Another week passes. Another trip for daddy. Dad had to go to California for a business trip yesterday. It wasn't very fun not seeing him for most of the day but he made it up to me this morning and changed my diaper before he left for work today. I sure hope he didn't go to Disneyland while he was there because I don't think that would be very fair.

My chompers continue to come in and they are certainly razor sharp. I like to rub my tongue across the new teeth. I am still very curious about them. Mom bought a baby toothbrush and has begun brushing my 2 teeth. This is OK but what I really want is a big boy brush. I proved to mommy that I am able to brush my teeth with a real brush when I stole it from her and stuck it in my mouth.

As you can see in my Photo of the Day, I am able to use my new walking toy as a guide to help me stand up. I really enjoy doing it because it makes me feel big. I get so excited that I usually get all smiley and I end up letting go. Daddy is always there to catch me. I sure like him.

I went to my Aunt Erica's house the other day. I haven't seen her in a while. She really enjoyed seeing me I think. I was excited too and showed her my cute smile a whole bunch.

Mom taught me how to make enchiladas last night while dad was on his way home. I can't wait to really help her in the kitchen. I think it will be fun cooking and baking with her. My dad knows how to cook things as well. I sure am lucky.

Have a good weekend.

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Back in November, I recieved and reviewed the Ergo Bottle Sling from a reader of this website. Months later, a comment appeared on the post from an inventor that had created his own bottle sling. A bottle sling however that goes around your neck so that you can hold your child with 2 arms and still feed from a bottle. After a bit of talking, we decided that it would be a great idea for me to test out this prototype and give him my honest feedback.

Rylan continues to be breastfed and is now slowly moving into being fed baby solids however from time to time, we use the bottle to give ourselves a small break. We began using the bottle sling shortly after we received it and were certainly impressed. I am able to securely hold Rylan with both arms and still have him munching away at the bottle. I think the combination of a baby sling and the bottle sling would make for an even easier situation and allow the parent full ability to do what they needed to do with minimal problems. The sling can easily be adjusted for each person and baby.

Phil Jones, the inventor, tried out on the ABC tv reality show American Inventor back in January but unfortunately did not move onto the second round. In fact, his invention wasn't even put onto the TV show but that is actually a good thing. It seems the only inventions that were shown were really terrible or the ones who moved on. I applaud Phil for coming up with this idea and I imagine it's day will come. I only wish that I would have picked up this sling when Rylan was much younger and I could have used it more.

For further information on the bottle sling, check out the official website at BottleSlingGuy.com. This item is not for purchase just yet but if you are interested in helping Phil get to that point, he would love to hear from you. (bottle_sling@yahoo.com)

* Phil, I apologize for taking this long to write up the review.

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As mentioned in the past, my wife has been big into scrapbooking over the past couple of years. I recently came across a new website at www.scrapblog.com which essentially allows you to create a scrapbook online. I do have to say though that the site is still in beta and is sometimes difficult to work with.

The idea for the site is great I think. They don't have simple cookie cutter templates which would make it dull and boring. You have full control over how your page is laid out and with a lot of different backgrounds, stickers and other options, this has real potential for taking off.

My wife and I have both created a few pages with Rylan's pictures in them. They provide you with a public (or private) website that you can give to others to view your creations. I would however recommend to the Scrapblog folks that they create an export option that we can then use for printing out the creation.

I am very curious to see how this website goes and see just how many options they will be able to offer. From all accounts though, this looks like a winner.

For those interesting in checking out Rylan's scrapblog, click here.

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We have all seen those mirrors they have at the fun houses at carnivals and state fairs. They do all types of modifications to your body including stretching and shrinking. Kids seem to get a lot of enjoyment out of this.

Lately, I have been sitting down with Rylan in front of his baby proof mirror and I had a vision. I can charge kids to come over to the house and look at themselves in the baby mirror and get the same effect as if they were at the carnival. The baby mirror is in fact not a real mirror at all. Heck I don't even know what it is but I know that it skews the picture in nearly the same manner.

When Rylan is sitting eye to eye with the mirror, all is well but once he begins to tug and tug on it, he will begin to see a stretched out version of himself. Do we want our children to look in the mirror and see someone else? I am going way out of the park here but is it possible that people are self conscious about themselves because as a kid they saw themselves as weird looking? Yes, its a heck of a stretch I know.

We are in the year 2006. The century where we were supposed to be flying around in spaceships and living with the stars. Why can't we have a baby mirror that works just like a normal mirror? Is it too much to ask?

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When you have a newborn, you get used to them pooping many times a day. Just when you don't think you can change another poopy diaper, it begins to slow down.

