So maybe he doesn't like peas after all.

Yesterday morning, we tried peas. Not only did A turn his head away from them, but he also ended up throwing up--actual gagging and all. Today, M tried again while I was at the grocery store and said that A wasn't interested at all. I'm not really sure what that means or how we proceed from here, but it is what it is. I guess we'll try one more time and then move on to green beans!

Cousins

A met his cousins today... my cousin, his wife, and their three kids. My grandmother kept saying that he was going to start yelling and that he always yells when he's with her or my mother (not true on the second one...my mom is just more patient!)

So anyway, not only was he good with my cousin and his wife, but he was also fantastic with the kids. He was fascinated by the oldest girl, who got a big kick out of holding him, and he did well with the second girl too. He was also interested in their youngest's Hess truck (A got one too for XMas--guess we're pulling that out sooner than expected!)

Poor kid won't have any cousins of his own, though. His Mommy is an only and his one aunt claims to never want kids. Ah well--I guess he'll just have to take on the children of his "aunts" and "uncles" as cousins!

And while I'm uploading..

Here are some recent pictures!

It's girly, but it's fun (Future prom date's tummy time mat)!

For your viewing pleasure

Alex's first attempt at rice cereal (he loves the little red light on the video camera!):




Alex's silly mommy can make him giggle!

PEAS!

A had peas for the first time today. I'm all jumbled about whether or not he was SUPPOSED to have peas, but he really seemed to like them. He ate about half the container and was so cute with his little mouth open wide.

I took lots of pictures, but haven't yet uploaded.

In fact, I think I'll go upload the video of rice cereal now.

**SIGH*** Grandmothers.

It has gone from "Are you SURE you're supposed to feed him every two hours? They must have changed it since I nursed your uncle." (COUGH COUGH, 65 years ago...) to "He is clearly spoiled; that's why he won't go to anyone else." Sprinkle in a little bit of "You better wean him before he's a year old because you don't want to be nursing him when you are going back to work," and one begins to wonder if she is thought to be a complete idiot.

Mom, you will love this one. Today, she said, (AND I put it on speaker for M to hear so he will vouch for it,) "I'm not going to tell you what to do."


Self, SHE MEANS WELL, SHE MEANS WELL, SHE MEANS WELL, SHE MEANS WELL.

At least she cracks me up every time she calls his paci a coochie.

First night away from Baby.

So M and I went to Atlantic City to see my BFF and her hubby. We left the boy with his best bud for the night. We were worried--he has been so fussy for such a long time and he was not so great with "strangers" on Christmas Eve that we just didn't know what he would do. Apparently, he missed us for about an hour then was happy to be with Best Bud. Best Bud got some cool new toys for Christmas; far better than Baby Feisty's Dr. Seuss figurines!! HA!

So, we get the boy back home and he is a dream child. He started smiling at us again and we even got a giggle. We need to send him to Best Bud's mommy more often!

He sleeps like his momma.

Rice cereal

Baby Feisty continues to do well with rice cereal. I'm not sure when we move on to the next food, but we're going to continue with this for awhile.

Here's his first try at it:

Christmas...

Well, actually, Christmas Eve, but you get the idea.

He did really well. He did his "I can't take this, there are just too darn many people here" thing for awhile, but overall, he did well.

It is clear that his grandparents plan to spoil him rotten.

Some pictures from Christmas Eve at our house (check out the new wall color!)

Reaching.

Wow. This kid is really starting to get a handle on using his hands. At bathtime today, I leaned him forward to wash his back. He grabbed onto the other side of the tub and was holding himself up that way. Unfortunately, the camera was nowhere to be found because it was very cute!

AHHHH, sleep.

The whole night! He slept the whole night! WAHOO! He fussed a little at bedtime, which is unusual, but I haven't fed him since 8:30. Boy am I paying the price for that little bit right now! He started to cry around 5, and M said the monitor wasn't loud enough so he turned it up, but Baby Feisty went right back to sleep. I'm not concerned because our room is close enough that if he really needed us, he would have woken us up.

Of course, now I don't know what to expect from our morning.

I do doubt this has to do with the rice cereal. Everything I've read says that starting solids doesn't help babies sleep better, plus we gave him the cereal at 10am...almost 12 hours before he went to sleep.

