Poop Happens

Bubeaner has been fighting our bedtime since last week.  He will play, cry and try to con us into letting him stay awake a little longer.  We are surprised at how good he is considering his age.  (Teenage years will be interesting.)  

Last night he finally fell asleep by 930p.  Then he woke up at 1a then again at 3a at which time he wanted to eat again.  He then was up again at 6a for his normal breakfast time.  Overall not a good night for sleeping.  Bubeaner woke up in a great mood as he usually does, the parents not so much.  

Bubeaner sitting ON HIS OWN and reading

"What? I am just reading."

"Mmm, do bunnies taste like chicken?"

We took a small trip to the hospital today where Aunt Pau received an employee appreciation recognition.  Bubeaner was there to cheer her on.  In fact, he started making noise right as the speaker announced Aunt Pau's name.  But I had forgotten how long those presentations can run, so Bubeaner and Mom went off to find Meme 'Licia.  We met many people Mom had worked with during the years.  Bubeaner was reserved with all of them except Meme 'Licia.  She was the only one that got smiles out of him from the start. 

Our visit was cut short due to a dirty diaper.  We made the mistake (yes, mistake) of changing him in the car before heading home.  This was no measly dirty diaper; it was the worst BLOW OUT OF ALL TIME!  It was EVERY WHERE!  Legs, back, hair... even the car seat!  And we were in the parking garage!  We used up all the wipes and an entire box of tissue.  We made it home with a naked and diapered Bubeaner sitting on burp cloths buckled in his car seat.

"I am INNOCENT!  

I know not what Momma speaks of."

"Momma I LOVE the YOUS!"

As disgusting and upsetting as the incident was, having Bubeaner giggling and giving kisses after his bath tonight made it all right.  

Bubeaner Crib

Bubeaner took the long nap in his crib today.  He went to sleep without any problems.  The monitor is still set in his bassinet so paranoid Momma checked on him at least 10 times during the 60 minute nap.  We (mainly Momma) are working on transitioning Bubeaner to the nursery.  We don't believe Bubeaner will have any issues with the transition... hopefully.

Peacefully sleeping in the crib.

Trying to escape from the crib.

Once he was awake, I turned him over for some tummy time while we put away his clothes.  He was happily babbling to himself.  Then we heard a thud... thud...thud...thud.  

Some one was trying to turn over like he usually does when he doesn't want to do tummy time.  He kept hitting his head on the rail!  Bubeaner was not amused.   

On His Own

We took Dad to the doctor today for his 3rd and 4th steroid shots to help with the herniated disk.  We are hopeful that this will provide enough relief for him to start physical therapy later this week.  Overall the pain is manageable, but we pray that with the steroids and PT Dad can resume his normal activities.

On the way back from the doctors, we found out Bubeaner enjoys listening to Gun$NRo$e$.  $weet Child of Mine was playing and Bubeaner would imitate @xl's vocal gyrations.  He actually did a pretty good job too!  

And on to more good news, Bubeaner is now sitting up on his own!  He doesn't last very long, but it's a start.

First Play Date

Bubeaner enjoyed his first play date today.  A group of friends got together today at the house to say farewell to one of the group who is moving out of state.  There were 10 bambinos including the Bubeaner from 6 years to 8 months.  And we did not have everyone!  In the last 6 years there have been 16 babies born in the group!    

The kids actually stayed still long enough 

to get a picture.

And as an added bonus, we were all surprised by Sandra, our old boss, driving 4 hours one way to visit with us!  (We all met at work.)  Bubeaner enjoyed getting to know Sandra.  He was held the entire time.

Boy's Day Out

Bubeaner and Daddy escaped this morning for a Boy's Day Out and went to Uncle Jeff's house to watch the USA v. Brazil Confederation Cup Final in South Africa.  Bubeaner was a little freaked to be without Mommy at first but soon enjoyed being with the guys and hearing "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL" after the USA took a 2-0 lead. Thankfully Bubeaner was asleep on Daddy when the Brazilians rallied to win 3-2. After that Bubeaner enjoyed trips to Costco and church before calling it a late night.

More Words?

