Happy 10 months, Waylon!

Baby boy is 10 month old today.  WHAT IS HAPPENING?!  I just can't believe how fast this is going.  People have been asking me about Waylon's first birthday party and I'm like, "what?  That's a long time from now."  But of course, it's not.

Waylon's newest thing is giving kisses to Scott and me.  It's just about the best thing ever.  He doesn't pucker up but when you ask for a kiss, he leans in and it's the sweetest.  Except when he's not feeling it and shoves your face away.  That's less adorable.  He continues to be an active, happy little thing.  It's amazing to me how much of a boy he is.  He loves climbing on furniture, playing catch, watching big trucks go by in the front yard, and tearing up papers into (apparently) hilarious shredded piles. 

  

It's hard to describe, but he's both really independent and super attached to Scott and me.  He is really happy to play by himself but only as long as he can see either Scott or me.  Also, sometimes when I take him to play dates, he will play for a little bit with the other kids, then make his way back to just hang out next to me and play by himself.  OMG he's a LONER!

The little guy has 8 teeth now!  And the hugest gap known to man.  Thank God they're not permanent teeth because whoa.

What makes Baby Waylon happiest is being in his little walker.  He's getting really fast in it and is also able to maneuver it pretty well.  Getting run over by it is the worst though, and the dogs run in fear whenever he's in it.

  

Here's the official 10 month portrait:

Summer days

When we bought our house in Suffield, I had to come to terms with the fact I was to be a New Englander for the foreseeable future, no matter how unsavory that sounded to me.  So, I had a couple of choices:  stay cranky and complain about my biggest Northeast pet peeves (seriously, no one in their right mind could call that folded piece of Wonder bread a hot dog bun), or make the best of it.  So I joined a mom's group in the hopes that Waylon and I wouldn't die of boredom.

I went in fully expecting to spend most of my time eye-rolling everyone else but bearing it for the sake of my son's socialization.  However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the ladies (and babies) I met were interesting, accomplished, and fun to be around.  I've been to places I probably would never have found on my own, gotten some pretty good advice when I had questions, and have just had a really good time getting to know some smart, like-minded women and their kiddos.  It's been a real blessing to feel like I have my own life here and to expose Waylon to other kids and adults, especially since I am constantly worried that he leads a sheltered life with our families so far away.  Here is a cute pic of us at one of the Mom's farewell party last night:



As far as home life is concerned, I feel like I'm really hitting my stride as of late.  I feel like we are communicating really well right now and since we haven't traveled in a few weeks, we've been getting into a nice routine at night with Scott that includes a walk around the neighborhood in his little backpack and watching Jeopardy.  I'm telling you, this kid loves Alex Trebek.  Yeah, he gets excited by the Jeopardy music but when Alex appears on screen, he laughs and kicks like a little crazy person.  I must get a video of this.  It's making me hate Alex Trebek a little less.  As I said in his 9-month update, this is the most fun stage I've had with Waylon yet.  He loves running around in his little walker, terrorizing the dogs or pulling open the kitchen cabinets. He is also really into dragging his his stroller around while in his walker, which Scott thinks shows great strength in one so little.  He could do this all day:

Happy 9 months, Waylon!

So we had Way's 9-month appointment yesterday which went well.  He's 29.5 inches tall (88th percentile and weighs 19lb, 14 oz. (50th percentile).  So, he's still a tall, pretty skinny little thing.  He waves hi now, claps his hands and is an old pro at crawling.  The pediatrician doesn't think that  walking is very far off.  

We finally got the sleep thing worked out and he's back to a 12 hour stretch at night and a 1.5 hour nap during the day, sometime between 10:30 and 1:00 (I just can't with a rigid schedule).  He goes right down once he is in his crib, which I am super thankful for.  Yea sleep!

I think Waylon eats a ton.  I'm not complaining, I'm just saying I thought boys were a little older before they started eating all the food in your house.  He likes fruits, veggies, meat, cheese, fish, pasta and waffles, and I've decided to start giving him eggs and nuts now too.  I know some people say wait a little longer, but I think he will like them, there are no allergies in my family and I actually am of the school of thought that withholding certain food groups makes it more likely that kids will be allergic in the future.  So bring on the omelettes and peanut butter!

