Can't help loving this kid!

He awoke this morning in Brooklyn making melodic sounds and fun screeches while holding his own feet and smiling. It's just completely unbelievable how quickly he is changing and how deeply in love with him we are. 

At almost 6 months, his personality is really starting to shine. He's "talkative" and loves to socially interact with friends and strangers alike. He loves to watch animals and giggle at them, and if one gets close enough he reaches out his hand to pet. This goes for Lola the dog, as well as his stuffed Lion, teddy bears, and a real bunny rabbit he had the chance to meet this weekend at a farm upstate. 

When we went to Pittsfield, MA this weekend to visit our friends Sarah and Bess and their 7 month old son, Hendrix, Anzel kept reaching out a hand to Hendrix and accompanying that gesture with a smile and giggle. So far it seems that he's comfortable with just about anyone and truly is working to connect and communicate based on the faculties he currently has. It's so interesting to watch. 

 

This weekend upstate was so lovely, and we actually stayed an extra day because it made us so happy. I worked remotely, and Liz was able to take Anzel on a walk to the pond near our house. Throughout the weekend he got to explore using all five senses, and we could see his natural curiosity at play as he lay on a blanket in front of the roaring fire in the wood stove, listen to the rooster standing before him  crow "Cock-a-doodle-do," taste a pickle spear for the first time (and love it), hear his mamas talking to a family that's lived on a nearby farm for 7 generations, and touch the beautiful bounty of nature in Fall. 

As I write this he sleeps next to me in his crib, making soft snoring sounds. I know that tomorrow we will wake to find him bigger than today and that soon he will be sitting up on his own.. And then standing... And then walking... And then driving😊. But for now, I am here. He is almost 6 months old, and I am so grateful for every moment we have together. 

Fall beauty at 24 weeks of life

As I soak in a bath of Epsom salts in our dusty rose colored 70's bathtub, I thought now might be the perfect time for a blog post. Comfy, happy, and filled with love and gratitude for all that Liz and I have created together. 

Anzel is almost 6 months old now, and the last bath I took was when I was 40 weeks pregnant and filled with curiosity about this little being inside of me.  And now here we are, and I could not be more in awe of him!

He is rolling over from back to front and front to back everywhere.  It's his primary means of getting from Point A to Point B, and he's working hard to get all his parts to coordinate so he can start crawling. It won't be long now!

A few weeks ago we noticed a tooth on the bottom getting ready to come through when we were in Philadelphia, and the next day it came through the surface...his first tooth! Anzel stayed in his first hotel and enjoyed another city for the first time. When we took him to day care the Tuesday after our trip, we told them that he had a second tooth under the surface. By the time we picked him up that day it had popped through!  And then there were two.  Now they're growing and you can see them in his sweet little smile. 

He's serious about his food and insisted on using the spoon to feed himself. 

His personality is really starting to shine through. He loves to laugh and smile. He is incredibly fond of soft, furry animals (like his mama), and he LOVES to eat. His favorite is squash, and when we feed it to him, he grunts in between each bite, as we can't get food into his mouth fast enough. We've taken to calling him "Two-Tooth Squash Beard" for the time being. 

Today is Halloween, and it's the last weekend with the beautiful Fall leaves on the trees upstate, so we decided to get out of the city (because there is also the Halloween Parade, World Series, and NYC marathon happening this weekend) and come to enjoy the brilliance of nature in full effect. Yesterday we went to Clermont State Historic site right by the Hudson River, and it was spectacular. 

It's funny because the night before I took Anzel to our rooftop in Brooklyn to watch the sunset, and he experienced a whole different type of beauty. The pink light of the sky reflected off of the Empire State Building and the rest of the skyline while we watched the water towers of Brooklyn turn to silhouettes. 

Buying this house was one of the best decisions we've made together, second only to having Anzel, of course. 

In the midst of work and everything else that's happening, we're also trying to figure out how to get married. The where, the when, and the HOW are stumping us. But soon enough we will have a plan and when we do I have no doubt it's gonna be FUN!

