Some good eatin'

A recent delicious takeout dinner from Augie’s Restaurant in Ballston Spa somehow ended up on Robby’s forehead. Augie’s has a way of taking food and making it so yummy, that you just want to put your face right in it. Robby did, and this is what it looked like...

He loved that eggplant dish so much he just kept eating it and evidently smearing it all over his face. Maybe he wanted to save some for later. Too bad grandma had to go and ruin the plan by wiping his face off.

Babies can be mean

To say that I love Robby is an understatement. That doesn’t mean that I love every last quirk about him though. For instance, I don’t love that he yanks my hair out, pinches me and laughs, bites me, kicks me, rips my glasses off, and scratches me with his razor nails. Despite being a massive 17lbs, he can be pretty darn mean sometimes.

Here he is just waiting for me to turn my back so he can take every thingy of baby wipes off the changing table shelf and put them all over his room. This past weekend he took one of my shoes and hid it under the bed and I could not find it anywhere! Yesterday he went thrashing through a pile of mail on the floor and ripped my Fast Company magazine and a bunch of envelopes, including some bills. (Why was the mail on the floor, you ask? I was "mommy multi-tasking", playing with Robby while sorting mail.)

He’s definitely getting to the age where items will start becoming displaced. In addition to taking things, he’s getting bolder by the day testing his limits by opening every cabinet, drawer, closet, door, stealing ipods, phones and Wii remotes, touching the stereo equipment and his latest trick, turning off the TV while smiling a devilish grin.

Robby gets more attention when he does mean things, which provoke's him even more. We're thankfully at the stage where his bold behavior is really kind of funny. He's charmingly mean, not tantrum-y mean. I know he won't be like this forever, but I like my little mean Robby just the way he is.

A stupid cute hat

Stupid cute - an adjective used to describe something that under normal circumstances would be ridiculed, but in this instance is endearing and funny.

Babies are the prime example of stupid cute. You can dress them up in the most insane things and they keep getting cuter. The more 'flair' you add to the ensemble, the higher they score on the stupid cute scale. This may not lead to nod on Regis and Kelly's beautiful baby contest, but it certainly will get a nod of approval from parents, grandparents, and random strangers.

Hats are an accessory that scores very high on the stupid cute scale. They are an easy accessory for a baby to rock, assuming they actually like hats, and the had doesn't fly off with a gust of wind leaving you with a decision to drop the baby and chase after that damn hat or leave it blowin' in the wind. (totally kidding about leaving the baby for the hat)

I digress. Robby loves wearing hats. I think he knows how sharp he looks in them. We can thank Grandma and Grandpa for this recent newsboy number from BabyGap. Here's a picture of Grandpa and Robby. I challenge you to think of a better adjective than 'stupid cute'. Bring it on!

Say cheese

Sometimes I look in the mirror and I'm almost surprised to see a fairly attractive person looking back at me! I'm less surprised these days when the scary version (which could include crazy hair, non-existent makeup, dark circles, snot and/or drool on my shoulder, etc.) appears in the mirror.

On those rare days that I think I actually look halfway decent, there's not a camera in sight. But boy, on those scary days when you don't even want to walk into Price Chopper for risk of seeing your eighth grade science teacher, photography is abundant and inevitable!

I'm not a hater, but I could fill several gigantic photo albums with great shots of my husband Jude and Robby. Each shot cuter than the next; big smiles, all eye's open and looking at the camera, everyone's head relatively centered. You get the point. I'm not asking for a lot here!

Maybe someday when I'm actually looking well-rested and normal, someone will take a good picture of my baby and me. I can't let my own insecurities get in the way of a great shot. I need to just suck it up and say cheese.

Right about nothing!!

7/2/08, 10:52am - Became a mother
7/2/08, 10:55am - Became right about nothing

On July 1st, 2008, I was ON. Had my head right, had my shit together, knew how to do things in my life. On July 2nd, that all changed. Robby looked at me utterly amazed to be outside the womb, and I must have looked back at him, utterly amazed that I became a mother, just like that! I remain amazed that this beautiful baby boy actually thinks I knew a thing or two about being a mother!

My cousin Karyn recently made a very good point. In any other profession you don't just become the highest title you could reach. You don't just become an expert overnight, President of the company without having first at least held a few more titles beforehand! Couldn't I spend at least a little time being 'assistant mother' or 'associate mother'? "Not so fast mommy!, you've got diaper rash to treat, noses to suction, strollers to navigate, and a myriad of other tasks I didn't think of on July 1, 2008.

But on July 2, when my son Robert Henry was born it was a moment that will never slip back into the depth of my mind. It was (and still is!) every positive adjective you can pull from your brain and then use a thesaurus on every word you came up with to find more words.

It's been five months since Robby came home with us from the hospital. I've learned more in five months than in my 27 years on this planet. The most important thing that i've learned, is that although I don't always have the answers, it doesn't always matter. My journey into motherhood has just begun. I'm still riding in the carseat (which was probably installed incorrectly), but I love the view from here.