It’s in the air…it’s in the water…it’s written on the boardroom walls. People talk about it everyday and everywhere we go, here at Graco. Pregnancy, babies, and family time…it’s our passion and we live the work! I offer up proof of this with a photo of three women (all Graco bloggers, l to r: Amy, Kristin, and Kim) who are helping to grow our supporting “cast” here at Graco.

Whether these women come to work and focus on developing new products, building products, or launching new products, they also come to work, like the rest of us here, because our first love is children. As our family at Graco grows by the day it only helps give us a better perspective on all the amazing (and very real) moments parents go through. It’s inspiring and helps us better understand just how to make it all a little easier or a little more fun along the way. Graco’s biggest project in 2007 was the delivery of 12 healthy and beautiful babies born to employees in our home office. And from the looks of our photo proof, we are off to a strong 2008 in the baby making (research) department.

On a side note, last Friday we had a snow day here in Pennsylvania. Don’t worry, lots of work was done…just in the snowman building department instead! I wanted to post a few of the GREATEST snowmen I’ve ever seen, built by families here at Graco. Whether they are big and small (mine would be the small one…) they would make Frosty proud.

As we sat down to create this blog for Graco, we started with the basics. What is a blog? Why do they exist? Who writes them and why do people read them? (yes- the BASICS). We got the textbook answers (and it turns out, there are many, many different answers for all of the above.) but then we stumbled upon this blog , and frankly just by reading it, we learned more about the blogosphere than anyone could have told us. Jennifer Satterwhite wrote a great post at BlogHer that shows how this is a perfect example of how blogs create community through conversation and legitimately bring people together.

As we were planning our Graco Get-Together with the DC Metro Moms group, and looking forward to meeting so many great mom bloggers face-to-face, we were excited to see that the ever-inspiring WhyMommy was planning on attending. She was kind enough to wrap up her chemo just in time to attend the party. (although I’m not 100% sure she was motivated to do that just to come to our event) Perhaps what motivated her was the opportunity to meet some of her “friends” and “Team Members” who are big supporters of WhyMommy and of course, dedicated readers of her blog.

Well last week, we saw this incredible video that her friends put together for her which just illustrated why the online community is so powerful and so important, especially with moms. Take a look:

The time and effort that went into this tribute from all the moms (under Midwestern Mommy’s guidance) is one powerful signifier, but even more so, is this list of posts, all titled ‘Tomorrow’, that some amazing moms, bloggers and friends wrote in support of WhyMommy the day before her surgery:

Canape, Mamma Loves, DC Metro Moms, Stimeyland, Lawyer Mama, Queen of Spain, Slouching Mom, Motherhood Uncensored, I Can’t Complain Anymore Than Usual, Two Is Now Three, Two Lines on a Stick, It’s Not About That Anyway, Around the Island, A Decent Bookmark, A Mother’s Musings, The Dairy Wife, Dirty Laundry, All Things Angela, Anderson Family, Kim at BabyCenter, Baby Makes Family, Bubba’s Sis, Bubblewench, Coming to a Nursery Near You, Crazy Bananas, Do You Not Know What Causes That?, Pretty Babies, I Can Fly, Just Not Up, The Further Adventures of SpaceMom, GoodyBlog, Harmony in Motion, Hotfessional, Jen Lemen, Useless Ramblings, Tumble Dry, House of H, Fertile Mertile, What Works for Us, Mountain Momma, Coffee, Shoes, and Ramblings, Dirty Laundry, My Five Little Monkies, My Life As It Is, My Collective Life, Crib Chronicles, Karaoke Diva, Live from the Wang of America, Mom 2 2 Teens, A Bead a Day, Blonde Mom Blog, The Estrogen Files, The Farm House Kids, The Dana Files, The Fourth k h, Growing a Pair, Her Bad Mother, Hormone Colored Days, Just Another Mommy Blog, Just Enjoy Him, Lead Baby, Playgroups Are No Place for Children, Petroville, Phoenix Says, Pundit Mom, Daily Verses, Little Buggas, Sarah and the Goon Squad, So D.C., Chicken and Cheese, Zone Family, Life with Our Little Ladies, Andria and Co., “That” Psycho Family, Sassafrass, Ladybug & Lizards, Parentopia, Plans2Match, Marie Millard, Miss Zoot, Mrs. Fussypants, The Magpie Files, Make Mine a Quad, Nervous Girl, Mommy Needs a Cocktail, Mom, Ma’am, Me, Mommy and the Marine, Monkey Business, Monkeys and Marbles, The Mummy Chronicles, Never Too Late, Okay, Fine, D’it, Ontario Emperor, It’s My Life, Laugh if you Must, Mommy Dance, Slacker-moms-r-us, The Blogs of Life, Midwestern Mommy, Mommy to the Snugglebunnies, PediaScribe, The Pile I’m Standing In, The Ramblings of a Woman, Reality Testing, The Road to Home, TechMamas, Ten Minutes to Naptime, Tiny Mantras, Hearts Wide Open, Baby Cubed, The Butrfly Garden, Reflecting, Sunrays and Saturdays, Amy and Chris, Useless Ramblings, Veritable Life, Mayberry Mom, The Musing Mommy, Wheels on the Bus, Working Mama 24/7, Mommy Needs Coffee writing at BlogHer … BabyMinding, Life with Hannah and Lilly, Mommy … etc., Kat and Rob, My Collective Life

