Mylo Making Messes

I have gotten more than one request for a new Mylo video (and considering only a handful of people read this blog, it means I've been slacking something fierce), so here it is!

I shot the video the day before yesterday. Mylo is SO BIG now. He weighs 24lbs. and I'm excited for him to start walking to give my arms a break ;)

Big Smiles for Big Mess!

His favorite food is yogurt, and he also loves mangoes. He had his first clementine today and LOVES them. As you can see, he's a good eater. 

Yes, his closet is always that messy/cluttered. Sue me.

He recently decided to be cool for bath time. Thank goodness. One time he scream-cried so loud and so hard during the whole bath (which lasted 2.5 minutes) I thought the neighbors were going to come over, or at the very least, judge us.

He helped me open my birthday gifts from Bryan.

His favorite part was the bow.

Once he got the hang of it and realized that you're supposed to rip the paper, he got super excited.

Helpful.

Oh man, I'll try not to wait so long before I post more pictures! 

He crawls! He talks! He laughs!

Yay! Now he's all over the place and into everything. His favorite game is to play with electrical cords...so that's just great.

Bryan's mom brought over a new toy earlier this week and I'm pretty sure Mylo loves it:

Sorry for the poor quality, the light was off because it was bedtime. Before we started recording he laughed so hard he fell over. I died of cute.

The Boston Trip

We had a whirlwind trip to Boston this weekend (really it was Wednesday night after work to Saturday morning) for our friend Daniel's wedding. We thought that taking Mylo would be super stressful, but he was great! It's Boston that's stressful.

 Mylo's first plane ride! What a boss. We booked our flight for 8pm Wednesday night hoping he would sleep for most of it, then our return flight was right during his naptime Saturday, because mom is captain-plan-ahead-to-avoid-screaming-crying-baby-and-the-stinkeye-from-strangers-woman.

 We breakfasted here and it was the most hipster scene I've ever been a part of. We fit right in with our skinny jeans and Toms.

Mylo wore his tuxedo shirt and his cape to the rehearsal dinner, because he's all "business in the front and party in the back, peeps!" 

The "Freedom Trail" follows this red line all through Boston to see historic sights and whatnot. We cheated and didn't take the official tour because all we were interested in was finding delicious lunch. And then we got lost and just ordered pizza when we finally made it back to our hotel. Womp, womp.

 Just some native Bostonians doing native Boston things.

They say people from the South are so much nicer, but I didn't feel like it was any different. It's the roads that were terrifying. No, I don't think it's too much to ask to have visible street signs and lanes painted on the highway. I also believe in street lights.

 Well look who's lookin' all dapper.

 Someone was being a fussalump, so we enjoyed the ceremony form the hallway of the church. Bryan was in the wedding, so it was just mom and Mylo time.

"That trip was EXHAUSTING, y'all. And I just pooped. Everywhere." 

How lucky were we that we were in the only row on the plane with an empty seat on the flight back?

I feel like I need to rest after our "vacation". Mylo was great, though! Minimal fussiness considering all we put him through. This was the first time we've returned home from a trip and been thankful to live in suburbia where you have space and cleanliness and street signs. 

Mylo Giggles Never Get Old

If you haven't seen this video from my facebook post, you should watch it immediately. Mylo giggling makes me giggle. Fact.
Bryan is saying "noms"* and Mylo thinks it's absolutely hilarious. 

So. Precious.

*"Noms" is a word we use when something is delicious. For instance, "That club sandwich was noms!" If something is REALLY delicious, it's "noms attack". "That double-bacon-extra-cheese-buttery-fat-fest was noms attack!" There you have it, it's just how we are.

Mylo Sits Up Sort Of

I'm a little embarrassed by this video, but mostly for vain reasons:
1 - Does my voice really sound like that?
2 - The commentary and awkward laughing is to elicit giggles, and it totally worked so no judging.
3 - I don't ever make my bed unless people are coming over, and now my secret is out.
4 - Those are my pajamas there. 
Enjoy.

Mylo's Wing of the House

Mylo has a pretty fantastic room, if I do say so myself. It's Super Mario (N64 style, in case you need more elaboration), jungle bugs, and hamburger themed.

I painted his room to look like a video game. Ok fine, I painted it that way before he was even a thought...and it just kinda worked out that we had a boy.

The previous owners of our house had a wallpaper border in this room:

A word on wallpaper borders: I hate them. Technically that's three words, but there you have it. We can still be friends if you like wallpaper borders, but I'm probably gonna judge you. Kidding! But seriously.

