Our Little Pianist

Anderson has just started interacting with his toys. He loves his piano and bangs on it all the time. He prefers the little tikes piano over his battery operated electronic one. Dan says we don't need to buy him new toys because at this age he could have fun just playing with a spoon! I think he's right but I'd never let him know that! Anyway, as we watch the Grammy's right now we know that Anderson, our musical prodigy, will be performing there one day. : )

Bitter Banana Face

Today was the second time I attempted to feed Anderson bananas. So far he loves sweet potatoes and winter squash. Bananas....not so much.

In it goes...

Bitter banana face?! Who knew bananas were bitter?

Sweet face

Here are a few pictures I've taken the past week that I love. My computer is being taken over with pictures!

Happy Birthday, Dan!

Today was Dan's 27th birthday. We are so lucky to have Dan in our lives and were happy that we had today to celebrate him! Today was a BIG Day for me. It was the first time we left Anderson at home with a babysitter. We've left him with family before, but I don't think it's the same as leaving him with a sitter. Perla the babysitter was great. She was older with a lot of experience, nannies during the day, and Dan's coworker uses her all the time for his kids and speaks highly of her.

Tonight we went out to dinner to Pipa, one of our favorite tapas restaurants in the city. We were so happy that so many people were able to join us to celebrate Dan's birthday. We had such a great time and it was a nice change to be able to get out and not have to worry about Anderson. I knew he was safe at home asleep in his crib. When I asked Dan what he wanted for his birthday he said a dinner out with friends. I was so happy that everything worked out and he got just what he wanted!

Dan, thank you for being such an amazing husband and father. We are so lucky to have you in our lives and could not ask for more!

5 Months Old!

Today is Anderson's 5 month birthday! I can't believe next month he will be half a year old! It really does amaze me each month how fast it goes by. At 5 months his personality is starting to show and he is just so much fun! I love every single minute I get to spend with him and can't even remember what it was like without him in our lives.

At 5 months Anderson:

• Rolls over both ways (loves his tummy time)
• Smiles, laughs, and coos
• Is learning to sit on his own (he still topples over without support)
• Loves his Jumperoo
• Has started eating solids. He's eaten rice cereal, sweet potato, and a taste of banana (which he did not like!)
• Sleeps 12 hours a night
• Wears 6-12 month clothes
• Loves it when I sing to him. If he's crying or fussing in the car, I'll start singing and he'll stop. He is probably the only person in the world who loves my voice..haha : )

Happy 5 month birthday Anderson! We love you so much!

Guess what came in the mail today?

My Beaba Baby Cook! Anderson has been eating rice cereal for the past month and has done very well with it. He likes it and he usually eats some once or twice a day. Last time we went to the doctor she said I could start him on some vegetables. I started doing my research this past month by buying a book:

I love this book. It talks about which foods to start baby with, recipes, etc. This book also made me realize how easy it is to make your own baby food. Since I had heard great things about the Baby Cook I knew it would be a great investment and make baby food making easy.

Well, it came today and after using it to make sweet potatoes I realized how much fun and easy it really is!

One sweet potato all cut up ready to be steamed.

After blending the steamed potato I was able to make 8 servings!

Ready to eat!

Sweet potato face! He loved it. : )

Jumperoooooo!

Anderson's latest favorite toy is this jumperoo. At first when I would put him in it he would just stand there and it looked way too big for him. In the past few days he has gotten very comfortable in it and just loves jumping away. He looks so cute jumping up and down in it that I had to capture it on video today. : )

Another Beautiful Day...

Today was another gorgeous warm day. It really is sad that these days weather in the 40's is considered a beautiful day. : ) Since Dan missed out on our park outing yesterday we went back today to show Daddy what a big boy Anderson is on the swing. I think it was too close to bedtime because he didn't laugh like yesterday but just sat there with big wide eyes. He loved watching all the other big kids on the swings next to him.

He still looks so cute to me in the swing. Such a big boy!

When we got home it was bed time but he just did not want to go down. I've noticed since he started rolling over last week he's had a harder time falling asleep because he will roll around in his crib! So I brought him out to the couch to watch some football with his daddy.

He was a happy little guy staying up past his bedtime. I love these alligator PJs on him!

Target, Park, and Cupcakes

This is what our Friday consisted of. We went to Target really early this morning because I had to move the car and decided to just go ahead and go there to return something. It's so dangerous that Target is less than 5 minutes away! I bought Anderson a tray for his bumbo since this is where I plan on feeding him the majority of the time. I also saw an adorable Baby Einstein toy that I knew he would love and couldn't resist. I rarely buy him toys and he did not get many for Christmas so I decided to give the little guy a present today. Here he is concentrating on the toy which is conveniently placed on the new play tray. : )

He loves it!

