wishing you...

a holiday season full of joy, cheer, peace, and wonder!  And to help you celebrate, enjoy the festive sounds of...

six months.

This post is a bit on the late side considering he's turning seven months in a few days.  This batch of photos 

was a tough one to widdle down to just a handful cause there were so many great expressions on his face.  So I chose the best ones that capture a bit of his personality and also show where this growing baby is at, halfway to a year...can you believe it!

It seems like there's so much that happens at six months.  Most of the time, I can't tell what is happening and find myself asking "is he teething or just cranky sleepy?" or "is he not sleeping through the night cause he's hungry or just used to waking up or experiencing separation anxiety?"  But as you can see, he's sitting up and from the last picture, thinks he can stand (don't you just want to take a bite out of those turkey legs).  He's rolling front to back, and back to front so quickly now, which means we officially can't leave him alone on any high surfaces (i.e. a bed even if it's a big one and you've placed him smack in the middle of it cause he will roll off of it faster than you think...I know I'm not the only parent that has happened to).

We've introduced solids and it's been fun to watch him discover new tastes and textures in his mouth.  He seems to enjoy eating and feeding himself.  He thinks he knows how to maneuver a spoon and can get pretty angry if you don't let him put it in his mouth himself...which is hard for me to watch sometimes cause I gag when it looks like he's jamming it too far back into his mouth.

We've also been working on getting him onto a better schedule so that he sleeps more, especially at night.  We had been able to handle his sleeping patterns which were extending to four to five hour intervals as he was getting older.  But last month he seemed to all of a sudden start to regress and his intervals shortened to two hours, even one.  Brutal.  And this lasted for weeks.  Was it teething?  Separation anxiety?  Hunger?  A six months thing?  Who knows?  I just knew something had to change.  So we decided to take more control when the new year rolled around and have been working on a better schedule with sleep training.  Since we've been working with a proper nap/bedtime schedule, it seems like he's sleeping better and longer at night.  At one point, he slept from 7-10pm straight which I did not expect.  I was in such disbelief that I had to check his breathing cause I wondered if he was even still alive.  And then the first night he actually slept through till 6am was amazing cause for the first time in a long time I woke up not exhausted.  But it's still a work in progress as sleeping through the night seems to be more of a rarity than the norm at this point.  I realize that this may take some time and every baby is different so I shouldn't compare.  But I do feel like he's going to work it out and get it, maybe not soon, but someday.

I can't get over how fast he's growing.  Let me remind you that he used to look like this, expressionless and a little out of it, six months ago.  And now he is full of expressions, emotions, sounds, and chub.

five months.

It's all about discovering new things for this little one.  Like his hands.  It's one thing for him to suck on them, but when he catches a glimpse of them, whether bare or covered with mitts, he stares at them and gingerly moves them around like he's trying to figure out what they are.  And he's discovered my hair and loves to touch (and pull) it when it is near his reach.  And he makes this new noise by pursing his lips and blowing out with all his might so it sounds like a little whoopie cushion.  He can entertain himself (and others) for quite a while making this noise.  It's pretty adorable, especially when he does it out of nowhere into your face.

He also discovered the swimming pool which was probably more exciting for mom and dad than baby.  He seemed to be enjoying his bath times, splashing water with his feet, so I thought we should try the pool.  So we went for the first time this month to a really nice local pool with some other moms and babies we knew.  While other babies wore swim shorts and rash guards, Ezra kicked it European-style and just rocked the baby "speedo" (just swim diapers).  I figured he had enough natural insulation that he wouldn't get too cold in the water, and sure enough, he had no goosebumps the whole time.  He seemed a little intrepid as we first entered the pool, looking around and taking in all the new sights and sounds, probably thinking, "This is some huge bathtub."  We played with water toys, floated around the lazy river, soaked in the hot tub wheelchair ramp (where it was a little cooler), and passed a ball around in a circle with his baby friends.  Then at the very end, one of the moms showed us how to dip baby underwater, so we gave it a try.  So with a blow on the face and a quick dip underwater, Ez came up, a little caught of guard, but not freaking out.  Yeah.  He did it.  We went swimming a second time with dad and he seemed a lot more comfortable while daddy held him on his tummy and helped him "swim."  He was kicking his feet, like a frog, and splashing with his arms in front.  This time he went under waterfalls and sat between (and on) fountains of water.  The pool will definitely be a regular occurring outing for us.

