Ten

Last night as I was writing in this little man's journal, I became seriously depressed! I just realized that I only have two more months before my little son is one and officially on his way to becoming a kid! At 12 months, the big kid stuff begins. I'm not ready for him to drink out of big boy cups and go without his binky. Can't he just stay little for a few more years?!? Don't get me wrong... I am SUPER excited for him as a toddler, even knowing that it's going to be rough, I am just not quite ready to let "Drake as a tiny baby" go!

Things to remember about Drake at {TEN} months:

* He finally has two little teeth. They both popped up within a week of each other.

* He still has NO desire to crawl. I'm beginning to worry a bit!

* He has had his first ear infection and tiny flu bug and was really a champ through it all.

* He points at everything and loves to wave his arms around.

* He knows his Grammy's house and starts to wiggle in his car seat when we pull into the driveway.

* He had his first weekend with daddy all by himself and was great! Both he and daddy survived and managed to enjoy it!

* He likes to watch football... really, he does! He will sit and stare at the TV forever.

* His feet haven't grown in awhile. He is still a size three.

* He is wearing his 12 month pants because he needs the length. He has some long legs!

* He loves medicine and opens his mouth when he sees me coming with the dropper.

* He loves to mimic coughing and sneezing with his fake cough.

* He can point to my nose if I ask him where it is.

* He has become quite the little chatter box. He "talks" all the time, especially while we're driving.

* He doesn't love to drink out of the sippy. He can do it, he just prefers not to! Taking the bottle away will be easy because he doesn't really care about it anymore but I'm not sure how I'll get him to drink anything.

* He reaches out when he wants someone to hold him.

* He still loves the remotes and my phone.

* He LOVED his first Thanksgiving dinner and probably ate more than I did!

* He is still such a good eater! He is not picky at all and will eat pretty much anything I give him.

* He may be developing a real problem with sharing. He cried yesterday when a little girl at church walked away with one of his toys that he wasn't even playing with!

* I think he is starting to look a little bit like me. Not noticeably to most people, but my mom and Te-Te can see it! He is still mostly his daddy's son, but there may be a hint of Musso in there!

* He is so darn fun at this age and is truly the light of our lives!

Oh... I just love this baby!!

Seriously!!!

Okay... so I am not typically one to rant and rave on my blog but tonight's events

warrant a bit of a rant.

Chris and I decided that it was high time to finally see This Is It.

We met up with the Shaw's and ended up having the theater almost completely to ourselves...

for a minute.

Ten minutes into the movie,

two mom's come tromping in with four or five little kids,

none of which could have been over seven.

Although the entire theater was empty, they of course, had to sit right behind us.

After many bumps to the back of our heads and bashes with the ever so large purses,

they managed to get situated and we all sat back to watch the movie.

The little guy behind Chris had a hard time settling down and ended up kicking his seat for a good half hour, but he eventually feel asleep.

Obviously, even though the movie was rated PG, it's not exactly a movie that a three year old would enjoy. DUH!

Anyways... like I said, we all managed to enjoy the show until the very end.

Right as Michael was getting ready to rehearse Billy Jean,

I felt a sudden stream of fluid come splattering on my face and all over my clothes.

Completely caught off guard, it took me a minute to realize what was happening.

The little boy that was sitting behind Chris must have woken up and had to pee

and the Mom's of the Year that he was with obviously weren't watching him as he dropped trow and went to town all over us!

Yep, that's right... he PEED ALL OVER US right in the theater! Unbelievable, right?!?!

Naturally, we were a bit irritated with the situation, but of course it wasn't the little boy's fault so we just left the theater and went to the bathroom to try to clean up a bit. Pretty much pointless, but we at least washed our hands and faces.

Now, you'd think that if you were the mom of this child that had just peed all over strangers in a movie theater, you'd be completely mortified and try to do everything possible to make the situation okay. Offer to pay for dry cleaning, offer to buy their movie tickets, offer to help them clean up, or at the very least, SAY SORRY for the love!! You'd think that would be the very first thing that you would say to the couple standing in front of you dripping with your son's urine!!! But... do you think she did that??? NOPE, NOPE, NOPE! She didn't even say sorry! Are you kidding me?? Really... who does that!?!

After our attempt at cleaning up, we decided to try to catch the last of the movie, thinking that Mom's of the Year would surely say SOMETHING to us after the show ended however; I did find it odd that they even came back into the theater and watched the end of the show after what happened. If it were my kid, I would have hauled out of there as fast as I could as soon as I made sure everything was okay. But... they didn't. They decided to stay until the end.

When the credits began to roll, the crew packed up and headed out, walking right by me and still not saying one word. So... being the hag that I am, I decided to walk out right behind them, just to see if they were really and truly going to leave without apologizing. I know, I'm immature, but I couldn't help it. I was so dumbfounded that they hadn't apologized, I couldn't help myself.

