Out and About

This weekend was the Stockley Gardens Art Festival in our neighborhood that happens every fall and spring.  This year we hit it up with Kirstine, Chuck and their son Canaan, who are part of our moms group.  We walked around and looked at all the beautiful paintings, pottery, jewelry, etc, grabbed some street food, and then headed back to our place to cool off and rest.  The boys had a ton of fun sitting on the floor babbling at each other and playing with Julians new Skwish.

A First

Tonight in his crib, as Jules was winding down to sleep, he pushed up on all fours and started rocking back and forth!  

Visiting Philly

Since Pete was sent to an ATC symposium in San Diego this past week, Jules and I decided to hit the road and fill our time visiting  family.  It was great to get to show everyone all the new things he is doing, and how much fun he is these days.  

We got to visit Noni Toni, Pappy Craig, Auntie Lily, Uncle Jack, Aunt Melanie, Great Aunt Joan, Cousin Ali and of course Nico's favorite friend Henry who loved to give Julian kisses.  It was a nice long quality visit from Sat night until Wednesday morning, 

There was peek-a-boo to play, baths to be had, sleep to avoid, dogs to meet, and tons of attention for him to soak up!  He especially likes his Auntie Lily's room - she has so much cool stuff!  Shiny beads, soft squishy animals - it's a pretty exciting place.  And Uncle Jack was able to get some fun ball tossing in with him during floor time.  

Officially Sitting

For the first time ever Jules was able to sit up for the duration of his bath!

Cloth Diapering Here We Come

I just placed our order for cloth diapers!  I'm so excited.  It's a change I've been wanting to make since Jules was born, but it took me awhile to get Pete on board.  Most people are worried that it will take too much time/effort, but in reality it's just an extra load of laundry - and I'm already doing that!   This change will help with the red-booty problem we've been having with Julian, as well as cut down on the amount of trash we've been dumping since we've been using disposables. And our start up batch is less than what we would spend on disposables for three months!  The savings is going to be well worth it alone.  I've promised Pete we can still use the disposables when we're out and about, but the rest of the time we'll be going all cloth!

You can check out what we're getting here:  Thirstie's

We picked out Aqua, Melon, Celery, and Periwinkle covers.  They are nice gender neutral colors we can use for hypothetical #2 down the road. 

Play Time

Gold Cup 2008

After last years rain, this years sunny skies were a welcome sight.  I was only 3 months pregnant at the last race so everyone was excited to meet the new Baby Shaw, and Julian was an absolute charmer the entire time.  He showed off his shrieking, standing, bouncing and smiling all day long, and was in excellent spirits despite the lack of a nap time schedule.  He was happy to be held by anyone that would have him, and never withheld a grin.   We had a blast seeing old friends, and making new, as well as getting to show of our beautiful baby boy.  

The New Digs

Here are a few pictures of the new Living Room layout:

Letter to My Six Month Old

Jules - 

Happy 1/2 Birthday!

Dear boy, oh my how you have grown and changed in this last month.  It's amazing how different you are just from month to month.  Every day more of your personality shines through, we get to know you better, and I see more little boy than infant in you. I call you my "wild man" because you are so full of energy and excitement.  You don't like to sit still for very long, and would much rather be moving, rolling, walking, and talking and I love it.  I know we're in for an adventure! 

It's been a busy month leading up to this point.  You're officially eating solid foods at least once a day, sometimes twice.  After a good morning nurse we get up and start our day with a little bowl of something.  So far I have made all of your baby food and we've tried: bananas, avocados, pears, prunes, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, peas, toast, whole green beans to chew, and teething biscuits.  Not one thing has been denied by you, you'll eat anything!

A big development is in your ability to maneuver yourself around - now you roll back and forth or over and over to get to what you want, and you have also started working on your pivoting skills.  This means the toys that you want can be had!  Sitting is getting better and better all the time.  We can't just leave you buy yourself, but with the boppy you're able to sit and play for minutes at a time.  You've also begun shrieking in the loudest way.  It seems you have found your voice and are determined to test its limits - in the car, in your crib, as you play, when you eat.  You also love to stand and stomp your feet, there is even a hint of walking in your step. 

We took you to the beach, for the first time since you were in my belly, last week and it was a huge hit.  You were riveted by the sound of the ocean and watching the waves, and it makes me wonder if you remember the rushing noise from all the time we spent swimming together last summer.  You had a blast stamping your feet in the wet sand and feeling the cold water rush over your feet.  It was one of those moments that your Papa and I have talked about sharing with you.  It is such a favorite thing of ours, and we can't wait to spend the summer there as a family.  Hopefully you will come to love it as much as we do.

At the end of March we headed up to the Ikea in DC to pick out some more child friendly furniture.  Gone are the death trap shelves and in with more storage!  Now we have baskets  and shelves at toddler levels that are safe for you to get your toys from and to play in, and we have a new bookcase to hold all of our pictures and books that were overwhelming the living room.  We also put a shelf with a cabinet in your room to create safer storage there as well. Then we rearranged the furniture in the living room to optimize floor space.  Now we can pull out blankets and toys and leave you to play.  This has also been a great change now that our Moms Group meets here every few weeks - babies big and small can roam about without hurting themselves or our stuff.

Every day Papa takes special time to be with you.  Lately it's been feeding you breakfast in the morning and getting you ready for the day - even though sometimes this means you end up wearing two onesies, a hoodie, jeans and socks on a warm weather day!  But the best is that you go for a big walk with him and Nico every day before or after his work.  You watch while he throws the ball for Nico, and you enjoy some good outside time in the neighborhood.  It's his time to be one on one with you, and by the way you're face lights up when he gets home and you are so happy when you return from your outings.

More and more you and Nico notice each other.  He loves to come and play with one of his toys next to you while you're in the exersaucer, and you guys just stare back and forth for minutes on end.  You are fascinated with each other!  And now when you sit in our laps or lay in bed with us Nico comes to be by you and bring you his toys.  You're always stretching out to grab his booty or his face, and he's always willing to let you pat at him.  

Things we call you:

Mr. Magoo

Little Friggin Guy

Punkin Poo

Wild Man

Mookie

Short Stuff

I love the open mouth kisses you manage to slobber all over my face, and the way you look up at me while you nurse.  I love your new laugh out loud chuckles, especially when it's because I'm giving you kisses all over.  The bond we have formed over the last six months is a tight one, and I cherish every moment we spend together.   I try to step back every day and record a memory of this time with you in my mind, knowing that it will pass too quickly.  You are the light of my life, and I know that having you is one of the best things I will ever do.

Love,

Momma

xoxo