Mama and New Year's Eve

Up until now little man only said Da Da but today he has been saying Ma Ma and Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa all day long. Everything was Ma Ma. It's safe to say he has not made the association me = ma ma. Oh well, at least he can pronounce the mmmmmmmm sound, we're making progress!

Something funny just happened. A few neighborhood kids rang our door bell asking if we wanted to hear them carol...caroling on NYE? it cracked me up that Zac asked the kids if they knew Christmas is over. I guess the kids gave some retarded answer. Is this how teenagers make money during the winter time? summer=mowing lawns and winter=caroling. Sorry to be such a Scrooge but we would bash anyone trying to wake little man up by ringing the door bell at 10pm. ***shaking my head*** Only in Loudoun County!

That was the highlight of the Otto's NYE, yes! very pathetic but AC comes first these days. It's 10:30pm on the last day of 2008 and I'm thinking of calling it a night. Little man has been asleep for 3 hours already. I look forward to 2009...AC will be one! still such a baby though. Here's wishing you a Happy and Safe New Year's Eve!

Naps Are For Babies!

That is what Adrian tells me. AC has always been lacking in the sleeping department. We have introduced the Ferber method for months now but we really stuck to it the past week and a half while I've been on vacation from work. For everyone who may not know what the Ferber method is...

In a nutshell, Ferber says you can teach your baby to soothe himself to sleep when he's physically and emotionally ready, usually sometime between 4 and 6 months of age. He recommends following a warm, loving bedtime routine and then putting your baby in bed awake and leaving him (even if he cries) for gradually longer periods of time. Putting a child to bed awake, says Ferber, is crucial to successfully teaching him to go to sleep on his own.

Parents are instructed to pat and comfort their baby after each predetermined period of time, but not to pick up or feed their baby. This routine is called "progressive waiting." The suggested waiting time, which Ferber charts in his book, is based on how comfortable you are with the technique, how many days you've been using it, and how many times you've already checked on your child that night.

After a few days to a week of gradually increasing the waiting time, the theory goes, most babies learn to fall asleep on their own, having discovered that crying earns nothing more than a brief check from you.

So AC now learns to either poop or take his paci and throw it across the floor and then cry harder. He knows with either act I'll be back in a jiffy to attend to him. Yes, I am a sucka! but it just isn't right to let babies sit in their mess. I will have to learn to let go of the paci throwing. He'll have to learn that once he loses the paci it's not coming back to him, that'll teach him not to spit out his paci! I sometimes wonder does my 9 months old have the brain capacity to make the coorelation that if he squeezes out poop mommy will appear? that child never seizes to amaze me! the thought of AC trying his hardest to poop cracks me up. The Ferber theory is killing me! I'm exhausted (believe it or not, this morning it took 3.5 hours of crying before he went down for a nap, I like to blame it on the fact that AC is teething again and he's in pain). All I want to do is rock him back to sleep so I can go back to sleep but instead we have this drawn out process every night and during every nap time so that AC can learn to fall asleep by himself.

AC is daddy's...

Going Shopping

Little man's shopping cart. He carries his little toys from the living room to the kitchen so he can be entertained while mommy and daddy make their meals. I think daddy prefers the masculine lawn mower over a shopping cart. Guess what daddy? mommy is making little man an apron as soon as he's old enough to help her bake and paint!

Storage For Toys

We finally found a better storage idea to contain all Adrian's toys. These wicker storage with lids are great to keep our living room organized. Adrian seems to like them too. They're at his height and he enjoys going in there to pick out his toys.

Christmas Morning 2008

Little Man opening his first Christmas present from mommy and daddy.

For Christmas I got a Walker!

Yup! Little man is walking!!!!

Dirty Old Man, Opps, I mean Santa!

I wasn't sure whether Adrian will be terrified of Santa. It turned out he was quite interested in the bearded man.

An odd exchange happened between Santa and me. Half way into pictures with Santa I realized one of Adrian's pants leg was hiked up. I interrupted the elf who was taking the pictures and asked if I may pull his pants down. Santa actually said "Ho Ho Ho, I hope you don't mean mine!" I was so appauld of what he said and I was speechless. Mind you this is also my first Santa experience at the mall. I think what was meant to be a sweet and innocent childhood experience has been tainted.

True Love

Little man showers mommy, daddy, Miko and his stuffed animals quite a bit of affections these days. We love it when little man hugs and kisses his toys. Miko on the other hand wishes little man would leave her alone.

