Evan's First Halloween (and memories)

It really is true that a baby changes everything. Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays, but this year was definitely different. When I was growing up it was always a fun and exciting day. This Halloween was no different. But over the years, as with any adults, holidays become more like just any other day...and they tend to lose the magic. Having Evan has changed that. This was the first year I carved pumpkins. It had been, I'm guessing, since 1995 when I carved the last one. I loved doing this as a kid.

My sis & I carving pumpkins - About 1980

I love the countdown to Halloween...all the scary movies that are on TV. Linda is not a fan, and refuses to watch these slasher flicks with me. I love scary movies! The other night, I had DVR's the original "Halloween", and began watching it. I had recorded it off AMC, so it was censored and had commercial breaks. I told Linda that, but she refused to watch it and went back to our room to watch TV. I can't wait for Evan be old enough to watch these with me. Linda has her reservations about him watching scary movies at a young age. However, my parents loved scary movies and didn't censor what we watched growing up. In fact, when we got our first VCR in the early-mid 1980s, the very first movie we watched as a family on that new fangled contraption was "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". It didn't scar me for life. We were a family that loved scary movies. I remember seeing "Poltergeist", "A Nightmare on Elm Street", "Jaws 3D", "Friday the 13th" and others in the movie theater with my family. Didn't bother me... I didn't have nightmares and didn't grow up to be a mass murderer. So we'll see how Evan does as he grows up.

When I was a kid though, my mom dressed me as a clown numerous years in a row for Halloween night, that is until I protested and got to choose my Halloween costume. She had made the clown outfit herself, therefore wanted to get good use out of it. Understandable, but I hate clowns to this day. Not only because for the first few years of my life I had to dress in that damn clown outfit, but also because I have a fear of the damn things. I blame the scene from "Poltergeist" for that. (My only adverse effect of watching that movie.) I promise that I won't do that to Evan.

My sis as a witch, me as the clown - About 1980

For Evan's first Halloween, we dressed him in a blue three-eyed, four-armed, pot-bellied monster thing. We dubbed the costume a "Mutated Cookie Monster". We headed up to our hometown, Excelsior, to trick-or-treat with our 4 year old nephew, Brayden, who went as Woody from "Toy Story". Linda's brother and sister-in-law still live in Excelsior, and in fact, in the same neighborhood that I grew up in.

Evan did great! Although he was gypped at a few houses, most people ogled over him and gave him treats. Granted, he won't be able to eat any of the candy, but Linda & I are divvy up the loot. I called dibs on the KitKats and Crunches. Linda's not so keen on that idea.

As we strolled around my childhood neighborhood, I had a feeling of nostalgia overcome me...it really was bittersweet. So much of the neighborhood I spent the first 20 years of my life in had changed. Old neighbors had moved on or passed away...some still remained. Growing up on Virginia Road and in that neighborhood was a trick-or-treaters dream come true in the 1980s. It was a young neighborhood then, and practically every house gave out candy and there was no need to hit any other neighborhood. But today, things had changed. So many houses were dark...either their residences empty (in today's economy) or weren't participating. The neighborhood had gotten old. Not a lot of young families living there anymore...especially on my old street.

I talked John & Steph (Linda's brother & sister) into heading down to my house. I was eager to see if whomever lived in my old house now would be giving out candy...but no such luck. I'm hoping next year. Even though my parents sold that house 6 years ago, it feels like decades ago. Lots has changed since then. That will always be my house. It's nothing special...just another cookie-cutter suburban house built in the 1970s. As much as I hated living there when I was the 'rebellious' teen...what I wouldn't give to see the inside of that house again.

I couldn't help myself but stare at my old house...and remember Halloweens-past...and all the other holidays and good memories I had there. I miss that house. Linda said it even made her reminiscent of the times spent in that house.

I hope Evan is as sentimental as me. I hope that one day I can point that house out to him and tell him that is where his dad grew up...and him feel the same fascination about that house as I did when my dad showed me the house he grew up in.

Evan's Photo Proofs!

For anyone interested, our photographer has put Evan's 6 months photo session proofs up on her website for 10 days to view.

Click here to see.

From there, it'll show several albums to view... You'll want to chose "Lea {Family Session}". Click that, then it'll take you to a login screen. You'll need to enter "Lea2010". Once you do, all the pictures should pop up.

To view larger images, you can hover your mouse over the magnifying glass at the bottom of each picture.

Now, the hard part comes in. I love all these pictures and am gonna have a hard time narrowing it down to a few to order!

Enjoy!

Seinfeld Meets Raising Arizona

This morning I ran by Target to pick up some things for Evan. I saw winter coats there and knew I had to pick one up for Evan for the impending winter... So I went to the check-out, the clerk made some small talk as he rang up my things...I paid and went on my way.