Toof in the City of Brotherly Love

Anzel continues to change almost everyday. The loves to talk and make sounds. 

This weekend a tooth has broken the surface. 

I was speaking to an Advanced Drawing class at PAFA on Friday so we made an overnight family trip to Philadelphia. 

Anzel was super charming at the Mia Rosenthal opening at PAFA Museum's Morris Gallery.

He even talked to some of the drawings. I think he likes looking at art. We went to the Barnes Foundation to see the extraordinary collection. He loved the portrait paintings...

Especially the weird and melancholy portraits of Madame Cezanne.  

Modigliani was also interesting to him. 

But the crazy Soutine paintings were transfixing to Anzel... Weird but true. 

Dr. Barnes what a collection you amassed and displayed! Happy to finally see it and have our son with us too. 

Lately the kid also likes watching us drink coffee and anything else. He wants to also drink! 

5 months is absolute cuteness. 

4 months. 3 days of day care. 2 tired moms. 1 avocado

ANZEL turned 4 months old on the 15th (yesterday) and wow has he started to change.

He started a local family daycare 3 days a week after Labor Day. He seems to be adjusting well. There's around 10 to 12 other children in the daycare. We hope and encourages him to be social and to speak earlier. It's not easy leaving our baby with strangers but all the parents we spoke with gave rave reviews of the daycare... And since we have no lotto winnings, no trust funds and no stock options in the next IPO ...we must work. 

Now he is looking all around him taking in more than just our faces. When I carried him in the ergo carrier on my chest over the Brooklyn Bridge on September 11th for our annual walk he suddenly recognized that I was above him. He kept looking up at me. 

It was a beautiful day and evening and hard believe it's been 14 years since 2001. 

Last night on his 4 month birthday we gave him his first "solid" non-milk food. Avocado! We tried a baby spoon but that was too weird for him so he just ate it off Cristina's finger. Auntie Tamika stopped by to play a supporting role in his feeding... He cannot sit up yet on his own. 

He realized I was watching him...and taking photos. 

We are tired! (Not at all shocking, we know.) Anzel has yet to sleep through the night... We are hoping some solid foods will keep him fuller longer like mixing rice cereal into his night bottle of milk. 

We head to California this weekend. Anzel's first plane ride! Brother-in-law Brent says I'll be buying all the seats near us a round of drinks...

Stay tuned. 

Oh summer has a lead foot!

Having a baby distorts time. You know if you are a parent why it's called the longest shortest time. The sleep deprivation, constantly repetitive tasks of diaper changes, feedings and the developmental milestones. I'm literally watching Anzel's hair grow. Seriously our days feel like years and our weeks feel like hours. It's bizarre! 

Granny G came to visit and boy did she have fun with Zelly. 

I don't know how she pulled it off but they often wore matching outfits. 

He's in growth mode... In the past week alone he is grabbing on to things, toys, our hair, the pacifier etc. most of it eventually ends up in his very drooly mouth. Could it be he is teething!?! Already at 15 weeks? Regardless his coordination is getting better. 

And we have a baby sounds alarm clock named Anzel. About 6am he wakes us up with all sorts of sounds. He wants to talk! We swear he said "agua" 2 days ago... We do eat a lot of nacho macho taco (the Mexican restaurant down the block). It's so cool to see him self entertaining using his voice. (I like it better at 8am than 6am tho). 

Cristina gave him his first Tupperware drum lesson. 

He's ready for burningman. 

Auntie Tamika and Auntie Wislene came upstate last weekend to relax. Anzel discovered how great it is to pull on some dreads. He loves Tamika and her hair. You can see Tamika covered her locks after Anzel's discovery. 

A rousing game of UNO... Pretty sure it's the first came played since Zel was born. It was so nice to be at our house for the weekend. 