I followed them out to the parking lot and ended up being parked right next to them. I even walked uncomfortably close to the mom right as I walked up to my car, just to see if she would make eye contact. And what to you know... she didn't. I honestly COULD NOT believe it! Now maybe I'm making a WAY bigger deal about this than I should be, but I honestly cannot understand how someone can be so completely rude and inconsiderate. Like I said, we all know it wasn't anyone's fault, exactly, but that doesn't mean that the mother isn't responsible for making sure that everyone involved is okay. Some people!!!

So, the moral of my story... women that don't apologize when their kids pee on people are HAGS!!!

What a Week!

Mr. Big and I spent this last week in Arizona with the Colburns. Charlotte needed some extra help with the kiddies so Drake and I flew down on Sunday to stay and play until Saturday. Although the week was filled with a few more surprises than anticipated and a bit more puke than any one really wanted, all in all, we made it home safe and yes, Brinton and Char... we definitely still love you!

I called Drake and Nixin my "twins" for the week. Even though Nixin is 3.5 months older, Drake has her beat by three pounds! She is such a tiny little thing! She is definitely her mother's daughter! Lucky for us, the cute Owen's family only lives a few miles from the Colburn's so we managed to meet up for some park and zoo time. Brexton and Ryan had fun whipping trees with their pretend whips made out of yucca plants and the two baby boys enjoyed themselves and the shoes they pulled off Nixin's feet. It was a good time!

Ruckus the kitten was one of the unexpected surprises of the week. The poor little thing was abandoned at the neighborhood park and Charlotte's pain meds got the best of her, which is how this little thing ended up becoming the newest member of the Colburn crew. He really is darling and Brexton and Cote are in heaven.

Thursday we met up with Kristen and the boys and Emily and Adam at the zoo. Mr. Big had never been to the zoo before and was really still too young to care about most of the animals, but he did enjoy the squirrels and birds that were close to where we ate lunch. He also had fun sharing toys with Adam and watching all of the other people that were there.

Unfortunately, in spite of the fun we had, there were a few rough times. Poor little Nixin ended up with an ear infection on Wednesday, Charlotte got the pukes on Thursday, Brexton got the pukes on Friday, I got the pukes on Friday night and had to fly home on Saturday morning feeling like I would have been better off dead! Seriously, what are the chances of that! So far, Mr. Big hasn't started with the pukes, but we did make our first visit to the instacare tonight because he decided that he really wanted to be Nixin's twin and now has his very first ear infection! Unbelievable!

All in all though, even though all of us spent some part of the week feeling crappy, we all survived and I got to spend an entire week with some of my most favorite people! Thanks so much for having us Brinton and Char! We love you and can't wait for Polar Express!

Oh, and one last thing... this is what I came home to!

For anyone that knows Chris Weaver, this is a demonstration of true love! My babe hates to put up Christmas lights but he did it this week, all on his own, to surprise me when I got home. What a good love I have!

Dear Bird's the Word,

Your nephew and his "brother" Reggie are best friends.

They have learned how to keep each other entertained for quite some time.

Reggie still can't understand why Mr. Big can't actually throw his toy,

but he seems to be satisfied as long as he can shove it up underneath Mr. Big.

Mr. Big has learned how to pick Reggie's toys up and likes to show them to him.

He doesn't get them very far, but he has learned how to wing them away from him.

Mr. Big also thinks he is the coolest little roller ever born!

He rolls all over the place now.

Most babies do this at six months.

We're at nine and a half and I think it's great!

So what, if I have a lazy baby!

Next step... learn to crawl. Will he ever?!?

Now that he has figured out how to roll everywhere,

he seems to have no desire to even scoot.

Are we going backwards??

Oh well... I'm sure he'll do it soon and then I'll be wishing he would go back to just sitting!

Tonight, bed time was rough.

Amber, Dylan, and Ashley were here and there was just too much commotion.

He cried and cried and when he did finally fall asleep, he ended up on his belly.

He's never slept on his belly.

He's always hated it.

I'm a little nervous to leave him like that.

I know he can roll over, but what if he gets stuck because his bumpers are too big.

Ahh... the things you worry about as a mom.

I may have to flip him over before I go to bed.

Shoot!

Tomorrow we fly to AZ to stay with the Colburn's for a week.

I'll be honest, I'm not looking forward to the airport and plane ride with the Big all by myself.

I'm a baby, I know, but it gives me anxiety to think about.

Hopefully he's good and I don't get sick or have to pee.

What do you do with a baby on the plane if you have to pee?

Leave him with the person next to you...

HECK NO!

I'll let you know how it turns out.

Well Bird, that's all for this post. Sorry I don't have more pics or anything more exciting to tell you! I do need to do a little catch up, but that will have to wait until I get back.

Love you!

Halloween Festivities

We had quite a fun Halloween this year. Our week was full of festivities and Mr. Big was the cutest little Harley Man around!

The week started off with the fun kids party that Amber planned. As I was getting the babe in his costume the afternoon of the party, Chris informed me that the party was really not for the kids because none of them are really old enough to care, but hey... we needed all the excuses we could come up with to dress these little dolls up! The picture taking was pretty much a disaster, like always, but hopefully between all the cameras we caught a few with all of the kiddies!