To easily remove a wallpaper border, you can add a little bit of fabric softener to some water, rub the wallpaper border and it will peel right off. Fun fact/helpful hint.

This is where we keep our books. And some toys. And our teddy bear mat.

And his crib jungle and hamburger bank:

Technically it's a cheeseburger.

And a Tigger photobomb:

 Hey, there's the dresser we were painting in the last post!

Toy zone:

P.S. We have WAY MORE toys than this. It's a little bit ridiculous.

Mylo doesn't have to wonder if there's a monster in his closet..because there most definitely is: 

His bathroom is monsters and bubbles themed. You can tell that we are REALLY GOOD at picking one theme and sticking with it.

And that's where Mylo lives! I feel like this post is long overdue since I have a six month old. Holy balls, I have a SIX MONTH OLD. I guess I should go ahead and wear my jeans at my bellybutton and get a mom haircut. Maybe I'll preemptively join the PTA and drive my minivan to soccer practice*. 

Oh! Today is Bearikins' birthday! He's 8 now, and the most fantastic dog in the history of ever.

*I don't have mom jeans, a mom haircut, or a minivan. Yet.

He Poops! He Eats! He Paints!

Mylo pooped so much the other day that it came out of the front, back, and leg holes of his diaper. That reminded me that I haven't posted in a while!

Don't worry, I don't have a picture of it. Although I will say that it was in his hair and ears and between his toes. And we weren't at home, so that made it even more of a bummer.

He's started eating solids lately:

Like a boss!

He also helps me paint:

We're painting clouds on his dresser to match his Super Mario theme in his room. 

Next time I'll post pictures of his room. Also, is it too early to be planning his 1st birthday party? Because I am.

Mylo's First GiggleFest!

Get out the virtual scrapbook, folks! Here's a Mylo "first". Well, really it's two "firsts". He has his first real sickness, OMG RSV, and his first gigglefest! I figure that means he's not feeling all that ill ;)

I think I just exploded with cute. I'm not trying to be all bragadocious, but I'm pretty sure I have the cutest baby ever.

On a more serious note, he has RSV which has the potential of getting super scary, but the doctor says it's mild, and we're doing breathing treatments with him. I got a warm mist vaporizer for overnight, and we're on our second bottle of saline drops for his stuffy nose (the doc called it "juicy" which kind of grossed me out). He has a pretty big cough for such a little dude, but he's still acting happy and normal and playful and smiley and awesome, so I think we're good. 

Heppy New Year!

We started the new year off right:

With Star Wars pancakes, of course! (Thank you, Lindsay, for the awesome pancake molds!) How come pancakes at restaurants always come out prettier than mine? Next time I'm going to try this recipe. I'm not sure if they'll be any prettier, but they sound delicious.

Bryan's new year's resolution is to be more awesome. Mine is to practice more with my power tools. That kind of sounds like a euphemism, but it's totally not. I used a circular saw for the first time today and it was pretty awesome. Plus, Bryan got me a Dremel for Christmas.

Mylo's new years resolution is to not be too upset when we put him in day care next week. Hey thanks, Mylo!

Baby's First Christmas

Merry Christmas! This is the least awkward picture we came up with. Pictures are hard to time with an infant and a dog. Not to mention double chins and weird eye glare.

It's been balls to the wall since Thanksgiving for us Hoskinses. We learned at Thanksgiving that Mylo doesn't like crowds and if you're not mom or dad, he's not interested. We also have since learned that he hates the car, which, when we tell people, always gets the response, "Oh, that's unusual, my baby LOVED the car and would fall asleep the second we started driving!" How happy for you. We have a screamfest every time we go anywhere.


Anyway, we had a budget Christmas in order to avoid putting anything on our credit card, and Bryan hasn't started his newer, higher paying job yet, anyway. Oh hey, Bryan got a full time teaching position! (Right now he's an aid, but soon he will be a teacher). He starts January 9th and we're so excited! He will be teaching Inclusion English at the 9th grade level.


Anyway, budget Christmas. We made a lot of our gifts and also gave a lot of baked goods as gifts. It was a busy, busy month. You know, considering we still have to feed, poop, and generally care for a 3 month old while both still working our full time jobs. And that's why I haven't gotten a chance to post anything for a month!

Have you joined Pinterest yet? There are so many fun ideas like this one!

Mylo made out like a bandit this Christmas and he doesn't even know it!

