Happy Birthday and then some....

I am totally behind in my blogging (and everything else it seems lately).  I can't let Nicholas' big FIRST birthday go completely so better late than never....

Hey Big Boy,

Your birthday fell on the Saturday after Thanksgiving this year (Daddy & Mommy got married in 2006 the Saturday after Thanksgiving, too!).  We traveled to Grandma Anita and Bob's house on the Wednesday before.  We celebrated with Bob's family---Great Grandma Ruth Ecker, Uncle Dave, Aunt Janet, Katie, Greg with Skyla and Saylor, Uncle Matt, Aunt Lynn, Jake, Kelsey, "Cousin/Godmother Emily, Nathan, Aunt Eileen, Gene, Gabe, Auntie and Uncle Scott.  (I don't think I forgot anyone...)  You were very sleepy and had some funky smelling diapers (to put it politely).  Friday we hung out in the morning and then you stayed with Grandma, Auntie and Uncle Scott while Daddy, Bob, Mommy and Mikey went to McGuire AFB to see the airplanes.  That night we went out to dinner and relaxed.  On Saturday (your BIRTHDAY!) Mommy got a little sick.  Ok, A LOT sick.  Norovirus sick.  Mikey and Uncle Scott came down with similar symptoms that day, too.  Daddy and Bob got hit with it the next night and Grandma the following Wednesday after we had left NJ.  On your actual birthday you spent quality time with Grandma.  You played all day and ate yummy food.  You drank your first glass of whole milk and didn't bat an eye at the difference from formula.  On Sunday, we were able to be in the same room together to watch you "open" presents (you pulled the smallest bit of paper and then Mikey took over) and see you eat your first cupcake.  I baked you a Mickey Mouse cake on Friday night but was unable to decorate it the following day due to my tummy issues.  We had a re-do over Christmas with Daddy's family! (See Christmas post for more details about that!)

At your 12 month check up, you weighed in at 22 lbs 11.3 oz and your height was 30.5".  You got blasted with the MMR shot, chickenpox shot (varicella) and the first flu shot.  You had to go back 1/7/14 for flu shot #2.  You go back to the doctor for your 15 month check up on 3/3/14.

Now, the developmental stuff.  The biggest struggle we had when you were 11 months (going on 12) was your communication.  You were screaming for EVERYTHING.  You are trying SO hard to communicate.  If you were given a choice, you would choose to be turning 4 so you could do and be like your brother.  And the fact that you can't communicate what you want, you are getting frustrated.  There are only so many signs I know, so for Christmas you got some baby sign language DVDs to help with your frustration.  As I write this on January 16, you sign "more", "open", "wash hands", "eat" and "bird".  You do this fake cough thing when you want your drink.  If something is in the room that you want, you will point your cute little chubby finger.  You inconsistently "moo" when looking at the cow in the manger display (which you LOVED and had to look at daily).  You have recently been saying "hi" and I would define that as your first word.  You say "dada" a lot but it isn't meant for Daddy.  You LOVE making noises with your mouth (in fact at dinner Daddy, you and Mikey really get into it!).  You also love listening to music.  You "bop" your body and clap your hands to music as well as when you hear clapping on TV (for example, if we are watching a concert and they clap OR if football is on!).  If you are irritable in the car, the Music Together CD usually helps calm you down.

Physical activity: You are MUCH more active than your brother.  You were commando crawling for a few months.  I brought you into work before Thanksgiving just to make sure everything was okay.  We practiced with you pushing a bench to get used to being on your knees and by Thanksgiving you were up on your knees.  A few days later you were doing more hands and knees crawling than commando.  Now at 13 months you are pulling to stand on everything!  You are enjoying being upright and your feet are not as thick as they used to be.  At the easel I have witnessed you being so distracted that you have stood independently for a second or two.  It is just a matter of time now.....

At Mimi's house over Christmas you discovered (and mastered) crawling up the stairs.  I refuse to let you do that here 1) the hardwood steps are well, hard and 2) that is all we would be doing every day, all day!  You can stand at the ottoman and shift over to the couch without dropping down (one hand on the ottoman and one hand on the couch to shift back and forth to the different surfaces).  I have a feeling that you will be able to climb out of your crib one day.  I saw you (in your sleep sack) put your foot on the bumper last night and try to lift yourself out.  Mikey wasn't this physically adventurous.  You will keep me on my toes for sure.

