Excitement Over a New Toy

I love how he flails his arms and kicks his legs when he gets excited. We bought him this toy last Sunday and I'm glad we got his reaction on video.

Thiiiiiiis Close!

Thomas is so close to crawling. He has been crawling backwards for some time now, which is the first stage of learning how to crawl.

He just can't get over one of his large thunder thighs! Ever since we introduced cereal after waiting a week before his 6 month mark he has gained an impressive amount of weight and it has all seemed to go to his thighs! Though he has cute chub folds on his arms too. The Hub and I give him a good amount of time on his belly and put things he likes just out of his reach. He is very determined, and I'm afraid once he masters this new milestone he will be off like a rocket, and we'll have our hands full! I'm just really hoping we get to see his first success at it instead of missing the moment at daycare, but we're aware it will probably happen out of our sight =(

Today he really started to get the hang of using a sippy cup, which makes him look like such a big boy. He watches the older babies at daycare so I feel like he will be quite pleased with himself tomorrow. He only goes Tuesday through Friday.

This is my favorite picture of him taken so far (actually taken in June on one of the very few non-rainy days).
-Future Red Sox player

I got that Red Sox ball from the Mass Mentorship Luncheon I attended right before I got pregnant and he absolutely loves it! He will not let it go and sometimes falls asleep holding it. A few weeks ago we've started to play catch with him and he actually has a great arm!

He's so much fun! I just wish he would sleep a bit more...maybe some day. For now, a girl can dream...maybe.

Summertime

And the living is easy.

It was a long winter with record snow storms and a confused spring, so I am so happy summer has finally arrived!
After the cloudiest, rainiest June New England has had since 1903, I am seriously lacking good ol' Vitamin D. I could never live in Seattle if that's what it is really like there. Crapola--I love me some sunshine!

For the 4th of July we went to The Wicks' place in Revere and brought Thomas to the beach for the first time. It was a bit windy, but he seemed to like it. Daddy kept him in the Ergo since he was getting sleepy so he never actually sunk his toes in the sand. We'll be making our annual Cape trip in August when the Daycare is closed for a week so he'll get plenty of sandcastle building time. I can't wait; I need a vacation soooo badly!!!


We had a fun time and then went to the Stacks' Casa the next day for another celebration. I'll try to post more, but for now Little Man is sleeping (not for the night, and dinner is served. Better eat in peace while we can!)


The W Clan walking toward the tide

Learning

to play guitar with Daddy.



He still has a little way to go.
=)

Not sure how long this will last...

but after a morning shower for Thomas (and Daddy), a diaper change (by Daddy), and 2 boobs' worth of milk for breakfast (by Do-You-Even-Have-to-Ask?), both of my guys are upstairs sleeping the beautiful morning away! I started to join them after Thomas went to sleep, but I was too awake with the day, and already got a refreshing 4 hours straight (unheard of, believe me!!!).

So here I am at 9am! Missing blogging, writing, reflecting, posting pictures...

I really wanted to post a 6 month stat update and still will (hopefully right after this post), but I think that is such a milestone it deserves it's own post, all to itself!

I will say, I can't believe how fast Thomas is growing! It really boggles my brain, and though he makes me proud every day, it also makes me a little sad that this time goes by so fast since it's so special. There are so many "firsts" not only for him but for me and The Hub. And even The Cats! Those Firsts also deserve their own posting IMO.

--Cute Shirt by Auntie Jen. I think Thomas is playing the Air Piano.

So here I sit, being "selfish" for a change. Wondering how much time I have to myself to enjoy a piece of me that I rarely share anymore, at least in a Blogspot World. I let my social butterfly out when I'm with people face-to-face or on the phone if Thomas "lets" me--COL! Yes, I mean COL. It looks weird to me too, but honestly, how much do you actually Laugh out Loud?? I tend to more Chuckle out Loud. Corny of me, I know, but I just like to be accurate (and understood!). I guess those who know me get what I mean, but whatever.