So, a little creeped out that he slept so long, around 6, I went in to make sure he was still alive. His head was in the corner of the crib, he was on his tummy, head turned to the right, thumb in mouth. Soo cute... I have to figure out how to get a picture without waking him!

Rice cereal

Yesterday, we tried rice cereal for the first time. Baby Feisty really seemed to like it--he was reaching for the spoon and leaning forward. I'm not quite sure if I'm doing this right, but I guess I'll have to figure it out... the instructions my doctor gave me weren't fantastic.

I took some video and lots of pictures, but don't know when I'll have the time to upload them.

Amazed.

Once again, the kid surprises me. I had him in his Bumbo chair and we were playing with his Ellie---Ellie Phante. I let him have Ellie, and, huge surprise, he dropped Ellie. I saw him reaching for Ellie, so I said, "Go ahead and get Ellie yourself." Next thing I knew, Ellie was back in his hands.

We did a follow up for the first study in which we participated. It went really well--the woman doing the study said that he was the first baby who was actually participating and the rest of the babies have a high standard to meet.

It was very similar to the SECOND study in that he had a string attached to him and controlled something with his movements. This time, there was a screen with a baby--when he moved his arm, he saw the baby and heard music... I said "Starting him early on tv!" He really seemed to get a kick out of it--the study lady said he was smiling through most of it.

Hey, I know you!

When he sees M or I for the first time in awhile, A will reach out and touch our faces. It's like his way of saying hello.

Well, upon seeing best bud and future prom date yesterday, he did the same thing to each of them. I wish we had a camera handy; it was so darn cute!

Tired.

Looking at the baptism pictures, with eye cream galore on, and I look tired. Under my eyes is very puffy. I've always had puffiness and dark circles there--it goes along with my Italian heritage, I suppose, but wow it looks a lot worse these days.

I don't especially FEEL tired, and my days surely aren't as draining as they were when I was working. I'm loving my life, and I have little day to day stress (of course, there's the "How are we going to live on only one income" stress but that's just not the same).

I have a really hard time getting up in the morning too. Even though A is down to 2 night wakings, the 7am alarm now invariably gets hit as snooze instead of off. Luckily, he is sleeping until at least 9 these days, which allows me to get things done before he gets up. Of course, it also means that I'm not getting to that 9am class at the gym anymore.

Maybe that's why I'm so tired--I'm not exercising!!

A year end retrospective.

Our whirlwind year is finally over. We've said that July 2006-July 2007 was both the happiest and saddest 12 months of our lives, and now it's completely over. So as 2007 comes to a close, the happy things:

• February--closed on our new home!
• April--moved into our new home!
• June--kissed our apartment goodbye!
• July--A made us wait. and wait. and wait some more and then finally graced us with his presence!
• August--A started to smile
• September--A met so many people who love him at our "come meet Alex" party!
  
• October--A started to giggle, A's first Halloween
  
• November--A's first Thanksgiving
• December--A's first Christmas, A was baptized

All through the year, we've been surrounded by love and support and many many helping hands.

We've been "elfed"

A funny silly internet thing. A, his mommy, and his grandparents got "elfed"!!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1509019095

He was also "elfed" with his mommy and daddy!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1509333124

Catch up

I haven't yet uploaded the pictures from my camera of yesterday's events, but A's grandfather sent me some of the pictures he took. My Godson came to sit up front with us and wanted to know where was his candle. Goodness do I look tired; guess it's time to spend some big bucks on eye cream cause the cheap stuff ain't workin.



We saw A's doctor today for his 4 month appointment... he has lost weight in two weeks. I suspect it was because he hadn't eaten in some time combined with using a different scale today. He's also gained 1/2 an inch.... again, I suspect she didn't measure him really well. So, he's 14lbs 6 oz and 26-1/2" tall.

The world's newest Catholic

What a day today was. We woke to a very white yard... uh oh, this might mean trouble. A's great aunt was the first to call--What's it like there? Well, we didn't get a lot, but it's all icey slushy junk. She didn't want to make the trip; with a 2 hour drive in good weather, it's definitely for the best. Then one of his friends couldn't make it either.

