Encouragement... it's a good thing!

If you had told me, five years ago, I would be married with two beautiful children today I would of said "uh... yah right!"

But, here I am... happily married to my beautiful wife and we were lucky to have two amazing children. Mauldin just suprises me everyday! I sit on the couch and just watch him walk around, singing his version of ABC/1.2.3.... and it makes me wonder what we did to make him so perfect.

Then there is our pretty princess, Elle. She is just so happy! I have NEVER seen a little kid, a baby no-less, smile as much as she does. The amount of happiness she emits is intoxicating and you cannot help but grin from ear to ear when you see her.

Just the other day, as I was about to head up the stairs my wife let out a gasp!

"Are you okay?" I said quickly. I was standing, one foot on the beige carpet on our stairs as I had one hand tightly grasped the gray graco baby gate that was installed to keep Mauldin from falling up or should I say down that stairs.

"Yes," my wife, Laura replied. "Did you see? Good job, Mauldin!"

I look down and expect to see my son scribing his name on a pad of paper or from the sound of the gasp he may of cured cancer... I wasn't sure. I saw him sitting in the floor with a toy he got from his cousin Everett. The toy is a Red and Blue circular toy that has a yellow handle and different shaped blocks... I guess you could call it a "Shape sorter." He sat on our kitchen floor with four or five of the yellow shapes all around him.

"Watch what your son can do..." Laura said. "Go on Mauldin, put them back!"

Our son loves to put things in their place... if he has a sippy cup it must go in it's cup holder... and if it is on the floor, it must be right side up. He makes sure all the doors are closed because heaven forbid one be open. This is true about the fridge as well... you open it, he MUST close it!

Like she said, I stood there and looked at my little boy work out placing all the blocks into their place. I glaced from Mauldin to Laura to see her face beaming with immense pride.

"But, babe..." I started. "I've seen him do that before, he's been doin' that for a while!"

I headed over to my little boy and patted him on the back. "That's great, Mauldin." I interjected.

"What?" she said with a hint of shock in her voice. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think it was a big deal." I calmly replied. "He's been doing puzzles for a while too... I just figured you knew!"

"NO!" she said while she clapped in Mauldin's direction showing her approval. "That's so amazing, Eric! That's really advanced."

"Yay!!! Yay, Mauldin!" I joined in on the clapping.

Mauldin looked up at both of us and starting clapping too! Well, that is all I needed to hear. As soon as anyone says something positive about your offspring... you just beam with pride, excitment... you know, all those good emotions.

I immediatley looked over at our little girl as she swayed back and forth in her exersaucer screaming in what seemed to be excitment for her big brother, although it could of been need for attention! I kinda felt bad we had put all that clapping and excitment into her brother so I felt the need to give Elle some encouragement and attention too! She had a paci in one hand and was grabbing onto a crunchy-sounding flower with the other. I crouched down and gave her a big grin. She responded with a high-pitch sound that could probably call some dolphins if we lived close enough to the ocean. At times we call her our little grasshopper... because of this commerical. It's really sweet actually because she always screams with a huge smile. As I went to stand up I felt something brush my side... it was Mauldin! He ran over and gave his sister a big hug... I guess he didn't want her to be left out either.

Two perfect little people

In the midst of a week full work week it is amazing how I found time to sit down and rest, rest and not worry about bills, kids, or even work. I just took the time to listen to the waves crashing around me… the warm waves in the distance, I can smell the salty, Caribbean sea air and feel the warming sensation of the sun on my over-worked and tired body. I rub my toes together to knock the sand off. I feel a breeze on my face and peek one eye open to feel the cool shade from the palm tree above. The beads of sweat running down my sun-kissed, tan chest as I lounge in a white, beach chair just close enough to the sand that I can run my fingers gingerly through the rough, granule mixture of soft, white sand. I lay comfortable, calm, serene in this Corona-like state.

“Eric.”

I hear my name being called. Is a waiter walking by, dipping his head down to whisper to me, not to stir me from my zen?

“Eric?”

