Happy Holidays!

I haven't posted in a while because things have been so crazy-busy, more than usual. But it's been a lovely holiday season. Thanksgiving was delicious as usual. December gave us the first snowstorm of the season and after weeks of Dylan refusing to wear his new winter coat, his daddy talked him into putting it on so they could go play in the snow. Of course it took much more time to get Dylan all suited up to take a walk outside than the actual time outside because it was late and cold...but it was all worth it.

Dylan is now spending his week-days at his Abu's (my mom's) house. We pulled him out of daycare for the winter because he was getting sick so often. He'll probably go back in the Spring. For now, he's got his new nanny Teresa, and plays with his great-grandmother all day, leaving her exhausted and dreaming about cartoons and toy cars.

Christmas was three-days long this year and Dylan got to play with his cousins and has a whole new set of fun toys that have taken over our house. We had some friends over for New Years and Dylan was the star of the party, hamming it up for everyone...he was a big hit and got to show off his dancing skills to a crowd for the first time, looks like he's a lot like his daddy.

At the end of November, Dylan welcomed his new friend Mikah -- his Madrina's new baby. In December, we celebrated Chloe's 4th birthday on the Santa train in Westfield (that's where this picture is from) and we had a blast.

All in all, it's been a great beginning to winter. Now we start to prepare for our trip in Uruguay in February!

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.