Home for 6 Days!

That's right, I have had a mini 6-day vacation. I took some time off work and am on my 5th of 6 days off. It's been wonderful! On Saturday, we all went to one of our mega malls and enjoyed the holiday rush.

It's a great time for shopping, buying presents, and enjoying the commercial side of Christmas. Yes, it is actually enjoyably for me to see what all the shops and stores do! I love Christmas.

But the mall was packed...and I mean, almost difficult for us to walk. Baby girl got REALLY antsy about halfway through, and was pretty much done with her stroller. Her need to walk around and explore just about wore us out.

We seriously contemplated buying one of those backpacks that have a kiddy 'leash' on them so she would be able to walk around, yet we could still have her close by. I know some parents hate them, but to me, it seems like a great compromise between both kids and parents. We'll see if we actually get one.

Yesterday we spent at home, but Brit and I managed to get out to see The Blind Side with Sandra Bullock. GREAT movie! If you haven't seen it, it's based on a true story and is definitely worth seeing. A feel good movie for the holidays.

For these next two days I will be doing my usual, staying home with baby girl and doing my normal house stuff. Have some heavy web site work to do tomorrow on another one of my sites. Going to suck up most of my free time. But I love doing it!


Today is also Not Me! Monday. Over at MckMama's blog, you can join a blog carnival of sorts that lets you see other Not Me! posts just like this one.

I am not postponing a haircut, which is already 3 months overdue. Strange how time constraints limit things you could easily do before :)

I did not feed my baby girl a toaster strudel this morning loaded with frosting. She loved it, beut we definitely strive for much healthier breakfasts!

And finally, I am not currently battling one tiny ringworm episode on my arm! I have absolutely no clue how I got it, but it's there nonetheless. I have been very careful with it, and am using a topical med, but it's annoying that it's there. Never had it before. It's not an actual worm for those that don't know...it's a fungus that likes warm, moist places. Like I said, no idea how it got on my arm (not pet related, I assure you). Anyways, it's clearing up...just strange is all.

Baby Girl Winter Bedtime

We have officially switched to all winter pajamas for our baby girl. It has been absolutely frigid here this past week. We had snow, multiple frosts (which killed all the remaining flowers that were still blooming), and lots of cold nights requiring some fires in the fireplace!

Here are some pics right after our bath. Rosy cheeks and long hair! We're getting close to pony tail length! Well, sorta. Not quite there yet, but it definitely is getting longer, and is all curly at the back!

Now, if we can only get those teeth to start growing in...




We also have had a fascination with our shoes for quite some time. The Velcro is simply magical...or one would think! We even know the word "Shhews"!

Christmas Time! Christmas Trees!

It's Christmas time! Sorry, after a long hiatus, I am back! For those that don't know, I run a couple web sites in addition to this blog. One is a NICU dedicated site, which you can find the link to in my tabs up at the top of this blog, and the other is a gaming site for a game I play. Both have sucked up gobs of my time, thus causing me to neglect Daddy vs Wild. I now have some more free time, so here hopefully you will see much more activity from me here.

At Kelly's Korner this week, it is time to show off your Christmas trees! We have two, one being our formal tree, and the other being our 'Kids' tree. The kids tree has all the ornaments that Brit and I had when we were a baby. Our daughter will start adding her own ornaments as she gets older, including ones we buy for her and ones she makes at school.

I tried to get pics of the Christmas trees during the day, and when lit at night as well. Hopefully they turned out okay. Brit and I decorated the formal tree, which, of course, I was under strict guidance the whole duration. She is quite the tree decorator. She also helped do several trees at her work. Xmas Tree Pro.

The Kids tree she did herself, and I think she even did a post on her blog.

So, without further delay, check out our Christmas trees!

Thanksgiving Family Traditions

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of year. Before our baby girl was born, it was my absolute favorite, even more so than Christmas. The food, the family, I don't know...I love it! Now that our baby girl is 1, Christmas is going to surge to the top as my favorite holiday for quite some time, I'm sure.

At Kelly's Korner this week, everyone is supposed to share their Thanksgiving traditions or holiday recipes. I'm going to share our family's tradition.

Just about every Thanksgiving, we head to Eureka Springs, Arkansas to a cabin resort called Red Bud Valley. Nestled away in the Ozarks, it is the perfect escape this time of year. Not only that, but it's close to the Old Town Historic District of Eureka Springs, full of shopping and restaurants. It's a great place to take a family.

Normally we head up there for a several days, spending Thanksgiving at the cabin and enjoying the Ozarks, then heading into town on Friday for shopping, food, and shows.

If you haven't been to Eureka Springs, it's definitely something you should consider!

Here are some photos from our Thanksgiving trips there...











And now for the Thanksgiving LAST YEAR...baby girl's first Thanksgiving in Eureka Springs!

Baby Girl Halloween Pics!

It's overdue and a little late, but here are our baby girl's Halloween pics! She went as a butterfly. Brit got the costume at Gymboree I believe. There was a set of antennae to go with it, but I think they had difficulty keeping them on her head.

Savannah had two different times to trick or treat. Lucky girl! On Friday night, we went to Brit's mom's work and they had their whole office converted into an area all the kids of the employees could trick or treat at. Was lots of fun!

And on Saturday night we got out about 730pm or so, which was right at her normal bed time. But you wouldn't have known...baby girl was allover the place alking straight down the sidewalk from house to house.

