Luis at Two Months

Luis had his two-month check up today. His stats are: weight 12lbs 6oz (75th percentile), height 24" (85th percentile) and head circumference was 40th percentile. The baby vet (I have a hard time remembering pediatrician) declared him healthy and happy and developing well. He got his first round of vaccines - four shots in the thighs. I do have to say that he was a much better sport about these than Diego was about HIS vaccines earlier this month! :)

Luis is smiling and cooing many times throughout the day (not just in the mornings). He has longer stretches of being awake in the day -- and longer stretches of being asleep at night. Luis looks more intently at people and toys and follows movement with his eyes. I like that he'll hold onto my hand or shirt while he's nursing. And on occasion, when I have him snuggled up over my shoulder and I'm patting his back, he'll pat MY back. In general, he continues to be a delightful child!!

(I posted all of the the good recent photos yesterday and thus have none for today. I'll try to get one or two tomorrow.)

Luis - 9 weeks

The best way to get "action" shots of Luis is while he's laying in the baby gym, or in the swing. I apologize if these pics look like ones posted in previous weeks...

Maggie shared her Sunshine Care Bear with Luis.

Luis, so far, is not a big fan of "tummy time."

Sleep Over

Dodie & his family came down this past weekend to visit Luis (see next post). Maggie Lou decided to sleep over on Saturday night (the rest of the family was staying at a friend's nearby). We watched two movies (Shrek & Cinderella) and read almost every book that Luis has been given. Maggie helped a lot with Luis, watching over him, putting back in the pacifier and even helped give Luis a bath. It was a lot of fun having her here.

The 1" of snow that we were expecting on Sunday morning ended up being 6". The McDow/Norris clan decided to wait until Monday to return to NH, CT - and Maggie decided to stay another day with Luis, Ashley, Muffles and me.

Maggie has never been a self-proclaimed dog fan, but she did very well with Ashley. Muffles, on the other hand got lots of loving and petting.

Cousins

It's been a busy week! The day after we returned from Atlanta, the New Haven cousins (and their parents) arrived for a visit. Maggie Lou, Franklin and Solomon were super sweet with their newest cousin.

Franklin loves animals, but mostly prefers to appreciate them from a safe distance. Here, he snuggles up a bit to Ashley. Solomon seems to greet most things with a squeal. Alison tought him to say "Hi Ashley" every time Ashley went by.

Here, they help test a toy that Luis can't quite manage yet...

Dodie keeps a pretty hectic pace in New Haven and took a 15 minute cat nap to catch up.

Solly was FULL of smiles!!

Atlanta

Luis and I returned yesterday from a 4-day trip to Atlanta. I was very careful to remember my digital camera -- but not so careful about remembering the battery. Thus, there are only a few pics that Randolph & Lauren took and shared.

Luis was a great traveller; sleeping almost the entire trip down AND back. He woke mid-flight for a little food, and then back to sleep. It was wonderful!! In Atlanta, we visited with Jason, Cara and Evan Terreri (www.terrerifamily.blogspot.com) before heading up to Randolph's house. The main point of the trip was for Grandfather to meet Luis. Unfortunately, Grandfather had the stomach flu while we were there, so our visit was cut short a bit. I took a picture with my phone of us and Grandfather. If I can figure out how to get it from my phone to the blog, I'll post it.

We spent two nights with Randolph and Lauren (who do not have kids). Luis did a wonderful job as their guest. Lauren did not hear him cry once!!

Dog Lovers - Every One of Us

Our vet gave Luis this outfit (covered in puppy dogs)!

Sleeping Beauty

Happy Guy

About a week ago, Luis started to smile. What usually happens is this: Luis gives me a smile when I least expect it. I smile back at him and then tickle him a little. He smiles again. I coo at him. He smiles some more. I laugh with him. Then, after several minutes, I think to go get the camera. By the time I return, Luis is done smiling. I'd like to say that today my brain worked a little faster. But what really happened is that the camera was right next to the swing.

Even More Snow...

Almost every horizontal surface around here has about an inch of snow, an inch of sleet and an inch of ice (all from Tuesday). I chiseled the ice off of Diego's car on Thursday and it took about 45 minutes. (My Prius would never make it over the 2' snow bump at the end of the driveway - courtesy of the snow plow).
I don't know anyone who loves winter and snow more than I do - but I was a little depressed when I looked outside this afternoon to see these big, huge flakes coming down furiously.

Ashley went outside for about 30 seconds and came back in with LOTS of flakes on her (no that's not dandruff).

Luckily for us, the snow ended almost as aburptly as it started, leaving no noticable accumulation.

Baby Gym - The time has come

Last night, Luis spent about 30 minutes playing in his baby gym. He seemed to enjoy watching the toys move. On occassion, he'd even hit one with his hand. I think I had the better time - watching him smile and wriggle and grunt. On a bigger scale, it's fun to watch him DO something besides nurse and sleep. A big thank you to Sunny for sending us the baby gym!

Happy Valentines Day

Being half way around the world did not stop Diego from scoring big points today. These flowers arrived for me today (inspite of the snow, freezing rain and sleet that is currently blanketing the area). Luis's gift to me was sleeping 7 1/2 hours straight last night. What great men I have in my life!!!

Morning Snooze

Luis seems to be more cognizant of our voices these days. This morning, while I was making breakfast, Luis was hanging out in his swing in the dining room - but he was fussy. The pacifier didn't pacify, burping him produced no burp and his diaper was clean. I moved the swing into the kitchen, and he settled down immediately! Coincidence? Quite possibly, but I'd rather indulge my fantasy that he just wanted to be with me!

Daddy & Luis

It will be a couple of weeks before I can post any more pictures like this: Diego leaves today for Mumbai, and will be gone between 2 and 4 weeks. I tend to get a lot of sympathy from friends who hear that Diego will be gone, but my heart goes out to Diego. I miss Luis when I'm out of the house for a couple of hours. I can't imagine being gone for days or weeks. Diego and I talked a lot about the Mumbai choice and we are certain that this is the best decision for our family (even though the beginning will be a bit rough). I admire Diego - for I feel that he has the much harder task.

For Diego's sake, I will do my best to post LOTS of pictures of Luis and to include commentary on what he's up to. Maybe I should change the name of this blog, b/c it's really only about LUIS!

Just Chillin'

Luis received this New Zealand sheep skin "baby blanket" from my college friend, Matt. Diego tested it out this morning (Luis's best time of the day in terms of energy & temperament) and Luis seemed to really like it. He hung out there for about 30 minutes, just smiling and kicking.

The Swing

Luis (and Diego & I) love this swing that Kim gave us. He holds his head up great ... until he dozes off.

Six Weeks - Pictures

Visitors

In the last week, we've had two visitors. Midge came over on Thursday - she brought lunch and spent the afternoon with Luis and me. We chatted away most of the afternoon. She got a couple of good snuggles with Luis (one of them shown here).

Then, this weekend, Jeanette came down from New York to meet the little guy. Jeanette jumped right into our hectic schedule of watching Luis, feeding Luis and changing Luis. While she acted as though WE were doing HER a favor, Diego and I appreciated the help that Jeanette gave with Luis (snuggles and feedings - we spared her the diaper change). Jeanette sang lullabies to Luis in Spanish, which both Luis and I enjoyed.