Over the Twelve Week Hump & Into the Holidays

Our yoga class holiday party was lots of fun!  What a way to get Mom & I out of our 12 week growth spurt funk.  I let Mommy get a lot of her yoga poses in before I interrupted her for a snack.  I snacked while she continued to work some poses in (man, she really is talented & strong to pose & breath while nursing me).  She & I finished the class out with a joint shivasana.  After class we joined up with the mamas & the babes for yummy treats that our teacher Randi prepared.  Here I am with our yoga instructor Randi: 

 Here are my yoga buddies Daniel & Mia with their moms:

Here is Jeffrey with his Mommy Christina:

 Here is Macy - She's the girl I mentioned in a previous blog post - I enjoy checking her out during class:

She made delicious egg salad sandwiches from the eggs her chickens hatched (we learned that she has 6 chickens at home - cool).  Dad told Mommy not to get any ideas - we are NOT getting chickens (I don't think Mom really wants to get chickens but it would be pretty cool to get fresh eggs daily). We also started solid foods - Mom made me carrots in our BabyCook.  I didn't hate them, but I didn't necessarily love them.  I smushed it around in my mouth a bit & then pushed it out of my mouth the first bite.  On the second try, I actually swallowed a bit.  Every day we're trying just one spoonful of carrots & every day I'm getting used to the spoon & the texture on my tongue.  Mom told me it's not about actually eating right now, but about getting used to sitting in my highchair & getting ready for food. Here's my first bite:

Check out how I'm progressing: 

On Wednesday, we worked out on the 3rd floor & then headed to mommy coffee at Cosmic Cafe on Kelly Drive.  Boy - what a chilly day!! The walk from the car to the cafe had Mom & I sprinting.  We intended to go for a walk on Kelly Drive afterwards, but decided it was too cold after we warmed up with our hot apple cider.  Today Mommy & I started our 26 Acts of Kindness.  Mom & I saw a special that NBC anchor, Ann Curry, started in the wake of the Newtown elementary shooting.  Basically, you do 26 acts of kindness to honor each of the victims of the shooting.  We started at Cosmic Cafe.  Mom paid for the next 5 patrons coffee purchase (or other @$2 drink).  We left little index cards asking those five patrons to "pay it forward" & commit to 26 acts of kindness on their own.  The barista was really inspired by our gesture & said it was a great idea that she'd consider doing.  When she brought us our hot apple cider, she even brought an extra to our mommy group.  On our way home from coffee, we did our next act of kindness & gave our neighborhood flower man (he's a little old man that sits on the corner of Bethlehem Pike & Stenton Ave selling $6 roses to drivers) six dollars & told him to keep the flowers & sell them to someone else this holiday season.  We gave him another index card asking him to "pay it forward."  Mom said he was grateful & wished us a "Happy Holidays" - we don't think he generally sells a lot of flowers.  We stopped at Target & picked up ingredients to make Dad's work group cookies for the drive up to NYC on Thursday - they were going up for a work outing & Mom thought they'd enjoy the treat (Dad said they were very appreciative & loved the cookies).  On Thursday, we journeyed out to King of Prussia mall to pick up a few last minute holiday items, but otherwise hung inside all day.  We're finally over the twelve week growth spurt & beginning to enjoy just hanging out again.  Mom's noticed that I'm much more attentive to my surroundings, working on grasping things with fluid arm movements & beginning to try to turn my hips in attempts at rolling over. We're both grateful that we came across the book "Wonder Weeks" - it's really helped Mom understand the developmental leaps I made and how they've been affecting my mood.  Here I am working in my office reading my book:

Here I am checking out the book attached to my jumperoo: 

 Our Baby Signs instructor package arrived & we did a lot of reading about how to start our new business.  Mom started studying at night & doing some background research on where we should offer our services and classes.  We have a good idea on which establishments we'll look into first.  Mom's beefed up her signing - even though she knows I'm just taking it all in at this point & won't respond back for a few months.  Friday was pretty uneventful, as we continued to get back into our routines.  I turned 3 months old on Friday & we survived the Mayan prediction that the world would end on 12/21/12.  Here are some cute photos from my 3 month old photo shoot (Mom just loves dressing me up & taking pictures - this time she's using her new Sony RX 100 camera **Dad said Santa came early & she's enjoying taking pictures of me with it):

     I'm pretty much back to my normal eating & sleeping schedule - Thank Goodness!!  I helped Mommy fold the laundry.  I got to touch all the different fabrics - what a sensory experience.  I love all my velour outfits best.  Check me out helping Mom - exhausting job folding clothes:

 Saturday was the big Assemblies Ball that Mom & Dad were going to.  Aunt Shana & Jessie were coming over for a sleep over, while Mom & Dad got to enjoy the night out & get dressed up. I got all dressed up in hopes that I could join them at the Assemblies, but Mom said I'll have to wait until I'm older.  Here I am in my version of "white tie": 

By 6PM, Mommy & Daddy were dressed in their white tie attire & heading out the door.  They both looked stunning & I knew they'd have a great night out - first at the Philadelphia Club dinner followed by dancing and the midnight buffet at the Assemblies Ball (fun fact - the Assemblies is the oldest ball in the United States & has been an annual tradition in Philly for over 200 years).  I had a great night with Aunt Shana & Jessie.  They gave me a bath, got me ready for bed & gave me my bedtime bottle.  I went to sleep without any problems.  Jessie invented a very special way of rocking me to sleep - very different from what Mom & Dad typically do, but hey it worked.  While the girls were putting me to sleep, bad boy Bolt stole my pacifier off the kitchen table and ate it!! Aunt Shana googled what to do & even called Grandma.  They decided they would just keep an eye on him.  Mom & Dad got home around 2AM (just in time to give me a late night bottle *still getting used to my normal routines plus I heard the cab pull up & shine it's headlights in my room). Here are some photos from the Assemblies:  

 Mommy was really nervous that Bolt was going to die in the middle of the night so she let him sleep upstairs (lucky for us all he survived the night & is doing fine).  Sunday we were busy preparing some sides & all the dessert for Christmas).  Dad worked on the potato gratin & butternut squash soup, while Mommy baked Santa brownies, red velvet cake cups & creme brulee. I helped Mommy prepare all the yummy desserts from my Ergo carrier.  We had so much fun in the kitchen.  Sunday, Mommy said a little prayer for Daniel Moyers.  One year ago Daniel passed away.  Daniel was the little boy to Dad's good friend Peter & Christine.  Mom sent Christine an email letting her know that Daniel & the entire Moyers family was in our thoughts.  I can't wait until I get to meet Peter, Christine & Eleanor in the future - Mom's told me so much about how amazing they are & Uncle Danny told me last week that Eleanor uses baby sign language (sweet - a friend to practice with soon).  On Christmas Eve, we cleaned the house before heading to New Jersey for dinner.  Mommy had to call the pediatrician because my stuffy nose & cough were getting worse (they started up on Sunday).  The nurse told Mom to give me saline drops in my nose, elevate my mattress & turn the humidifier up.  I wasn't feeling 100% & Mom was hoping that with enough rest & following doctors orders I'd be ready for Christmas day.  We stopped at Great-Nanny & Great-Pop's house before dinner.  I love getting to see Great-Pop.  He's 91 & makes me laugh.  They can't believe how big I've gotten since my last visit.  We headed to Andrea & Warren's for Christmas Eve dinner.  By the time we got there it was almost my bed time, so I said a quick hello & then headed to bed in Matthias' bedroom.  Mom & Dad had a lot of fun & we got home quite late.  Mommy put me in my Christmas PJ's & told me Santa was coming after midnight - I was so excited that I went right to bed so that I wouldn't go on the naughty list at the last second (even if I did stay awake - I know I'm always on the nice list according to Mommy). Here are some photos from Christmas Eve:  

  Christmas morning I let Mom & Dad get right to work preparing for our guests.  We were hosting 14 people for Christmas dinner & they would all be here by noon.  Mom's job was to finish cleaning & take care of me (feedings & naps), while Dad was hard at work prepping the brisket, pork loin, carrots & brussel sprouts.  Once the house was full, we all had a blast & Christmas dinner was  a smashing success.  I got to sit at the dining room table & was a perfect angel during dinner.  I was happily playing with Mom's napkin & checking out all the adults eating their dinner.  After dessert, I finally got to open my Christmas presents & boy were there lots of presents.  I finished with my cool new arm chair.  While everyone took pictures of me lounging in my new chair, I decided it was about time to let out a massive explosion.  Unfortunately, it went all over my Christmas outfit & all over my new armchair (thank goodness the slipcover is machine washable).  After getting all cleaned up, our guests departed & it was off to bed for me after a very stimulating day. Here are some pictures of Christmas Day:  

 The day after Christmas we spent the day in our pajamas in front of the fire & Dad put together all my new toys. Here I am playing with my new toys:

  Here I am hanging out with Daddy - his nose looked so tasty I couldn't resist: 