Thank you to all of these bloggers for showing us why community is so important and the significant impact individuals can have when they care about each other.

And Thank you to WhyMommy for sharing so much of yourself. The expression “you get what you give” is clearly the case here.

“I wonder… why I’m double insulated and Mommy’s not even wearing gloves?!” 

Pudding Pop sures looks cozy in all that snow gear!  Proud Mom, Melissa, was the one freezing when they went outside to sled.  Somehow a snow + a saucer + a smile warms you right up!

Every Wednesday we’ll be sharing a photo showing off a little bit of wonder in the lives of our extended Graco family of customers, employees and friends.

Okay…I’m in a pickle, and not one of those sweet little gherkin pickles, either.  It’s more of a huge sour pickle you have to fish out of barrel at the deli.  The kind that’s so sour, it sucks your face inside out when you take a bite.  That’s me right now…in a pickle, face sucked in – over a barrel.

As I’ve mentioned, Gus is a bright boy.  He’s also excruciatingly literal.  He’s very exacting when it comes to speech.  He really puts the pound in expound, the con in conversation, the dis in….well, you get the idea.  When it comes to semantics, he’s pedantic.  He’s always been that way.  When he was younger, we couldn’t even read Horton Hears a Who from cover to cover without the following:  

Gus: Why’s it called a Who?
JD:   Why?
Gus: Yes, it should be a what.
JD:   Who?
Gus: No, not a who – a what…why?
JD:   What?
Gus:  Exactly!

I should have known I was in for it when he first spoke. You know that time period when you constantly prompt the child “Can you say Grammy?”  “Say thank you”  “That’s a puppy dog – can you say dog?”  Not my boy; his first real recognizable word was tortellini! My brother in-law was cooking dinner when he said to Gus “We’re having tortellini for dinner…can you say tortellini?”  “TORTELLINI” came the refrain - as clear as a bell.  It’s true! I have witnesses, albeit flabbergasted witnesses.

Anyway, here’s the bumpy, sour, over-a-barrel pickle part: Gus slacks off on his homework because he knows he can still get A’s and B’s on his report card.  The pickle is that we’d always told him we expect A’s and B’s on his report card – nothing less.  I had no idea he’d be so literal about it as to ensure A’s and B’s!  He’ll avoid his homework and pull down a few F’s knowing he can rebound with tests, quizzes and so on and still muster an A or a B.  In the meantime, my blood pressure goes through the roof because he’s getting F’s by simply not trying!  He says, “but you always told me to get A’s and B’s ON MY REPORT CARD – that’s what I’m doing.”  I can’t argue that point.  It’s the truth.  So now I am scrambling to elevate the “A’s and B’s on your report card” mantra to a “work ethic/do the right thing/ always give your best effort/if it weren’t for the F’s, you’d have straight A’s” doctrine. 

Lesson learned:  Anything you say (to a kid) can and will be used against you…literally.  I would not at all be surprised if the boy practices law or sells used cars someday.

