New Year's Resolutions

Tonight is my first New Year's Eve. While I will hopefully be fast asleep when the clock strikes midnight, that doesn't mean that I can't participate in that famous New Year's tradition - New Year's resolutions. While 2007 was a very eventful year (especially compared to 2006), I plan on making 2008 even more remarkable. Here are some of my resolutions for next year, in no particular order:

1. Grow teeth
2. Eat food
3. Say "Mama" and "Daddy"
4. Finish a 5k with Mom
5. Learn to swim
6. Attend Tot Shabbat
7. Convince Mom and Dad I'm old enough to drive

Happy New Year!

Last weekend of 2007

I just wrapped up another fun weekend in Austin. My cousins Chuck and Kim were in town, and they took us out to dinner at County Line BBQ. The barbeque was delicous, although once again, Mom was the only one who shared with me. I loved it when Chuck and Kim held me, and I got to see some cute pictures of my cousin Sierra, who's a few months older than me.

I also got to go shopping with Mom to get our first child-proof cabinet locks. No - they aren't for me. It seems that our dog Peepa has figured out how to get in our kitchen cabinets, so Dad installed child locks on all of the cabinets to keep her from eating our food. Fortunately, they'll be useful for keeping me out of trouble later too.

I am progressing through a few new developmental milestones. I am starting to hold my feet. They are pretty fun. I can't quite put them in my mouth yet, which is really my ultimate goal. Only a few more inches... stay tuned. I also impressed Mom by grabbing my stuffed monkey and putting its tail in my mouth. Yum. And, best of all, I've started doing a "wiggle dance" that Mom thinks is hilarious. I did it in my jumperoo a few days ago, and then on Sunday I did it again at the store. Mom laughed at Dad when he first started dancing with her too.

Looking up

I'm feeling better, and have some new photos to share. I've been busy and will have a longer post for you this weekend.

Under the weather

After five wonderful, healthy months, I finally developed my first cold. Yuck. The other day Mom noticed I had a little bit of a cough. The next day, my nose started running. I still haven't been able to catch it - ha, ha. Now I'm also sneezing, coughing, and my eyes are runny. It is no fun, and it's a real mess. Mom and Dad took me to the doctor Friday, just to be on the safe side. The doctor said that it is probably just a viral infection and that I should be better in a week or so. All Mom and Dad can really do is keep giving me baths, put saltwater in my nose, and give me Tylenol. She also told me how much I weigh now. I'm up to 11 pounds, 11 ounces!

Unfortunately, sometimes being sick is just part of life (that's what Dad says). Dad also said this is something we can all share. He had it first, now I have it, and Mom's throat hurts too, so she's probably next. In the meantime, I am not sleeping very well, so neither are Mom and Dad. Every time I cough, it wakes me up. Fortunately, Mom and Dad are putting me to sleep in my swing so I don't cough as much, and that's helping a little. I hope I feel better soon!

No soliciting

My bed time is normally 7pm. Lately though, people keep ringing our doorbell and knocking on our door, which wakes me up. They keep coming by late at night to drop off packages, try to sell us something, or get Mom and Dad to sign petitions. When they come by, my dogs bark and wake me up. I guess they don't know that it's past my bed time. Mom tried to stop it by putting a sign over our doorbell that said not to ring it and also said, "No soliciting." But people keep showing up anyway. Finally, we added a "Do not knock on door" sign. The front of our house looks like a sign store. As you can see from the picture, our guard dog Peepa has just about had enough. I'm tired of it too, and I'm glad Peepa is looking out for me.

Having fun with some down time

I have been having a lot of fun lately with all the toys I got for Hanukkah. I've been reading my books from Bubbie and Papa, playing with farm animals that Grandma and Grandpa gave me, and watching lights and listening to music on a floor gym and jumperoo Oma and Walter gave me. I especially like my floor gym when I'm getting tired, and the jumperoo is fun, even though it's still a little big for me. The toys on it are fun, and I like watching the flashing lights on the front of it. Mom and Dad say I'll like it even more when my feet reach the floor and I can jump in it. For now, they posted some pictures of all the fun I've been having for you to look at.

Wednesday was another milestone. Mom had to go to a cooking class for work. I couldn't go because she was afraid I'd burn myself, so my friend Janie stayed with me. I've never stayed with anybody but Grandma and Grandpa and Bubbie and Papa before, and it was fun hanging out with one of my friends. I spent most of the time napping, but we had a nice lunch together before I went to sleep, and she had a bottle of Mom's milk ready for me when I woke up. It was fun and I hope I get to see her again soon.

Wednesday night I got to meet more friends at Dad's office holiday party. Dad gets to work with lots of nice people, and he and Mom said the food was yummy. Dad is also celebrating the holidays by fooling around on the Internet. Here's a link to something funny he sent me.

Mom and Dad have been buying and selling lots of stuff on Craig's List this week. Dad says Peepa is next to go up there because she is bad. Today she pulled my dirty diapers out of the pail and scattered them across my bedroom, along with my wipes from the garbage. Mom screamed and Dad ran upstairs. Now she's outside. I hope they don't give my dog away.

Happy Hannukah!

Tuesday night was the first night of Hanukkah. It is a really fun holiday. We lit one candle, said some blessings, and then Dad, Mom and I opened some presents from my parents, Aunt Laurie and grandparents. Rumor has it, there were also some latkes after I went to bed, but since I can't eat potatoes yet, I don't mind that I missed it.