OK, well, the important people were definitely coming--all of A's grandparents would be there no matter what and so would his parents and Godparents. Of course we wanted EVERYONE there, but definitely those people needed to be there. But wait... A's Godfather lives in the Poconos... what were they getting?

Apparently, something like 5 inches of snow. They made the trek, with three kids in two, no less. We were nervous he might not make the ceremony, but got there about a 1/4 of the way through.

The baptism went really well. A did great through it all--he was so happy and "talking" to my dad behind us. For whatever reason, our family was in the first family row, so they didn't have anyone but the Godparents blocking. It was fantastic. We thought the ceremony was very nice, and the best part was that our whole family was able to crowd around the baptismal font to see! My Godson must have gotten bored and came up to sit with us during the ceremony. It was very cute.

A looked great in his little sweater vest and cords. A woman in the store told me that cords were no way dressy enough for a baptism, but I think it was just great (even with the cargo pockets in the cords!

Our restaurant choice was PERFECT...so much food and everyone really enjoyed eating family style. It was great to see everyone and spend time with them too!

In all, a wonderful day.

Every day

Every day, I...

• Give A at least 100 kisses
• Make A giggle
• Get a smile that melts my heart
• Say I love you at least 20 times
• Am amazed at what my little 4 month old can do!
• Am amazed at what I can do with my little 4 month old
• Am perplexed when my little 4 month old acts unusual

Merry Christmukkah!!

The little one loved the Hanukkah lights. He was just staring at them. He looked so cute when we took the pictures!

Yesterday, A's best bud and his mom came over to help us paint. We put the boys in A's crib for a nap at the same time, as we often do, and here is the result:

That's right... I went in to check on why A was screaming, and he was getting kicked in the face! Poor guy!

Later, we found them asleep like this:

Light a candle for Jack

Click here to "light" a candle for Jack.

A whirlwind weekend.

On Friday, A went to see his Grandpa. It was A's first time "lighting" the Hanukkah candles, and M said he was just fascinated. We have been far too busy here to do them, but I got out the menorah so we could take a picture of A for his "First Hanukkah."

Saturday, we ran errands and banged out a bunch of Christmas shopping. Then we had a Christmas party that night. A screamed basically the whole time we were there. We even had to leave early because it was just too much for him. He probably could have handled it if it wasn't such a long day or if it wasn't so close to his bedtime. He slept the whole ride home and barely moved when I took him out of his carseat and into the crib... and I even changed him! At least he got to see Grampy and Grammi, though!

Sunday, more errands, and more screaming too.

The problem seems to be that he is having a tough time napping in his crib. Right now, he is napping in his crib and went to sleep with almost no crying or problems at all, but otherwise, we've been having a very tough time. This, of course, leads to a very unhappy baby.

Funny things this weekend--When I went to get A up for the day, both on Saturday and on Sunday, I went in to find him on his tummy. I definitely didn't PUT him on his tummy, but there he was. I watched him do it at another time--he was getting himself onto his side and then using his feet against the crib rails (I haven't yet washed the peed on bumper) to turn on his belly.

Jack.

Jack seems to have taken a turn for the worse. Megan said that he might not ever be taken off his vent, which means they will essentially let him die...this depends on tests they will do this week. Aside from that, there is something muscularly wrong with him.

SNOW

We got some serious snow yesterday (more than a dusting), and it's stuck around. I took A out with me yesterday to get the mail. We put on his new jacket (6-12 months size--too big!), and hat and mittens set (also 6-12 months size--the hat is too big!) and took a picture of him in the snow.

This is the best one of both of us, and you can see the snow whizzing by our faces:

As I think I said in a post yesterday, it was a big scream fest yesterday. He wasn't happy being bundled up, but once we were outside, he didn't yell or scream at all. Dunno if the house was too warm or if he just really loves to be outside, but if today's screamfest continues (and it's only 9:30), we'll do it again.

Deliberate.

For a long time, I've been saying that A is playing with this or doing that, and M tells me that it's not on purpose.

Today, he is definitely doing things on purpose. I held him in his crib and he was at eye level with the monkey on his mobile. He reached out and batted at it. He turned away, and I said "Do it again," and swung the monkey. He batted at it again and then grabbed on to its leg.