Month 9 was an exciting time for young Waylon.  He and I traveled to Chicago because little Way is not the littlest on the Brizzolara side of the family any more!  Little cousin Vinny arrived July 8 and we were so excited to meet him.  I forgot what it's like to be around a tiny little baby and he is really cute.  Waylon also got to spend some quality time with Gino, Tio and Coco this trip while I went to a party.  Waylon loves his cousin but he hasn't really been away from me a lot (the disadvantages of having no local family) so he had a hard time.  He did like going for walks with Tio and Gino though (and Coco and Vinny probably needed the rest)

We also got a chance to go up to Milwaukee to see some dear friends.  We were hoping to meet their newest addition as well, but baby Graham decided not to arrive until 2 days after we visited!  Waylon loved playing with Avery though.  Look how sweet they look together:

Dara was also able to get a couple really good pics of Waylon by himself.  Here is standing:

And here is his handsome smile!  Well, I guess handsome might be in the eye of the beholder :)

I have to say, this is my favorite of Waylon's ages.  He's just so FUN now.  He's really expressive and joyful and it feels like he masters a new skill almost every day.  It's so amazing to watch him learn something new or interact with other people, especially kids who are a little older.  He has such a sweetness about him that warms my cold black heart.  I also think he's really observant and can't wait to hear what he has to say once he starts talking.  I know I'm his mom, but damn if this kid isn't awesome!

The 9 month photo, still no chalkboard.

Happy 8 months, Waylon!

This was a pretty exciting month for all of us!  I feel like Waylon was learning something new every day and it was so crazy to watch.  The most exciting, of course, was when he learned to say "Mama."  True, he thinks it means "more food," but it is still the cutest thing ever.  Look:

Did I mention that baby bear loves to eat?  We can add pasta, meat, olives, enchiladas and caviar to his list of favorite foods  (for the record, his father gave him caviar, not me.  ::eye roll::)

Waylon finally started crawling this month and I love it.  I know a lot of people kind of despair when their kids start moving around but I actually really like it.  It's like having a third little dog in the house, haha.  Well, except that Josie and Belle were easier to potty train.  In addition to saying Mama, he also started pulling himself up to stand.  He especially likes doing this in front of the mirror so he can see himself.  I love this:

He also got his first passport stamp when we went to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for a friend's wedding!  Waylon just loved swimming and learned to kick pretty quickly.  He also really liked getting to eat chilequiles and beans every day.  We all had such a nice time relaxing in paradise.  It was a great family vacation and so fun to celebrate with our friends.

Look how much he loved swimming!

Here are a couple of my other favorites from this month, Waylon showing off his teeth, and chilling in yard with his cool kid hat on.

Happy 7 months, Waylon!

Well, I guess I can't really say that I do it all at once if I'm not blogging about it.  Yeah, I've been busy.  But I wish I was better about this and I am going to make more of an effort to post once a week.  Luckily, I have been keeping up with Waylon's baby book, so at least I have all the information I need.

By 7 months, we started having nap problems.  As in, this kid decided he didn't want to nap anymore except occasionally in the car.  This was not convenient for me.  Luckily, this never effected how he slept at night, which would have been a way bigger deal.  It's just hard because I'm not really a scheduled person so it's difficult to say "okay X o'clock is nap time every day."  I realize this is my fault, not his, but at the same time I figure that this is our life, so maybe it's better that he doesn't get too attached to a rigid routine in the day if I can't commit to it.  I am thankful for my sweet adaptable baby.

This baby loves to eat.  Anything, everything, in large amounts.  He became particularly fond of salmon and cheese right around this time.  It's so fun to give him new foods and see what is his favorite.  I'm pretty sure he eats way more than average.

Waylon is a social little fella too.  He loves to make noises back and forth with me and "chats" and laughs all day long.  I think once he starts talking he may never quiet down.  He is really cute giving little pets to our two dogs and they have been really good with him thus far too.  He also really loves when we go on play dates!  I've had a lot of fun meeting other moms and their babies near our new house and it is the cutest thing to see the kiddies play together now that they are becoming somewhat mobile.

My mom came to visit for Mother's Day and we all had a really nice weekend together.  Way just loves more people to pay attention to him!

Love my little blue-eyed baby.

SEE?  He used to be able to pass out anywhere.  I miss this.

New favorite game:  starting at that handsome boy in the mirror.

Look at my men.  Aren't they the cutest?

The actual 7 month picture.  I really wish I could find that damn chalkboard.

Happy 6 months, Waylon!

Oh Waylon, your mom is the worst.  Not only has she not blogged in a solid month, but she has no pictures from your christening earlier in April and she lost your chalkboard in the move so now we'll never know how much you grew in the past month.  Mom fail.

