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!