10 Things Right now

I had a good time writing out 10 things right now post a couple weeks ago...plus, it helps me remember some of the little things that are going on right now in our lives - so here we go again!

 

1.) Sometimes when Max gets out of the bath water and we towel dry his hair - it's not completely dry when his little head hits the sheets.  So...when we go get him in the morning - he has just a little curl happening in the front.  I thought maybe it was a weird coincedence the first time it happened - but now I think he might (eventually) have some curl to his hair!  This makes me so happy and I have decided to share it with you! :)  Feast your eyes on said curl below.

2.)  Max has been doing great in the high chair!  Hooray!  So far he has tried sweet potatoes, squash, green beans, and carrots in the vegetable category.  And for fruits - avacado (yes, it's a fruit!), bananas, pears, and applesauce.  All of this mixed in with several varieties of cereal -- rice, oatmeal, and mixed grains.  There hasn't been a food that passed through his lips that he didn't seem to like.  Although his school teacher mentioned he had a little bit of a rash on his chest this morning.  She asked if we had tried a new food and in fact we had!  Carrots :) She recommended holding off on them for a bit.  Sometimes all it takes is a couple weeks...so we will see.  They (meaning all the books, websites, blogs etc.) that I've read mention waiting three days (but no more than a week) before introducing a new food. Since Rob and I don't have a history of any food allergies I hadn't really been super strict about adhering to this rule...but maybe it's worth rethinking?

3.) When we started having some fall weather around here I took to Pinterest, cooking blogs, and the interwebs in general to dig up soup recipes.  Then, I deemed that every Sunday should be "Soup-er Sunday!"  In true Carrie form, I really hyped this up (in much the same way I hyped up Taco Tuesdays, and Breakfast for Dinner Thursdays)...and then it crashed and burned.  Well, sort of.  I've been able to follow through most weeks, but not always on Sundays.  Thus far, we have enjoyed Chicken Tortilla, Potato Corn Chowder, Chili, Chicken Noodle, and this week - Black Bean! I also like to get crazy and bake some corn bread too.  I know, I know...it's too much.  Just call me Martha Stewart.

(Rob approves!)

 

4.) Is it possible for the Hauck family to get out of Babies R' Us for less than $50?  The answer is no probably not.  Literally between the formula, diapers, etc. etc. - they really now how to get you to hand over the cash.

(would we give all the money in the world for this smile?  absolutely.)

 

5.) We are trying to use the sippy cup!  Turns out when you give your child "solid" foods (though...really they are more like thick purees) - you should offer them water....to help "move" things along if will...ahem.  Max has no problems getting the actual cup to his mouth - it's just the whole tilting it back thing.  I'm also torn between trying to get him use a sippy cup or just skip right to the straw?? And, if he doesn't like the first sippy cup...do you get another?  Or just stick with it until they get it?  It's honestly embarrassing the amount of research I've done on sippy cups at this point....

(this is Max's mean mug ....he's still considering the sippy here).

 

6.)  Max is working on sitting up!  It's pretty adorable.  But, (be still my mama heart) I fear this means movement (as in crawling) is probably not too far off.  Max's school teacher told me she thought so too.... we will see.

 

7.)  Every morning I check Max's mouth for teeth.  No pearly whites yet - just a whole lotta drool :)

 

8.)  Grandmim came to visit last Saturday and babysit so Rob and I could go to a wedding. Say what?! I know the Haucks got out of the nest. True story.  And, we feasted on steak, I had some wine, Rob had some beer, we tore up the dance floor (alright....for just one song)...but the BEST part?  PHOTOBOOTH!!  I would have gone in about 50 times...but I reigned it in and we only made it in 3.  Dearest Max, when you read this one day - please know you were certainly not forgotten...but you weren't necessarily missed either :)  We needed this!

 

9.)  Pre-baby I read a lot of chic lit...you know...light, fun reading.  I could bust one of those out in a night, really.  But now - I'm knee deep in Super Baby Foods.  You know...so I can raise my own little Super Hulk or SuperMan.  But - holy moly is it overwhelming.  She talks about this "baby porridge" which is made from ground brown rice, kelp, brewers yeast etc.  Then, you add a veggie from whatever food group in the morning.  It' seems simple (if not kind of yucky tasty) in theory...but in my mind, when the hell am I going to make all this?

