OCTOBER 2009 - MARRIAGE AND MONKEYS

Hi,
I’ve been doing a lot of traveling lately. I was on the east coast in August for a family visit and then returned again in October for Tio Lalo and Tia Ne’s wedding. My grandmom made me some cool overalls to wear so I could be dressed up, like the rest of the boys. My papa told me I couldn’t steal the show, since it was Tia Ne’s day, but I owned the rest of the week. I went to all the parties and even rode in a limo!

After the wedding, we had a nice visit with my Sroka aunts and uncles. Alex and Diana drove up from Philly while Cesar and Sonia drove down from NYC.

We came home to a lot of construction and dust in the house as mama and papa are re-doing their bathroom. I’ve learned a lot of things about construction. First of all, construction makes a lot of NOISE! Second, it sounds like it always takes twice as long as everyone says it’s going to take. And lastly, my papa told me it usually costs a lot more than they say it’s going to cost at the beginning. The good thing is that the bathroom looks nice and believe it or not, I slept through the jack-hammering and the bull-nosing.

Halloween!!! That was fun. To everyone’s surprise, my grandmom made me a monkey costume! It even had a monkey belly-button and a 2 foot long tail. I got to trick-or treat and made a lot of friends. The best part was when my mamma and papa thought I was just sucking on the outside of the wrapper of a Twix, but I dug through it with my teeth and was licking the caramel. Yummy!!! Speaking of teeth, I’ve got many and my molars are poking through. I’ve been eating pretty much everything, but I especially love sharing my papa’s cereal with him in the morning.

Summer in San Diego

My mommy has been pestering me to update my blog for weeks, so I decided I HAD to make an entry for her birthday....Happy Birthday Mommy!   I'm going to be a really good boy today.

For everyone else, here's the latest....I'm still not crawling (close though), but I have 3 new teeth and you can see them when I giggle.  Teething hasn't been that big of deal, but I did have a diaper rash for a couple days that was pretty tough.  Among buttbaths and ointments, the best remedy was suntanning my bum.  Check out the photo of me suntanning....

I've been spending a lot of time outside and am really enjoying our backyard.  Swimming is my new sport.  I kick my legs and my daddy throws me up high in the air.  Mommy tries to do it and even though I pretend it's fun, I don't get as much "air."   

I've been having so much fun I even invited by BFF Jacob Rand to come over. It was his 1st time in the pool.


My favorite pool time is when both my mommy and daddy are in. We swim around, kick my legs, and play in the waterfall. I have yet to dunk my head but my daddy really wants to....mommy won't let him.


After a fun swim, we have dinner and I've started to eat more chunky food and "grown up" food off the table all mushed up. One of my favorites is avocado.....what can I say, I'm from California, home of the avocado.

After a long day, I enjoy a bath with my rubber ducky to get the chlorine off. Then I get my nightcap bottle. I don't really need it but my mommy and daddy are worried I won't sleep my 10 hours without it. Suckers!


i hope you are all having a good summer. I keep saying this but I mean it....come visit me!
- andrew

Planes, Trains & Automobiles

I'm 8.5 months old and pushing 20 lbs.  I've gotten really good at manuevering around and I'm hours away from crawling.  I sit up entirely on my own and am still waiting on my teeth to come in.  I show all signs of teething but still, nothing to show for it but a big slobbery smile.

Last weekend I was in Princeton for mommy and daddy's 10 year college reunion - they're old! It was Uncle Michael's 5 year reunion too.   I flew on my first airplane and was well behaved until the pilot told us that Philly airport gave our gate away and we had to sit on the runway for an extra 30 minutes.  I had a small temper tantrum and a big stinky poop in protest....they let me off first.

We stayed at grandmom and grandad's house in NJ.  They had prepared everything - from crib, to highchair and even a jumparoo!  Woohoo!  I got to meet several of mommy and daddy's friends and made friends with their kids.  Below is one of the photos of mommy and me with her college roomates and my friends, Charlie and Emma.   Emma taught me how to say, "cheese" when I get my picture taken and Charlie showed me his Baby Einstein video collection.

I don't know if it was the time change or grandmom's house, but mommy and daddy were extra tired and daddy complained of a headache every morning, and that he was too old for partying.  They came home after midnight every night but that wasn't my fault - I was up and ready to play at 6am.  Luckily for me, grandmom and grandad were excited to play with me too.  Even Tia Ne got up early to play with me.  I'll be going to her wedding in the Fall - she is marrying Daddy's brother, Tio Lalo.   