Unpredictable schedule

First, A was very predictable. He woke at the same times at night as well as for the day. Lately, he's been waking for the day around 7. Today, M came in to say goodbye around 5:30, and asked "How many times did he wake up last night?" I said, "Oh my God, none!" I freaked out a little bit and asked M to go check on him. He returned and said, "He's still breathing, and somehow, his legs are sticking straight up." A woke a little later, ate a little bit, woke an hour after that, ate a little more, and then woke for the day around 8.

All this after he was waking around midnight, 3:30, 5:30, 7 for the past week.

Silly me.

I hoped for a good day today.

15 minute naps and screaming the rest of the day means not so much

Feeling a little bit better

At least, A is sounding better. He seemed to be doing better yesterday... he took several naps curled up with Mommy on the couch (and Mommy took a nice one too) and his congestion seems to be easing.

Last night, however, was a little rough. M and I are sleeping on our bed (which is basically an upscale air mattress), on the floor in the spare bedroom. We expected our new bedroom furniture to be delivered today (long, stupid story on that one) and so had to move everything out. So sleeping in a completely unfamiliar environment, with my tissues and water OUT of arm's reach was just really strange.

A woke around 12:30 last night. And then he woke again. And again. And again. And again. And then after the 6th time out of bed, I finally said frig it and fed him. He woke again around 3:30, I think? I don't remember. I know I didn't feed him again until he woke at 5:30. I know I heard him crying again around 6:30 (or so I'm guessing--I have no clock I can see with my wonderful eyesight) but didn't wake fully and he went back to sleep. He's still sleeping now (8am), which is close to his OLD schedule rather than what's happened the past 2 weeks.

We're still getting the occasional smile and have had a few giggles since he's gotten sick. :)

4 month appointment

So, we didn't get a three month appointment. We were told at the two month appointment to come back in December... I asked, "What about a three month appointment?" and was told to come back at four months. Apparently, we WERE supposed to have a three month appointment and there was some kind of mix up. So we technically had the THREE month physical and shots today and will have the FOUR month physical and shots in two weeks.

Anyway, A weighs 14 pounds, 12 ounces (50%). He is 26" long (75-90%), and has a head circumference of 16.5" (50%). The doctor thinks A is going to be tall, based on his height now.

She recommended that M and I get the flu shot, since A is too young to get it. Probably a good idea--who knows what M will bring home from work.

She said his cold isn't too bad, and that it could be to blame for his night wakings recently.

Last night, he fell asleep on M around 7:30. We took him to bed at 8:30 and fed him. He woke again a little before midnight. I went in and held him and put him back in the crib still awake. He was very quiet and went back to sleep. At 3:30, he woke again and I fed him... right back to sleep again. He woke at 5:30, and once again I cuddled him, and he woke for the day around 7:30.

Sick :o(

I have been dealing with a sore throat for about a week. It really felt like the canker sores I often get in my throat, so wasn't too concerned. On Friday, I started with soreness on the other side of my throat and it developed into the sniffles. We were at the mall and I had to stop at CVS for some Lotiony tissues.

This morning, we woke up and M said, "He's been coughing an awful lot this morning." Sure enough, our little boy has his first cold. His nose is so gunky (and it's CERTAINLY due to that snot drop on his shoulder the other day!) and he doesn't want to sleep alone for long at all. We're lucky to have gotten ONE good nap today.

He's napping on M's chest right now, and it's so sad listening to him breathe. My poor little guy is so tired too. I don't know what kind of night we're in for tonight.

Last night, we continued with Cry It Out (CIO), not knowing he was getting sick. He did well, except for his 3:30 waking. He cried for 45 minutes (with us periodically checking on him) before he finally fell back to sleep. It's hard to listen to him cry, but hopefully this will teach him to put himself back to sleep when he awakens at night. We're going to have to stop this process and start again later when he is feeling better, I guess.

We also have a pediatrician's appointment tomorrow morning. Hopefully, A is doing well on his growth charts and is on track to be 6' tall (HA... maybe when pigs fly).

In other news, we have primed three of the four walls in our family room. I hope to get more done tomorrow or Tuesday and then start painting the walls! WOOHOO; this project should be finished in time for Xmas!

Speaking of Christmas, the menu is planned, some of our presents are purchased (we have a few people completely finished) and lots of presents are on their way (ahh, the beauty and wonder of the internet!).