Over Thanksgiving you were obsessed with light switches and were understanding the cause/effect.  That fascination has now passed as you are able to get into everything on your own.  You enjoy playing in the pretend kitchen opening and closing the doors, pushing the buttons to "cook" as well as "making food" by putting food into the pots and pans.  You have a lot of patience for this task.  You aren't as attentive when it comes to reading books.  Especially at nighttime.  By bedtime you only want your milk and your thumb.  I need to find a better time of day when you are more focused to look at books.

This month you started a Sibling class at My Gym with Mikey on Wednesdays.  You love being around the big kids and moving around the fun room.  We also started music class again this month.  We are in a Thursday morning playgroup with three other Moms and babies in Wellesley and you also hang out in the babysitting area of the gym 1-2x per week while Mommy tries to lose some leftover baby weight.

Sleeping is going well for the most part.  I would say 1-2x per month you wake in the middle of the night either due to a soaking wet diaper (you LOVE your liquids) or due to teething.  So far you have 3/4 molars in addition to the 8 teeth in the front of your mouth.  It looks as if your incisors are coming soon, too.  You take two naps a day---one around 11 and another one around 4ish (which is super helpful while I make dinner!).  I know you are tired when you start rubbing your eyes and sucking your right thumb.  You also scrunch up your shirt/sleep sack in your left hand.  [You have sucked your thumb for awhile now and I don't know if I ever documented that on the blog.  Aunt Peggy mentioned that you could be left handed if you suck your right thumb (it has been noted that kids suck on their non-dominant hand).]

You aren't the biggest fan of running errands if you aren't getting attention.  As soon as someone makes a fuss over you, you stop fussing and smile.  You ALWAYS are stopped due to your cute bear bunting outfit you wear every time we go out.  Taking you to Mikey's skating lesson is another challenge. You want to GO! GO! GO! but you can't yet.  We will be chasing after you soon enough.  For these reasons, I tend to do food shopping at night, on the weekends or have it delivered as a last resort.  You like to turn around in the cart and pull the stuff out of the cart and throw it on the ground.  Not very helpful!

Typically you are very happy.  If you get frustrated, your first reaction is to bite someone or something.  Ouch!

Feeding is still pleasant with you and I hope it never changes.  You continue to eat more than your brother at every meal.  For example, last night you had two stuffed shells (you would have had three but I didn't let you have it) as well as steamed zucchini and roasted cauliflower.  Sometimes I think you eat so much you are going to BURST!  Now that you had cake I let you try other dessert items when we indulge.  You are a carb lover---poundcake, muffins, pizza dough are all devoured in no time.  In the beginning you weren't fond of strawberries but that is no longer the case.  Off the top of my head, there isn't anything that you don't eat.  Thank you for making that part of my day so easy.  I wish I could say the same for your brother.....

Okay.  If I remember anything else I will edit the blog accordingly.  Hopefully I can get some more updates on here soon...including ice skating and other fun things we have been doing lately (movie dates, BC hockey games, etc).  Before I take another breath, I'll be writing about another birthday!  Time needs to slow down a bit!!

ELEVEN MONTHS!!

                                   

Here we are at month 11! We seriously don't know how it is already the end of October and our little baby is eleven months old.  Here's what happened this month:

You are taking 1-2 naps per day (you would consistently take two naps if our schedule didn't involve picking up Mikey at school). Bedtime is still between 7-7:30. Feeding is exactly the same as previous months--you still love it and eat a lot of it! You get so excited for your yogurt. I must post a video of that soon.  

You started staying at the gym's babysitting center 2x per week this month. You love seeing the other kids and playing with the toys. You cried once--only because a little girl was crying first so you felt the need to imitate her. Speaking of imitating, you love to imitate us! You imitate our gestures/actions (patting your hand on your mouth, "blowing" on your food like Mommy does) as well as imitating sounds.  You also started "feeding" me your food (which was completely initiated by you!) and you get such a kick out of it!

You are crawling on your elbows quickly and can get up on all fours briefly. You have pulled yourself up to stand and can stand with support (leaning up against ottoman, activity center, etc). Your favorite toys include the little people race cars with the toy garage and any of Mikey's toys. 

On Fridays we have been attending music and you really love it.  You "sing" and clap and bop away! The hour really flies by! Daddy was able to come to a class with us this month couldn't believe how animated you were. Even in the car you will "sing along" to a variety of songs. 

On the night of your 11 month "birthday" the Red Sox won the World Series! (Hence the Red Sox hat!)

For your first Halloween you were the alien from Toy Story (Mikey was Buzz Lightyear, Mommy was Jessie & Daddy was Woody) at the annual Perniola Halloween bash. On the actual day of Halloween you were a lion (the same costume Mikey used in 2009!). 

