Snuggling with Mommy
Hanging out with Daddy
Tummy time!
After taking a bath
Being sweet
On Saturday, our little B turned 2 months old! After our monthly photo shoot, Blair went to spend the afternoon with Grandpa George and Grandma Roslyn. She was the recepient of many hugs, kisses and snuggles. Travis and I went out for lunch, did a little house cleaning, then went and laid out by my parents pool.
When we went to pick her up, Grandpa George answered on the telecom (the outside gates of their neighborhood), "no one is home!" They were not ready for Blair to leave, and I don't think that she was ready to leave either. :)
Yesterday, after church, we swam and grilled steaks at Mimi and Pops house. Blair went swimming for her very first time! She did so great! The pool was about 89 degrees and I thought she would be freezing, but she seemed to be pretty content (for a little while at least!).
While doing my usual browsing on Etsy.com, I found THE cutest headbands / bows. Absolutely adorable! I ordered this one from (BellaFleur1) for B and cannot wait for it to get here.
At 2 months, Blair...
Time sure passes quick... but we are enjoying every precious second with her!
Since Blogger seems to be having some issues, I am posting all of the cute pictures in another post. Enjoy!
One of the good things about doing this blog, is that it is my own little platform to talk about the things I love, and occasionally, the things I don’t. This post will be about the latter. It is solely MY opinion and feelings and although I don’t expect to change anyone’s mind – I hope you will think about the kind of world you want your children growing up in.
I originally wrote this post yesterday, the day after witnessing Lady Gaga teach millions of children around the world about sexual intercourse. I sat on the post and waited to see if I was over-reacting. A day later, I am still just as fired up about this as I was the moment it freely aired on primetime tv.
I don’t typically watch the show American Idol, however this year; I actually followed it a bit more than usual. I don’t know if it was just this year or if Fox always does this, but throughout the season there were an astounding amount of performances by today’s pop “elite.” Wednesday night, on the Season Finale, I caught the performance by Lady Gaga.
Just as a bit of background... I do not like Lady Gaga. I am not a fan of her music or the way she markets or carries herself. I have many friends that enjoy her music; I am just not one of them. I find her to be desperate for attention and fame and will do anything to get it – from her stupid outfits, hair and antics, to her complete disregard for family values and any kind of morals.
So as I am watching her performance of whatever dumb song she is singing and I am thinking to myself, “Wow, other than wearing another stupid costume (begging to be talked about), at least she’s just singing and not doing something ludicrous.” And then, as if she heard my thoughts, I watch a male dancer climb up the platform where she and this dancer simulate sexual intercourse. No joke. From start to finish.
As I sit on my bed in complete horror and disbelief, I immediately think of all of the young children watching. I imagine 8 year old girls watching this singing competition, hoping that their favorite singer becomes THE American Idol. But wait, before you can see that, you’ve got to sit through some sex ed and pornography. It’s wildly inappropriate and I am so utterly disgusted on what I, and millions of people (my concern being young children) have just witnessed.
I don’t know why I am so surprised. It wasn’t so long ago that Lady Gaga released her video for the song “Alejandro” that showed many bondage and S&M scenes, including what appeared to be her dressed as a nun whilst getting raped. As a Christian, I found that horrifically offensive. As a woman I was mortified. As an American, I was embarrassed.
Lady Gaga continues to “push the envelope” on just how low she can go. About two years ago, I said, “Lady Gaga is so desperate to ‘one up’ the pop scene, that she is one step away from having sex on stage.” And last night, she hugged that line with the desperation of a hooker trying to turn a trick for her next hit. Sure, you can’t legally have intercourse in public – but let’s make no bones about what that was or what her intentions were with that “choreography.”
What really pisses me off is that her act was on a channel that just about everyone who owns a television (despite what cable package you have) gets. I didn’t pay for a ticket to one of her vile concerts, I was just watching tv. Sure, I can change the channel – but why is that kind of behavior allowed to be on tv? Why should I have to change the channel? It’s not like it was a Lady Gaga show. It was a reality singing competition show!
How irresponsible of Fox to allow such a broadcast with no warning to parents or viewers. As with all performances, there are dress rehearsals and sound checks – Fox cannot act like they did not know what her act entailed. Not that I was ever a faithful Fox viewer, but that will be the last American Idol (and possibly Fox) show I will watch.
I guess I am wondering… where did the everyone’s morals in this country go? Why do we idolize someone that couldn’t be more intent on tearing family values into pieces? How can America be so jaded to that kind of behavior that no one even blinks an eye?