Thank goodness for Santa and Grandparents!

Since the Mavs played their first game today, Santa brought Mylo his own little hat to match dad's so they could watch it together.

Again, this was the least awkward pic. Mylo is way cuter than he looks. 

Can I just say that I love that Bryan understands that toys are not just for kids? 

Yes, I already put together the legos. Yes, that's a Darth Vader alarm clock. After I opened the clock, Bryan got super excited about it and now we have to go get him his own Darth Vader clock for his new classroom. Because I don't want to share mine.

Merry Christmas from the Hoskinseseseses!

Baby Vaccinations from Baby's Point of View

Baby's first shots from parents point of view:


Poor little guys is gonna have to get his first shots today. I hope he's not up ALL FRICKIN' NIGHT. Like I need that again. Should he even be getting shots? I heard shots are to babies as Brutus is to Caesar. How can I live with myself if these shots betray my baby? Now I'm nervous. Should I cancel his appointment? That's silly. It will be fine, but man I hope he's not up all night. I feel for him and all, blindsiding him with needle sticks, but he's not gonna remember it, right? Right? I don't know. Should I cancel his appointment? No. We're doing this. Shots are good and protect him. Unless they don't. Okay, let's do it.


At the appointment:
Okay, let's hold him until we absolutely have to put him down. Oooh he's smiling! Make faces to elicit more baby smiles! He has no idea what's coming. He's gonna hate us. Shots aren't Brutus, we are Brutus. Oh, here's the nurse. Let's put him down gently. Hold his hands! Keep making faces! LOOK, MORE SMILES! This is going well, we've gotten through the oral vaccination. He seems to have liked it. What a smiley booger-wooger beans. Hold his hands, the shots are coming now. Keep his mind off it! Desperate silly faces to elicit smiles! It's not working! IMMEDIATE SCREAM AND FROWNS! Oh no, he hates us. He doesn't know we are protecting him from meningitis and whatnot, he just knows it hurt real bad and we are responsible. I feel like such bad parents. Hold him and snuggle. Oh, no more tears! Is he asleep already? 


Baby's first shots from baby's point of view:


Ooh look, we're going somewhere! I love car rides. I like swinging in my swing more. I hate this! When are we going to get out of this car? Why did you take me out of my swing? I want to swi----(snores).


At the appointment:
Oh, I must have fallen asleep, how embarrassing. Ooh, mom is holding me. I love to be held. Being held is my favorite! Ooh look at the lights! Have you ever seen lights? Lights are my favorite! Hey, how come I have to take off my pants? It's cold in here. Oh well, mom is still holding me so I guess it's cool. Hey, don't put me down! Who's that lady? Where are mom and dad? Oh, there they are. I'm okay. I thought they abandoned me here with this new lady I've never seen! Mom and dad are being silly, I'll give them a smile or two. They're trying so hard. Mmmm the strange lady just gave me something kinda tasty. It doesn't taste like milk. I wish it was milk. Yeah, give me some more of that, it's delicious. I wonder if this lady could talk to mom about making my milk taste like that. Hey, mom and dad are holding my hands! I love mom and da-- what the...THAT BITCH JUST STABBED ME! How could you guys let this happen? No, I don't want to be hel---(snores).


___
Mylo did great at his 2 month check up yesterday. He's a healthy weight and length and took his vaccinations like a champ! He was pretty sleepy all afternoon and night, but this morning he seems to be fine and just wants to be held, swing, and play. 'Atta boy!

Mylo-ween

Halloween is our favorite holiday and now it's EVEN BETTER because we have a little one to exploit dress up! I didn't get to dress up myself this year - I'm using the new mom exemption - but we did dress up Mylo. Like Yoda of course.

And we couldn't have Yoda without carving our pumpkin like the Death Star, could we?

There are instructions on how to carve this one and lots of others at this site. Next year I think I'll try the Nightmare Before Christmas scene.


Here's Bryan and Mylo getting ready to hand out candy to trick or treaters. We thought it would be too obvious that we wanted the candy if we took Mylo trick or treating.

Note: That is not coffee in our coffee mugs. Parents have to have a little fun on Halloween too, am I right? Also, we didn't give away our cell phones to trick or treaters. But that would way better than candy.


Bryan had a wear-your-costume-to-school day as part of Red Ribbon Week, so he recycled a costume we did a couple of years ago. No one got it then and no one got it now. 

Come on, didn't anyone watch Nickelodeon in the 90s? Legends of the Hidden Temple? BLUE BARRACUDAS?! Ugh. You people.


