Been a long time!

Well, we are all moved in at our new place and finally got our computer hooked up to the internet. I feel like a normal human again. It has been weird not being able to document Diego's progress like I had been doing! I don't have nearly enough pictures and videos of what has been an absolute crazy time!

Diego has changed so much. He has seven teeth now. His fifth tooth was the top left (his left) from his two front teeth. I don't know what that is called but I know they all have names. We can call it Mr. Fif. Well, Mr. Fif broke through on May 9th. At least, that is when I felt it. I saw it was white under the gum for awhile before that. I remember that date only because it was the same day as my colonoscopy. And the day I couldn't nurse him because of the drugs they gave me. It was a bad bad day. Then the sixth one broke through very soon after, within days. I was pretty sick then so I really lost track of all time and could barely function so that is a shame I didn't write it down.

Now he has a seventh which is the top right (his right)! I felt that one pop through on 6/8 but that one has been swelling and bothering him for almost a month.

Diego has been meeting lots of family. He met his cousin Brian and seems to really like him even though Brian mows him over pretty easily. Diego is easy going about it. He loves everyone just about. He didn't seem to like his Uncle Brian very much but I think it is just because he scared him by making a scary noise and a weird face and then picked him up all within moments of entering his home for the first time and flying across the country for the first time. Too many first things in a short time. Diego needs a minute to get situated is all.

Diego is a dancing fool now. He will move to almost any groove. He loves restaurants and flirts with everyone in his view. He gets fussy if people don't stop and say hello to him but that is okay because they almost always do.

We noticed that he is finally signing for food. How awesome is that!??

I will have to close for now because he needs a little diaper change.

peekaboo

Diego started playing peekaboo today. I gave him a towel to play with and he started covering his face with it and taking it away. He did it over and over and over again. We laughed and laughed. It was fun.

Dancing Boy

Diego has been dancing for quite awhile but in the last couple of weeks or so has really kicked it up a notch. He loves to move to the music and will even do it when we sing to him.

He's become a master at the pincer grip. He believes anytime is a good time for Cheerios! He also has become obsessed with ripping my glasses off my face and he's a pro. Sometimes I don't even see it coming. I guess it is time to put in my contacts.

He visited his Great Uncle Mike a couple of weeks ago. We drove up to Temecula to meet Mike and GeorgeAnn at Thornton's Winery. Mike treated us to a fine meal and we hung out for about 3 hours, I think. It was fun.

Diego wasn't his usual friendly self and fussed a lot.

We are moving to Ohio at the end of this month and Diego won't let me pack. So far, I have nothing really packed and I am about to flip my lid. Too much stress.

Fun times out and about

Marissa and Renate came and went. On Thursday, Marissa and Diego and I went to the park with her dogs and walked around to tire them out. Then we went to Jyoti-Bihanga
for old time's sake. Marissa, Jason and I used to go there a lot together when she lived here. Diego sat in a high chair and had a blast. It was heaven. I never pictured us sitting in Jyoti together with my baby in 2008! Well, Diego was the life of the party. Our waiter couldn't get enough of him. He kept getting down on the floor to talk to him. Swore that Diego looked exactly like his nephew, Dennis.

A lady from another table got up to say that Diego was so "well-behaved" and then chatted him up for a bit. She had a big stain from lunch on her shirt. I thought that they could relate with each other on that point but she didn't choose to mention it.

Then another member of the kooky waitstaff came over to "get in on the fun", as she put it. She was fascinated with Diego's mesh feeder and had a lot of questions about it. Then she told us that in Mexico, they give teething babies green onions to gnaw on. She said the spiciness makes the pain "dormant". She pantomimed babies gnawing on stalks of green onions. It was funny.

Marissa got the neat loaf and mashed potatoes out of obligation to the old days. I got the tempeh reuben and loved it! Then we went back to the hotel to check on Renate because she wasn't feeling well. We hung out there with Diego and had a nice time. Then we went to see Jason and hung out home for awhile. Around dinner time, we left Diego to go to sleep and headed to the Crest Cafe in Hillcrest. We ate sandwiches and Renate got the check and ordered Jason something to go. A pesto veggie sammies with delicious baked fries. He gobbled it up.

