The Meeting of the Cousins

The Desch family had quite a weekend... complete with a visit from my sister Jennie, my grandma, my sister Marnie and brother-in-law Chris, and MUCH to my surprise, my sister Carrie and my sister Emily and her precious baby BOY John Gabriel!! John was born on Sept. 14th and I had not yet met him, and was definitely not expecting to meet him until Christmas, but he showed up at our doorstep with his mama and aunt Carrie in tow!! We knew that Jennie, Grandma, Marnie, and Chris were coming and we were already beside ourselves with excitement, but I was absolutely shocked when Emily, Carrie, and John walked in. So the cousins have now met. I think that Howie enjoyed meeting his cousin, who is only 11 weeks younger than he is. Howie was proud to show him the tricks of the trade for when you're four months old. It was so fun to see them together and know that they'll be great buddies as they get older. Howie already has a soft spot for John... at one point in the evening John was crying, and Howie, in an attempt to provide some comfort and communicate that he was empathizing along with him, placed his hand on John's hand and shoulder. When that gesture of caring didn't do the trick to get John to stop crying, Howie started crying too. He truly understands the meaning of rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. We had a wonderful time together.

As you can see from the photo, I have officially tried to give Howie some solid food. And as you can see from the picture, he wasn't jumping for joy at the opportunity to try it. Although he did swallow some, much of it ended up on his bib. I think he is telling me, "Thanks, Mama- that was fun, but I think I'll stick with milk for now." Maybe in a couple of weeks he'll be more eager to try again.

We're doing just fine down here and enjoying the cooler weather... I'm also happy to report that the paci situation has resolved itself for the most part, and Howie is sleeping very well without it. So are we.

Have a wonderful day!

Death of a Paci

We are sad to announce that Howie's paci is in the slow process of dying. Following about 9 wake-ups on Monday night, Josh and I decided that Howie needed to be getting more undisturbed sleep (and so did we!), so we needed to begin the process of helping Howie to learn how to fall asleep without his dear friend Mr. Paci. So we are currently in the very difficult process of kicking the paci habit. We're confident that if he can get through a few of days without much paci time, the worst will be over and he won't want it as much, In the meantime Josh and I are making even bigger fools out of ourselves than normal to make him laugh and smile and forget about his paci. It's pretty funny. I keep trying to shove his thumb into his mouth when it's clear that he's looking for his paci, but so far he keeps just making a horrible face and promptly taking his thumb out. Maybe at some point he'll think that thumb looks pretty good. It's really hard to watch him look for that paci and know that giving it to him would make him so happy, but we've decided it's better for him in the long run. So for the next couple of days we're in the paci trenches... hopefully we'll see the light of day soon.

Other than the paci struggle, things are going very well. It seems like overnight Augusta has sprouted fall weather, which has been LOVELY!! All of the sudden we're turning on the heat at night and getting out jackets. I've been re-inspired to bake something pumpkin and decorate our table with some crunchy fall leaves.

I would like to say also that I've been making some of Rachael Ray's supposed "30 Minute Meals"... let me tell you, I think she's the only person who can make those in 30 minutes. If you've ever watched her show, she chops like her knife is on fire and burning her hands. One minute you're looking at a whole onion... look away for 10 seconds, and all the sudden it's in teeny pieces. Wait, when did that happen??? If somehow she could bottle that machine gun chopping ability and send that with her cookbooks- we'd all be better off and chopping would suddenly be almost instantaneous. While on the topic of Rachael Ray, I should say that I'm officially OBSESSED with the Food Network!! While most of the Food Network personalities cook dishes that are obscenely unhealthy (i.e. I watched one of the shows yesterday where the lady made buttercream frosting that had 5 sticks of butter, yes, that's 5 sticks of butter, to go on a chocolate cake that had 2 sticks of butter for a total 7 sticks of butter- can you say instant heart attack??), it's still so much fun to watch them put their meals together.



