rookies

And for the rookie parent story of the week ... My company was one of the sponsors of Tempe's Arbor Day 5K so I convinced Mr. Chunglund that he and Baby J should run it with me. About halfway through, Baby J starts crying and just.won't.stop. Mr. Chunglund takes her out of the stroller and carries her for awhile only to discover a major blowout complete with leakage. Of course when we were packing the stroller, I decided we probably didn't need the diaper bag. It was only a 5K, after all. We'd be back to the car in an hour. Gambled and lost on that one. Luckily we had been awarded two free t-shirts at registration for participating in the run - one for a makeshift wipe and the other for a makeshift diaper. Oh yeah and a park bench for a changing table. And there ends another tale in our (mis)adventures in parenting.

nuestro apartamento

I know my good friend, Jenn, was interested in our living accommodations here in Arizona. Prior to moving here, we kept referring to it as Melrose Place as the leasing agent seemed to think the sand volleyball court was a real selling point. I finally got around to taking some pictures. Baby J's room looks kind of sad after the pink palace that Mr. Chunglund created for her in Duluth, but it is home for now! Here's the tour ...

Baby J hanging out in her room. 

The living room

The kitchen

The master bedroom

I am in love with our new king sized bed! There's a dining area, as well that I didn't take a picture of because it was kind of messy when I was snapping photos. So, that's it. Home sweet home. 

Baby J (1) Carl (0)

I think these pictures say it all ...

 Notice how defeated Carl looks? He's pretty good at sharing, but he doesn't look too happy about it. Poor Carl.

mother's day - may 8

Thought the grandmas would appreciate a Mother's Day card from Baby J. Pretty much in love with Shutterfly because they will stamp and mail your photo cards to the recipient. Works out perfectly for cross-country grandmas, who can't get enough of seeing their adorable grandbaby.

5x7 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.

good friday

No church, but the Chunglunds had a good Friday nonetheless. Baby J had her first swim lesson! She did such a good job and we are so proud of her. She even went all the way underwater and floated on her back without so much as a whimper. The instructor said that lots of kids don't like being on their backs. We sang songs, blew bubbles, hung onto the side of the pool, floated on our backs, practiced climbing out of the pool, and jumping in the pool. After swimming, we went out for Korean food and then gelato. Baby J was all tuckered out and was such a good sleeper, I even got up once to make sure she was still alive!

check out my new trick!

Just when I thought we were making some headway with the sleeping, Baby J has decided to learn how to do this ...

I had to relinquish my baby blanket (yes, I still sleep with it and yes, I am 33 years old), as well as my memory foam pillow, but I finally got her sleeping in her crib for the past two nights. All this, just in time for her to learn how to pull herself up on her own. I guess we will now be lowering her crib mattress.

let's go to the movies

We brought Baby J to her first Baby's Night Out movie at the UltraStar Cinema in Scottsdale. It's really more for parents than babies. The third Thursday of every  month, one theater is reserved for moviegoers to bring babies - crying, feeding, and diaper changing expected! Baby J managed to meet expectations by both crying and eating. Fortunately, no diaper changing was needed. There were two other couples there with little ones and it really wasn't all that surprising when Baby J was the loudest one there by 100 percent. I don't even think I heard the other two babies make a peep. But after managing to guzzle 8 ounces of milk, Baby J continued to cry so Mr. Chunglund walked around with her at the back of the theater until she went to sleep. After which, she did a good job of sleeping through the rest of the move and the car ride home.

The Recap -

Theater - SUPER NICE. You could order food off a menu throughout the movie and a server would bring it for you to eat off trays that fold down from the back of the seat in front of you airplane-style. Each seat is equipped with a call button for when you are ready to place your order or need something.

Movie - Source Code. The description I read was pretty much right on - it's a science fiction Groundhog Day. I hated Groundhog Day and liked this movie only marginally better. Mr. Chunglund, who loves both Groundhog Day and science fiction, thought it was pretty good. Definitely not a movie that I would have chosen to see, but that is the movie the cinema selected as Baby's Night Out movie so I went with it.

Baby's Night Out - It's a nice idea. Although we didn't bring our stroller in there was plenty of room for stroller parking. Because they serve food, the seating is clustered and there are wide aisles throughout. The movie volume is reduced and there were supposedly changing facilities in the auditorium although I didn't see them and as luck would have it didn't have to use them. One of the best parts? Tickets were only $5.50. The only real downside is that the cinema pre-picks the movie that is going to be shown, which is why we ended up watching Source Code. See above.

Overall, it is probably an adventure we would take again. We don't really know anyone to babysit so it was nice to be able to go see a movie with Baby J!

i can tell that we are gonna be friends

Baby J has never been scared of Carl Rove, but lately she has been real interested in petting him, pulling his tail, and even trying to eat his fur. When Carl walks by she will try to touch him or grab his fur. Carl doesn't mind. He likes to get a few licks in too - fingers, toes, face, etc. I'm glad that my two favorite critters get along so well together. It is the start of a beautiful friendship between a girl and her dog.

sun-day funday

We're new to Arizona and while there are probably 1,001 things that we could do our weekends always seem to be filled with grocery shopping and house cleaning. This past weekend was in the 90s and we did get out for a little fun in the sun. Baby J's swimsuit is getting to small and my little munchkin looks kind of like a stuffed sausage.

Mommy & Baby J chillaxin' by the pool

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baby J got a new floatie to try out in the pool. She did such a good job, even kicking her way halfway across the pool all on her own.

Baby J's little feet were moving like a duck

We need to take more advantage of the "resort-style living." It's almost like being on vacation.