Stroller Envy

The Schwartz family just returned from another plane trip to visit a family branch and once again, our most frequent talking point in the airport came back to our awesome stroller.

We've been asked by passengers, pilots, TSA screeners, you name it, we've been stopped and asked, "where did you get that stroller? I've never seen anything like it before."This stroller converts to a backpack and it looks so different that I can understand why it catches quite a bit of attention. We'vebeen stopped many, many times and asked about it outside of the airport too. It's become quite a joke and we have our canned response ready when asked.

We bought the Kelty Kids stroller/backpack months ago at a second hand store. We actually debated on whether or not to buy it, when inretrospect it's been one of the best baby purchases we have made. The contraption allows Jack to stand or at least sit upright instead of reclining, which for an active baby is a much more attractive option. During busy travel and in tight spaces, we fold the handle down and let Dave carry Jack on his back. This was very, very helpful getting through crowds during the holiday season in the busy airport, and Jack loves the view from up top. It only weighs 9.5 pounds.

While this isn't a baby equipment review blog and I realize that this post totally shows how my life has changed, our stroller has become something that makes us cool....at least in some circles.

Friday nights with Jack.

One of the drawbacks of being a sportscaster's wife is that you are inevitably alone on Friday and Saturday nights. This generally isn't something that has concerned me in the past...ask Dave, he'll be the first to tell you I find something to do so that when he does have a random Friday or Saturday off...he's the one sitting at home alone because I already have plans.

Now, I have a Friday night date. For several Friday nights during the summer, Jack and I would walk downtown to listen to the live music in the town square. We've heard concert bands, orchestras, blues, jazz, something I would describe as folksy, and finally, New Orleans jazz. When Jack heard we were going to listen to a jazz band from the South Side of Minneapolis play jazz from New Orleans, this was the dubious stare I got. He was very skeptical, as was I.

Jack loves the music. Most of the time he listens intently and watches for a good 45 minutes. We spread a quilt, listen, play with a few toys, and enjoy the nice summer evenings that Minnesota is famous for.

The band wound up pleasantly surprising us both, and it was a good evening that tired us both out. Now, our Friday night fun in the square is over, so we'll have to be content with walks for ice cream downtown until it's too chilly for that too...

Jack featured in local money-saving blog

Jack's picture is featured in this blog...apparently there's a deal with the photographer:

My Candid Moments Photography Free Newborn Session (Local)
By Laura Wales on July 30, 2010


[photo courtesy of My Candid Moments]

Twin Cities readers: If you or someone you know is expecting a baby during the next three to six months, Shannon Steffens of My Candid Moments is offering a free newborn session and a free 8×10 image from your session as a thanks for participating in her newborn casting call.

There are a limited number of free sessions open and will be filled on a first call, first scheduled basis (call 612.799.1579). The session will be done on location at your home when your child is between 5 and 14 days old. If you do not make the casting call, you will receive a certificate for 50% off the session fee for a six-month or newborn session.

Shannon is Carrie’s professional and family photographer of choice and took photos at the Meet & Greet back in March as well as other photos of Carrie’s family here and here. I (Laura) can speak from experience and say that having a newborn session done was one of the best decisions we made in that post-baby haze, as we have some gorgeous pictures of our son when he was absolutely tiny and oh-so-sweet. You’ll treasure these pictures always!

Jack and the Ladies

Everywhere we go, Jack is surrounded by little girls. Our friends that we routinely hang out with all have girls who think Jack is the next best thing to a doll. One girl named her baby at home "baby Jack" and she puts him to bed every night. She came over to help me give him a bath one day. Another girl gave Jack her own nickname, "Jackers." Our sitter has a one year old girl who cries when she sees me coming, because she knows I'm coming to pick Jack up. At home, my best friend has a little girl and Jack has a girl cousin.

This was the scene Saturday night... Judging from this picture, someday we may have some work to do regarding what he thinks of the roles of women in society....but something tells me any one of these girls will be able to set him straight.

Trip home

There's no better time to journey South than in the middle of a hot summer. Jack and I visited Arkansas over the July 4 holiday and spent quality time with family and friends.

But more importantly, we ate. We ate Watermelons from Hope. We ate purple hull peas and those zesty, homegrown tomatoes that you just can't buy in a store. We had tangy plum cobbler and fried okra. Cornbread. Fresh garden relish. Yes, summertime is the time for the very best eatin' at home.

