If Don Johnson & Michael Bolton Had a Baby...

...he might look something like this. Our neighbor Michelle celebrated her 40th birthday, and her friends got together and threw her an 80s theme surprise costume party. I looked like a bad Dynasty knock-off, and Rob sported this excellent "business up front, party in the back" look. He took home 3rd place in the costume contest, bested only by these two:

Pretty obvious why they took top prizes. Everyone really got into the theme, and there was everything from Madonna look-alikes to Devo costumes. We had a blast, and in the immortal words of many a 80's teenager, it was totally awesome.

Temptress, Thy Name is Thin Mint

My head says, "No. Stop." But my heart says, "Yes, please. You worked out today - go ahead and crumble them on top of ice cream."

Oh, Girl Scout cookie. I wish I knew how to quit you.

Nap Nanny

 

I am always amazed at all the cool things that come to market after I need them, especially baby items. I just saw an ad in next months Parents magazine for this gem, called the "Nap Nanny". Riley slept in her car seat for the first 2 months of her life, and it was painful process (MANY sleepless nights) to break her of the habit. We made the move because one of Rob's co-worker's baby was doing the same thing, and she fell out of her seat as her Mom was carrying her upstairs for bed. We never carried Riley around unstrapped, but it was still scary enough to cause us to force a move to the basinet. The Nap Nanny would have totally solved this problem, and probably would have helped Connor sleep better during him battle with colic his first year. Its a little expensive, but I gladly would have coughed up the $129 if it meant more sleep for both myself and the baby. My other thought when I find something like this is, "Damn, why didn't I think of that?" Maybe I should work on marketing Connor's backwards PJs for all his fellow junior nudists out there...

Lovefest

The lovefest between Casey & his baby sister continues, and it is almost too cute for words. He still calls her "Shiny" instead of Riley, and he often refers to her as "my baby". I caught him cooing, "You're my little banana muffin," to her the other day, and she seems to bask in any attention he throws her way.  After viewing this picture a friend suggested Loreal could sell tons of mascara by featuring their eyelashes in a commercial, and although I'm biased I have to agree. I'm now searching for the perfect square frame to mount this photo in so that years from now when they're screaming at each other they'll remember the lovefest.

Cake is Good

Riley celebrated her first birthday on Sunday, and I think the most important lesson of any first birthday is that "cake is good". Riley was an excellent student. I made red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, and she inhaled about 3/4 of one and a half scoop of vanilla ice cream. She received so many cute gifts, and later that afternoon impressed us by taking the time to play with every new toy. The best was when she took the thermometer from the soft doctor's kit she received from Nannie & used it as a bottle to feed her new baby doll.

I made a little video in honor of her first birthday, but it's about 3 minutes long so I didn't want to take up the space posting it here, but if you're interested you can view it by clicking here. I know I say this every time one of the kids celebrates a birthday, but I can hardly believe another year has passed so quickly. 

ATC Swap

For those of you out there who have little ones, I thought I'd pass along a cool swap that is being coordinated by house on hill road. Kids 4 and up create little art trading cards (must be 2.5"x3.5") and send them to 5 other children. Casey loves getting mail, and so creating 5 little masterpieces, mailing them out, and receiving 5 back in the mail is the perfect snowy afternoon project for him. The deadline to sign up is this Friday.

Steelers Win

I didn't really have a dog in the fight in last night's Superbowl, but the Steelers' win did give me an excuse to dust off my old Mean Joe Greene jersey. Hard to believe he wore it just 3 years ago here, and that he was an only child.

Polar Bear Invasion

Apparently, global warming has caused polar bears to migrate to Indiana. Either that, or our neighbor Tony has some serious explaining to do.