Wednesday, Bubbe and Papa came to visit. We had a lot of fun. We went out for Mongolian barbeque, which was really neat because I got to watch everyone make their food and then we could see the chef cook it. By the time we got home I wanted to go to sleep, but Bubbe and Papa gave me loads of toys and books. Also while they were here, I learned to play a really cool game called dreidel.

Thursday I hung out with Bubbe and Papa so Mom and Dad could work. Mom and Dad's friends, Beverly and Dan, came over. Mom and Dad sure like latkes, because they had them again! I really like Beverly and Dan. They are pretty funny. I just wish I could have stayed up a little later to see more of them.

This week, Daddy taught me another new game called peek-a-boo. It is so funny, and he likes it because whenever we play it, I laugh a lot. Maybe I can convince them to videotape it for you sometime this week.

You can check out pictures from my first Hannukah here.

Mitch and Friends

I've done lots of fun things and have hung out with lots of cool people since we got back from Pennsylvania. For one, I noticed that I have feet! I have been looking at them a lot, which Mom and Dad like. I've also started sticking out my tongue a lot, which makes them laugh. You can see me sticking out my tongue while kicking my new toy in this video.

Wednesday we were welcomed home by Mom's friend, Megan. She is from South Africa and sounds nice when she talks to me. We have some pictures of her visit.

Saturday Mom and Dad took me to breakfast with some of Dad's friends who were visiting from Kentucky, Mike and Tabi. There were lots of other people there too. They gave me a neat Kentucky shirt. One funny thing about breakfast was there were ants swimming in the pancake syrup, which freaked Mom out. Dad told her they are a good source of protein! She said she does not care. I didn't even know ants could swim.

After that, Mom and I went to a cool neighborhood called Travis Heights to see the Art Trail. Different artists were showing their work in homes there, and we thought looking at the houses was just as fun as looking at the art. Our friend Prabhakar and his dog, Yogi, met us there. Prabhakar showed Mom how to use the camera to videotape things, and you can see the results here. Now if we could only figure out how to get edit video and get it from our real videocamera onto the Internet...Dad says that's the next step.

Today Dad had to go back to work, which was sad, and Mom and I had lunch with Zhenya. She thinks I'm cute. She's very smart, I think! She also sounds nice when she talks, because she's from Bulgaria. I hope I can visit all these different places one day.

When Dad came home from work, we took a walk to the library. It was not just any old walk - it was the coldest walk we've taken in Austin. Dad and Mom put a hat on me (which made me look like an elf) and bundled me up in blankets so all that stuck out was part of my face. Once again, they thought it was funny, and they took some pictures of me. They sure laugh at me a lot!

Thanksgiving

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but I've been having lots of fun in Pennsylvania. I'm visiting my Grandma and Grandpa and the rest of my family for Thanksgiving. It has been a really fun week.

The trip down here was neat. This was already my 2nd time flying, but my first time on Southwest Airlines. The flight attendant gave me a really nice certificate with airline wings to commemorate the occasion. It more than made up for the fact that there wasn't a changing table on the plane, so Mom and Dad had to change me on the floor. Mom also won a Southwest Airline trivia contest. She's really smart. Grandma and Grandpa picked all of us from the airport in Baltimore and we had a nice drive to East Berlin, Pennsylvania. I was very well-behaved on both the flight, and more surprisngly to my parents, the drive.

Grandma and Grandpa's house is fun! They had a crib all set up in the room that Mom and Dad were staying in, so we all got to sleep together. That was neat. And, they have lots of cool toys. As soon as we got home, Uncle Daniel and Aunt Lauren were excited to play with me. Uncle Daniel taught me a how to play with a new toy. It is my favorite now. We don't know the name of it, but I can kick it while lying on my back, and the toy spins above my head and makes a fun noise when I kick it hard enough. I played with it all week and I really like it. Mom and Dad may try to take it home with us. Grandma and Grandpa have other toys too. There's one where I can grab soft cows that hang over me and play with them. And there's a johnny jump-up as well. I am learning so much on this trip! Grandma and Grandpa have a lot of grown-up games too. Mom and Dad have played lots of Sorry! (Mom won every time). They played Clue with Uncle Daniel, who was the murderer every game. They played Rummikub with Aunt Lauren and her friend Jonathan - Mom won that game too. Mom and Dad played Risk with Grandma. Mom and Grandma let Dad win that game, so he could at least win something this week.

Another thing that is neat about Grandma and Grandpa's house is they live in the country. Wednesday morning, Mom and Dad took me for a walk so I could see what it's like. We saw lots of horses and cows. The trees are even pretty here. At home they're green and brown, but here they are also gold and red.

Mom and Dad didn't bring my baby bath tub on this trip, so I got to try some new bath techniques. The first night, I took a bath in the kitchen sink. I was glad nobody tried to eat me. Later in the week, Mom and Dad went out on a date, so Grandma gave me a bath in the grown-up bath tub. She even took a bath with me. I loved it! Aunt Lauren helped and took a lot of fun pictures of bath time.

Thanksgiving was really great. A lot of family came over to Grandma and Grandpa's. I met my cousins Katie and Stephen and my 2nd cousin Luke, who is 2 months younger than me. It was nice to meet him, and I'm excited about having someone my age to play with at family events. I also met my cousins Mike and Lana, Molly, Uncle Stephen and Aunt Cindy, Aunt Jane, and my great-grandparents Mom-Mom and Pop. Everyone had a lot of yummy food, although as usual, only Mom shared with me.