Well Bubeaner is really just amazing!  Today he started saying Pau.  And this time it's on video!  Aunt Pau had spent the last 15-20 minutes repeating her name to Bubeaner.  Then he just said it!  Of course, he then proceeded to repeat his "b" sounds.

And today was the birthday of our first "baby":  Sandy our cocker spaniel.  she is now 9 years old.  We took her to the pet store to buy a new collar, bed and treats sans Bevo.  She then had a burger and tater tots from sonic.  She is not allowed human food, but today was special.  She LOVED it.  

Sandy checking out every isle in the pet store.

Unfortunately, we chose to brake our one big rule regarding Bubeaner for tonight's celebration.  We delayed his bedtime by a little over an hour.  And it was not a good decision.  He was extremely fussy and cried a lot.  It took a long time for him to finally fall asleep.  It definitely reinforces our decision to be strict with bedtime.  And Bubeaner does not even have to be in his bed.  He just needs to have eaten and have his sleeping outfit on for it to count.  We took him to a wedding last month.  At his bedtime, we fed him, changed him and placed him in his stroller/car seat with the privacy cover down.  He slept without a problem even after we transfered him to the bassinet upon our return home.  Some rules should just not be broken.

A fussy Bubeaner getting love from Aunt Lari

Talking Bubeaner & BisBis

Bubeaner keeps adding to his vocabulary.  The first word was "hi" followed by "Dada".  And today Dad and Mom awoke to hear him repeating "Mama" over and over.  Bubeaner very clearly annunciates the words.  He is also working on a "b" word.  He repeated the "b" sound throughout the day.  Dad believes it may be the beginning of "Bevo" but for now it's just cute. 

BamBam Bubeaner:

The unfortunate result of all diaper covers being washed

and Bubeaner getting the one he was using dirty.

(Lesson learned:  Stagger the washings.)

And today Bubeaner's great grandmother "BisBis" celebrated her 89th birthday!  WooHoo BisBis!  Damos gracias a Dios por los anos que nos ha dado con BisBis.  And we look forward to visiting with her next month.

Grandma & Bubeaner

Bubeaner, Lari and Mom joined Grandma and her high school friends for lunch today.  He behaved so well during the whole outing he kept getting compliments.  And one of his "grandmas" taught him a new trick:  he now makes the "indian" noises.  (The one where he makes sounds as his hand is moved against his mouth at the same time.)  Bubeaner enjoyed showing off his new trick to Aunt Pau and Dad.

Bubeaner with Grandma's friends.

Bubeaner enjoyed spending time with Grandma.

Naked Bubeaner showing off new sounds.

Father's Day 2009

Bubeaner enjoying sitting by Dad during Father's Day lunch.

"Yo Solito"

Bubeaner had a wonderful surprise this morning when Dad came home from his business trip. Dad was exhausted but Bubeaner insisted on cuddling with him.  We are thrilled to have him back home.

Dad took a little nap while Bubeaner had his follow up appointment with Dr. O, the gastroenterologist.  We found out that Bubeaner now weighs 14.3 lbs (6.5 k) and measures 25.5 in (64.5 cm)!  He is getting HUGE!  

Dr. O was happy with his weight.  He also said Bubeaner's recent fussiness, lack of appetite, crying, and increased reflux/throwing up could be due to teething.  However, he changed Bubeaner's medicine to Nexium just in case Axid is no longer working.  We are also supposed to watch his weight since Bubeaner has not been eating well the last few days.  Dr. O checked his ears to eliminate the possibility of an ear infection which could also cause his symptoms.  He also checked Bubeaner's left eye; yesterday he woke up with it red and it worsened during the day.  It appears Bubeaner managed to scratch his eye and all the crying made it worse.  By tonight it was almost back to normal.

Recently Bubeaner has taken more interest in feeding himself.  He attempts to take the spoon or the food container, and insists on holding the bottle or sippy cup.  We have been letting him experiment with holding the spoon prior to eating.  Yet today, he was determined to do it himself.  

He actually TOOK the spoon from my hand and 

immediately placed it in his mouth.

Unfortunately, Bubeaner is still figuring out 

that you need to refill the spoon once the food is gone.

Looking confused as to what happened to the food

but would not take food from me.

He decide to go for the source of the food.

