The Aftermath

Thanksgiving "break" has come and gone. I am sufficiently exhausted from it! We enjoyed spending time with our families. Uncle J & Aunt K were in town for the break, so it was nice spending time with them. We spent Thanksgiving day with my family and then we all went over to Gabs' house for dinner. It was a very yummy dinner! Here is Little Dude in his Thanksgiving duds.

On Friday, we had a surprise baby shower for Aunt K. We did a long distance shower, which basically means we had everyone send gifts to my home and we showered her here from near & far. She was *very* surprised. It seemed like they had a good time at the shower. Thanks to everyone who helped me pull it off! The daddy was especially helpful when it came time to set up. He played with Little Dude and helped me stay calm. Here is a small taste of the big response we had for the shower!

My best friend came for a visit on Saturday and got to meet Little Dude for the first time. It was so much fun spending time with her and her family! We met at Grammy & Grampa's house and spent most of the day out there. Little Dude tried his second food...carrots. They were a big hit! Little Dude has yet to meet a food that he doesn't like.

On Sunday we went over to Nana & Poppers. Poppers showed Little Dude all of the nutcrackers they have up at their house.

Little Dude also enjoyed looking at the lights on the Christmas tree. I think he will enjoy the holiday season with all of the lights!

Thanksgiving

This week Little Dude began eating baby food. First up - Sweet Potatoes. They were quickly scarfed down. He loves them!

Tomorrow, he will have sweet potatoes again (have to feed him the same food for 3-4 days to check for allergies). It will definitely be a Happy Thanksgiving for him!

Last Thanksgiving we were so excited to tell our families the exciting news that we would have a little one joining the family. We gave Nana, Grammy, Gabs and Aunt M bags to open, all of which had a pacifier in it. I still remember how excited every one was! This year, we have even more to be thankful for. Little Dude is definitely at the top of my list for things I am thankful for!

Take the time to reflect on the things that you are thankful for and tell your loved ones how you feel! From our family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!

Car Ride, Football Game, and a Doctor Visit

Little Dude went on his first road trip this weekend. We took him to see the University of Texas Longhorns play their last football home game of the season. Plus we figured we should introduce him to his future alma mater. Brain wash much? He did *awesome* on the car ride! He slept for the most part, but also talked and played with his toys some. Here he is just hanging out.

We had seats in the new upper North End Zone. We love sitting in this area. You have a great view of the field and of the godzillatron jumbo TV (which Little Dude enjoyed staring at).

How this is possible is beyond me, but Little Dude actually slept some during the game. The loud noises didn't seem to bother him. Not the canons going off, the crowd yelling, the music playing, nothing. The only thing he got irritated with was when his bottle was not the correct temperature. Thankfully a sweet lady at the concession stand made that all better.

Since Little Dude was with us, they counted me as having a "mobility impairment" since I was wearing him. We got to take the elevator up (which saved us from having to walk up 10 stories worth of ramps). Unbeknownst to us, there are some really cool artwork/sculptures by the elevator! Here is our little family in front of one of the pieces we saw.

Some of our good friends offered to let us stay at their home so we didn't have to drive all the way back home after the game. I've never traveled with an infant before and now I know why. This is only *some* of the stuff we had to take with us. I think there were 3 other brown paper bags in the car. However, it was very nice being able to get some rest and have more time to spend with our friends.

And finally....

Little Dude went to the doctor today. He will be 4 months old on Friday (how that is possible is beyond me, because I swear he was just born yesterday). He is 15lbs 5 oz (65th percentile) and 26 1/4 inches (90th percentile). The doctor said that he is tall, thin and very healthy! Next up....baby food!

Playtime, Lessons & Discoveries

While playing with Little Dude this morning, a huge question came up. What is the plural form of octopus? I began to think of the possible answers. Octopi...which sounds like a bad dessert. Octopuses...which just sounds weird. I didn't know the answer! I'd like for my son to have good grammar so I try to use the correct form of words except when I'm doing the baby talk voice. I ended up just saying "Are you playing with your octopus toys", but it has been bugging me ever since!

Wikipedia to the rescue. While most people would say that Octopi is the plural form, that is wrong. -i is the Latin plural for the -us ending. Octopus is a Greek derived word. Therefore the correct plural form of octopus is ....and I kid not... Octopodes. To me, this sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie. "Attack of the Octopodes" and "Octopodes from Outer Space" come to mind. Needless to say, my child will be hearing the now commonly used and accepted octopuses. Or I might just stick to calling them the octopus toys since I wasn't pleased with the answer! hah!

Little Dude made a discovery yesterday: his thumb. He now sometimes sucks on just his thumb, instead of 2 or 3 fingers. It is absolutely, positively a-dor-able. Can this kid do anything that *isn't* cute? I think not, but I'm a little biased. Speaking of biased, his Grammy and Grampa came by yesterday to spoil visit him. He was quite the talkative little man, as usual. They enjoyed playing with him and spending time with him. It is so fun seeing his personality emerge. I think we have a very happy and well loved baby!