April has been a busy month for us.  We started out by heading to Chicago for Waylon's christening.  My brother is his godfather and my dear friend Diana flew in from NYC to be godmother and we have not one picture from the day.  Toward the end of the ceremony, Waylon got really fussy because of the intense stink of the baptismal oil (also, teeth) so we didn't take pictures at the church and just never got around to it at the restaurant.  That's terrible.  It still turned out to be a really nice day with family and friends and I'm glad we decided to do it at the church where I was confirmed. (which has not changed one bit in 17 years.  Literally, not one thing.)

After we drove back (yes drove 15 hours straight with a 5 month old, what of it?) we had about 2 days to pack up our house before the movers came.  What a shitshow that was.  The new house wasn't as far along as we'd hoped when we moved but there's not much we could do about it because we had to be out of the old house.  So after two solid weeks of working on things every day, we are still no where close to being done, but at least our family room is complete (ish) and ready for a reveal.  Remember this super cute room?

Here's how it turned out:

There's a couple little things still to do but I was excited to reveal something!  I am really happy with how it turned out.

Waylon has been so good throughout the whole move.  There's no way we could have pulled it off if he was a little fussypants.  He literally gets cuter and more fun every day.  He's gotten really good at sitting up and has been trying to crawl with little success.  I know I'm his mom, but I seriously lucked out because this kid is really joyful and expressive (best mean face ever) and I'm so glad I get to hang out with him every day.  He has two teeth on the bottom, which he won't let me take a pic of, and he loves just about every food we give him.  He also really loves the sound of his own voice.  I'm telling you, when this kid starts talking, he might never stop.  His eyes are still a very pretty blue color (I'm hoping they stay!) and he still has blondish red hair and really pale skin.  We spend our days playing, reading, chatting, going for walks now that it's warm, and visiting with his new friends at playgroup.  It's a good life.  I can't wait to take him swimming this summer and to hear him say his first words, but I am really enjoying the stage he's in right now.  I can't believe it's been half a year already with this little munchkin.  It's been the blink of an eye but I can't imagine life without him.

I'm so mad I lost the chalkboard!  Here's a couple pics I took on Friday, his 1/2 birthday.

"I've grown tired of your incessant picture-taking, woman!"

Happy 5 Months, Waylon!

Life has been crazy busy around here and there's just been no time for blogging.  We are trying to finish the new house enough to move in the next two weeks and are leaving for Chicago in a few days.  Things I'm planning on blogging about in the next two weeks:

-More detailed updates on Waylon, including his upcoming christening

-My experiences in a mom's group

-Dogs and babies

-Moving!

For now, just know that my little 5 month old Waylon-bear is still delightful and gets more handsome by the day.  He smiles all the time and has such a calm, sweet personality.  He loves avocados, sweet potatoes, beans and broth.  Peas and carrots, not so much.  He still sleeps like a champ and is super alert and engaging for his age (at least that's what other people tell me).  He wants to be mobile so badly, he rolls around a lot and prefers standing with assistance to any other position.  Like I said, more later, but here are some pics I've taken in the last month of the little Sprout.  He's starting to look more like his dad, don't you think?

Here's Waylon getting ready to watch some March Madness last weekend.

Bath time!

So fresh and so clean!

And finally, Baby Badass.

Are you vaccinating?

I can't believe it's been exactly one year since we found out we were having a little Bean Sprout!  I felt so panicky that day, mostly about not fitting into my wedding dress and the fact that I knew absolutely nothing about babies.  A year later and...well, my wedding was fantastic but I still know pretty much nothing about babies.  I just know I got really lucky with mine because he's awesome.  (That's not a humble brag.  I'm not sure I'm emotionally equipped for a fussy baby or a bad sleeper/eater, etc.)

Anyway, Waylon had his 4 month check up on Friday and he's 26 inches tall (81st) and weighs 15 lbs, 10 oz (51st).  Developmentally, he's on pace or a little ahead of schedule.  Again, I had no idea what babies are supposed to do when, so this was nice to hear.  He's very expressive in the face, he laughs all the time (I MUST get video of this, it's the cutest thing), he's pretty good at grabbing at/playing with his toys, and he can sit up very well when propped up and for a few seconds on his own.  He rolls over 3/4 of the way but can't quite figure out how to get his arm from under him.  Oh well, he'll get it.  Here's him chilling halfway rolled over.

