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!!

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...

Sleeping

Sometimes I just watch him sleep.  He's so sweet.

Now if only he would stop waking up during the night to eat...

Playing in the Grass!

It has been unseasonably warm here in Wisconsin, so we have been doing our best to take advantage of the nice weather.  Drying the diapers and clothes on the line, spending time with neighbors, and, yes, our first chance to play in the grass at Nana and Papa's house this weekend. 

Giovanni seemed to love it as long as he was on his back.  However, putting him on his tummy prompted quick tears, as usual.  Luckily, we snapped a few pictures before he had a complete meltdown.

  

We also got to spend some quality time with Uncle Jon and Aunt Amanda.  They both love playing with him!

In other news, we had our 4-month appointment on Friday and immunizations yesterday afternoon.  He's growing well, measuring in at 14lb 4oz (50th percentile) and 25.25" (70th percentile).  Tall and skinny?!  Where did he get those genes?  Oh well...glad he's growing at a healthy weight.  And the Dr confirmed...we are teething.  Let the drooling and screaming commence.  Or continue...

The Early Days-Thanksgiving

We had plans for Thanksgiving 2011. We knew we didn't want to drive far enough to spend the holiday with our family, so we had planned on joining our neighbors Brian and Andi for "Pie Night" at their church Wednesday night and dinner at their house on Thursday. (Seriously? A church with "Pie Night"? Sounds like winning to me!) My parents were hosting Thanksgiving on Saturday and Cousin Tricia and her daughter Olivia were riding in with Kym and Eric.

Then I went into labor Wednesday morning.

A call to my Mom when we headed to the hospital got her quickly tying up loose ends at work. (Her boss already knew that her daughter was pregnant and she intended to be there for the delivery. She was really understanding.) By the time we got admitted 2 hours later, Nana was already on the road. She arrived just a couple hours before Giovanni was born at 6:20pm. (Yup, I got by with just 11 hours of labor. You are allowed to be angry.)

All three of us fell in "love at first sight" with Gio. Papa joined us on Thursday. Giovanni watched his first Packers game in the hospital. (Yay for beating the Lions on Thanksgiving!) We were discharged around noon on Friday after a brief scare with Gio's bilirubin levels. Fortunately, they decided that he wasn't too jaundiced to go home. 

(Note to self: don't tell your daughter that "the hardest thing I ever had to do was leave the hospital without your brother because he was too jaundiced" before her chid has been cleared to go home!)

There was no way Nana was leaving her precious grandson to serve dinner at her house on Saturday, so we relocated Thanksgiving Dinner to my house. It was a shorter trip for Kym, Eric, Tricia and Olivia coming up from Chicago. Nana and Papa paid for a hotel room for them so the house wouldn't get too crowded but they could still be close. The only downside was that Jon and Amanda couldn't come because Amanda had to work that weekend. But they got a one-on-one visit with Gio two weeks later.  So it all worked out, just not completely according to our plan!

Great-Grandparents

Last night Nana and Papa drove to our house.  We didn't have much time to visit as they didn't get in until nearly 11pm.  And just for fun, Giovanni was up at 4am to eat.  Where did this come from?!  First time in two months that he hasn't slept through the night.  Hope we're not starting a new trend.
Today we woke up at 6 so all 5 of us could road-trip to Michigan to see Papa's parents, Giovanni's great-grandparents.  We had a great visit with them.  From the minute we walked in the door, they had eyes for no one but Giovanni.  He was enamored with them, too...making noises in mimic of Grampa's.

Cousin Tricia and Olivia as well as Papa Bill came over to visit too. Olivia was so cute with her cousin, giving him lots of kisses. 

We also discovered that Giovanni is a variation on the name John.  Don't tell Uncle Jon...we'll never hear the end of it!  He already brags about being Gio's namesake since they share the same middle name (Papa's first name, no coincidence).

Gramma is 88 and Grampa is 83.  They still live at home, but Gramma's back problems prevent them from travelling much anymore.  So we were excited when, upon our departure, both said "We'll see you in May."  Meaning they plan to come out for Jon and Amanda's wedding.  Yay!!

3 months? Already?!

Three months ago today I gave birth to our son.  Hard to believe how fast the time has gone and how much our lives have changed.  Papa laughs at how our priorities have changed since Giovanni entered our lives.  Suddenly, a night spent cuddling Gio is my idea of heaven.

Unfortunately, we're all sick tonight.  I fear that we have our first case of pink eye.  (Though advice from friends on Facebook indicate that it might be something else.  *fingers crossed*)  His right eye has been yellow-goopy all night.   If this is still going on in the morning, we're going to call the doctor and have to keep him home from daycare.  Guess this is the price we pay for both continuing to work.  

The bright side of tonight is that Gio seems to be in good spirits.  He had a great time in his bath tonight.  He loves when I sing to him.  I have started making up my own songs for him.  The current one is sung to the tune of "Frere Jacques":
Giovanni, Giovanni,

You're so cute, you're so cute!
Mama loves you so much, Mama loves you so much.
Yes I do, yes I do!