Me and CC

3 months.

Already.

My daughter is 3 months old. Where has the time gone?

Actually, when I think about it, I know very well where the time has gone. I can remember weeks, days, moments in Coralynn's short life. She has quite a few milestones already:

getting newborn photos taken
visiting with Santa
smiling
shots at the doctor's office
loving her nightly tubby time
copious amounts of zoey kisses and kitty rubs
blowing out her diaper at the cop shop (we had to hold her up in the locker room shower to clean her off)
discovering her hands and shoving them into her mouth non-stop
two trips to Florida - flying!!! - to see Nai Nai and Ricky
seeing monkeys and tigers and giraffes and other exotics for the first time
putting her toes in the ocean
falling in love with 'blanky bear'
sleeping poolside
staying in a hotel

These are awesome memories for me to keep... and to tell her about in the future. I just thought I'd share...

Two Lines? I Cannot Tell a Lie.

Boy, has it been a while since you've heard from me!  But I promise there is a very good reason.

About 3 months ago... well... nearly 14 weeks ago in fact, I found out SuperFutureDad and Almost Mommy were going to become SuperDad and First Time Mommy!!

I know! Hard to believe, right?? We are no longer in the land of no nuggets!

After nearly a year of trying to conceive, we finally knocked boots at the right time to get me knocked up! Here's the proof:

Needless to say, it's been an incredibly difficult secret to keep from my blogosphere buddies but one that I felt needed to stay between me and SFD and our families. But now that we've spilled the beans to our closest friends and relatives, we're happy to share the fantastic news with the world!

And we are going to be doing exactly that (no joke!) for a new Webisode series called 'My First Baby,' produced by Meredith Video Studios. How cool is that! You can find the webisodes and all the program information at this web addy (although they tell me it won't be live until June 14th). So please be sure to check back then (I'll send you a reminder, too).

The Webisodes will also be featured on a nationally-syndicated lifestyle television show called 'Better.'
To find out where and when 'Better' airs in your area, click here! Just so you know Nai Nai, 'Better' airs on the Fort Myers Fox station WFTX at 6:00 am. And I know you're up at that ridiculous hour, so you should be able to catch it.

You can also follow 'My First Baby' and 'Better' on Facebook and Twitter.
We filled out a written application, passed two rounds of phone interviews and submitted a (laughable) application tape to get accepted and we are so pumped! Now, all of our friends and family who live far away can be a part of our pregnancy experience and beyond.

Here's how it works: they are sending us a Flip Cam (it's in the mail now) and we go to town shooting video of the ups and downs of the next, in our case, 6 months before delivering our little nugget. Then we do some more shooting after we bring our little bundle home! It's going to be a really uplifting and positive look at what life is really like for us as new parents, although we're not immune to a brisk dose of reality either. We've already found out that day cares in our area have waiting lists stretching into April 2011!! So, I'm sure this will be a really eye-opening experience and it will all be captured on tape.

So... what I want to do now is take your questions!!! Since I haven't written for so long, I'm sure you're curious as to how this all happened, how I've been feeling, etc. But maybe you're not and just want me to get on with keeping you up to date from this point on. Either way, I love feedback and want to hear from you!

I'm baaaaaaacccckkkkk!

BABY BRAGGIN' WEDNESDAY: Jack and Owen

Drum roll, please..... it's time for another edition of Baby Braggin' Wednesday! So glad you could join me because this week, we have some major cutie-pies - twins!

JACK AND OWEN

Jack and Owen are 2 1/2 year old twin boys who belong to one of my besties here in Fargo, Heather. They are adorable little nuggets, each with a personality all his own. And boy do they give their mum and dad a handful! Check out this full-moon-fever story Heather sent me. She writes:

"What I remember is the horror of that night. We were getting Jack and Owen ready for a bath. We lived in a condo on the northside of Fargo and I think the boys were about a year and a half. On bath nights Nick would run upstairs and start the water and I would get the tots ready for their bath. 

Most moms agree babies need a chance to "air out"...which means, take off all clothes, including diapers and let kids run around "free" for a minute or two. Looking back, bad idea. We took off the first baby's diaper and let him run free while Nick ran the tub...yet another bad idea.

As i'm wrangling the 2nd baby, baby #1 poops on the carpet!! I scream in horror, Nick runs back downstairs to check out what's going on...and as I'm cleaning up poop from baby #1, I hear a whizzing noise...baby #2 is peeing on the carpet, then squatting to poop. This had never, I repeat never, happened before....and although they've peed on the carpet several times since (including last night), no one has ever pooped on the carpet again...and my carpet probably never looked the same!"

Heather, her hubs and fam eventually moved out of that condo and I'm guessing the new tenants are none the wiser! I love it when Jack and Owen stop by the newsroom and I hope you enjoyed reading about these precious nuggets. How cute are their pictures?! Angels!

Don't forget - you too, can submit pics and stories for Baby Braggin' Wednesday! Just send your submissions to patriciacarlsonfreelance@gmail.com. I'm doing it on a first-come, first-serve basis so please be patient if you haven't seen your nuggets' posting yet. I'll get to everyone, I promise!!!

Next week, we're heading west to meet a California baby!