What service, what a life I have… it’s like a dream. I groggily turn my head over to the right and open my mouth to make my order for a fruity, Caribbean drink. I open my eyes and before I can order my drink the shadowed figure above looks stunningly familiar.

“Eric, hand her over,” my wife, Laura, says. “I need to swaddle your daughter.”

I look down and realize it was all a grand dream. I was, in-fact, home on my comfy couch lying with my daughter, Elle, secure in our Baby Bjorn, on my chest. It had been such a taxing and hard week and it was only Thursday! I forgot I had laid down after chasing my little boy around and before I knew it I was out like the light in our bathroom. Side note: Our bathroom light has been out for about two weeks and I keep putting it off from changing it, I swear to my wife that “this weekend, after I mow, I will change it. I look down at my little girl, snoring lazily with one of her little hands up by her face and the other dropped, idly by my side. I look to my right and see my son sitting down on the floor and trying to place two plastic blocks together. It seemed as if he was getting really frustrated because the yellow and green block wouldn’t connect so the anger in him rose and he threw it on the floor behind him. He then had his attention taken away when he struck up a conversation with his six dwarves. A mixture of “daa’s” and “doo’s” go back and forth from he and the dwarves. We are unsure of the whereabouts of “Happy” the dwarf.

It is amazing to see how much our son, Mauldin, has progressed in just sixteen months. I lay there with a six-week old baby on me and see my other child running around, playing and trying to put toys together. It boggles my mind that my child learns! I mean it is amazing to me!

“Bring me your football Mauldin!” I say enthusiastically! He looks as me with his glittering blue eyes and turns to find his ball. I know how elementary some things can be, but to me, “the dad,” I just feel as if my child is a genius!

I cannot believe my wife and I are parents of two children! I would say “how did this happen?” But, that would be kind of stupid, but in all fairness it staggers me to wake up and know I am responsible for two little people! Two perfect little people…

Welcome Home, Elle!

Our little princess decided to make her debut on June 22, 2010 at 4:51am.

Stats: 6lbs 7 oz / 19 1/2 inches long

Her big brother was so excited to meet her!

We were really excited to bring her home.

Welcome home!

But, I wasn't finished with that daddy...

“What do you wanna do today?” My wife says while our little boy sits so playfully in between us in our bed on a cold Saturday morning.

“Eric?” she obviously was talking to me and not our son, Mauldin.

“Oh, I thought you were talking to him,” I reply as I glance down at our little boy who is half way through his early-morning apple juice. He likes to drink his juice and watch Playhouse Disney. He is a multitasker, that’s just how he rolls.

“Well, I guess I kinda was talking to you both, but the only thing he can say is Da-da…” my wife says with a hint of sarcasm and glee.

As I think about the fun retort I just stop myself because our son may be only 10 months, going on 11, but he is pretty sharp and one day soon he will start repeating what we say… and my dirty thoughts weren’t something I want coming out of his toothless chops. As I reach down to grab his empty juice cup he looks at me with the saddest face and a frown that could melt the heart of The Heat Miser.

I'm sure I know what was going through Mauldin's mind - "But, I wasn't finished with that daddy!" The truth is he was done, he was sucking air... but I guess he likes chewing on the spout. Just as I start to laugh at this face I see a hint of white on his lower gum. Please understand our son, Mauldin is 10 months old and has yet to cut a tooth, but has been teething since, well birth. New parents please understand… even if your child is drooling a lot it doesn’t necessarily mean he/she is teething.

It is and has been for a long time a huge, huge and very large pet peeve for anyone to put their fingers in my child’s mouth. I understand when the doctor does it, or my wife or myself… but other people who have germy hands it is just something I cringe just thinking about. However, for this day it was something that had to be done and I took the opportunity to “feel around for evidence of some baby teeth.”

“So, do you feel anything…” my wife quickly asks.

“Well, I think, I think… I think I can feel something…” I replied.

“Let me check,” said Laura.

