Developments!

Gerard is now just a bit older than 10 months, and this little guy has come a long way! He's just about learning how to walk on his own. He still prefers to crawl at every chance, but he's gotten the concept of taking steps forward. Gerard is very active. He requires our full attention or he gets ends up in some sort of crazy situation. For example, we can't leave him in the living room alone anymore. He'll climb over things, pull on things, crawl through any openings that block him from going to other parts of our apartment, etc. He very much prefers we bring him everywhere we go, whether it be in the kitchen to wash a hand (holding him in one arm only lets me wash one of my hands at a time!) He's not as talkative, but he can say a few words here and there: car (or "kahhh," I introduce other words that sound like it -- cold, comb, etc), mama, dada, immi (his word for milk), neh (which we think is his pick up of our "no"). He now has 4 teeth! The top two are coming out so fast. HIs appetite slows down during the teeth growth, but he actually wants to eat a lot of the things he sees us eat. Buffets are fun because I offer him things he can eat on his own :) His first birthday is coming up. It feels so soon! He is so fun to play with these days. He loves pillow fights, he loves wrestling with balloons, he loves to destroy his blocks, he tosses and turns in bed (thus, keeps mommy and papa awake longer!) and he loves computers!! We finally sent his picture to Dr Rittenhouse's office. They've asked for this shortly after birth but laziness and business got in the way. He left a message confirming he's got it and had nice things to say :) It was a picture from when Gerard was 6 months old - he still looks the same except now with teeth. And that's that! The little guy just fell asleep so now I can do some work in the kitchen. 

It's been a rainy Sunday, but luckily, it stopped for a bit last night during our Valentine's dinner. We walked over to a neighborhood restaurant (Pacific Grill) hoping we wouldn't get wet, and we didn't. Dinner was great, Gerard enjoyed his sweet potato fries and his milk. He is now 10 months old! Growing so fast!! He's now learning how to walk and say some words (baba, mama, dada, up up, no, car) and driving us crazy. Everything he's not allowed to touch he touches! Kids will be kids at home, but thankfully, he's well-behaved in public :) 

We're all doing great, chugging along in 2009 so far. I'm gearing up for my first show with Sputterdoll since our last one in 2007! It's a bit funky to practice at home because Gerard here likes to strum my bass for me, and his little fingers get in the way of my own strumming. Makes me want to just drop my bass and kiss him till he leaves me alone! LOLsl

-Rio

Merry Christmas from us

We had a very quiet Christmas with some family, and best of all, there was amazing food :)

Check out the pictures from our holiday! (Gerard's first tooth showed up on or around December 19)

...and the first tooth is making its way!

Today, I noticed Gerard's first bottom tooth surfacing through his gums. I first noticed his gums were extra swollen today, and upon closer look, it's because of the tooth. My brother first noticed it yesterday and didn't even tell me! But it's ok, I made the discovery for myself today -- my birthday! What a treat! Just wanted to share this as it's a wonderful milestone! 

Winter project

Baby growth is unbelievably cool. I look at pictures of Gerard's first few minutes of earth life, and I look at him now. He looks so different, but in my eyes, it doesn't seem like he changed all that much! Yes he's bigger and chubbier and have rounder eyes, but his growth seemed to have passed me so fast because he's just been this little baby I saw everyday (minus the days I had to be away in work-related circumstances and when we moved from one apartment to another), and voila, here he is continuously growing and changing in many ways. My project this winter is to finally start compiling his pictures -- from first newborn minutes to the first week, to the first month to the third month to the sixth month and so on till today. I will periodically update these as the months go by. Sooner or later, I'll be on this 12th birthday! Jeez, the speed of time when life is busy is too freaking fast. He has adjusted himself to go to bed at 8pm, though sometimes it's a bit later. He is still a bit random with his sleep pattern. He can go from 3 hours of sleep at a time to 8 hours. Even when he goes for 8 hours, his early bedtime results in an early wake up call for me (and/or Egan). Sunday is usually our only day together at home -- Egan doesn't have a Monday-Friday schedule but I do -- and I like to try to sleep in. But there are some Sundays Gerard will wake up at 5am and not go back to sleep again! Even when I try to cuddle him or ignore him, he gets me up earlier than I really want to. But hey, mommyhood is going well and I'm enjoying most of it! As for the rest that I don't enjoy, it's really just being sleep and time deprived of the other things I used to have time for. Oh well! It's a worthy trade off, and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Almost 8 months old!

Gerard is pushing 8 months old already. How fast!! The day of his birth last April is a fresh memory in my mind, one that I'll always remember (I hope). Gerard is now crawling, eating carrots, avocados, bananas, squash, turkey, brown rice cereal multi-grain cereal and oatmeal. His appetite is pretty big right now -- always wants his milk regularly! We're proud of the little guy. Though he was born 2 weeks early and was a bit underweight, he's a perfect boy today! Very playful and inquisitive, and loves to be played with. Anyway, time is still an issue with mama here so I must cut this short. Till next time!