Archives for June 2012

I hope all the dads out there had a wonderful Father’s Day–especially all of the first-time daddies like JB! My family had an extra reason to celebrate this weekend because Saturday was my mom’s birthday, and my parents flew out to Omaha for a visit.

Friday evening, my mom, dad and I went to see “Rock of Ages” (JB stayed home to babysit and work on a paper for his Master’s degree). I was equally excited to try the theater’s Coca-Cola Freestyle machine and electronic Willy Wonka candy dispenser as I was to watch the movie. Here’s my quick review: Fun movie but a bit too long. Julianne Hough annoyed me, but the male lead (whoever he is) had a really nice voice. Not sure why Mary J. Blige was even in the movie (her character was not developed at all), and I could have gone without seeing Tom Cruise’s nipples every time he was on screen. But perhaps the highlight of the whole film for me was spotting Debbie Gibson in a cameo role towards the end!

Saturday, I attended a lovely baby shower packed with Pinterest-inspired details that I’ll share later this week. While I was out, my parents and JB took Levi to Gymboree. That evening we went to Mark’s in Dundee for my mom’s birthday dinner. Since I couldn’t find a babysitter (three people were unavailable!), we brought Levi with us, knowing that we’d be keeping him up an hour or so past his bedtime but hoping that he’d be cooperative.

He wasn’t.

I was sure we were going to have to leave even before our appetizers arrived because he just would stop screaming. Not crying, just screeching. The only thing that quieted him was feeding him, so he ate his Cheerios and Mum Mum crackers and then some of our bread. Finally we identified the cause of his frustration: A tiny white tooth was breaking through the surface! This bad mommy didn’t have any teething tablets or medication (again!), so we bought a shot of whiskey and tried rubbing it on his gums out of desperation.

Didn’t work.

The only way we were able to get through our meal was by taking turns walking around outside with Levi. Out of the restaurant, he was perfectly quiet! But when whoever was holding him returned, he was a noisy baby, once again. I felt so terrible for the diners trying to enjoy their meals at the surrounding tales, but our kind waiter told us that Levi wasn’t bothering anybody.

“What about all the people around us?” I asked.

“They’re not important,” he reassured me with a smile.

We arrived home nearly 1.5 hours past Levi’s bedtime, but it took him almost another 1.5 hours to fall asleep. He was overtired and just wouldn’t stop crying (real tears, this time), so the four of us took turns trying to rock him to sleep. But as soon as we attempted to transfer him to his crib, he would wake up and practically jump back into our arms. My poor baby just wanted to be held. JB wins “Daddy of the Year” for being the one to finally get him asleep.

Father’s Day started off a bit rocky but got better as the day went on. We enjoyed a hearty breakfast at Bailey’s before Levi’s (long) morning nap and spent some times walking around Village Pointe before his afternoon one (although he never actually fell asleep). In the evening, JB and my mom prepared a delicious Father’s Day feast for the four of us that included baby lamb chops, orzo and broccoli slaw. We polished off a bottle of wine as we chatted and laughed–the perfect way to end to a long but fun weekend with family.

Now, tell me about your weekend!

PS: Last chance to enter our Junior Jam giveaway! A winner will be chosen by random this afternoon.