Since it was absolutely beautiful out today (yes, 46 degrees is summer weather these days) we went to the park for the first time. I was dying for Anderson to try out the swings. I knew he was now old enough to sit on a swing but I was just waiting for semi-warm weather to try it out. The park was packed but we got a swing and guess what?

He had so much fun!

We then went across the street to Sweet because I was craving a cupcake. Anderson is now fast asleep after all the park excitement and I'm ready for Oprah and my afternoon snack.

YUM!

Mr. Talkative

I don't know where this new sound came from but it started a couple of days ago. He just loves hearing his voice and talking back to me these days. : ) I just LOVE him so much!!

Getting Involved

When Anderson turned three months old things became a lot easier for me. Before then I felt there was no predictability in his eating or sleeping routine. He also hated the stroller which was a big issue. He only really liked being carried in the Ergo Carrier which was fine with me, but it definitely narrowed down things we could do. Taking him to the mall in that thing was a ton of work and I remember wanting to try on clothes and not being able to! So, since around three months things are definitely a lot more fun. This past month I've seen his little personality start to come out and I realized it was time to start socializing with other babies and moms. In all honesty before this month I've been perfectly content relaxing since I had many tired days and I really enjoyed our bonding time. But now that the weather has made it harder for us to get out I really want to get involved in activities to keep us busy as well as meet other moms and babies for him to socialize with.

Today was our second time going to Itsy Bitsy Yoga and again it was so much fun! There were so many more moms and babies there today so it was great to see everyone and learn new songs and yoga positions to do with Anderson. A mom mentioned to me going to a music class the day before so I realized there must be a ton of different things I can be doing that I just don't know about. Granted, I don't want to spend a ton of money! Yoga classes are not the cheapest but I was sure there had to be mom groups that met to go on walks and have play dates. So while Anderson slept I discovered a website meetup.com. Who knew such a thing existed?! I plugged in Baby, Mom, and Hoboken, and I instantly found two mom groups that I joined. It emails you when the next activity is going to be and makes it so convenient to go online, look at all the moms and their pictures, and sign up for the next thing.

This Thursday there is a Mommy group meeting for Stroller Moves and "Momilates". Sounds fun until I realized it's $16. That would have been fine but since I already paid that much for our yoga class this week I've decided to only look for a free meet up. Keeping my fingers crossed I'll find one! : )

Two New Tricks!

This morning while Anderson and I were playing he decided he was going to try VERY hard to roll over! He's been trying for the past week but it was as if this morning he was determined to do it. After practicing for a while I grabbed my camera because I knew I was about to witness a "first". And he did!! I was so excited and proud of him. He's already rolled from his stomach to back a few times but this was the first time he rolled from back to front which is harder to do.

I also took a video of his latest trick which is blowing raspberries. Oh my goodness he loves doing this! It's so funny because when I took care of Connor I don't remember him ever really doing this. Anderson can do it all day long! The only down side is he needs to be constantly wearing a bib now because the amount of drool that comes out of his mouth is crazy!

He just gets cuter every day and I can't believe what a big boy he's becoming. : )

Hello Winter!

Anderson in a jacket he got for Christmas. He's starting to fit in 6-12 month clothes!

January 1st marked our 2 year anniversary of living in New York City (now right outside of it). I don't remember it ever being this cold so early on in winter! We still have the majority of January, February, and March to get through and it's been frigid. It's currently snowing outside and the weather channel says it feels like 20 degrees. Tonight it's supposed to drop down to the single digits. Geeeez. This weather has put a damper on our daily walks outside. Although we still venture outside extremely bundled I've decided to make a list of the three things I could not live without this winter.

• J J Cole Bundle Me - I love this thing so much. Anderson would not survive in his stroller without it. It bundles him up like the name implies and it is the softest thing ever!

• Our stroller's plastic rain cover - Although this is made to protect against rain it also works for cold, windy weather. It blocks out the wind and keeps him nice and warm when we venture outside.

• Uggs - I live in mine and love them so much I bought Anderson a pair too. I think they are a necessity in this weather.

Living in New Jersey

If someone had told me a a few years ago that I would live in New Jersey one day I would have thought they were crazy! Right after our wedding in October of 2007 Dan was offered a job in New York City. I was sad that I had to leave family and my first grade class in Virginia but I was also very excited. I'll never forget driving into Manhattan on New Years Day with our uhaul truck! It was a crazy experience. Seeing all the people and the city still decorated for Christmas and knowing this was our new home was very exciting for us. I'd always been someone that said I love New York City but could never live there. Little did I know! The city has many pros and cons but I have to say living in Manhattan for a year and a half was an amazing experience. I loved being somewhere completely out of my element and exploring everything it had to offer. I now know my way around, understand the subway line, and can't wait to continue our visits many years from now with Anderson to show him where he was born.

