Milestone Man

Well, our baby T has taken a "step" toward toddlerdom today.
Congrats to the world's newest walker (sort of :)...
We love you, Sweet T.

A Day in the Life

...of our beloved T-baby.

11-mos. into his little life, T baby is shaking up his world (and his parents') with non-stop curiousity and adventure. While M was a more placid, predictable baby, T-babe is keeping us on our toes (to say the least). Just the other day as GG looked away for a second, T crawled up the stairs for the first time! Oh Lord!!

Here are two glimpses of life with a pre-toddler... Enjoy and God bless!

Heart in my throat

I just had the scariest experience being locked out of the house by my own son! I was in the garage taking out the trash and M locked the deadbolt!

No keys, no cell phone, no nothing...

At first I didn't know what to do. I freaked out a little while attempting to pursuade him to unlock the door. I really tried not to panic (but failed miserably) and then went around back to check to see if any doors were open. They weren't. [I'm a freak for locked doors! :)] I did get to see M through a sliding door, though, and assure him I was okay. After, I went back into the garage and patiently coached him to unlock the deadbolt... He did it! Hallelujah!

My lesson for the day is attitude in motherhood is EVERYTHING! My approach to all the day-to-day details directly influences how family responds to those details. When I started to openly worry about being locked out, M became scared and sad, unresponsive to my coaching. He just needed to see that mom was okay and then was open to my joyful instructions. Lesson learned.

Hallelujah, I'm back in the house.
God bless!

**T-baby said "bye bye" today for the first time while waving! [I think he also said "baby" at breakfast while we were talking about a baby. Maybe? Who knows? All I know is he's growing up!!]

To the ER after all...

GG, T-babe, and I became intimately acquainted with the ER here last night, or shall I say, this morning. We headed in around 12:30am when T's temperature took a scary turn toward 105F after being down all day! The poor thing was so hot, tired, thirsty, and whimpering the entire time. What a sweet, little trooper!

I remember being sick as a child and hearing my mom say she wished she could assume the illness for me so I didn't have to suffer. My grandfather had expressed the same sentiments to her as a child. And now I can completely understand the logic behind such feelings. To see your little one racked with fever leaves you feeling completely helpless and vulnerable. My poor baby! I would have taken his place in a heartbeat. All parents out there can completely understand.

Well, after many pokes, prods and blood sticks, an antibiotic shot, and three very tired Gasperinis later, T-baby was diagnosed with an ear infection. Can you imagine?! The doc still thinks something additional is going on (potentially bacterial, but also possibly viral), so we're taking a very conservative antibiotic route and keeping on the fluids. If we don't see improvement within 24-48 hours, we'll head back to the ER. We would so appreciate your continued prayers for his health!

And thanks be to God, the ER accepted T's Indiana health insurance. Hallelujah! It was such a blessing to learn his coverage had been approved upon our departure from the hospital. That was one thing in our favor!

Off to tend to the sick one... God bless you and your health today!

Strike 3

In the baseball world, three strikes and you're out!

Thankfully not for T-baby; though we've been close to sending him packing with a bottle and some formula for the last few days. This week T has gone on nursing strike #3 after biting Mom twice and getting an adverse reaction (can you blame me?)

Funny enough, the illness (mentioned in the last posting) might be solving our feeding woes, getting us back on track for the last month of a 12-mos. nursing program (sounds like a degree!) We are seeing it through and I'm thrilled about it... Breastfeeding has been such an endearing time with the boys. I'm so glad to have had the privilege to nurse them. And I'm not done yet.

The reason for these thoughts is I wanted to promote nursing via a really cool, hip product that just came to my attention. It is way cute and chic and all pregos should be in line at the store to buy one immediately (that is, if you plan to breastfeed!) I can remember many-an-embarrassing moment nursing in public and this little contraption should help. The Bebe Au Lait (or "Hooter Hider") is the perfect solution.

You better believe it will be on my registry for child #3! Just what GG wants, another reason for me to nurse in public and humiliate him! Poor guy... :) At least with this thing, there's more modesty involved!

And aren't the patterns the cutest?!

God bless.

**As I type, T-baby plays happily to my left. Fever completely gone! Hallelujah!

Our Baby's Orange!

In case you've been worried after seeing some of our pics... T-baby has "carotenemia" from eating excess amounts of beta-carotene. He's a REALLY good eater, consuming everything, including his veggies! He's also still nursing, which provides more beta-c because this mama's eating her veggies too!! Don't worry, he won't stay orange forever... but while he's tinted, we'll love him that way!

Baby orange skin (medical condition): Carotenemia is an excess of beta-carotene in the blood. It is a common and mostly harmless condition in infants usually appearing when infants begin to eat solids. When they eat too many foods containing beta-carotene (e.g. pumpkin, carrot, most yellow or orange vegetables), the baby receives too much beta-carotene and some is deposited in the skin. This gives the skin a yellow or orange coloring. www.wrongdiagnosis.com

Silence is Golden

It is eerily silent and peaceful right now in G-Ville. Both cherubs are sleeping...

Praise God for napping. ;)

Milestones to report:

1) M is in a big boy bed as of yesterday. We had a our first night of successful sleep in a railed twin bed without any Mom/Dad interaction. Hallelujah! He started climbing out of the crib on Wednesday and from there, we had no choice but to have a broken toddler or a big boy. We chose "Big Boy"!