On Sunday, Mom and Dad and I went over to Mom-Mom and Pop's house for dinner. It was wonderful to be able to spend time with them. Pop mentioned that I have the same initials, M.W., as my great-great-great grandfather, who used M.W. as his nickname, and he said that could be my nickname too. Pop seemed very proud.

You can see pictures of my Thanksgiving trip here.

Mitch In Action

This was a very sporty weekend for me. First, I went to my friend Ethan's birthday party. He turned 2 years old. I had fun playing with some older kids, and everyone thought I was really cute sitting next to a garden gnome. After that, I spent some time on Saturday playing with Dad and my dogs. Then Mom and Dad let me play in my new toy, a Johnny Jump Up. It was given to me by my Aunt Jen. I'm still learning how to use it, but it sure looks fun. Sunday, I went to play tennis with my Dad. We need to find a tennis racket that is more my size.

Later this week, we're flying to Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving with my grandparents. I can't wait!

You can see pictures of my sporty weekend here.

Doctor's appointment

This morning I had my four month doctor's appointment. I was excited about going to the doctor. All of the nurses and doctors think I'm so cute, and I get to hear all about what's in store for me over the next few months. The doctor gave me a clean bill of health and said that I was developing great. I am growing and doing all of the right things. Mom and Dad were happy to hear that. I also had to get my shots. That wasn't as fun, but I handled it much better than last time, and I was smiling again before we left the doctor's office.

For the record, I now weigh 10 pounds, 13 ounces. I am 23.25 inches tall (almost 2 feet!). My head is a whopping 39.5 cm. I updated the growth chart on the right side of my blog. You can click on it to see how much I'm growing. Here's a direct link.

Cousin Amy

Tonight I went to dinner with my cousin Amy. She was visiting from Washington, D.C. Amy is my 3rd cousin, once removed. For those of you who don't know what that means, I'll explain. Amy's great-great grandmother was my great-great-great grandmother. That's a lot of "great's", so she must've been a really spectacular lady.

Mom took some neat pictures of me on my tummy and hanging out with Dad. You can see them here.

I'll tell YOU when it's tummy time!

Sometimes, Dad and Mom put me on my tummy so I can try to figure out how to crawl. They say tummy time is important but I'm not always in the mood to work out. On the other hand, sometimes I'm bored and would like to learn how to get around on my own. Last night was one of those times, so I took destiny into my own hands and rolled over onto my tummy all by myself!

Unfortunately, I still haven't figured out part II of the process - how to roll over onto my back when I've had enough - so when I was tired of it, I just started screaming like a banshee. Usually when I cry at night, Mom changes me and feeds me, and it's no big deal. When she found me on my tummy last night though, she was very surprised and proud. She and Dad say it will only be a matter of days until I can crawl all over the house on my own, exposing holes in their babyproofing. That sounds fun to me - I like a challenge!

Dad is pretty funny

Last night, Dad was tickling me a bunch, and I laughed for the first time. I really liked it, so a little later I laughed at Mom and Dad when they were getting ready to give me a bath. I'll probably laugh a bunch more. It was a culmination of the progress I've made by smiling more, making new noises, and being a lot more alert and responsive.

Now that I'm three and half months old, I thought this would be a good time to summarize some of the changes I've been going through lately. They say that developmental growth comes in spurts, and I'm definately going through a spurt right now.

Last week, I started making all kinds of new noises, and doing it more often, usually in response to silly things that my parents did. Around that time, I also became a lot more alert, looking around the room, following moving objects, and noticing interesting things. I especially like looking at my hand - its pretty cool, trust me. I had stopped taking my pacifier completely by then, and decided that thumb-sucking was the way for me. In fact, the other night, I thumb-sucked myself right to sleep, all on my own. Mom is pretty excited about me "self-soothing," whatever that is. Not wanting to make my thumb jealous, I also suck on my other fingers occasionally (up to four at a time!), and will often grab my blanket or shirt and put it in my mouth as well.

I've also been excercising a lot more. I've been trying to sit up for quite a while - not quite there yet - and I've gotten pretty good at breaking out of my miracle blanket. In fact, Mom has now abandoned the miracle blanket for a sleep sack. A pretty exciting development, if you ask me. Last night, I even managed to roll over on my side, and slept that way for a bit.

I am a completely different baby from the Mitch of July and August. If you haven't seen me since then, you might not even recognize me.

In two weeks, I've got my four month check-up. The doctor had wanted me to talk more (check), laugh (check), and grab stuff (check). He's going to be pretty impressed.

Boozin' it up with Mom and Dad

What a fun weekend! Mom had another assignment that gave me the chance to take my second road trip. This time, she is writing an article on Texas wineries, so Mom, Dad, and I hopped in the car and drove to four different wineries in the Hill Country. Mom drove so that Dad could taste the wine at each stop. At the first stop, I got to see my very first winery. The people working there were very nice and they all thought I was really cute. They took some pictures of the three of us in front of some wine racks. Dad got to taste the wine there. I can't wait until I'm old enough to try wine. Mom says it'll be a while. At the second stop, we got a tour of the wine-making facilities. It was neat, but cold. After Dad was done tasting all of the wine, we had a nice lunch together. The third stop was a little farther, but they had a jalapeno wine that Dad said tasted like Texas. The fourth stop was pretty crowded, so we just took a nice walk and then headed home. It was a long road trip, but a lot of fun.

