Thursday, September 13, 2012
We're in trouble...
Giovanni took his "official" first steps last night. We knew it was only a matter of time with as much as he has been furniture surfing and practicing his free-standing. I stood him in the living room last night and moved a couple feet back. I then started coaxing him to "come to Mama" and he managed a couple stompy steps before falling down. We repeated the experience with the same result...a few wobbly steps and a landing on the fluffy bum. Let the baby-proofing continue!
Monday, September 10, 2012
Over the river and around the lake...
...to Grandma & Grandpa's house we went.
Weekend activities included a trip to Chicago for Uncle Eric's Ghostbusters-themed 30th birthday party. Then we were off to Michigan to visit Great Grandma and Grandpa (Papa's parents) again. Predictably, they really enjoyed the older and more interactive version of their great-grandson.The visit with Grandma and Grandpa was a lot of fun. They are both still quick-witted and feisty as ever, even if their bodies are getting weaker. We tried to snap lots of photos and videos during the visit! In this video, you can see the flash from Paparazzi Dad!
Sadly, Giovanni was not *quite* as charming as usual due to another ear infection setting in. Confirmed at the doctor this morning, complete with another antibiotic and orders to return in 10-14 days to confirm he's better. The best and worst part of his being sick is that sometimes, there is just nothing like Mama.
Nana and Papa spent Sunday night with us so Papa could set up yet another present for Gio...his very first swing set, made by Papa! He loves swinging...now we can do it anytime we want! Of course, after a long day of play and fighting an ear infection, he got a little tired.
We also had a breakthrough on baby sign language this week. We knew we wanted to use it to help with communication, we just didn't realize how hard it would be for us to be consistent about using it with him. For a few weeks now, I've been really disciplined about signing "all done" after we eat, then taking the tray away to signify that we're done. The daycare has also been practicing "eat" "more" and "all done". The other night, when Gio was done with his dinner, I asked if he was all done, making the sign. To my great pleasure, he put his hands in the air, opened and closed his fists, and said something resembling "all done". We both cheered for him. Sadly, we seem to be backsliding as his newest trick is that he can clap his hands, so he does this all the time! Ah, well...patience and perseverance. At least the clapping is FREAKING ADORABLE!!
His
other surprise was that best friend Logan's Mommy Tara told us about a
lady who was selling an activity table on Craig's List for $15.
Giovanni played with a couple while at Logan's house on Labor Day and he
LOVED them. So Mama drove up to West Bend on her way home from work to
get it. My extra driving and time away from Little Man was rewarded
when he immediately lit up in a huge smile and started clapping when he
saw it.
Giovanni continues to improve his proficiency at crawling and furniture-surfing, extending his periods of free-standing to 20 seconds or more. He even picked up his foot and set it down in a slightly different spot this weekend. Does that count as a first step? The crawl is evolving from the zombie-crawl to a more traditional hands-and-knees crawl. (Zombie crawl was named by Luciano because Gio moves on his hands, right knee, and left foot...he looks off-balance and definitely like something out of a zombie movie!) Baby-proofing continues and we have to keep a closer eye on him around the house. Saturday morning, Giovanni was playing in the toy room, formerly known as the living room. Suddenly, we hear him babbling as he crawls down the hallway, back to the bedrooms where we are packing for the weekend. Guess he knows what he wants and how to get it!
Weekend activities included a trip to Chicago for Uncle Eric's Ghostbusters-themed 30th birthday party. Then we were off to Michigan to visit Great Grandma and Grandpa (Papa's parents) again. Predictably, they really enjoyed the older and more interactive version of their great-grandson.The visit with Grandma and Grandpa was a lot of fun. They are both still quick-witted and feisty as ever, even if their bodies are getting weaker. We tried to snap lots of photos and videos during the visit! In this video, you can see the flash from Paparazzi Dad!
Sadly, Giovanni was not *quite* as charming as usual due to another ear infection setting in. Confirmed at the doctor this morning, complete with another antibiotic and orders to return in 10-14 days to confirm he's better. The best and worst part of his being sick is that sometimes, there is just nothing like Mama.
