Dear Andrew,

Today, you are six months old. That’s one-half year! I can’t believe it. Time has gone by so quickly and you are growing so fast!

You have the prettiest blue eyes. And you are so aware of everything. You love watching the puppies play, especially Georgie. Last night, you were watching Georgie play and he walked to the other side of the table where you couldn’t see him. You started crying and throwing a fit because he walked away from you.

You love to spend time in your jumper. You laugh and play. We have a stack of yearbooks (The Aggieland, whoop!) underneath it so you can touch the ground. Soon, though, you won’t need them! You’re so tall!

You HATE laying down… you could stand up all day long if we’d let you! You are even really good at holding on to things and standing up. I’m afraid you’ll be walking before you crawl. That’s a scary thought.

Sometimes we let you watch TV, but not very often. You really love The Backyardigans. They sing and dance and it mesmerizes you.

When I came home from work this afternoon, you saw me and reached for me. It made me so happy! You know Mommy, from Daddy, from Nanna, from Pappy. You LOVE playing with River and Eli. Next week, Hyrum and Benson will be visiting and I can’t wait to see you interact with them!

You are such a happy baby. You laugh and giggle all the time. You still don’t have any teeth yet, but we’re expecting them any day now. You drool like a fiend, Dude!

We took some “Half Birthday” pictures when I got home. I gave you a cupcake to smash and it was SO FUNNY! You started licking the icing and we couldn’t get you to stop! Your first taste of sugar… I’m sure I’ll be regretting that tonight when it’s time for bed…

I love you so much, Little Dude. The past six months have been wonderful!

Love,

Your Momma

Andrew will be six months old tomorrow. Can you believe it?

It’s like the last six months just flew right by.

He went from a quiet, snuggly, snoring baby to an inquisitive, playful, funny, giggling boy.

Anything within reach is fair game. Before long, he’ll be walking.

If he can survive the face plants, that is.

Happy Tuesday!

]]> http://thenerdswife.com/2012/05/just-playin-2.html/feed 2 http://thenerdswife.com/2012/05/just-playin-2.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheNerdsWife/~3/zJ6q4RN7SNk/my-first-mothers-day.html http://thenerdswife.com/2012/05/my-first-mothers-day.html#comments Mon, 14 May 2012 04:07:43 +0000 thenerdswife http://thenerdswife.com/?p=2852

This is what I got for Mother’s Day. And it’s not even from my husband.

He did mail me flowers four days ago, though. Along with a card that said, “Happy mothers day. Love, james and Andrrw” Yeah. Spelled just like that.

But when I woke this morning with the glowing anticipation of my very first Mother’s Day, I was expecting a little more than four-day-old wilted flowers.

I didn’t necessarily need heart-shaped pancakes, jewelry or any such thing. But I did anticipate some gesture from my husband to show that he acknowledged the fact that I carried his son in my womb for seven-and-a-half months, and treasured me for it.

I mean, come on! I grew a HUMAN for Pete’s sake! I deserve something, right!?

You know that guy who dumps you right before Christmas and Valentine’s Day so he doesn’t have to buy you a present? Yeah. I married that guy.

I know I joke about being married to a nerd and all that, but sometimes, it’s just SO FRUSTRATING to be with a man who doesn’t communicate or really even listen. Who is SO SMART he has to argue about everything, even about whether or not he’s arguing with me.

So, as I was wallowing in self pity, thinking how awful it was that my husband didn’t love me enough to give me ANYTHING on the day honoring mothers, I looked down and saw the little angel in my arms.

And I had a whole new perspective.

This. This is what Mother’s Day is about. This little man who has my heart wrapped around his finger.

Him and me. Me and him. That’s all that matters.

I have this beautiful little person in my life.

And THAT, my friends, is the greatest Mother’s Day present of all.

Then, all of a sudden, it was quiet. The Nerd was gone; so was the baby. After a momentary freak-out, I found the pair of them back in the Nerd Cave.

This is what they were doing:

I guess when all else fails, the answer is gaming.

At least, we seem to think so.

We celebrated the day by sharing a few Star Wars truths with Andrew… Needless to say, he was a little shocked…

Happy Friday!

]]> http://thenerdswife.com/2012/05/happy-star-wars-day.html/feed 3 http://thenerdswife.com/2012/05/happy-star-wars-day.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheNerdsWife/~3/Ef6KK4cnYJs/tweet-leap.html http://thenerdswife.com/2012/05/tweet-leap.html#comments Tue, 01 May 2012 19:59:29 +0000 thenerdswife http://thenerdswife.com/?p=2833

As a self-described social media addict, I’m always looking for new and interesting people to follow on Twitter.