I don't like my old sling anymore, so Mom got something new that we both really like a lot - a wrap. Dad took a bunch of pictures of me and Mom in it. Peepa and Matty ran into the pictures too - they were sad because they hadn't been in the blog in a little while - and Peepa looks a little like a monster in one of the photos.

With the time change last night, I now get to go to bed an hour earlier. Mom and Dad seem pretty excited about that. I'm excited about waking up an hour earlier - heh, heh.

We got some great pictures of the road trip, along with the pictures of our wrap and the dogs, as well a bath time picture, and a couple of pictures of me hanging out with Mom and with Dad. You can check them out here.

Grandma's visit

Grandma sent us the pictures from her visit in October. She took some pictures of me in the same clothes my Dad wore in a picture taken when he was a baby. They're the ones with the baseball and cap. You can see the pictures here.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone! Bubby just posted her pictures from Birmingham. I saved all of the pictures of me here. There are some really great pictures. You can also see Bubby's entire album from the wedding, which includes pictures of lots of other relatives and parts of the wedding that I wasn't at.

Visiting Daddy At Work

Today Mom and I visited Dad at work. Dad's office was having a Halloween party for kids, so I got to wear my Halloween costume that my cousin Wendy gave me. It was fun - there were lots of kids in costumes there; Mom made sure to point out that I was the cutest. They had candy and cookies there, but since I was too little to have any, Mom ate some cookies for me. She's nice that way. After the party, I went to Dad's desk and helped him type up some reports.

There's tons of new pictures - some that Mom took of me in my favorite shirt ("Gigglesaurus"), me and Mom hanging out on the hammock, me and lots of other people in Birmingham, me in my cute Halloween costume, and me at Daddy's desk. Check 'em out.

Frequent Flyer

Another first for me this week. I took my first airplane flight. Mommy, Daddy and I went to Birmingham, Alabama to attend my Dad's cousin's wedding.

The trip started out a little rough. I didn't sleep very well the night before since I was so excited. Then, we had to leave for the airport at 4:30 in the morning. I prefer to sleep during that time. Mom and Dad do too. I finally fell asleep on the way to the airport, and just when I was really having a nice dream, Dad had to wake me up so we could go through security. He spent the rest of the morning grumbling about airport security. Mom was worried Dad was going to mouth off to the airport security people and have to go to jail. After we got through security, it was really fun. We got to ride on an airplane from Austin to Dallas, then hang out in the Dallas airport, and then ride another plane from Dallas to Birmingham. I really enjoyed flying, so I didn't cry at all when we were in the air. It was a good chance to catch up on some of the sleep I missed.

Once we got to Birmingham, I stayed at a hotel. Bubby and Papa (used to be Grandad) brought me a Pack-N-Play and a swing so the hotel room felt like home. In fact, I slept 9 hours my first night there! Mom, Dad, and I were very happy to get so much sleep. I also got to take my first bath in a grown-up bath tub. It was so much fun. I can't wait until I get to do that at home.

It was nice getting to meet all my relatives. I got to meet my great-grandmother, a bunch of my cousins, and some aunts and uncles. I also got to see my Aunt Laurie again. The highlight of the trip was meeting my second cousin Ellie. Ellie is much older than me - she is 6 months old - so she passed on some wisdom to help me get through the next few months. I hope I get to see her again soon.

Most of the wedding events were past my bedtime, so I didn't get to participate in a lot of the festivities, but hopefully I'll be able to attend some more weddings when I get older. I did get to dance with my parents for one song at the wedding. Hopefully, we'll make the wedding video. On our way out of town, I went to a fun breakfast restaurant with Mom, Dad, Bubby, Papa, Aunt Laurie, and Aunt Laurie's friend Jonathan.

Our trip back to Austin wasn't too bad. My cousins Ellie, Mindy, Steve, and Kim were all on my flight, so it was fun. I slept on the plane, mostly, except when the plane sat in the runway in Dallas for an hour with mechanical problems. I offered to go out and fix it, but unfortunately, due to my current speech development, people just thought I was crying.

It was a great trip, but I'm happy to be home again. We're all going to get some sleep. I'll post some pictures from the trip soon.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

I've been up to lots of fun new things lately. Last week, Grandma was here while Dad went out of town. We went all over Austin shopping and eating. It was great! She also helped Mom around the house. They cooked and cooked. Then they cooked some more, and now it's all in the freezer and Mom and Dad's happy tummies. She also spent loads of time snuggling and singing to me. I can't wait to go see her and the rest of the Washburns for Thanksgiving next month, and I hope she comes back here again soon too.

I've also been spending some time GROWING! Mom noticed she had to stretch my onesies a little more each time she dresses me, and finally said enough. She started packing up some of my smallest clothes and unpacked the next size up. The whole thing made her pretty sad, and she's sticking it out with some of her favorites, but I'm excited about all my new clothes! Some of my new favorites are onesies with a Spanish cat (gato), a puppy dog and some fish.

Speaking of new clothes, yesterday was the coldest day of my life, and I wore a coat for the first time. You can see how cute I am in it, and a cashier said I looked snuggly. I'm also now wearing pants and socks, and since it's cool enough now, Mom and I rocked outside in our hammock today. I watched my doggies eat sticks and looked at all the colors outside, especially the blue sky and green and brown trees, and felt the cool wind on my face and arms. It was relaxing and nice.

To see more pictures of me in my cute new coat and one in my swing, click here.

Three month birthday

Today I am three months old. So much has happened to me over the past three months; I feel so worldly now compared to how naive I was when I came into the world.