She picked up our little boy, still in mid-frown from the sippy cup being taken away and now one of his favorite shows, Charlie & Lola, is on and we are taking him away from it… I know, we are terrible parents.

“Oh my… goodness…” said Laura. “Our baby has cut his first tooth.”

I immediately went to turn on all the lamps in our room so I could get a good look at this so-called tooth.

“Do you not believe me?” said Laura.

“Yes, my dear,” I replied “but can I just look at it? I wanna see it too!”

I sat there and looked as I asked our little man to open wide, as if he actually knew what I was asking him to do.

“Can daddy check to see your tooth?” And, just like that I saw the little white rectangle sticking out of his lower gum as if it were there hiding all along and just waiting for us to discover it!

“Well, hello there my little friend… how long have you been there?”

So, there it is, like I said… the whole tooth and nothing, but the tooth. More to come, I’m sure!

Is he asleep?

I cannot remember the last time I was able to get eight hours of complete and uninterrupted sleep. The idea that I used to sleep that much boggles every fiber of my being. I guess it has been 10 months, actually…

I used to turn over to my wife in the wee hours of the morning…

“How’s he doin’?” I whisper.

“He’s perfect.” My wife replies… “Go back to sleep.”

I hear the sweet lullaby music through Mauldin’s little monitor. The blue light illuminates our bedroom with it’s blaring, yet soft light… one wall bathed in a blue glow. I have gotten so used to the music that I barely hear it anymore. Although, I will notice if it stops.

“Did you put it on repeat?” my wife quickly asks.

“I thought I did,” I replied. “Crap!”

I throw the covers off and tiptoe on our cold, hardwood floor and make my way to the hallway. The carpet is a warm change from our room. I tend to have the ability to stealthfully enter his room, restart his music and walkout without stirring a mouse or a 10-month old boy.

The hard part is trying to get out of his room without stepping on and activating any of his toys!
“Mooooo!” or “whoo hoo!” would suddenly sound along with a few choice four letter words from my mouth. Luckily that hasn’t happened… my James Bond or Mission Impossible moves are pretty good.

Our son has graced us with the ability to sleep though the night without waking up, crying, wet or anything else that might cause a 10-month old cause to scream at 3am.

I haven’t known what to do… I used to wake up in the middle of the night for so long – I wake up now at 6am and don’t feel totally rested… why is that? I sleep yet I don’t feel rested? Ironic,

don’t you think?

I guess I should enjoy the uninterrupted snoozing because come June our lives will be turned into the late night feedings and rocking cycle again.

I thought the days or should I say nights of tired eyes was over… I was wrong, so wrong.

But, it will be so worth it!

It's a girl!

I guess I should start saving... honestly, I don't know how...

1. I am going to handle my little girl dating and

2. I don't know how I will be able to afford her wedding.

Yes, it is official, the Mrs. and I will be having a little girl come this summer!

Epic. Here is a picture of our beauty, Elle.

Are you the Gate Keeper?

Or the Key Master?

Okay, I couldn't resist...

It is my own fault, I know this, I provked and actually led to it.
What am I talking about, you ask?

Our son can climb the stairs... I do not just mean he can get his leg up on one step... ut uh... the boy can scale the whole stair case on his own. We, of course, stay behind for support just in case he were to miss a "step," but our little man rocks. If we aren't careful he may be rock climbing soon... or maybe splunking!

I, for about a month, have been practicing with MJ showing and helping him make it up the stairs... who knew he could catch on so quick!?

Walking? Nawh, he hasn't got the grasp on that yet... he tends to stand on his tip-toes. Not sure when this goes out of style for babies, but lets all hope soon.

We have started the more hardcore baby proofing... I mean we first put out all the plug-in covers and the padded gummy covers on the fireplace, we have taken things out of reach, but I have put off putting up the dredded "GATE."

So, this weekend, Sunday to be exact, will be the dredded day where our home becomes more structured and confined...

Don't get me wrong, I know we need a gate, I expected the gate... but I wasn't sure I, uhhmm he was ready for it until we caught him acting like he was from the Jefferson's... "Movin' on up!"