So when I heard about the Tweet Leap hosted by Amber from Scent Surplus, I thought it would be a great way to meet some new Tweeps!

Here are the rules:

Follow @scentsurplus and the 10 co-hosts listed below + 10 additional participating tweeps!

1. Melissa
2. Arena
3. Jessica
4. Mia
5. Katie
6. Jenny
7. Lee
8. Taylor
9. Wendy
10. Liz

Link up your Twitter profile below to participate. And don’t forget to spread the #TweetLeap love!

I have been a fan of Jenny Lawson, aka The Bloggess, for a while now. Her irreverent humor often has me laughing in stitches and wondering how any one woman could be THAT funny.

I especially loved her Pick Your Battles post, and her response to ridiculous PR pitches that bloggers receive every day. I will never look at Wil Wheaton in the same way.

I’ve even enjoyed her Twitter campaign to convince Nathan Fillion to send her a picture of himself holding twine. Several celebrities have obliged. Sadly, Nater-Tater isn’t one of them.

When The Nerd and I decided to go visit our friends in Houston a few weeks ago, we wanted to download an audiobook for the trip. We often do this on trips. It’s sometimes difficult to choose a book we both enjoy, and he was skeptical at first when I suggested downloading Jenny’s newly released book, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir).

I convinced him, though, and soon we were both giggling hysterically while cruising down I-45. The audiobook is read by Jenny herself and really, it seems like you’re just sitting around listening to her tell her funniest stories. It’s that good, y’all.

Jenny stopped in Dallas last week as part of her book tour and I made The Nerd go with me. It was a decision I think he later regretted, but not for the reasons you’re thinking.

You see, Jenny is awesome. She’s funny, and hilarious, and down-to-Earth. She talked about her terror at speaking in public and how she’s now AFRAID of bathrooms because she has hidden in so many before speaking engagements. I can totally relate.

Then she read a chapter from her book (seriously guys, go buy it now!) and I died of laughter. Just kidding.

And because the book signing was at the book store of awesome (aka A Real Bookstore, yes – that is its ACTUAL name), they were selling alcoholic beverages in celebration of the event.

Soon the questions had been answered and it was time to line up for the signing. Our part of the line was directly in front of the bathroom for a while, which was convenient and also a little unnerving. Especially when two girls came out CARRYING their friend who was so drunk SHE COULDN’T WALK on her own. Seriously.

And if that wasn’t weird enough for the evening, not 10 minutes later The Nerd and I are standing there and the lady behind us trips and falls into The Nerd. He graciously caught her and she mumbled, “Oh, so sorry.” “It’s okay,” he said, as he helped her back to her feet. But as his hands left her she PASSED OUT and fell (there wasn’t enough time for him to catch her; he tried) and hit her head on one of the tables holding books.

It was insanely scary.

Luckily a woman who seemed to have medical training came forward and started reviving the woman, who appeared to be fine except for a huge gash right above her eye that was bleeding profusely. Someone nearby called 9-1-1 and the paramedics came and took the woman away. But not before her friend got Jenny to sign their books and their spatulas. Because that’s awesome.

A little while later it was our turn to meet Jenny and I was super excited. Ever more so when I saw Copernicus!

And then Jenny signed my book and made my life complete and totally forgave me for wearing yoga pants to her book signing because I was too lazy to wear real clothes. Or she would have if I had fessed up to that. She probably thinks I’m just lazy.

Jenny also signed a copy of the book for one of YOU! You didn’t think I’d leave you out, did you? It has a special message for you from her. You’ll love it. I promise.

Enter using the Rafflecopter form below.

Open to US/Canada only. Must be 18 years of age to enter. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Contest ends 5/8. Good luck!

Growing up in Texas, my only exposure to See’s Candies has been that “I Love Lucy” episode where Lucy can’t keep up with the conveyor belt and ends up eating all the candy. You know the one.

So when I was invited to a preview event at the first See’s Candies store to open in Texas, I didn’t really know what to expect. Let me tell you, I was impressed.

The fun, vintage black-and-white tile just adds to the family atmosphere of the store. The candy is all hand-packed and it just FEELS like you’re getting homemade treats straight from Mary See’s kitchen. LOVE IT!

I tried so many treats, but I have to say that my absolute FAVORITE was the Scotchmallow — I’m a fan of dark chocolate… Add marshmallows to the mix and I’m SOLD.

If you’re in the DFW area, be sure to check out their grand opening at the Stonebriar Mall in Frisco… They’ll be giving away Texas samplers with a purchase!

