Who Loves His Mommy?

Four Months!

It is late, and past my bedtime. But I wanted to do a quick post. Today is Luis's four-month anniversary (birthday?). Time flies. He weighs ~ 15lbs. Tomorrow, I'll write more about all of the great things he is doing. Here are some photos from this weekend. 1. Luis smiles big. 2. Luis enjoys some time in the sun. 3. Luis & Diego. 4. Luis & Juan Fe.

Various Photos

A friend pointed out today that it's been almost a week since I posted photos. It's been a busy week - a trip to Annapolis, visiting with Liz & Shirley, Diego came home.

Just a Cute Photo

Rolling Over? Not yet....

Luis is starting to make moves like he'd like to roll over. Here, he's doing the classic "foot plant and back arch." While it will be exciting when he CAN roll over, I see many changes in my life after that (and a lot more Luis-watching)!

He will also pull his legs up over his head and swing them to one side (but I've yet to catch that one with the camera).

Toys

This week, Luis started playing with toys. He's really into texture, grabbing things, and putting things in his mouth. It's great fun to watch him. This fish is definitely a favorite, as is the zebra.

A Family!

Diego arrived yesterday from Mumbai. It's great to be together again!!

Saturday

Liz & Shirley were visiting with JF today, and Luis and I had a very nice, quiet Saturday together. The weather was cold and rainy, so we enjoyed inside games together.

Here, Luis is practicing his rapper pose. In all honesty, he had been lifting up his legs and grabbing his feet. Of course, when I actually aimed the camera at him to capture this, he changed his look completely.

After the not-quite-successful sit in the bumbo seat, Luis has been practicing, and is getting more stable in it. To me, Luis's expression is saying, "but what does this thing DO?"

Luis is taking to the concept of sitting up rather well. I like to sit on the couch, with my feet on the living room table and lay Luis on my thighs. The last couple of times I've done that, he has squirmed and squirmed until I pulled him into a sitting position - then he sat peacefully, as if to say, "thank you, this is much more comfortable."

And finally, my favorite - the smile from the baby gym. It's still a very popular toy with Luis. He now will grab at specific toys instead of just batting them around. In fact, he likes to try to put the giraffe's feet IN his mouth. Luckily, they don't quite reach that far...

What can I say??

I feel like this is the kind of picture you see in a magazine "write your own caption" contest...

(Mark & Natalie came over for a visit & dinner tonight.)

A Nap on the Couch for Everyone

Luis didn't get a good morning or mid-day nap, so I decided to encourage a good afternoon nap by example. At some point, a thunderstorm rolled in and Ashley got a little afraid. So, she joined us on the couch as well.

Liz & Shirley

Diego's sister Liz (in red) and her friend Shirley (in white) are here for two weeks, from Costa Rica. It's great having other adults in the house, it's great visiting with Liz & Shirley, it's great for Luis to meet some of his Rincon family. Over the next 10 days or so, there will be many more pictures (I hope), but here's a few for now.

Artsy Luis

Bumbo Seat - Not Quite Yet

Luis is getting much stronger in his neck and back. He sits up pretty well on my lap (granted, with a little stabilizing from me). I decided to try out the bumbo seat, to see if he was ready. Not quite yet ... though we'll keep practicing!

Show on the Road: Richmond

As I mentioned, we left Rock Hill very early on Sunday. It was supposed to be at 5a, after Luis got up to feed. Only problem was he woke an hour earlier than usual. So, we were out the door at 4a. It was a long, sleepy drive up I85. Luckily, I had planned to stop in Richmond for a visit (and breakfast) with Heather and a much needed rest. Luis was a good visitor - sleeping while we had breakfast and then being very sweet and happy (a big plus for when we visit people without kids). Heather was an excellent host with a great breakfast and huge mug of coffee for me and a snuggle and a toy for Luis.

The break in Richmond is just what I needed to finish the 400+ mile trip. But before heading home, Luis and I went over to my aunt Midge's house to collect Ashley (who spent the weekend with Midge) and to visit with Emily & Rafael and Meg & Sarah. Midge had saved me some lunch, which was a treat. (I had breakfast at 6a at Bojangles and was reminded of why I never eat fast food!) Unfortunately, I didn't think to take my camera out at Midge's, so there are no pictures.

All in all, it was a GREAT road trip. Luis met McDow family, Coward family, and Norris family. I had a fun time seeing everyone and introducing around Luis. But I also had a really fun time with Luis. Without household chores, laundry or cooking to do, he and I had what felt like A LOT more time to play together. And Luis was smiling and grinning just about the whole trip. Still, when we finally made it home, it was good to be here.

Show on the Road: Rock Hill

We arrived in Rock Hill on Thursday afternoon, and stayed until SUPER early on Sunday morning. It was a great visit. Thomas & Lucy were great sports about Luis's limited schedule and worked meals around his sleep times (thank you, thank you, thank you). And a big thank you to Barrett for letting us use your pack n play!