Nana and Papa spent Sunday night with us so Papa could set up yet another present for Gio...his very first swing set, made by Papa! He loves swinging...now we can do it anytime we want! Of course, after a long day of play and fighting an ear infection, he got a little tired.
We also had a breakthrough on baby sign language this week. We knew we wanted to use it to help with communication, we just didn't realize how hard it would be for us to be consistent about using it with him. For a few weeks now, I've been really disciplined about signing "all done" after we eat, then taking the tray away to signify that we're done. The daycare has also been practicing "eat" "more" and "all done". The other night, when Gio was done with his dinner, I asked if he was all done, making the sign. To my great pleasure, he put his hands in the air, opened and closed his fists, and said something resembling "all done". We both cheered for him. Sadly, we seem to be backsliding as his newest trick is that he can clap his hands, so he does this all the time! Ah, well...patience and perseverance. At least the clapping is FREAKING ADORABLE!!
 |
| Hard at |
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Cloth Diapering Update
Giovanni is now 9 1/2 months old and the cloth diapering is still going strong in our house! As expected, we've had to make a few modifications to our routine, but it's working.
Of course, I have started thinking about potty training......
- We expanded our diaper supply during various promos. We now have 31 diapers. This allows me to wash every 2-3 days (usually Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday) and hang the diapers on the line while we're at work.
- We changed our diaper pail. We're now coping with one PlanetWise diaper pail bag at home. I was horrified to find one day that the FuzziBunz pails we had been using leaked through the zipper. Nasty diaper-liquid dripping on the floor and discoloring our beautiful hardwood? Ugh. It makes me mad just thinking about it again.
- We also exclusively use PlanetWise wet bags for daycare and on-the-go. Again, the FuzziBunz tote just did not live up to expectations. The zipper has repeatedly jumped its track and we're just fed up with putting it back on.
- I bought a diaper sprayer. I'm still averse to sticking my hands in the toilet and the $40 was more than worth it for me. When we're travelling, Nana or Luciano usually rinse the diapers for me. I recently heard a trick about using a squirt bottle as a portable diaper sprayer. I'll have to give that a try.
- As expected, we get by with fewer doublers. Four is plenty.
- We usually use fewer wipes now (less than 10 per load of diapers). This is mostly because we now buy disposable wipes for daycare. It just got to be too much of a hassle to chase the cloth wipes back and forth.
Of course, I have started thinking about potty training......
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
New resolution: Regular updates
My friend Sarah (Mom to an adorable 12-week-old) started a blog. She has a goal of updating it once a week. This seems like a good idea to me, so I'm going to endeavor to do the same. Because most of the fun stuff seems to happen on the weekends, I'm going to try posting on Mondays to make them a tiny bit less evil. Except today is Tuesday because of the holiday weekend. I'm calling it Faux Monday.
Anyways, we had a great weekend. It started Thursday night with our anniversary dinner. Tuesday was our official 3-year-anniversary, but Chef Zach didn't work that night, so we went out for dinner and dancing on Thursday. Delicious dinner at Harbor House followed by swing dancing with lots of old friends at the Down & Over. The evening ended at 10:30 with promises to come out dancing again soon. We had to get home to the new babysitter, 11-year-old neighbor girl Olivia. I was thrilled that she did a great job, even getting Giovanni back to sleep when he woke up. Yay for having a babysitter in the neighborhood...we're going on dates again!
Farm Friday as usual after work. I made my Caprese Bruschetta again. I really don't care for raw tomatoes, but there's something about them fresh from the garden combined with garlic, basil, olive oil, salt & pepper served over fresh mozzarella on garlic-rubbed toasted baguette that I can't get enough of. Everyone devoured it! The neighbor kids all had a blast playing with Giovanni, too.