Slowing down though is not always a good thing. I have read in numerous places now that a baby may only poop once a day or even once every 5 days. Rylan certainly likes to fluctuate but is currently working on 3 or 4 days without a poop. This made life pretty darn difficult last night when Rylan just couldn't get comfortable and decided to cry. Cry for the rest of the night.

From what I understand, breastfed babies are not supposed to have as many pooping problems as bottle fed due to the easier to digest food but as we have seen with Rylan, he likes to extend the boundaries on things.

I feel bad for my wife that is sitting at home taking care of Rylan just waiting for that diaper explosion to occur. My words of advice for her would be to plug up the nose and change that diaper like a champ. Dispose of that thing properly because I am not going to want to smell it when I get home. I can only imagine what it would smell like.

Anyone know of anything to help a baby stay regular?

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It has been 6 months since I was born and a lot of changes have certainly taken place. I remember just the other day when I would pee on mom and dad, oops I forgot, I still do that occasionally.

One of the big milestones that I have enjoyed over the past couple of months would definitely be being able to sit up. I now don't have to rely on my mommy to get me a toy when I can reach for it myself. Sometimes I like to sit in the shopping cart and I get to look around more.

From what I hear, another 6 months from now and I will be hanging out in Disneyland. Well, that's the plan atleast. Celebrating my first birthday at Disneyland with Mickey would be great. I know mom and dad would have a heck of a time taking pictures.

As for this last week, more teeth keep coming in. A second tooth has broken the surface and my mom thinks more are on their way. I have been a lot more fussy lately because of this. I have had to fight my mom and try to keep her hands out of my mouth. That's another reason why I am so fussy. Yes mom, I am talking about you.

Fruits. I am on to trying new fruits now and I have to say, they are different. Mom says I get the funniest pucker face when I taste a peach. I don't think its so funny but once I get over that initial flavor, I suck on it more and seem to enjoy it. I think mom has a bunch more things for me to try, this could get interesting.

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When I was younger, I used to ride my bike or walk to wherever I needed to go. This was simply because I was too young to drive a car. As a person, we all learn our capabilities and use them the best that we can.

Rylan is at a point now where he knows which toys he wants; and when he wants to play with them, he needs to find a way to get them. This is not always easy as they may be far from him. He has learned that rolling around is an efficient way to get from point A to point B.

He is capable of pushing himself up and having his knees under him in a crawling position however just doesn't seem to want to take that first step just yet. He seems to be alright with just rolling around everywhere. We certainly are not complaining as we enjoy watching him roll to wherever he needs to get too. Its great to see him choose a toy that he wants to play with and then go after it.

On somewhat of a side note, he is able to keep himself standing up with the help of one of his walker toys. He gives the biggest smile when he accomplishes this or any other great task. The little guy is strong.

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Its been a half a year now since Rylan was born. My wife and I have changed thousands of diapers. My wife has fed Rylan gallons of milk. Rylan has pee'd on us numerous times but does it feel like 6 months? No.

Rylan went in for his 6 month doctors checkup and received a few more shots. Normally, he is pretty good when it comes to shots but this time my wife says he wasn't so well off. A fussy baby was scheduled for the rest of the evening.

My wife noticed just yesterday that Rylan is possibly showing signs of 3 maybe 4 teeth total that are making their way in. The little guy can definitely bite down now and pack a serious punch. Bruising and swelling are involved when he gets his teeth on your fingers.

The 6 month marks a milestone in eating as well. The books and pediatrician recommend holding off on fruits until the child is 6 months old. Now that it has come, Rylan got his first taste of a banana. He did not seem to care for it very much though. An unfortunate event.

As for Rylan's statistics, I don't know the exact measurements but I can say that he is in the 75% for height. When we are out in public, people are always amazed that he is only 6 months old. They tell us all the time that he is big and while we always believed it as well, the doctors always confirmed he was of average height. It is nice to hear that he is in fact longer than your average baby.

I look forward to seeing what the next 6 months holds for Rylan and the family.

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Rylan's first Easter turned out great. We began the day off by going to Rylan's great uncle's house for a family get together. The family had not seen Rylan for about 5 months now so they were surprised on how much he had grown. He was a big hit and he cooperated nicely.

Rylan is the first baby in my side of the family in quite a few years so everyone is excited. He was a bit overwhelmed by all of the people wanting to hold him. We had a chance to see that Rylan definitely knows who his parents are and slowly begins to cry when others would hold him. Its a funny yet sad face to watch.