Once back home, mommy's sister, Veronica, also visited.  She is the one kissing my head.  

I've enjoyed the pool and plan to start swim lessons in the next couple of months.  I'm also taking walks on the beach and going out to bbqs and events.  Overall, I'm a pretty happy dude and I'm enjoying summertime in San Diego.  We have extra bedrooms at home so let my mommy and daddy know if you want to come visit me!

More Push-ups Carlson!

Mommy tells me that’s what they used to say to daddy in college. He looked like what they call, “a meathead,” and his teammates heckled him about his chest. Well, I’ve begun my push-ups at 7 months. When I wake up from my naps or mommy and daddy come in to get me in the morning, I can push-up high enough to look over the crib railing. I look like a little prairie dog while I practice my push-ups. I’ve also taken a liking for tummy sleeping since I’ve slept exclusively on my back for the last 7 months. I can mostly sit-up unassisted and I suspect I’ll be crawling by my next post. If the speed and frequency of my leg kicking is any indication of my future crawling speed, everyone will be in for a treat!

Bring on the bananas, the pears, apples, sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, apricots, pumpkin….and only if I’m starving to death, winter squash. So far, I love most food and I’m eating 3 solid meals per day, alongside some milk. I’m also a big fan of wearing it all over my face. When it comes to milk, I now kick back and give myself my own bottle, which allows me to eat breakfast with mommy and daddy.

I continue to have lots of adventures at the park (I love the swing!), at restaurants, parties and sport events. A couple weeks ago, my friend Rinny came to stay with us for the weekend of a big race – the California 70.3. I cheered really loud for her and she must have been inspired because she went from 5^th place to 1^st, and won the race in the last 200 meters. The next day, daddy brought me to the San Diego Crew Classic to show me off to his friends and to teach me about the silly sport of rowing. That afternoon, daddy worked on a house project and mommy was at meetings, so I hung out with “The Champ.” Even with sore legs, Rinny was a great baby-sitter.

I had my 1^st visit with the Easter bunny and went to a party with an Easter Egg Hunt. That afternoon, we also visited Aunt Roochie’s house and Jacob, my BFF, and I had Easter dinner together. Aunt Lizzy also came over and cooked dinner. She's a very good golf and soccer player, and heads up PR at Taylormade - a golf company. Here she is below:

I continue to talk and laugh a lot. No “words” yet but my parents have some funny stunts that make me laugh….I’m happy anyway but I like to make them work for it. I laugh the hardest when daddy sings Jimi Hendrix or mommy hops like a frog when I’m in my jumparoo.

Till next time…love, acc

FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD

5.5 months old and I didn't want to let another month go by without giving you an update. A lot of new milestones and fun since my last post. Let me list a few: I started eating rice cereal about a month ago. All was going well until I increased my intake and I didn't poop for 2 days. The pediatrician recommended 2 ounces of prune juice mixed with some water....and 2 hours later, it was "watch out below!" Luckily for my parents, the big one came when my other nanny, Lauren, was watching me. She was a superstar! Needless to say, I've switched to oatmeal and I am LOVING it! See my pic below.

I also have been taking more rides in the baby jogger. It's a lot of fun because I get to spend time with both mommy and daddy while they do something they enjoy. They are both training for LJ half-marathon.

As for milestones, I am sitting up more...not quite on my own but getting very close. I like my Bumbo (the blue seat) a lot more and prefer to sit as opposed to laying down. If I sit in my bouncy seat that's become more of a recliner now (because I'm getting heavy), I like to do crunches so I can see what's going on...and well, work on my abs for the ladies. Oops - I mean, for mommy. On the topic of sitting, mommy and daddy pulled out the highchair and I've been eating my cereal in it. I only have 1 serving a day but I bet by my next post, I'll be up to more servings and maybe even some new food.

I've also been spending more time on my tummy. I can't quite roll over by myself yet (getting close!) but I like to hang out in what we call "tummy time." Check out my cute pose with my hands in prayer position.

As for outings, I'm still hitting up a lot of restaurants and flirting with the waitresses. I don't sleep through as many meals as I used to but I'm still behavin'. I'm on a good schedule and overall, a very happy boy that has discovered the art of laughter...sometimes I laugh with mommy and daddy for minutes on end. My deep belly laughs are the best.