The other part of the 4-month visit was vaccines.  Can we talk about this for a moment?  I feel like every day I see something about people no longer vaccinating their children for fear of autism/allergies/I'm not sure what else...is anyone still giving their kids vaccines?  I talked to the doctor for a good 20 minutes or so about this because I was kind of on the fence.  Do people still get polio?  Is there any conclusive evidence that says that vaccines = autism?  I really appreciated my doctor taking so much time to talk to me about my concerns.  Ultimately, I decided to give Waylon the shots (reluctantly) because we are going to Mexico in a few months and I'm just not convinced there's a grand conspiracy among pediatricians to harm the children of America.  But I am very curious about why people do or don't choose to vaccinate.  Do share!

In other news, the new house is coming along.  We have about a month to get in there and it seems like we are on pace.  I can't wait to share some new photos once we are done (with a few of the rooms anyway).  Right now I am so sick of scraping wallpaper I could punch someone.  Wallpaper is not the look, people.  Just say no.  Also, who puts paint on 200 year old hardwood floors?  Not stain, not varnish, paint.  Ugh.

Happy 4 Months, Waylon!

I can't believe my little Bean Sprout is already 4 months old!  Waylon is the most joyful baby, he smiles all the time and has the sweetest laugh ever.  He is happiest when listening to music, especially when you dance and sing with him.  Lately he's really been babbling up a storm.  I think we are going to have a little chattypants on our hands!  Check that out below.

I feel like he has been changing almost every day this past month, getting better muscle control when playing with his toys and holding his bottles.  Ever since Way was a tiny baby, he has preferred to be held upright instead of cradled and now his favorite thing to do is "sit-ups" where I hold his hands and he pulls himself up from laying down.  Best baby abs ever!  He is still a little wobbly if he's not propped up against something but I don't think we're far away from him sitting up by himself.  He's almost got the hang of rolling over but he just stays on his side instead of going all the way to his tummy.  He really hates being on his tummy.

I have been checking for teeth every day since someone said they thought he might be teething when we were in Phoenix, but so far I haven't seen anything.  This past week, Waylon finally got the hang of eating cereal and now face-dives at the spoon whenever I hold it up.  It's really cute and I tried to get some video of it but it's hard to feed a little boy and videotape at the same time.

He has his doctor's appointment on Friday so I will find out height and weight then but he grew out of my favorite jeans about a week ago so I know he's getting taller.  He just seems like such a big boy right now!  I look at photos of when we first brought him home and I can't believe what a tiny peanut he was.  He will be moving around on his own in no time so I am trying to enjoy the last few months of him being my little snugglebug.  *Sigh*

Waylon's First Phoenix Adventure

Last Thursday we flew down to Phoenix to attend a wedding and so Waylon could meet the Manos side of his family.  I have to tell you, baby boy did awesome.  He didn't fuss at all, not even during take off or landing, and passengers and flight attendants kept telling us what a good baby he was!  Hooray for having a little champion traveler!

It really was a whirlwind weekend, I felt like as soon as we got there it was already time to leave.  But man, it sure was nice to get out of the cold and snow for a couple of days!  I also felt like Waylon got to spend some quality time with a lot of important people which is so nice, considering that we live so far away from everyone.

On Thursday night there was a little party at Annabelle's that my parents were also invited to so that everyone could see the baby.  I wish he had been in a better mood but the traveling and messed up sleep schedule turned him into a little crankster.  Not his most charming moment.  The next morning he was pretty refreshed and got to hang out with his grandma.  She fed him and then they sang songs together.  Here is a cute photo of them deep in conversation.

On Friday night we had the rehearsal dinner.  Waylon did not start the night in a particularly lovely mood but after some walking around he went to sleep and we ended up having a really nice night.  Some of the fam has suggested that he might be teething but I don't know.  Isn't it kind of early?  And wouldn't he be in more consistently crappy moods?  Eh, what do I know?

Saturday was the wedding and my first night out since Waylon was born.  It was so nice to dress up in normal clothes again and abandon my baby with my parents for a night of adult fun.  I know my parents really enjoyed the time they got to spend with Grandson #2.  Look how nicely I clean up!  (Scott too)

Then all of sudden it was Sunday and time for us to head back to Connecticut.  We didn't get back to our house until almost 3 in the morning and I woke up yesterday feeling like I was dying.  Thanks, Germ King who sat behind us on the plane.  I really appreciate your inability to turn your head when you cough/sneeze/hack.  I hope the little boy doesn't get sick, but with both Scott and I under the weather, I don't know how he can avoid it.