10.) My afternoons are made brighter by pictures like these :)

 

Almost beach time!  Must go review my lists :)

xoxo

He + She + He

He...

 

is a little confused by the time "falling back".  has started eating lots of foods - first just at dinner with mommy and daddy, but now we are adding breakfast too.  his favorites seem to be squash and bananas so far. just started sitting by himself...for about 30 seconds at a time.  was picking up cheerios at school on friday. seems very interested in the cat.  babbles all the time...recently adding in da da da.  is great at bouncing in his rainforest gym.  still loves music of all kinds and jamming out on his xylophone.  greets us every morning with a smile.

 

She...

 

is feverishly making lists for an upcoming trip to Florida and checking them twice.  had so much fun in the photobooth at a wedding on Saturday.  longs to get her toes done before they hit the sand on Saturday.  never tires of looking through her 984 pictures of Maxwell James Hauck.  needs coffee in the morning and diet coke at lunch.  looks forward to getting back into running (hopefully soon). has grand plans for a Christmas book-a-day advent calendar with Max.  loves Pinterest.  and is obsessed with her guys. 

 

He...

 

wakes up most mornings at 6:00 on the dot.  used to be out the door by 6:40 exactly but has grown flexible so his lovely wife can get a shower.  packs his lunch every morning.  picks Max up every afternoon at 3:45.  never misses an afternoon to send me a picture of the two of them.  hears Max on the monitor before me every single time. gets dressed in the basement so he doesn't wake anyone up (and because we are too lazy to bring the laundry up).  is the most amazing dad and partner.

 

bonus picture!



Maxwell Elephant

So, I know you all have probably come back for the culmination of our Halloween week

here at the Hauck's nest.  Lucky for you I take the obligation of documenting Max's life

(and ours) very seriously and I have saved the best for last!

 

As we got closer and closer to Halloween...my desire to "make" a handmade costume

waned until it became non-existant.  It's not that I didn't want to - but....more like I lacked the motivation/energy. So, when Grandpa Jim was visiting, he mentioned that Max's cousin, Brooklyn, had been an elephant the previous year.  And, he would gladly send us the costume if we wanted it.

An elephant?  For real?  While Max is probably not aware of it - the elephant is more or less

his "spirit animal". Before he was born, I wore an elephant necklace - and then

we decided to incorporate some elephant things in his nursery...and then the obession continued.      See examples below.  

(His coming home outfit)

(Adorable bib)

(Cutie pie elephant fresh from a bath)

(Elephant hat!!)

 

Clearly - I was sold on the elephant costume even before it arrived on my doorstep! 

 

Grandpa Jim made good on his promise and the costume arrived a few short days later. 

I hesistantly tried it on Max and he seemed to really dig it.  Max smiles at most things these days...but I could tell he reserved a special smile just for this moment. 

 

Rob and I agreed we could make a few alterations to the costume (it originally had a pink belly) and it would be just right. It worked out even better when grandmim agreed to sew these alterations for us. Who am I to argue with help on sewing matters?

 

Now - after we had decided the elephant costume was a go - it was really just a snap to

figure out that Rob and I should be... ZooKeepers!  I searched Pinterest for some costume inspiration...and then it struck me.  The Zoo had done all the work for me.  Just a month earlier - they

had given all of us full time staff  Jack Hanna zookeeper shirts for his "Hanna-versary". 

Boom! Done. We would clearly wear the shirts with our khakis. 

I decided to get real fancy and add a "pith helmet".  Because that's how I roll. 

I think you'll agree the end result was pretty picture perfect. 

 

I present to you - Maxwell James Hauck and his adoring ZooKeepers!

