Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Drive to Orlando...

...to visit Aya!  Lucas and I drove up to Orlando (Baldwin Park to be precise) to visit our old next door neighbor that became a very good friend of ours and fell in love with little Lukey.  Her two grandchildren, Danny and Gabby, just received a new baby sister this week and I am sure that Lucas' visit was good practice for them.  As you can tell by this picture, they are naturals. ;-)  
Lucas loves Aya too!
 
And Olivia Grace - Aya's dog!
 

New "Baby Cage"...

...or play station, as I like to call it.  We put up the barricades in Lucas' new contained play area a week ago and he seems to like it.  We have since put two new toys, one with legs and the other that is a tall cube with a lot of activities, that encourage standing and walking.  For now, Lucas loves to do his inch worm crawl and rip up the foam letters and borders.  He also loves to visit the various toys that are hanging from the fence. 

Pool time with his girlfriend Sofia...

Lucas loves the water and thoroughly enjoyed his play date in the pool with little Sofia and mommy Chiara.  Of course he kept ripping the hat off of his head so I armed myself with plenty of baby safe sun block for the next outing.  When I held Lucas in the water and dragged him around on his belly he kept trying to put his face in the water.  It was hard to tell if he was trying to drink the water or just liked his face in the water - either way, I encouraged the behavior.  I may look into getting some baby swim lessons for Lucas, or at least water safety lessons.

Eat, eat, eat your food...

...eat your food I say, Wiggledy biggledy bobbildy BOOP, it's fun to sign and play!!  Yes, we started a sign language class for little Lucas last month.  It is held at our house on Saturday mornings right after music class at the University of Miami.  Yes, Lucas has a very busy schedule for such a little guy.  Four other families join us as we go through different categories each week.  Last week was bath time signs and this week was night time signs.  As you can see, I also love the songs that go with the signs.  Truth be told, the only signs that I really remember to do are EAT, DRINK & MILK.  However, my friend Amy and I saw first hand that these babies really do learn these signs from a mommy whose little 18 month old daughter Sophie was signing away about twenty different words in Spanish - very impressive indeed!

The nebulizer...

Last month, at 9 months old, Lucas had some bronchial coughing and the pediatrician prescribed a nebulizer.  We had to run the machine three times a day for 10 minutes.  Lucas was surprisingly well behaved during the process and didn't move his little head around too much.

First visit to Publix...

...the local grocery store!  I usually end up taking care of the groceries after Lucas goes to bed so that I can make it a quick trip and Andres stays home with the sleeping bambino.  Last week, however, Andres was in Colombia for the surgeries of his parents and I was in the position where I had to bring Lucas with me.  He seemed to enjoy being whisked about the store and even made a little friend in the dairy department.  Lucas never misses a social opportunity - just like his mommy!

Ooooh, FIRST TOOTH!!

Lucas' first tooth came in at 9 1/2 mths after teething for days, weeks and MONTHS!  He now has both of his two lower front teeth in with the second tooth just peeking out.  It is so cute to watch him eat meat and chicken as he brings it to the front of his mouth so he can chew it.  Lucas is also a constant flow of drool and snot, although he hasn't had any fevers or severe discomfort from the teething process.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Lucas puckers up...

...to deliver a beso to his mommy!  Lucas started making kissing sounds a few days ago and perfected the pucker just this morning.  Click here to see Lukey in action melting his mommy's heart.

Swingtime at Salvadore Park...

...with his buddy Oskar.  I discovered through my friend Amy that Lucas is big enough to enjoy the baby swing and he loves it!  He starts crying when I try to take him out and can stay in the swing for 15-20 minutes at a time.  We also enjoy going to the park near the Youth Center so we can watch the bigger kids play soccer.

Music Time at the University of Miami...

...with Daddy!  Lucas started taking a three month music class at the University of Miami that was suggested by Nadine since Astou had really enjoyed it.  The babies play with rattles, scarves and beating two sticks together.  The instructors plays her guitar as we sing along to different songs.  We always start each half hour session by saying hello to the babies.  During this last class the babies were able to beat on drums and Lucas loved it.  His favorite part, however, was at the end of class when the instructor allowed him to touch her guitar.  Lucas was facinated:
beating on the drums.
plucking the guitar...
Lucas loves the trumpet, just like his mommy ;-)




It's Gymboree Time...

...just opened up at Merrick Park.  There was a special promotion being offered so Lucas and I joined for a month.  It was a lot of fun and in fact, Lucas started doing the "Commando Crawl" during his first class on January 31st 2011.  He looks like a little inch worm as he sticks his little butt up after dragging himself with his arms - tooo CUTE!  In one month, he has really perfected the art and can get around pretty quickly.  Click here to see latest video of the little inch worm doing his thing.  I love the songs..i.e."Everyone grab a lap to ride, a lap to ride, a lap to ride.  Everyone grab a lap to ride, right here at Gymboree.", the parachute that the babies sit under, the gym time....and my favorite: baby soccer!

At the SeaQuarium...