This pic is from a couple of years ago when we originally did the costume, complete with pendants and all. You know, so that when the scary man in the maze pops out at you when you're trying to assemble the monkey statue to beat the time clock to win a vacation to space camp you can give it to him and continue on your journey. 

Obviously this was taken before we went to the party when our spirits were high because we thought we had such a genius original costume idea. We were wrong. We didn't even get a picture together. 


I've always wanted to go to space camp.

Recent Discoveries

Sometimes I discover things that I just feel like everyone should know about. This is a short list of these things. Not that I'm pulling a "Columbus" and claiming to have discovered any of this first per se, I just feel like I need to spread the word. Also, there is some potty language in this post. 

And now for a video that is amazingly apropos to my current situation (there's cussing in it. The F-bomb mostly):

1 - "Go the Fuck to Sleep" by Adam Mansbach. This version is particularly fantastic because it's narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, who is a purveyor of awesomely quotable quotes. "I've had it with these mother fucking snakes on this mother fucking plane!" comes to mind, as well as Bryan and my favorite, "I don't remember asking you a GOD DAMN THING" from Pulp Fiction. Okay, that one may be a tad bit obscure, but it's in there and it's super funny, especially when applied to an awkward encounter with a nosy host at a family theme park, but that's a story for another time.


2 - The Bloggess. Apparently I'm pretty late to this party, but this is a blog from a woman in Houston and her life. She rants. She raves. She cusses. A lot. She's pretty hilarious, and if you only read one post I think it should be this one.


3 - Tzatziki. It's a Greek style cucumber and yogurt dip with dill and sometimes garlic if you're feeling edgy. You eat it with pita chips because it's classy. It's super healthy too, so you can eat the whole bowl and not feel as bad about it as you would if it were something like 7-layer dip. Win!

The Magic Blanket

It's been a month! We've had a super fun time being parents, except of course for the lack of sleep. In our case, the sleepless nights were due to our squirmy little toot wiggling out of his snuggly swaddled blanket, in which case he would find his newfound unrestrained freedom completely unacceptable. Thank goodness for psychic aunts though, namely Aunts Pat and Jennie, who sent us a special swaddling blanket with velcro to keep it in place so he can't wiggle out of it. Now Mylo gets to sleep 3-4 hours in a row, so he's happy, and mom and dad get to sleep 3-4 hours in a row too, so we're happy. Win-win-win!

He told me to say he's got the moves like Jagger.

He's Here!

Weighing in at 8 lbs. 6 oz. and 20.5 inches long, Mylo finally arrived on September 16! 

From start to finish I was in labor for 22 hours. That included 3 hours of pushing when the time came, and finally ended in a c-section to get him out. He was either super stubborn or super comfortable. 

This is Bryan and me right before they started the c-section. I had about 6 blankets over me because I was so cold - I think my body just freaked out after 3 hours of pushing then being cut open. I remember a nurse asking if Bryan wanted to look over the curtain and watch. Why would anyone want to do that? Yes, I would like to watch my spouse get cut open, please. After that maybe I can eat some maggots or slam my hand in the car door, because all of those things sound equally appealing. 

Once they got him out, all I remember is waking up a couple of hours later. Bryan took one for the team and held him while I was sleeping.

Then I woke up!

And that's when I got to hold him. My doc warned me that my labor may end in a c-section early on in my pregnancy because Mylo was measuring big and my frame is pretty small. I tried to make it happen without being cut open, but I just couldn't do it. Oh well.

About half an hour after the above picture was taken I started experiencing the WORST pain I have EVER felt in my neck. I couldn't move, breathe, sit, lay, talk, or sleep without it hurting. They tried all sorts of pain killers and nothing was working. They finally had to call my doctor at home at 4am (sorry about that, doc...) to get an opinion on what to do. They think that I pulled a muscle in my neck from pushing so hard for 3 hours. I experienced labor, and then pain WORSE than labor, all in the same day, and what makes it even worse is that I couldn't even hold or feed Mylo at all during that time because it was so excruciating. I suppose I deserved a difficult labor since I had such an easy pregnancy.

Now it's over though, and Mylo is here and super cute and definitely getting held and fed! So far he's been a pretty good baby with minimal fussing. Knock on wood.

Sorry for the blur.

Somebody just woke up and was unhappy about being disturbed. 

After 5 nights in the hospital we finally got to go home, so I suited Mylo up in his very first outfit! 

