Christmas!!

Eek I guess I haven't posted at all since we have been on our wonderful Christmas holiday. The first week we were so busy hanging out wth family and getting ready for Christmas and parties, then the second week by BFF and her boyfriend were here. We are here another week, but it's back to work a little bit I guess. Work, and blogging of course. :)

Smooshie loves it here and it is so nice having my parents around to play with him. We have a gymnastics matt and activity gym set up and he is CRAZY about rolling over! it is so funny, he can flip over in 1 second now and does it over and over again. He is also really playing with his toys more. He really cracks us all up with his tricks and faces. He is also HUGE. I can't wait to see if he really is getting super big, or if it just seems that way since we don't have his other baby friends to compare with. We have met 2 babies who were a few weeks older than him and we was double their size! In fact, he is getting so heavy I pulled out my back yesterday so I went for an amazing massage at a really great spa this morning... 90 minutes of total relaxation then hanging out in the hot tub and sauna and a long hot shower with all the crazy jets.. My mom watched Smoosh and ever brought him in to BF in between my massage and hot tubbing!

He is also apparently teething already :( Poor little thing drools everywhere and bites and chews on everything!

It has been so fun taking him to the beach. He wears his little rash guard and hat and we swim him around. He also really enjoys falling asleep in the car and then sleeping in his carseat at the beach for hours- while we drink rum punch - fabulous!

His first Christmas was really fun. My dad got him a Bongo drum and he got lots of books and cool little things. He went to a few holiday parties and was a big hit, smiling at everyone then falling asleep. It has also been AMAZING seeing him with my grandmother, who will be 102 in February. They take their morning naps together every day!

And... it looks like his afternoon nap is now over.. more soon!

Happy Chanakah!

Yesterday was the first day of Chanukah so we had a Skype party with the ILs last night. Only MIL is Jewish, so Smooshie is only 1/4, but I still think it is cool for him to get to know the customs and prayers.

Growing up, I never really knew what it meant to be Jewish. I lived on an island and went to Montessori which was SO diverse - kids were black, white, Asian, mixed, Rastas, French, Indian.. Religion never really came up. When I moved to New York, I realized that ALL my friends were Jewish. My best friend's family became my second family and I learned to LOVE the ways of a Jewish family- a stark contrast to my Waspy/Hippy parents and their colder/cooler vibe. So now I am so happy to have my little 1/4 Jewish baby and have all this stuff in my family too!

Plus, MIL came up with the cutest traditions. The other day a huge box arrived from them, full of gifts and our candles and kosher food. I made matzo ball soup and yummy potato latkas with sour cream and applesauce for dinner :) I wish I had taken a photo! Then, over Skype, we lit the Menorah and sang the prayer ( which I am still yet to memorize) and opened presents. There was a huge box for Smooshie with a beautiful silver flying pig piggy bank and a bag of dollar coins. Every year, he will get 1 coin plus 1 for each year he is for 8 days to put in the bank. I haven't done the math, but it should be a good amount by his 13th birthday! He also got the softest stuffed cow (since he was born in the year of the cow) and an adorable organic outfit. The ILs live in LA in a really nice area, so they know to go to the cool celebrity organic stores - they know my taste! The dogs got some organic Chanukah cookies, and they also sent a $100 gift card to Barnes & Noble so we can all go pick out a book or two as another new tradition. My ILs really are great, aren't they?

Now for the bad news
#1 It is 20 degrees outside, how am I going to get my last minute errands done?
#2 DH had a show last night and appears to have over done it. He is still passed out on the sofa at 11AM. I told him that Prosecco my BF and I were drinking at the house was stronger than it seemed. Now he is going to be useless in helping me with said errands.

Baby Christmas Presents..

are kind of silly since they really have no idea what is going on, but these things are so cute!

I already got him this little set from EGG, but in grey and blue. I got him the sweater one-piece in the blue and tan to go with it.


This is a "mini orchestra" I love cook little instruments, and they are fun for the whole family for sing a longs!



Adorable hippy activity bear, found it on Giggle




Dwell Studio blocks!