I got home and noticed that I wasn't charged for Evan's coat. I whimsically updated my Facebook status that I felt guilty for this. Several of my friends and family members urged me to take it back and pay for it, and to "do the right thing" and set an example for Evan. Thing was...this Target was 45 minutes away...I had gone to the one near Linda's work.

My conscience and with everyone hounding me got the best of me, and I called the Target I was at and explained that I bought several items, but wasn't charged for Evan's coat. The people there told me that I could bring it back in and pay for it. I explained I lived 45 mins away and they told me that I could take it to any Target. I then realized that in my sleep-deprived absent-mindedness, I had forgotten Evan's cereal...therefore another trip out to the store was due. So I went to the Target that's closer to home for the forgotten cereal...with the "stolen" merchandise in hand.

Got to the Guest Services desk and explained what happened this morning to the clerk. She told me that I had to go back to the Overland Park Target since it had been in their inventory. I told the clerk that that store had said I could take it back to any Target. We went back and forth on this for a few minutes, then she called over a manager. The manager explained again that I had to go back to the Overland Park store with the "lost" merchandise since it was missing from their stock. I explained once again to the manager that I was told I could bring it back to any store to correct their error. She finally agreed to just ring me up and let me pay for this coat.

And not so much as even a "thank you" or "we appreciate what you did"...even though I had to waste an hour to and from (the closer Target to our house is still quite a drive away).

But I'm setting an example for Evan, right? By "doing the right thing"? I have to keep telling myself that. I really don't feel any better for wasting part of my afternoon with this, when I had so much stuff to get done at home. If it hadn't been for Evan's cereal that I forgot, then I probably would have just chalked it up as "hey, their error...I got a free coat out of the deal!" Oh well. I felt like I was stuck in a part-"Raising Arizona"-part-"Seinfeld" scene.

Scavenger Hunt & Sneak Peaks

Who knew getting photos taken would be so hectic and time consuming? Getting the finishing touches, the preparations, making sure all of us are presentable, wrestling a confused and rambunctious dog, dancing around and acting like a fool to coax our stone-faced baby to smile, etc.

Wednesday, our photographer, Kami, emailed me and asked me to send her pictures of the outfits we were gonna dress Evan in, so she could coordinate her props. I sent her pics of a few different outfits and asked for her suggestion. She said the sweater and the guitar t-shirt were great. She suggested as a finishing touch for the rock-star t-shirt was to buy some red Chuck Taylor Converse sneakers (or any canvas-style sneakers, but red ones would be perfect, that looked old school) and distressed jeans. Thinking our outfits were complete prior to this email, Linda & I made a mad dash around the KC-metro area to find red baby sneakers and distressed jeans. Linda & I live close to the Plaza...were lots of retail shops are located. I hit Baby Gap first, and found some cool jeans that were on sale! Spent $20...for jeans that were normally $45! Then came the quest for red sneakers. Baby Gap didn't have anything. I asked the clerk at Baby Gap if she had any idea were to get any. She suggested Gymboree and Hall's. I steered clear of Hall's as I didn't want to give Linda another heart attack. I went to Gymboree on the Plaza...nothing in his size. The girl at Gymboree said that was all they had... I asked if she knew anywhere else that had sneakers. She said Gymboree and Baby Gap were the only ones. Really? On the Plaza? Out of all the retail on the Plaza? I had no idea finding baby shoes was gonna be a scavenger hunt.

Linda called after I left Gymboree. I was on my way to Target to see if they had anything. She searched online and found that another Gymboree location might have some... She also said that Children's Place might have some also. She said she'd take care of if after she was off work. She normally leaves work around 5:00pm, and is home by 5:45 or 6:00. She didn't get home til close to 8:00.

After work, she headed out to Town Center Plaza (near her work)...found nothing. Although, she did find a really cool twill hat at Gymboree...perfect for the sweater outfit and family shots. She said she asked for recommendations...and someone said there was a Converse outlet at The Legends. She then trekked 30 minutes over there. Success! She found the sneakers (but since Evan was a spring/summer baby and we've hardly put shoes on him...she had no idea what size his chubby little feet are...and ended up buying size too small. I'm gonna exchange them later...). She then ran by Banana Republic and picked us up both clothes, and changing what we both were planning on wearing. Was very hectic.

Yesterday morning, we got everything going early. Got Little Man fed and dressed while we got our showers in and put together. Grabbed Truman and walked over to the Nelson-Atkins, the location of our photo session, and met Kami. Here's a few sneak peaks:

We worked so hard to get Evan to laugh and get a good gummy grin in...but all he would do was smirk. His smiles are fleeting...especially for a camera. I'm sure we looked like morons, dancing around behind Kami, making funny faces and funny noises to coax a smile from him. I worked up a sweat, but to no avail. But Kami did great and showed Linda and I few previews on her camera's review...and from what I saw, I was happy with her work!