Although, in place of the deluxe apartment is the upstairs landing... which at the moment house a couple of large holiday nutcrackers.

I'll keep ya posted on the installation of said "gates!"

Here we go again...

Alright, I want to first apologize for being so MIA and non-blogger like. I admit I have had a lot going on... I mean, I got it goin' on.

Let me just spill the beans right here, right now and get it over with. No need to go into the "I've got some major news to tell," or make you play the "Guess what" game.

We are now officially expecting... expecting what you ask? Expecting to not go out as much anymore, expecting to not go on our 2 year anniversary trip to the Bahamas and most certainly not expecting the be sleeping well in about, oh seven months.

Okay, maybe I am being just a bit alusive, but comon' it's kinda lame to just be like...

"My wife's pregnant, again!"

We discovered this about this time last week.

Let me set the scene for you.... about how we found out I mean, not the conception. I mean seriously you thought I was gonna give you THAT kind of detail.

My wife was home from work on this sunny, or was it rainy, Tuesday afternoon around 11 AM. She had just picked up our son from Daycare because she had decided to run some errands sans 7 1/2 month old. Earlier that morning I was woken up by the sounds of puking, ralphing, food being regur... okay you get the point.

"I just can't shake this," my wife, Laura, says while embracing the white, porcelin bowl.

"I guess it is just all that drainage from your sinuses," I replied.

My wife had been throwing up off and on for about three weeks and we had just assumed it was sinus drainage. (Looking back we are so stupid.)

While I was on my way to take our son, Mauldin, to daycare I called Laura on the phone.

"Why don't you stop and pick up a pregnancy test while you are out," I suggested.

"Okay, if you think I should," she said.

"I think you should," I insisted.

Fast forward to 10:30 AM, I get a phone call from Laura.

"What are you doing for lunch today?" she asked.

"Oh, I don't know, I haven't thought about it, why? You want me to come have lunch with you?"

"Yes."

I kinda played around with her for a bit on my phone on my way. I decided not to call her until I was atleast down our road.

I recieve a text saying: "Where are you?"

I proceed to dial our home number...

"I am sorry, I just left the office," I lied.

"Awh, okay, I really wish you were home," Laura said.

"Me too!"

I was actually just 2 minutes down the road and finally as I round the corner to our house I say well, I will let you go, I should be home in about 10 minutes, as I hit the garage door opener. She doesn't even notice the noise as I pull up to the house.

"Laura," I said.

"What?"

"I'm home!" I said "See you..." I see her at the door, she has a smile on her face from ear to ear.

I proceeded to push end on my phone and place it in my pocket and shut the door to my dirty, black Honda accord.

I walk inside and she gives me a huge hug.

I can tell something good is about to happen. She had surprise-face. I am assuming she made me lunch and a nice, yummy sandwich and a glass of tea would be waiting for me at the table. (It apparently doesn't take a lot to get me excited these days.)

I walk over to the table and instead of a sandwich I am handed a positive pregnancy test. I look up at Laura and she has smile and tears in her eyes.

"I'm pregnant."

I hugged her tight as I could and laughed.

"So this was my surprise?" I asked.

"Yeah! What do you think?" Laura said.

"I dunno! A Publix sub!" I said... "I'm in shock, I'm elated, I'm excited, what about you?"

"I'm still in shock too."

"Well, I guess we aren't getting a TV for Christmas anymore, huh?" I said.

"Nope, I guess we need to cancel our trip to Sandals," she continued. "Yep, so we are gonna be parents, again!"

We stood there and just starred at the pregnany test and the only thing I could say is...

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," she replied. "I took two! I'm sooooo pregnant, surprise~!"

We both look over at Mauldin in his "saucer" and say "you're gonna be a big brother, what do you think about that?"

He proceeded to let out a huge rasberry.

"I think that is how my mom is going to react," I said.

So, here we go again. We are about to embark on the adventure of parenthood, again. I guess I should now change the blog description, how does this sound?