Dad is leaving us to go on a work trip for a few days. He seems sad to be leaving us - hopefully the next few days will go by quickly. In the meantime, we've got a fun new visitor. Grandma Washburn came to Austin today to stay with me and Mom. We all met her at the airport with a sign. One old lady, after looking at my mom holding the sign and my dad holding me, said "I wish I was Grandma Washburn." Grandma Washburn is going to help Mom this week while Dad is out of town. I can't wait to see what we're going to do this week. Now that I'm three months old, the sky's the limit!

You can see some cute pictures of me sleeping here.

More Tummy Time Pictures

This weekend I went to the Austin Farmer's Market. It was fun because there were a lot of other babies there. Mom bought some fresh basil and oregano to plant in the yard. Mom and Dad also got some delicious Thai food for lunch. We all met up with Mom's friend Prabhakar and his cute dog Yogi, and everyone had lunch together.

Monday night Dad took some pictures of me doing tummy time. You can see them by clicking here.

Goofing Around

Just goofing around with my parents and my dogs.

Busy Weekend

This was a really fun and busy weekend. Friday night we went to services and Mom was installed on the Board of Trustees at our synagogue. Dad and I were really proud of her. Saturday, we all went to the dog park. There's a picture of me and Dad. I'm the one in the green hat. It's my first hat ever, and I think I look pretty stylish. Matty and Peepa had a lot of fun at the park. They got really dirty. When we came home, Mom gave the dogs a bath, and then I got a bath too! This morning, we all went to brunch at Mom's favorite brunch place. Some of Mom and Dad's friends came and I entertained them by showing them all of my neat new tricks like smiling and looking at stuff.

You can see pictures from my fun weekend, including great ones from bath time, the dog park, me smiling, and my yummy brunch, here.

I'm growing!

Mom and Dad can't believe how big I am getting and all the new things I've been doing. I've started grabbing things and paying attention to what's going on around me a lot more. I am also really holding my head up now, especially at tummy time, and they say my face is a lot more expressive. Mom and Dad took some pictures so you can see what I'm up to now that I'm almost 11 weeks old. If you'd like to see them, click here.

Why We Use Cloth Diapers

I get to wear cloth diapers. A lot of people ask Mom and Dad about it, so I thought I'd write a few posts about how it works and why we chose to do cloth diapering. In the first part of this series, we'll cover why we use cloth diapers. I'll write other posts about why we chose to use a diaper service, how cloth diapers work, and how its going so far.

It all started before I was born, when Dad starting talking to people about how many disposable diapers newborns go through. He was amazed at the numbers, and worried about all of those diapers going into a landfill. He started researching on the internet to see if anyone else had concerns. That's when he learned about cloth diapers. Cloth diapers, unlike disposables, can be washed and reused, so it doesn't just take up space in a landfill. There were some studies published by the disposable diaper companies that the water and detergent from washing the cloth diapers has an equally detrimental impact on the environment, but those have all been disproven by more impartial studies.

That's when Mom started asking around about this to some of her friends. She learned that a lot of Austin Moms were using cloth diapers as well. Mom liked it because it wouldn't expose my bottom to all of the chemicals that are in disposable diapers. And babies with cloth diapers know instantly when they are wet or dirty, so I can let Mom and Dad know right away when I need to be changed. Because of this, babies with cloth diapers often get less diaper rash and typically potty train earlier than kids in disposable diapers.

I've heard that some people think cloth diapering will get harder when I get older since I, um, will have more to fill the diapers with. It's a good thing that my parents are flexible. Right now, we all love cloth diapering, and we'll continue to do it as long as it works for us.

Currently, Mom and Dad use a cloth diaper service. I'll tell you why in a later diaper series post.

Doctor's Visit

Today I went to the doctor for my two month check-up. It was a very exciting day. First, I got my weight, height, and head circumference measured. I'm all the way up to 9 lbs 1 oz already! Mom and Dad made a bet about what my weight would be, and (as usual) Dad was right. And, at 21.5 inches, I'm getting close to two feet tall! It's amazing how fast I'm growing. The doctor said everything was looking good and that I was all normal. He was very nice.

After the doctor left, a nurse came in to give me a bunch of shots. Mom and Dad said they are important for my immunization. Mom was a wimp and left the room, but Dad was brave and held me while I got them. Honestly, I wasn't a big fan of those shots. Dad was pretty proud of the fact that I was happy again a few seconds after the shots were over.

To celebrate my successful two month check-up, I've added another new feature to my blog. On the right, you'll see a picture of my growth chart. If you click it, you'll see a bigger version. I'll try to keep updating this so you can keep up with how fast I'm growing. If anyone has any suggestions for things you'd like to see on my blog, you can always post a comment.

Two months!

Today is my two month birthday! Hooray! Today is also my Great Grandma Millie's birthday. Mom said she'll eat some cake for me. Happy birthday to us all!

I'm smiling

I'm smiling.

My first trip around the world

Tonight, Mom and Dad took me to Jerusalem. You can see us there in the picture. Okay, we really didn't go all the way to Jerusalem. Instead, Mom and Dad took me to a Fall Fusion charity gala. There was all kinds of yummy food there (not that anyone shared any with me), and neat music and dancing. In fact, I got to dance with Mom a bunch. There was also a booth with photographers that would take your picture in front of scenes from around the world. So, the picture here is actually just us in front of a green screen. Don't ask me why my parents are wearing such weird hats. Anyway, after tonight, I've decided that it's fun to be a philanthropist.

