Happy Christmas and 9-Monthness!!!

LuLu's first Christmas was much more than we expected! We were warned by seasoned parental units that most children have no interest in their first Christmas, that they'll be more fascinated by the paper than the present, which to some extent was true, but Lu actually unwrapped her own presents (with a little tear here or there from Mum or Dad) and definitely decided early on which toys were her favorites (hail the Singing Puppet Dog from my mom and the random freaking balls I bought from Target for approximately $5). She enjoyed herself and we had fun watching her whip boxes and paper around with a fervor.

Thank you to everyone that sent boxes and boxes of stuff for Luca: Christy, Mom & Dad, Stacey and the Welchies (my newest nickname for the midgets)....they were all perfect presents and she will not only be stylin' but she will have fun with all her new gadgets. She loves that thing that lights up and plays music.

Here are some pics of Christmas, which so happens to be LuLu's 9-monthness day as well.

WANTED: Special Dragonfly Teether

Daphne the Dragonfly is seen here. Lost in Barnes and Noble. No one turned her in! In desperate search of replacement!

Thanksgiving, the Love of Family, and Holy 'Effin' Baby Meltdown!

Scott, Luca and I went to Bostonia for Thanksgiving and beyooooooond! While we were there, the following occurred:

Luca got her first fever and as a result, I got to stick a thermometer up her ass for the first time. Surprisingly, she was unaffected by this. I was slightly traumatized and then oddly proud of myself.

We had not only one Thanksgiving but TWO! My best friend, Livia, flew in the night before Thanksgiving and Scott flew in on Thanksgiving so we all got together again on the Saturday following the holiday for those that didn't get to join in on the festivities (that would be Scott).

Scott and I had our first night without our baby girl as my mom and dad took her for an overnight stay. Thank you to both of them! She had a great time! We, on the other hand, learned a valuable lesson: when engaging in adult activities, kindly ensure that the baby monitor is turned off. Otherwise, your company gets an earful. We all had smiles that night.

Babies have absolutely no consideration as to when they take a dump. Luca decided that the middle of Lansdowne Street across from Fenway Park, in the freezing rain, would be a GREAT spot. Thank you, Jillian's, for lending us your lobby for a few moments of warm "changing bum" time.

Scott learned that New England really is NOT known for Mexican cuisine, especially old-school authentic Mex. Poor thing.

Luca is quite resilient on a plane. However, when flying for 8 hours plus without any sleep, she suffered a really bad episode of the night terrors. I learned not to try to wake her up....but what else are you supposed to do when they're freaking out so bad, they're hyperventilating? Scary baby meltdown!

Here are some pics of the trip!

T Minus 5 Days and Counting.....

Whooooooooo! Almost time to leave for Bostonia, land of cold and fun! Lulu has been suffering through a cold for the last two weeks so today she visited the doctor to get clearance to fly. She's doing fine, quite healthy, with the exception of some lingering congestion. No ear infections. No issues. Even when coughing like a 90-year-old smoker and sneezing up gargantuan amounts of yellow snot, she still smiles and laughs and dances. Gotta love the resilience of children.

My little petite is now 16.2 lbs! She's sitting up fully on her own although she still can't pull herself completely upright but she's getting close. She's starting to rock down into the dog position but she hasn't figured out how to use her knees yet so I don't think crawling will be anytime soon and I'm not unhappy about that. My poor friend Sarah's son is a mover and he's flying all over the place. I'm not ready to baby-proof yet! I like putting her down and finding her flipping herself back and forth but relatively in the same spot that I left her in.

She is happier than a pig in shit to be going on a plane! Well, not really, but she's been in such good spirits lately that I can be hopeful, right? Anyway...can't wait to see all my Bostonians! Something tells me G-Ma is going to steal my Lu away from me....

Orange Ya Glad I'm Here To Make You Smile?

The Butt Vote

All right, everyone.....whose ass does she have? The Vaicius Ghetto Booty or Scott's Apple Butt?

Happy 7 Months!!!!

Yesterday, Luca officially turned 7 months old. I know, I know, such an incredible milestone! She's been keeping us busy with the way her attention span flips so quickly....I can't wait until next month when she gets to spend more time with the Bostonians!

She's been chattering up a storm, more so than usual, and has produced more sounds. Her newest is this half-grunt, half throaty growl thing....it's pretty funny. Oh, and she's currently very pleased with herself for saying "ga-ga-ga" over and over again. She's eating healthily. Yesterday, she had a squash, corn and chicken mixture that she devoured for dinner. She'll pretty much eat everything, but she doesn't like that jarred beef. I think it might be because it's so thick...oh, and it smelled like cat food. No matter though...Scott bought me a puree machine so soon she will have the delicious servings of Momma's homemade yummies. Delicious!

She's holding and playing with toys just fine. She likes to put the spoon in the mouth herself and although she can prop herself up on her arms beautifully, she has no desire to get up on her knees. I'm in no hurry for her to scoot around the house so I'm OK with it, lol. We've been teaching her to sit on her own and this past weekend, we finally got to utilize the stroller section that turns more into a chair on wheels instead of just putting the car seat in there. Brilliant!