My wife and I got married and found out we were pregnant shortly after one month of marital bliss! Then we found out we were expecting again after our son was only 7 months old. Read on to find out our trials and tribulations for a couple who are taking on the epic quest of parenthood with two kids only 15 months apart!

We are due June 25th - Excitment abounds!

Have you ever been to the ER with a child?

Have you ever been to an Emergency Room with a child?

Now you may be wondering "why were you in the ER?" Well, we went on Sunday afternoon to pick out pumpkins, have a fun day with family and enjoy a nice, crispy fall day. On the way home our little man was uncharacteristically pissy. He basically whined and cried almost the entire way home. We chalked it up to he was not happy to be in his car seat for the hour 1/2 ride home.

We come home and Mauldin seems to be really hot and on this 60 degree day there is no real reason for him to be hot to the touch. My brilliant and intuitive wife insists we take his temperature.

102 degree temp. I look at her and say,

"don't freak out!" knowing good and well she was well into the freakage zone.

"This isn't a teething temperature," said Laura.

"Lets give him some Tylenol and put him in a cool bath, that might help!"

So, I proceed to do this as we know this is what any doctor may first suggest, not to mention any parent we contact as well. After his splish splashy bath time I take him out and we take his temperature again, knowing that the Tylenol should of kicked in a little.

103.3. I look at Laura's face, and she is on the verge of tears.

"I'm gonna call the doctor on call and see what they say to do," insisted Laura.

Mind you, our soon-to-be three year old niece, Annagrace, has been sick since Saturday, however, Mauldin has had no contact with her. We know that Annagrace was on her way to "Children's" a local Pediatrics doctor office in Atlanta and the wait to get in to see a doctor is 3 hours!

While Laura is calling the doctor on-call - I proceed to call "Children's" to see about making an appointment.

I hear Laura downstairs, "Thank you. Yes, 103.3. 03/21/2009. Oh, okay. Thank you."

I hang up the phone with the very unhelpful nurse at Children's who was in mid- I'm sorry because they had no more spots. The best thing she could say was to walk in and wait the 3 hours.

"What did they say?" I say to Laura as I am 1/2 down the stairs.

I see Laura packing Mauldin's diaper bag and proceeds to strip off his onesie.

"The nurse on the phone said we need to take him to the ER," said Laura. "With a temp that high they want us to have him seen ASAP."

"Okay." I reply.

As I drive us to the ER my stomach is in knots and I am reminded of the stress level that I have before I speak in public or before my first date with Laura. My head was pounding, my hands were sweating as I gripped the steering wheel and the soothing sounds of Jordin Sparks and her "Battlefield" were not all that soothing or comforting so I proceeded to turn off the radio completely.

We finally arrive at the hospital, after what seemed like a million years in the car, and park in the parking garage across the street... apparently we aren't the only one's with an emergency this evening.



Dude, it's so ghetto... okay now I may get some flack for saying this, but in the case of the one we went to on Sunday night... I feel I am pretty accurate in my description.

As we are walking through the parking lot I look over at Laura as she has Mauldin curled up in her embrace. Mauldin's tiny arms and legs are bare to the elements and I start to wonder how is this going to make him better?

"I feel like such trash!" I say to Laura.

"What? Why?" Laura replies with a bit of laughter.

"Here we are walking into the ER with our child in a freaking diaper! How trashy are we? I mean who does that???"

As I say these words I look over to my right and there stands a tall, black man; with his girlfriend. The man is wearing a long trench coat reminiscent of something Morpheus from the Matrix would fashion. One can only imagine why he was there...

I look at Laura... "Okay, I don't feel so bad anymore... I may blog about this!"

After entering the pediatrics ward of the ER Laura goes on to sit with Mauldin as I fill out all the necessary paperwork. I felt so odd doing this because in filling out this paper work I am admitting my child is sick, so sick that we had no alternative choice but to bring him to the ER, the ER where people come when they chop off their limbs or break their arm while playing flag football. We are here in the ER exposing our defenseless and helpless 6-month old son to who knows what... Right then and there I felt like a terrible, terrible parent.

