It Don't Mean a Thing

If you ain't got a swing, Squishie is not interested.

The beauty of working part time: we visit this park two or three times a week


Higher, mama!




Pure joy


My view on the way home

Meanwhile despite the happy appearance of the above-mentioned baby, the going has been a tad rough the last few days here at Casa del Teetharecomingin. Someone (I won't name names) is getting an attitude and showing signs of learning how to throw a temper tantrum (although never in daddy's presence, natch). And someone has been waking up in the middle of the night for the past few nights. While this makes our neighborhood coffee shop very happy (I'll take an extra, mega, super duper uber-grande) it's getting a little draining for mom & dad. And through the ear-piercing hollering I feel bad for the poor thing...anyone who's had braces remembers how tooth pain just pulses throughout your entire head, and without words or signs this is still her best form of communication.

But holy sh**, if this is a sign of things to come I'm going to say that we. are. toast.

Anyway other than the teeth, things are slowing down a little here and picking up a little there. The varsity baseball team that Matt coaches, the Dominican Knights, lost their playoff game a couple weeks ago but it was a well played game and overall they ended the season far better than a couple of years ago when he first started. At the baseball banquet last weekend all of the coaches received some nice glassware along with truly genuine thanks from team members and parents alike. But as that ends his so-called Old Man League (28+) is picking up. Last Sunday Matt pitched for most of the game and then caught the last few innings. This was cause to bust out the Swedish massage chair, which G thought was great fun. Maybe the shiatsu made her forget about her teeth.

What happens when I push this button?


Oh, it makes daddy's tongue stick out just like mine!

And the shot that I look at to make me laugh:

The most squeezable

Hot Mamas

For the occasion of her 30th birthday, our friend Brian decided to throw his wife, Jen, a surprise party. To guarantee appropriate festivities ensued, he enlisted the help of three of her dearest friends...Heidi, Tracie, and Sarah. Sneaky sneakiness commenced and it all came together last Saturday night for a girls-only bash that was one for the record books. We all gathered at Tracie's place for the cocktail hour portion of the evening, then we hopped in the stretch limo and hit downtown & the Third Ward. It was definitely the latest this mom has been out in a while, but totally worth every ounce of exhaustion the next day.

A moment of triumph for the planning committee: genuine surprise


The brains behind the operation: he's not just about computers, folks


Kids? Laundry? Dishes? Bills? I think not!


Don't hate us for looking beautiful


After a martini or two...


...or three...

Impotant Things I Did Last Week

Guest blogger: GGM

1) Shared a vanilla cone with mommy

2) Took my first out-of-utereo trip to the cottage:

The lake is fun


Hung out with Grandma & Grandpa Maio


Stared at the curious Uncle Steve


Discovered graham crackers - oh baby!


Hiked around with mom, dad, and Ralphie

3) Perfected the art of soaking mommy while taking a bath. Ha ha, so funny.

4) Welcomed my new friend, Madeline Lee, into the world. Congrats Jess & Anthony!

8 Months

G hits the 8 month mark tomorrow so since I was home today I thought we'd get the monthly shots out of the way. Squish did not receive the photo-memo though and was in a totally weird mood. She absolutely would not sit up and instead would either slump down and wave her feet in the air or reach out for the camera.

Can't make me sit up


She may have a future in Cirque du Soleil


Ha ha, I do whatever I want

Other hobbies of this 8 month old include drooling, shoveling Gerber puffs and Cheerios into her mouth, jumping, drooling some more, and trying to kill mom & dad by method of not napping. To date we have two toothies and we continue on the march toward stuffing everything in the house into the mouth. She's getting precariously close to crawling so the baby-proofing has begun. I'm sure the holes we drill in the wall for the gates will only enhance the old world charm of the house.

It took about 493 shots to get these two of her actually sitting up and smiling. Thank god for digital cameras.


Give me the camera. No, wait, give me the rattle.


I'm coming to get you


Almost always en pointe


Hoping the warm weather sticks around so we can bust out all of the cute dresses in her considerable wardrobe...


...which includes stylish accessories like hats

How Big is Squishers?

Hmm, almost...


There it is!

After her afternoon nap today I kneeled by her crib while watching her try to pull herself up, which she accomplished after just a couple of well calculated tries. Time to lower the mattress - so big!

The Girl's Got Taste

My first official Mother's Day has come and gone. It was a great weekend and day, and Miss Squish got to spend time with her mom, her mom's mom, her dad's mom, and her dad's mom's mom. The mother-load, if you will. Grandpa Pete was minding the homestead back in MN and Grandpa Karl was home with the plague that we all enjoyed a couple weeks ago, so Matt, Steve, and Ralphie were our Y chromosome representatives (well, not so much Ralphie). We had a great meal cooked and served by chef Matt and his sous chef Steve, and Karl sent along dessert of a fruit tart - my fave. I got lots of lovely blooms and G set the bar pretty high by surprising mommy with diamond hoop earrings. She was even sneaky enough to wrap them up and hide them in her toy box. Matt said she told him last week she wanted to go to the jewelry store and pick something out. How did she know that the best way to accessorize a shirt full of spit up is with gems? What a clever girl.

Our best effort to get her to look at the camera

Grandma Heidi, me & G


G with Great Grandma


Grandma Kathy, G, Great Grandma


Mothers & daughters


Mostly Maios

The earrings weren't G's only surprise. After enough drool to drown a fish she FINALLY cut her first tooth on Thursday, followed by her second on Sunday. Well, maybe Saturday; the girl's tongue is sticking out 24-7 so I only discovered the new additions by accident while she flipped her cranky switch. Hence no pictures of said toothies. But they're there! I admit to having mixed feelings on the whole thing. It's totally cute to see those two bottom teeth poking out, but I can't believe I'll never see that gummy grin again (unless she one day takes a major face plant, at which point I'm sure I'll be over my mixed feelings).

All in all it was a great intro to the land of Mother's Days. Great Grandma said this was her 64th go-round, so if things keep up I should have a pretty serious jewelry collection by the time I reach her level of mom-experience. Hope all of you fellow mommies had a great day as well!

Another Friend on the Way

As faithful readers may recall, my adorable and delightful friend Erin and her charming husband Dan (aka Joe Suburb) are expecting their first baby in July. So on Saturday G and I went to celebrate the impending arrival of baby girl Wille (hooray, someone else is finally having a girl!). Erin got boatloads of good loot and we all ooh'd and ahh'd at the sweet little outfits and toys. Looking at the chunky monkey sitting on my lap it was hard to imagine that just a few months ago she actually fit into those teeny clothes. Dan also received a gift: his mom (and hostess) made him a diaper changing prep kit complete with rubber gloves, a breathing mask, plastic bags & tongs, and more. I suggested that he might not need the mask until baby W starts eating solids, but otherwise it'll probably all be put to use. So funny that, among most of our friends, poo is such a common and meaningful topic.

G behaved beautifully the entire afternoon, and I let her nibble on the bits of the huge spread. This included some kind of strawberry & ice cream punch that I let her sip on. BIG hit.

Ready to roll


The lovely mom-to-be with the Squish


Joe Suburb's 911 diaper changing apron

And here are a couple funny shots from the last week. The first are G with her favorite person, and the last is her sporting her newest accessory (thanks Auntie Robin!!):

Nothing but grins for Dada


EXCUSE ME, mommy!


Breakfast tastes so much better with legwarmers