Happy 4th Month Birthday, Charlie!

Today Charlie turned 4 months old. I can’t believe he is 4 months old already but on the other hand, I can’t believe he has only been in our lives for 4 months. He is now sleeping in his crib and I think we just getting over the 4 month wakeful/sleep regression. Once he is down to sleep (takes 0 to 90 minutes), he does a pretty good job sleeping until the morning.

He is really getting a personality. He is still very smiley and such a flirt. He looks at you, gives you a big grin, then turns away shyly and squeals as if it’s just too much excitement for him to handle.

Other things he loves:
· Sucking hands and his thumb
· Sleeping on his side
· Looking at reflections in mirror
· Grabbing his own hair and grabbing other people’s hair/ears and cheeks
· Standing (with help). He wants to go go go – practice walking always puts a smile on his face
· Sucking on toys – current favorite is Mortimer the Moose
· Playing with his toys on the activity mat

He is liking the jumper more but still doesn’t love it. I think once his feet reach the ground better and he can actually jump, he’ll like it more.

He has rolled from his tummy to his back a few times and has almost rolled from his back to his tummy a couple times.

He still doesn’t love getting strapped into the car seat but once we get going in the stroller or car, he is ok.

We love you very much Charlie, and can’t wait to see you continue to grow up to be our adorable little man!

Not Going To Cry Over Spilled Sour Milk.

One of the times Charlie spit up on me today, we were downstairs. I would normally take my shirt off and run upstairs with him but we had the DirectTV guy over fixing our satellite and he doesn't want to see the girls in all their breastfeeding glory.

After I changed Charlie into clean clothes, I realized I didn't want the vomit on my shirt to get on him so I had a brilliant idea: turn my shirt around so the vomit was now on my back. So I did that and wa-la, vomit again on the sweatshirt..even on the hood.

Awesome.

I went outside to show Rob how ridiculous I looked. On my way upstairs to shower, Charlie threw up on my pants.

One time my sister in law told me she could count on one hand the number of times her 1 year old daughter has ever spit up. I didn't know if I should be happy for her, or slap her. Just kidding Kathy, I love you and am happy Carla is not a spitter upper. But, it would be nice to get a break every once in a while!

One reason I'm looking forward to going back to work: not smelling like throw up all day - and wearing makeup.

Charlie's First BBQ.

We had such great weather on Sunday. It was about 80 degrees and Rob decided to have an impromtu BBQ. We called my parents and asked them to join us for dinner which was also Charlie's first BBQ!






Yes, I realize that Charlie is wearing the world's largest bib - its all about getting a bib that covers the largest surface area. If you have/had a child that barfs every 3 minutes, you would understand.

First Date Night Post Charlie.

I asked my mom and dad to watch Charlie so Rob and I could go on a date. We have been on a double date once since he was born, and out with him, but not a one on one date (sounds like I'm talking about "The Bachelor"). I think its important for couples to have time to reconnect but its so hard during the first couple months - plus you're so tired. Here we are about to leave on our date.

We went to Sicilia in Bocca in Morgan Hill.

Our town is little but we have some great mom and pop restaurants some of them being Italian, Thai , Sushi, Indian, etc. Sicilia in Bocca is a tiny house that has been converted into a restaurant. It was the first time we had both been there. The food was really good and we actually spent most of the time NOT talking about Charlie. Our date was only an hour and fifteen minutes but it was time well spent with my pooper.

My Virtual Baby & Sleeping In The Crib.

Last night was attempt #2 of having Charlie sleep in his crib. I always said I'd have him out of our room at 3 months and we are a few days shy of 4 months right now, but I didn't know that sometimes things don't go the way you plan when you have a baby. What stopped us from trying earlier was that we had to have him laying a certain way when he slept because he was developing a flat spot and the only way to position him correctly was to have him sleep in his bouncer seat. I wasn't comfortable putting him in his bouncer seat in the crib. We got him the noggin nest so we took him out of the bouncer and into the co-sleeper. Night #2 in the co-sleeper and we realized he was doing 180's and sleeping on his side so sleeping with the noggin nest wasn't going to happen without having a potential suffocation hazard. So, sleeping on his back again was what we had to do. I wanted to get him used to sleeping on his back again and not in his bouncer.

He hasn't been sleeping great for a week now because we also unswaddled him. He was breaking out of the swaddle and I'd wake up to find the blanket on his face which was giving me panic attacks. Also, with him moving around at night in the co-sleeper, he was waking himself up because the co-sleeper would move around a lot when he moved. The first time we tried to sleep in here he kept crying and crying. We'd settle him down and put him back in and he just wasn't having it. So attempt #1 of Operation Have Charlie Sleep In His Own Crib was a big fat failure. I decided to try again last night and this is how it went down (no pun intended - ha!)...