Saturday, we went to the first Badger Football game of the season. We thought taking Giovanni to an early game would be a good test run to see how he does. The non-conference games tend to be less crowded. He did okay, but there was a lot of crying anytime the crowd got loud. Which happens a lot at Badger games. So we'll probably leave him home next time, but it was fun to take him once. We got to tailgate with the aforementioned Sarah et al before the game and had a great time. Got a great picture of three of the dads holding their baby boys. We've tailgated with this crowd for years and I joked about how the average age of our group has decreased significantly in the past few years as we all add kids to our families!
 |
| Dads Tailgating |
 |
| Intent on watching the game |
 |
| Jump Around!! |
 |
| I can haz cookie! |
 |
| cookie aftermath |
Monday plans shifted a bit. Pizzas with the neighbors got cancelled. We got more laundry done (cloth diapers + diarrhea = more laundry!) and Luciano bottled 11 gallons of hard cider. Half of it was a new yeast strain he read about online...let's call it D47. The preliminary results are very promising. Usually we have to let it bottle-condition for another couple months. This stuff I drank that day! Yum! We also went to visit Giovanni's best friend Logan that evening. The boys had fun playing together until Gio grabbed Logan's face and they both melted into tears. It's a rough life, being 9-months-old! We also introduced Jay, Tara & Scott to Dominion. Fun times with great friends!
In other news last week, Giovanni was sent home from daycare on Monday with goopy eyes again. A trip to the doctor that afternoon confirmed that he had his first ear infection. A double antibiotic twice a day it is. Also, we had our 9-month check-up on Wednesday. Dr. is happy with how he's growing and developing. 21 lb (65th %ile) and 2.5 feet tall (85 %ile). Tall and skinny...where does he get those genes?!
In news about Mama, I finished knitting my green knee socks this weekend. I took up knitting about two years ago and really enjoy it. I've made a bunch of things for myself, Giovanni, and countless friends' babies. I'll try to get a picture of the socks...I started them about a year ago and am happy to be done in time for fall. Now I just need the weather to turn more fall-like...
Friday, August 31, 2012
Little Moments of Bliss
The other night after work, I took Giovanni and Lucy out into the yard to play with them while Daddy made dinner. We had so much fun, rolling around in the grass and enjoying the beautiful late summer evening! I so treasure moments like this. We don't get much time home with him in the evenings before he's ready for bed, but I enjoy the moments we can steal away!
Oh, who's Lucy? Why, she's our puppy, of course! Around the Fourth of July, our long-time desire to get a dog finally won out over practicality. A few weeks of frantic searching turned up the perfect solution: a breeder near Nana and Papa with a litter of short-hair miniature dachshunds! At first, we thought we'd miss out, but she came back to me a couple days later and said that someone had backed out and she now had two girls available. Would I be interested? I (literally) jumped for joy! Several e-mails and phone calls later, it was settled that not only would we get Lucy Lou, but Nana got her sister, Sadie Mae. Both dogs are so good with Giovanni. Lucy just sits patiently while he pulls on her feet and puts her in his mouth. And Giovanni is, predictably, thrilled with the new animals in his life!
Oh, who's Lucy? Why, she's our puppy, of course! Around the Fourth of July, our long-time desire to get a dog finally won out over practicality. A few weeks of frantic searching turned up the perfect solution: a breeder near Nana and Papa with a litter of short-hair miniature dachshunds! At first, we thought we'd miss out, but she came back to me a couple days later and said that someone had backed out and she now had two girls available. Would I be interested? I (literally) jumped for joy! Several e-mails and phone calls later, it was settled that not only would we get Lucy Lou, but Nana got her sister, Sadie Mae. Both dogs are so good with Giovanni. Lucy just sits patiently while he pulls on her feet and puts her in his mouth. And Giovanni is, predictably, thrilled with the new animals in his life!
Monday, July 30, 2012
More Cloth Diapering Awesomeness
So FuzziBunz? The awesome cloth diapers all three of us love? They started a new affiliate program that rewards me for everyone I convince to try their amazing diapers. So you should follow this link and take a look around. Even if you come back later, I'll get credit. So go check them out and put some fluff on that bum!!
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..."
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...
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.
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...
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