I was lucky enough to get home from work in time for the trick or treating, so I was able to walk around with Brit and Savi. Our first true Halloween and I'll never forget it!

Fall Decorations

Brit always does a great job decorating our house with the seasons. All of our Fall and Halloween decor is out and it won't be long before Christmas makes its way out of the closet as well!

At Kelly's Korner this week, bloggers everywhere will be showing off their household fall decorations, so here is a little sample of what Brit has done for us!



Our front door, complete with wreath and all. I think I need to sweep some...





Hanging from one of our doors.



Dining room table centerpiece. We actually got this from my mom. Looks great, the photo actually doesn't do it justice!



Kitchen table centerpiece. Of course, we have the butterfly present, the notorious fall icon ;) With Brit, everything is butterflies!



Scarecrow by the fireplace. Looking way too peaceful to be made of straw and sitting by a frequently used flame thrower.



One of our wall decorations. Have the different plates for different seasons and holidays!

What fall decorations do you have out?

Spaghetti Whoahs!

Baby girl got her first taste of real spaghetti last week. I kept trying to get this post up sooner, but something else always seemed to put itself in my way! Now, she has had baby food spaghetti before, and loved it...but to me, that is a totally different taste! Yeah, I tried it. Too sweet for me. Maybe that's why babies like it...


So, I just cooked some angel hair pasta and cooked some Ragu spaghetti sauce, and voila! easy spaghetti. Now, normally, if I was making this for myself, I would have jazzed it up quite a bit more...hint, crushed red pepper. But since it was for baby girl, the simple version was the best!


She absolutely loved it! She ate every bit of that spaghetti, and whatever she didn't eat, she was wearing.


Brit and I aren't up for huge messes usually, but this was totally worth it. Yes, there was spaghetti all over her, but surprisingly, none was on her clothes, and no messes anywhere else. Good little girl! I guess it was just that yummy that we dare not put it anywhere but our mouths!

Must. Get. All. Spaghetti. In. Mouth.

Babies and Not Me! Monday

Babies, babies, and more babies! My NICU has seen so many babies the last couple months. The sad thing is, we have seen so many premature babies...and multiples at that. Multiples? Yes! Twins and triplets to be precise. Normally, twins and trips are absolutely adorable and I love having them in our unit, but not when they are so premature. It's such a hard little life for them.

Due to certain HIPPA rules, I can't really go into too much detail, but I can say that recently we have had to say goodbye to more than a few of our tiny babies. Some go for surgery, and others find their way to Heaven...but regardless, it's very hard no matter which path they take.

My heart yearns for the parents. I've not had to go through having a baby in the NICU, but I am immersed in it every day I am at work. While you have to stay focused and professional to deliver the best care for a baby, you cannot help but become just a little emotionally invested in the tiny child and their family. My prayers go out to all those parents and families finding themselves surrounded by these circumstances.

Although it has been bleak of late, ultimately our NICU sees a very high ratio of growing, successful premature and sick infants that graduate from our unit and go on to lead healthy, normal lives. It is an amazingly rewarding experience, and I pray that each baby that comes into our unit reaches that full potential.

Whew, that said, on to Not Me! Monday!


If you are not familiar with Not Me! Monday, head over to MckMama's blog to join in on the fun! I have been participating in Not Me! for quite some time now, so I know once you head over, you'll be returning to visit MckMama and her family time and time again!

Earlier tonight, I most definitely did NOT blow my nose in my sock I had taken off because I couldn't find a kleenex. I know, I know...gross. Believe me, my wife informed me as much, and was not shy about expressing her disgust!

Our cat, who is 1.5 years old, did NOT pee in our daughter's crib and on her blanket. Big problem, we're looking at permanent solutions to remedy this. Largest thing I feel is he needs another cat to play with. I'm sure I'll hit this topic again in the future.

This morning, I did NOT turn on the radio on my drive to work and catch myself singing to "Natural Woman", which was playing on the oldies station. As soon as I did NOT catch myself mouthing the words, I quickly turned my CD player on to Jason Mraz and Jack Johnson to man-up for a bit.

And just now, I definitely did NOT drool a bit as I yawned from sleepiness and typing this post at 1221am. See, I know I won't type it in the morning since baby girl will keep me busy. Have to post when I can!

All kinds of attractive qualities for me, huh?

Toddler Tales - State Fair Photos

Last week we went to the state fair, but I am only now getting to post it up! Baby Girl had a great time, though I'm pretty sure she was frustrated that she was confined to her stroller for the most part.

Normally, Brit and I love watching several of the shows, but this year, since we had our baby girl along with us, we had to skip them.

We both got our corn dogs, and Brit had caramel apple slices. I got my usual cotton candy to eat on the way home.

Baby Girl's favorite part of the fair was when I took her to play in the water fountain that was next to the auto show. I held her and let her splash her feet in the water. She let me know her displeasure when we eventually had to leave the fun fountain behind.

At the auto displays, I made sure to checkout the Chevy Equinox, which is their 32 miles per gallon SUV. Starting at $22k, it's not a bad deal at all. I loved it! But not time to buy a new car yet, so I will have to wait.

Below are several of our photos. It was a great day out at the fair with our baby girl!

Baby girl rolling into the fair! She's excited!

Looking at the MOO cows

Baby girl getting brave

Family shot!

She wanted it, but daddy just let her pose with it. I tore off a couple pieces for her :)

Mommy and daughter!

The fun fountain. She loved it!

Pretty woman, pretty flowers.