Saturday, December 6, 2008

Holiday Performance

I had mentioned a few days ago that aunt April was in the Generations Holiday Show and somehow baby frank also was asked to make an appearance... The show is wonderful and definitely would put any Scrooge in the holiday spirit! I love Christmas music and theatre so of course I thought this show was amazingly perfect. Here are some pictures from the show that the photographer sent me..

Baby frank (and April) in his big show stopping number! (can you spot him)

If i zoom in I am sure you can pick him out... too bad that little girl is covering his face... (don't worry she has been taken care of...haha j/k)

Aunt April singing "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" as the opening number... she does such a wonderful job!



Holiday Gift Idea: This is a wonderful gift idea for and woman in your life... not only will she be styling this winter/ spring with a beautiful Kate Spade bag... the proceeds go to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital... so you will be helping wonderful children with life saving research like our little buddy Luke

Friday, December 5, 2008

Friday Night Dinner

Tonight baby frank and I went to dinner with his Hartge and Hayes grandparents at Old Bag of Nails in uptown Westerville. Baby frank had an excellent time dining on puffs and fruit while getting all the possible attention a baby could from his grandparents. Here is a cute picture of baby frank and grandpa frank hanging out after dinner.



Bad Hair Day

Today Frank's hair was out of control... i tried to slick it down with water and everything... but he continued to be a hot mess for most of the day... at some points it looked like he was wearing a bad toupee....i suppose it's just another think to make him unique

Crazy Hair Frank

looks like a bad wig

Dennis the menace?

what good hair this baby has...

Santa's Little Helper

Baby Frank was at WCHS yesterday to watch Aunt April in the Generations Holiday Dance Show. Somehow mommy got talked into letting baby frank do a cameo in he show... (i know you are not surprised with that)... but he did not seem to mind all the beautiful dancing girls paying him so much attention... so who am I to tell him he cannot hang out with ballerinas? Baby frank was really into the tap dancers... I'm sure he wished his feet could make that much noise when he walked around as well... here are some pictures of him hanging out backstage.

Cindy Straub gave baby frank this cute hat! So baby frank decided to wear it with another one of his "girlfriends" Angela

Playing with his cars

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Santa Baby

Tonight we took baby frank to the Dayton mall to get his Santa pictures. Even though this child is typically all smiles and laughs... he became quickly intimidated and serious when meeting Santa... even with daddy frank, myself, aunt molly and the photographers trying to make him laugh... this is the best we got (which i still think is pretty darn cute)... We were very impressed he did not cry.. scream... wiggle out of Santa's arms... or pull Santa's beard... maybe that is what we have to look forward to next year!

A very serious frank with Santa

He felt more comfortable just reading with Santa


Since it is Christmas... everyone keeps asking me what baby frank wants for Christmas... so I decided to make a wish list to give everyone "ideas" of what baby frank likes... just keep in mind he is a little guy so he does not need that many presents... especially since his birthday is coming up in February.

My Amazon.com Wish List

His current size: Pants 18-24 months, shirts or jammies 18-24 months or 2T,

Monday, December 1, 2008

Getting Brave

Frank has been standing unassisted here and there but tonight he was being extremely brave! He was continuously trying to stand up for a few seconds at a time before he collapsed to the floor... I kept trying to catch it on film... but every time he would stand I only caught the tail end of it on film... but I thought i would post the video anyways... also I had my camera turned sideways so sorry about that




Seal of Approval

My friend Megs recommended these snack traps a which Drew uses, and she was right on.. there are a wonderful way of feeding snacks to the little guy without spillage and as an added bonus... they keep Lexie out too! So in the spirit of that discovery... I decided to have my own "seal of approval"... which in my humble opinion is equally as wonderful at the Good Housekeeping seal of approval... these things that our little 9 month old could not live without or that have worked for us very well thus far... So, without further ado..this is the Abbie Hartge Seal of Approval-food edition

Item Number 1
Baby Frank LOVES this yo-baby yogurt... he has it for breakfast practically everyday. It comes in many flavors (blueberry and apple are his favorites) regardless of your feelings on organic foods, this yogurt is very good, not a lot of additives, and it is supper YUMMY (i don't mind eating it with him!) This was recommended to me by my St. Jude co-worker Sam Cicero and can be found in any grocery store typically in the organic isle.


Item Number 2
I have tried every sippy cup under the sun to reach my goal of bottle freedom by 1 year (only 2.5 months to go)... Trying to be BPA free and $$ conscious we have finally found the most wonderful sippy cup... The Nuby no-spill cup is the only cup that baby frank has been completely successful with from the start. It does not have "safety's" or "valves" to prevent spillage (so much easier to clean)and yet it still does not leak all over the place. The cups are very easy to find and have made this transition a lot easier... he has been drinking juice and formula from them with no complaint!


Item Number 3

Since we have been trying new "textures" with frank... this boon catch bowl has been amazing! If you want to put steamed corn (as seen above) or any food in this bowl it suctions to the table so it cannot be tossed on the floor creating a Jackson Pollock painting on your carpet or wall. The little catch also helps little hands from dropping the snack in their lap and can be used as a chew toy when done eating.


Item Number 4
PUFFS! Every mommy of a baby above 6 months is probably aware of these wonderful melt in their mouth snacks! They come is a wide variety of flavors, the store brand is equally as delicious as the Gerber brand and a lot cheaper as well... baby frank could eat these ALL day if you would keep putting them in front of him... which is OK because a serving size is like 90 pieces... so snack away little buddy


Item Number 5
Since I love to cook, making Frank's baby food was a goal of mine even before he was born. This cook book is a wonderful guide to making baby food (which is insanely easy)... Making baby food is a lot more economical and does not really take me that much time (30 minutes every week or so)... If you don't want to peal the fruits and veggies you can even buy frozen food, steam it and then mash it up in the food processor or blender. If you want to make your own baby food all you need is this book (or ask me to send you recipes from it) and ice cube trays.


*** On a side note the Hartge household is yet again on high alert... recently baby frank has been standing unassisted for a second or two then collapsing to the floor. Last night he stood up on his own and then stood unassisted for about 5 seconds before collapsing... he also potentially took his first step (purely accidental) last night trying to make it from the couch to mommy... we think it won't be too long before he starts putting the pieces together and becomes a walking terror! (good thing we are already baby-proofed)