Wow! Long time, no post. Mama has been busy. So much to report about our little man:

tummy time.....getting so much better! Now he stays there and stays and stays. Only problem is he wants to roll so he pushes himself off to oneside (and sometimes bonks his head). What a champ!

Food--the verdict is in on carrots--no allergy but man are they gross. I don't love them cooked either, but I'll eat them. Plenty of time for that tiny and sophisticated pallette (no I can't spell that) to develop.

Sweet potatoes are okay! That's good since mommy and daddy both heart sweet potatoes!!


Sitting up--almost. Not there like his birthday buddy, Noah, but almost. He does the tripod thing and we still have to support him. Such a big guy.

Friends--where do we start? Well there's Wednesday group with mommy's waterobics buddies and their babies; And there's once a month mommy/daddy/baby group with the show kids (friends from shows and the theatre crowd). And can't forget daycare with babies and big kid toddlers who take great care of Charlie! Then there's Devyn who we had a playdate with on Saturday--an older gal, 14 months--pretty and blond. And, finally, the occasional Friday yoga class at the Sweet Peas Studio.

Charlie loves to laugh and play and pick things up and splash in the tubby! He is the sweetest little guy. Here are some of his nicknames:

Butters
Nugget
Tiny Man
Charlito
Tubby Buns
Bunny tubs

More to come!
Charlito

Family Day at the Nature Museum

Daddy had a rare Saturday off and scored a free family pass to the Nature Museum. So...we had a lovely afternoon there, warm and cozy in the Butterfly haven on a cold February day. Rob carried Charlie in the Bjorn and he seems to love it. He just loves to move those little legs. Here he is studying a butterfly.

Solids

New things for Charlito this week! The biggest news of all is that he has started to eat rice cereal. From a spoon! At first he made a raisin face and wouldn't open his lips. Next day he opened up but didn't know what to do next. And on the third day he opened up for bites, swallowed and opened up again. Of course he made raisin faces in between bites!

Well, as of today, Charlie eats an entire dish of rice cereal, with minimal "this is yucky" faces. We are adding a morning meal. Big doins for our little guy.

He sits in his yellow Bumbo chair for meals (thank you Elizabeth for passing it on to us!) and sometimes on laps. What a big boy!

Go Momala!

Momala (that's my mom and Charlie's grandma) officially retires today. They are having a party for her at the Schuyler Center and today is her last day of work. Momala, like lots of working moms out there (including myself) has held not one, but several jobs over the years, including stay at home mom. She has also enjoyed several careers in the theatre, education, non-profit and television worlds. I tagged along with her to a number of these workplaces as a kid. I know that my sister, brother and I all loved running around the theatres of Utica College and Syracuse University while mom taught, directed, rehearse. We all have fond memories of her banging out her master's thesis on a tired and rusty Smith Corona on the second floor of the Utica house while a small hill of cigarette butts smoked in that old, gold leaf ashtray.

We remember sifting through the membership premiums at Channel 17 and answering the many nasty crank calls coming through on the phone lines. Not everyone believes in public television.

We also remember meeting mom's high school students at Turner Carroll and loving that they loved her as much as we did.

And I am especially proud (as Dad, Gitta and Brendo are) of Mom's work in the Winning Beginnings campaign (hope all my titles are accurate there) and the New York State early learning initiatives that she has been a part of. I'm also glad to know her retirement party will happen at a place where she has many treasured friends.

Congratulations, Momala! I hope the post-retirement years bring relaxation, exotic travels, and more trips to Chicago. Charlie anxiously awaits your visits.

Lots of love!

Truly...

Charlie just settled in for a delicious nap so I grabbed the monitor and brought it in here to the office. The monitor picks up all kinds of sounds, including the stereo system in the apartment upstairs. So I get to enjoy Lionel Richie's greatest hits without even diggin through the cds to find it.

Little man is a little warm but not febrile (Rob's new favorite word) so we will not be going to the Nature museum as originally planned. We will see the butterflies another day. Also, it is getting super cold, and there are predictions of snow, so maybe staying in is the way to go. I am trying to clean the entire house and so far I have done an outstanding job on the living room. the whole condo smells like a Swiffer.

More later

15 pounds and counting!

Charlie had a great doctor visit on Monday and weighed in at a solid 15lbs., 5 ounces! He is 25 inches long and both stats put him high on the percentile chart (which I still have a hard time talking about due to all the math involved). Anyway, all is good. We must work on shaping that little head........that stresses me out but everyone else seems chill about it.

Today is Wednesday, our special in between day with scheduled events like Pilates, and Mommy group at the Bezazian library. If all is going well I hope to make it to Kinko's, too! But won't push it. Rob has promised to be home by 7pm so I can go to the Havana Nights day spa for a little hair removal. (Yes, they are open til 8pm). What a good hubby--he swears he has not noticed my eyebrows growing in!

Motherhood is time consuming and sometimes you just have to miss out on things like timely grooming or the broadcast of the Golden Globes. That's okay--now we have the Superbowl and the Oscars to look forward to. And, my 2nd quarter grades are in--yippee!

I love Wednesdays! More later.

Go Bears!!

Yesterday morning, Rob went in to get Charlie out of his crib. His little aquarium was not only turned on and making music and twinkly lights, but Charlie was turned on his side, looking at it and batting at/playing with the various buttons and knobs. Who knows how long he'd been awake and playing but he was certainly content!

The three of us had an easy and relaxing Sunday afternoon preceded by our Sunday morning routine: Church, then shopping at crowded Trader Joe's. We did some laundry, took some naps and enjoyed watching our beloved Bears win the NFC (right?) championship. Now onto the Superbowl--an exciting time for Chicagoans. Yes, even I have been taking time for football and must admit that I can recognize both a touchdown and a field goal, as well as distinguish the two concepts from each other. I'm excited for our Bears and even more excited to craft some sort of blue and orange onesie for the littlest fan.

This afternoon we visit Dr. Morse for the big 4 month appointment. Rob and I have lots of questions for the doc and are anxious about another round of shots.

The last time we saw the doctor was in November! Charlie received 4 shots then and I held his little hand while his face turned completely purple. He then opened up his mouth and very loud cries came out that sounded like, "Mommy, how could you?" Should be a good time, today.

Weight and height reports tomorrow!!