So you see?  It’s a pickle.  Have any suggestions?  This wasn’t in the instruction manual.

Let me just start by saying that I am the oldest child in my family. It is only now, now that I’m pregnant with Baby #2 (due in T-minus 2 months), that I’m starting to see the gripes of a second child. (don’t tell my sister I realized this though!)

And, yes, for me the differences start way before birth as you can see from my expereiences below. So, to my unborn child I’d like to say: “Little Hercules (my husband’s friend named her), I promise I’ll be better when you’re born — although don’t expect the same number of pictures as big brother Boog; it’s just not going to happen.

Launching a new product is always exciting for us at Graco but recently we found something that got us really excited – a sure sign that you, our customers, are excited about a new product we just launched. (the Graco Nautilus Car Seat)

Someone pointed us to this great post they found on Babycenter.com: http://www.buddymapping.com/maps/nautilus
(OK- of course we think it’s great)

This cool little tool is tracking all the in-store sightings of the new seat. Thanks to whoever created the cool map below!

Now we’d love to hear your feedback!

More countertop space!! Who knew more countertop space could make someone so happy. Oh wait, and sad at the same time?? I recently purchased a new over-the-oven microwave and was over-the-moon with anticipation about all the new countertop space I would now have once I give my old microwave the heave-ho. Hmmm… what should I put there? I could get a glorious new spice rack or a ronco rotisserie or a any ronco gadget that I will be tired of in a week or I could just put all the stuff that used to be piled on top of the microwave there… the decisions…

Well over the weekend, my husband installed the new microwave (yes- he’s that handy) and I was more than happy to move the old one into the garage like the worn out thing it was. (of course, after dinner) Later that night, I went into the garage for something and noticed the microwave sitting there – just tossed out like a piece of junk. Just thrown there like we hadn’t used it every single day since my children were born. A very strange sadness, a guilty feeling really, came over me. How could I so carelessly get rid of something that had given my children sustenance over the last three years? I heated water for their baby bottles, heated up their cereal when they were big enough to start eating, heated up their baby food when they were old enough to know the difference between strained carrots and peas, heated up their hot dogs (all natural, no-nitrate, no anti-biotics but still hot dog hot dogs), and even heated up an art project or two. Ever since books like the Velveteen Rabbit and movies like Toy Story, I can’t quite think of an inanimate object as it is- not alive. Oh and that Ikea commercial with the lamp has only fueled the strange thought I’m having over feeling bad about getting rid of my microwave. Well I’m getting over it- I have to be or else I’m just plain weird. So in order to get over it, I thought I should properly recognize and thank my microwave (still weird though) for everything it did for us.

Dear Microwave,
  You will never know how much we appreciate all the heating you did for us. Without recognition, you zapped everything on demand and never complained when your insides looked like a war-zone. 2 am, 4 am, whatever the time- you didn’t make us feel bad- you just churned out some warm milk for our crying kids. We hope you enjoy the new friends you will meet in our attic – there are lots there who know the woes of a product gone useless- meet our tiny bathtub, our infant car seat, our stroller frame- we loved them all as much as we loved you but when it’s over, it’s over. Thanks for everything you did to make our life easier. Now it’s time to enjoy retirement.

Warmly, The Lebresco’s

“I wonder… if this is the next 2024 Olympic Ski Jumping Gold Medalist!?”

This is a picture of Jen Callaghan’s (Commercialization Manager here at Graco) nephew JMC tackling the slopes on her family’s last vacation. Note: he’s not even 3 yet!

Every Wednesday we’ll be sharing a photo showing off a little bit of wonder in the lives of our extended Graco family of customers, employees and friends.

Every month we hope to share with you, a little peek inside the life of a celebrity parent or parent-to-be. We’ve asked them a bunch of questions and they’ve been kind enough to answer them (and then some!) Reading the answers, you clearly see that as parents we’re all very similar. When you take away their big screen personas, you’re left with mommies and daddies with hopes and dreams for their little ones. Their perspectives are fun and amazing to read but turns out not so different than ours.  We hope you enjoy our “interview” with Christie Lynn Smith  (who will be guest starring on BOSTON LEGAL TONIGHT!) and share in the excitement she clearly has for the upcoming birth of her daughter.