1. Howie's newest skill is standing on his own two chubby legs!! We like the diaper and hat look. If you leave him standing for too long, his little legs buckle. So cute.
2. Getting better at holding his head up!!
3. Primed to go somewhere warm on top but pantless?? Must have forgotten the important detail of pants. Howie looks at this picture wistfully... missing the days of the paci.
4. "Hey Mama!! I love this blue chair!!"
5. "All of Mama's Food Network watching is rubbing off on me... what could I make with these measuring cups? Somebody give me some dry ingredients!!"
6. Those chubby cheeks are the most kissable things EVER- you would not believe how many times I kiss them every single minute of every day!!

Who can believe that November 1st is tomorrow?? Where has 2007 gone? I can't believe that October is already over. Happy Halloween!!

Yippee, It's Friday!!

OK, even though I'm not working a formal "job" as it were, Fridays are still so much fun to me. Maybe it's because the weekend is coming, even though Saturdays are basically like every other day except that Josh is home. I guess excitement about Fridays is just built in.

Today I'm blogging with Howie on my lap, so if there are some spelling mistakes, please understand that he's squirmy.

I bought a Palm Pilot back when I was in college, thinking it would help me get super organized, but for some reason it didn't really work out like that. My roommates would tell you that it basically became an annoying alarm clock that kept going off over and over as I pushed snooze as many times as possible. It's true that it did play annoying music for the alarm, but it usually did the trick to get me up out of bed after what was usually a short night of sleep. So I didn't really get organized the first time around. But now I'm finding that I'm seriously lacking organization in my new super stressful job as stay at home mom. There's so much to remember!! So I have resurrected my Palm Pilot, and it's actually filling an important hole in my organizational life. Here is an example of some of my most recent entries: "Change the sheets in Howie's crib." "Pull chicken out of freezer for tomorrow night's dinner." "Vacuum the carpet." I'm finding that household management is not one of my strengths, so I need some help with reminders of what to do when. Maybe not the kinds of things that most Palm users are setting alarms for, but I think it's going to be a big help.

I would just like to let it be known that Howie is currently sucking on my left arm, which is seriously compromising my typing. I'm glad that I actually showered today!!!

Well, best weekend wishes to all of you from these two bloggers!!

The Best Thing About Monday

Actually, this is one of the ONLY good things about Monday, the other good thing being that it's Josh's day off... and that is Monday Night Football!! Tonight the Colts are playing, and they happen to be our very favorite team. This has been a rough NFL weekend for Josh and me because we can't stand Tom Brady, as we've said before, and everyone is currently worshiping at his altar for the number of touchdown passes he's already thrown this year. Give me a break. Yeah, so he can throw touchdown passes. That doesn't change the fact that the New England Patriots is still Satan's team.

We are beginning to understand why people say you don't sleep after you have a baby. Howie was once a great sleeper... sleeping 6 or 7 hours, waking up to be fed, and sleeping another 2 or 3... I thought we had avoided the whole being up the whole night with your baby thing. When people would ask how well he was sleeping, I would usually say "oh, you know..." and then move the conversation to something else because I didn't want them to feel bad about their kids since their kids' sleeping habits obviously couldn't hold a candle to Howie's, and I also wanted to pretend like I was participating in the rite of passage for parents that is staying up all night with your child. But in reality I was basically sleeping like normal. Oh, how things have changed. Somehow our wonderful sleeper has fallen into some alarmingly normal baby patterns, i.e., waking up all the time. To the tune of 8 TIMES this past Thursday. Getting up for the 6th time in one night to replace a fallen out pacifier or see why Howie is making squawking noises in his crib is rough, let me tell you. The 7th and 8th times are even worse. This is pretty much how i goes. Wake up to squawking baby. Stumble into kitchen where baby's crib is, being careful to avoid any land mine piles on the floor since it's dark. Replace paci and/or comfort in whatever way needed. Stumble back into bed. Get comfortable again. Then repeat 5 minutes later, seemingly just seconds after falling asleep. Oh, well. Josh and I have learned to pray a lot while getting up all those times. But then I go to Howie's crib and see those huge eyes looking up at me... that makes even getting out of bed for the 8th time seem OK somehow. Hopefully he'll start sleeping better, but until then, we're officially in the ranks of un-sleeping parents.

