in TX visiting Alan's parents. (And for the record it's in the upper 70's here) Cortland is an equal opportunity snuggler when it comes to Grandmas.


I hope everyone had a merry little Christmas this year!

8 Weeks Old 9lbs 6oz, 22" long

Cortland got his 1st round of shots Wednesday. He was not nearly as traumatized as his mommy was. Good thing his daddy was there to help because I retreated to a chair in the far corner of the exam room. I can give a hundred shots to myself, but apparently can't stand to see someone prick my baby.

Dr. Hanson (Dr. Chris Hanson, isn't that too funny?) said that his rash is baby acne. Yay! He also said that an allergic reaction won't manifest as a rash in a baby this young because the immune system is not well enough established. He advised I start feeding from one side and not both in response to a possible lactose sensitivity. (Tasha, call me when you get a chance. I need to talk to you about this.)

He did say he was concerned about Cortland's pain along with back arching after he eats. He said he wanted to watch for reflux.

What a clinical little post. I'm too tired for much more than just the facts today.

Christmas Card Outtakes

Cortland on the Gunn plaid


Finally Asleep

Self Medicating

I was cleaning out my ear last night when a pointy pain about made me jump out of my skin. You know those deep, owie pimples (never call it a zit, that word is as bad as the f-word that means bubble) that hurt like a wasp sting? Well, I have one right inside my ear.

(I just asked Alan how to spell owie and he completely stopped moving and I could see his brain shuffling through all of the sentences and paragraphs he's ever read to see if he has ever seen the word printed anywhere. I am never more in love with him than when I can see his big ol' brain working.)

I think I got the owie from the glycerin in Grace's eardrops. It was the middle of the night and I just couldn't take the earache for another second and they helped so I don't feel so crazy nu-nu for using them.

I do feel a little crazy nu-nu for telling you about it, though.

Milk

Cortland goes to the doctor on Wednesday for his 1st round of shots. I'm going to ask if they'll take him to the back and give him a popsicle stick with spray cheese to lick while he's getting his shot, just like the vet does for Grace.

We're also going to ask if his rash is a milk allergy or just baby acne. Since I cut dairy and caffeine out of my diet muffin-butt has returned to his pleasant little self at night. He still has TONS of gas that seems to hurt really bad, but it clears up with Mylicon drops and off to sleep he goes.

Please let this not be a milk allergy. Mister Misties are not the same as ice cream and neither is frozen Kool Whip.

Ramblings

I don't care how expensive the paper towel is, whenever I get one wet and squeeze out the excess water it turns into a doughy lump that I can't straighten out without tearing. It reminds me of a piece of Wonder bread squished into a bread ball.

A Little Light in the World

Lookie! Lookie! Lookie!

It's called Sweet Dreams.


Isn't this the most fun light switch cover you've ever seen???

*****(off on a tangent in my mind)

Which reminds me of a trip I got to take in 5th grade with the family of my best friend Angy. We were at the KOA campground and I said something we did was the funnest thing ever. Angy's mom told us that funnest wasn't a word. I remember later learning fun, more fun and most fun when we studied more and most grammar rule.

Well guess what? Funnest is now a word. Just when you think you're getting the hang of stuff, they change all the rules.

(back in the real world)*****


Anyway, back to the Funnest light switches in the whole wide world! There is something for everyone.







It's the little touches that makes a house a home. Find the switch just for you HERE.

All I Want for Christmas...

Dear Santa,

For Christmas this year I would like this ring. It's the least expensive of the rings on the Zales website at only $150.00.

Be enchanted. Flaunt your style by adding "Just Hello Kitty®" to your collection. "Just Hello Kitty®" is simple perfection. This Sterling silver and enamel ring with pink tourmaline bow is an effortless complement to everyone's wardrobe. Perfect for every Hello Kitty® fan from four to forever.

Now this little gem comes with a price tag of $395.00.

Or, Santa, you could just go hog-wild and get me this little beauty for only $995.00.

Whisper your deepest secrets to Hello Kitty®. She'll lock them up and keep them safe forever. Covered in pink and white sapphires, this Hello Kitty® pendant is a true treasure. The precious gemstones gleam brightly with the sterling silver setting. Hello Kitty®, inside of a delicate heart, and her key suspend from a 20.0-inch cable chain with a claw closure. She holds the key to your heart forever.

HELLO PEOPLE! IT'S FREAKING HELLO KITTY FOR HELL'S SAKE!
No one needs a $995.00 ANYTHING that's Hello Kitty!


**But Santa, really, the 1st one in a size 6 please.**

Here is the link to all of the Hello Kitty® sparkle. Make Christmas special for everyone this year!

Craft Between Constant Feedings

Thought maybe a picture of my craft project would cheer my Tanya up.