What is the most exciting thing for you about becoming a new mom?

I’m getting so excited about meeting my little girl who is coming in the next few weeks!! Her name is Abby Ryder. My due date is officially March 13th… but you never know! I can’t wait to see her little face and fingers and toes. I know everyone says how tired I will be the first few months, but I don’t think I will be because of all the nursing and getting up every two hours; it will be because I won’t be able to take my eyes off her! I think I’m going to just stare in awe at her all day long. We saw in an ultrasound, just yesterday, that she has my nose!

It is crazy now how much she is moving around. The other day I was eating cereal and my arm was resting on my tummy. (Yes, I have a little shelf now.) It actually comes in handy- I can rest the remote on it! Anyway, Abby slid her elbow or knee across my arm that was resting on my tummy and I jumped so high the milk from my spoon flew everywhere. I laughed so hard!! It’s so amazing, this miracle of a little being growing inside of me.

Is there a tradition in your family that you would like to hand down to your child? Or, is there a tradition you would like to start with your own family?

We can’t wait to take her to Hawaii when she’s about 8 months old. Her Daddy wants to teach her how to surf. I think we will have to wait till she can stand though.  We love the warm water, beautiful palm trees and pineapples!!

I can’t wait for Christmas this year. We can make my Aunt Shirley’s Sugar cookies! (the kind with the sprinkles and frosting- Yummy!) That will definitely be a tradition for us. 

Do you have a favorite memory from your own childhood?  

I remember waking up and getting a tape recorder from Santa, but it had Santa’s voice on it!! That was the best ever! Santa left me my own personal message on my very own tape recorder! WOW!

How have you been feeling lately?

I have to say when my body started “changing,” you know, not fitting into any of my clothes, I felt a little like a weeble wooble and kinda fat so I started to wear only leggings and stretchy pants. The best thing I did was finally break down and buy those maternity jeans with the big black waist band, which I said I would never do. I love them and they made me feel human again!! I wear them all the time!!! A must for pregnant women — get those jeans!!!!

With the writers strike and being pregnant, I didn’t work as much as usual, but I am guest starring on BOSTON LEGAL . Funny thing, I did the show when I was 3 months pregnant and nobody knew. Then three and a half months later they wanted to add more scenes when I was almost 7 months preggie. So if you watch the show and think she looks a little heavier in this scene, you are right, I AM! They had to hide my belly with a long trench coat and a purse over the belly, kinda funny!

What is your favorite GRACO product?

We are so excited to use the GRACO Sweetpeace. I can’t wait! I know she will love it! It is such a great idea. And we are installing our GRACO SnugRide Car Seat this Friday. We got the new 2008 Truffle. It’s beautiful! I love that these have the little foot cozy. But the most important thing is that I trust GRACO’S safety records and that by far outweighs anything else.

Well, I gotta go- we are putting up Abby’s drapes in her room and painting a tree with little birds on it!! My husband (actor John Fortson) painted a beautiful sky on the ceiling with clouds. It’s really neat!

All the best to all the mommies-to-be and mommies out there!!

Photo credits:
Headshot-Adrien Mckechnie
Pregnancy Photo- Hagit Baruch

As a child, I was a very picky eater (I have to say, I still am). When I wouldn’t eat dinner, my mom used to say, “I hope you have a daughter that is just as bad as you.” Well, what goes around comes around. My daughter Pudding Pop is an extremely picky eater (or has “discriminating taste” if you want to be PC).  This has become a big source of stress for myself & my husband. Not only do we worry about PP not getting enough nutrients, but we are concerned with her not developing table manners.  

We started doing some research on this subject & talking to other parents with picky eaters. My husband told me that he read about some good tips on creating a meal routine, not giving snacks, etc…. So now the fun begins!  I wouldn’t say that Rob and I are particularly strict parents, so this is going to be an interesting journey.   If you have a story, a tip, words of advice, or even just to tell me that this too shall pass, I’d love to hear it.   

Every time my daughter throws a bowl of food at me or turns up her nose in disgust when I try to feed her green beans, I silently thank my mom…