Here's a brief scrapbook of the trip:

Grandmother doin' what she does best, watching the new great grandbabies.



Jack got to spend time with cousin, Kolby, who just might be a better babysitter if he lived closer:







Jack and the other great, Rhealee:
Here's Jack with his Pappy. If there ever was a grandfather to call Pappy, this is him. Check out the family resemblance on these noggins:








And finally, Jack met his new cousin Camryn. Neither one was that enthralled with the first encounter, but they are exactly three months and about 14 pounds apart. I love this picture:


And another staple of summer: front porch swinging. Even though the temperatures were in the 90s with soggy humidity, Jack couldn't get enough of it.

Travelling Jack

He's only 4 months old, but he's been on 12 flights and visited four states. Yep, Jack has been quite the baby traveller, but now we're putting the suitcase away....at least until August.

If you fly with a "lap child," then I wholeheartedly recommend flying Southwest if you can. They are extremely family friendly. We flew Southwest initially because they let you fly with two bags free, and if you have a baby that's pretty important. Plus, your stroller doesn't count as a bag and you can check it at the gate. If the plane isn't fully booked, then you can carry your car seat on board and use it in an empty seat just like you paid for that seat. On those flights, I turned Jack around and strapped him in just like he was in a car and he snoozed away.

The toughest part of this entire process is going through security. You have to put your normal bags through, break down the stroller and car seat and run that through, and open up all your milk for special screening. Add that to holding a baby while taking off coats and shoes and running that through x-ray machines. It's quite the juggling act and it's hard to be fast.

There's bonus fun involved if they decide to scan you more or if you accidentally left hand sanitizer out of the Ziploc in your diaper bag.

While flying from Little Rock to Minneapolis recently, I discovered the secret to getting through security at a relatively breakneck speed. Keep in mind, I consider myself a well-versed traveller and can generally move through security very fast anyway. On my way to the checkpoint, I usually have in my head all of the steps I will go through to pass through quickly.

So here I was. Stroller frame broken down and put on belt. Jack in car seat on floor. Diaper bag (opened) in bin. Hand Sanitizer and lip gloss in baggie out of bag in bin. Milk out and open in another bin. Milk pointed out to security lady. Shoes off and in bin. Summer coat off and in bin. Then, unstrap a very smiley Jack and pick him up. Move to put car seat on belt.

Then, I spot it. Runny green poo puddled in the car seat and now on my arm. Ick.

Nevertheless, the car seat goes on the belt and I speed through the scanner with a stinky and cooing Jack in my arms. The man who was in charge of security saw me, saw the poop, got scared, and waved me right by.

My quickest time yet.

Jack on the Timberwolves bringing more Orange to town

Number four draft pick Wesley Johnson from Syracuse will join another former member of the Orange, Johnny Flynn, on the Minnesota Timberwolves team.

Jack remains dubious on whether this will actually make the team any better, but one can always hope, can't we?

Ready and Waiting

The nursery is finished. The clothes are washed and in the drawers. The thank you notes are in the mail. The baby book has been started. Casseroles are in the freezer. Housework has been caught up. Our bag containing stuff for new mom, dad, and baby is packed.

We are 10 days out from our due date and as ready as we'll ever be.

Here's a quick tour of our super-small nursery, which is right off our room upstairs in our house.

Our mobile for the moment is Dylan the Duck, which of course, came from someone at my station as a shout out to Bob Dylan. Dylan is surfing, since the couple was gracious enough to pick up a shower gift for us on their honeymoon in Hawaii. We have lots of ducky things.

The book came from my shower in Arkansas, and is called "N is for Natural State." It goes through the alphabet with different Arkansas factoids, like R is for Razorback, S is for Soybean, W is for Watermelon, J is for Scott Joplin, etc.

If you've talked to me for any length of time, you know my nursery colors are muted red, sage green, denim blue, and sage green. I sewed details for the nursery out of a fabric called "beach umbrella." I sewed up a crib skirt, reupholstered a chair, and recovered baskets. Since every gender neutral theme out there revolves around an animal, I created my own--stripes and dots.

The crib is a gift from Memaw and PopPop Schwartz. Our walls are actually a warm color called Cozy Cottage, which don't show up well in pictures.

Here's our cloth diapers, soft bums.

And the baby's first pair of Nikes, courtesy Aunt Jenn.

And finally, our reupholstered glider and our packed bag.