Drinking Like a Big Boy

These days Adrian prefers drinking out of a glass than his sippy cups or bottles. Although I'm not sure if he's really drinking much out of the glass or he's just adding back wash to my beverage.

Elmira In Making

My visit with Naomi today was nice but Sammy, the cat is my favorite.

AC's Little Ornament For Mommy and Daddy

So I forget to mention that little man got a hold of an ornament during playdate this past weekend. I was really into rolling out clay to make an impression of his hand and when I looked up little man was licking a glittery Christmas ornament. Of course he got his first mouth wash(not with soap). This morning he pooped glitter....ah ha, pretty poo, very festive! Early Christmas present for mommy? Apparently little man knew mommy is a racoon and likes shinny glittery things.

P.S. Yes, no pictures to go with this post!!!!!

Playdate 12/13/08

Playdates with Ethan and Patrick always end with a good nap on the car ride home. Little man, we made hand impression Christmas ornaments of your little friends today.

The Best Toys Are The Ones That Cost $2.00

Self Amusement

The splashing typically would have lasted for a while longer if he had not accidentally punched himself in the nose. Silly little man!

Heather's Baby Photoshoot

Naomi says "Adrian, give me my money!" Got to love candid shots!

Dancing to Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer

Grandma, little man loves Rudolph! He gets on his hands and knees and sway when Rudolph is on.

What Goes Up Must Come Down

Sorry for the Blair Witch quality on the video. I had to make sure I was ready to catch crazy little man if he decides to do a back flip off the stairs. Can you tell I almost had a heart attack when he stood up on one of the top stairs? Someone shed some light on how to teach little man to back down the stairs.

2008 Otto Christmas Trees

Mommy and Adrian's 2008 Charlie Brown trees sitting high on dining room table so they don't end up in curious little man's mouth.

Happy Thanksgiving and Po Po's 60th Birthday Party

I had a very busy Thanksgiving weekend. Auntie Mollie came from NYC to visit me. She is so much fun and I already miss her terribly. Ahh! the good old days when it was just Auntie M and me.

The weekend started with Thanksgiving dinner at Grand Auntie Rita's house. We had wonderful food and company. The turkey was fantastic!, I personally contest. This was my first time having turkey and I must say I do like this bird! the evening ended early for me but I was beat. Daddy took me home and gave me a bath before tucking me in my crib. Mommy later told me she stayed and played Pictionary with the family. Mommy said uncle Calvin can't draw to save his life. Perhaps he should have teamed up with his sister because mommy's ability to draw isn't any better. Everything drawn by us resembled phallic symbols. Oh well, good fun by all.

On Friday, mommy and I went to visit Naomi, Lisa and baby Selena. Auntie Heather took pictures of all the babies. I have to say all babies cleaned up well. We all worn our Sunday best. We left early because mommy had to start cooking for Po Po's 60th Birthday Party.

Saturday was fun! mom said she cooked all weekend and I agreed because she left me playing with pots and kitchen utensils on the kitchen floor. I became bored so I decided to crawl under the kitchen table to sit with Miko. I just don't understand why I can't have some of Miko's food and water from her bowl, I share my food with Miko! Mommy screams everytime I crawl near Miko's placemat.

Po Po had a really nice birthday, she celebrated with family and friends. Mommy inadvertently dressed me just like daddy. We were twins! Of course some sort of gambling took place on Po Po's birthday but it was all for good fun, so Po Po says. Don't you think my Po Po look young for being 60?!

Sunday was our time to rest. Daddy woke up early so he can help mommy dig out all her Christmas decorations. This year mommy said we'll put up the small Charlie Brown Christmas trees. Everyone have their own tree this year. Just like the bears have their own bed to their porportion in the book Goldilock and The Three Bears. Daddy's large tree has dressed with gingerbread men and santa claus. Mommy has a medium White House ornament tree. My tree is the best! a little tree with a garland made of mittens, hats and all sorts of winter gear. Little snowmen ornaments adorned my little tree. Mommy tried to take pictures of Miko and me in the same frame but no such luck. Neither Miko nor I would stay still. In the pictures we were together neither of us looked at her at the same time. Then mommy decided to take a video of us hanging out in front of the Christmas trees but then Miko threw up.

Phew, it was a whirlwind of a Thanksgiving weekend. A really great first turkey weekend, nevertheless.