 

 

 

A Happy Halloween was had by all!

xoxo



Costumes of the Past

To prepare for the final day before Halloween and the unveiling of Maxwell James Hauck's
costume (I know you're all waiting in great anticipation)...I thought we'd take another stroll through the archives of Halloween pasts :)
 

2008
(living with Auntie Stacy at "The Nut" aka Chesnut Hill)
This year we headed to our trainer at the gym's Halloween party.  The fact that we had
a trainer at the gym is kind of laughable to me now.  The insane amount of money I was willing
to shell out is also frightening (ah...life before marriage and a child).  Anywho - I was rocking the Minnie Mouse costume!  I feel this somehow encapsulates my personality quite well - Minnie Mouse is adorable, peppy, and girly :)  My favorite part of the outfit was the white gloves (which you sadly cannot see...) which I threw in everyone's face as the night went on.

(Why I'm flashing the peace sign is unclear to me....as was most of the night

past ten o'clock...but that's another story...)

 

2009

Rob and I's first Halloween together.  Now...at this point we had been together about six months which I thought was a totally acceptable amount of time for approaching the idea of a "couple's costume".  Naturally, I wanted to recycle the Minne Mouse costume and Rob should clearly have been my Mickey...but after an argument in the costume store parking lot, and a failed attempt at a cave women's costume - I went solo as Minnie (I mean, I got to wear the gloves again....so...) and Rob went as "Tequila Poppin' Dude".  Yes, you totally read that right.  I think the mustache and sombrero sold him on the idea -- but dear Lord did I have some thoughts about that costume.  I kept them to myself (surprising I know). And as the night went on the mustache grew on me (literally).

 

2010

This was the year my good friend Amanda started working at the Zoo.  She is super crafty and into making costumes.  We decided (much to the delight of our class) to dress as our classroom animals.  Do you see the turtle shell on her back?  It's made out of cardboard box and she hand painted the exact detail of our classroom turtle Cecil's shell markings on it.  I had clearly met my costume soul mate.  I went as our classroom chinchilla, Chula.  It should be noted that while Chula is totally lovable - she is a tad overweight - so I am wearing a pillow under my sweatshirt.  I thought this costume was amazing because I got to wear sweat pants to work for a week.  Genius.

 

For the actual Halloween party - I again tried my best to get Rob to agree to a couple's costume.  But, alas, the party got canceled and then rescheduled last minute - so we couldn't pull anything off.  Luckily though - Rob was more than happy to resurrect his beloved "beer bottle" costume and I happily wore my pumpkin outfit.  While this costume isn't doing anything to up my sex appeal - it's pretty forgiving when you have some Halloween candy beer bloat going on - so win win, I say.  

 

 

2011

Again - the ZooKid ladies decided to do a "group" costume and since Amanda was on maternity leave...we kept it simple by going with a superhero theme!  Super Carrie! I actually really liked this costume too - because who doesn't want to wear a cape all day?! Now...to decide on my super power...flying? being invisible?  probably just being able to eat whatever I want and never have to work out again.  Yes, yes...that sounds good. 

 

Now...when I was working away on my costume...I could tell Rob was vaguely interested in what all the hot glueing was about.  So, I pitched the idea of being a super hero to him (I'm pretty sure I used the Incredibles movie as support for my argument)....and wait for it...he ACTUALLY WANTED TO DO IT!! Now, let's take this outfit from the top...to our awesome masks...and all the way to the bottom...where we are wearing black leggings.  Or...even from the back - where our capes had our initials on them.  Leave no detail behind is always my motto.  Super Haucks to the rescue!!

 

(I loaned the pumpkin costume to my bestie Lynn...and her and her husband Tom were rocking a couple's costume of Linus waiting for the great pumpkin.  They pretty much killed it.)

 

2012

To go along with my owl pumpkin - I decided to create an owl costume as well.  I enlisted the help of my mom, a thrift store fleece, some felt, and about 15 glue sticks.  When you can't sew, the glue gun quickly becomes your go to crafting supply.  My mom helped me cut and glue all the feathers to my fleece and create wings the tied around my neck.  I later went on to create an owl headpiece too. Again, Rob was all to happy to shimmy into the beer bottle costume once more.  It's kind of his Halloween staple at this point.  He even shrieked to me at one point in despair because he couldn't find it...to which I replied calmly - "I decided to put it on a hanger last year...it's in the closet".  He was probalby just surprised that I wanted to devote closet space to that.  I am too.

