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Stroller hindsight

Hindsight. Gotta love it.

When I first registered for all the baby stuff after finding out I was pregnant, I fell in love with the Chicco Travel System because it was highly rated and I was told constantly how safe it was. Well, what no one could have told me was that my son would grow out of the stupid infant seat (which never hooked on to any grocery store shopping cart properly) in a mere FOUR MONTHS, when we had to graduate him to a beautiful Britax Marathon…. and that ginormous Chicco Cortina stroller would become nothing but an extremely heavy hassle to get in and out of the car.

I was incredibly grateful when my mother-in-law, Debi, purchased a Maclaren Quest for us, relieving my back from having to lift that monstrosity of a stroller out of the car, and we use it quite often, but since we are a two-car family, the Maclaren typically stays in Adrian’s car, which we use more often, and the huge Chicco hangs out in my trunk. For the past month or two, I’ve been considering selling my Chicco system as it’s in very good condition (anyone interested? it’s red), and purchasing an inexpensive umbrella stroller for the other car, like the Chicco Capri, which my mom & dad have and like.

So.. today I hung out with my parents and Zachary while Adrian stayed at home to get work done as we prepare for the big photographer convention next week (our studio software company has a booth there), and on a whim, without ANY prompting from me, my mom asked if I needed another lightweight stroller, and then, in an awesome gesture, offered to purchase one for us! We headed over to Buy Buy Baby and after looking at the aforementioned Chicco Capri, then an Inglesina, and then a few different models by Combi, I finally decided on the Combi Cosmo in Sand, a nice neutral color that will work.

The price was very reasonable, at only $129, and it comes with a zillion features, including a little storage pack on the back, a high weight limit,  and a drink/snack cup holder in the front bar. The turning radius is also pretty fabulous and I can steer it with one hand for the most part. The best part is that it folds up in under 3 seconds – SERIOUSLY! We put Zachary into the stroller to test it out and he got sooo comfortable – even putting his feet up on the bar! Our Maclaren doesn’t have a bar, and there’s no way he could get his feet up on the bar in the Chicco, so I think this was a perfect choice for him and will allow him a lot of comfort, especially since he’s in a stage where he’s not very happy in the stroller and would prefer to be running around.

Here’s the stroller we got:

combi cosmo stroller

The great thing is that even though this is a lightweight stroller, the Combi infant car seat works with it, so no need for a travel system! Phew! I’ll definitely be purchasing one of those for the next kiddo in a couple years.

Now all I need to do is sell that Chicco.

buckle boy

Zachary has had a fascination with buckles as long as I can remember. Even when he was tiny, he was always very interested in the way his car seat and high chair snapped together and tried to figure out how to un-buckle himself! He loves to play with all the buckles and now that he can walk, he will often just walk up to his car seat and stand there for a few minutes trying to figure out how the whole thing works.

For a while I’ve been wanting to find him a buckle toy, and I took a few minutes to google it this morning and found a few different options. This one, made by The Buckle Toy, is the nicest (with pinch proof buckles, even) and definitely the cutest and most colorful (thus, most appealing to Zachary). The next time I buy Zachary a gift, I might even buy two, so I can keep, say, the turtle toy at home and the small pillow toy in my diaper bag.

I still remember the song – “My name is Zoom and I live on the Moon! I came down to Earth just to sing you this tune! Hey Karen – it’s your birthday – today!!!”

Every year, my dad played my Captain Zoom record on my birthday. I remember coming out of my room on my birthday morning, walking into the kitchen, and my dad turning on the record player and hearing Captain Zoom as he blasted his special birthday song just for me! Of course back then when I was a kid, I thought that the song was really just for me, not some commercially produced product, lol.

Anyway, I’ve always had great memories of Captain Zoom and long before I had a baby or even thought about getting pregnant, I knew I would be buying a Captain Zoom song for my future child. Of course, times have changed, and now instead of a record, the birthday song comes as an MP3 which is emailed to you upon purchase. They also now offer songs for pretty much every milestone in your life – anniversary, wedding, and even Christmas. It’s a little crazy. I think I’ll just stick with the birthday favorite.

Zachary’s first birthday is eight months away, so I still have some time, but I’ll be picking up that MP3 soon to add to his collection.

I can’t believe it – PDN (Photo District News) reports today that the classic ViewMaster toy is being discontinued! The ViewMaster, while simple, was a favorite toy of mine growing up, and I remember looking at my favorite reels over and over and over.

I guess I can see why it’s going extinct – kids today have so many fun digital games and toys that they can play with. Just the other day my mother-in-law took me and Zachary shopping for some good toys and things for him while she is in town visiting, and the array of interesting light-up and musical toys are astounding. The ViewMaster just can’t compete. Still, I plan to buy Zachary the same classic red ViewMaster that I had as a little kid, as well as some great educational reels (and some fun ones too)!

ETA: My mom found my old ViewMaster as well as the collector’s case with all of my reels! I am so excited to see it! My mom says she thinks that my ViewMaster was actually the one that she kept from her own childhood. If it is the same, how cool that Zachary will be one day be using a toy that his Grandma and his Mommy both used and loved!