Things he seems to love right now are sticking his tongue out, reading books, grabbing and holding on to things, "standing", and watching tv.  Yes, I know, babies aren't supposed to watch tv till they're two, but his attention is quickly directed to any screen whether it's a computer or actual tv when there's something on.  This he definitely gets from his mom.  Things he seems to hate right now are getting his nails cut, taking naps, being left alone, being strapped down (i.e. in his car seat or stroller), and getting his nose cleaned out with a baby aspirator...but can you blame him? 

in the details.

What do you get when you put...

 

and

 

and

 

and

 

and

 

and

 

together...

 

 Manny Pacquiao

World Champion Filipino Boxer

Originally, we were mulling over two Halloween costume ideas for the kid.  One of them was to dress him up as Psy of "Gangnam Style" fame, and to make it a family costume I would be the skinny yellow-suit guy with the bowl cut hairstyle and Matt would be one of the female back-up dancers in the white tunic top and silver hot pants, but waaaay too difficult to put together.  And then the other idea was to dress him up as Kim Jong-il, but I thought that would be in bad form since he was known to be a not very nice person.  But Ez would have been a dead ringer for him, don't you think...

    

Ok, maybe not so much.

But Matt had an epiphany while perusing through the sports section at Value Village.  He saw some boxing gloves and it was an obvious decision.  So we proceeded to find the pieces that would come together to form the famous boxer's costume.  We even lucked out finding the perfect boxing booties.  To make it even more authentic I sewed a "Pacquiao" waistband and sponsorship labels on the shorts, and put a Filipino flag on the robe (if you're wondering about the orange thing on the robe hood, it's a duck bill).  I had no idea what I was doing since I don't sew but I think the whole thing turned out pretty sweet.  Matt did an amazing job transforming orange mittens to boxing gloves with red duct tape (he even added thumbs), and drew a sexy six-pack on a onesie.  The last distinguishing piece was the goatee which I made and sewed onto a soother.  It's a pretty sad looking goatee but it completes the costume.

Without the fake six-pack, in all his kegger-belly glory...

 

 

The whole fam in costume.  Can you guess what Matt and I are?  Stole the ideas from other people, but we went the witty pun/cheezy costume route.

four months.

I'm amazed at how fast this baby changes and grows.  As of his four month check-up, he's 16 pounds and has grown a couple of inches.  He's a husky boy, as Filipinos would say.  I love his little baby man-boobs.  And it's like he has no joints, no wrists or ankles, because his sausage arms and legs are so chunky.  And you can't see his neck because it's covered with his double chin/nape of his neck.  The downside to that is when stuff gets stuck in those folds, it could get pretty foul.  But all that stockiness just means more sweet baby girth to cuddle with. 

We're getting to see more of his personality.  He can get sort of tantrumy and stubborn when he goes down for naps, throwing his back into an arch or shaking himself awake.  But when he succumbs to his tiredness and gets drowsy, he sort of hums a throaty hum to himself until he falls asleep.  He can cry but he often just yells or screeches when he's not happy or fussy.  I hope that doesn't mean a temperamental toddler in the future .  But he likes getting tickled and loves jumping in the jolly jumper.  And he's really liking his baths.  He was not happy the first couple of times but now he likes to lay in the warmth and splash the water by kicking his feet.  He's still a talker, squealing and cooing his conversations to anyone who will listen including his crinkling giraffe toy.  I said the last month, he's seems a bit of a serious kid, but I think it's more that he's just chill and laid-back, like his dad.

three months.

 (I discovered I lost this original post for some reason. It was so long ago to try to re-write this so I'll have to sum up this month with a brief blurb).