Sorry this is lame entry, but I'm off to take 2000 milligrams of Vitamin C and snuggle under the covers.  I leave you with a pic of the little beast's reaction to avocados this morning.

The New Casa Manos

I was going to do this post over the weekend but then SNOWMAGEDDON 2013!  It was bad y'all.  We had about three feet of snow, couldn't open any of our doors, my dogs had to pee in the garage and my dear friend got stuck here for an extra two days.  Behold!

Friday morning, and I'm thinking "ugh, I can't believe these New Englanders are so panicky about snow!"

Aaaaaaand Saturday morning:

I guess they weren't overreacting.  This time.

Anyhoo, in the midst of SNOWMAGEDDON 2013, we closed on our new house!  Because things were getting a little slow there for a while, so we needed to add a big move to our lives.  I present the new Casa Manos:

True to form, the house isn't exactly turn-key.  I mean, it's 200 years old with a run down barn that has only three walls and it's friggin' PINK for the love of paint.  What can I say, I like projects.  I think it's from all those years of watching It's a Wonderful Life at Christmas and desperately wanting to fix up an old house a la Mary Bailey.   So I'll need to document all the Before pictures.  Join me for a tour, won't you?

Let's start in the kitchen, which is also the way you enter the house.  Not much work to be done here immediately, except I truly hate the green cabinet knobs.

Don't you love this kitchen fireplace/bread oven?  I need a huge black cauldron to hang over the fire.  Anyone know of any discount witch stores?

Off the kitchen there's a full bathroom/laundry room which is truly abysmal...we need to lose the shower and just make this a real laundry room.  With actual full-sized machines.

Next up we have the dining room...that's a real wood-burning stove along that one wall.  Just a little freshening up and we're good to go in here.

Okay, so far not too bad right?  So here come the rooms that need real work.  Let's start with the living room:

That wallpaper!  That carpet!  And oh my god I hate ceiling fans (which are EVERYWHERE, btw).  There's potential in here and I'm excited to transform it.  Moving on to the library...

That's an amazing fireplace, right?  And how about all those shelves?  I have Ideas for this room.  I think it's going to be magnificent once I eradicate all that nasty greenness.  Yes, that is a hot tub outside the French door. No, I have no idea what condition it's in.  It could actually be home to a family of rabid possums (opossums?  what's up with that word?) at this point.  Moving on...

This probably going to be my little workout room.  Or maybe the dog's playroom.  Either way, the carpet's gotta go, the ceiling fan's gotta go, and it needs some fresh paint.

Here's where it starts to get really bad....Here is a room painted green, with purple curtains and trim.  And a stupid ugly ceiling fan that I've hit my head on like three times.

And here is the room across from it, purple with green curtains and trim.  Yikes.

Here is the front hallway/stairway.  I'm still waiting for inspiration to strike here but I think it could be really elegant.  And I don't totally hate the light fixture in here.

See the tiny little bell above the door on the right?  That's the doorbell.  The wire connected to it shakes when you push the front doorbell, ringing the bell.  Man, I love the things you find in old houses.

Let's head upstairs, shall we?

We can start in the master suite.  Here's the bedroom.  Paint, carpet, done.

This is the sitting room off the master suite.  The wallpaper and carpet are hideous, obvs.  And of course it has another gross ceiling fan.  But that closet is huge and there's a window seat!  My favorite thing ever.  I think we'll put another wood stove in here too and get rid of the fake fireplace.

Okay, it's about to get weird.  Because the master bathroom is majestic but unfinished.  And in no way does it match the style of the rest of the house.  I don't know what happened here, but I'll take that bathtub!

I'm not even sure what I would call this style.  I am confused but delighted.

To all my prospective visitors, pay special attention to this next area.  It's the guest suite.  This is the sitting room area...

...which walks out to a good sized porch.

This will be the guest bedroom.  That carpet is so painfully gross, but at least the room is a good size.

And at least the guest bathroom is large and luxurious!

Next up:  Waylon's room.  I think he might not love the color scheme and he definitely has the ugliest ceiling fan known to man, but I see potential here.

Other than that, there are two other bedrooms that need some updating/freshening up.

Yikes, that's a lot of pictures!  Going through them makes me realize just how much work we have ahead of us.  But I think it will be fun to see the transformation and I'm really excited to start checking things off the list and shopping for furniture.  I'll let you see After pictures as they come!