Today I went online to MSN wondering if there would be an article about the pornography shown on primetime tv and I find nothing (although in all fairness, finding such a story on a liberal media outlet was a long shot). No mention of it. However, I did see an article that this is some kind of out roar about a Dove ad. The body wash ad features three women, ranging in skin tone. The left woman is African American, the middle woman is medium colored skin and the woman on the right has light skin. Apparently (in the desperate need to hold onto racial discrimination in this country [and don’t get me started on the multiple months dedicated to the history of different races – and no, don’t expect to find a “White History month,” it doesn’t exist]) people are up in arms that this Dove ad shows the women in a progression of dark to light skin and that it is ‘showing people that light skin is beautiful and thats what all should aspire to be.’ That’s right folks, Dove has decided to make a racial jab by carefully arranging the women into such an order that so that it obviously suggests racial discrimination or racial insensitivity. They are definitely trying to insult and imply such silly things to upset consumers so that they won’t buy their product. That’s exactly what they are doing. It amazes me how people 1) cannot let history go, but 2) have these delusional citings of racial discrimination that doesn’t exist.
The point of the Dove ad is that THIS story makes headlines, and Lady Gaga’s pornography doesn’t.
Like I said earlier, I have never been a fan of the mediocre pop music and outrageous antics of Lady Gaga. She writes her own music? BFD. So do respectable musicians like Taylor Swift. How crazy is it that little girls look up to Lady Gaga, when there are artists like Taylor Swift that make good, clean music and aren’t doing it looking like a steak dinner (No, I am not shocked by the fact that you are wasting perfectly good beef by wearing it as a dress, I just think you look like an @$$hole, that’s all.). It boggles my mind. It makes me angry, and at the same time sad, that Lady Gaga is allowed a platform to spread such revolting behavior. But she has that platform because people buy her schtick. They buy her act. Her albums, “The Fame” and “The Fame Monster” are so appropriately titled, yet I think it goes right over the heads of her followers.
I used to say that I was “old” and no longer relevant because I didn’t like musical acts like Lady Gaga. That’s really not the case. I don’t like Lady Gaga because I think she makes mediocre music and I strongly dislike not only her political / social views, but her severe desperation to create a scandal and be famous.
I find her to be a disappointment of epic proportions. If children are looking up to her as a role model, we’ve got some serious problems and everyone should be concerned.
5 Weeks
Daddy reading "Jungle Babies" to Blair
6 Weeks
6 Weeks
Super Girl... at 6 1/2 Weeks!
Quite the face she is making! Ha!
Mimi and Blair celebrating Mother's Day
Grandma Nancy and Blair celebrating Mother's Day
Striking a pose 
Pick me up!
7 Weeks
Classic move... rolling over to snuggle next to Travis!
We love bath time!
7 1/2 Weeks
Love that sweet little face!
Snuggling with Travis
Blair in her Led Zeppelin onesie
Family Date Night
7 1/2 Weeks
Playing with Raleigh
Daddy and Blair
At Blair's 6 week check up, she weighed 10 lbs, 8 oz and was 22 inches long. She is growing like a weed and changes every day. Now (at nearly 8 weeks), she is wearing 3-6 month clothes. I am finding that the 3 month onesies are too short for her little torso. We are still working on the sleeping thing, but we've had a couple of weeks of different schedules, so it takes some adjusting. We are hoping that she starts sleeping longer. :)
For Mother's day weekend, we spent some time out in Hempstead with Nancy, and did a crawfish boil with my family. On Sunday, we cooked breakfast together and hung out all day, just the three of us. It was a wonderful day with my two most favorite peole. You know you are an adult when you request house decor for your Mother's day gift. :) Top the day off with pink roses and wonderful cards - and it was the perfect day!
Unfortunately, that night I began getting the same stomach cramps as I had the week earlier. A trip to the ER showed that I wasn't sick with a stomach bug, that I had an inflammation in my small intestine. They kept me in the hospital for a few days to give me antibiotics and run tests to rule out anything serious. Everything came back normal and I am much better! I'm not a huge fan of hospitals, but the absolute worst part was being away from Blair. Travis would bring her to visit everyday for a few mins, but it was devastating to be away from her each day and night. Luckily I was released Friday and had the weekend to spend with Travis and Blair before going back to work.
We decided to postpone the Sip and See for a month or two (and thank goodness since I hadn't physically sent all of the invites out yet!). I didn't want to over-do it with going back to work, getting better and Blair having a new schedule. So we'll send out an email in a month or two when we are ready to reschedule.
Tuesday this week was my first day back at work. I feel very behind as the company has been pretty busy and I've got some "catching up" to do. It's been really nice leaving every day at 2:30pm. It gives me time to get Blair and spend the afternoon with her and Travis. The mornings have been interesting - trying to get ready while Blair is awake and getting everything packed into the car. I think after another week or two, we'll be pros and have it down. Ligia and Zoey take good care of B and keep her happy until I come to pick her up!