It was hard to watch but....

he rolled over yesterday! Poor little thing was so determined. He was stuck with his one arm still under him for about 10 minutes, but I decided to let him work it out on his own. And viola! Here he is, so proud of himself. :)



And then we made pizza to celebrate..

What Smooshie is Up to These Days..

I don't want to forget, it is moving so fast!


His favorite things to do:

STILL.. Jumping. Flying. (aka we jump him in the air or fly him around. Exhausting)

Jumping and "walking" in his Doorway Jumper - so cute!

Batting and kicking at things on his activity matt, he actually grabbed one of the toys yesterday and pulled it down to his mouth!

Standing with us holding his hands, he looks so proud :)

Putting his hands in his mouth, he loves his precious hands like no other.

Smiling and laughing, yay.

The mobile in his crib, it CRACKS him up every time! (Not that he is sleeping in there, he just hangs out in it sometimes during the day)

Talking. He says "A gloo oo" which = " I love you"

Taking showers and baths together.

Music class.

His Daddy singing his special song he wrote for him, it always calms him down at night. :)

Things he is SO over:

The swing, he tries to get out of it and won't keep his head down!

The bassinet- we are on to the actual seat on the stroller which is great because I can keep it folded downstairs.

All of his 0-3 and some of his 3-6 clothes! He is huge! (95th percentile apparently)

Things he is still so-so about:

The Bumbo. He sits up in it and it is fun to have him on the counter while we eat lunch or when I cook dinner, but he still looks a little slumpy after a while.

The rattle. He holds it and shakes it, but I am not sure if he knows he is shaking it or holding it.


That's pretty much all I can think of right now... I need to go find that video camera...

11 Weeks 2 days.. and our first trip to the ER

So, we made it all the way to Tennessee and back! It was a really great trip, although the drive was a bit rough. Pumping in the car worked really well. That way the milk was still nice and warm and I would just hop into the back seat and feed him with the bottle. We did BFa few times when we stopped to eat as well, just for comfort. We left the City on Tuesday afternoon and only made it to the end of PA when it started raining and got soo dark that we decided to stop at our favorite chain restaurant, Ruby Tuesday's, and spend the night. We found a dog friendly Best Western and the only room with a king size bed also had a GIANT whirpool tub IN the room. It was pretty funny, it was bigger than a hot tob with tile stairs leading up to it.. We took the opportunity to take a family bath and give Smoosh some swimming lessons while watching TV!
We drove all day Wednesday, hit holiday traffic on 81 after the VA/TN border and took the back roads through Newport and Cosby. We were all totally over it by then, but when we finally pulled into the house it was so worth it. Both our parents, my SIL, and their dog (who flew from LA) were all there with a big home cooked meal for us and eagerly waiting to hold Smoosh. They had it worked out in order of who had seen him last: first SIL who had never met him, then my dad who was here for the birth, then mom, then FIL and MIL. I barely held the baby the entire time except to feed him, he was just passed around and paparazzi'd to death which he loved. He is such a good baby. :) It was so nice to be able to relax a little and hang out with DH and not have to constantly entertain or worry about Smooshie. It really made me wish we had some family nearby.
Sunday we had to head back.. hit more traffic. Spent the night in Maryland I think..
Sunday night I noticed a little bump on Smooshie's butt, kind of like a pimple. We got home late Monday and I googled it, called Mom, couldn't find any info. Tuesday AM I called the doctor. He called me back and I described the bump, which was now oozing a little. Well, he told me to go DIRECTLY to the ER and that Smoosh needed to be operated on immediately. We dropped everything and headed into the city to NYU hospital where we spent a good 5 hours in a room waiting.. When the pediatric surgeons finally came, they said it looks like an irritation that got a little infected. They gave us antibiotics and a follow up appointment for next week. Ugh, mixed feelings. SO happy that he didn't have to have surgery, so annoyed/confused that our doctor made this crazy phone diagnosis and had me terrified all day, still worried and hoping it clears up. I don't know who to trust or what to believe. Still, we survived our first ER visit as a family. Hopefully the first and last.

Mommy and Baby moccasins we got in Tennessee. :)