Ahooo Waahooo Waaah

DJ's main method of communication with us is squealing and fussing. The squeals are various pitches and volume. The fussing is well, fussing.

On Friday, Steve and I were out shopping so I was keeping DJ occupied with Cheerios (and it was past his snack time). With a Cheerio in his mouth, he started to talk. So I "chastised" him for talking with his mouth full, but then he started to move his tongue and jaw around while making noise. "Ahooo waahooo waa" is how it came out. I thought it was coincidence, but it was not as he continued to do it over and over again.

Since then, he'll do it when he's not necessarily eating, and we love the change in sounds. We still love the squeals, but this is new and interesting. Keep babbling DJ!

DJ Milestone - First step!

I should have blogged about this last night, but failed to do so. DJ took his first step towards me! He was holding onto the gate of his playpen, then let go so that he was standing freely, and then took his first step towards me! I can't be sure he wasn't just trying to get his footing/balance underneath him, but it resulted in a step! Way to go DJ!

The Open Door Trick

DJ's crib is on the wall closest to the door of his room. He figured out that not only can he reach the doorknob through the bars of his crib, but he can also turn said doorknob. This results in our hearing "rattle rattle rattle" and once the door is open, lots of subsequent fussing for someone to come get him out of his prison-like crib (in his mind, of course).

We think this is hysterical.

DJ Milestone - standing!

I forgot to mention this in yesterday's Christmas blog...

While we were opening DJ's gifts at Yiayia and Papou's house, Steve was letting DJ stand in his arms. Then Steve let go. DJ stood by himself for about 2 seconds without falling and without holding on to anyone or anything. Yaaay!

DJ's First Christmas

Like every kid on Christmas, DJ woke up early, 5:30am early. Obviously, he didn't do it on purpose, but I found it ironically funny. I decided to see if DJ would settle down again, so I gave him his pacifier. He settled down, but he started to scream the second I left the room. Hmmm... are we starting the separation anxiety stage? I brought him to our bed, and Steve curled up with him. Immediately, he settled down and went back to sleep for another hour. I guess he just wanted the company. :)

Grandmom and Grandpa came over around 9am, and we opened DJ's gifts. He hung out in the jump-up while we opened his gifts in front of him. He got some wonderful gifts from everyone in the immediate family as well as from close friends like the Shaws, the Garfields, and the Boyers. He went down for a nap a little late, but it was much needed since he slept for nearly 2.5 hours.

After DJ had lunch, Steve and I took DJ to his Yiayia and Papou's house to celebrate Christmas there. He saw all of his first cousins, too, and he got some really cool gifts there, including an icon of St. David the Prophet and the King from Yiayia and Papou. He got some neat toys and outfits from his Minneapolis and Lancaster cousins. He also got some cool toys from his great aunt and uncle, and from his cousins once removed. He got a small nap in for about half an hour in Daddy's arms, too. He loved watching all the activity of opening gifts with his cousins.

We came back home to finish cleaning for the Hargest side of the family Christmas party that was due at the house in an hour. Luckily, DJ went to bed before everyone arrived so with a little help from a humidifier as white noise, slept through the party without incident. His great aunts and uncles as well as cousins once removed from the Hargest side gave him some very nice gifts as well.

In other words, DJ got some PHAT LOOT. ;-) Honestly, though, he had a wonderful Christmas and although he really didn't get the concept of Christmas, he could tell something was going on and was intently trying to take in all of the sights and sounds.

He is very tired since he's off schedule and the last 3 days have been very long for him. So I hope he can get back on schedule soon, for both his sanity and Mommy's. ;-)

DJ's new trick

Last night, I heard a clunk. I wondered what it was, and then I heard it again. It was coming from the nursery... so I went to investigate.

Sure enough, DJ had figured out how to pull the door to his room open from inside his crib. Granted, I didn't have it latched shut, just loose, but still.

Today, I watched him and he can reach the lock on the door. I'm concerned that he could inadvertently lock himself in, but needless to say, it's funny. :-)

Baptism Day!

Today was DJ's baptism. He did great considering he didn't get an afternoon nap.