I think what I really want to post will be for 2 of my C friends who are preggers for the first time. I cannot wait to meet Baby Maz and Baby Campbell!! I know Maz will be a Boy!!! And I can't remember if BC is a Surprise or not...I could check something real quick, but don't want to get sidetracked like I always do, so I shan't. If it is a Surprise, I will guess Girl just b/c, but if not a Surprise then I bet it's a boy! Ha ha! My reasoning? EVERYONE is having BOYS so I would def remember if they were having a Girl!!! I guess that post will also be for another time as it deserves its own piece too.

Even tho I LOVE sleep, I have a certain love for the mornings as well. I always thought "morning people" were cool, so I guess in his own way Tad is making me cooler! Like a good housewife-who-also-works (WTF am I doing no wonder I'm exhausted and sick all the time!) I had made coffee on this fine morning. Apparently, I am too nice to kick Oscar off my lap so I will just peer around his tail as I type. The Cats also will get their own post since they are putting up with a lot and we try our best to make sure they still feel loved (cuz they are!) I am teaching Thomas to pet the cats gently and in turn praise the cats for not turning around and biting him! So far so good. Well so far, pretty good. The Baby needs more work than the Cats, but in his defense he's much younger! Plus, Darla, Milo, & Oscar have a lot of experience and...patience thanks to a certain someone I love so much who never grew up with pets--poor kid!

Well I hear my cue thanks to the Lovely clear monitor Jojo got for the Baby Shower--thanks Jo, you rock!


Many postings for another day--at least I got in my own cup of coffee!!! So selfish. Ha!

1/2 a year ago...

I had a fairly regular day...went to a prenatal appt and found out I was 4-5 cms and 100% dilated (aka Walking Time Bomb), went to the office even though I had the day off (for some reason I thought Veteran's Day was observed on that Monday), handed out most of my thank you cards from the work shower, met with the usual "YOU'RE STILLLL HERE?!?!" questions and faces, went to help out the Wicks b/c I think The Doc had car trouble while working at the VA, went out to eat at Fridays with the four of them, went online for a little bit, until the Hub and I thought we would watch some DVR Lost; 10 mins into the show TAD decided he had better vacate! Pulled an all nighter (first since college) and met Thomas at 7:27am the next day. Exhausted but delighted!

Crazy to me that he will be 6 months old tomorrow!!!
Thankful to have shared my 1st Mother's Day with my two favorite guys, and wishing I could have seen my own Mom yesterday as originally planned (stupid flu).

Love to all you Moms, Grandmas and Moms-to-Be!

On Loving Bathrooms by Milo Man

The aroma is profoundly familiar...





















like my entangled nuggets.

-Originally created 4/11/09 @ 2:28PM

A BEautiful Day.

..For a nap!

In Need of a Good Laugh?

It's Friday so you should already be happy, but if you just need a good laugh after a long hard week then watch these cutie pies!

Thank you Hoda and Kathie Lee for sharing this--I've become addicted to their morning show!

A-Fraud: Once a Cheater...

Always a Cheater.

At least in my book. What's the saying..."Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!"

As I watched his Yeah-I-cheated-but-won't-say-the-word-cheating press conference I forgot all about him cheating on his wife too. What a winner.

I must preface this post by saying that even though I am a Red Sox fan true and true, I'm also a fan of the game of baseball. I love the sport, I love reading about the old time players like Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig and Sandy Koufax, Mickey Mantle, and Dom and Joe DiMaggio. Until now I held Alex Rodriguez as the best player in the game today, even though he seems to curse every team of which he has been a part in the postseason, when it counts the most. I like to call it the Curse of the A-Rod!

I'll have to finish this post later since Thomas is waking up. If you're reading this on Facebook you'll have to click on View Original Post.