(He was angry because I tried to move the container to help him)

Bubeaner did a pretty good job in eating

 the rest of the food.

Bubeaner was a complete mess at the end, not to mention his chair and anyone within the food-flinging- zone.  But he really enjoyed it.  And we enjoyed watching him refuse any help.  It appears he can do it himself.  The days of "yo solito" are just starting. 

Bubeaner Update (Part II)

More Bubeaner updates!

Aunt Lari found out that when we say Bubeaner "talks" all day long, we mean ALL DAY LONG!  He babbles non-stop.  It's almost like a running commentary of everything he is doing, seeing, wanting, and eating.  It is adorable, but does take some time to get used to at first.

Working on pushups makes for a tired Bubeaner

Last Thursday we weighed the Bubeaner.  He is 13 lbs 15 oz.  We are a little concerned that he has not gained more weight.  It is just something we will discuss with the pediatrician at our next well-baby check up.  Developmental issues, like weight, are hard for us to decipher if there is a problem when factoring in his prematurity.

Bubeaner knows what this is used for....

He tries to grab it when we feed him.

We do not know if maybe my milk supply may be drying up and he is just not getting enough; he is still eating every 3 hours during the day.  And for a few weeks Bubeaner has been waking up at 4-430 am rather than his usual 6 am to feed.  Right now I am taking Fenugreek and feeding more often to try increasing my milk supply.  We are not sure if it will work.  There is nothing wrong with formula, which we are currently also using to supplement.  But it is also heartbreaking to think he may not need to nurse soon.  Never thought I would feel so strongly about it.  One of the many surprises of motherhood.

Bubeaner and Sippy Cup

On the bright side, he continues to enjoy his baby food.  Bubeaner eats squash, green beans, pears,  prunes and oatmeal cereal.  Green beans are now his favorite.  We have to give him those at the end.  Otherwise, he refuses to eat any of the other foods.  Silly boy!  But it bodes well for the future.  And, either we have learned to feed him better or he is getting the hang of eating.  Most of the time we don't even need to change his bib!  

Bubeaner cuddling with his aunt

This is good since bath time has become more challenging.  Have you ever tried to bathe a greased piglet?  Neither have we, but we are convinced that bathing Bubeaner is pretty close.  He will not stand still.  He wants to lean back, sit up, reach forward, to the left side, or the right side.  Gone are the days of Bubeaner relaxing in the bath tub.  It's adorable, but quite challenging. 

Bubeaner telling Mom to back away....  

Aunt Pau was his!

This boy refuses to slow down and not grow up so fast.  We have been debating when to move him to his nursery.  Yes, Bubeaner still sleeps in his bassinet in our room right next to our bed. But he will soon be too long AND heavy to use it, much to my dismay.  But now his nursery seems SO FAR AWAY from us.  Our plan, pre-parenthood, had been to move him down to the nursery at the 3 month mark.  HA!  We were full of "plans" in regards to Bubeaner.  We were pretty naive.  Now we understand our friends when they would just nod and smile at the mention of our detailed plans and expectations.

Mom and Bubeaner on his playmat at the church group.

He did quite well the first meeting; we were there for 3 hours.  

8 MONTHS!!!

Our little angel is 8 months old today!

Bubeaner Update (Part I)

We have all been recovering from a pretty nasty cold.  Dad was sick last week, then Bubeaner, and I got it last.  On the bright side, after two MISERABLE days things appears to improve.  Unfortunately for Dad, he was barely recovering when he left on a business trip.  The poor guy ended up having a horrible flight with really bad turbulence.  Thankfully they made it there safely.  We miss him terribly, but at least we have family visiting to keep us company.  

A view from his conference room of Santiago, Chile.

Dad was pretty worried about Bubeaner forgetting him during the trip.  We have eased his fears somewhat by using a webcam chatting program.  Yes, the Bubeaner is chatting with the webcam.  Our first call was with our good friend Lena and her baby girl Nika.  Nika and Bubeaner had the same due date.  Unfortunately, we had not seen each other since before the pregnancies.  We are delighted that we have a new way to keep in touch AND allow the children to get to know each other.  And it appeared like the little ones were actually paying attention to each other.  Ironically, it's the puppies that are most affected by the webcam.  They keep looking for Dad after our conversations.  