The morning was a (mostly) normal morning until after DJ's nap. DJ got a bath (NAKED BABY!!) and then some lunch. The adults got ready, Grandmom came over, and we piled into the two Bluebarus. We got to the corner of Manor and Dulaney Valley when I realized I'd forgotten DJ's white outfit. At least we weren't far from home. We turned around to go get it, and Nancy, Dave, and Gradmom continued on to the church.

I was much calmer when we left the house the second time. ;-) DJ napped for a little while in the car, and we got to the church a little early. We met up with DJ's godparents (nouna and nouno and junior nouna - Nouna Alexandra), and DJ went right to them. No stranger anxiety (yet)!

The service started in the back of the church. While Father Dean was reading the prayers, DJ had this furrowed brow/pensive look on his face. He was incredibly interested in all of what was going on, curious, even. It was really cool to watch the wheels turning in his head. Admittingly, I was concerned that baptising him at 9 months would be too late because he would be an enormous fuss and that maybe a younger baby would be more willing to go with the flow of a service like this. But I really enjoyed watching him take in all of today's activities. While James, Susan, and Alexandra were reading The Creed, Father Dean jingled his ginormous cross to keep DJ's attention. DJ's attention definitely shifted to Father Dean. It was cute. One of the funnier parts was Father Dean reminding us that it's Pontius *Pilot*, not Pontius Pilates. Or that it's Incarnation, not Incarceration. The priest doesn't tell you stuff like that unless it's happened.....LOL



Then it was dunking time. We went back to the front of the church, Father Dean spoke to the congregation of family, and then it was time for NAKED BABY!!! DJ was already tired, so undressing him just made him fuss vocally. He didn't protest while his godparents put the holy (extra light olive) oil all over him, but he started to cry when he got dunked, poor thing. Then of course, redressing him made him REALLY fuss. And it turns out that his outfit ended up being too small! Arg! But the bib was beautiful, and he looked adorable in it nonetheless.

Dressed and calmed down, we processed around the font. James and Susan had one decorated candle, and Alexandra had the other decorated one. Spiro, Sophia and Eleni each had smaller candles of their own. Again, a humorous moment: Father Dean noting that you shouldn't stare at the candle flame, don't set anyone on fire, don't burn the priest, don't burn your nose... etc. As we're processing, James had to remind Spiro to hold his candle upright so that he doesn't burn Sophia's hair. Yikes...

Time for communion. DJ not only opened up for the spoon, but he apparently asked for more by opening his mouth again. LOL That's our little foodie! And now the service is over. We handed out the martirika (witness badges) as a reception line. They had to turn out the lights of the church to make us all leave.

It was pouring rain outside. Steve got the car because it was raining that hard. DJ got a small nap in during our drive to the Acropolis Restaurant, but it wasn't nearly enough. Nonetheless, he was a happy camper all the way through dinner. He had chicken (souvlaki), rice, and Greek green beans. We sat with Father Dean, Nancy, Dave, Grandmom and Granddad. The meal was very good. The dolmades were fantastic, as were the tiropites and spanakopites. The salad was served family style, and then we got the real treat: loukoumades. The Acropolis only makes Loukoumades on Sundays and I was so taking advantage of that!! Everyone raved over them.

All in all, it seemed like everyone had a good time, and it was good company. DJ finally fell asleep in Aunt Sue's arms, and he napped again for a little bit in the car on the ride home. Once home, DJ got another bath (3 in one day! Must be a holy day.) and an 8oz bottle. I expected him to fall asleep on the bottle but instead, he turned to me and we played together. What a happy camper! Then he and Aunt Nancy roughhoused for awhile as clearly, he was not interested in sleeping. Another 4 ounce bottle (now I'm wondering if he would have taken 8...), and I put him down. He didn't fall asleep for awhile, I went in, picked him up, cuddled him, put him back down, he held on to me for security for about a minute, and then he went to sleep.

Although it was a stressful day, it was a good day overall. Many thanks to Steve for all of his support through the planning and execution of today's activities!! Also thank you to DJ's Uncle Dave for taking pictures.

Rough night last night

When I picked up DJ from Eleanor's yesterday, she said that he had taken a 3 hour nap in the morning and another hour and a half nap in the afternoon. He's been so tired the last week no matter how much sleep he's gotten, and his napping on Friday really punctuated that fact. Then Eleanor said that he'd been in a fabulous mood since those naps, and that we'd probably have a "live wire" on our hands that night. She couldn't have been more right.