The rest of the day was mainly left to relaxing. Relaxing as much as you can with a child. We have a new play area up for Rylan that he really seems to enjoy. It is a gated area with foam padding and a bunch of toys. Now that he is able to sit up for an extended period of time, he is able to keep himself occupied for quite some time and play with the toys that he wants too.

As for Easter gifts, Rylan received 3 baskets this year. One each from his grandparents and another from us. He really seemed to enjoy each of them and loved chewing at his new books that we gave him. His Pooh Bear dressed up as a bunny rabbit was a big hit as well.

The day ended with a bit of kite flying. The wind was perfect and not so terribly hot outside that we decided to take a stab at it. I have not attempted to fly a kit in years but it worked out great. I am not sure if Rylan could see the kite 150ft up into the air but he sure seemed to like holding it. Of course, the handle went straight to his mouth. It was a nice change and I'm anxious to try these types of things with Rylan when he gets older.

That is our Easter in a nutshell. We definitely look forward to Rylan running around this time next year looking for eggs.

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Mommy had this crazy idea last weekend about going swimming. Its hot here in Arizona but gosh darn it, we are still in the spring. The pool water is still chilly. I did have fun though floating around and I kept occupied while dad was a sissy and very slowly moved into the water. He said the water was way too cold.

My cold is gone and I feel much better. I seem to have more boogers lately but overall, my coughing and wheezing has certainly gone away. I am glad because I really didn't care for that death contraption that mommy and daddy would make me wear. Breathing in medicine with the nebulizer was simply torture.

Easter is coming up, hurray. I am going to my Great Uncle's house to celebrate and show myself off to the family. They haven't seen me since Thanksgiving. They are certainly in for a surprise. I am going to take a whole bunch of pictures with my great grandparents. They are celebrating their 65th anniversary. They are great.

I guess that is all for now. I will certainly let everyone know what happens on Easter. I hear a bunny rabbit hides things, is that really true? Too bad I can't run around just yet.

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It has become apparent that Rylan is definitely beginning to enjoy toys more. This is shown whenever we go through the toy isle and Rylan catches a glimpse. He will lock onto things and when we stop to show him, he immediately wants to hold it and most likely wants to eat it. I didn't realize that he would be doing this so soon.

We have let Rylan pick out a few of his toys now. One of them being a baby safe mirror. The mirror caught his eye when passing through Target one day and he was just drawn to it. He has always enjoyed staring at himself and the mirror gives him the opportunity while he is in his crib. The addition of toys around the frame can keep him entertained for a bit.

We enjoy putting 2 toys up for Rylan to see and having him choose. We would rather choose a toy that he has an interest in rather than one we only like. Who knows, maybe Rylan feels more confident when he gets to choose his own toys.

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When it came to car rides, Rylan for the most part was OK however there were plenty of times that he wanted to let himself be heard and yell out. We believed that because the car seat is facing away from us, this causes him to get worried that we have abandoned him. Despite talking with him, sometimes he just wouldn't calm down.

When our tax return came back, my wife made a good suggestion that we should pick up a new and safer car seat. At the time, we were still using the car seat that came with our stroller. While this worked, we felt that a safer car seat would be worth while. After doing a lot of researching, we decided on the Britax Decathlon. Expensive, yes. Safe, yes. This was rated as one of the safest car seats available and seeing as it will last a few years, we felt this was a great buy.

One of the first things that we noticed with the new car seat was that it was much higher up. This allowed Rylan to see out the windows at eye level and get a new look on life. He really seems to enjoy this because he keeps quiet 99% of the time now. When he isn't staring out into the world, he is napping. The car seat is much more comfortable it seems . I miss being able to take a sleeping Rylan out of the car without having to remove him from the car seat but I think the increased safety is certainly a good payoff.

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My wife and I decided a few days ago to start Rylan on some green vegetables. The doctor said to start him on orange vegetables so now that we have finished those, we are moving on.

We picked up a few different types of vegetables and even some spinach. My wife was reluctant at first but we decided to get it over with now in hopes that Rylan will be able to stomach it later in life. Neither my wife or I like spinach but we decided to try Rylan on the spinach first to get it out of the way. We are making our own baby food with a food processor and after my wife smelled it, she wasn't too pleased. The taste of the spinach however was basically nothing. Maybe it was because we watered it down so much.

Rylan took to the spinach pretty well after his initial pucker face. He quickly ate the entire bowl and soon after I snapped the photo from above. The smile says a lot I think.

My wife has a book with some baby recipes. We are very curious about these and once we go through each of the vegetables with Rylan, we plan on trying some of them. I will certainly post any of the ones that seem to work out.

