Review and Waiting for the Next Curveball

Yesterday, the weather was in the 50s, so we spent some time in the backyard. Amedeo wore his new shoes, courtesy of grandma and grandpa. I think he's working on more teeth...everything still goes in his mouth: sticks, leaves, pinecones....etc.


I'm glad we have a fence.


In this pic, I look like a giant, thanks for pointing that out, Pietro. Amedeo has quite a lot of growing to do if he's going to catch up with me!


He loves walking holding on to fingers. I try to practice with him lots so he'll learn to walk on his own faster. I'm looking forward to walking...


Poppy and Amedeo. I got Pietro this jacket at Eddie Bauer yesterday...they're having a 40% off sale on their clearance. They've got some awesome deals...and there are still lots of sizes left.


OK...so EMILY1 IS AWESOME! She sympathetically listened to my ranting and raving about Amedeo NOT taking naps. She suggested that I place his crib mattress on the floor of his room, which would make it easier to transfer him down. SCORE! It works...he's been napping really well...thank you, thank you, thank you, for saving my sanity.

One of his birthday presents came in this box. He LOVES the box. I haven't given him the present yet, but I doubt I'll need to since the box is his favorite. He climbs in and out, in and out. And, cat toys are the THING. Hysterical laughter...too bad it could poke his eye out. Otherwise I'd put one in his crib...maybe he'd sleep better at night. Or at least have something fun to do when he woke up.

When is was nose-freezing cold, I took him outside to walk around. He was in the not-napping phase, so I thought some frigid air might make him sleepy. I think the neighbors were thinking I'm a bad mother for taking him out on such a cold day. I got some weird looks. Or maybe it's just the walker is kind of bizarre.

And, on Thursday, Kristin and Chrisaetos (I think I spelled it right, but not sure...) hosted a playgroup. Her house is very nice, and has a big space for playing. I learned that Amedeo is not a climber (yet.)


So, that's the review from last week and the weekend...things are going along nicely. Amedeo has made big strides in eating. We took him to Fudruckers last night. I gave him some bites of my buffalo burger, and he was hooked. He held that burger in a death grip. He's been able to handle table food much better. Last week, he'd take things in him mouth, chew them, and spit them out. Now, he will swallow about 50% of the time! Yay! He seems to tolerate spoon feeding while he's got something in his hand to chew on...I feel like I'm one step ahead of him right now. Not to sound pessimistic (I think of it as realism), but I'm sure he's working on the next curveball. Here's to waiting for the other shoe to drop!!!

Hooray for Chaos!

On Tuesday, we hosted our hospital playgroup's group birthday party. Everyone brought something, which helped my workload tremendously. In total, we had 11 babies, all of whom were one or about to turn one. And Andrea's mom and sister came and brought the 12th baby, who was 14 months old. There were 14 adults, which rounds the grand total to 26 people!

Decorations, provided by Andrea. Plates and napkins by Emily1. I strung Cheerios onto elastic bracelets for the babies. Amedeo enjoyed chewing them off the elastic. Not pictured: Lindsey brought a lovely selection of breads. Emily2 brought beverages, sodas, and a very tasty red wine. Tammy provided chips and salsa and Dana arrived with some mini quiches. Amedeo really liked the quiche...he chewed on one of those for a long time! Melanie brought the veggie tray and dip. We've been enjoying the leftover carrots!

We had a present exchange...I saw lots of cute things. Amedeo got a book, Snuggle Puppy and a stuffed kitty from Jack. He loves both...and enjoys laying on top of the kitty.

Denise made lasagne. Archana's mom made Indian fried rice. Both were delishous!

I made some turkey chili...it comes out different every time I make it...very easy to do in the slow cooker.

Another view of the chaos. The babies were all very good.

Emily on the left, the beverage mistress.

Lindsey, feeding the wildlife.

Melanie...with Jaden...not her baby.

Here's Jillian, Melanie's daughter.

Pietro came to the party during his lunch break despite all the work and deadlines. Yay for Poppy!

Amedeo was a good host. No meltdowns!

I made banana cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. (From the book, Crazy About Cupcakes. I can post the recipe if there's any interest. Pietro has been defrosting them and eating them for breakfast. His assumption, if there's fruit of any kind involved, you can eat it for breakfast.)Here are a few of the cupcake eaters. The aftermath was not as messy as I anticipated. These kids are relatively neat! Go moms!!!