Babies can't see pastel colors until later, so yesterday I made black, white and red tags to replace the little pastel stuffed animals that hung on C's swing. I remembered after I was done that checkerboards are the best contrast, but he still seems to be okay with the "&". In fact, he is so okay with it, he is currently sound asleep in his swing.

A test

I got this email today and thought it would be an ineresting little test.

HOW SMART IS YOUR RIGHT FOOT?
This is hysterical.
You have to try this.
It is absolutely true.
I guess there are some things that the brain cannot handle.

HOW SMART IS YOUR RIGHT FOOT?
You have to try this please, it takes 2 seconds.
I could not believe this!!! It is from an orthopedic surgeon............ This will boggle your mind and will keep you trying over and over again to see if you can outsmart your foot, but, you can't.
It's preprogrammed in your brain!

1. Without anyone watching you (they will think you are GOOFY......)and while sitting at your desk in front of your computer, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles.

2. Now, while doing this, draw the number '6' in the air with your right hand.
Your foot will change direction.

I told you so!!!
And there's nothing you can do about it!
You and I both know how stupid it is, but before the day is done you are going to try it again, if you've not already done so.

My foot didn't change direction, but I'm a little right/left impaired.

Whose foot changed direction?

ETA: Okay, I'm a LOT right/left impaired. When the exercise is done properly, my foot does change direction. Oops. Must learn how to follow directions.

Christmas Cards

A little bird told me that one of the packages of Christmas cards I sent required additional postage. If you are one of the families that I sent these cards to, I apologize. If the post office puts a request of $.20 in your mailbox, know that it's worth it for the cute picture on the front.

Sorry for the inconvenience!

Videos for the Grandmas

Cortland lifting his head

Cortland looking cute

Cortland crying (special request from Grandma Gunn because she's a funny lady)

More videos

More videos

Hiccups

Hanging out

Newest Member of the Family

With all of the baby stuff and holiday stuff I completely forgot to announce something!

Did anyone notice Ciara's new name when she posted a comment on the cherry pie entry???

CIARA GOT MARRIED! To this delicious looking man! And he's sweet too! And smart!


Welcome to the family, Greg. We are so glad you finally found Ciara. She has been waiting her whole life for you.

Introducing Greg and Ciara Crans!

All That's Left is a Frozen Burrito

Thanksgiving was a treat this year. We went to Tanya and Jim's for dinner and stayed for the UT game. Cortland spun some sort of spell on Tanya's brother and his wife, they didn't put him down for a second. Not only didn't they put him down, but they proclaimed over every little face he made. It made my heart happy.

A little tip for anyone wishing to try something a little different, put whole cranberries and pecans in the stuffing. Oh. My. Gosh. Heaven. I love Tanya's kitchen. It's one of my favorite places ever.

Now it's on to Christmas cards. I've been working on those all weekend. Okay, since Sunday. I couldn't decide on one kind so I ended up with five. The theme is "Everyone-Gets-a-Different-Card Year! It's almost as good as homemade!" I tried to fit that slogan on a banner but it was too long.

Off to eat my frozen burrito. *Sigh* Yup, Thanksgiving is over.

A little picture to get everyone in the holiday mood.

Bah! Humbug!

Contribution Update!!!

Dear Ashley,

I loved the pink robe. Thank you for knowing I'm a pink-sparkly girl and not a blue girl. And the chocolates were (notice I said were and not are, so gone...) wonderful.

I love you!

Your favorite cousin in Memphis,
Skye

My Contribution

So Thanksgiving this year is at Tanya's house. As any polite future guest would do, I asked what we could bring. She suggested a cherry pie would be nice, so with high hopes and lofty expectations I decided to make my 1st ever cherry pie with homemade crust. I've never actually made any kind of pie before, so this was be a brand new experience.

Why is there cherry pie at Thanksgiving when cherries are not in season? I can't imagine the pilgrims shipped them over for the occasion. Maybe they canned them ahead of time. Were pilgrims big canners? I believe things might have gone differently if it was cherries that were taxed and not tea. It would have been the Boston Pie Party. Which would have lead to the issue of having to find a new name for the Boston Cream Pie as the Boston Pie would be cherry.

Back to the current issue...

Since there were no fresh cherries at the store, I had to choose between canned and frozen. I conducted my own little semi-poll at the grocery store and 3 out of 11 people polled said to use canned cherries. The other 8 people either didn't know or just kind of stare at me... it was a little awkward.

I mingled three recipes from online and also had to make a call to my grandma for some expert advice. My Grams saved the pie by telling me not to throw out the juice. She said it's the juice that makes the pie thick and not just a pile of dried up dead cherries in a shell. Okay, she didn't use those exact words, but that's totally what she meant.

The test pie is in the oven right now. I just peeked at it and the crust doesn't look as ugly as it did when it was raw dough. I thought Alan was going to do a cartwheel when I told him that he wasn't going to have to wait until tomorrow to have a piece.