Bye for now.

January 26th - 4 MONTHS - I'M OFFICIALLY A FUN DUDE....

Hi everybody! I had my 4 month birthday on January 16th and to celebrate, mommy took me to the doctor to get shots. But this time, the experience was better because she drugged me up with Tylenol before the visit. The shots weren't too bad and I surprised the doc by showing her my healthy weight of 14.6 lbs, and 23 inches. The doc complimented by telling me I was ready for a Michelin commercial! I was psyched - mommy just laughed.

I've turned into a pretty fun dude. I now recognize people, smile, talk, and have started to play on my tummy more. We're still working on the "tummy time" game but the one game I've gotten really good at is that "bubble game." Basically, I blow bubbles and slobber and if I can convince someone else to blow them back, I get very competitive and keep playing the game - all whilst smiling. It's a blast.

I've gotten to be really well behaved. I now sleep through the night almost consistently, I can play by myself for quite a while while mommy gets ready for work in the morning, or cooks dinner at night. I really like my nanny Tami, and I strive to make her life easy. One example of how good I am was yesterday morning - here's how it went down:

Mommy and Daddy were running Carlsbad half-marathon. They woke me up early in morning to eat- daddy said that I had to empty mommy's boobs so she could run faster. He always talks about drainage in the Zoot shoes so I think there was a relation to liquid weight and speed. They put me in this really warm fuzzy cozy outfit that Uncle Vinu gave me. Don't I look cool?

When we got to the race, we had packed everything but daddy forgot my diaper bag, with my mid-morning milk bottle in it. Mommy almost didn't want to race but I gave her a kiss and told her I have stored extra milk in my cheeks, and would be a good boy for Uncle Drew and Aunt Ashley. Mommy and Daddy both had good races. I secretly know that it's because they wanted to rush back to me. I'll admit I was hungry when mommy finally met me but I was distracted by the excitement of her PR race. We celebrated for about a minute, and then I made mommy feed me in the car. I didn't care about her sweat or anything, I was just happy to snuggle up to her and eat.

As you can see, this baby stuff is getting fun and if you come visit, I will interact with you and we can play the bubble game! Come on over!

Love,

Andrew

My 1st Christmas!

Being a baby is time consuming. It’s hard to believe how much time has passed since my last post as I’m almost 15 weeks old. Although much has happened since I last blogged, this one will focus mostly on the holidays.

Christmas presents came early to mommy and daddy this year as the week before Christmas I slept straight through the night (830-6ish) 4 night in a row, and one of those nights, I was out late at a Christmas party and didn’t get home until just before midnight. I’ve started to wake up once for a feeding in the middle of the night again and but that has more to do with my voracious appetite than my schedule…or so we think. I am drinking over 8 ounces of milk before I go to bed and that certainly is evidence for why I’m hovering somewhere in the 13 pound range We’ll confirm this at the 4 month doctor’s visit in 2 weeks. Check out my cheeks in my photos! Aren’t they the best?

Like my cheeks, my house was FULL over Christmas. I got to see both sets of grandparents and all of my aunts and uncles, except for Aunt Nikka who I missed a lot….she’s the pretty Russian girl laying on the floor with me and Uncle Michael in the last post.
Here I am with Uncle Cesar (mommy’s twin) and Aunt Sonia and here I am with Uncle Alex, Aunt Diana and Abuelita.
Here I am sleeping with Uncle Michael and here I am playing on my mat with Tio Lalo and Tia Ne.
Everyone has a nickname in this family – some of mine include, “Buds,” “The MonkeyMan,” “Andy-Chuck” (my Nascar name), and “Mr. Charles.” My grandad’s favorite name for me is “The Emperor” or “Prince” because I rule the house. Here I am waking up from a nap on my granddad.

All in all, the holidays were so much fun. I tried to stay on schedule as much as possible but definitely had some hyper-stimulation. I got some great presents including a BOB stroller for running with mommy, lots of toys and some really hip clothes. I even gave some gifts myself including a grandmother’s bracelet for grandmom. Look at how happy she looks when I gave it to her!

This next week will be a big week for mommy and daddy to organize the house, their work and prepare for the new year. I also get to celebrate my daddy’s birthday on the 30th! Even though mommy is heading back to work at the beginning of the year, my New Year’s resolution is going to be to update the blog more often.