8:30 pm - Down in crib

10:00 pm - Mom in bed, looking at Charlie in his own crib = one happy mama. Rob referred to Charlie's monitor in his co-sleeper as my virtual baby.

11:00 pm - Charlie wakes up. I go into room, give him the paci and he is out in 1-2 minutes.

1:00 am - Same as 11:00 pm

3:30 am - Wake up to "HEADS, SHOULDARS, KNEES & TOES, KNEES & TOES!!!!!!!!!" Dang it! The stupid Laugh and Learn Puppy that is in Charlie's room is going off by itself. I run to his room and bring it to our room. Watch Charlie stir a little on the monitor and he's out by himself in a few minutes.

4:00 am - Ditto 3:30 am (WTF??). I take the puppy and put it in our closet, in the back corner, and shut the closet door. Watch Charlie stir a little on the monitor and he's out by himself in a few minutes.

5:00 am - Same as 11:00 pm

7:00 am - Look at monitor and expect Charlie to get up. He is ALWAYS up at 7:00 am no matter what time he is down for bed. He appears to be still sleeping (his room has less light than ours does).

7:35 am - Charlie is awake. Wow, slept in later than normal!

7:45 am - Charlie starts making noise. He was content for 10 minutes, hanging out, staring at the monitor in his room.

I'd have to say it was a success! For the past 4-5 nights, he has been waking up in his co-sleeper, I give him the paci then he wakes up 1o minutes later, repeat for 1-2 HOURS. I think he is going through the "4-month wakeful" sleep regression. Plus he is laying on his back which is new again, plus he isn't swaddled. A lot of new things for this little guy but I think he definately sleeps better in his own room. I really hope tonight goes as well, or better, than last night.

Weekend With The Navones.

Last weekend we spent the weekend at the beach house with the Navones. We drove down late afternoon/early evening and had an early night. Saturday we decided to go to lunch at Aldos on the Santa Cruz harbor. Rob and I hadn't been there since we went with the Evanses. Wow, I can't believe its been 2 years! We like Aldos because they allow dogs and because of the neat view of the boats.

Going anywhere with a baby is stressful. What if he is fussy? What if he has an ass-plosion? I figure the more times we go out with him, the easier it will get. So we pakced up the car and met the Navones at the restaurant.

On the way, I had to hold Buddy on my lap otherwise he will run around the car and try to sit on Rob's lap while he is driving. This would be no big deal if Buddy was a normal dog that just sat and enjoyed the view. I have to hold him with all my might so he doesn't run around. The one saving grace is the window - he looooves having his head out the window.

At one point I look down and notice something on my shirt.

Crap - dog crap. Great.

On our way we pass by Charlie Hong Kong.

My little Charlie Hong Kong.

We finally made it. It was warm so I took off my cardigan and like Rob said "embraced" the stain on my shirt. I'm used to embracing spit up, but embracing dog poop was a new one for me.

When we got back to the house, we relaxed and picked up Chinese take out.

And before we left on Sunday, we had a cousins photo shoot.

Rob, Don't Read This.

That was the going to be the original title of this blog post. I’ll start from the beginning…my mom and I took a trip down to the Carter’s outlet a couple weeks ago because she and I had to return something. After Carter’s, we decided to go to Pier 1 because it was 1 exit away from the outlets and I saw some pillows in the Pier 1 catalog that I liked that were on sale. So we get there and they have them (yeah!). Last time I was there, I saw some pillows I was interested in but I was with Dorothy and she talked me out of it. She said “you kind of have a lot going on in there.” She meant we have a bunch of baby crap all over the family room so I didn’t NEED the pillows because really….who will notice them? She was right and I’m glad she talked me out of it because I liked these new pillows so much better AND they were on sale.

So I buy three pillows and after I give her my credit card I get that feeling I get…that guilty feeling. Whenever I go shopping and get something I want and not need, I feel guilty. If it were just my money I wouldn’t but it’s OUR money and I feel like Rob will get upset. I have no reason to think that, he has never gotten mad at me for shopping but I still feel guilty. So I’ve had the pillows in the garage waiting for them to make their debut. I put them out today and when Rob got home I saw him looking at me and I was avoiding eye contact. He mentioned the new pillows and told me he liked them. My jaw dropped and said “really?!” I was surprised he liked them, I thought he would think they were weird. He said “Yeah, I think our family room needs some color.” Score! Guilty feeling gone.