I absolutely love my new exersaucer - it kept me entertained for 45 min (which is a very long time in baby time).  My feet could touch the bottom which had piano keys & played music every time I tapped a key.  I even figured out how to play the music at my fingertips.  What fun!!  We all had a blast trying out my new toys.  I also really enjoyed my new crib aquarium.  It's like having a TV in my crib - I can watch the fish swim around, while Mozart plays in the background.  This ended up being a bit to stimulating for me at bedtime, but was perfect during naptime.  On Thursday, we headed to New Jersey.  We met up with Nichole, Lindsay & Tatum at Toast for lunch.  Mom's really into Toast - yummy, yummy food (that probably isn't the healthiest option - but tis the season).  We spent much of the afternoon at Grandma's house.  Uncle Mario & Aunt Ari brought me my Christmas present (Uncle Maz forgot it on Christmas) - baby Timberlands & cool new outfits.  Then they headed out to do some more wedding venue shopping.  We stopped at Great-Nanny & Great-Pop's house to say hello before heading home.  Great-Pop fell the other day & ended up spending the night in the hospital.  He had a really big cut on his head & hurt his arm pretty bad.  Mom's is amazed (and thankful) that he did not break anything.  Tomorrow I'm looking forward to a visit from Aunt Ashley - she'll be coming up from Washington, DC tomorrow to hang out with Mom & I.

Twelve week growth spurt

I've been a very hungry boy this week - must be due to my 12 week growth spurt. Poor Mom had a hard time getting anything done around the house this week. This must be a transitional time period because everything is changing - my nap patterns changed, I really don't love going for car rides as much as I enjoyed before & I had some serious major poop blowouts. Mom ordered a ton of cloth diapers online that we're waiting to arrive. In the meantime, we're cycling through the six cloth diapers we have on a daily basis & using disposables when the cloth ones are being washed. Mom really likes the cloth diapers & I have to admit that I love them as well (the fleece lining is so soft on my behind). This week I managed to figure out how to break free from my Miracle Blanket swaddle. Mom & Dad have been calling me Houdini when they find me like this in the morning.

Even though I spent most of the week eating ravenously, we did manage to experience a lot of new things. Every morning, Mom & I worked out on the 3rd floor. Mommy loves that I can sit in my big boy chair & attempt to play with the activity tray, while she gets her barre workouts in. We skipped Stroller Strides this week because the weather was a bit iffy & she didn't want to take me out in gross weather.

On Monday, we went to the Audi dealer to get our spoiler fixed. They gave us a loaner car to use so that we didn't have to wait for 3 hours at the dealership. Mom was really nervous strapping the car seat base into the car because there weren't any child seat clips. She was afraid the seat belt around the base was not holding my carseat in tight enough, but I was quite happy in the back & napped on the way home. Mom & I baked Red Velvet Cake Cups that we brought to our playgroup on Tuesday. Tuesday's playgroup was at Theo's house & all the mom's brought cookies for their holiday cookie exchange. Everyone's cookies were delicious (Mom & Dad snacked on them for two days before Mommy sent the remainder to work with Dad to share with his colleagues). We had a blast at Theo's house - 7 babies & no major meltdowns. Of course Mom held me because I can't crawl around yet like most of the other babies. I wanted to nurse for half the time & then took a 45 minute nap while Mommy held me (every time she attempted to put me down - I woke up un-happy). On our way home, we stopped at a toy store to get some of the toys that all the older babies seemed to love. Mom told me to close my eyes because they were getting wrapped & put under the Christmas tree. Guess I'll find out soon enough which toys she ended up telling Santa I wanted. On Wednesday, we had our first cultural experience at a museum. We met up with ten other moms & their babies at the Philadelphia Museum of Art for a lovely tour of the Johnson Collection entitled "Eat, Drink & Be Merry." Once we got into the museum, I didn't want to stay in my stroller so Mommy had to put me in the Ergo carrier which kept me calm for a little bit. Mommy must have looked like a crazy lady in the museum bouncing me around to keep me happy. I loved going to the museum. I was such a curious little boy checking out all the paintings, chandeliers & people. I'll definitely let Mom bring me back next month for the Mommy tour. On Thursday morning we met new moms from the Fairmount Moms group at a coffee shop in Philly. It seems like there are so many little boys born around my birthdate - I met a Conrad & Donovan and they were both equally as happy to be out & about with their moms. Friday Mommy & I spent most of the day hanging out home nursing. Mom is convinced that maybe she should start me on solid foods because all I do is eat, eat, eat. Friday morning a gunman killed 20 children, 6 adults and himself at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Mommy cried and cried a lot on Friday. We kept CNN on for most of the day, while Mom squeezed me tight and kissed me a lot. She told me that her heart was broken for the 20 first graders that died and told me that they and their teachers were with God. I don't like seeing Mommy cry and I'm not sure I understand what happened (and I know nobody understands why it did). She told me how much she loved me & how she will do everything in her power to keep me safe in this scary world we live in. She also told me she promises to teach me how to be a good citizen in our society, how to be empathetic & she's certain I will be a caring, loving little boy that grows up to be a very loving, independent member of society. On Saturday morning we left for New York City very early in the morning. I was so excited for my first outing in NYC - I asked Mom to dress me up in my new holiday onesie (very trendy with a holiday tie & vest attached). Mom was getting her hair cut at her favorite curly hair salon, Devachan. While she got her hair cut, I hung out with Daddy. He showed me around Soho & the Village. We even got to stop for a slice of pizza at Joe's. Unfortunately, I had a major blowout on the way up to the city, so I was forced to change my super cute holiday outfit & had to wear my spare outfit (Mom forgot to pack a cute change of clothes, so I was in a light blue onesie with matching pants - I looked like I belonged in an institution). After Mom got her hair done, we headed to Brooklyn to have lunch with Dad's friends (Bryan, Melanie, Danny & Catherine) and Mom's friend Chris at Ici Restaurant. It was my first time meeting them & they brought me really cute presents. Here's me meeting Danny:

