Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas! And I am so excited! We are off today to spend a few days with family, I can't wait to see what Santa brought!

Taking care of mommy

Mommy was sick today. So Dad and I took care of her. I was an extra good boy so she could rest. Once she was feeling a little better, I gave her lots of snuggles. Mommy said it made her feel a whole lot better!

Happy Thanksgiving

I love holidays! Food, family, and lots of fun. Oh, and did I mention food?? Turkey, sweet potatoes, stuffing and my new favorite food- cranberry sauce! Yup, I gobbled it all up ( pun intended). I loved watching and playing with my cousins. They are so funny! I had s great time with all my family! Apparently I get to meet a new guy named Santa soon..

Sick!

Marek stayed home sick from daycare Friday. Yup, this was our first full- on illness. We have had some sniffles before, but this was the real deal. He has had a fever, and is fighting with cold- not to mention two teeth coming in! All that put together makes for one cranky baby! ( and one set of exhausted parents). After a weekend of snuggles, I'm hoping he bounces back in time for Turkey! ( well, sweet potatoes any way!)

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween everyone! I had a great first Halloween. First, mom and I dressed up for my daycare party. I was dopey! I had a great time with my friends! Then dad carved a pumpkin for me. Yup, I got my own " baby's first" pumpkin. Finally I went trick or treating with my friends at daycare and had dinner with Nani and grandpa! All in all, it was great. I have decided that I love holidays! Mom says just wait for thanksgiving and Christmas... I'm getting excited already!

Food!

No mush for me please, who do you all think I am...goldilocks?! I prefer "big people" food. I mean, have you tasted that baby cereal? Trust me, you aren't missing much. So last week mom gave me a hunk of carrot. It was delicious! Although I don't quite get everything in my mouth, I'm getting there. And I'm liking what I am tasting! So far I have enjoyed some apples, banana, sweet potatoes, and carrots. But my favorite, puffs! Those things are yummy! I am a pretty messy eater, but mom says to just enjoy the ride

Brought to you by the letter "O"

Marek is doing a form of "army crawling".  He is getting better and better everyday! Almost time to babyproof...

A Big Month!

September was a milestone month in many ways.  First, I was baptized.  The whole family got together to celebrate! This was actually on my 6 month "birthday".  I was such a good boy, even though they put me in a dress!  We had a nice party, and I received lots of presents.  But Mom keeps saying that is for Harvard.  I wonder what a Harvard is?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although I feel like I say this every time, Marek keeps getting bigger!  And his funny personality is growing everyday!   He is always surprising us.  September was full of surprises.  Marek is starting to get a tooth, enjoying blowing raspberries and has begun to "crawl".  Its more of a tummy slide, with a lot of wiggles in between.  But he is on the move! 

 

 

But the best part of September, Marek started sleeping through the night! Although his record isn't perfect, I'm cautiously optimistic that I will soon return to a fully functioning human being! 

5 Months Old!

Marek is 5 months old!  No more in the little swaddled infant.  Marek's personality has truly developed.  He laughs and smiles all the time, and will babble in conversations. 

He has had his first "real food", carrots.  Although decided after a short while he was no longer a fan.  He can "scoot" and "wiggle" around on the floor, the boy wants to move! 

And although he has slept through the night a handful of times, we aren't getting full nights of sleep.  Maybe next time...

Road Trip!

Hi Ya'll! In August we went on a road trip to South Carolina! Yup, 16 hours each way in the car! The car was packed tight, (I come with a lot of acessories!) but we did it! I did great in the car, aside from a "little" meltdown with an hour left on the way home.  But I wasn't the first!


Once we were in South Carolina I saw the beach, and relatives, and went swimming in a pool.  But I mostly enjoyed just laying around.

Beach vacations are fun! Can't wait for the next one.  

 

Babes in Toyland!

That's Marek lately.  He loves toys! It's amazing to see how they grow and learn so quickly.  We get so excited watching his new skills develop. It is also pretty entertaining. Marek has a few favorite toys.  A stuffed frog and rubber duck are two of the favorites.  He will grab his toys and put them straight in his mouth!  When laying on the floor, he will roll over to get a toy.

No doubt toys are fun, but sometimes Mom and Dad make the best toy...

3 months old!

Thats right, I'm three months! And what a life I have lived...the things I've seen, the places I've been! I've grown up a lot lately. I can now roll over, I smile and laugh (especially with Daddy), I can sometimes grab a toy and I love to wiggle!  Yup, I can do a lot.  But  please, please whatever you do- don't ask me how I'm sleeping.  Let's save that question for next time. ;)

All this and Summer has just begun, can't wait for some more adventures!

School!

So as Mom says, "the honeymoon is over" and the time has come for me to go to daycare!  But it's a pretty sweet deal, because guess what...Mommy works as my school!  We get up every morning and head over to The Creative Play Learning Center.  Everyone there is super nice, and I love my teachers.  The best part, Mom visits during the day!