Today we got some quality family time. These two people amaze me everyday. Watching Cristina and Anzel together makes my heart soar. It's a beautiful thing. 

We are the luckiest parents for many reasons but one of them is Zel's great ability to sleep with very loud noise. He's a city kid afterall. 

Oh I should be sleeping now myself. Goodnight. 

3 MONTHS... My, how time flies!

Oh, it's such a cliche, but I am shocked by the speed at which the past 8 weeks have flown by!  So much has happened in the past 2 months that I can't possibly share it all here, but here are some of the highlights:

Anzel got to enjoy the 4th of July on a rooftop in Williamsburg with Ellie and Melissa, while we all watched fireworks light up the sky over the bridge and the East River.  It was pretty magical, and he completely stole the hearts of everyone he saw that night.

The next weekend we went to the house with Kate, Mike, and their 5-month old daughter, Greta.  Anzel and Greta (haha) shared some gazes on the couch, and we think this will be the start of a beautiful friendship, regardless of the crumb-dropping fairy tale references.

Throughout July, Anzel grew and grew, and his joy just seemed to grow proportionately.  The delight that he exudes when he is smiling just lights up a room.  He likes to giggle and is now fully focusing on voices and faces.  As August started, he is reaching out and grasping objects, and the monkey attached to his pacifier is often in the strong grip of his mighty little hands.  He hugs the monkey to his chest and grabs his tail... it's just about the cutest thing you'll ever see.

In mid-July we drove to the Finger Lkes for our friends' Alyssa and Justin's wedding celebration. It was beautiful, and Anzel not only wore his first tux (onesie), but he also visited his first winery.  It was a big weekend😊

In late July, Liz's sister Catherine and her family came to visit the house upstate.  Mason, who is 5 years old, was sooooo excited to meet Anzel that he barely made it out of the car before he asked to hold Anzel in his arms.  The house was filled with little boy energy all weekend long with Mason (5 years), Elliott (16 months), and Anzel (2.5 months).  This was our first annual Cousin Camp, and we look forward to many many more years of fun summer activities at the house and in the surrounding area.  We went to the beach at Lake Taghkanic, and the boys loved it!  Then, we went to a farm with a petting zoo, where you just let yourself into a large pen with a gate and hung out with the llama, goats, pony, ducks, and other critters at your own risk.  It was a fun weekend, and we look forward to next year when Anzel will be up and running around with the rest of the cousins.

And now, he is fully holding his head up, especially during tummy time, and he is responding to our voices by turning his head, even when he can't see us.  We are practicing rolling over and sitting up, and I'm pretty sure he's going to break out his crawling skills any time now.  Ok, ok, maybe I'm getting ahead of myself.  But before we know it, he's gonna be mobile, so Liz and I are working on getting back in shape.  I've gotta lose this baby weight, and we want to make sure we can keep up with him once he's up and moving!

Last week marked the transition for my returning to work.  Luckily, my job is allowing me to work only 2 days/week and then 3 days/week before returning to 4 days/week in September.  We are incredibly lucky to have Liz's best friend, Mary, taking care of Anzel throughout August.  After 16 years of both Liz and Mary living in the city, Mary recently moved around the corner, so she can literally roll out of bed and be at our apartment within about 6 minutes.  It's pretty amazing, and Anzel absolutely adores her.  I can't imagine a better person to leave him with while I head back to work.

(Picture sent by Mary while I was at work)

Once September rolls around, Anzel will be going to a family day care near us in Brooklyn for 3 days/week.  After interviewing nannies and evaluating the cost of care for Anzel, we were fortunate to find this family day care that serves a maximum of 12 children.  They are wonderfully caring and nurturing to the children in their care, and it is a much more cost effective option than hiring a nanny.  That will be a difficult transition though once September is here, but we trust that he's in good hands.

So, here we are ... at the 3-month mark, and while we are both tired and shaking off a summer cold, we are so in love with this little boy that it gives us something magical to come home to every night.   

Wishing you lots of love and MAGIC!