He went to bed at his normal time (7:30pm), and all seemed fine. I went to bed at 11pm and an hour and a half later, I was awakened by DJ crying. I figured it was another case of "missing binky", so I dragged myself out of bed and snagged my glasses. When I got to his room, he was standing up in the crib, holding onto the rails, and wailing. I found his pacifier, put it in his mouth, and he seemed to settle down. I left the room, crawled back into bed, and tried to settle myself back to sleep.

Naturally, DJ started crying again. So back to his room I went. Now he was really upset. I picked him up, cuddled him, and we sat in the glider chair to settle down again. This was not to be enough after half an hour. Now I was fully awake, too, so I put him down in his crib, went to get changed, and then packed DJ into the car seat. Off we went for a half hour to 45 minute drive and naturally, he was still bright eyed and bushy tailed when we got back. Oy.

I brought him back into the house, set him down in his crib, and I lay down on the floor next to his crib using the boppy as a pillow. I stopped hearing him move around finally through periods of dosing off. Apparently Steve noticed I wasn't in bed and came in to look for me right when I got up off the floor. That was 3:30am and I was finally able to go to bed. Of course it took me another half an hour to fall asleep.

6:15am, DJ woke up for his day. I went into his room to make sure he didn't start crying and wake up Nancy and Dave. He's happy to see me and he's happy to just have me in the room so he played in his crib quietly. I fell back to sleep on the floor.... until Steve came in to see DJ and find out where I was. He had to wake me up... Yep, I was tired with only about 3 hours of sleep.

DJ was happy for the most part today. He even took another 2 hour nap both in the morning and afternoon. I took naps with him, but they weren't solid sleep by any stretch of the imagination. The phone rang, the doggies were frisky, etc. So maybe I should go to bed if last night is any indication... ;-)

Airlines are frustrating.

Dave and Nancy were supposed to fly in yesterday from San Diego for Christmas. Unfortunately, their flight was canceled. It's not like this was due to weather... this is San Diego we're talking about here. They don't have weather out there. Meteorologists must be bored in San Diego. The weather forecast on the nightly news must be just a tape that's rerun. It would sure save cost. Anyway, I suppose there could have been weather in Minneapolis (their 1 hop), but I talked to my brother on my drive home yesterday, and there was no talk of snow until the weekend. So the flight wasn't canceled due to weather there either. Arg.

So now we get one day less with them, and they get one less day with DJ. Travelocity supposedly is sending a car to pick them up and although they'll have to fly coach from San Diego to Minneapolis, they'll fly 1st Class from Minneapolis to Reagan National and getting in around 4pm. I suppose it's a nice gesture since they canceled the flight, but I'd be hopping mad if I were them because now they have to travel on what will be one of the nastiest travel days of the year, and from DC during afternoon rush hour traffic no less. No thank you.

My father-in-law is taking one for the team and going to get them. Much to Steve's and my amusement, he was saying that they'll be at our house in time for dinner. From BWI, no problem. But from Reagan?? Yeah...I wouldn't bet on that!

DJ is getting closer to standing on his own.

DJ's ability to stand nearly on his own has definitely improved over the last week. He pulls up like a champ. It doesn't matter to him if the thing he's pulling up on is sturdy. He'll pull up anyway. Then once he's up, he feels comfortable enough to hold on with only one hand. He has the confidence to bend down to pick something up with one hand while lightly holding on to something with the other. Today, he was holding onto Steve's shirt, but he wasn't using it to steady himself. And finally, he's cruising (transferring what he's holding on to to move from one thing to another) much more confidently. He's not ready to walk just yet, but he's learning to take guided steps a little more frequently. Way to go Little Guy!!

All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth!!

The last of DJ's front teeth broke through last night/this morning! Now DJ has all of his front teeth, both bottom and top! He also has his top 2 incisors, totaling 4 top teeth in all together in a row.

We think there is another tooth coming in on the top on the side somewhere (we think we can see it), but who knows! :)

Click on the picture itself to get an enlarged version. You can really see the teeth then!!

Stairs

DJ discovered that the stairs existed at Miss Eleanor's a few weeks ago, but he didn't really know what they were about or what to do about them.