On friday, Marissa and I went to the Vegan Zone in Pacific Beach and got the most beige breakfast ever. We ordered home fries and they delivered french fries and we were appalled. We got "chicken" and pancakes and they were dismal. They gave her instant coffee for two dollars and no amount of soymilk and sugar could salvage it. Then we went to the Zoo with Diego. He was very good. We had dinner at Sipz without Diego and Jason and brought Jason home some Kung Pao - his favorite.

Saturday, Marissa and Renate brought over some bagels to go with my tofu/veg and fried potatoes. We ate and talked and looked at pictures. We took turns playing with Diego. Then they drove back up the coast to leave me sad without my pal. Diego took to Marissa and Renate very well. I was so happy.

Finger foods

I bought Diego these Gerber puffs. He likes to practices picking them up and putting them in his mouth. They dissolve really fast so they are less likely to choke. Better than Cheerios. Sweet Potato!

Marissa is in town and we are gonna hang out!

wild animal park and first kiss

On Saturday, we all went to the Wild Animal Park in Escondido. We went with the Millers and with Mike and Malinda (his girlfriend). Diego did so well. He just rode in his stroller and took it all in. I really think he had a nice time. The weather was perfect. It was overcast, so it was cool and the sun wasn't blinding us.

He didn't cry at all until we got on the tram tour and I was holding him. He wanted to nurse. So I nursed him while we road around looking at giraffes and leopards and all. First time nursing him in public. I can't believe I have gone seven months without nursing in public. I have nursed him in the car a couple of times because he was throwing a fit in the store.

Last night, we were having a cookout at the Miller's. Leslie's friend, Kaitlin brought over her daughter. Jordan is turning a year old at the end of this month. Diego and Jordan played together on the floor for a long time. It was so fun to watch. Jordan kept kissing him. She also kept trying to hit him on top of his head with his own toys, but you take the good with the bad. He didn't seem to mind at all. After awhile, he got really bold and kept trying to tackle her when she had her back to him.

top left tooth

His fourth tooth came in this week. I can't remember which day. I am kicking myself for not writing it down. But it was early this week. Like maybe Tuesday. He is crawling perfectly now and is unstoppable. He is so fast that you can't take your eyes off him. He is even standing on his feet and using whatever he can to push across the floor so he can walk. I guess he needs a push toy now.

We got his high chair last night. It is going to work out pretty well, I think.

Standing up

Diego pulled himself up to a stand today. He has been working on it pretty hard for the past few days. He would get himself to a point that he couldn't get out of and start wailing for help. Today, I was lying on the floor with him and Lucy was behind us on the couch. Diego was babbling at Lucy and he pull himself up to stand using my shirt to hold onto. He stood for a long time steadying himself by holding onto my shirt. His motivation was to get closer to Lucy. That really helped motivate him to crawl too. I am sure that it will provide motivation to walk! So he can chase the dogs! They are in for it.

Top Right Tooth

I noticed that Diego's top right front tooth broke through last night. Yay!

Also, I saw on the Rachael Ray show, Rockabye Baby! Lullabye renditions of....

They have everybody! I want like every single cd they have. They only carry Coldplay, Tool and Smashing Pumpkins at the Library. Dang it! I really want The Pixies but it isn't out yet. Coming soon! So cool... They even have Bjork and Led Zeppelin.

Crawling

Diego is practically crawling now. He does sort of a slither hop wriggle crawl. Point is that he can get wherever he wants to go now and wherever I don't want him to go! He is even starting to pull himself up to a standing position. He is trying to do that, I should say. He isn't quite there yet.

6 month checkup

Diego weighs 15.7lbs (20%) and is 27 1/4 inches (75%). The doctor said he was advanced because he can sit up on his own. She said he is doing well and we will be going back in three months.

He seems to like his doc. We like her. The only problem is that the office always seems over booked and we end up waiting for an hour.Our next appointment is in May and I made sure we got the first one of the day so we won't be stuck waiting forever.