Our little guy was/is such a trooper, he is usually bouncin' around like Tigger, but this particular day he was more like a gloomy Eeyore.

His stuffy, "oh so stuffy," nose is just red and raw. He hates it when you try to wipe it.

Well, after finally meeting with the doctor, one urine sample, complete with catheter and x-rays they determined he was infected with the "flu." We were given a Rx for Theraflu, I believe, I think that is what it is called... and I won't get into the nightmare it was to obtain this medication. Have to make it... comon', seriously?

To top it off, my beautiful and selfless wife, Laura, has caught it as well... So, get well soon baby! I'm sorry you were the one to catch it.

I love you both.

Big brother is watching....

No matter how much I try; I cannot read a story, all the way through, to Mauldin. Well, I can read it all the way through, but the problem is he is asleep about half way through it. Now, I am not totally complaining because it gets him to sleep, but is he still soaking up the literary knowledge? I am not sure why, but it seems that his little mind cannot seem to take in all that valuable data. He cannot stay awake to the end to find out what happens! By the time I am done reading, say… “The Pokey Little Puppy,” “The Little Red Hen” or the story of “Peter Pan” he is sawing some logs right in my arms. We have a myriad of little golden books, board books and Mother Goose, nursery rhythms, that we keep in his nursery. I am not sure if I am boring the little man or if the sound of my voice is soothing to him. I would like to think it was soothing, but who knows…

When I start the story it is usually while he is screaming and aiming to break out of his swaddle. The little dude is a regular Houdini and can always find a way to get an arm out or a leg.

The other day I started trying to read Harry Potter to him, but, I have to let go of the book while trying to reposition him in my arms, so it didn’t pan out very well. He is a squirmy little guy when he is upset and the book folds back and I keep losing my place, so I am gonna have to wait until he can sit in my lap on his own without me having to restrain him.

Back to the reading…

I have decided to stick to a little bit smaller books so that I do not have to keep starting over. It really makes me laugh though because some of these books were such a big part of my childhood. In my youth my mom would always have these books around for us. I distinctly remember her reading to me about “Pokey” the little puppy and the like... as well as the aforementioned “Little Red Hen.” Now, when I was younger this book seemed to be a lot more entertaining, as did “The Pokey Little Puppy.” The more and more I read them, the more and more I figure out some of these morals, in the stories, are out of whack! I mean they are kind of comical actually! The little puppy, Pokey, was a selfish little bast…uhmmm guy… his little friends followed the rules… but they still got in trouble and he ended up getting dessert a lot more than they did, however, at the end he didn’t get to have dessert, but all the other little puppies did – but if you think about it Pokey got to eat dessert like 3x more than the others… and as his punishment.. he had to sleep alone. He did everything else by himself and now he gets to sleep alone.. I am sure this did not faze him one bit.

Now moving on to “The Little Red Hen.” There is a story about adversity and trying to overcome gender stereotypes and roles. I bet a whole lot of research and psychology books can be written just about this little story. The Hen wanted to plant a seed, grow some wheat so she could get some flour to bake some bread, but none of the other animals wanted to help her in her tasks. So, in essence, she was a work-a-holic with no friends and in the end she didn’t let any of her so-called barn-yard friends partake in the sweet bread she had baked… The other animals were probably like fine, bitch, I’ll go buy my own bread while I play my fiddle. What lesson did we learn here? Not sure. LOL!