On Halloween night we carried on the Musso tradition with the annual "dinner in a pumpkin." The Fatty's and the Shaw's were good sports and came to join us for dinner and some trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. We decided that we didn't really want to take Drake to the doors because he obviously wouldn't be eating the candy, so we just strolled along with the crew for a bit. He was a little cranky by this point and wasn't a huge fan of the stop and go, but we managed to get a few funny pics to remember his first Trick-or-Treat!

And last, but certainly not least... the Halloween Party!

Kalli and Kristi planned an adult Halloween party and it was a blast!

I didn't catch all the couples, but there certainly were some great costumes!

If you can't think of anything better, there's always the old man and old lady to fall back on! I have to admit that I got some really good laughs out of these get-ups! I haven't laughed that hard in a long time! Thanks for being such a good sport babe!

What a week! Lots of fun and lots of great pics to laugh at for years to come!

Nine Months

Nine months... really!?! I can't believe that I am a mother to a nine month old! Nine months sounds so old and yet sometimes, I swear this dude thinks he's two! The nine month well-check with the Doc was great. This little man is as healthy as a horse! He received the Seasonal Flu shoot and had his Hemoglobin tested. The homemade baby food must be paying off because his Hemoglobin level was a 14 and normally they like to see them at at least an 11. Hooray for a healthy baby!

Things to remember about Drake at {NINE} months:

* He has decided that rolling from his back to belly isn't so bad after all and does it all the time now.

* He prefers to scoot backwards as opposed to forward and typically gets pretty frustrated when his toys keep getting farther and farther away.

* He HATES when I try to put him on his knees. He flattens out like a board and cries. Doc says it's normal and to not worry. He'll crawl when he wants to. Hmmm...

* He is still a dream when it comes to sleeping, now that we have the binky thing figured out! He still takes two good naps a day and sleeps for 12 hours at night.

* He had his first non-grandparent babysitter last night and was great!

* He has started to roll over in his crib and wakes up on his tummy, a tad frustrated about it!

* He has rolled off the bed once.

* He is still more entertained by things that he really shouldn't have. Remotes, keys, cameras, etc.

* He still loves the dogs and is content on his tummy if Reggie is close trying to get him to play ball.

* He loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Boo! I don't know why, but I hate that show.

* He loves crackers. Graham crackers, Ritz, fishy, and saltine.

* He doesn't cry when he's hungry unless he sees me getting his food ready and then he whines until it's in his mouth.

* He is not a fan of the bottle anymore. I'm lucky to get him to drink 16 ounces a day. He doesn't love the sippy either. He'll only drink out of it if I give him juice.

* He loves to play with the toys at Grammy's house but not with his toys at home. Grammy's are way better apparently!

* He loves to play "peek!"

* He loves to play with hats but hates to wear them.

* He curls his toes up every time I try to put shoes on him which makes it super hard to get the shoes on.

* He cries every time I lay him down on his changing pad and acts like I am torturing him when I change his diaper.

* He has learned that he can push my face away when he doesn't want me to kiss all over his face!

* When he's really mad at me and I have him laying on his changing pad, he grabs my arm and clenches on to it. What nine month old does that!?!

* He loves his daddy and always has a big grin waiting for him when he comes home from work.

* He loves to sit in the carts at stores and he bounces his legs up and down the entire time. His chew toy of choice in stores is my wallet. Gross!

* He is happy to lay in his crib and play with his binky and blankie for how ever long. Sometimes I wonder how long he really does sleep for because he never fusses when he wakes up and is usually completely quiet until he sees me peeking in.

* He is SO ticklish and has the most adorable giggle!

* He is still toothless!

* He needs a haircut.

Oh how we love our Mr. Big! What a blessing it is to be his mommy! I couldn't ask for a more perfect baby to have in our home! Sure we have our rough moments, just like everyone else, but I really am amazed every single day at how lucky we are to have this little dude as our son!

While Omie was here...

Mr. Big partied it up!

He chowed down on lots and lots of yummy Michael's Bakery bread.

(a family tradition for all the Mitterholzer grandbabes and now great-grandbabes!)

He experienced the park and swings for the first time

(and was not too impressed!)

He played and watched lots of shows with Omie Om and even gave it up and fell asleep in her lap which is a very rare occurrence these days.

Only for his Omie!

And... while Omie was here, this is what I did.

I decided to try making Mr. Big's baby food instead of buying it.

He will eat ANYTHING so I decided that it was worth a try.

It took a few days of destroying my moms kitchen to get it all done

but it was well worth it! I have all of this and then some in my freezer and the best part is...

it only cost $45.00 for everything!

I have enough food to last me for months and a lot of it is stuff that good ol' Gerber doesn't have.

Call me crazy, but I am pretty darn happy about this!

All in all, it was wonderful (as always) to have Omie here. I miss her so much and wish that I could just pop on over for dinner all the time! I am so, so thankful to have such an amazing grandmother. She is my angel! My life has been so richly blessed by her and I hope that she will always remember what an incredible lady she is!

I love you Omie!

Thank you so much for all you do for me and for everyone around you!