The anti-Aggie conspiracy

I am convinced that Longhorn fans, including retailers, merchandisers, and common people alike have such a strong dislike for Aggies and anything Texas A&M, that they have resorted to subtle anti-Aggie propaganda to discourage the future generation college-educated individuals from attending my prestigious alma mater. The Aggie jokes....we've all heard them! Let's also take, for example, the Texas college display at our local Academy Sports & Outdoors here in San Antonio. Why is the display for Longhorn paraphrenalia much larger than the Aggie display? Why is there only 1 option for little boys and 2 options for little girls in Aggie baby gear but at least 4 options for both boys and girls in Longhorn apparel? Why, also, is the Texas Tech gear display larger than the Aggie display? Now, THAT, is a disgrace...

And the anti-Aggie campaign, has even hit baby toys. Look at the face (albeit a little creepy) of Alex's toy phone purchased at our local grocery store...




Now, take a closer look at the mouth. Does that not look like the Longhorn symbol (bevo I think they call it) to you? Call me crazy...call me a conspiracy theorist, but I know underhanded techniques when I see them! My little man will be encouraged to consider all of his options when making the big decision of which college to attend. I will not brain wash him, either way, although he will begin to wear a 12th man jersey when I can get him one that fits. :-)

Gig 'em!!!!

The verdict is in

I am officially allergic to vegetable gum which is essentially used in most thickened liquids that are not designated as "all natural," including, but not limited to, salad dressings, sauces, jelly, cake icing, chocolate products, creams, cream cheese, and many many more items that might include "xanathan gum." My allergist's recommendation was, "stop eating out at restaurants." WOW! We all know that's not gonna happen. So, if we're ever out eating dinner, you might request a brief tutorial on how to use my epi-pen if I pass out in front of you and/or start swelling up and turning red like a roma tomato.

Enough about the boring stuff. Alex's babbling is as delightful to my ears as a nice tall glass of lemonade on a hot day. Eddy believes, and now I might possibly believe, that Alex has said his first word....and NO....it isn't "mama." It is not "dada" either although he frequently babbles that string of consonant-vowel combinations, even when Eddy is not present. It is in fact "og" for "dog." Being the recently graduated speech pathologist that I am, I fully understand that many parents exaggerate this milestone and believe it to have occured when a child is in fact babbling. In order for it to be a first true word, it must be consistently used in the presence of the referent, or more simply put, a child must be referring to a particular object and consistently use that word to describe that object.

Any time Alex hears Bubba bark, he says "og" and looks at or for Bubba. He also proceeds to babble "bubububububu...." I didn't believe Eddy when he told me over the phone. I was in Houston for Anesha's bachelorette party, but now I might actually believe it. Now I might actually believe that my child loves Bubba more than he loves me. At least our first born's first word was that of a neutral party and the name of a beloved family member....The Bubs.

Diaper Changing Techniques

So, Alex continues to give me trouble every time I need to change his diaper and/or outfit. He continues to roll over and laugh as he proceeds to crawl away with a naked bottom flashing the world in the process of me changing his diaper. If there is a world record for the fastest diaper changing time, I might be close to breaking it if I haven't already. Today, I came up with a strategy that is slightly unorthodox, but it worked! After changing his diaper, I blocked him with my feet while I buttoned his onesie (he was on his belly.) He not only thought it was hilarious that I was restraining him with my feet (he likes toes) but it kept him still and steady long enough for me to finish buttoning his one piece jumper. AHHH! The fun times! I'm getting pretty creative although my word-finding difficulties still linger. You'd think as a speech pathologist that I would have strategies that I could implement, but I seem to have forgotten everything I learned the past 27 1/2 years.

Notice that Alex is not wearing shorts...it's impossible unless he is drowsy or there are two people to assist with the task. My child will always be known as that kid who is shortless or in a onesie!