2) M lived up to his new big boy status by going peepee on the potty right before his nap. I asked if he wanted to try it, he did, and away we went! Never before has he actually "done the deed" on the toilet. HUGE step toward independence. Can I say "hallelujah" again? :)

3) T is moving to one nap/day. After battling out the afternoon nap the last week or so, we made the switch today. We forewent the morning nap and he just finished a 2-hour mid-day siesta. Wonderful.

Just wanted to keep you posted on the latest. God bless you and TGIF!!

Now you see him

...now you don't. Crazy, crawlin' T-mania here in Gasperini-Ville today. Props to GG's brother, C, who was the brains behind the operation! It's been awhile since I've laughed as hard as I did today. Enjoy!!



And now, the outtakes... (if only there was space to include them all!)







God bless you all today!

Gotcha

I found T-baby today teething on the toilet... Only my child would find such a place worthy of tasting! Unfortunately, this trigger-happy mama was one second too late to catch him in the moment. I did, however, snap a few shots of the "aftermath". Enjoy and God bless!

At it again...

How can a mother be angry at her early-waking baby when he's this smiley and sweet?

Milestone Update

The latest news on T-baby:

*he started waving on Sunday and is so sweet when he flaps his little chub hand. Yesterday as I was leaving the kitchen to grab something in the garage, he initiated a wave while seated on the kitchen floor. My heart melted... absolutely.

*he took two tentative crawl "steps" yesterday. Some of our friends' children have been crawling for months, but we're still proud of our little T. Just remember Leo and my kids' tendencies to do things on their own time. Way to go, little man!

*he can now maneuver from tummy or back to the sitting position. I found him sitting in his crib following yesterday's nap. Check that one off the list!

*his left front tooth *finally* surfaced yesterday. T is now officially part of the "I have 3 teeth" club. Both young, old, and those with poor hygiene are current members. :)

Kudos to my T-baby! More milestones coming...

(At the beach with Mimi)

Sweet Siblings

Our law community welcomed (by proxy) its newest member, baby Sean, on Monday! We celebrate with Sean's parents, our dear friends, as they now are a family of five. I spoke to Julie yesterday and heard the glowing report of their newest blessing. I especially loved hearing of how adoring Sean's two sisters were upon seeing him... The oldest showered the baby with kisses, inspecting his fingers and toes and all of his sweet baby parts. She even stopped at one point saying, "He's cute." Adorable.

I already eat up all of the M and T interactions of late. They are very sweet together. T was crying yesterday and we asked M to give him a hug to make him feel better. No sooner had M bowed his head (his version of a hug) and brought it toward the baby, but T stopped crying. "Look, you made him feel better, " I said. M was such a proud big brother in response.

Yes, they are very sweet together... most of the time.

T-baby was later lying on the floor near where M was playing, kicking his feet to interact with M's legs. M was not too pleased about this arrangement, but was unwilling to move his play spot. I found myself faced for the first time with "disciplining" the baby. "No, T, we mustn't kick," I chortled, feeling slightly ridiculous. I did it more for M, so that he could see that rules are universal. I'm already trying to play fair in the world of my children.

All in all, though, they are very sweet together.

Must run... M just pushed over a sweetly sitting T-man. Ha ha! Lord help me! :)

Moments to treasure

I've been taking greater pleasure in the small moments of the day-to-day recently. It's possible GG's uncertain Army future has caused me to have a renewed appreciation for our family and precious children. Whatever the cause, I'm drinking these in...

*M and I played "ball" this morning with an empty butter container (his creative choice). He chose the game and we spent a few minutes tossing the container in the air to the "moon" and "tree" as he would say. I delighted hearing him bring together strung-along words--"to tree Mommy". Awesome.

*T-man gave a huge sigh and gasp when I retrieved him from his morning nap. His smile seemed to say "I'm so thrilled to see you, Mom!" What a welcome! :)

*M began reciting A Very Hungry Caterpillar adding some new spoken words to his vocab. At first I didn't realize what he was talking about... "Sat-day, cake, i-ceam" referring to the passage "On Saturday, the caterpillar ate one piece of chocolate cake, one ice cream cone..." Very cute.

*I reveled yesterday in the celebration of my parents' 38th wedding anniversary. They called from the airport on their way to the Caribbean to attend a wedding and go on a cruise afterward. Cheers! What fun to stop and think about GG and I and the next 33 years we have together until we reach 38!

*GG and I have been asked to be godparents to our dear friends' precious babe (who I mentioned recently). What a blessing it will be to us to follow the spiritual journey of one of God's newest cherubs. Hallelujah.

Alrighty, off to indulge in a screaming T-man. What a blessing he is, tears and all.

Big little hunger

You know your infant is hungry when:

*he shoves an entire 1 inch cube of cantaloupe in his mouth and bursts into tears when it is removed.

*he maneuvers (without crawling) toward a rope dog toy across the room and proceeds to pick off rope and eat it. Later, he vomits a rope wad and cries because he's lost his meal.

*he manages to reach, grab, and eat grass and dirt while in the middle of a blanket outside on the lawn. He later produces an acorn that has been swishing around in his mouth for an unknown period of time.

*he consumes more than his brother (18-mos older) at dinner.