I've been meeting lots of Mom's friends lately. Thursday, I got to meet some of her friends from her old job and we went to Schlotzky's for the first time. I got to sit on top of a high chair, which made me feel like a grown-up. Mom took me on lots of errands this week - she's getting much more comfortable taking me out on her own. She fed and changed me in lots of new places and says she's starting to feel like a pro. Yesterday, I helped Mom write an article about our road trip last week. Hopefully she'll give me a byline.

Mom and Dad also gave me another bath this weekend and took more pictures. I don't know why they take so many pictures of me right after my baths; maybe it's because I'm clean.

You can see pictures of my trip to Jerusalem, the charity gala (and dancing with Mom), my Mom's favorite t-shirt, and my latest bath here.

At the dog park

Today we went to the dog park. We haven't been taking our dogs out as much over the past few days, so Peepa and Matty were starting to go a little stir-crazy. The dog park seemed like a perfect idea. Dad used our Baby Bjorn for the first time to carry me around. It was really comfy, so I went sleep for the whole experience, but Mom said she thought I looked pretty cute. Its been raining a lot in Austin, so the park's normal little creek was a raging river. Matty and Peepa had a good time splashing around in it. Peepa even swam around and stole another dog's ball. Before too long, it started to rain, so we left the park before Peepa had her fill. Sorry Peepa!

When we got home, Mom and Dad took some action shots of me in my swing. I sure love my swing. You can check out pictures of us at the dog park, me in my Baby Bjorn, and me on my swing here.

Road Trip

This week I started a career as a journalist. I went to my first interview Thursday. Mom asked a lady who runs a Jewish school questions about teachers who are choosing to teach in normal schools instead since they pay more. My job was to hang around and look cute while they talked. I figured that is no problem, I could even do it in my sleep, and Mom said I did a great job.

Today Dad, Mom and I went on my first road trip, and I got to see more of Texas than I've ever seen! Mom's writing an article about the five counties between Austin and Bryan-College Station, so we went on the drive and stopped at a few places along the way. The drive itself was gorgeous. Everything is green since it's been raining a lot this summer and we saw lots of cows, horses and oil derricks.

Our first stop was at a barbeque restaurant in a town called Elgin. The place was really crazy, busy and loud, and there was neat stuff to look at, like deer, bobcats and bears, on the wall.

The next place we stopped at was an ice cream factory! Mom was especially excited about that. We couldn't do the tour because it's only open during the week, but the ice cream parlor and gift shop were open, so we stopped there. Mom and Dad got to sample the ice cream, which they said was the important part anyway.

Next we went to a big state park. It was really pretty. There were lots of really tall trees, a farm and a picnic area with a playground, where I enjoyed a snack.

I hope I get to go back to some of these places one day when I can run around on my own. There was a neat swimming pool and aquatic center across from the ice cream place I'd like to visit when I learn to swim and I want to go back to the farm when I can pet the horses and plant some seeds. Mom and Dad think it'd be fun to take me again one day too.

You can see pictures of my road trip here.

Look who's feeding me now...

Yesterday, I got a special surprise. I was hungry for dinner, so I asked Mom when she was going to feed me. She said "Ask your father." That seemed like a strange answer, since I always eat with Mom. Why would I need to ask Dad? Well, when I asked him, he went into the kitchen, got a bottle of milk from the fridge, and heated it up. Then we sat on the couch and he fed me. It was yummy, and I could tell that Dad really liked it. He said he really liked being able to hold me and watch me eat. Mom grabbed a camera and took the picture to the left. They were amazed at how quickly I learned to feed from a bottle, and how fast I drank the whole thing. I was surprised that Dad could do that, but they told me that Mom stored some of her milk away while I was sleeping. She said it would be good for a "rainy day." No matter who's feeding me, I love milk!

My first Shabbat service

Shabbat Shalom everyone! Tonight, my parents took me to my first Shabbat service. It was neat. I got to go up on the bimah with my parents to say Kiddush. They even gave me a drop of grape juice. I got to meet some really nice people and listen to some pretty singing. I also saw the Rabbi who married my parents and officiated at my Brit Milah. My parents showed me a leaf on the wall that has my name on it. I can't wait until I'm old enough to read it.

You can see pictures of my tummy time adventures and Shabbat here.

Tummy Time

So, today mom gave me some tummy time. For those who don't know, tummy time ihas come about due to a change in baby rearing. A while ago, doctors discovered that when babies sleep on their backs, it reduces the risk of SIDS. Today, all parents are encouraged to put their babies to sleep on their backs. However, this had several interesting side-effects. One is that babies were starting to get weird shaped heads that were flat in the back. I've heard that some babies have to wear helmets to correct this! The other side-effect is that because babies spend so much time on their backs, they were starting to crawl much later in life. They weren't getting the opportunity to push themselves up with their hands, or learning how to maneuver in the crawling position. So, doctors now recommend that you give babies "Tummy Time" several times a day.

At first, I wasn't a big fan of tummy time, but lately I've really begun to like it. I still haven't learned how to crawl, but I can pick my head up for a few seconds at a time, and I can push off Daddy's hands to propel myself forward. So, I'm definitely on my way. I can't wait for my next tummy time!

My First Snow Cone

This weekend, Mom and Dad took me, Matty, and Peepa to the park where we all got snow cones. They were delicious. It was pretty hot though, so afterwards we all just came home and relaxed. Last night, Mom and Dad's friends Bob and Carrie came over and we listed to the Muppet Show CD (Mom's favorite) and watched "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." I'm glad I don't have to worry about getting married for a while.