Oh and I forgot to mention that we went out to lunch after his appointment and he sat in a high chair at the end of the table. He was so interested in everything. He did so well. The waitress brought him a sliced banana for us to put in his mesh feeder and he loved it. I even mashed up a little and fed him some. I got to eat my Boca burger and we had a great time!

Diego's 2nd tooth

I noticed Diego's second tooth broke through on Saturday. 2/2/08. He is doing well with eating solids. It has changed his patterns a bit. For example, yesterday, he didn't have a poop all day. That worries me a bit, but I know they say it is normal. He went first thing this morning so I know he's okay.

The thing I don't understand is, if they know rice cereal is so binding, why do they recommend that you start with that instead of something like oatmeal? Diego is having his checkup on Wednesday so I will get to bombard the doc with lots of Questions.

He has a lot of bumps on his thighs and his sides. They aren't red or anything but I can feel them. They feel scratchy or coarse. I have been putting lotion on him to try to help it go away and they feel better but not gone.

Jay took him to Mark and Leslie's yesterday to watch the Superbowl, while I cooked for Kim and Smokey. I guess he was a bit of a fussy boy so he ended up coming back after a couple of hours. I think Diego really likes to be at home. He fusses whenever we go over there.

Sitting up

Diego figured out how to get himself into a seated position. He's been trying so hard to do it and I guess last night, he did it while I was in the other room. Jay was with him and didn't see him do it. But he saw that he wasn't sitting and then he was all of a sudden. Jay suspected that he used the activity mat's arches to help himself get there because of the way he was hugging them.

Well, today I saw him do it. And now he does it over and over again. So cool!

first solid food

Today, we fed Diego his first solid meal. Organic rice cereal. He liked it. He did so well and ate it all. He probably would have eaten more than I prepared for him but we thought it best to start slow. I may steam up some sweet potatoes or carrots for him to try soon. I knew he was ready for it, so I finally just called his doctor for some advice.

Diego's first trip to the playground

Jason and I took a walk to the local playground to let Diego watch the older kids play. He was very interested in the kids running here and there and squealing like they do on the jungle gym. Our neighborhood is so nice. We live right next to a Community Park where there is a very nicely kept baseball field and also a playground with basketball courts.

It was a beautiful day. The sky was overcast so the sun wasn't oppressive as it sometimes can be at midday. We got some fantastic shots because the light was so diffused by the clouds. Don't forget to click on "webshots" to the right so you can see the latest photos. It is wonderful to get outdoor photos because there is so much around that he hasn't seen yet. Outdoors he is very interested in other things besides the camera. He is often too distracted by the sound of the camera and the flash going off making it really hard to get a candid shot of him.

Sitting Pretty

Diego can sit up pretty much on his own now. You have to put him in position and he can stay like that indefinitely. He will lean over and play with toys on the floor and everything. He still falls over sometimes if he tries to reach for something a little too far away. He has yet to put himself in sitting position but it really looks like he's close to it.

I read in a baby magazine that his getting on all fours and rocking is supposed to happen around 7 months and he's been doing that for weeks now! Maybe he'll be walking at 8 months like I was.

First Tooth

Diego cut his first tooth today! When I found it I was so excited. It is on the bottom on his right, in the front, of course. It is so sharp and has all these little points on it.

mesh feeder

I have been giving Diego apple slices in his mesh feeder. He can't get anything but the flavor out of it and it is supposed to help soothe his gums. He loves to gnaw on that thing and is getting the hang of holding it himself. I think he is ready for foods other than breast milk now but I still am going to wait until he is six months to give him cereal. His doctor firmly suggested that it was best to stick to just breast milk for the first six months. I have read a lot of stuff that says that is best also so I shall wait! Plus, Jason and I are really scared of the stinky diapers that come along with food! Icky. Right now his diapers are just fine by me.

He is getting really good at sitting up on his own. He still falls over if he tries to move around too much... got to work on his balance. But he is coming along really well. It is gonna be wild to see him sitting up on his own and crawling!!! I just don't know what that will be like. Seems like it will be both a relief and yet sad that he is becoming less dependent on me.