Shopping for a new Car Seat

Today, we made the inevitable trip to look for a new car seat for Rhett. John and I have been putting it off because with Rhett being underweight for his age, he hasn't needed the conversion yet. But Rhett's hitting the 20lbs mark and he's getting lengthy for the infant car seat. It always seems to me that he has to scrunch his legs or push on the back of the seat....so we started looking. I've been looking for a little bit but put off buying, hoping that a killer deal would be found because car seats are relatively expensive. John and I went to Burlington Coat Factory today. We found our infant car seat and jogger stroller there, so maybe we would find a deal, AND WE DID. Not only did we find a deal on the car seat but we walked out armed with a few other baby items....

We found a 2-1 car seat (toddler/small kid) for $52, and it wasn't overly big and all cheap looking. However, we found out that they weren't actually that price. They were ringing up for $70. So, I pressed the issue that those car seats were CLEARLY marked at the $52 and at first the sales clerk wasn't willing to give it to me but I wasn't going to let the issue go (We're talking $18 to a college student!). I had pointed out their error in pricing and guess what? I got it at the $52 price!

Above is the old infant seat....and he's not too happy to be in it...

and CONVERSION! and look at the smile on his face as he NOW gets to face forward!

So, right from the store, we put his infant seat in the trunk and installed this seat so he could ride in it on the way home. I don't think he stopped staring out the front windshield window (he was in the middle seat of our car). He seemed pretty excited about it. Later when I took him for a ride in the van, he seemed content looking out the windows and watching everything. It was a whole new experience for him. I think he likes traveling forwards!

In addition to THAT purchase, we had been looking around for an umbrella stroller that was cheaper than $30.00 for our trip to Disney Land this summer. I had about given up hope and was willing to purchase one from Wal-mart (although I saw when I went to Wal-mart later today, they had theirs marked down to $18.00) when we came across $15 umbrella stollers with a sunshade, so we jumped on THAT.-Literally, and after Saria broke it we had to go buy another one.

Below is the new umbrella stroller we got. It has Lightning McQueen from Cars on it. We didn't actually test it out today (a jogger stroller is just better for a JOG around the park) but he seemed pretty happy sitting in it. It will also be easier to pack to go to Vegas this summer and I won't have to lug our big jogger with me! And we are sure the black stroller will keep Rhett nice and cool in the Vegas sun.

Our next mistake was WINDOW shopping. We were actually doing pretty good, but Rhett came across a chair that he liked, and he didn't necessarily throw a fit when we took him off of it, but I had never seen him show so much interest in something and I thought, hey, maybe this chair can be a good distraction to him while I'm trying to do my homework on my computer. So we bought THAT.

So we ended up spending more than we anticipated, but don't worry, we rationalized our purchases right away! :):) It's easy to rationalize when it's for your kids!

I took Rhett home and put him down to a nap. He was upset when he woke up because I was outside and didn't hear him right away. So to calm him down, I showed him his chair and BOY did his eyes light up. In fact, he figured out pretty darn quickly how to get up on the chair all by himself (he's still working on the getting down part). He fell once trying to get up (just lost his balance and fell backwards and hit his head on the floor) and he started crying. All I had to do was set him in the chair and he stopped and started patting and petting the plushness of the seat. In fact, I pushed the chair up against our bed this afternoon so he couldn't fall off and he even took a nap in it -- without crying! Below is the infamous seat. I was trying to get a video of him climbing up on the chair but at the time I was recording, he decided that he COULDN'T get up when he had already done it multiple times that day! At the end of the video, we finally got him on film climbing into the chair.

In the doghouse!

Ginger sleeps in her doghouse at night because the last few times we let her sleep in the front room on her pillow, she decided she didn't have to wait to go to the bathroom outside... that and for some reason, she has been throwing up at night sometimes and it's been staining my carpet (a carpet cleaner vacuum has become my best friend!). Anyway, every morning Rhett comes with me to let Ginger out her kennel and feed her dog food. Usually Rhett is more interested in watching Rhett eat (beats me why), but on this morning, Rhett decided to go exploring inside Ginger's home.

