The drama of the car seat

So we bought a new car seat. Why are car seats so incredibly frustrating? Here are the top 5 reasons:

1. There are about 34,634 car seats to choose from. I have spent literally hours pouring over reviews online.

2. Car seats are important! They are supposed to protect my kidlet - they better be good. I better make the right choice.

3. Cash money, cash money! Car seats are expensive! I'm not complaining - obviously it's worth the money (see reason #2), but sheesh!

4. Installing car seats is always a chore to figure out. Always.

5. Cup holders?! On a car seat? Really?

So anyway. The car seat Henry is cruising around in currently will only last for about 20-ish more pounds, so we figured we might as well start looking for a new one. Now, I realize that it will probably take him the better part of 8-12 months to put on those 20 pounds (right?! I hope he doesn't balloon up 20 pounds real quick like!) but call us johnny-on-the-spot...we wanted to get it done! Probably because the whole process is so unenjoyable...and because the current car seat is borrowed.

So anyway. I did a whole bunch of research online. I always get stuck doing the research. Is it like that at your house? The wife doing the research, I mean? Goodness gracious. Anyway. I read up on lots of options, and settled on a seat from Costco. The benefit of Costco, I figured, was that if we hated the thing, we could take it right back, lickety-split, because of their awesome return-everything-ever policy.

Well.

Good thing that stupid seat came from Costco.

It was the absolute worst contraption in the history of mankind.

Maybe a little dramatic.

It just didn't fit in our car, like, at all.

I spent a good hour and a half wrestling that thing into the back seat, sweating, reading the instruction manual, throwing the instruction manual, and calling the car seat bad names in my head. Aaron, being the good husband that he is, was working in the yard. He would come over periodically and check my progress, shake his head, make a comment about how thrilled he was to be pruning the rosebushes, and walk away. So after all my hard work, it was finally installed, finally!! And look! Here is the result!

See? See how far the passenger side seat had to be pushed up? There was no way anyone was going to be riding shotgun, unless they could fold their legs up to their chest and ride that way, which sounds extremely uncool (and a little unsafe).

So we decided to just let Henry ride around like this:

Right? Way easier, cheaper, and cuter!

I am kidding. You got that, right?

Right.

And, as an extra TV bonus, I present this picture:

How cute is that? He feel asleep like that on the way home from church on Sunday. Playing with friends in the nursery really tuckers a guy out!

And yes, that's the current car seat. We ripped the new one out and reinstalled the old one.

So we accomplished: zip, zero, nada.

For pete's sake.

Scandi-crazy!

So here are a few little pictures from the awesome Scandinavian Festival held in Junction City last weekend:

Our viking in training:

Wish we had outfits like that for real!

So doesn't this look like a great job? Dress like a viking, carry fake weapons, and pose with random strangers for pictures.

You don't even have to smile.

I could totally do that.

Things that are great about Henry - 6 month edition

- Sometimes you still pull your legs up to your tummy - it reminds me of how you were stuck like that in my tummy for 9 months, and makes me nostalgic for the first few days when we would try to stretch out your legs by pulling on them and they'd just spring right back up to your chest!

- People are saying that you look more and more like me. I am thankful for that, because for the first few months you were a miniature version of your dad, only with red hair, which was great. But! I love seeing myself in you, knowing that I have passed on parts of myself, and hoping that they are good.

- I hope I never forget the sound you make as you eat a bottle: inhale, suck, grunt, swallow. Repeat.

- The way you devote your entire attention to things is so impressive: you can watch something or someone for a looooong time. The music programs at the library are 45 minutes long, and you sit on the floor by yourself and watch the whole thing. You are fascinated by life.

- You are such a proficient eater: when a bottle is held up in front of you, you grin, kick your legs, make an excited noise, and reeeeaaach for that food! When you've got that bottle safely in your chubby hands, you raise it up to your mouth, and stick it straight in. And the solids we're giving you! Man! You're loving them! You're just like mom and dad: food is definitely a priority.

- Nothing that lies within arms distance of you is safe: you grab everything!

- Nighttime continues to be something that we are amazed by and thankful for. I don't know how your little body got the memo that you can just shut down for 10 hours - but I am sure glad that it did. You still can't sleep without being swaddled up snug as a bug in a rug, so I am curious as to whether you'll still sleep with your blankets tucked up tight around you when you're a teenager!

- Top things strangers comment on about you: your hair, how well behaved you are, your hair, how smiley you are, and your hair!

- Whenever boredom strikes, you make a crazy ba-ba-ba noise...you almost shout it sometimes! Also, if you're a little sad, you start making that same noise, and it's like you can talk yourself out of crankiness - a few seconds of ba-ba-ba-ing and you're good as new. This sound has led to a billion rounds of 'Ba, Ba, Black Sheep'. Your mom is pretty burnt out on that song, so maybe we could move on to a new vocab choice ...how about ma-ma-ma?

- My favorite thing about you is how much joy you bring to everyone you meet. You are a friend to everyone, and you never fail to treat anyone nearby to a smile. People light up when they see you, and I know that you are spreading Jesus' love already.

- Every night, before I go to bed, I sneak into your room and stand next to your crib. I lean my arms on the railing of your bed and stare at you, thanking God for what He's given me through you. I pray over you, asking for His protection over every aspect of your life. You are a testimony to God's goodness, you show me his grace and mercy daily, and I am so grateful for the way you've drawn me closer to my Savior. I pray that you'll grow to love Jesus and follow after him wholeheartedly every day of your life. And then, when I know I have to go to sleep myself, I lean down and rest my cheek on yours. I let myself linger there, breathing in your scent, watching the way your chest rises steadily up and down, feeling the tickle of your hair on my forehead. I know that you won't be a baby for long. Every day you slip a little further through my fingers, becoming a little more independent, and a little more grownup. I have so many hopes and dreams for you, for what you'll do, for you who'll become. Thank you for being mine.