Updates from the Desch Household

Well, Folks, a hint of fall has come to Augusta. It has FINALLY been very cool in the mornings and evenings, which has been wonderful. Last night we slept with the windows open and heard such a loud noise we were sure it was the microwave melting down or something, but no, it was just a creature of the wild making its presence known. Howie and I have been enjoying taking a lot of walks in his stroller. The weather has been beautiful, and he has loved seeing what there is to see outside. I can tell that I'm dreadfully out of shape because we have a little hill in the driveway, and I'm practically huffing and puffing to push the stroller up it. Yeesh.

The picture with Howie wearing a hat kind of tells you everything you need to know about my transformation into a Southerner. Was it chilly? Yes, but probably only by Augusta standards. I think the heartier Midwestern mamas might not have seen the same need to bundle Howie up. But hey, he looks so precious in that hat that I didn't hesitate to use it when the opportunity presented itself. Besides, better to err on the side of caution, right?

Last night was Monday Night Football, of course, and even though Josh and I didn't particularly care about the game, we had so much fun anticipating football being on. I am also definitely getting into the Christmas spirit even though it's still 2 months away, so we decided to listen to Christmas music before the game and make hot chocolate. I think the cooler weather is getting me in the mood. Now neither of those things happened because when you have a baby you can have all the plans in the world, but chances are not that good that you'll accomplish your plans because Howie throws a monkey wrench into everything. We're glad he does- it's a CUTE monkey wrench- but all that to say that we didn't get our Christmas cheer in last night. Not like we don't have plenty of time. Ho Ho Ho!!

I guess that's about all for now. Happy Tuesday!!

Howie's Baptism with Photo Updates!!

Here is a picture update, which has been long in coming...
1. Mama, Papa, and Howie at Howie's BAPTISM!! Howie was baptized yesterday morning. We were so blessed to have members of Howie's fan club come to witness the baptism... my parents, Josh's parents, my grandma Fisher, my Aunt Martha, Marnie, Chris, and Josh's BFF Tommy. This was quite a party, starting with a pre-baptism dinner at the Pizza Joint, a post-baptism lunch at Goolsby's, and a cake brought all the way from our favorite bakery in Peoria!!! The BEST bakery in the world!! I requested that Mom and Dad bring a few goodies for Josh and me. Little did I know... my mom walked in on Saturday afternoon with 4 BOXES!!! WOOP!!! Needless to say, Josh and I may gain about 50 pounds before the contents of those boxes are gone, and may have some serious tooth rot, but the process will taste amazing. Howie's baptism was a wonderful blessing.
2. Mama, Howie, and Cake. Yum.
3. Aunt Marnie & Uncle Chris at the Pizza Joint party.
4. Josh & Howie at the Pizza Joint. Howie is a Pizza Joint regular. His first visit was on his 4th day of life, and he's been sold ever since.
5. Mama & Howie chillin' at home.
6. Howie getting excited about his improved head-holding up ability!! "Look at me, Mom!!"
7. Getting some help from Papa.
8. Howie lounging in the sink following a volcanic spit-up. It was so bad that we didn't take time to get his little tub out... just threw him in the sink. We discovered that at his size right now he fits like a glove!!
9. Howie looking good with a popped collar. He's already up on what's cool.
10. "Joke's on you, Mama!!"
11. Howie in his pajamas, lounging with Papa on a lazy morning.
12. Howie talking for the camera... it's too bad that there's no sound, because this is the face he makes when he's making some precious little noises.
13. Howie in his ducky bathrobe, getting ready for bed.
14. Josh and Howie... "Mama, alright already!! ENOUGH PICTURES!!"

Please be sure to click on the link to our flickr page over on the side bar... you will NOT be sorry when you see these!!

The Prodigal Blogger

We are BACK from our long blogging vacation!! I'm not sure why it's been so long since I've blogged last. Howie and I have been staying home most days because I'm trying to get him on a good nap routine, and we live out in Timbucktoo with no internet. But a blog update is WAYYYY overdue, so here we go. (This was supposed to be accompanied with some pictures of recent events, but I left our computer with all of our pictures on it at home in our rush to get out the door... with baby, baby's bag, baby's seat, mama, papa, mama's purse, etc.)