Long, long before I got pregnant, I found this wonderful shop on Etsy called BellaBlu Designs. Christy (the proprietor) sells gorgeous stationery and onesies, tote bags, and other art pieces that are appliqued with various things, mostly dogs and other animals. Her dachshund onesies are really popular, and they feature a cute doxie that wraps around the side of the outfit. Since I am a huge dachshund lover, I knew I would have to have one whenever I ended up having a baby – someday.

When I learned that I was pregnant, I looked at Christy’s store again, excitedly waiting to find out if I was going to have a boy or girl so I could place my order. When Adrian and I learned we would be having a boy, I ordered the cutest little onesie with a blue and brown patterned dachshund which came with a matching burpcloth.  I also got a doxie appliqued tote bag which I really love. I have been following Christy’s blog and store website religiously, enjoying all of the lovely things that she creates.

Recently, she created a Facebook page and had a contest on her blog to show off the new look and branding. I entered the contest, and Christy was sweet enough to give out awards to everyone who participated, in addition to giving out a grand prize. While I may not have won the grand prize, I got a sweet email from Christy the other day letting me know that I could select a onesie or set of stationery of my choice from her shop. I chose another onesie for Zachary, since he grew out of the size I ordered quite a while back! This time I got one in a bigger size so that he will be able to wear it a lot and grow into it.  Zachary loves our doxie Maya so I’m sure he will be excited for another doxie onesie. :)

Yay!! I’m so excited that I won something, which never happens… and it just happened to be from one of my very favorite online stores!!

Adrian and I are both self-professed geeks! We both love gadgets, science, and technology, although between the two of us, Adrian is definitely more into the theory & processes behind the science and technology, as he’s always been better with numbers!

We have always talked about how much we look forward to raising our children with these same interests and encouraging their love of science as well as their love of the arts. Well, thanks to the Ohdeedoh blog, I’ve found something that merges the two together beautifully… Tiffany Ard’s “Art for nerds & nurseries.” Check out the Nerd ABC Flashcards… so cute!!!

I am always on the lookout for geeky or nerdy kids items. When Adrian and I were up in Boston last month, I saw some really cute, geeky science stories for kids, notably the Sir Cumference series.

Sir Cumference

This one is Sir Cumference and the Sword in the Cone… but you can also check out The Great Knight of Angleland, The Dragon of Pi, or The Isle of Immeter for other math-related adventures. I’m definitely looking forward to reading these books with Baby Z someday! I hope he’s blessed with better math skills than mine!

Finally for a bit more geekiness… the latest in the Harry Potter saga – JK Rowling is going to be releasing the Tales of Beedle the Bard on December 4th.

beedle the bard

You can pre-order your copy on Amazon for less than $8! I’ll definitely be pre-ordering a copy for myself. Though I know my little newborn baby won’t understand the stories, it’ll be fun to share my love of Harry Potter with him!

Titch!

I found out about Titch from a photography mom’s group that I frequent. They have the cutest little baby accessories, all hand-knit and crocheted. Check out this adorable baby “pumpkin” hat… it would be so perfect for our little pumpkin who is due on Thanksgiving Day!

pumpkin hat

14 Weeks

Today I got a bunch of new dresses and jackets in the mail, as my mom got me a lovely gift from the Motherhood Maternity store! Of course, I tried everything on as soon as it arrived and totally fell in love with this adorable new maroon dress that has a crochet appliqué, and this soft, comfy black cardigan with a rhinestone trim.

Adrian took some photos of me on his iPhone because I apparently looked cute. Hehe. I think it’s amazing and awesome how much I’ve “popped out” in just the past few weeks. And in just six more weeks, I will already be half over with the pregnancy. It’s crazy how time flies!

14 Weeks Pregnant

14 Weeks Pregnant

Today I slept late (as I have been lately – pregnancy is tiring!). My mom picked me up and we went out to eat at Einstein’s, my favorite bagel place. We normally go out for Thai food, but today my stomach just wasn’t feeling it.

Afterwards, we headed over to Target, where we made some fun finds. It turns out that Target has some really nice maternity clothes by Liz Lange. I got a bunch of nice, colorful tops for the summer and a pair of capri pants. I really wanted to post some pictures of what I found, but the website doesn’t seem to have what I bought listed.

My mom and I also made the discovery that Target now carries beauty products by Boots including the wonderful No. 7 line! When I was a teenager, my parents took me on a European cruise, and while we were in England, we had to stop in a pharmacy…. and naturally headed over to see what kinds of beauty products they sold in the UK. The Boots No. 7 products were just spectacular… I don’t even know how long I held on to the eyeshadows I bought there (probably too long)! So nice to know that I can now get the same great quality products here at the Target five minutes from my house!

Target also carries soooooo many cute baby products and clothes! It seems like anything I need, I’ll be able to find there. I just can’t wait until I find out if I’m having a boy or girl so I can start working on my registry. :)