What looked like the kid flailing his arms and accidentally hitting the hanging toys while lying on his play mat, appears to be him purposely trying to touch or hit them.  Then we noticed he started trying to grab on to things.  Motor skills, here we come.  Also, he's discovered his thumb.  He's been sucking his hand but somehow his thumb made it's way to his mouth.  His laugh is sounding more like a grunt or a throaty giggle.  And as evident by the photos, there's tons of drool happening now, too.  Just three months and the cuteness just keeps getting better.

I don't intend for this blog to become all about the baby, although there will be a considerable amount of photos showing off his cuteness...cause let's face it...he's cute:

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

...But here are a couple of videos that have nothing to do with babies, but a lot to do with funny.

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee

&

7 Minutes in Heaven

Enjoy.

two months.

It's hard to limit these photos to just a few as Ezra has so many funny and adorable facial expressions.  It's hard to tell if it's his personality or just gas (or both).  It may not seem like he's changed since month one, but he is definitely growing into a little chunky buddha.  As of our last doctor's check-up, Ezra's a healthy 12.5 pounds.

Ezra has been responding quicker to people smiling at him and has such happy eyes when he smiles back at you (even though you wouldn't know from these photos).  He's really starting to "talk" up a storm, especially if he's in a good mood.  If you are able to catch his eye, he'll engage in a plethora of coos, gurgles, and other baby sounds which make up his version of a conversation with you.  He's such a curious little boy and loves looking around, so getting out out of the house is good for him as he seems to take so much in of the outside world.  He had his first bus ride and kept his composure very well.  I find that I get anxious with every new experience I have with the baby cause I'm not sure how Ezra would do, if he'll start freaking out cause he's hungry or uncomfortable, or that I would have to start breastfeeding which is still so awkward for me, especially without a pillow for support.  But most of the time, he's great and generally happy.  He even went to his first photography gallery show and first stand-up comedy show (both of which he slept through).

I got to experience one of the worst things as a new parent - immunizations.  So sad.  Unfortunately, Matt had a class so couldn't make the doctor's appointment.  I tried to prepare myself so I wouldn't start crying seeing my baby in pain.  But I still fought back some tears as I watched his face turn red and scrunch up in pain and heard him wail when the first needle was administered.  Poor thing didn't know what hit him and he cried the hardest I'd heard him cry.  Three shots.  But he didn't cry for long; I knew he could handle it.  He's a trooper.

one month.

I got this idea from a couple who posted monthly photos of their little one.  I've come across various ways people have documented the growth of their child in the first year and wanted to do the same for ours.  But knowing my poor track record for long-term projects (i.e. the one-a-day photo project I attempted three different years and never completed a full year, and needless to say, my book-a-month resolution has been stalled but I have a good excuse for that), I needed to make this as simple as possible.  Really, the motivation is to make sure I'm giving regular updates for the grandparents.  So on this couch, with Albert our French Bulldog, in a diaper, every month for a year...here's Ezra starting at one month.

In the first month, Ezra went from 6.9lb to 9.5lbs.  Apparently, he's gaining weight in leaps and bounds.  He's been smiling and can even roll from tummy to back on his own.  The midwife informed us that in the second week, babies often "find their voice" which is another way of saying crying more and louder.  And that he did.  The middle of the night feedings were pretty brutal in the first couple of weeks but I started to (barely) get the hang of it.  But despite the sleepless nights and crying (Ezra's and mine), it's worth it to have this little peanut finally with us.

so fast.

I find myself grieving on almost a weekly basis.  Every week he changes...his face, his body, his movements, his sounds.  And although I'm excited to see him grow and develop, I find that I miss and wish he was still the tiny, quiet, cuddly lump of a newborn that he was.  Somewhere in the third week, his face became so distinctly different from the week before that it took me by surprise.

But one thing is always the same.  I can't look at this face without an overwhelming sense of awe, joy, thankfulness, and love.

day two

week one                                                                                              week two

week three                                                                                             week four