One final thought, I want to wish all my Tales readers out there a wonderful Thanksgiving. I appreciate your friendship so much. I hope one day I can say that to you in person, instead of over the World Wide Web Highway. To Nai Nai, Ricky and my family who is gathered in the Sunshine State, I love you all and wish I could be there. Much love to eveyone and please make time for a nap after eating all of the delicious turkey Ricky is cooking!

BABY BRAGGIN' WEDNESDAY: Casey, Brady and Madelyn

Welcome to the first edition of Baby Braggin' Wednesday! So glad you could join me!


In case you're new to Tales, BBW is a weekly feature where I post pictures and cute little stories about all the little nuggets in my life and/or who belong to Tales readers like you. To be a part of BBW, all you have to do is email me some pics of your munchkin(s) and tell me a little about them. I'll craft up a blog entry from there that you can share with all your family and friends! It's my way of showing off all the cute little nuggets out there - and giving shout outs to all the fabulous peeps in my life! I love you all so much!

So... without further ado... here's our first BBW entry:

CASEY, BRADY AND MADELYN

I am the proud auntie to these remarkable (and athletic!) three kids. I don't get to see them very often, maybe once a year, and I miss them terribly. I've had to watch them grow up through pictures so that's why I thought they should be BBW's debut post. Casey, Brady and Madelyn are incredibly smart and cute - I can't wait to see them at Christmas!!!

Casey is the oldest. I am his Godmother. My favorite memory of Casey is teaching him to swim in Nai Nai and Ricky's pool in the Sunshine State. We spent hours in the pool working on floating and kicking and dunking and jumping (of course, he had a great start at swimming lessons with his mum and dad). But he's also a darn good soccer player!

Brady is one of the sweetest kids you'll ever meet. And one of the pickiest eaters! If this still holds true, last I knew, his favorite meal was chicken nuggets with sauce (ketchup). He loves fruit too. Brady has a wonderful imagination and will talk my ear off on the phone. It's so nice to hear his voice. Brady is sure to be a heartbreaker when he grows up - he's so cute!

Oh, Miss Madelyn - the youngest, and a girl, to boot!! Maddy is the perfect combination of her mum and dad's good looks - why this cutie isn't a child model is beyond me. That may have something to do with the fact that nobody tells Maddy what to do - she is in charge! And has the voice to prove it! But she is a ham in front of the camera and knows how to give a great hug. I don't know Maddy as well as Brady and Casey so I'm hoping she and I will have a chance to bond over the holidays.

So there you have it - Casey, Brady, and Madelyn are the first kids to be featured on Tales of an (Almost) Mommy's Baby Braggin' Wednesday column. I hope you enjoyed reading all about my fantastic nephews and niece! SuperFutureDad and I are the proudest uncle and auntie a kid could have!

If you have some pics and stories you'd like to submit for BBW, please email me at patriciacarlsonfreelance@gmail.com. I can't wait to share them with all the Tales readers!

Sharing Simple Pleasures

Okay, I’ll admit it. I’ve already begun thinking what life would be like with a little nugget to call my own. I try not to let the thoughts go too far… I don’t want to jinx it.

But there are some things about my childhood that I can’t wait to share with my kids. And, there’s a few ‘firsts’ that I anxiously await. Here we go…

In the… our-baby-is-so-precious category:
Lying on the ground in the park reading with them nestled in the stroller that I gently rock with my toes
Holding them in my arms for the first time
Coming home to find the baby perched on SuperFutureDad’s chest, both of them fast asleep
Bonding while breastfeeding at night
Listening to them breathe hard while deep in slumber

Representing the… aren’t-they-so-cute category:
Reading books together snuggled side-by-side in a cozy bed
Nesting by the fire
Watching them eat sand as we make sandcastles on the Florida beach
Seeing them run into Nai Nai and Ricky’s arms
Helping them swing a tennis racket for the first time

Nominees for the… not-that-they’ll-give-a-crap category:
Introducing them to the Mickey Mouse Club, Babysitters Club, Sweet Valley High, Judy Blume
Playing old episodes of Friends, 90210, Psyche, Gilmore Girls, How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory
Showing them tapes of my tv stuff and magazines featuring my articles

In the… it‘ll-be-nice-to-have-someone-to-play-with category:
Catching them in my arms as they jump off the edge of the pool
Sharing the joy of a warm, creamy cup of hot chocolate in the middle of winter
Sledding
Chasing each other with squirt guns

Entries for the… just-like-mum-and-dad-used-to-do-with-me category:
Dancing to Motown oldies while doing the dishes
Sunday morning family breakfast (I’ll whip up blueberry pancakes, SuperFutureDad will take care of the bacon)
Continuing the annual tradition of cutting down our Christmas tree
Having nightly dinners together

I also commissioned SuperFutureDad to come up with a few items.

Nominees for the… I-just-want-to-be-a-dad-already-darnit category:
Teaching them sports and outdoor activities
Having the baby fall asleep in my arms
Watching them take their first step
Seeing them interact with the dog
Laughing when the baby poops or pees on mummy
Watching them learn new things for themselves
Spending time as a family

I know that this list make parenting sound easy and delightful. And I realize (through watching other mums and dads) that it’s not like that all of the time. But I’m hopeful that these simple pleasures will outweigh any daily trials we endure.

What were/are some of your parenting pleasures?