After the family shots that included Truman, I walked him back to our condo. He's a bit socially retarded. Even though we brought cheese with us, he still was difficult to get to sit still, position and behave while we were taking pics. Truman isn't like other dogs. Kami warned me when setting up this appointment that there are squirrels on the lawn of the Nelson, and that from past sessions with her clients that included dogs...the squirrels can prove problematic. I told her that Truman has no interest in squirrels. He's a bulldog. Enough said. But Truman lacks social skills and obedience at times... So to make our session a bit easier and less stressful than dealing with a confused dog, I walked him back.

Towards the end of our session, Evan was getting grumpy, tired and pissed. We wrapped things up after about an hour or so of pics. He did great though, considering...and I can't wait to see the pics. We have to wait another two weeks though before Kami is done processing and editing.

Haute Couture

I'm eager for Evan's 6 month photography session this Thursday. In order for a more fun session, our photographer, Kami, suggested a few changes in outfits for Evan. I bought Evan a great outfit from Babies R Us weeks ago, for the more formal shots, the ones that will include Linda, me and Truman. She suggested an outfit change, and what is really popular amongst boys is the "rock star look". Something kinda fun for us to look back on. I thought this would be an easy task...find something edgy, hip and fun... Boy was I wrong. I've scoured stores and the internet in vain for weeks.

I finally asked for suggestions via facebook. I got lots of feedback...and one of my old coworkers suggested I go to Hall's where she works now as a manager. Hall's is a very high-end department store in Kansas City. She said in the kids section, they carry some Kingsley line of clothing, and gave me the website for them. They didn't have much merchandise on their site, but from what I learned it's for the "rock star parent"...apparently this line of clothing was what Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie dressed their daughter, Shiloh in for pictures that made the cover of People Magazine... This clothing line is also the choice of other celebrity parents like Gwen Stefani, Johnny Depp and Seal. I should have known it was gonna be expensive.

I headed over to Hall's at Crown Center, strapped Evan in the BabyBjorn, and found their selection. Picked out a really cool hoodie, jeans and onesie t-shirt... These clothes were so awesome...stuff I'd buy for myself, that is if I actually bought clothes anymore for myself! I should've looked at the price tag... When I checked out, the clerk asked me, "Are you ready for this total? $212.76, please." I felt myself get light-headed and my knees buckle. I can't remember the last time I spent over $100-$150 on myself in one setting...it's been years! But, not wanting to look like someone who lives on a budget and normally shops at Target, and asking the clerk to put the clothes back, I whipped out my credit card like a pro. I told myself it was for Evan...and it was for posterities sake. For him being immortalized in some awesome pictures that would look like a print ad for a Baby GQ, if there were ever such a thing.

Buyer's remorse set in. I figured I could do the cheapskate route...and keep the tags on, hidden inside the clothes, then return them after the session. When I got home, I debated on calling Linda at work. I wondered if she'd notice the $212.76 charge... However, my conscious got the best of me and I called Linda. I told her I found some great clothes at Hall's. I could hear her swallow hard over the phone when I uttered the name "Hall's". The first thing she asked, "How much did you spend"? "About $200," I replied, hoping she'd take it in stride. I then quickly told her about my hiding-the-tags-and-return scheme. She didn't like that idea. When she got home, she asked what would we do if he spit up on the clothes or had a blow out while wearing them? It does seem pretty absurd to pay $89.00 for a pair of baby jeans, $69.00 for a hoodie and $40.00 for a onesie that he'll outgrow within a matter of weeks. In comparison, the most expensive pair of jeans I currently own is a pair I bought at Banana Republic a few years ago that cost maybe $70 or $80...and I still wear them...so I've gotten my money out of them.

So today, I ventured out again. I had to go to Target for more diapers, formula and baby food, and ran by the clothing section... I looked high and low and finally found a cool 3 piece rocker-star themed outfit, not as cool as the Kingsley stuff, but okay, I guess...and for a much reasonable price - $15.00. Then just to make sure all my options had been explored, I went over to Oak Park Mall and looked through Baby Gap, Crazy 8, and JC Penney. Found nothing at Baby Gap or Crazy 8, they had been picked over pretty well from some huge sale. JC Penney was still having a huge 50% off sale, I think for Columbus Day. They still had lots of stuff in stock and I found another rock star outfit for only $10.00! Still not Kingsley...these are Carter's outfits, but I know he'll look good...

Linda said last night, "When and if we ever win the Powerball jackpot, then by all means, Evan can dress in couture outfits. Until then, lets stick with Target and Babies R Us stuff."

Tomorrow with my head hung low and my tail between my legs, I am going back to Hall's and returning the Kingsley things and getting my $212.76 back. Dammit.