3 Months Old

Long time no post, I know.
I've been under the weather since the beginning of January off and on, and it's been so annoying. At first, Thomas did not catch my cough and runny nose, and I was quite pleased. Perhaps the breastfeeding immunities worked their magic...

But then The Hub got sick, probably from germy work, and then Thomas caught it too. Like so many others this winter we cannot shake this stupid sickness for the life of us. Just when you think you're starting to get better the cough comes back almost mocking you. Annoying crappy thing. I just feel bad for the baby when he coughs (though his is improving faster than ours) b/c he doesn't understand.

Speaking of the baby--he's getting so big! I attribute this to the natural progression of babies to grow, but also his healthy appetite! He definitely takes after his Daddy in that respect. The bf'ing was hard at first, but now it's a piece of cake thanks to a one-on-one consult with Lactation Care in Newton. They are AWESOME!! It was the best $110 we spent on Thomas and I'm so happy to say that ever since that visit (Jan 2nd) he has been exclusively having Mom's Homecooking ;-) When I can find the time I will definitely give them a glowing review on Yelp.com It's a small woman-owned business, and I actually got to meet with Dot, the founder of the company, who I attribute to be a wise Saint! She's great and they have follow-up phone calls with you as well to make sure you and baby have a good working bf'ing relationship. It really is an skill both of you have to learn; and don't underestimate the father's role as well, at least in the very beginning. Dad's have duties too to help it work. We both went to the bf'ing class at Beth Israel with other couples before we were discharged from the hospital even though we both assumed he need not attend. Not only are there ways for husbands and s/os to help, but it's good on the mom's sleep deprived brain for remembering what you learn at the class. Parenthood is definitely a team effort!

For some reason the pics won't flip like I have them saved, but I don't have time to figure out why...baby calls!

**Yay! With the Paint expertise of The Hub, it's fixed!

Bye Bye Bushie, Hello Barack

2 Months Old!

I can't believe how quickly the 2 months flew by! Yet at the same time it feels like he's been a part of our lives forever.

We're all doing splendidly well. The little guy is such a good baby. He's very happy and laid back, and I can't get over how cute he is. I LOVE being a mother! And I'm so happy the Hub is an excellent father and very involved. He came to every single prenatal appointment with me, and so far has gone to every pediatric appointment as well.

--Flying over Daddy

We have one tomorrow morning and I'm curious to see how much Thomas has grown. Earlier this week he had a growth spurt and was feeding like crazy and seemed to not sleep as much as normal, though he's still giving me 4-5 hour stretches at night; usually from 1-2am to 5-6-7am.

Today I tried to put him in an outfit he was wearing on December 22nd when Elizabeth and Joanna came to visit and he can barely fit into it. We had to retire one shirt yesterday that doesn't fit him anymore. Good thing it's so much fun shopping for clothes for him and I have a friend who works at Gap and showers him with Baby Gap clothes every time she sees him! The Hub also found some really cute Baby Gap ones for him around Christmas time, and we've gotten good finds at Old Navy. I love dressing him in cute outfits; it's kind of like having a doll again =) and I do enjoy fashion.

Moon Dance

It's a marvelous night for a moon dance...

My astronomy class at BU was pretty cool and furthered my interest in the subject. It's hard living in cities and trying to stargaze, but the high powered telescope on the roof of the CAS building along with the IMAX theater at the Museum of Science made learning easier and much more fun than any text book. So if you get a chance this evening peek your head at the moon.


Saturday Night Special: Biggest Full Moon of 2009

Robert Roy Britt
Editorial Director SPACE.com
space.com – Fri Jan 9, 12:56 pm ET

If skies are clear Saturday, go out at sunset and look for the giant moon rising in the east. It will be the biggest and brightest one of 2009, sure to wow even seasoned observers.

Earth, the moon and the sun are all bound together by gravity, which keeps us going around the sun and keeps the moon going around us as it goes through phases. The moon makes a trip around Earth every 29.5 days.

