Our Little Pumpkin

Hi everyone! I know, I know- long time, no post. Sorry. I don't know what I've been doing... Oh yeah, raising a willful adorable and loud ten month old. It's so fun that I forget that there are other things I should be doing too besides sitting on the floor letting him stick his fingers in my mouth. So things have been going really well with our little sweetie. He has his fourth tooth coming in which makes for some wakeful nights but he's a trooper. And so is Peter who, more often than not, will offer to get up and put him back down so I can sleep. He's the best. Also, our little troublemaker has figured out how to open the sliding doors to the office so we blocked that with an ottoman (until his little arms get long enough to reach the doorway anyway). He figured out how to open the under-the-stairs storage so I blocked that with some dumbbells (until he gets strong enough to lift them). He also figured out how to open the kitchen cabinets so they are now baby(and me)-proofed. And he figured out that the cat sleeps under the bed so it's my daily entertainment to see the face-off between the two of them. Rinat always wins and the cat jumps up to the bed (smart cat, right?) to escape. Poor MassieCat is actually pretty tolerant of Rinat grabbing handfuls of his hair but looks at me while R's attacking him like "Could you do something about this please?" Rinat has gotten pretty good at playing by himself which is fantastic because it means I get to cook again (which I love to do). We have gotten some fantastic fancy toys but our boy's favorite is of course the box and ribbon. He also really likes to hijack a tupperware from the dishwasher and stick it over his face and yell "DADADADADA!!!!" into it at the top of his lungs while sitting under the dining room table. All I can do is laugh. It's so ridiculously cute. And have I mentioned he is obsessed with the bus? Everytime that I am trying to feed him, the bus goes by at least three or four times and he will come close to falling out of his highchair because he's craning his neck to look out the window and watch it stop at the stop sign. I swear that's going to be his first word- not Mama or Dada- but BUS. And, of course, all of the family think he is just as cute as I do. Last week, we had GParents Pete and Nancy visit on Monday, GParents Geri and Lamar on Wed/Thurs, and Cousin Cara+Bfriend and Cousin Kevin on Fri. And we took a superfun trip to the pumpkin patch (complete with hayride) with Mer/Lynd/Caroline on Sunday. It was a good week. This week, we have NO VISITORS at all. I can't believe it. Anyone want to come? The guest room is empty! Until next time... -m

Dr. Visits, Visitors, Giggles

Hi everyone! Things are good here in DC. We have Auntie Kate in town for a few weeks for the Solar Decathlon down on the Mall (she's in architecture school and they are participating in an eco-friendly design competition) and it has been really fun. Sweet Baby has also been really busy lately. Wednesday was the eye surgeon and decided we'll be having the cyst out sometime in January. Thursday was the pediatrician. He is very healthy and over all of his illnesses. He is now 18 pounds/29 inches tall and got blood drawn for a lead test and 2 vaccination shots- he was soooo mad. And the doctor was really impressed with him. He said that not only is he on target cognitively, but has the intelligence of around the 15 month mark. I knew his name would rub off on him! I did a little research on how the people in Kaz name their kids and found that they name them after attributes that they hope their child will have like grace or strength or things like that. His name means 'scientific revolution' so I guess that means he'll be a scientific genius, right? Only time will tell but I think he's on the right track. Then on Friday, Aunt Ann came and we went to check out Kate's cool house that they built. Then on Saturday we went and had lunch at Mer's house with Mer/Caroline and Margarita/Chrissy. He was a little cranky for some reason but guess which toy of C's he loved? The stacking buckets. Yup, he's consistent anyway- it's always the stackers. And here are some milestones he has hit this week- cruising the furniture, clapping, getting a tooth (and I think maybe even two) on top, and yesterday I think he signed the word 'more' when he wanted more hash browns. And the cutest thing he does lately is play the Where's Babycakes? game. He crouches down next to the sofa that I am sitting on, and I say "Where's the Babycakes?" and he pops up and laughs. He'll do it for as long as I can deal with it. Soooo cute. And Kate got to hear his belly laugh when she showed him Hot Potato. He found it highly entertaining. The other time he does it is when I let him play with my teeth. He's obsessed with them and he loves to watch me brush them too. Don't you wish you could be as easily amused? Anyway, that was our week- wonderfully calm. Oh, and he slept last night from 8:00 until 7:00 this morning. It was heaven. More next week! -m

Lots of Vistors this Week

Hey! Wow has this week just flown by! Last weekend was really busy with my my mom, brother, sis-in-law and their two kids in town. It was so much fun. And on Saturday, we had a little mini family reunion with all of us plus my mom's sister & bro-in-law in from Texas, and my cousin & her boyfriend from NYC, and my other cousin & his gfriend (who live here in DC). It was so great to be able to see everyone. And then we went to the zoo not just once but twice- once on Sat and once on Sunday. Gotta love that everything is free in DC. Peter had a great time with Nephew Sam who was just so adorable with Rinat- he is so excited to have a boy cousin. And we got to see how big Niece Sara has gotten now that she is a year old. One night we threw them all in the tub for a Cousin Bath and it was so adorable. Then on Mon&Tues I still had to serve on the jury which was not fun but it was nice to have Mom here to watch Rinat. Meanwhile, after dropping Mom at the airport, Peter took our little guy to the doctor on Monday afternoon for massive diaper rash and we found out he also had Scarlet Fever. Oops. So anyway, one more trip on Friday for the rash that wouldn't leave and he is now almost back to normal. But you really wouldn't even know that there was a thing wrong with him because he is just as happy as a clam. He loved getting all of the attention from grandma, cousins, aunts, and uncles. And I was done with jury duty as of Tuesday so it has been really great finally being able to get into a routine. Again, I am just so amazed at how well he is able to just roll with the punches. Of course he was really confused when I brought him into the guest room on Thursday to say good morning to Peter's sister Kate who is staying with us for a few weeks. I think he was wondering where Grandma Shay went and who was this new person. But it only took him a second to break into a smile. And I know exactly what he was thinking "Aha! A new person to adore me. Awesome.' Have a good week! -m