dance parties and cleaning-up

Isn't this picture beautiful?? My mom took it recently and I thought it was too precious NOT to post. I forgot to mention in the last recent post that Dylan now occassionally tries to do the worm when we have little dance parties. He'll be dancing and out of nowhere get down on the ground and push himself back just like his daddy. very cute and it shows that clearly breakdancing is something that is genetically coded because we've never taught him that. Also another cute thing he does is pick up things off the ground (like cheerios that he threw himself while saying "NOOO!") and walk them to the garbage and throw them away, or grab utensils or cups or botles and throw them up into the sink which he just barely reaches. Pretty amazing! Finally, I'm happy to have celebrated my birthday with him this last weekend -- he's the best present I could ever ask for.

all smiles

Things have been going well and Dylan is more like a little boy and less like a baby every day. We had our first "back to school/parents night" at his daycare, where we got to meet the teachers and hear about his days at the Rainbow Academy. It was nice to hear all the teachers say nice things about him. We felt like the parents of a little school-boy! It certainly felt like a milestone for us and I look forward to many more of those.

Thankfully, Dylan did pretty well throughout September and did not get sick. Unfortunately though, he developed ear infections in both ears during the first full week of October. He had a bit of a rough time and the doctor said it was probably pretty painful for him. Luckily, he's fully recovered now and we're bundling him up now that the weather has officially gotten really cold.

The cutest thing he's doing now is pointing to his own lips when he wants a kiss. It's just the cutest thing ever. Since the last entry, he has learned to say "NO" and "mine" -- both words we thank the daycare for. He's gotten really good at eating by himself and using utensils and he's begun to let us know when he needs a new diaper which is a good start to eventual potty-training. His personality is proving to be very strong and demanding and he will take our hands and lead us places and tell us what he wants to do (sit at his little table, read a book, take a bath, brush his teeth). For having such a small vocubulary he manages to always make himself understood, and he is understanding us more and more and responding by shaking his head "yes" or "no." What remains unchanged is his love of playing (especially with cars), his generosity with hugs and kisses (and we ask for them pretty regularly), and his adorable little voice which is sometimes really deep and other time really high and baby-like.

so all in all, things are going well and he's just getting cuter and smarter by the day. I took this picture one morning when we were getting dressed. I put his pants on and turned around to go in his closet for a shirt. by the time I turned around again, he had climbed up to the glider/chair and was rocking back and forth and smiling. I just had to take a picture with my phone to remember the moment.

End of Summer

As summer winds down, we've been sure to enjoy as much outside time with Dylan as possible. This last labor day weekend, we got to go to two different parks to play (Westfield and Cranford). Dylan makes friends easily and even initiated a short-term "bromance" with a little boy who walked over to him, squatted down to inspect him and when he got close, Dylan gave him a kiss on the cheek. This seemed to signal the beginning of a life-long friendship to the boy who spent the next 10 minutes hugging Dylan and giving him little kisses...until he turned on him and slapped him in the face! This was their inevitable first fight but Dylan was unphased by the slap and continued playing. The two made up after that (and after the boy's dad, previously uncomfortable with the all the kissing, and now uncomfortable with the slapping, intervened). Eventually we left and ended the "bromance" .... and went to a church carnival! Dylan loved watching mommy and daddy eat sausage sandwiches and zeppolis! And though he refused to stay on the merry-go-round horse for the entire ride, he did officially have his first merry-go-round ride.

Finally, we were happy to all sit at his itty-bitty table and eat cereal together as a family each morning. While Dylan has been eating dry cheerios for long time now, we've graduated him to eating them in a bowl with milk, which is very messy but very cute. And in fact, he spent the weekend practicing eating all his meals with his own utensils and he did pretty well.

"Mama" is my official name now, though he slips in a "Sheila" every now and then. And he's moved from the "Goldfish" room at his daycare (up to 18 months) to the "purple cats" room (18 months to 2 years old). I got him cute new clothes for the fall and he's excited for his new "school year" at the Academy (not really).

summertime

So, summer is winding down and we are trying to soak it all in before it's gone. Dylan's been sick off and on since starting daycare in July. We changed his schedule from 4 days a week at the daycare down to 3 so he would avoid germs a bit more, and get some more hugs on the days in between (since I'm a little upset that there's not enough hugging going on at the daycare). We were just at the doctor's office again yesterday for his cough but she said his little body would just have to adjust and build up its immunity. This has no impact on his cuteness, though. It's in full effect these days as he gets more talkative (with gibberish and some new words including "uh-oh!") and continues to be really curious and energetic. We've had some lovely weekends this past month. This picture is from a day at my Aunt and Uncle's pool in South Plainfield and Dylan hanging with my cousin Vanessa who he adores -- after spending the day together, Dylan got very upset when she tried to say goodbye to him and leave. Very cute.

down the shore everything's alright

After a not-so-great first month of daycare we finally got to go on vacation. Unfortunately, Dylan caught a cold after only his second day at daycare and it progressively got worse all month. He actually spent more time home with his Abuela than at the school. Then he got me sick and we spent some time at home together too passing a cold back and forth. Finally, after his first ever round of antibiotics, he got better in time for the beach.