Have you ever tried See’s Candies? What’s your favorite? What do I absolutely HAVE to try?

Happy Friday!

We did lots of fun things, like playing the board game Munchkin (which I will TOTALLY share more about… LOVE that game, and I’m not a board game person!).

Before we left, we went to eat at this burger joint called Huskey’s, which is kind of like a bar/restaurant/arcade all rolled into one. The Nerd and Eric played air hockey and some other games, while April, Andrew and I talked. It was great.

It was amongst the dingy change machines and brightly lit arcade games that I saw it… the PHOTO BOOTH! I LOVE photo booths. I don’t know what their appeal is… as a teenager, I always wanted to shell out the $2 to have a printed record of that moment. It made me feel special. It made me feel like that moment was worth documenting.

And this moment definitely was worth documenting. Since I’ve become a mother, I feel like EVERY moment is worth documenting, much to the chagrin of my husband and infant son.

Oh well. They sucked it up and now we have fun photo booth pictures to remember the day by.

And they’re glorious.

Happy Thursday!

If you know anything about me and my husband, you know that we’re usually early adopters of technology. The Nerd was one of the first to own an iPhone… I preordered an original iPad as soon as they were announced. We own all the video game consoles imaginable, along with numerous computers and laptops.

My absolute favorite piece of technology lately is the newest version of the iPad. I upgraded when the newest version was announced, and even switched my service to Verizon Wireless for the faster LTE coverage.

I use that sucker all the time for work, for blogging, for social media and to entertain The Nerdling on long road trips. I have it with me all the time.

I’ve been determined to figure out how to use the iPad to its fullest potential. And, if you know me at all, you know that I usually have my DSLR in front of my face. So, I thought it would be helpful to be able to edit photos on my iPad.

Editing photos can become a huge time sink. I shoot hundred of photos each time I pull out my camera. I then have to narrow it down to a few dozen, edit those, upload them and blog about them. It’s a very daunting task!

I’ve simplified my editing method using the iPad. It has made my life SO MUCH EASIER.

And — if you can’t afford Photoshop or even Photoshop Elements, there are very affordable alternatives for photo editing available in the App Store. This post will detail the apps and devices that I prefer.

Let’s get started!

First, you’ll need to download the Photogene App for your iPad. The basic app costs $2.99 but you can upgrade to the Pro version for an additional $7.99. I highly recommend doing that, so that you have the full features available to you.

The thing I love most about Photogene is that it will read RAW files from your DSLR. I always shoot in RAW, so it’s nice to be able to edit those files on the iPad.

Once you get the app downloaded, you’ll need a way to get the photos from your camera to the iPad. Here are some ways to do that:

• Apple’s Camera Connection kit – upload directly to your iPad from an SD card or USB
• CF Card Reader - upload directly to your iPad from a Compact Flash card
• iPad CF and SD Card Reader kit – a camera connection kit for both SD and CF cards

When you connect your camera card, you’ll be able to choose which photos you want to import. Just click on the photos to select them. A blue check mark will appear next to the ones you’ve selected. The check mark will turn green once the photo has been imported.

After the photos have imported, you’ll need to open Photogene. Select the album containing the photos you want to edit.

Select the photo you want to edit from the album.

Here’s what the editing screen looks like. Select what you would like to do from the options along the bottom.

Under Adjustments, you can edit the Curves of a photo to adjust the brightness.

Under Retouches, you can use the Healing Brush on a photo to remove a blemish.

For a quick edit, use the Presets to adjust your photo! I applied the Vivid preset, then the Warmer preset to this photo.

Once you’re finished editing, there are several different Export options available. Upload your photo back into your Photo Library. Share it on Facebook or Twitter. Upload it to Flickr.

But my absolute favorite way to export is upload it into Dropbox. I use Dropbox all the time to store files on my iPad. You can then open Dropbox on your computer and download the files.

The best thing? It’s FREE for up to 2 GB of space! If you download Dropbox, use this link and you’ll receive an additional 500 MB of space for Free.

Here’s my SOOC shot:

And here’s the finished edit:

I hope this tutorial has been helpful to you! Tell me… do you have an iPad? What are some of your favorite ways to use it?

**Disclaimer** I am a Verizon Wireless Ambassador. I received a wireless device and phone/data plan free of charge to use for review and evaluation of Verizon Wireless products and services. As part of the program, I was asked to share my opinions with others, however, my opinions are my own. I purchased my iPad and iPad data plan with my own funds. Please contact vzw@comblu.com with any questions about the Verizon Wireless Ambassadors’ Program.