I have found reading to him is one sure way to get him to go to bed or take a nap, most nights. Now, here is a tip, if some of you were unaware of this. Baby monitors are not very private, apparently. "Big Brother" is always watching... or should I say "Big Sister." The other night I found out that our house has a major invasion of our privacy… and by accident no less. My sister-in-law, Laura’s sister, Jennifer, lives down the street and her little girl, our niece, Annagrace, had their monitor, and turns out when switched the frequency and it gave them a window into Mauldin’s nursery. Now, granted, this is by accident, but who says they will not just do it just to appease Annagrace so she can see and hear her little cousin? I know Jenn reads this so this is basically a plea to say…”please don’t.” I also am saying this for my own well being because whenever I read to Mauldin or sing to him it is a sort of private affair, not to mention, I cannot sing all that well… especially cheesy little tunes like “do re mi” and “under the sea.” Don’t judge me. I do this though because it really helps in him falling to sleep… (don't revoke my man-card) when the reading doesn’t help. Moreover, when I read to him I tend to find myself doing “voices” of the characters and not in a cool “oh wow you should do this for a job way.” It is very amateur and embarrassing if heard by any others. So, if you have a baby monitor and you think what you say in your home is private… think again. Think again.

The curious case of the receding hairline...

Okay, so Mauldin has started losing his hair…

We laughed about his cousin, Grant, whenever this happened to him. The “skullet” is almost in full force.

Mauldin actually came out with a full head of hair and now we are lucky for him to have a decent comb over… Laura washed his head, a couple of days ago, and the little brush ended up with almost ½ of what was on his head! I know, I know, it will grow back… and yes, cradle cap, blah blah blah, we have heard it all..

But, can’t I just complain about it? I mean we are gonna have to go buy head-n-shoulders for our lil' man! He has dandruff worse than... well it's bad.

Honestly, he has a really cute face so it doesn’t really matter…

Looking forward, I know he will have a full head of hair again, some day, I just wish that day was sooner than later. One second thought, we should have had his spring pictures taken sooner…

Oh well, we still have his baby announcement photo to be taken… guess we will have to make do.

Do they have baby Rogaine? Just kiddin!

Let me just say...

When I first heard of this stuff I was like... "What's Grape water?"

Now that I am educated on the helpfulness of this beautifully made liquid gold... Let me just say...

Thank God for this stuff!

Thank you, God.

Oh, and the makers of Gripe Water...

If you don't know... this stuff stops stomach aches, hiccups, colic, crying... well... crying from the aforementioned baby issues... It's a miracle.. especially at 1AM!

It truly keeps me from griping so much!

How to...

How to swaddle a Baby -video

I am pretty sure this is well-known to all your seasoned parents… but to those soon-to-be parents who pretty much are clueless about this topic, here is a video that might come in handy…

A friend of mine from high school, Jason, sent me this link.

He and his wife just had a little boy in September… Ashton.

From the looks of this video, this baby does not necessarily like being swaddled… apparently my nephew hated it too!

I have gotten word from many people that there are special blankets that are basically “pre-swaddling” so hopefully we will get some of those to help us out!

Otherwise we may end up cutting the circulation making him uncomfortable!

We have already tried swaddling once and were sorta successful, but it was on a plush Mickey Mouse. Sorcerer Mickey to be exact, but not like that makes a difference!

I also found a link “how to tie a bow tie” online and that did not work out so well, but there are less steps in the swaddling process..

Again, Mauldin will probably come out thinkin'...

"Awh man! I'm the one who got the parents who can't swaddle..."

Well, lil' dude, we are gonna try, we are gonna try :)

Wish us luck!

A Frisky Parental Pair

I thought it might be fun to see how Laura and I come out when you plug in our astrological signs...

Eric = Aries / Laura = Gemini

Here is what http://www.babycenter.com/ thinks...

*Please note* This is for entertainment & superficial reasons only... please do not take any of the following very seriously*

Together you two make a dynamic and energetic parenting team, but you may struggle to provide the regularity and stability your family needs, since these aren't qualities that come easily to either of you. Your dedication and devotion isn't in question, and you share a youthfulness that your children will enjoy. But keeping to a regular meal or bedtime schedule, for instance, could prove a challenge.

The Aries parent is more forceful and dynamic -- the natural leader of the family. The Gemini mom or dad is playful and communicative, with a curiosity and love of learning your children will naturally want to emulate. You both need a certain amount of freedom, so give each other room for your individual activities. Then you'll both be more available to meet the needs of your children and each other.

Found at http://www.babycenter.com/