Happy almost Birthday, buddy! We love you! 

xoxo

First Ear Infection

Today you got diagnosed with your first (right) ear infection.  You were up last night crying and it was difficult to console you.  Baby motrin helped you get comfortable enough to fall asleep.  You were biting on your pointer finger and tugging your ears.  I wasn't sure if you were teething (you are already ahead of the game with 8 teeth in your mouth) or possibly had an ear infection.  You were fine this morning and so we kept our plans to go to the zoo.  After your 3 hour nap (!) that afternoon, you woke up with a 100.7 fever.  We were at the doctor an hour later picking up your antibiotic prescription.  

After one dose you were back to your happy, fun-loving self.  :)

10 Months!

Another month flew by!  And here we are at 10 months!  You are still maintaining your healthy diet of protein (beef, chicken, turkey, hummus and tofu), veggies (squashes, broccoli, peas, carrots, potatoes, green beans, mushrooms) and fruits (blueberries, pears, kiwi, grapes, melons, apples, bananas), carbs (pasta, pancakes, raisin bread, pumpkin muffins, veggie sticks) and yogurt.  You are such a delight to watch eat.  You really enjoy it and are so passionate while eating and just being in the presence of food.  It is our daily entertainment during every mealtime! You have transitioned easily to the formula this month and are no longer breastfed.  (Sniff, sniff...)

You sit and play so nicely.  You are learning to gracefully transition from sitting down to your belly on the floor.  You are "army" crawling and picking up speed.  You also love to practice standing and can stand for short bursts of time independently.  If cars or trains are around, you would much rather play with them than your own age appropriate toys.

You just love being out and about.  You get complimented every time.  "He is such a good baby", "He is so adorable!" and "I just want to squeeze him!" are the most popular phrases we hear.  You love going to the "Happy Mouth School" but now start to whimper after we drop Mikey off and you are alone in the backseat.  You look around the house for him when you wake up from your naps.  I feel like you are a little disappointed to be "stuck" with just me at home.  Maybe that's why you love going out! :)

This month we started Music Together.  We signed up for the Friday morning class at 11:30 with our friends, Phoebe and Tracy.  You LOVE everything about the class---the singing, the dancing, playing  eating the musical instruments.  I really enjoy spending that time with you, just the two of us.

I can't believe I am starting to think about your upcoming birthday.  These 10 months have really passed quickly....and a PERFECT 10 months they have been!

Feeding a family of four!

We have reached a milestone at the Scialabba house! There have been three meals in the past week that we ALL have been able to eat together--flounder, stew and lemon buttermilk pancakes! Naturally Nicholas eats more than his brother at each meal! What a difference it makes when you aren't making a bunch of different things for dinner and when the baby can finally finger feed himself most of his dinner. Yay!

June Vacation

I don't know where the summer went!  I'm getting way behind on my blogging since we are busy spending our days playing outside, going to the pool and now starting school!

Here's a quick re-cap of our week to PA and NJ in June:

We started off the week in the Poconos for my grandparents to meet Nicholas.  My parents were there as well.  Highlights were dining at Woodloch, viewing the "parade" and then Mikey going to the show with his grandparents and great-grandparents (Mommy and Daddy took Nicholas back to the house)!

Monday morning we left Hawley and headed to Lancaster to visit Great Grandma Ruth & Honorable Ernie as well as Auntie and Uncle Scott.  It took us 5 hours to get there and the boys were perfect in the car (it was supposed to have taken 3 hours).  Once we got there, we had a great time visiting and catching up.  That night Auntie and Uncle Scott took me out to downtown Lancaster and Michael stayed at the hotel with the boys.

Tuesday morning we headed to Strasburg, PA to see Thomas the Train that was passing through.  Mikey had great time although all we were able to do was ride the train since it was POURING rain.  They had a bunch of other activities to participate in so we will need to do this again in the future.  From there we drove to Manalapan to stay with my parents.

Wednesday was Mom's retirement dinner with her colleagues.  It was different being on the other side of the spectrum--usually my parents attended functions revolving around my sister or I--and here we were listening to one speech after the other praising my Mom on her dedication and hard work that she put in to her years of teaching.  She was the only one to retire this year so the entire party was dedicated to her---which worked out perfectly since she deserved to be the center of attention for once!  Mom had a great time showing off her grandchildren, too.  Mikey loved dancing to the music!

On Thursday we hung out at home with Auntie and went to lunch at a local pizzeria.  We (read: Mike & I) stuffed our faces with yummy Italian food that we don't normally eat up here!  For dinner Mommy made crab cakes and we ate outside on the deck as requested by Mikey.

