This week is for mama!

So, I was excited this week because I wanted to do something special for my mommy! After all, it was Mother's Day weekend.

Well, if you don't know by now, no matter what, it usually ends up becoming all about me....hehe.....
(After all, I'm only a baby!)

Mommy stayed home from work last Wednesday and we hung out and convinced daddy too.

We went to story time at Karma Kid Yoga for old time sake (mommy and me used to go there all the time when mommy stayed home with me full-time!). I met Emilio there and we plan to meet up at the playground sometime soon! I pulled a girl's hair and she started crying! She was a wuss but got me in trouble!

 

We also went to the library and street fair nearby us and found a lot of new books for me! Ohh and I got my own library card!!

We saw a beautiful garden on our way back home and decided to make a quick pit stop...  Now, we can guess "Who is in my Garden" (one of my favorite books these days)

 

Mommy and I (well pretty much mommy) created a little craft together for Mother's day and I loved playing with it!

 

Seeing my interest in the family pictures...Mommy created a family tree... Now I get to tear it down and play with more pictures while getting my diaper changed.

I didn't want Daddy to feel left out, so I let him give me some neck rides..

Daddy and I went to the farmer's market and got Mommy a blueberry coffee cake and a Mother's Day card! I saw my favorite veggies in the market! And then some that I haven't tried yet.. what's this deal about level 1 veggies.. I am big kid now and I wanna try it all!!!!

 

 On Sunday, I played with my cousin Alec and his twinkly shoes, and he played with my soccer ball... and got some neck rides from grandpa and uncle Jeff..

 

What's in: Long naps ( just two..yay!), I know nose (I think), I dance while standing, new books!, library cards, new soccer ball, beef, apricot, crawling in the hallway, playgrounds, new "mommy and me" craft at the refrigerator, family tree

Sleep Update IV -

I haven't updated everyone for quite a while on how my sleep is going.  It has certainly been an up and down struggle for me and for mommy and daddy, but I am happy to report that I am doing GREAT!!!

After mommy went back to work, things got a little hairy.  Marcella (my nanny) was putting me to sleep for most of my naps, and mommy and daddy, after not seeing me all day, didn't want to waste a lot of quality time seeing me fuss and/or cry trying to go to sleep at bed-time.  Things went down hill.  This led to rocking and rocking and more rocking and feeding, feeding, and more feeding (at 7PM, 11PM,  3:10 AM, well - you get the idea!) and who knows what Marcella was doing to get me to sleep? After a while, daddy injured his shoulder again and mommy struggled with my 20+ pounds. And, despite all of their efforts, I was fussing and crying most of the night anyway!

Finally, mommy and daddy realized that enough was enough.  They knew that I could do this, and I thought that I could do it too.  So, one night, they put me into my crib wide awake.  At first, I was confused - why wasn't daddy rocking me to sleep? Mommy and daddy were sleeping in the living room and nowhere to be seen.  I was a little upset at first, but eventually I fell asleep - with a little help from doggy and teddy.  The next night it was easier, and the night after that even easier. Then, I was sleeping six, eight, ten hours, or more consecutively and when I did wake up, I was able to go back on my own.  No breast milk or rocking involved, I promise!!  Even Marcella was putting me in the crib awake for my naps! My naps also were longer. No more thirty minute catnaps. Instead, I usually do between one and two hours, something previously unheard of!!!

I am also happy to report that I am staying awake longer!  Believe it or not, I am down to TWO naps per day.  Not that long ago, I was doing four naps and still was wasted by 5:30PM.  Now I have naps at 9AM and 1PM and have a 7PM bedtime (I am very proud of this!).  I have even delayed my 2nd nap (like at Ishaan and Vinay's mundan ceremony) until well past 2PM and was OK without any fussiness at all!!

The whole process wasn't that bad. All I can do now is look back at my days of sleeping in "the bag" and chuckle.  But, I don't want to rest on my laurels - we'll see how things go.  I'll be sure to keep everyone updated....

My process of examination..... very methodical!