Need a Pillow?

Rhett never really got into stuffed animals, until lately. He likes the feel of that soft plush, better than fleece feel from his newer stuffed animals. I have to admit, the fabric is better than any stuffed animal I had as a kid. And low and behold, those plush animals make pretty cozy pillows -- heck, the Rhett sized blue bunny he got from great grandpa Vern last Easter makes an especially good BODY pillow!

Rhett is in bed for the night as I write this blog. As he is screaming because I didn't give him a bottle tonight (he already had his fill of milk during the day), I'm reminded of the OH so cute moments I catch him in sleep! In the picture below, it really looks as if he is putting quite the effort into dreaming! He has assumed "the thinker" position!

What's Mommy Doing?

It was the day before a pretty big interview and I decided I needed a haircut. John was nice enough to oblige me (he cuts my hair - and does a good job :)) and so I began washing my hair. While I have my head over the tub sudsing up, Rhett decides he wants a closer look at what it is I'm doing...so John grabbed the camera!

Spaghetti

Rhett loves pasta and it's easy for us because he can feed himself, right down to slurping spaghetti noodles. But this day Rhett decided that pasta wasn't good enough. Up to this point I hadn't given him any sauce to go with the pasta because it was messy and he was content with just the pasta. Well, that patience came and went, so on went the sauce and I don't think he's ever going back. Now when we have pasta, while Rhett is waiting in his chair, he starts talking gibberish and flapping his arms excitedly because he knows that the spaghetti sauce pasta is coming. I just need to make sure he has NO long sleeves or at least they are rolled up!

Forgot some Easter moments!

I was taking pictures of Rhett today and went to download them on the computer and realized that I still had Easter pictures I hadn't downloaded yet. So here is a blog to that! After Rhett discovered the sweetness of jellybeans (jellybeans are so much better now -Starburst jellybeans - YUM), John tried converting Rhett to BLACK jellybeans. Now, I can't STAND black jellybeans but I love the taste of fennel in meals -- go figure.... Anyway, every year for Easter, the Easter Bunny brings John black jellybeans. John gave one to Rhett and other than the BLACK drool everywhere, Rhett LOVED them. The image was much better in person, but we tried to capture the blackness that became Rhett's mouth!

Easter Egg Hunt/Egg Dying Fiasco

Okay, so I'm FINALLY caught up on my blogging. Every year, Rhett's parents throw an Easter Egg hunt for all the grandchildren and some of their cousins on the other side (if they live around here). It's usually in their back yard, but whether is something to be desired right now in Utah. We went from 70 degree whether to SNOW, sleet, and rain. So instead of having the hunt outside we did it down a hallway and in classrooms at a church ward building. it was fun and I was glad because I could let Rhett get down and crawl without him getting muddy or wet.

Just as a side note, the very FIRST egg he found was a real egg... a real egg, a 1 year old and an EMPTY plastic Easter basket are NOT a good combination! The poor egg took a few battle wounds....

Rhett found some plastic eggs -- they were MUCH safer than the real eggs -- although, this one in particular he figured out how to crack open... this egg was found near the end of the hunt and he was pretty much done looking after he figured out there was candy inside -- he was more interested in his loot and getting at the candy that he figured was in the eggs!

At first, I don't think he knew how to react after all the candy spilled out onto the floor. I think it was a little unexpected to him. But he quickly recovered and it was a race to see if mommy could pick up the candy faster than Rhett could EAT the candy!

He found a blue bunny in a plastic bag (because the hunt was originally planned for the sometimes soggy whether of outside during spring).

