Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Catching up...

Whoops...where did the time go?!  Can't believe it's been over three months since I posted.  Everyone who says "if you think you were busy before, just wait until you have a baby!" is sooooo right.

So, let's see...what are the big milestones lately?

April 8 - First solid food
The combination of new food (thin oatmeal), new feeding location (the Bumbo chair) and new delivery method (a spoon) proved to be a little too much for my Little Man.  I wound up cradling him on my lap and using a syringe to squirt food in his mouth.  But by the end of the week, he was taking cereal off the spoon like a champ!  We slowly worked in home-cooked pureed veggies and fruits over the following month and a half.  At the six-month appointment, his doctor gave us the green light to feed almost all foods (with a few obvious exceptions like honey and choking hazards like nuts and whole grapes).  We started working on puffs a couple weeks ago and he's now really getting the hang of self-feeding.  Cheerios, whole raspberries, banana pieces...it's all delicious and some of them even make it into his mouth rather than the floor!

April 22 - First Brewers game
A co-worker had four tickets to a Sunday game, so we packed up with Jay, Tara & Logan for a day at Miller Park.  We had a great time, the boys behaved pretty well, and we got "first game" certificates for each of them!  Despite our professional-looking sign, we didn't get on TV.  :-(

May 20 - First time swimming in the little pool
We bought a cute inflatable pool for Gio to splash in this summer.  It was already hot enough before Memorial Day to fill it.  He had SO much fun splashing around.  (And yes, we had sunscreen on him and kept him shaded nearly the entire time.  No need for snarky comments about baby's first sunburn.)  He's been swimming several times since then and LOVES to splash around in the water.  He was a little surprised the first time he fell forward into the water, but quickly figured out it just meant that he could move around more.  Now he's a champ at pulling himself to the side and squeaking the toys!


May 25 - First tooth!
On May 25th, Giovanni finally had his first tooth break through.  We could tell when we put a finger in his mouth and felt the sharp edge of it.  It was quickly followed by his second tooth four days later.  Which got us singing "All I want for Memorial Day is my two front teeth..."
Yes, I know they're hard to see in these pictures.  I assure you there is one tooth in the first picture and two teeth in the second.

June 17 - Baptism
Lots of family came in to celebrate Giovanni's baptism weekend.  Saturday afternoon, Giovanni got his first chance to drink iced tea from a real glass.  He liked it so much...it was hilarious!  We enjoyed dinner at Buca di Beppo Saturday night with my side of the family: Nana & Papa, Jon & Amanda, Kym & Eric, Barb & Dave, Adam & Robyn and Darren.  We had a great time and Gio got to taste his first pasta.  He likes it...go figure!  We even remembered to get a picture of his marinara-smeared face before I had it completely cleaned up. 

Sunday morning, we were joined by Jay, Tara and Scott and filled three pews in the front of church for the service.  Our neighbor twins, Logan and Ethan, even got to pour the water into the baptismal font.  Godparents Jon and Amanda were happy to hold Gio throughout the service and Little Man didn't even fuss when they poured the water over his head!  Brunch back at our house was a success (though a heck of a lot of work).  Next time?  I think we're doing take-out for lunch!

That weekend, he also got his first car.  Neighbor Andi called to tell me about a rummage sale that had affordable kid toys, so I stopped down after I finished running errands, in time to pick up this Cozy Coupe.  I always wanted one when I was a kid and thought the $10 price tag was just perfect!  Of course, motorhead Papa had to help him try it out right away.  He tended to slide off the seat and onto the ground underneath the car, but we still managed to snap a couple cute pics.  Already focused on the car controls and where he's going...he's an excellent driver!

Hmmm...what else?  Giovanni LOVES being outdoors.  There is so much to see!  Like leaves...they move!  And the neighbor kids...can I go play with them, Mom?  He has been content sitting outside for hours at a time, which we love because it allows us time to work on our gardens. 

He also loves helping with the laundry.  It started one fussy morning when I had to get diapers out of the dryer.  He screamed if I set him down, so I took him to the laundry room with me.  Hmmm...how to get diapers out of the dryer while holding an infant?  Here, you sit in the basket.  He was happy to be so close to Mama with all these toys surrounding him!  Now, it has evolved to sitting in the basket with wet diapers and inserts while I hang everything on the line.  I get my work done and Gio is happy as a clam...#winning!


Also?  More swimming!  We went to visit family in La Crosse for five days over the Fourth of July.  Wednesday, Gio got his first experience with a big (3' deep) swimming pool.  We had a ladybug float from our neighbors that we put him in.  It worked great!  It has inflatable rings for bouyancy and a mesh lining to hold him (mostly) out of the water.  The best part was that it gave him freedom to move and flop forward, so he got practice with putting his face in the water.  You should have seen his little feet a-kickin'...priceless!  He also got his first chance at boating and swimming in the Mississippi.  This? we were less impressed with, mostly because of the giant life vest he had to wear. 

Oh, there was also a 6-month photo shoot with our amazing friend Danah.  But that's another post...

1 comment:

  1. Great update- you guys have been busy. I'm glad I got the chance to see you guys live and in-person during this time frame as well. And of course, snuggle your little man. Gosh, he's cute!

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