Josh and I have been watching a lot of football with the NFL season in full swing. That's been pretty amazing. I caught Howie trying to watch the Colts game yesterday evening... already a fan!! We don't let him watch TV, but if we did, I'm glad to know that he's already developed good taste in NFL teams.

Remember all of our wildlife stories from our apartment? Well, there have been several more nasty bug encounters since the last story, so many in fact that Josh is trying to kill bugs in his sleep. We were in Peachtree City for the weekend, and Josh's mom, knowing that he is a proficient spider killer, introduced Josh to a huge spider on their back porch and asked him to get rid of it. Josh made a valient effort, but the spider seems to have fallen to the ground before we could be sure that it was dead. I'm sure it was at least a little injured. (Mr. Desch also sprayed huge amounts of bug killer in the general area where he fell.) Anyway, we all went to bed and thought maybe the spider would be back in his web the next night. I didn't sleep well that night because I'm currently sick, and at one point I saw Josh get up out of bed. I asked him what he was doing, thinking he was probably just going to the bathroom, and he mumbled some half-asleep gibberish... what I made out was "I'm going to look for spiders." I, being fully awake, thought this was hilarious but I also wanted him to be quiet because Howie was sleeping in our room too, and I didn't want him to wake up. I asked Josh again where he was going, and he repeated that he was going to look for spiders. He was almost out the door when I finally convinced him to get back in bed. His exterminating services are being called upon so often that he's ready at a moment's notice, even when he's asleep.

I've been reading cookbooks a lot recently- I kind of read them like normal books, over and over. I just love cooking, so I always like to read the cookbooks in search of a good recipe. Josh and I are currently on a pie kick, specifically, PUMPKIN pie. Neither one of us has ever baked a pie, but we're going to try. We got a pumpkin pie at the Fresh Market a couple of weeks ago, and it was sooo good. I had forgotten how good pumpkin pie was!! I've always been intimidated by pie crust, but I'm gathering up my courage and we are going to attempt to make one. My aunt Martha makes the best pies... we'll have to ask for a tutorial when we're in Peoria next time. But for now we're on our own. We'll keep you posted on the results. So anyway, this latest forage into the cookbooks was a search for the perfect and most fool-proof pumpkin pie recipe. While I was looking I came across a chapter in one of the cookbooks called "Side Dishes and Salads," or something like that. As most of you know, I am not a fan of condiments, with the exception of ketchup on french fries. I do not care for mayonnaise, mustard, any kind of salad dressing, etc. Most of these things that qualify as "salads" are held together with some combination of condiments. So this chapter made me shiver a little bit. Then I came across a recipe called "Snicker Salad." What? A salad made out of Snickers? Aren't salads supposed to be green and leafy? Or at least be made of mostly healthy things? Oh no, this salad was made up of chopped up Snicker bars, part of an apple, and Cool Whip. That is definitely NOT a salad in my book, but I guess if more salads were made with candy, more people would like them!

In Howie news, he turned 3 months old this past Saturday and started giggling this past week!!! It is the cutest sound I have ever heard, and Josh and I will do whatever it takes to make him giggle. It's still pretty hard to get a giggle out of him, so you usually have to go to some extremes to be rewarded. Before I had Howie I always vowed that I would never be one of those parents who talked tons of baby talk to their babies. Well, that's definitely out the window. I've been talking baby talk like crazy since Howie was born. There's just something about that sweet little baby face and chubby cheeks that makes the silly words come out. Last week I got Howie to laugh by saying "Ooga Booga" over and over. Whatever it takes. Whole sentences have their place, but there's nothing like some good old baby talk to make Howie smile. Josh has discovered that Howie likes to be lifted up and down, so he does that to make him laugh. That's too much work for me, so I resort to baby talk and old-fashioned tickling.

Well, that's partial update on our life. I can't believe it's already October!! 2007 is just flying by. I'm also getting excited about Christmas!! I put some Christmas music on the other day just for kicks... I know it's a little early, but what the heck.

Love to you from us in Georgia!!