Friday we went to the park with Aunt Erin, Jimmy and Kevin.  We saw the animals, had lunch and played in the field.  It was great to catch up and introduce them to Nicholas!  After our visit, we swung by Gran-ma's school so Mom could show off her grandchildren to her students.  (She's just a little proud!)  That night Mommy and Daddy went out for a date night to Point Pleasant.  We had dinner and then strolled along the boardwalk, played skee-ball and had ice cream.  It was the first time we had been back to the shore since Hurricane Sandy.  Everything was fixed and running smoothly.  It was nice to see.  The boardwalk itself was empty, however.  A lot of homes were not renovated after the hurricane which means there were less people vacationing there.  I walked with both arms fully extended and didn't touch anyone.  That has NEVER happened before.  (Celebrity sighting: Eric LaGrand--former Rutgers football player who was paralyzed from the neck down during the kick-off to start their game being played at Met Life Stadium.  He now works for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers under his former Rutgers coach.)

On Saturday Michael took Mikey to see Monsters University in 3D and I ran some errands with my Mom.  Saturday night we went out to one of my parents favorite restaurants to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary.

Sunday we headed back home to Boston.  As I am writing this I don't remember the car ride home, which hopefully means it was uneventful!  All in all, it was a successful trip!

Dinner at Woodloch with parade characters

Riding in the caboose

N's first train ride

                                           

Father's Day with (Grandpa) "Bob"

Father's Day with Daddy

Father's Day with Great-Grandpa Armand

Brothers

Tulumello residence in Hawley, PA

Backyard (the golf course is behind Michael taking the picture)

View from golf course

View from golf course looking at house

Hole #4

Great Grandma Ruth & Nicholas in Lancaster,  PA

Mom and her co-workers

Nicholas and Auntie

Tubby time at Gran-ma's!

Mikey and his BFF Jimmy

                           

                           

                           

                            

                           

                            

                            

New this week!

Nicholas has started clapping, telling us "more" via sign language and babbling with more sounds like "MA-MA". Yay!

First day of school

Mikey started his first day of preschool on September 6. It was a full day from 9:10-3:20. He and I attended an open house at school two days prior to his first day which I feel helped the transition. Nicholas and I dropped him off, he gave us kisses and went along to play. His "job" for the day was the "music helper" in which he selected songs for circle time. He told me he picked "The Wheels On The Bus". I have no idea if he is correct/incorrect so we are going with it! Mikey brings home a folder every day with a little note about what they read, what they played with, etc. He even came home with homework the first day!  We had to complete a worksheet about an event from our weekend and then draw a picture about it. (We selected Nora's birthday party at the park which was held on Saturday.) On Monday Mikey was to share the information with his class. I have no idea how it went since Mikey is very selective on what he tells me.

A typical conversation goes like this:

Me: How was school today?

Mikey: good.

Me: Did you do anything fun?

Mikey: Yes. 

Me: What did you do that was fun?

Mikey: I played...

Me: With...

Mikey: Toys. 

Me: What kind of toys?

Mikey: I don't know. I don't remember. 

Sigh.....

I am looking forward to watching Mikey grow over this school year. It was clear to Michael and I that he had made nice progress over the summer and we are hoping it continues. We are so lucky to be in such a great school system with a wonderful special education program. 

9 Months

9 months old. Woah.

This month you are sitting and playing like a pro. You will attempt to commando crawl but are very content just sitting and watching your big brother. You like your who-zit toy, Sophie the giraffe, rings and other teething toys. You are also starting to put in/take out objects from containers.

You still love to eat. This month we introduced meats and "fun" foods like chicken soup and meatballs. Naturally, you love everything and continue to eat more than Mikey. You love fruit-- especially bananas and peaches. When the food comes at you, you get so excited and twirl your ankles and wrists in anticipation.  Even after you have finished eating and I sit down with my food, the ankles and wrists twirl!  

You make lots of cooing sounds and we have heard you babble "da-da". 

Sleeping has not been the best this month but you have a valid excuse....TEETHING. I called you vampire baby and "fang boy" this month due to your lateral top teeth being well established and no sign of the front top teeth. They are starting to break through this month. You are also getting the laterals on the bottom and we can also see the whites of the top incisors. You have been waking two to three times per night, nurse and quickly go back to sleep. You get one good morning nap and then usually take a short snooze while we are out in the afternoon (usually at the pool during Mikey's swim lesson). We are lucky you are so cooperative and easy going. 

On a sad note, because you are eating so much solid food, my milk supply has dropped drastically. I still nurse you for comfort but am starting to give you formula 1-2 times per day. So sad!! (You don't even notice a difference!)