The very first thing that Rhett found was a blue bunny sucker

At the end of the hunt, I asked some of Rhett's cousins to watch him so I could help recover objects from the hunt that hadn't been found since I had helped hide them. The cousins did such a good job watching Rhett... this is what I came back to -- blue slobber! I guess Rhett had figured out how to get into his candy and discovered a blue robin egg whopper -- After I decided that he wasn't going to CHOKE (although at the end I did become nervous enough not to let him finish it and dug it out from his mouth -- see my blog from earlier this month on my scary experience), I decided to take a picture. I later became confident that Rhett enjoys savoring the flavor of jellybeans, robin eggs, m&ms, etc that he sucks them until they are gone and DOES NOT swallow them whole so I calmed down about this issue :)

This picture really doesn't do the whole experience of Easter Egg dying with a 1 year old justice... so we caught it on video! The two funniest moments are displayed below. Needless to say, we were eating some cracked hard boiled eggs! But in the end, I think Rhett had fun -- or at least John and I had a blast!

The end product! The brown eggs are SUPPOSE to be purple, but obviously I can't mix red and blue food coloring in the right amounts to get purple!

More randoms

Rhett helping me do the laundry. John will agree that Rhett bleeds 100% red and John is fully expecting Rhett to go the University of Utah....


I thought this "crusty" face was HILARIOUS! Rhett and Ginger are good friends. They fetch together -- or at least when Ginger is done, Rhett will fetch it and want you to throw it again. Sometimes, after Rhett has done all the work, Ginger will take the ball and bring it to you to throw again... TAG TEAM FETCH! On that note, I read all the baby books about how at this age, babies love to play "fetch". But the traditional game is for the baby to throw something and for the parent to go get it. I like this version much better where I throw it and RHETT goes and gets it! Ginger may feel jibbed attention wise because it's no longer just her in the family, but I think she really enjoys Rhett. It keeps her young :) I think they are cute/hilarious together. It's a unbreakable friendship forming between those two!



So, now that Rhett has teach, I've really been trying to get Rhett to let me brush his teeth. Before he HAD any teeth, or only one or two, he was good at just chewing on the baby brush. He's never wanted anything to do with teething rings either. SO, this is my attempt to show him that brushing teeth is fun... He thought it was a fun game and it DIDN'T accomplish my purpose.... Here is how the scenario went...
"Rhett say ah"
As soon as I opened MY mouth, he stuck the toothbrush in MY MOUTH. AFTER that, when I gave him the tooth brush, he would say, "ah" and wait for me to open MY mouth and say ah and he had the tooth brush ready for when I opened my mouth... FUTURE DENTIST?! Now just to get the self dental hygene down... Still trying -- I've resorted to putting VERY little toothpaste on the toothbrush for flavor so he'll at least CHEW on the tooth brush. Any other ideas?




So I don't think I took this one. It must have been a random one that John got of Rhett. And I promise this is NOT a posed picture. Rhett loves the piano and we often see him here. Here is how he gets up since he cannot yet stand on his own. He pulls himself up on the piano bench and then turns and reaches his hands for the piano keys to support him.

Everyday Living

I just love random pictures. These pictures are random moments we were able to catch Rhett on film!


Rhett found two bottles in his diaper bag... one used that we forgot to pull out (that's the one he's NOT sucking on) and then the unused bottle. I think he was trying to deliver a message....


I was giving Rhett a haircut and I find the easiest way to cut it is to get it wet and spike it. John got the camera when I created a mohawk....



Rhett was trying to get to something on the couch. Probably those mail boxes -- they were scrapbook orders that we were mailing to the customers. I caught him in action. How guilty does HE look?!

Birthday part two!

Grandma and Grandpa Butler decided Rhett needed an Orange cake for his family birthday celebration. Rhett occassionally goes "taste testing" with Grandma and Grandpa Butler when they go shopping at Costco and Sam's Club on Fridays and they claimed Rhett LOVED the orange cake. Funny enough, Rhett ate the cake and spit out the tangerines on top!