Without further a ‘do….

A Year Ago Today....

Rob and I found out I was pregnant! To take a trip down memory lane, you can read my announcement post here.

Boppy Noggin Nest

The helmet people recommended this to us. There is a hole cut out so there is less pressure at the back of the head. We use it in his swing, car seat, bouncer, on the ground when he plays on his mat and at night when he sleeps (although the tag says not to use it for sleep, we think its ok at Charlie's age). You can purchase it at target.com or pottery barn kids. We wish we had known about this sooner!

More Just Because Flowers..

Thanks pooper!

Tai Pei Stirfry Creations

In my quest for dairy free-ness, I stumbled upon these at Wal-Mart. I used to stick my nose up at people who shopped at Wal-mart, I know, it sounds snobby but we never had a Wal-Mart nearby that wasn't a mess inside. My town recently got a Wal-Mart and its really nice and the groceries are a great deal. Anyway, back to Tai Pei....I really like the Tai Pei Stirfry Creations - Vegetable Potstickers.

I haven't tried the other ones and won't. I have issues with meat that is not fresh. I always feel like it tastes rubbery. The only complaint I have about the stirfry is its a bit high in calories for what you get. Half the package (1 serving) is 440 calories. It would be better if they had more vegetables but I think the reason they don't is because then they would need more sauce which would increase the calorie count. The serving includes 6 potstickers which is quite a bit I think. Another benefit: its super easy and fast to make.

I went on their website and you can find it at:

Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Lucky, Raley's, Save Mart, Food Maxx, Bel Air, Nob Hill, Food Source, Leonard's, Centro Mart, PW Supermarket, Mollie Stone's, G&G Supermarket, Gelson's, WinCo Foods, Super Target, 7-11, Grocery Outlet, Wal-Mart

Go out and try it!

My Dairy Cleanse & Almond Milk Reviewed.

Charlie's pediatrician told me babies with eczema are more prone to allergies. She suggested I cut out dairy from my diet for two weeks to see if it made a difference in his skin. My two weeks ends tomorrow and I don't think it has made a difference. My friends who have kids with eczema told me they can typically have flare ups when the weather changes. I noticed his skin was looking good (because of no dairy?) but the next day it flared up and it was the first day of poo poo weather we've been having. I think they are on to something.

So how did the cleanse go? It was pretty good. I love me some dairy so at first it was hard to figure out what to eat. I love cheese and milk and could (and sometimes do) have it all day. I love cereal so I knew I had to find a milk substitute but I didn't want to have soymilk so I decided to try Almond Milk. They have original, chocolate and vanilla. I didn't know which to get so I got all three and had a taste test.

I think Rob thought I had lost it because when he unloaded the dishwasher he said "um, when did you take shots?"

My review:

Original - Tastes almondy. I wouldn't be able to drink it by the glass but I can have it with my cereal.

Vanilla - Very sweet. Rob likes it as a sweet treat after dinner. I tried it in coffee as a creamer but it was gross.

Chocolate - Very sweet and thick plus it has a ton more calories than the original and vanilla.

I don't think I'd buy it again once I'm back on cow's milk but its a decent alternative.

Spring Flowers in Our Backyard

How Alyssa is, Slowly, Getting Her Groove Back.

Today I got my hair cut and highlighted, it had been six months.

I also made my favorite muffins - peanut butter and chocolate chip, of course.

Tomorrow, I have a breakfast date with my girlfriends and dinner date with our friends Mike and Sarah and their daughter, Annabelle. I feel like I'm slowly getting my groove back. Hopefully, one day, I'll have a post called "How Alyssa Got Her Figure Back." Stay tuned for that...

Easter 2010 Recap

We went down to Aptos for Easter weekend. Our niece Carla turned 1 on Saturday and her parents had a little party for her. In attendance was us, my sister/brother in law, niece Carla, my in-laws, brother in law's mother, Rob's 2 cousins, Rob's uncle and Carla's nanny/nanny husband.

On Saturday morning, Charlie rolled over AGAIN, TWICE! He hasn't done it since but we're proud of our little monkey.

On Easter, the house was decorated thanks to my sister in law, Kathy.

Charlie's Easter basket.

Charlie also got spoiled by his Mimi and Grampy, Nonni and Grandpa, Mrs. Navone and his cousins Peter/Kevin and Great Uncle Pete. Here are some of his gifts:

Charlie & cousin Carla

Us

Buddy