Thats right, It's back to work for me!  A simple sum-up of how I feel; fortunate :)

Motherhood...and beyond

Hi everyone, it's Aileen. Since Marek's arrival everyone keeps asking me " how does it feed to be a mom?" at first, I had a hard time answering this. To be honest, it felt like a really long babysitting job. Part of me still didn't believe he was mine! Although this was obvious to everyone else, it took some time for it to sink in. I think this was partly because all I could think about was feedings, diaper changes, and occasionally wondering when I had last eaten. So now we are two months in, and how does it feel to be a mom? I would sum it up with two words; awesome and humbling. Marek will smile a coo at me, as if to say, " you are my mom, and I love you". It is a pretty great feeling. Knowing that right now I am the most important person in his life is amazing. This isnt me boasting, it is a matter of fact as I am literally sustaining his life through breast feeding. I will admit that although I have taken care of kids for over ten years now, everything I knew flew out the window when Marek was born. Maybe it was the hormones, or maybe it was the pressure of wanting to do everything right,but I had moments of fear, when despite all my knowledge and reading of parenting books, I was convinced I was doing something wrong. I cried whenever he cried or spit up. Silly, after all that is what babies do! I found myself walking into his room to make sure he was breathing, even though I swore I would never do that. I have relaxed since our first weeks together; babies will do that for you. They force you to stop, relax, and just roll with the punches. I think it's a lesson babies teach us early on, so to prepare us for the future. I know that Marek and I have only just started this journey together, but he has already taught me so much. He has made me a better, happier person (don't let the bags under my eyes fool you! I may be tired, but happy). there is so much I cannot control ( like spit up-despite trying every trick in the book!)One thing I am glad I can't control, my unconditional love for Marek. That I wouldn't trade for the world.

Figuring it all out

That's what I've been trying to do lately.  There is so much in this world that I have no idea about!  Mom and Dad say they have a lot to figure out too.  (Aren't the adults suppose to know what they are doing??)  We took our first family getaway to Albany for a family get- together.  That was an adventure.  Mommy nearly packed up the entire apartment, she says we like to be comfortable when we travel.  Dad said I better not take after her in that department.  We packed up the jeep and went for a long ride, but I slept most of the way there and back.  I stayed in a hotel and got to meet lots of family members, including my Great Grandma and Great Grandpa (My middle name, James, is after Great Grandpa!)   I think Mom and Dad did a good job that weekend, although we were tired.  That weekend I slept from 8:30pm-4am two nights in a row!  Speaking of sleeping, that's another thing I'm figuring out.  Mom keeps telling me I have to start "doing my nights"; it's a French thing.  She says it's up to me to start sleeping through the night. The other morning Mom came to get me at 5am. She kept saying she was so proud of me for sleeping through the night. I just laughed because she didn't know that Dad had snuck in at 2am to feed me! Most nights I do pretty well.  I only get up once during the night, 2am on the dot!  I try to go back to sleep until 5:30-6, since that is when Mom and I will get up to go to daycare.  Speaking of daycare, we ventured out last week and visited everyone at The Creative Play Learning Center.  Soon I get to go to work with Mommy!  I visited with "Gramma" Sandi and met my teacher, Ms. Patti!  Mom says I'm going to have lots of fun there, but I will have to learn to wait my turn sometimes.  She says introducing a little frustration will make me into a well-rounded person.  I don't know...sounds like another French thing.

I'm also discovering how things work and what is around me.  I now know that if I kick at the toys hanging from my playmat they make noise!  I love looking at curtains and ceiling fans.  I get really excited when Dad comes home from work and will smile and giggle.  Mom and Dad are doing a good job of figuring me out too. Trust me, I can be a handful!  Although they haven't quite figured out how to stop me from spitting up or pooping through my diaper.  Any thoughts??

Visitors!

I have been quite a social boy lately.  First, I went to Oswego and met Grandma's friends, then we had Easter in Buffalo with the Wells crew.  This past week Mom's friend Liz and her 3 kids came over.  See the picture with my new friends Paige and Gwyneth!  Paige sang me a lullaby :) Cole wouldn't sit for a picture.  He is a year older than me and showed Mommy just how much she will have to baby-proof the apartment once I get movin...

This past weekend I saw my Aunt Chrissy, Uncle Mikey, and my cousins Katerina and Victoria! They're all pretty cool. Katerina fed me my bottle, and was very entertaining.  She is very knowledgable in all things baby.  Makes sense though; she is a great big sister to Victoria!

 

Meet Marek!

Hello! I'm Marek and I'm almost one month old! My two cousins have their own blog, so I thought it was about time I get to work on my own.  After all, I've just been eating and sleeping for the past month.  Time to do something a bit more productive. I was born on March 15th.  The Dr. had to "dig me out" as I was comfy and cozy inside my mommy, and not wanting to turn around to come out!  Even before my arrival, I was throwing off everyone's plans and "marching to my own beat"... I wonder which parent I get that personality trait from???  Life with Mom and Dad has been great! Dad is finishing up his busy tax season but Mom and I spend all day (and night) together.  We have had a few outings; my first outing was to this great place called Kohls! Mom and Grandma agree, its awesome!  I've also been to Wegman's grocery store, another wonderful place.  In a few weeks we all are going to Albany for my cousin's baptism where I will get to see my extended family... I bet they can't wait. 

So I don't do too much right now but I'm starting to show my little personality.  I'm starting to sleep for longer stretches at night, sometimes 4-5 hours.  I've had my first bottle, and enjoy time playing on the floor.  I've smiled a couple of times for Mommy, although it may have just been gas. 

Keep checking back and I'll be sure to fill you in on my adventures!