Every time I see somebody or something new in my oldie favorite.. I go through following steps of evaluation of that newby in the house:

1. First, I look and look at it... then, I may look away for a second and then examine it again..this is a serious process that I have meticulously crafted during my seven and a half months.

exhibit A

exhibit B

2). Then, I inspect it with my hands inside out upside down (notice my new dexterity... I can hold things with both hands and swap them..)

 

 This step can get messy at times, but I have fun with it..

 

This is what daddy called a "horse" in the library.

3) Last and final step in the evaluation process is placing the object in my mouth...I try to gobble it down to see if it will fit or help me with my icky gums..  This is a very crucial step and may decide whether or not I will ultimately like the object.  If the the newbie tastes or fits bad, forget about it.

 

In the end, I feel by this systematic approach I am able to figure out what newbie is acceptable and who is going to be eliminated! I am planning to write a book that details my intricate strategy (after I learn how to read, of course!)

What is a mundan? I ask?????

I have been told that I am a serious guy! I have my moments though...I love to sing and sing sometimes..you can say it depends on my mood! I was in a particular good mood the day my cousins Ishaan and Vinay had their mundan ceremony last weekend!

 Well for one.... many new people to play with me and loads of unexplored territory for me to crawl around in search of new places to stand up.  Plus, my cousins were getting their hair shaved and not me! Ha!!! All I had to do was parrrrty!

So, first we sat through this ceremony before they got there hair cut... I sat with mommy for a few minutes before I made my move.... I convinced my cousins on our planned escape route.

 We even snuck out a banana that was meant as a temple offering! Then, Vinay and I fought over who would play with it! I guess we should have taken more.... I did push Vinay and make him cry (not really proud of that!..mommy told me to say that)

 

Look at my cousin Ishaan in this fancy Indian outfit!.. and me using the banana to soothe my icky gums..

After carefully taking in the whole ceremony,  I concluded that I am glad that it wasn't my head under the zapper...it wasn't pretty!

I like neck rides...

These are some things I like to do! I would like to do them with you....

I like to crawl to the refrigerator to try to check what's in there...

 

I get a kick out of it when you surprise me by hiding behind the corner wall in the living room..mommy does it all the time..

I love it when you read my favorite books to me over and over again..

I also love it if you say hello to me in the mirror...

 

And did I say neck rides... more more please!

I also love to wave bye-bye over and over again to anyone and everyone when I feel like it! 

I also would love crawl into the bathroom, but I am not allowed.. wonder what mommy and daddy are hiding in there?? Can't blame a baby for trying.....

The week that it was..

Time does fly by super fast I must say.. I am so busy crawling these days that I have less time to write what I am feeling! The weather was great last weekend so we ventured outside a lot and went to an Easter Day Kids Celebration with my cousins...

With no eggs in sight, I decided to do my favorite thing: standing up and sticking my tounge out!

And Crawwling!

My cousin Olivia found me an egg, and it went straight into my mouth

And we had a picnic too! My first and I could not get enough of the dirt and crawling....I kept asking mommy if we could go to babies r us to buy toys. Eventually, I decided to see if I could make it there on my own

I was so tired at the end of the day that I actually passed out on mommy's shoulder during a neck ride!  They finally noticed my snooze when they saw me slouching to one side, eyes hidden by my wide brimmed hat, and they couldn't believe it......I have been loving neck rides because they give me a great vantage point for checking out the city.

My BIG cousin Alec came over one day and we discussed how life has been...and he taught me a few tricks on how to have fun.

We played and I shared all MY toys and showed him my books.... I like that he knows a lot about books!

 Whats in: crawling into the bathroom, standing up against the open refrigerator and checking out the food, sticking out my tongue, neck rides, playing with real fruit on the floor, mommy's performances of my favorite books mostly "Barnyard Dance" and "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom", peekaboo with mommy , sun hat, picnicking

Whats out: "rocking to sleep", three naps, (see daddy's blog update on naps coming soon) , Eating at night,  sitting stationary in excersaucer