 

 

 

2013

I'm going to keep you in suspense for our family costume...but since I know you have probably only read to this point in hopes of seeing some Max goodness...please feast your eyes on his Halloween wardrobe below.  (Hint: there is a tiny sneak peek of his Halloween costume).

 

The real question is...have you started on your costumes yet?  :)

XoXo 



Pumpkin Carving Time

I'm not really a less is more kind of person.  I know, right? 

 

I'm more like a pile it on, can't say no, overscheduled, over-stressed, need to record every last detail kind of gal.  So when I'm in to something.  I'm in.  Like, all in.  And, you know what I'm into - Halloween!  And in particular - PUMPKINS!  I like thinking about them, attempting to grow them (spoiler alert - some freaky spiders took over our plant this year...and it turns out I can't take care of a baby and a pumpkin plant), shopping for them at multiple pumpkin farms, and carving them!

 

Let's take a walk through years past of our pumpkin carving endeavors. 

 

2009

The first Halloween Rob and I were together.  Rob and I walked to the pumpkin farm.  I picked out an extremely large pumpkin and Rob carried it all the way home. It was true love. I'm pretty sure mustaches were super in then, plus we thought it would be funny to put one on a pumpkin. I remember Rob saying he hadn't carved a pumpkin in years.  But, I did not let that deter us - we forged ahead and carved a pretty awesome pumpkin that Drew kept on his porch well past the appropriate time.  Either way - note the eyebrows and the mustache (and how young we look!)

 

It should also be noted that every year I always want to have a pumpking carving party.  In 2009, I was living with Stacy and somehow convinced Emily, Liz, Courtney, and Stacy to carve pumpkins too!  Turns out - Stacy and I carved one together and Liz was the only other participate.  On top of mustaches...we also had a pet theme that year...

Dot did not seem to care about the pumpkin we painstakingly carved him. 

 

2010

Rob and I moved in together.

Pecan Sandy had also become part of our household that year...so apparently we decided to

dedicate our pumpkin to her (and also my face?  It's hard to say why I had whiskers on??).

I like the use of the "eye parts" that got carved out and then repurposed into cat ears. 

There is truly no stopping my creativity sometimes.

 

2011

I like to scout out not just the pumpkin farms in Columbus...but also Dayton. So the below pictures were from a trip to Grandma's Gardens...where I found the holy grail of pumpkins...two that grew together!! I know. Stop it right now!  Of course, it was coming home with us.  I'm pretty sure Rob didn't even bat an eye.  Some might scoff and ask why not just buy them for $4.99 at Kroger -but Rob does not.  And this is why I love him.  He is okay with paying per glorious pound of pumpkin.

#he'sthebest

 

 

This was also the year we got married. 

And, my ampersand obsession began (and has not stopped).

(awww....)

 

2012

The year we broke out the heavy duty pumpkin carving tools. Say what?! 

Rob helped me make my Martha Stewart dreams come true.  I have seen the "owl"

pumpkin in her special Halloween publication for years.  But...it always seemed to complicated. 

Until 2012 - and then we dominated.  This was also the year we got smart and stopped using candles on the inside - because every year I burn my fingers.  We wised up and used our battery operated

christmas lights).  #genius. 

 

2013

The year of Maxwell James Hauck!!  While I was at the dentist, the boys got to work cleaning out the pumpkin guts.  The first order of business when I got home was figuring out how to get Max inside.  Two leg holes later - we present....Max O'Lantern!

He was super cooperative and really didn't seem to mind.

And you guys - our pumpkin...is IN A PUMPKIN. 

My heart can barely take it.

 

Later - after the pumpkin had gone to bed...we continued the fun.  

Before Max headed off to sleepy town - we traced his chubby little hands. 

Then, we made them the "eyes" on our pumpkin!

I should give Pinterest a shout out for this idea and the folks over at Young House Love because I pretty much copied this idea from them. 

 

 

One thing is for sure - fall is full of festivals, zombie runs, scary movies, and

costumes galore - but me?  I'm in it for the pumpkins.

xOxO