This past Friday, when I went to pick him up, Eleanor showed me that he'd crawl to the stairs, pull up on them, and then lift a knee in a primitive attempt at climbing them. Since we effectively have no stairs in this house for him to practice on as we live in a rancher, I figured it would be awhile before he actually starts climbing stairs.

How wrong I was. While at John Wehmueller's parents' house, DJ was crawling around, found the stairs, and crawled up them without missing a beat. To show me this wasn't a fluke, he then proceeded up the next stair. As I was eating birthday cake, I immediately had to drop my plate to keep him from going up further and then, to keep him from going back down face first! Teaching a baby how to go down the stairs "the safe way" (i.e. backwards) is a challenge!

Once I got him down the stairs, I realized a split second too late that my cake was in mortal danger... It would figure.

Happy 30th birthday John Wehmueller!
And happy stair climbing, DJ!

Other family blogs

So Nancy and Dave blog on occasion, Nancy more than Dave.

Here are their sites:
Nancy's Blog:
http://www.nancyiniraq.blogspot.com/
Dave's Blog:
http://www.daveocracy.blogspot.com/

Nancy chronicled a lot of her Iraq tours on her site. Being a communications major in the Naval Academy, she has a knack for writing. Her blogs are entertaining to say the very least!!

Dave also keeps a website where he posts a lot of his pictures and an older blog (can't you put it all in one place Dave?? sheesh!) which can be found off of his blog or here: http://www.diesel173.com/Home.html

I've also created a links section on the right side of the page where I put these links for future reference.

Enjoy!

DJ's first snow

It snowed almost all day today (it hasn't stopped yet), and we have a good 4+ inches on the ground. Granted, that goes to show that it didn't snow very hard, but it was consistent.

I picked up DJ from Ms. Eleanor's, bundled him in a a very thick fleece hooded sleeper, and headed outside. The snowflakes dropped on his lashes and face. He looked at it all with mild curiosity, blinking a few times as snowflakes dropped on his lashes.

Then I let him put his hand in the snow. Instinctively, he grabbed a handful and then grabbed some more... and some more... and squished it and grabbed some more... if I'd have let him, he'd have kept going!! He was definitely very interested in this white fluffy what turned out to be wet and cold stuff!

A full fledged snowfall

Today we're actually getting our first full fledged snowfall of the season. We're predicted to get between 1 - 2". It's really just a dusting, but it's more than what we got on Monday night which was mostly snow falling from the sky but melting before it ever got to the ground. When I pick up DJ tonight from day care, I'll introduce him to snow if Ms. Eleanor hasn't already.

Now of course, everyone panicked yesterday about this storm. The grocery stores were mobbed and cleaned out of bread, milk, and toilet paper. The gas stations looked like it was last day on Earth, and traffic was horrific. And I hear traffic is already stupid, and it's only 12:15pm!! It amazes me that people panic this much when stuff falls out of the sky.

I'll have to get Steve to move the snowblower out of the shed and into the garage. It would really suck for him to have to snowblower himself out of the shed to get to the driveway when we do have a snowfall that warrants using the blower! LOL

Snow

Last night, we got a dusting of our first snowfall of the season. Unfortunately, DJ was already asleep by the time it started to fall and any accumulation was gone by the morning. So he didn't get to see it. But when it snows next, I'm going to be sure that he puts his hand in it and tries to grab some! ;-)

Teeth!

FINALLY.

That one tooth finally broke through overnight or this morning. It's his left side upper incisor (canine?) tooth, and I can feel it's sharp edges. Even though we couldn't see it, we knew it was coming because his gum had a lump in that spot for well over two weeks.

But here's the kicker. ANOTHER tooth has arrived, too!!! Steve noticed it today while he was playing with DJ. It's his right side upper front tooth, next to his rather prominent incisor that came in a few weeks ago. I can't feel its edges, but I can see it a lot better than I could ever see the other tooth that broke through today.

So it's no wonder he's been waking up at night so consistently... he's been working on a whole lot of teeth!!

I was hoping that his other incisor would have come in shortly after this first one so that I could send a Christmas card with a picture of him showing his two top incisor teeth and a saying of "All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth." I guess I won't be able to do that!