Blah blah blog..

Last week, my sister-in-law wore a tshirt with "I Don't Care About Your Blog" printed on it. "Shirley you don't mean Lauren's blog," I said (and no, her name's not Shirley). She assured me that she reads it often with the kids...it's those other ones she doesn't care about.

She got me thinking about who exactly is reading this...and sometimes I forget that other people are looking. Duh, of course other people are reading, it's a BLOG! But really, a large part of why I started this was to keep a sort of journal or baby book for my own personal remembrance. It's great because I can look back and remember when she started crawling...and when she went out for her first trip to the mall...etc. etc. I'm really flattered when I hear from a faraway cousin or a coworker "I ready Lauren's blog the other day and....yada yada yada." REALLY? You all really still check in? A friend truthfully told me once that she doesn't really read it...she only likes looking at the pictures, which is totally fine...I've got LOTS to share!

Oh, and while we're on the subject of blog readers, Lauren would like to give a big shoutout to her peeps out there from Manila to Alabama. Lauren says "YO!" and "abvoooszzhhh!"

Old Lady Magnet

We went shopping with Grandma at the Commissary yesterday. For you non-military types, the Commissary is the grocery store on base. Ours is located on the now-closed McClellan Air Force Base. The base is gone, but the BX (Base Exchange), the VA Clinic, and the Commissary remain, mostly for use by the retirees that live in the area as the closest base is Travis AFB about an hour away.

Since having Lauren and with rising food prices, I've been going with my mom to the Commissary to do our monthly grocery shopping...can't beat the prices! The only downside to commissary shopping is that you have to be ready to maneuver your cart past grumpy old men (and women!) that make up about 75% of the clientele.

Lauren did her best to soften the hearts of grumbling old retirees by smiling, flirting, and waving Bye Bye and Hello. She really is an old lady magnet...it seemed every five minutes a gray-haired head leaned into our basket to make googly sounds at her...and she was loving every minute of it. She flirted with all the men and flashed a gummy smile at all the ladies. She was very well behaved and even stayed seated in the cart for 2 hours (yes, it took that long!)

DadLabs

While browsing the internets last night I came upon this Hi-Larious video by the guys at DadLabs, a parenting site for dads. They do a lot of product testing (like the diaper pail sniff test) and discuss Dad-related parenting issues (how to feel like a man while driving a minivan). Check it out, they're pretty funny.

What's up Doc? Nine Month Appt.

I took Lauren for her 9 month check up today. I thought she was going to get more vaccinations but turns out she only had to get a blood test. There was still poking involved, but at least I won't have to worry about fevers or anything for the next 24 hours.

Lauren started crying as soon as her doc walked into the room. Her poor doc...he's very gentle and mild mannered so I don't know how she could be scared of him, he tried hard to console her but after no success he ended up doing her checkup with her in my harms. He was generally pleased with her health, although he did note that she was a little underweight, plus she was sick so she's still recovering from that. He said we could give her vitamins but thinks she's just so active and that could explain why she isn't gaining so much. The rest of her growth is on track though so he says not to worry. She's also developed a small lump on her wrist that he says is a synovial cyst (collection of fluid in the joints) that should go away on its own unless it impedes the range of motion of her wrist or causes pain. In that case, it will have to be removed.
Her stats:
Head: 42.1 cm
Length: 26 Inches
Weight 16 lbs. 7 ounces

Word of the Week

Last week it was "deedledeeedledeeedleedee" This week she's saying "beckumbeckumbeckum". It almost sounds like she's saying Beckham...as in David Beckham the soccer player. Peter tried to get her to say something more fitting for our New England Sports Obsessed household. Their conversation went something like this:
Lauren: Beckham Beckham Beckham
Peter: No Beckham. Say "KG."
Lauren: Beckham Beckham.
Peter: Say "Manny."
Lauren: Beckham.
Peter: How about "Big Papi." Come on..."Big Papi!"
Lauren: Beckham Beckham. Beckham.
Peter: Alright then, how about "Beat LA! Beat LA! Beat LA!"
Lauren: BECKHAM! BECKHAM!

Peter's given up. Not to worry, there will be a new word or sound next week. Hopefully it'll sound something like "Celtics Win!"

UPDATE: Lauren's "Beckham" has evolved into something like "Beckhamooohh" and I realize now what she's trying to say. "PEEKABOO!" I threw a blanket over her head and she pulled it down to reveal a big gummy smile and a "BEKUM..OOOO!!!"

First word? Or coincidence?

Baby Steals

I'm known amongst my friends and family to be a good shopper...I'm talking about bargain shopping here. I love me a good deal! I've just a found a cool new website called BabySteals.com that will be my obsession from now on. It's kind of like Woot.com for the mommy set. Every day, a new deal is posted, and a baby item is for sale at a deep discount. They sell that same item until they run out so you'd better get in there quick. New deals are posted every morning at 9 AM (MST). Payment is through Google checkout and shipping is very reasonable. I recently scored a pair of BabyLegs at 50% off for 6$. woohoo! I'm adding it my click list on the left if anyone wants to check it out.

Happy Birthday Ate Keilah!

Lauren's cousin Keilah turns sweet sixteen today. I used to change Keilah's diapers. I'm old.

PS. The word "Ate" (A'-teh) is a title placed in front of someone's name that means "Older sister (or relative, or close friend)." Kuya is the male version. I grew up using it, I call my sister Ate Sarah and my brothers Kuya Davy and Kuya Clyde.