...with his girlfriend Sofia.  Chiara and I got season's passes to both the Seaquarium and the Parrot Jungle so that our babies can enjoy the animals as they grow older.  The Parrot Jungle was actually a little bit better for eight month old babies since the birds make much more noise than the sea animals.  We set out a blanket and yes, Sofia and Lucas smooched again:

 

Soccer time...

...at Pinecrest Gardens.  Aldo, Andres and Sandro play soccer every Sunday morning and the mommies and babies have made it a ritual to watch and let the babies play together.  It was cold on this particular Sunday so little Lukey is wearing his bunny suit.  You would think that Lucas is definitely a soccer player in the making if you consider how hard he kicks his crib when he wakes up in the morning.  The first time that we heard it we thought it was construction noise from outside!

Lukey's First Kiss...

...in Mommy and Me class.  I don't know if it was Lucas' adorable red PJs or just the fact that he is so yummy, but in the middle of class little Sofia went right up to him to give him a smooch.  Click here to see kiss caught on video.  (January 2011 - 7 mths old).  As you can see in the video, Lucas happily returned the kiss.  A couple of weeks later, Lucas received his second kiss from little Astou that is 14 mths old.

Baby's First Christmas...

...in South Salem with Gramma and Grandpa.  (December 2010 - 6 mths.)  Lucas wore a little tuxedo and was the hit of the party - as he had been for Joana and Patricio's wedding when he made his debut in this adorable outfit.  Lucas started eating solids with baby cereal mixed with formula, mashed bananas and apple sauce.  He also started sleeping through the night as Andres and I did five nights of "cry it out" after our sleepless nights during Thanksgiving.  The first night Lucas cried for close to an hour and a half and the second night was similar.  It was torture, but a necessary evil. By the third night, Lucas fell asleep after half an hour of crying and  the fourth and fifth night, he only cried for ten minutes.  During our stay in New York, we had to put Vaseline on Lukey's cheeks since they turned rosy red like Santa's cheeks from the dry air.  We drove to Jurzee again so that Lukey could see his cousin again and his Gramma Marta.  Andres returned to Florida after Christmas and Lucas and I extended our stay through New Years to be able to celebrate the arrival of 2011 with Gramma.  Lucas sat up for the first time under the supervision of Gramma, Auntie Gabriela and cousin Sofia and soon mastered it by the beginning of the new year.

Tree decorating play date...

...to celebrate the holidays with Lucas's little friends.  Lucas made the cuuutest little Santa and we took pictures with all of the new families in front of our little tree.  Marie/Heath/Stephanie, Chiara/John/Sofia, Nadine/Sandro/Astou, and Jeannette/Troy/Lucas/Nathan came over.  I had everyone bring a little wrapped gift for a Secret Santa and it ended up being  a lot of fun!

Baby's First Thanksgiving...

...and Lucas meets his cousins Sofia and Kento for the first time!  (November 2010 - 5 mths old). Sofia was so incredible with Lucas and would hold him, play with him and feed him bottles.   Lukey is dressed in the Christmas outfits that Auntie Gabriela got for him and bathed together with Sofia in a little tub - very cute! 
Andres and I drove to Juan Carlos and Mika's new house in New Jersey so that Lucas could meet his cousin Kento for the first time.  Kento is only a month and a half older than Lucas.  It was very cute to see them interact.  Roberto was visiting also.
We also made a road trip to Marlborough, CT so that Lucas could meet his great Gramma and Grandpa.  We gave Lucas a bottle with formula for the first time on the way to Marlborough so that I wouldn't have to stop to breast feed him.  Also, many of my family members were breathing down my neck that Lucas was hungry and I finally caved in, as I had been exclusively breast feeding until then.  By the time we arrived at Gramma and Grandpa's, poor little Lucas had broken out in hives around his mouth, ears and belly.  We had to give him anti-allergenic formula for a couple of months before we were comfortable enough switching back to the regular brand.  We avoided soy formula as that it is supposedly not good for little boy babies to have too much soy.

Christmas Tree lighting at Merrick Park...

...with Daddy, Astou, Nadine, Sandro and Paul!  (November 2010 - 5 mths old).  Lucas sat on Santa's lap for the first time at the beautiful tree lighting at Merrick Park in Coral Gables.  There were stilt walkers, pictures with Santa, music, etc.  We had the perfect table right next to the tree and Lucas was all smiles, as usual.

ABC foam mat...

...replaces Lucas's gym so that he can have plenty of space to roll around and practice sitting up.  (November 2010 5 months old).  It is becoming more and more apparent that Lucas is taking over the joint!  Although Lucas is not really mobile yet, this will serve him well in the future and to have his friends over for play dates!

Fairchild Gardens with friend Oskar and Sofia...

...napping in front of the lily pads!   This was my first time at the Fairchild Tropical Garden (November 2010 - 5 mths old) and all babies and mommies had a great time.  We put out a blanket so that the babies could play together.  I recorded Lucas saying "Mama, mama, mama" for the first time as Chiara (Sofia's mom), Amy (Oskar's mom) and I repeated the word over and OVER again.  Click here to see video.