I don't know what is going on with Google Blogger...but this has been hell to format. Stupid program. I wish they'd leave it alone once in awhile. Anyhoo...if I missed anyone, it is due to the program!

Thanks for all the help! It was a very special day!

So, who's hosting the 2nd birthday party???

Gibbrish

We had a very sucky week. Pietro got the stomach bug. Amedeo got it too...it was yucky. Amedeo also took a fall and banged his mouth on the coffee table. He had a cut on the inside and outside of his lip. Given all of those bad things, Amedeo still made time for some cheerful babbling. You may want to turn the sound up, he's quiet.



Tomorrow, we're going to visit our friends Nicky and John, who are hosting a Superbowl Party. I go just to visit and eat. I don't care about football. And the rest of the time this weekend will be spent getting ready for the big baby bash on Tuesday. I'm going to make chili today and freeze it. I'll save the cleaning and the cupcake making until Monday. They're calling for snow, but I'm going to hold out until Sunday night before I move the date.

Take my baby so I can go on vacation.

We've been dealing with a few things around here, the most annoying one being sleep. Pietro is under stress and has been working nights and weekends for the past two weeks. In another two weeks, things should lighten up. I would kill someone for a vacation in a tropical climate. While I'm rocking Amedeo in the rocking chair, I fantasize about dropping him at grandma's house, as I book a flight to the Carribean. I wouldn't be gone long...a week...maybe two?

Why do you hate your crib? See how much fun you have while in it?

Occasionally, laundry baskets stand in for childcare. He doesn't seem to mind.

Last week (I'm so behind on blogging), Cady and Amedeo went on a little boat ride together in their gymboree class. Cady isn't so sure about this togetherness thing.

Amedeo seems to be taking his own private Carribean vacation.

And "busy box" time. Also, the time before the nasty stomach bug made short work of Emily.

We decided to cancel our subscription to the gymboree class. (Ok...I'm going to do a small rant here.) I think it could be a very nice program, but I've got a few problems with it. I overheard a conversation between the manager lady and a teacher. She was explaining how the teachers needed to sell sell sell. So they could get more commitments from the parents. That turned me off. The open gym times aren't frequent enough and the program is lukewarm. I have a "busybox" at home. I can also sing the Itsy Bitsy Spider at home. Come on, Gymboree, show me something creative and novel! Most of the things you get in their class, you can get at a library program for free. The thing we will miss the most is the indoor playground equiptment. Ah well, I can't have everything. (End of rant).

Amedeo loves bathtime. So do I. I can practice new hairstyles...and give him the horns he deserves.

Despite not sleeping enough, Amedeo is a happy fellow! His favorite thing is to stand in the bathtub. We haven't figured out a distraction method that works to get him to sit and play. I worry that he's going to fall.

After a lengthy wait, we have tooth #7 on the bottom. No sign of tooth #8.

Happy 11 Month Birthday, Amedeo!

Wow. 11 months old today! I can't believe it. We had the good fortune to be at Ria's Birthday Party today. We ate lots of curry and rolled around on the floor. (Mom and dad ate the curry and Amedeo rolled on the floor, in case you were confused.) I was lazy and didn't take any pictures. Hopefully I can post some when Archana sends me some.

We've been keeping our newest method of baby entertainment a secret. Here's a longish (43 seconds) vid of Pietro playing with his new toy.




Oh, poor, Amedeo!!!

Blueberries

Last night, I gave Amedeo some defrosted blueberries for dessert. He had an excellent time squishing them, but was reluctant to eat them. He seems to like dried blueberries better.

Then, he started shoving his finger up his nose. With blueberries. I think he STILL has blueberries up there.

In Search of a Good Night's Sleep: A Letter

Dear Amedeo,

Why won't you stay asleep, little boy? Waking every two hours is not good for us, your weary parents. What is it? We know you aren't itchy, dad lotions you up before bed. You shouldn't be hungry, I feed you all you want before midnight. We've tried aromatherapy...lavender in the bath, and lavender flowers in the bed. Nothing. We put a bigger diaper on you, so you won't be wet. All nighttime conditions are great! Why don't you sleep????

If you don't shape up and sleep at least a 6 hour stretch, we'll be sending you back to Amazon.com. I think your warranty lasts a year.

Love,

Your crazy parents.