I don't think Alan realizes just how big a guinea pig he actually is. He told me that you can't screw up a pie unless you accidentally grab salt instead of sugar. That just goes to show you he never tasted the brownies my cousin Shanda and I made that contained rootbeer, a bottle of mint extract and a half a dozen eggs.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Enjoy your holiday!

Nanny Cam for Puppies

I want a puppy! It's a live feed, so if they're not moving now then check back in a few minutes. They're puppies, they'll be tearing something up soon.
PUPPY CAM
PUPPY CAM#2
ANOTHER ONE

Care Package

My cousin sent the sweetest box of treats with this letter:

Thank you Corie! Oh, and this picture may be the only time Alan sees the cookies Steve made. Yummy! And you can't tell, but the sponge is hard like coral. I wonder if, when wet, it will poof up like the duckie. That would be so cool.

Cortland's onsie says I know I'm cute, please stop staring!" I have pink muffin-slippers on my feet, but I didn't get them in the picture. See below why I won't be taking the picture again.


I will never again doubt those people that say to never wake a sleeping baby.

Before I Woke-the-Baby-Changed-His-Clothes-and-Took-Picture Picture:

After I Woke-the-Baby-Changed-His-Clothes-and-Changed-Them-Back-and-Took-Picture Picture:


Thank goodness for the little musical Lionpillar. The song helped put Cortland back into a good mood. He says, "Thanks Grandma C!"

Video

A certain Grandma requested a video of Cortland wiggling around.

Mrs. Gunn, your wish is my command! Here you go!

Maybe Still A Little Overcautious…

Another tell-tale sign of 1st time parents:

The unabridged guideline is nothing should ever go in the crib with baby - excluding the pool thermometer.

A close-up for the Grandmas.


(And would someone please tell me the plural possessive of Grandma's. Is it Grandmas' or Grandma's or Grandmas? I missed lots of recesses in Mrs. Webb's 4th grade class because I couldn't memorize this apostrophe rule!)

ETA: To my credit I did try to look it up online, but not only could I not memorize the rule as a child, I, as an adult, can't even comprehend the rule!

ETA Again: I fixed the Grandmas. Thank you.

Just for Daddy!

Cortland asked me if he could to wear this very special outfit just for his Daddy.

He says "Hi Daddy!"

The train goes down the track. Choo-Choo!

Need to Get Out More

I'm feeling a little stir crazy today. I'm ready to leave the house and go do something, but the doctor said to keep muffin-butt in as much as possible until his 1st round of shots. It's kind of like having a new puppy.

I guess it's for the best since I still haven't practiced opening and closing the stroller.

Call to Claim Your Prize

And we have a winner! Thank you all for playing Who Knows Skye Best. All guesses were technically correct, but only one answer was the favorite that I was craving at the very moment of the quiz posting...

It's Pizza Rolls!

kkoois a.k.a kimjello wins the very special prize! Kim, call me to learn what your great windfall is. (And I swear, it's not a trick just to get you to call me.)

QUIZ!!!

Let's play Who Knows Skye the Best

Question: If I could only have one thing to eat for the rest of my life, what would it be?

Sleeping

All of my good blogging ideas seem to happen at 2AM - when I'm upstairs and the computer is downstairs, and I'm feeding Cortland and not exactly mobile. By morning I have slept and all of my brilliant middle of the night observations have skipped right out of my head. Such is life.

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I thought I would be one of those women that popped up at the first peep out of the baby's mouth. In fact I was counting on it, as Alan sleeps like the dead. Really. A circus could be performing at the foot of the bed and he would be blissfully unaware.

Imagine my surprise when, on Cortland's 1st night home, I woke up to Alan petting my arm and telling to wake up because the only way to quite the crying baby next to my ear was to feed him. Who knew that the maternal alarm clock was sometimes a learned skill and not always hard-wired into a girls system? Good thing I honed the sleepwalking skill early in life. Now that's a skill has come in handy in the past 2 weeks.

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Cortland is an easy baby so far. At night he usually sleeps for a stretch of at least 3-4 hours.

There's this message board I read that's filled with tens of thousands of women, all willing to share their life experiences and opinions.

About a year ago I remember one of the questions posted was; Based on personal experience, how long after your baby was born did it take before the baby was sleeping through the night?

The answers ranged anywhere from the 1st night home to my kid is 25 and his wife tells me he still wakes up 6 times a night to eat. The most common answer was 6 weeks.

6 Weeks.

I told Alan last night that when I read that thread a year ago, I totally did not get the significance of that most common answer of 6 weeks. I get it now.

Soon Cort will be sleeping all night long. And he will be doing all sorts of other things that indicate that he's getting older and bigger. I'm not ready for him to get older yet. Just let me keep him little a while longer.

I'm excited to see him grow and practice new skills. I'm just asking for a little bit more time to enjoy my sweet, butterscotch-breathed baby.

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And now for the best part of this blog... pictures!