Dad and Bubeaner "driving" in his new car.

My boys are ADORABLE!

After Dad's own heart...

Bubeaner has almost gotten the hang of crawling.  He is lifting his bottom and almost getting the chest and arms coordinated.  Several times today he almost, almost, crawled.  We imagine it will not be long before he is off chasing the puppies.  For now, he utilizes the military crawl to move around and get to his toys.

Can't turn my back for a minute!

Bubeaner managed to get off the play mat.

He was upset he couldn't get to his toys.

John's First Word

We have often wondered what John's first word would be. We have listened to his distinctive babbling and theorized: "Bevo," "Dada," etc. We could not have imagined that his first word, uttered Saturday when his Aunt Pau was babysitting him, would be "HI." This is the word that Pauline often uses with him, and Daddy is convinced that he thinks Pau's name is "Hi."

He has repeated the word a few times since. On Sunday, he uttered "Dada" but he has not repeated that word. His favorite time to talk is at 5am after his 4:30 feeding, when he rolls over, smiles at Daddy and starts talking.

Daddy is leaving for Chile on business on Saturday for ten days, and he has briefed Aunt Larissa (who arrives Saturday) that it is her job to have talks with him at 5am

Road Trip!

Bubeaner went on his first ever road trip!  Mom and Bubeaner left at 5am this morning to Austin for a one-day visit with Uncle Ivan and Sarah.  He slept for most of the way down except for a quick stretch at the Czech Stop.  

Uncle Ivan and Bubeaner spent the morning playing and talking.  Bubeaner had plenty to complain about... apparently.  Uncle Ivan was able to get a good recording of him talking.

Goofing around with Uncle Ivan

The papasan makes a great make-shift crib.

Bubeaner napped while we talked.

After Bubeaner took a short nap, we then met Sarah for lunch.  Bubeaner wasted no time cuddling with Sarah.  The visit was short lived as Uncle Ivan and Sarah headed back to work and we headed back home.  He did demand a mid-trip feeding break, but the Bubeaner slept for a good portion of the trip.  He did cry for the last 45 minutes of the trip.  But it's understandable; Mom was fed up of being in the car too.

Spoiled Bubeaner with Sarah

This is probably the first of many more trips on our own.  There were a few lessons we learned: (1) Take plenty of bibs.  Bubeaner went through 2 outfits and 4 bibs!  For some reason, his reflux was acting up.  (2) Take a change of outfit for Mom also.  We had 2 complete outfits for Bubeaner, but none for Mom.  He managed to get throw up on Mom's pants AND blouse.  In fact, he also "got" Sarah AND uncle Ivan.

Saying goodbye... for now.

We look forward to future trips to visit all our family and friends and maybe a tailgate or two.

Worn Out

We are worn out!  This weekend we worked on organizing and painting the garage.  Yes, we painted the garage.  It is the ideal place for Bubeaner to play "outside" while being protected from the sun; sadly our backyard is still missing trees.  This is also where we will set up his little pool on the days we decide to use it.  And as a bonus we spend more time socializing.  One of the reasons, we love our neighborhood is because the children still play outside, people walk around the neighborhood, work on their yard or just sit outside in the evenings.

Aunt Pau and Bubeaner taking a little break from painting.

Thanks to Aunt Pau's help it only took a few hours.

This weekend Bubeaner received a great present from Aunt Elo, Uncle Moi and cuz Aaron: a book of nursery rhymes!!!  We did not grow up with English nursery rhymes, so other than Dad, we don't really know them.  Case in point, I thought it was Patti Cake not Pat A Cake!  We LOVE IT!

Aunt Pau and Mom spent the weekend 

reading rhymes to Bubeaner.  

Just a random picture of Bubeaner cuteness

Friday Mom and Bubeaner visited Dad at work.  Bubeaner loved getting love from the women at the office.  The little punk also made it very clear which people were his favorites.  He showed a particular attachment to Karen.  We thought it was sweet since grandfather John had liked her too.

Bubeaner and Dad at lunch.