I was really well behaved & definitely can't wait to try Mom's duck hash when I get bigger - it looked delicious. Lunch was great, but we had to head back to Philly right afterwards in order to make it to the Longwood Gardens Christmas display by 5:45. Mom was frantic that we were going to be late & hold up the twenty other Junior Leaguers waiting at the entrance. I was trying really hard to be patient with all the traveling, but six hours in the car would make anyone cranky. By the time we got to Longwood Gardens I was not a happy camper. We were already half an hour late meeting the Junior League group & Mom was getting frustrated that I wanted a snack before we went in. Unfortunately, my fussiness only escalated. I didn't want to nurse with her, but finally took the bottle from Dad. Once we got inside, I hung with Mom in the baby carrier, while Dad pushed the stroller just in case we needed it. Poor Mom & Dad barely got a chance to enjoy the beautiful light display.

I was fussy from the moment they got their hot chocolates, until we got back in the car. The worst part of the entire night was touring the decorated greenhouse. The line was so slow & I was getting really hot from the heat cranking & increasingly more hungry. I cried & cried. I desperately wanted Mom to get me outside, but the line kept snaking around the greenhouse. Finally, Dad was able to convince an employee to show us the secret way outside. The entire time in the greenhouse Mom lost her cool with me. She spoke pretty harshly to me & told me I was embarrassing her and Dad. I felt terrible, but couldn't help that I was tired (it was past my bedtime after all), cranky & hungry again. Mommy apologized when we got back to the car & I know she felt really bad about getting upset with me. She apologized to Dad for being short tempered with him too - I guess in hindsight she realized that she packed way to many things into day. When we got home, she nursed me to sleep while watching more Sandy Hook Elementary news. They had released the names & photos of the deceased. Mom cried and cried again - this time because she was upset with me today & felt horrible that those parents that lost their children in Connecticut would give anything to be with their children again while she was frustrated & upset with me. She hugged me even tighter before she put me to bed. I woke up in the middle of the night & needed a midnight snack. Mom took a deep breathe & settled in for the hour awake in the middle of the night. I know we are both sorry for frustrating each other & we took the time to snuggle and show each other that we love each other very much. I didn't really want to sleep in my crib & she gave in letting me sleep in bed with her & Dad (she told me not to get too used to this, but she was allowing it during this awful 12 week transition phase). Sunday we had a very lazy day nursing, while Daddy worked on his "honey do" list. Sunday Mommy played a game with me on my activity mat. She & I have been reading Baby Minds during the weekdays and she decided it was time to play a developmental game with me. She tie a ribbon to the butterfly dangling above my head & the other end to my left foot. It didn't take me long to figure out that when I moved my leg the butterfly would move. I had so much fun making the butterfly fly. She switched the ribbon to my opposite leg & then my arms. I'm a pretty smart boy because it took me no time at all to isolate which limb would make the butterfly move. I tried to isolate the limb but was getting so excited that I ended up flapping my arms & legs wild a lot & laughed at how fast the butterfly was going. We also practiced sitting in my big boy highchair at the kitchen table. We're practicing so that I can sit at the dining room table for Christmas dinner. Mom's really hoping she can teach me table manners at a young age like her Grammy taught her. We'll see how that works out for us. In the meantime, I'm really enjoying sitting up like a big boy.

Mom & Dad finally decorated our gingerbread house (took them long enough - Mom bought it 3 weeks ago). Next year I'm going to be in charge of decorating, but I think they did a fairly decent job:

Mom & I are both hoping this fussy phase ends this week - we're both getting tired of being frustrated & can't wait to get back to our normal routines. For now, we'll chalk it up to a learning experience and continue to show each other lots of love in the wake of the elementary school shootings. Looking forward to the holiday party after our yoga session tomorrow - hopefully we'll both be able to get centered again at yoga & breathe out our frustration.