Friday night, we did a family date night at Pappasitos, followed up by watching Season 1 of LOST on the couch. Perfect. Friday. Yesterday, Blair and I had lunch with Ally and Hudson, Courtney, Cheryl and Kylie. We had a great time visiting and Blair enjoyed being passed around and loved on!
Blair continues to be such a good baby. She is so good natured and so sweet, she is just so wonderful. She smiles a lot and LOVES Raleigh. She smiles and talks to him often and I think he just adores her. He is always so gentle and loving to her. Blair still loves looking out the living room window and taking baths. She enjoys looking at the pictures in "Goodnight Moon" and anytime Daddy reads to her. Her neck is getting stronger and she can hold her head up on our shoulders for longer periods of time. She is just so determined to see what is going on and be upright! We have begun swaddling Blair at nights to help her sleep longer in her little baby coccoon. I am now getting about 6-7 hours on the first stretch and maybe 3-4 on the second.
The days seem to pass quickly and I can't believe that our little girl is 8 weeks old. I do my best not to think about Blair's next milestone, because I want to enjoy every second of being in the moment with her. Everyday I stare at her in awe. Her innocence, her sweet face and temperment, her smile... there is no sweeter miracle!
Ok, so I am a little behind on the 5 week update. In all fairness, I have started this post a few times, but then put the computer down to cook, feed Blair, grab a water, let the dog out - you get the picture. Anyways, Travis is at a concert and I have a sleeping baby, so I am going to do my best to get this posted. Here it goes.
Last Thursday we had our annual NFL draft party with my family- as we have done for the last 4 (or 5?) years. This year, Christopher hosted. Uncle Chris was so pleased with how well behaved Blair and Zoey were. Little does he know that as soon as they are mobile, his opinion will change! :) I am not a huge fan of how they have broken the draft into three separate days, but at least they cut the time for the later rounds. Travis prepares and looks forward to the NFL draft ALL year long (it includes millions of "mock" draft revisions, hours and hours of research, and an admitted "sickness" for the sport altogether). It helps him prepare for the draft in our fantasy league. I have to admit, when we draft our fantasy teams, I do benefit from his hard work and research. Though for as much as we talk about football and it is discussed in our home, it's a small price.
I spent the entire weekend out of commission with a stomach bug (which resulted in the cancellation of Day 2 of the draft at our house). I was quarantined in our room to ensure that B didn't catch whatever it was that I had. It started Friday morning and lasted until about Sunday. No fun - and therefore, boring weekend. Daddy and Blair did get plenty of face time this weekend, so that was good.
On Monday, I was very stir crazy and needed to get out of the house. Blair and I picked up Mimi and went on Blair's first shopping trip! Nothing too crazy... just a stop at Hobby Lobby and Target. We even were able to squeeze in lunch. Blair was a trooper and did so great. So proud of her... let's just hope that continues the older she gets! It was a big day for our girl. So much so, that she had an epic battle vs the "sleep monster." She was sooo tired and put up a good fight, but ultimately fell victim.
Tuesday we took it easy and enjoyed the beautiful, cool weather (so unlike Houston to have such cool weather in May!). Today I took Blair to Travis' office to meet all of his co-workers, then went out to eat for lunch. Fun times... we liked seeing Daddy during the work day! We then went to Mimi's to hang out for a few hours before coming home.
Blair changes by the minute. She looks more and more like Travis every day. She does have her Momma's eyelashes! She now prefers to be held on your shoulder, upright (none of that "baby cradling!"). Although she loves the position, we still have to hold her head because that girl does her best to hold it up, then inevitably crashes her head into your shoulder/chest. I can already tell that Blair is going to be a girl that wants to be apart of the fun and will be into everything. At lunch, Travis and I were talking about when Blair would start to smile (intentionally). I told him that it should be "any day now." She was definitely listening because tonight she did it a few times for me (and no, it wasn't because she had gas!). It was so beautiful and melted my heart. I only wish Travis had been there - and that I had my camera to capture it. Oh well, I am quite certain we'll get another one or two out of her soon!
Last night was Blair's first night to sleep in her crib! She only gave me about 3-4 hour stretches, but I am so proud of her. Since I go back to work next week, it was imperative we get this transition started. We have a video monitor that sits on my bedside table, so I am able to peek on her periodically and really determine if she is up, or just being restless. Hopefully we'll get some longer stretches of sleep out of her in the coming month(s).
Speaking of Miss Blair, she's up again. At least I made it through the post. I will have to post updated pictures later though. It's time to rock my Sleeping Beauty back to sleep!
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