Happy Birthday To Me!

Today is my one month birthday! That's right, I was born exactly one month ago today. To celebrate, Mom and Bubbe took me out to a special lunch, and Dad met up with us as well. Afterwards, Dad let me hang from his arm like a monkey (see picture).

Now that I'm one month old, I've become a lot more technically savvy. So, I've added an email subscription feature to my blog. You can go to the column on the right, put in your email address, and you'll get emails whenever I update my blog. This way, you won't have to ask Aunt Laurie to email you whenever I write a new entry.

Learning to Play Mah Jongg

More fun adventures! Yesterday, Bubbe, Mom and Dad took me to play Mah Jongg at our monthly Mah Jongg game. Bubbe won twice, but Mom and Dad weren't so lucky. Well, she's had a few more years to practice. I looked at the new 2007 card, and decided it was too hard. Maybe in a few years.

Bubbe made me a new mobile out of a light fixture over the dining room table. It's fun, and improves the light fixture dramatically. She brought a cute outfit that my daddy wore when he was my age, put it on me, and took a bunch of pictures. Bubbe is leaving tomorrow, but she's done an awful lot while she was here. Hopefully, I'll see her again soon. I heard Grandad is glad she's coming back home tomorrow.

You can see pictures of me at Mah Jongg, my new mobile, me in my dad's baby clothes, and Bubbe with her cool shirt here.

Week 4

This was a very exciting week! Bubbe came back to visit. She has been helping my parents around the house and cooking yummy brownies for my mom. Bubbe also made latkes, which were yummy. I vaguely remember when Mom ate those when she was first pregnant with me. I hear they tasted better this time.

We also went to Whole Foods for fun Sunday. Everyone but me had gelato, which is no fair if you ask me. Mom said she'd give me some later. Mom and Dad also learned how to put together my stroller in the Whole Foods parking lot. That was quite an adventure. A little piece of advice: if you are driving around looking for a parking spot and see my parents trying to put the stroller in the car, keep driving. They are going to be there for a while.

We also had a lot of visitors this week. My parents' friends came over and played with me. They came from places as far away as Rochester and Dubai, and as close as a few blocks away. They all had neat stories to tell.

My parents have been taking me to the dog park lately. It's fun to hang out with my dogs Matty and Peepa, but my parents won't let me play with the other dogs yet. One day, my parents will post some cute pictures of me with my dogs.

Today was my four week birthday! I can't believe it's already been four weeks. Time sure flies, when you're having fun. I've been reading a lot lately. As you can see, Curious George is my favorite.

You can see pictures (taken by Bubbe) of me reading and hanging out with my parents' friends here.

Grandpa, Uncle Daniel & Grandma

This weekend I got to meet my Grandpa and Uncle Daniel. They were pretty fun. Friday they took me to my first Mexican restaurant, Chuy's. I liked all the dog pictures on the wall and I think I will like the food there when I'm older. Saturday we went to another neat restaurant that is also a gas station, Rudy's BBQ. I slept the whole time we were there. Everyone spent lots of time over the weekend holding me and telling me how cute and smart I am. Mom and Dad really liked it. Uncle Daniel and Grandpa are the biggest people I've ever met, and Uncle Daniel is very cool. Mom appreciated all the CDs he burned for us, and she said it is probably the first of many illegal things he'll teach me how to do.

While they were here, Grandpa, Uncle Daniel and Grandma waited on Mom and Dad hand and foot. Uncle Daniel made them a delicious breakfast every morning! Grandpa installed bike mounts in the garage, and now it looks like Mom and Dad's bikes are flying through the air. He also got a head start on ruining my fun by installing gates so I can't climb the stairs. Grandma cleaned and cooked lots of good food so my family won't starve to death. I can't wait to see them again when I visit Pennsylvania in November.

If you want to see pictures from their trip, click here.

Grandma!

I've had another exciting week. Sunday night my grandma flew in from Pennsylvania, so Mom and I have been hanging out with her. We hit the ground running once she got here; we went to a maternity store Monday and had lunch at a neat place called EZs. Grandma showed me to a cop, and afterwards Mom told me to fight the man. I don't know what that means yet, but she said she'll teach me one day.

Tuesday we went to HEB, the grocery store. I rode in my sling again and Mom said since it's been a week since I was in there, she could tell how much bigger I've gotten. People could see me a little more and they kept telling Mom I'm cute. I liked it.

Tomorrow Grandpa and my Uncle Daniel are going to be here. I can't wait to meet them. Uncle Daniel said he has lots of stuff to teach me about, and to remember that he is the cool uncle. Mom, Dad and Grandma say not to listen to anything he says though. I think he will be fun.

Growing is what has really been keeping me busy this week. Dad and Mom read that I would go through a growth spurt when I was two weeks old, and sure enough, Monday afternoon I started eating with zeal about every two hours through the day. Dad said I look bigger to him every day when he comes home from work and Mom said even my hands look bigger today.

The last three nights have been pretty good too. I've started waking up around 3 or 4 to eat and then again in the morning around the time Dad gets up for work. Before that I was having a rough time sleeping for long, so Mom and Dad are pretty excited.