A Better Thursday

Thankfully, today was a better day for the Bubeaner.  He still cried a lot but it helped that he napped a little better today.  We also tried a new technique with the bath.  I held him while Dad added warm water to his empty tub as we watched.  Every time he added a little water we would get closer until Bubeaner's feet got wet, then his legs, etc.  Eventually he was sitting in the tub, albeit still held by me, but not crying.  Bubeaner even relaxed enough to reach out for his turtle.  We did not tempt our luck and kept him in there only a short while.  Tomorrow we will do the same thing but we will try to actually bathe him.

Bubeaner and his first crush, RN Tammie

We had dinner with her a couple of weeks ago.  

A little blurry, 

but Bubeaner's first picture with RN Tammie

(Bubeaner was 2 weeks old.)

Crying Bubeaner

Yes, crying is the Bubeaner's latests trick.  He tends to do this any time he loses sight of me, which I know can be normal at this stage.  But he also does it if I am within his eye sight but not making eye contact with him.  (Is this normal?)  

Just love these beautiful brown eyes...

even if they cry all day

He will immediately be OK as soon as I pick him up, which I try not to do too much, or get close, touch him and make eye contact.  This is reassuring in the sense that it's probably not pain.  But it also means a crying Bubeaner because I can't possibly pay him that much attention... if I want to also eat, clean, and bathe.   So lately it means that the Bubeaner cries A LOT!    

Hi, Mr. Bear.

Just wait until I figure out how to get to you.

The puppies do not approve and blame the mommy.  Sandy, the cocker spaniel, stands guard right next to Bubeaner pointing in my direction while Bevo, the beagle, paces between me and Bubeaner and ends up sitting next to him.  It's actually an adorable sight, except for the fact that Bubeaner is crying and not happy.  Aunt Pau made the observation that his behavior has been different (more needy) since his baptism when he had a house full of attentive relatives.  Can 4 days really cause that much disarray?

Mmm, nothing like plastic in the mouth

And staying with the crying theme, Bubeaner also cries as soon as his feet touch the bath water and until we finish his bath.  We can't think of any "scary" scenario that may have led to his new found fear of the bath.  We know that this can also be a normal fear, although it's usually at a little later stage in most children.  In any case, it currently means that the Bubeaner is not being bathed every night.  We read about some tricks to try to "reassure" him that we will be trying.

Not sure why he loves to chew on this.

Bubeaner finally caught one of Sandy's long ears this morning.  Thankfully, she reacted as I had hoped.  She huffed and tried to pull away.  When she realized the little Bubeaner hand would not let go, she just gave up and sat next to the bouncy chair.  Bubeaner eventually let her go.  Bubeaner has also gotten pretty close several times to grabbing Bevo's long tail.  Hopefully, Bevo will also react in a similar manner.  But we are still careful.  

Memorial Day 2009

Bubeaner enjoyed a wonderful weekend.  It did not go as originally planned, but it was nice.  Saturday Daddy was able to spend some time at the Byron catching up with Uncle Jeff and Max, a college friend while Mom and Bubeaner stayed at home organizing and rearranging furniture.  

Notice something different about the Bubeaner in this picture?

He is sitting in his Bumbo at the restaurant table with us!

He behaved quite well.

On sunday, we had a late lunch with two of Daddy's law school buddies, Jon and Samir, and their families who were in town for a wedding.  It was nice to see them again.  And it was specially nice to meet little Kiran.  He is also a NICU graduate.  We were encouraged by his story while Bubeaner was in the NICU.  Kiran is a cutie, unfortunately, we did not take pictures.

Since we were already at a mall, we bought Bubeaner some new clothes (size 6-9 months!) including his first ever swimming trunks.  

Bubeaner smiling at Uncle Gary

Bubeaner celebrated his first Memorial Day at Uncle Gary and Aunt AA's home by the lake.  We joked about how hard it will be to keep him out of trouble once he starts walking.  The ducks will be a tempting distraction.  Bubeaner now also has his own little high chair waiting for him at their home.  We are blessed that Bubeaner has them as grandparent-figures living so close since Bito, Bita and Grandma live out of town.

Uncle Gary & Aunt AA playing with Bubeaner

 Bubeaner and Uncle K chilling in the shade.