Friday evening Anna McDow Richards (my first cousin) had a birthday party for her daughter, Sarah. It was a great opportunity to see much of my McDow aunts, uncles & cousins. Saturday, we had lunch with Clarkson & Mary Ann (parents of Will, whom we saw the day before in Durham). Luis & I also had a visit with my cousin Mary Kathryn, and her 5-day old son, Bo. Saturday evening, my aunt Nell and cousin Nellie came up from Columbia for a visit with us and stayed for dinner. It was great to see everyone. Luis is a lucky, lucky child to be born into such a loving family. Over the weekend, Luis met 24 McDows. All of that visiting people really tuckered Luis out!

Luis is working on finding his feet. He OFTEN pulls his feet up over his head like this, but then tends to look every where but at his feet.

I bought little toy rattles that attach to his feet to try to entice him, but he mostly ignores them.

Interesting fact: Friday was our 4 year wedding anniversary. Since Diego and I got married, 11 babies have been born into the McDow family!! Wow!!

Show on the Road: Durham & Chapel Hill

Last week, Luis and I hit the road, heading south, to see family. The first leg of our trip took us to Durham where we visited Gigi Coward (Luis's great-grandmother) and then spent the night with Will & Leslie McDow (my cousin - already I'm confused on how people are related to Luis). Luis was great in the car, sleeping the entire way. Then, Luis was great at visiting, flashing his happy smile at everyone.

Here are pictures of Laura Mishler, Luis & Florence on the couch. I think this picture looks a bit awkward because of the way I propped up Luis. Then, it's all of the kids & Will out in front of Will's house (the night before the temperatures dropped below freezing and 1/2 the East Coast got snow). Will asked Laura Mish to take her hat off for the next picture, but I rather prefer this one!

For more pictures of Will's family, check out http://www.mcdowkids.blogspot.com/

Then, on Thursday morning, we headed down the road to Chapel Hill to visit with Abby, Piers and Charlotte Norris Turner. We had a yummy breakfast and a very nice visit. Charlotte was super cute (the only way I've ever seen her) and very interested in Luis.

This stop had an extra purpose. I have started though the sorting & cleaning process around the house - trying to cull many of our possessions, so that there will not be much to store when we head to India. Remember back to all of the wonderful clothes and baby gear that Alison gave me? Well, it's hard to believe, but it's already time to give much of that back. Abby is going to be the keeper of McDow/ Norris/ Turner baby things. So, I loaded up the back of my Prius (and I mean loaded to the top!!) with baby clothes, the moses basket, and a few other odds & ends and brought them to Abby. I'm a little sad to see them go - especially the basket. But it also feels good to have a few more things out of the house.

And for more pictures of Charlotte, check out http://www.thesistersnorris.blogspot.com/

From Chapel Hill, it was on to Rock Hill...

Update on Luis

Luis is doing great. He is still a happy, easy-going baby. He smiles often - his whole face lighting up. It's such a joy! We've had extremely nice weather this last week. I've tried to take advantage of it and do the "spring clean-up" in the back yard. Luis has been very cooperative. Two days this week, after waking from his nap, he's come and sat outside in the bouncy chair and allowed me to spend another 45-60 minutes doing yard work.

He is working on a new trick: Giggling. He had a tentative giggle on Friday afternoon. Then yesterday, he had real belly-laugh. I'm not really sure what prompted either and I've had no luck getting him to repeat himself. It's really a hoot to hear.

A side note: as Luis seems to be a little bigger every minute, he has graduated to the next bigger bouncy-seat (courtesy of his aunt in New Haven). He loves this bouncy-seat as evidenced above that he'll sit in it for 45 minutes at a stretch.

Another side note: despite that strangers ALWAYS comment on how much hair Luis has, he has now lost almost all of the hair he was born with (check out pictures from just after his birth). He has one or two solid patches on the back - which are almost never seen. I'm curious as to when he'll start to grow some back.

Preparing for Naptime..

Luis has been working hard over the last 4 weeks at finding some part of his hand to suck on. He has varied success. Lately, he mostly finds comfort in sucking on the whole fist. But today, he settled in on the thumb. We'll see what tomorrow holds...

Forgot the Camera (again & again)

So... Last week when Luis and I joined Sarah & her kids at Meadowlark, I forgot the camera. On Friday when we all went to a park, I forgot the camera. All weekend when Jeanette & Eric were here, I didn't take a single picture - not when Eric was cuddling Luis or when Jeanette was cuddling Luis or even when Eric was cuddling Jeanette. I didn't get out the camera when Eric & Will Rimicci were playing in the back yard after brunch on Sunday or when Eric was playing with Ashley (all weekend long). I didn't get my camera out on Monday when Maggie, Ella, and Bea Gumbinner came over for a visit and a play at the park. And finally, last night, when Luis's Uncle JF came over, I once again forgot the camera. Luis and I had SUCH a great week, and I have not one single picture to remember it by. What makes me sadder is that I have not one single picture to share with Diego!!!