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It is that time of the year again here in Arizona when the weather warms up and the pools seem inviting.

While my wife and I both hate the warm weather, we have been looking forward to being able to take Rylan to the pool and let him try it out for himself. We picked him up one of the baby boats so that he could basically sit in the water without going all of the way in. Along with a shade, this should be a great thing to have in future trips.

The temperature on Saturday was warm like it always is but not warm enough. We were the only people at our community pool and I understand why. The water was freezing. After blowing up the boat, we slowly moved Rylan into the water and then placed him in the boat. A quick squeal came from him so we readjusted him so that he lay in the boat rather than sit in it. He enjoyed this and played with some toys for about 20minutes before getting bored of it all.

The SunSmart Ticklish Turtle Sunshade Float is great. It seems sturdy and the shade does a great job at keeping the sun away. The boat also includes a small area for water and toys. Rylan really seemed to enjoy lounging around as we floated him around the pool.

We look forward to a warmer pool in the summer and allowing Rylan to try the water out more.

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What a week I tell ya. Let me first off say that being sick stinks. Stinks as bad as my farts. Ewwwy! Mom likes to say that I am a man now because my farts smell so bad. I think I may need to agree.

Back to being sick. I have been to the doctor twice recently and neither time was fun. I am now on a nebulizer until I get better and it is torture. It really scares me so I end up crying the entire time. Mom and dad have been sick too. The whole house needs to be quarantined.

Now that I am nearly 6 months old, mommy and daddy have been starting to buy me big boy toys. They really are fun. I think I will have dad tell more about them later. He does a better job at it.

The most important thing that happened this week is that my first tooth has begun showing. In fact, its out. Mommy and daddy cant seem to get enough of it. They are always trying to stick their pesky hands in my mouth. Its my little secret and I will show it to them when I feel like it. Can't a boy get some privacy around here?

Hopefully we all get better over the weekend because Its no fun when daddy is sick. He is so grumpy. Have a good weekend everyone.

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Don't they always say, the family who gets sick together, stays together? Well maybe not but that is our household right about now. Rylan and my wife have been fighting off a cold for over a week now and I too have caught on and am working on staying alive.

What began as a small cold turned into Bronchiolitis for Rylan. This is a common illness for children under the age of 2. It commonly occurs in males between the age of 3 to 6 months. Rylan seems to fit this to a tee. We promptly took Rylan to the doctor and they have him on a nebulizer which he simply hates.

Lucky for him, his cold appears to be going away while mine is just kicking into high gear. My wife appears to be struggling with leftover symptoms as well. We just cant seem to kick this bug.

For those interested in more information on Bronchiolitis, check out this link.

On a good note, despite what the doctors say, Rylan is certainly teething. In fact, his first tooth has begun breaking the surface it looks like.

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My wife and I moved into a townhouse nearly 1.5years ago. We knew that we wanted to have a child and our 2 bedroom place was going to get cramped if we stuck around too long. Our office is filled with storage bins filled with god knows what. AJ would have a field day getting rid of our stuff.

When Rylan moved into his size 3 diapers, the shape and size of the box changed. It dawned on me one day that we could be using his boxes for storage. In fact, they work great for my wife's scrapbooking items. They fit the 12x12 paper perfectly with a bit of room and plenty of space to add little stickers. These boxes are sturdy and have solid handles. I imagine that these would be more difficult to get into than a storage bin once taped up.

I think that we will be using these boxes in the future to store away Rylan's old toys or clothing. While they may not work to keeping the dust out, they will certainly make life easier when we decide to move.

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My wife and I were spoiled when Rylan was born because we were still given the chance to go out to eat at a sit down restaurant. From what I understand, this is not always a luxury that many new parents get. Rylan would sleep through the noise without a hitch.

Now that Rylan has grown older and does not sleep nearly as much, this has certainly made it more difficult. I made a post a few months ago about a pretty disastrous attempt at eating out. I would say, the issue may have started around that time. Rylan now begins to get fussy once our food has arrived and we begin to eat. Up until this time, he will be great and playful but once the food comes, he flips a switch.

My question of the day is. Is Rylan waiting for the food to arrive before getting fussy, or do the waiters simply wait for him to become fussy before bringing out the food?

Regardless of the reason, it certainly makes having dinner more difficult. My wife or I will then need to keep Rylan occupied by bouncing him. Sitting down with Rylan appears to be a sin in his books and he begins to get fussy if you even think about doing so. How he knows this just blows me away.

Anyone have any tips? Besides taking your food to go that is...

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