But the orbit is not a perfect circle. One portion is about 31,000 miles (50,000 km) closer to our planet than the farthest part, so the moon's apparent size in the sky changes. Saturday night (Jan. 10) the moon will be at perigee, the closest point to us on this orbit.

It will appear about 14 percent bigger in our sky and 30 percent brighter than some other full moons during 2009, according to NASA. (A similar setup occurred in December, making that month's full moon the largest of 2008.)

High tides

Tides will be higher, too. Earth's oceans are pulled by the gravity of the moon and the sun. So when the moon is closer, tides are pulled higher. Scientists call these perigean tides, because they occur when the moon is at or near perigee. (The farthest point on the lunar orbit is called apogee.)

This month's full moon is known as the Wolf Moon from Native American folklore. The full moon's of each month are named. January's is also known as the Old Moon and the Snow Moon.

A full moon rises right around sunset, no matter where you are. That's because of the celestial mechanics that produce a full moon: The moon and the sun are on opposite sides of the Earth, so that sunlight hits the full face of the moon and bounces back to our eyes.

At moonrise, the moon will appear even larger than it will later in the night when it's higher in the sky. This is an illusion that scientists can't fully explain. Some think it has to do with our perception of things on the horizon vs. stuff overhead.

Try this trick, though: Using a pencil eraser or similar object held at arm's length, gauge the size of the moon when it's near the horizon and again later when it's higher up and seems smaller. You'll see that when compared to a fixed object, the moon will be the same size in both cases.

More lunacy

If you have other plans for Saturday night, take heart: You can see all this on each night surrounding the full moon, too, because the moon will be nearly full, rising earlier Friday night and later Sunday night.

Interestingly, because of the mechanics of all this, the moon is never truly 100 percent full. For that to happen, all three objects have to be in a perfect line, and when that rare circumstance occurs, there is a total eclipse of the moon.

A departing fact: The moon is moving away as you read this, by about 1.6 inches (4 centimeters) a year. Eventually this drift will force the moon to take 47 days to circle our world.

Fire Destroys Fenway Restaurants

I was sad to see this on the news yesterday. These restaurants were good and nicely tucked away behind Fenway Park. They were such a nice alternative to all the chain options that abound. My friend JiYeon is the one who first introduced me to them years ago when we first met Woojin and they weren't as crowded since it was off the beaten path. My favorites were Rod-Dee and the Taqueria. Here's hoping they rebuild.

Fire Destroys Fenway Restaurants
BOSTON

An early morning fire in Boston's Fenway neighborhood destroyed a block of restaurants and forced dozens of people out into the cold Tuesday.

FAST MOVING FIRE

The fire broke out inside Thornton's Fenway Grill at the corner of Peterborough and Kilmarnock Streets around 2 a.m.

It quickly spread to the ceiling and then throughout the block, gutting five other restaurants and a dry cleaner.

"When we first got in there, we thought we had the fire contained in the first building," Robert Dunderdell of the Boston Fire Department said. "But there were no firewalls between the businesses, and it had raced across the building."

DOZENS EVACUATED

About 100 families were forced to evacuate their homes in the neighborhood because of the smoke, heat, and carbon monoxide danger generated by the four-alarm fire.

100 firefighters were called in and they struggled with the icy conditions.

Two of them were hurt when they slipped and fell. No one else was hurt.

CEILING COLLAPSED

Firefighters were forced to pull back at one point because an air conditioning unit crashed through the ceiling of one of the businesses.

Damage is estimated at $5 million.

There's no word yet on how the fire started.

The restaurants destroyed are:

1. Thornton's Fenway Grill
2. Sorento's Italian Gourmet
3. Umi Japanese Restaurant
4. Greek Isles
5. Rod-Dee Thai Cuisine II
6. El Pelon Taqueria

The Mom Song

To All the Moms Out There...

So much ahead...
=)