When we found out I was pregnant and realized I was going to be staying home we knew we needed to reevaluate where we were living. We looked everywhere in the city but in the end decided we did not want to live in a small one bedroom apartment with our baby. We ventured back out to visit apartments in Hoboken, NJ where we had looked before and loved. As soon as I step off the Path train and arrive in Hoboken it's like a breath of fresh air. I love the city but I

don't miss all the "crazies" and hustle and bustle of people pushing you around everywhere. When we were looking I was sold as soon as I realized that Anderson would be able to have his own little nursery. And who can pass up these wonderful city views?

We have found Hoboken to be very family friendly and a great place to have a baby while at the same time still being minutes away from the city. I took Anderson to his orthopedic doctor's appointment (more on that later) on Monday and it took us 30 minutes door to door. When we got my old car from college in November to have in Hoboken it also made it another great reason to live here. It's been so nice to have a car to go to places like Target, BJs, and the mall in Jersey City. Although we didn't need a car in the city it's nice to have one here to do our grocery shopping and keep us entertained.

So, although I do live in New Jersey a state I never thought I'd call home, I have to say I do love Hoboken. I love the small city feel, local stores, family friendly restaurants, and the waterfront path is absolutely beautiful. I'm so excited for the spring and warmer weather when Anderson and I will be able to go take picnics to Frank Sinatra Park and enjoy the city views. : ) The only real downside of living here is that I wish we were closer to family.

Frank Sinatra Park

Itsy Bitsy Yoga

Today Anderson and I ventured out in the freezing cold weather (feels like 15 degrees!) to go to his first class of Itsy Bitsy Yoga. It was so much fun! I decided to not register for the six week session prior to attending the first class just in case he did not like it. As soon as class ended I signed us up...he loved it! While I was pregnant I loved doing yoga. I had a dvd and attended a few prenatal yoga classes. So, when I discovered that the studio I go to also offers baby yoga I knew I had to check it out. Itsy Bitsy Yoga is basically time that mom can spend bonding with baby while doing lots of floor time, different positioning, and fun movements. It's time spent to calm and nurture the baby and it's supposed to help improve their sleep.

We had such a good time and I enjoyed meeting other moms and seeing all the other babies. And as for helping with sleep, he koncked out and had the best nap in his stroller on the walk home. : )

Although, I didn't take a picture today I do have a video of us doing baby yoga. Dan took this video over Christmas while I was playing "airplane" with Anderson. Little did I know that this pose is called Superhero and is used in the class. He loves this game and I just wish Dan had captured his face on the other end!

2009

Before I start writing about 2010, I wanted to take the time to recap 2009 in pictures. Last year was an amazing year for us. I found out I was pregnant in December of 2008 so I spent all of 2009 pregnant and then had Anderson in August. I loved every minute of being pregnant. I felt great and loved every nudge, kick, and hiccup I felt inside of me. Once August came I was so anxious to meet him and everything since then has been above and beyond what I expected. I feel so blessed and lucky that I'm at home and can spend every day watching him grow. It goes by so fast and I've loved being here with him every moment. Realizing how fast it flies by is one of the reasons I wanted to start a blog. I want to be able to go back and read what we did and know that he'll have a place to look at pictures and read all about our adventures when he's older. : )

Below is a slideshow I made last night. It was so hard to choose pictures since we took a million last year but here are a few (ok more than a few!) of my favorites of 2009!

New Year, New Blog!

I've started a blog! I have to admit that I'm hoping this lasts more than three posts. When I was younger I had an obsession with starting journals on New Years Day. I always thought that a fresh start meant journaling my thoughts and goals for the new year. The journal entries lasted about a week! This is what kind of scares me about starting this blog. A blog is like an online journal so why will it be different this time around? How do I know that this new desire to start writing on this space that I created will last? Well, this time around I think I have a lot to write about! My baby boy will be 4 and a half months old this week and I just can't believe how it has flown by. Although I do have a baby book where I am documenting the "big" things that happen like holidays and all the milestones it dawned on me that I have no place where I write about the little every day activities. And when you think about it aren't those every day nothings what turn out to be the most meaningful things of all?? So, since I love reading blogs I have decided I can do this. I can start a blog in honor of Anderson where I write all about his growth, holidays, "firsts", and our every day life. While I know this won't be exciting to anyone other than myself or family I know that I'll be able to keep this blog as a journal where I can come back and read in the archives what my little boy was doing throughout the year in 2010.

So here's to a new year, a fresh start, and a new blog!