Without Further Ado...

The Cute Photo Contest Winner is P'Dub!!!

We are soo excited and would like to extend a SINCERE thanks to everyone who voted. Without your votes this win wouldn't have been possible; and we wouldn't be getting FREE one-year photos of Preston and/or family portraits! And of course, we'll share the photos as soon as we get them!

You can check out the official contest page here.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
-Jeremy, Kate & P'Dub

Amo la pasta

Linguini + Zucchini = Yummy

Vote For Preston in The Cutest Baby Contest!

Calling all readers, and your friends, and their friends! I entered Preston in a local photographer's cutest baby contest and he is in the top 5!!! In order to win the contest he needs as many votes as he can get through end of day Friday, the 20th. Each person can vote once a day per email address (so if you have two email addresses, vote from both addresses)- and vote daily!

Please email your vote for kid #1 to melanie@just-because.com. And vote every day, once a day. And please let all your friends and family know as well!

To see Preston and the other cuties, click here.

Grand prize winner will receive a free sitting (a $100 value) and a photo package (including prints of two favorite poses) worth over $100! We haven't had his 1 year pics taken- so vote for Preston now!

So please, vote today, and vote every day until Saturday. Just email kid #1 to melanie@just-because.com now!

Mommy Says This is How Babies Are Made

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

This makes me laugh to tears!

This Wig is Busted

No more baby mullet. No more baby flock of seagulls. No more "hippie"- that's directed toward you Pappy! Preston's wig is busted!

We went to swanky 'The Salon at Kid's Club' for P'Dubs first haircut, two days after his birthday. Check this place out! The salon is all decked out in a jungle theme, with fun seats - like a fire truck or a yellow cab - to preoccupy your child while his stylist works on his new do.

The fire truck wasn't enough of a distraction for P'Dub, nor was the unactivated cell phone the stylist gave him to play with. Nope. It was all panic and tears. So I held him.

Within five minutes it was all over. The stylist asked if she could put 'product' in his hair and I agreed. He looked so dashing, and I looked like a sashquatch covered in all his hair.

As a keepsake we were given a pre-cut picture (which the stylist took when we arrived), a lock of hair, and a personalized card with the date.

The BEFORE pics: (click to enlarge any photo)



































The DURING pics:
























The AFTER pics:

Top 25 Questions I'd Ask P'Dub...

if we were able to converse.

25. Will you really stop eating when you aren't hungry anymore?

24. Could you sleep or take naps without your monkeys?

23. Why don't you like cottage cheese? Is it the texture?

22. Have your ears ever bothered you when we've flown?

21. What's with all the grunting; and does it hurt your throat?

20. How is it that you are at peace with sitting in your own feces?

19. If you aren't really tired, why do you rub your eyes and yawn?

18. Which is more comfortable, cloth or disposable diapers?

17. Do you really think Daddy is cooler than Mommy?

16. Do you refrain from saying 'Mama' just to frustrate me?

15. Are you sick of the lullaby cd we play for you, every day, three times a day, since you were born? Do you need it mixed up or you are okay with the monotony?

14. Are there any outfits I put on you that you think are ugly?

13. What are your thoughts on the new babysitter?

12. Why do you throw your sippy cup on the floor, over and over, when in your highchair?

11. Do you dream at night? If so, about what?

10. Why won't you hold still when I try to cut your nails?

9. Do I ever make your bath water too warm?

8. And your diaper, do I ever put it on too tightly?

7. What are your thoughts on a sibling?

6. When it's time to potty train, would you be willing to go above and beyond, give it your all, and become successfully trained within a month?

5. And would you be willing to be potty trained by the end of this year?

4. Why is it you only respond to "No" half the time?

3. Regarding your reflux, does your tummy or throat hurt before you puke; and is it scary for you?

2. Why do you constantly take your socks off?

1. Do you think I'm a good mom?

BONUS QUESTION: When you are going #2, your head turning purple from pushing, and staring intently at me...what are you thinking? Am I just a focal point? Or are you saying with your eyes, "Mom, lay off the cheese for a couple days."

Even a SAHM Can Have a Crappy Monday

Let me just start off my saying I COULD had had the best night's sleep ever, had it not been for Preston actually waking up on time today, at 7a.m. sharp. Usually I have to wake him up, because the little guy has been known to sleep until 8:30 - but this really throws a wrench in our day. But today, he woke me up. And I was in a deep, precious sleep.

Half-asleep I go into his room to snag him out of his crib. He's all smiling and happy. The stench was horrendous. And the warm mist humidifier somehow thickened the unpleasantness in the room. THIS will wake you up quicker than coffee my friends.

Breakfast went well. P'Dub ate an entire Eggo Low Fat Nutri-Grain waffle with a wee bit of low sugar raspberry preserves. He drank his entire cup of milk, and shockingly was done.

So we weren't off to that bad of a start.

Fast forward... Upon waking Preston from his morning nap, I was once again welcomed with an I-Now-Eat-Big-People-Food diaper. Freakin' sick. Preston is none the wiser, although he really likes to flush his poo down the toilet. I welcome this activity though. I want him to think the shitter is really cool. Maybe this way he'll potty train easier.

After I changed him, I stopped in the bathroom to wash my hands. Preston is sitting in the hallway watching me. No, I take that back. There is splashing. Preston is playing in the toilet water. Back to the bedroom for a shirt change.

Finally I get in the shower. I feel icky just from being around all the poo-ness. Ugh. I wash my hair. Rinse. Condition my hair. Rinse. Body wash my hair. What the heck am I doing? Rinse.

And it's not even noon yet.

Noodling: Not Just for Hillbillys and Catfish

For those of you unfamiliar, 'Noodling' is the southern US practice of catching flathead catfish using only bare hands. A noodler goes underwater to depths ranging from only a few feet to up to twenty feet, placing his hand inside a discovered catfish hole. If all goes as planned, the catfish will swim forward and latch onto the fisherman's hand, usually as a defensive maneuver in order to try to escape the hole. (Thanks Wikipedia)

Here in the Pacific Northwest, I've got my own take on noodling. I noodle daily - each and every time I dare to give Preston a bite of food with my bare hand, I noodle.

Unlike catfish noodlers, I'm not trying to 'catch' my son, nor am I wanting to get bitten. I'm careful. I think I'm quick. But sometimes the darn kid chomps down with his baby bear jaws and my fingers get the brunt of it.

Another difference is that I don't run the risk of drowning or losing a finger. So I guess my kind of noodling is a lot safer.

Either way, I consider myself a noodler. Me and those crazy rednecks.