Prunes = Yuck

I don't get grossed out too often...in fact, I think I've got a pretty strong stomach. This morning, though I proved myself wrong. Yesterday, Evan stayed with his Aunt Steph for part of the afternoon while my sister Becky, Linda and I did some yard work around my dad's house. Steph gave Evan prunes last night. I've run the gamut with introducing Evan to all the Gerber 1st foods, except the prunes. I did buy some, but hadn't tested him out on them yet...was kinda saving them for when he needed it. Steph told Linda that he seemed to like the prunes. When Linda told me what he ate with Steph last night, a bit of worry set in...

This morning, when I got him up, I changed his diaper and all was good. I thought, maybe, by chance, he somehow was immune to the age-old constipation remedy. However, not more than 45 minutes later, Evan & I were playing in his bedroom when I smelled something funky. I picked him up, and felt a wet squishy mess on his diaper. Major. Diaper. Malfunction. It had leaked through his diaper and onto his PJs. I stripped off his PJs, and opened his diaper. I think I actually threw up in my mouth a little bit. It took two diapers and countless amount of baby wipes to clean up that mess.

I text Linda afterwards and told her that for future reference...lets save the prunes for when he's really constipated. In all of Evan's 6 months in existence, I have never encountered a diaper that bad. And I've change too many diapers to count...this, by far, takes the cake.

Rough Start

I didn't go to bed last night until about 1:00am. When Linda went to bed, hours earlier, I was in the middle of a game I bought from the iTunes App Store, "Oregon Trail" for the iPhone. I had felt a bit nostalgic when I saw it in the App Store...and remembered playing this game at school when I was in the 4th grade...way back in 1986. Not to mention, I'm a sucker for classic 1980s arcade video games on my phone... I also have Pac Man, Ms. Pac Man, Frogger and Galaga...and am hoping someone makes a Donkey Kong, Q*Bert, and Pitfall! apps... Well, in part of the Oregon Trail game you encounter George Donner, of the ill-fated "Donner Party" that got stranded in the mountains during their journey on the Oregon Trail in 1846, and resorted to cannibalism to survive.

Me being the dork that I am, my interest was peeked to learn more about the Donner Party, and I read the Wikipedia article about them after I completed my game (successfully). That article then led to a movie article about this story. Guess there was a movie made about this story just last year, and I then found it on Netflix, available for instant viewing streamed to the iPad. So I started watching it, and only got about halfway through when I realized the time and figured I needed to go to bed and would finish the movie later.

I should've been smarter...I'm still a novice at this whole parenting thing, but should have known a late night for me means little sleep, if any, while caring for a 6 month old. Evan really has gotten us spoiled...he's a great sleeper, that is, until this past week when he has been waking up once or twice in the middle of the night. So for the past week, we've been running on broken sleep...usually in 4 hour increments. When I turned in last night, I hoped he would sleep through the night like he used to, so I could catch up on the sleep I had deprived myself from... I knew it the back of my mind, I had screwed myself.

And wouldn't you figure...he woke at 4:00am. Weird thing was he wasn't crying...he sounded like he was playing. Letting out his happy squeals and giggles. Don't know what was so funny and intriguing to him at 4:00am in a dark bedroom. I laid there in bed with the baby monitor on, listening, hoping that he would fall back to sleep on his own. But nope. He was having a grand ole time in there. I didn't want to turn the baby monitor down or off, so at 4:30, I went in to check on him. Picked him up, changed his diaper and rocked him for about 30 minutes, but he was still wide awake and wanting to play. I laid him back down and figured he'd drift off if I put on his mobile. This worked, only for a few minutes.

He started fussing, and Linda then got up and checked on him...gave him a bottle, then started to get ready for her day. When she got up, I turned down the baby monitor to no volume and fell back to sleep. At this point I had only had about three to 3½ hours of sleep...and I drifted back off to sleep.

A few hours later, about 7:45 this morning, I awake to Linda rushing into our bedroom, saying in a panicked tone, "Wake up! Come quick!!" I went from a deep, peaceful sleep to sheer panic within a matter of seconds. "What was it?", "Was he hurt?", "Was he breathing?" "Is he blue?", "Is he not responding?", my heart felt like it was gonna beat out of my chest, my fear of SIDS and Evan's preference of sleeping on his belly while face-planted has always scared the crap out of me...all these thoughts flooded my mind in those few seconds. But nope, he was okay...just was ready to get up, but was pissed because his cries had gone unheard because I had turned the volume on his baby monitor all the way down and failed to tell Linda this when she got up a few hours earlier. Linda had left, but only came back because she forgot her jacket and heard Evan screaming.

Ugh... But as I'm typing this out, Little Man is happily playing in his exersaucer, laughing and squealing...and I'm trying to down a whole pot of coffee. Caffeine is my best friend today. Nothing like starting your day like that! But it really gets the blood flowing. I don't recommend waking up like that though...makes a rough start to your day.