Heh :) 

He doesn't like getting his diaper changed. I don't blame him, I bet it's really unpleasant. He has socks on his hands because baby nails are really sharp and he kept scratching his pretty lil face.

Upon arriving home, this is how we found him.

Surely that's not comfortable...

And now we're at home and settled in! The first night home was the hardest I think, because at the hospital I was basically waited on. I ordered whatever food I wanted and it was prepared and brought to me. A nurse brought me the medications I had to take on schedule, even during the wee hours of the morning. If I needed to take a shower the nursery would come pick up Mylo and watch him for me. There was a whole team of experts at my disposal for me to ask questions and keep an eye on both Mylo's and my health. Then we got home and I felt suddenly so isolated and inadequate. Since then it's been getting easier as we figure out Mylo and how he works.

I like this picture because of how tiny Mylo looks compared to Bryan. And that's it! Now it's time for Mylo to be fed again, so off I go! Then I'll put him down with a full belly and hopefully get to take a short nap while he is sleeping.

A Rant on Extreme Couponing

Have you heard the news? Kroger is going to stop doubling and tripling coupons, and as a sane, well-rounded, non-crazy coupon-clipper, I'm disappointed. They say that they made this choice because they want to focus that expense on lowering prices throughout the store, and if that's the case, then great. I, however, have a different theory. I think it's less because of that and more because of this:

Note the part at the end when her husband just wants to "clarify" that she took herself, their son, and her pregnant friend dumpster diving for coupons. I just feel like there's a line. And she crossed it. Big time. Dumpster diving is so far past the line that she can't even see it anymore. The line is gone to her. What line?


I had a feeling when I heard TLC was doing a show about "extreme couponing" that it may one day ruin it for the rest of us average coupon users. That day is upon us. I mean, who needs 27 packages of cream cheese? Or 1000 tubes of toothpaste? Who wants to have to store all of that? In short, I think these crazies (I said it!) took advantage of the system and now no one gets to benefit. At least at Kroger. As far as I know, Tom Thumb and Albertsons still double and triple. You can also come out pretty good at CVS and Walgreens with the right combination of sales and coupons (although they don't double or triple). Since Kroger is my grocer of choice, however, I am looking forward to these new lower prices they've promised me.

The Story of How I Still Have My Ring Finger

We made it past September 1st! That means Bryan's wicked new insurance will cover the pregnancy! Please pause for a moment while I do a happy dance.

...

Okay.

You're welcome for this nicer weather, by the by. I asked my doctor to please lower the temperature because I just can't handle any more of this crazy heat, and apparently she's God, because it happened. I've learned my lesson, though. Next time we're gonna plan this better and try real hard to avoid being in my third trimester in July and August in Texas.

38 weeks down!

2 to go.

My doctor is pretty sure I'll make it all the way to (and probably past) my due date, but still, just a couple more weeks of none of my clothes fitting and getting stuck on the couch like a turtle on it's shell.

I had to get my ring cut off last week. It was a sad moment, but I did get to see a fire truck up close, so that was neat. 

This is K. Hargrove with his tool *snicker*. You know, his ring cutter. I didn't think to ask what the "K" stood for. Probably Kevin. He looks like a Kevin. 

So it begins. 

 Action shot! I've never seen a ring cutter before. It's basically a mini-saw that he had to crank.

Close-up action shot!  There were 3 people pulling my finger in different directions.

Sad. But also happy, because I still have a finger. Also, Kevin was really nice and helpful.

And this is my battle wound:

It looks worse than it felt. My doctor said that my hands could swell even MORE (wtf?), so since I already couldn't get my ring off we had to cut it. It seems silly that I let it get this far, but I never ever take my ring off. Not to sleep, shower, wash my hands, never. I guess I'm just more committed to my marriage than you are. It wasn't until it got to be 6000 degrees this Summer in my third trimester that I realized that my ring was stuck. 

Since it was SO WEIRD not having a ring on, I made one.

Don't judge mah pudgy fangers. If YOU were pregnant, YOURS would be pudgy too. Don't worry though, this ring is elastic and comes off very easily.

So, word to the wise my pregnant friends, get your ring off before your fingers swell in your third tri! Otherwise you have to get it cut, which is sad. Also, you have to pay to get it re-soldered. Boo.

In other pregnant news, I finally packed my hospital bag. I guess that means I'm ready. Oh, and I bought my first tube of nipple cream, so I guess that means I'm a grown woman.