We spent one week at Lavalette on the Jersey shore with the Mason family and Dylan had a great time playing with his cousins all week. Despite some very rainy weather just about everywhere else, we got very lucky and had lots of warm sunny days. Here are a couple pictures of us at the beach and at the boardwalk. Although I think for Dylan, a lot of the fun was had just hanging in the beach-house, watching his cousins, moving little chairs from room to room, climbing on the couches, and pretending to talk on the phone. Keith and I enjoyed some sweet sleep since we are lucky enough to have a child who enjoys sleep the way we do and doesn't wake up too early on his own. And we got to hang with the family, BBQ, and have ice cream every night... it was a perfect week!

First Day at Daycare

Dylan started daycare at the Rainbow Academy last Thursday. There was a solid 10 minutes of crying, but then I pulled myself together. Dylan did great on his first day...this picture was taken just minutes after we got there, so he felt comfortable right away. Since that first day, leaving him in the morning has gotten a little harder because now he understands I'm leaving and doesn't want to let go of me. This is a heartbreaking way to start the day, but the teachers assure us that it's normal and it will pass. They take him for a walk and when I call later, they say he was fine shortly after I left. We are able to check in and see him through a parent web-cam which is great though a bit distracting during the day. By the time my mom or Keith picks him up at the end of the day, he's all smiles. All in all, it seems he's adjusting well. Also, after our doctor's visit yesterday, we found out he's on track as far as milestones go and he's in the 50th percentile for weight and 90th percentile for height. Finally, the most frustrating yet impressive feat I've seen so far, is his dismantling of "baby-proofing" items around the house. He's taken apart the door knob covers several times now, has ripped one safety fastner meant to keep a door closed right off the wall, and after patient and persistent fiddling, has taken out the plastic parts of the safety buckle on his changing table. I can't help but be impressed... and a little nervous.

bathtime

It's been raining non-stop here but that doesn't bother Dylan much. He's been enjoying his last couple of weeks with his nanny, abuela Marissa,

before she leaves for Spain.

Today, my parents closed on their investment property, an office in Rahway, NJ where I 'll hopefully he working from in the near future. This means less time in NYC for me and more time with Dylan, so I'm very excited.

Tonite, we took out some new bath toys which Dylan loved. And after his bath he decided he wasn't quite ready to get dressed and insisted on hanging out in the buff for a little while. We did our story time "au natural." Of course, some day he'll be mortified that this picture was posted, but until then I hope you can enjoy this picture as much as we enjoyed this moment...Dylan sitting in his rocking chair and pretending to read a book. We definetely had a good laugh before his bedtime!

Pajama Picture

Today is Dylan's 15-month birthday. I just had to take a picture of him in his pajamas since it's too cute for words. I hope he wears footsy pajamas until college. We also decided on a daycare for Dylan since his caregiver is going for Spain for a month on vacation and we had been thinking of putting him in a more social environment anyway. It's the Rainbow Academy of Cranford and he'll likely start on July 1st, going 4 days a week. The place is great and I'm sure he'll make a lot of little friends there. Here's also a picture of his final bottle with his daddy. After his bath, the two of them watch a couple of minutes of the PBS Sprout channel and then cuddle in Dylan's room until he decides that he is ready to sleep and points toward the crib to let us know. It's really a sweet little bedtime routine!

feeding the ducks

Finally after days and days of rain, the weather is mild and sunny, and someone this morning recommended to keith that feeding ducks would be a nice thing to do today. So, since we happened to have a bunch of extra rolls from our Seth & Heather visit / BBQ last weekend, we decided to take Dylan to Echo lake park to do just that. Dylan loves being outside and he loves looking at animals. he's never fed ducks before and he was pretty amazed by all of it. there was one large duck that kept getting closer and closer and hissing at Keith and Dylan. the baby handled it pretty well, but keith got nervous and we called it a day. It's always fun to watch Dylan experience something new, and to watch Keith run away from a duck.

Testing (First Post)

Welcome to Dylan's blog. I've been wanting to start a journal for myself to keep track of our baby's milestones and all the funny things he does on a regular basis...like when he heard Madonna's "Material Girl" on the radio and sang along using the word "Cheerio," ...or when he pulled a hair out of my head and then tried to put it back on... or how he tells dogs and sometimes people to "sit." It's all too cute not keep track of somehow. And since we also don't get to see our friends and family as much as we'd like because of our crazy schedules, I thought this blog might be a good way to journal Dylan's 'firsts' while keeping the people we love up to date on our lives.

This first picture is from Keith's birthday BBQ on Memorial Day Weekend. Dylan's almost 15 months old. He's energetic and very sweet. He's the best thing that ever happened to us and it's a joy to have him and to love him and to watch him develop everyday. We are beyond grateful for this little miracle that is our son.