Weigh-In

I had my 2 week doctor's appointment today, even though I'm only 11 days old. The goal was to be at least back up to my birth weight of 6 pounds, 3 ounces. So, when they weighed me today, I was at 6 pounds, 5 ounces! I'm doing great. My parents were pretty excited. The doctor also drew some blood from my little foot for some tests. I didn't like that as much. I let everyone know my opinion by pooping twice during the appointment. Time to restock the diaper bag...

What just fell off?

My umbilical cord also fell off yesterday, so now I have a nice, smooth tummy. Last night, Dad and Mom tried once again to give me a bath. The first time, last week, was an aborted mission because I yelled so much. This time they braced themselves for the worst, and pushed through the crying. It was a huge success. Now I'm nice and clean, and they said I was even cuter than usual when they took me out of the tub because when they dried me off, my head looked fuzzy.

Today Mom and I went on another outing. It stopped raining long enough to take a walk, so we went to the library. Mom told me Dad will spend lots of time there with me, looking for books about outer space and history, but when she and I went, we were looking for things involving Muppets.

You can see pictures from my bath here.

Hanging out in Mom's sling

Yesterday was a pretty interesting day for me. Mom thought it was as good a time as any to start showing me the world, so she and my Aunt Laurie took me to Target. I got to ride in Mom's sling. She said it wasn't the most interesting place to go, but it was a start. I thought it was pretty fun, although if I'd have woken up for the trip, I might have seen more. Mom said some old ladies kept trying to touch me, but she outran than, thanks to her triathlon training. Crazy old ladies.

Brit Milah

Today I had my Brit Milah. For those who don't know, Jewish boys have their circumcision on the 8th day of their life. This is called a Brit Milah, or more commonly, a Bris. This is a 4000 year-old tradition, and is the oldest practiced religious rite in the world. The Bris is also when a Jewish boy is formally named.

During the ceremony, my Grandad told a wonderful story about Myra Francis Cohn, my Great Aunt that I'm named after. She was a really nice girl who unfortunately died when she was 18. She was a collector and real sweetheart, and my Grandad is very proud that I'm named after her.

Then, my Mom talked about where my middle name Washburn came from. She said the Washburn name is centuries old, and that my great-grandfather Pop said that the Washburns were known for tenacity and overcoming challenges. She says that she hopes I have these qualities. The Washburn family is very proud that I am carrying on their name. I can't wait to meet the rest of them soon.

Dad then talked about my Hebrew name, Marnin Chaninah. It means "One who brings joy" and "compassion". He said my parents hope that I have these qualities I have when I grow up.

I slept through the whole ceremony, but I'm sure I didn't miss much. You can check out pictures here.

Grandparents visiting

Saturday I met my Bubbe, Grandad, and Aunt Laurie for the first time. They came to help my parents. They seem really nice. They brought lots of presents for me. On Sunday, Bubbe, Grandad, and Aunt Laurie took my handprints and footprints for my babybook. I made it pretty challenging for them. After that, they got to give me a bath. It took all 6 arms, but they got it done. Its fun having visitors.

You can see pictures of my handprinting adventures with Bubbe, Grandad, and Aunt Laurie here.

Mom has found a fun new way to carry me around. She calls it a sling. I like it because I get to ride around next to her. She likes it because she can have me hang around while she does things like type and check the mail. She says I am going to help her write articles in the next few weeks. We'll post some pictures of my new sling in the coming days.

A Couple of Big Days

The neat thing about being a newborn is that every few hours I make things exciting for my parents, like giving them a full diaper to wake up to, giving them a chance to get better at nursing or changing the diaper. I love eating every 2-3 hours, day or night - doesn't matter to me. My mom and dad are too full of adrenaline to sleep much. They've slept about 6-8 hours since Monday. Lots of Mom and Dad's friends have been dropping by with food and presents and they are happy to meet me.

Thursday was fun - we took our first walk as a family around the neighborhood. I don't know who liked it more - Mom got to push my stroller, Matty and Peepa got to play the roles of guard dogs, and Dad got to be the leader of the pack.

Friday began at the doctor's office. I checked out perfect, as usual. By the way, did I mention I got a perfect 10 on my Apgar test after I was born? Dad says I'm just like him; he got a perfect 10 on his Apgar when he was born too. Mom thinks its the start of a lifetime of acing standardized tests. One other funny thing happened at the doctor's office. My parents told the doctor that they were having trouble waking me up to feed me. The doctor said that all they had to do was flick my foot like this. After flicking my foot ten times (which I slept right through), he gave up. He didn't know what kind of sleeper he was messing with!

Friday night I had my very first Shabbat dinner. Mom and Dad said a nice blessing so that I will grow up to be happy, healthy, and peaceful. We had a wonderful meal that Mom and Dad's friend Beverly brought for us. I like challah!

We have some new pictures. To see them, click here.

Home sweet home!

Hi everyone. We all came home Wednesday and everything is going well. My mom and dad say I am a gorgeous, happy little guy, and overall things are still going easier than my mom ever imagined. We've had a few little glitches – although I just finished eating for 40 minutes (hooray!), sometimes it's just impossible to wake me up to eat as long as my parents would like. I haven't had a dirty diaper in a while (although mom and dad called the doctor last night and he said not to worry too much about it yet). It seems everything will be okay if I just stay awake and eat. Even Peepa and Matty, our dogs, are dealing with the change much better than my parents imagined. Mom feels better than she thought she would and we're just thrilled to be home. We all feel so fortunate that everything's gone as smoothly as it has. We are so happy. Thank you everybody for your sweet wishes and congratulations. My parents wish they had time to answer all of your emails and phone calls individually, but please know that we appreciate everything!