R stats

Since R is at Grandma E's house and we're expecting our dining set to be delivered this week, it was the weekend to finally get the dining room cleaned out. In a box I found an old planner with some "stats" written around R's first bday. So, for history's sake:

Easter seals eval Oct 29, 2007 - at 1 day under 13 months old

crawling on Nov 1 - right at 13 months

pulling up on Nov 2 - still 13 months

said "fish" on Nov 26 - just before 14 months

said "banana" on Dec 5 - at 14 months

drinks from straw on Dec 11 - my bday, 14 months old

does "prayer hands" on Dec 16 - 14.5 months old

walking at 16 months

And this week, C figured out bye-bye. I showed up at daycare to pick him up. He gave me a big hug, then a kiss (the open-mouthed slobbery kind), then turned to his teacher and waved, saying "ba, ba". He got it! So proud. Time to step up the signing! :)

8 months - written 7/11/11

C still isn't crawling, though perhaps pondering it. He's
very observant, sometimes to the detriment of nursing. He's also very
good at grabbing and manipulating objects, including little food
puffs. He will sit and play with a bucket of toys for 20-60 minutes.
He also doesn't have any teeth yet, despite all the gnawing and
drooling. Lol. He has started waving bye-bye over the last 2 weeks.
And his favorite phrase is "da dee ba ba". He cracks up when we say it
back to him. And he's still a pincher. We've had to cry it out a
couple of times because he prefers to sleep with mommy (or while being
held) and sometimes R needs some help too. It's been really quick
though, like 2-3 minutes, and he's out. I'm still not a huge fan, but
he needs to sleep without us. Needless to say I'm still not sleeping
through the night. :(

Meanwhile, R was such a big boy yesterday. He volunteered to help me
at the grocery store, and I'm happy to report he asked for only one
junk food - fruit snacks. Otherwise he was asking for pears, cherries,
watermelon, peaches, fresh corn, fish, and frozen broccoli. And after
an hour and a half, he was still helping and politely asking for his
buddy bucks. What a big boy! And the best part was when he told me he
enjoyed spending time with me. Be still my heart! :)

Chicago

At the ripe age of 8 months, C has now been on his first plan trip. We headed to Chicago for the fourth and to see our rescheduled U2 concert. We had bought these concert tickets in Nov 2009 for July 2010 to celebrate my residency graduation and a babymoon of sorts. However, Bono hurt himself and the concert had to be rescheduled for this July. And since we were bringing the boys (no longer a babymoon since we brought the baby...lol), we turned it into a longer family vacation. And we had the most awesome tour guide - Rose! Here's a brief recap of the activities.

Sat, July 2 - fly in, navigate the El system (trains and buses), had some Chicago dogs, explore the Field Museum where Sue the T-rex lives, and had a picnic of Chicago stuffed pizza on the beach of Lake Michigan.

Sun, July 3 - watched Cubs vs White Sox game at Wrigley Field (Cubs won), checked out Taste of Chicago in Grant Park and saw the Buckingham (aka Married with Children) fountain, walked around Millennium Park where "the bean" sits, grabbed some burgers and ate them at Rose's rooftop pool. Matt also squeezed in two photography sessions - morning at the Planetarium and nighttime at the John Hancock.

Mon, July 4 - Willis (aka Sears) tower, lunch at the Walnut room of Macy's (aka Marshall Fields), naptime (at R's request), then headed out to Navy Pier for lunch at Harry Cary's Tavern and an architecture cruise that ended with fireworks over the lake.

Tues, July 5 - explored the Museum of Science and Industry (including a tour on the U505), then left the boys with Rose for the U2 concert (inner circle AGAIN!). After the concert we walked the 3 miles back to Rose's place - straight up Michigan Avenue.

And now we're home. Whew - what a weekend! Overall, a very nice vacation. And it was nice that it wasn't QUITE as hot there as it was here. :)

Go Cubs!

Nighttime

After staying up to watch fireworks on the fourth and getting home late, R didn't go to bed until almost midnight that night. Upon awakening at 8 am the next morning, he said, "That was quick!" "What was?" I asked. "Nighttime." LOL