Here is the latest info from your doctor visit:

Height: 27.75" (28th%)
Weight: 19 lb 7.9 oz (48th%)

Another fun month, Nicholas!  We love you!

2 more teeth!

So it appears that Nicholas gets his teeth two at a time!  Now the top two laterals are coming in....not the two top front teeth.  Hmmm...I wonder what his dentist thinks about that! (Four total teeth at 8 months!)

This is (hopefully) the reason why N has been having difficulty sleeping through the night.  We get up 1-2 times before 5am.  Last night I asked Mike to go in and calm Nicholas down instead of me going in and feeding him.  N screamed his head off until I went into his room.  He didn't even try to eat my face like he usually does--which means he wasn't hungry/didn't want to nurse--he just wanted me.  As flattering as that is, I would much rather prefer that at 9 am rather than 3:15 am.  Sigh.....

Funny little side note: When I do go into N's room in the middle of the night and Michael is already in there (changing his diaper or rocking in the chair),  Nicholas will push Michael away and watch him walk out of the room.  He looks at Michael like "Thanks, Daddy but I got my Mommy now!".  Too funny....

July 2013

Whew!  Where did July go? Here are the highlights from our July (it was a BIG month for us!):

Happy 4th of July!

                                           



Our schedule looked like this:

Mondays and Wednesdays: School 12:00-2:30
Tuesday: PT & OT: 1:00-2:00
Tuesday, Thursday and Friday: My Gym camp 9:30-12:30

Mikey started "The Happy Mouth School" on July 8th.  It was such a smooth transition.  I was a little emotional in the car after dropping him off for his first day but he was so happy and excited (as it should be, I guess...).

Ken the Music Man 

Mikey would love to come home and play with what he used at school.  One week it was the farm.  Nicholas enjoyed playing, too!

My Gym craft--wrestling belt 

                                             

Nicholas started eating more "fun" food this week.  Here he is enjoying his meals...

 He also rode in the shopping cart for the first time....

Nicholas changed to a rear facing big boy car seat after he was getting too heavy for his "bucket" car seat.  Mikey had some difficulty sharing in the beginning (he got promoted to a booster car seat) but then came around.  

                                   

 Mikey got a buzz cut this summer.  His barber loves to give him colored spray after his haircut!

Prior to starting school, we discussed with Mikey that he is now going to be attending "big boy school" and big boys don't use loveys.  The next morning he woke up and decided he was going to give his loveys to baby Grace--our friends Sean and Maryanne's new baby.  We saw Sean at a birthday party that day, Mikey ran over to him and gave him the bag with his loveys.  It was THAT easy.  He went to bed that night and every night thereafter without a problem.  I feel like we always dread big events (stopping the breast feeding, toilet training, cutting out the lovey) and it never seems to be as a big of deal as I envision it to be.

His gift for being a big boy and not using a lovey anymore.  It is the "Octopod" from his favorite Disney show, Octonauts!

We spent LOTS of time at the pool so far.  There are many pools to choose from so every day is a different experience for us.  Sometimes we are at the "frog pool", the "whale pool",  splash pad, "beach" pool (with a small water slide) and always having fun!  A few nights we have grabbed dinner there, had Mikey take a shower and change into "jamas" before heading home.  So convenient.  Nicholas typically takes his afternoon nap while we are there, too!

                                         

The "beach" pool with the gradual decline.  Most days were not very busy (like in this picture) which made it relaxing and fun.

On July 20th, Michael and I went to see Bon Jovi at Gilette Stadium (my Valentine's Day present!).  We had a really nice dinner at Davios before the concert (just the two of us) and then met up with our friends, Bob & Katie.  Grandma and Bob watched the boys for us.

The last Sunday of July we went to Newport, Rhode Island for the day to visit Mimi & Papa Fred as well as Mark & Meredith.  We went on a sailboat ride, walked around the town of Newport and then had dinner before heading home.  It was a fun day trip and visit!

                            

                           

                                         

                                           

I got a new car!  Michael got me the Mercedes GL 450.  It is my birthday present, anniversary present, Christmas present, etc!  I got the car on a Friday and on Saturday we took it for a day trip to Rockport after Michael finished at work.  We walked around the town and checked out all the cute shops and scenic points overlooking the ocean.  We attempted to eat at our favorite restaurant (The Lobster Pool) but it was too crowded.  Just another reason for us to visit again!

I love this picture.  Nicholas is so adorable smiling for the camera while Mikey wasn't being as cooperative!

And that was only HALF of our summer!  Wait until you hear about August!  :)