Drools and Giggles

It has come to my attention that there is a very common misconception about babies. People say all the time that babies drool. I have to disagree. Babies do not drool (at least not my son). They spit. Gobs and gobs of spit. When a bib is soaked in less than an hour, I don't call that drool. When he makes razz noises while the drool comes out of his mouth, I don't call that drool. That is spit. And you know what? I love every little drop of it. How could I not when he is so cute?!

We have quite the little giggle box on our hands. Little Dude loves to laugh and does it quite often. We are usually not fast enough with the camera or we are too enthralled with the giggles that we forget to grab the camera. The daddy and I were getting Little Dude ready for bed the other night and we caught this moment on camera. Enjoy!

Real Tears

So this guy, ya know, the cutest, happiest baby in the world who never cries......

Yeah...he cried real tears tonight. REAL tears! Do you know how much this broke my heart? Ugh. It was so sad seeing him cry.

And what exactly was it that made him cry? ........... His daddy. Sneezing. Needless to say, I did not say "Bless you".

Firsts

Little Dude had many different "firsts" today. He has been quite the overachiever today! I caught a couple of these "firsts" on camera, but not all of them.

This morning we were having tummy time. I put the musical toy that his Nana gave him for Halloween in front of him. Out of nowhere, he reaches out and grabs it. He pushed the button and made the music play...numerous times! He has never reached out to grab toys while he is on his tummy! I was so excited that I forgot to take a picture. And then guess where the toy went... Straight to his mouth. Yum. Toys must taste good because that is where they always go now!

We weren't planning on starting him on cereal until his next doctor's appointment (2 weeks from today). But, when you are a mommy, you know when your child is ready for something new. And, trust me, he was ready! I went back and forth with the decision all day and finally decided to just do it. Here he is with one of his first bites.

Looks like he is saying "Yum!"

He seemed to really enjoy the cereal. After he finished the small amount of cereal, I gave him a small bottle. He then proceeded to hold it himself!

Why do I have the sinking feeling that I will soon be chasing him around the house?

Talks & Toots

Little Dude just went down for the night so technically this is mommy's down time. But the daddy finally found a program to convert the videos so I HAD to share!!

Here is Little Dude talking to his octopus toy and if you listen closely you will hear a little toot about halfway through. Yes, yes I know. One day he will look at this and go "Moooooom! I can't believe you put that on the internet for the world to see!". All I have to say to that is "one day" is not today and even his toots are cute to me!

Fun Outside

We have had the most beautiful fall weather here! The leaves are changing, the sun is shining and the temperatures are very comfortable. We are taking advantage of it as much as we can!

For all of you mommies (and daddies) out there, I highly encourage you to let your baby explore the world around them. After all, that is how they learn! Little Dude got to lay outside on a blanket with his feet in the grass. He loved it.

We played with toys and talked about everything we saw and heard. We talked about everything from the barking dogs to the wind blowing through the trees and the leaves on the ground to the birds in the sky. Another fun idea is to blow bubbles and let your baby watch.

Little Dude is officially in the stage of wanting to put EVERYTHING into his mouth. If he grabs it, 9 times out of 10 it is headed straight for his mouth. The latest victim: his cow.

Little Dude made some more art projects, which we will share next time. We hope you have a great weekend! (And incase you were wondering, the daddy still hasn't gotten the program to convert the videos yet...Hopefully that will come soon!)

Weekend Wrap Up

How is it Wednesday and I haven't updated this yet?? Little Dude is napping, so we will see how far I get...

Little Dude had a great first Halloween. He got to see Grammy & Grampa, Nana & Poppers and Gabs & Boomps. He did great while he was in his costume. He even slept through the doorbell and the dog's incessant barking when the trick or treaters came to our house. We are so lucky to have such a happy baby!

Little Dude has been SO talkative lately. He loves to talk to his toys. He will lay on his ocean mat, look up at the octopus and talk talk talk! Little Dude tells the best stories. I wanted to put a video on here, but the daddy has to convert our videos into a format that will work on here.

On Saturday, Little Dude was playing in his exersaucer. He has discovered how to turn himself around in the saucer and enjoys exploring the different toys. I think he found a toy that annoyed him that day though. He is giving the toy the "are you serious?" look.

We went shopping this weekend for some Christmas outfits for Little Dude. We are having pictures taken this weekend for our Christmas card. We found the *cutest* outfits for him to wear during his pictures. We also started looking for an outfit for him to wear to his Aunt M's wedding. We haven't found the perfect outfit yet. And as much as the daddy seems to think he should go as Spiderman...the mommy has veto power and will win this battle.

Well my love muffin just woke up, so that is all for now. Hopefully next time I will be able to post a video of him!