Minnies & Mickeys & Giraffes - Oh My!

I've been a little neglectful on the posts lately, but I think of that as a good thing, as we've been living life and doing a ton of activities.

Halloween was last week and Sophia had been looking forward to it for weeks. She was definitely into this year, dressing up as Minnie Mouse (much to the chagrin of her father, as he believes Halloween is all about being scary! The only scary thing on her was the bruise on her forehead from falling at the park the day prior.)

 We went over to Charlestown - they have a big parade at the Monument and the whole town (and invaders like us) turns out. The weather was good this year, so there were probably close to 2,000 people parading and trick or treating. Here's Minnie in action:

 And of course, Theo celebrated his first Halloween. Sophia was desperate to have him dress up as Mickey, but sadly (for her) I had already acquired the giraffe costume, so a giraffe he was. He seemed pretty pleased with the warmth factor. :) And once Sophia got a hold of some candy, she had forgotten all about it.

The haul of candy was good and was divided out after we got home (and Sophia was asleep). Pile for her, small pile of the 2 or 3 things Dave could actually eat and a pile to go to work (i.e. the rest). After all, her birthday was coming up, so there would be plenty of treats for all! 

Seven Months of Theo

I'm averaging about one post a month of real topic. I actually bought Theo a baby book at the end of the summer and am making an attempt to fill in the really important stuff, but I still find logging most everything here works even better.

Summer has ended which results in us being around Somerville a bit more than usual, though we seem to always be on the move. As Theo is still napping 2x each day (one morning, for about 90 minutes and one afternoon for 2-3 hours) coupled with Sophia's afternoon nap, we have limited get out time on the weekends. Often, we'll divide and conquer between Dave & I with one taking one child out while the other is home cleaning/napping. And I am much more relaxed about Theo missing a morning nap or catching it in the car then I was with Sophia. Ahh, the second child.

Theo is growing leaps and bounds. He is loving his solid foods, eating a whole variety of things. I've also thrown in the towel on making all his food for him. I just don't have the time and frankly, he is getting far better variety with the yummy Happy baby pouches I'm getting. I can't wait for the "Gobble Gobble" pouch at Thanksgiving!

His new acquisition this month was a helmet to help reshape his flat head. Being such a great sleeper, he managed to squish the back of his head flat. So, for the next 4-6 months, he'll be done a dapper, green, animal looking helmet!

I have to say, the transition has been fairly painless. He accommodated to it in no time. Occasionally, I'll hear him play with the velcro on the side at night, but it hasn't affected any of his sleep or growth. And it merely directs his growing head painlessly, rather than the concept of orthodontics (which is all I could relate to) by moving bones already in place. 

We have a great therapist who we see for checkups every 10 days or so. She's confident he'll do great and go from 102% (where he started - think shaped like a football, longer side to side) to around 92% (meaning front to back is longer than side to side.) As of our 1 month check-in, he was at 99%. 

Other excitement - he sits up on his like a champ now. The helmet is great for those occasional times he topples over, though the sound might be a bit more disturbing...

He is also quite comfy standing while holding on to his Zany Zoo and even let his hands go this week briefly. He definitely is not pulling up yet. 

On the crawling front, he is motoring around doing 360's and backing himself into corners. He's definitely working on putting it all together to go forward. It's really great to watch. I'm not sure if Sophia will know what hit her when it does happen! For now, she's happy to help him with Tummy time (whether he wants it or not :) 

For now, the two of them are good buddies, with him laughing at her shenanigans. I'm so screwed when they're teenagers!

Sleep is still good - he goes down like a champ around 7:15p and sleeps (generally) till at least 5:30a. The days he sleeps till 6a are godsends and 6:30a is a dream that happens every week-10days. I really have no complaints though. My little man is getting so big!

Pumpkin Painting

I'm not the artsy crafty type. I want to be, I have great ideas, but bringing them to fruition is another thing. Sophia, like most toddlers absolutely adores paints and crayons and anything colorful and messy. Our nanny Lidiana is amazing with what the two of them come up with and I am forever thankful (in so many ways!) for her.

But a tradition in my house was always painting pumpkins (I was too chicken of the goo and seeds inside to carve mine). I was inspired the other day to pick up some mini pumpkins so Sophia & I could have a painting party one night after dinner. It was a blast. Check out the shots below:

The artist pondering her options: 

Hmm, I wonder how this tastes??

It's coming together!

Martha's Vineyard Adventure

I had only been to Martha's Vineyard once as a kid and Dave goes yearly for a sailing race. Having heard such great things about it, but not wanting to deal with summer crowd, we figured a September Sunday would be the perfect time to bring the kids & bikes and adventure around the island.

Despite an early morning of almost missing the ferry out of Woods Hole (happily, there was one 10 minutes after the one we meant to be on!) we were off.

Sophia hanging out on the rails:

 Theo getting a snuggle from Dad:

Sophia is ready to go on the back of my bike:

Theo enjoying his first restaurant lunch:

 My "shy" daughter...

More yummy lunch:

Theo was a little taxed, so naptime on a bench at the Edgartown Yacht Club: (anything less would be uncivilized!)

My favorite - daddy/daughter time looking out at Chappy:

Now it was time for Sophia to nap. She generally narrates non-stop on the back of my bike. When we were heading back to OB from Edgardtown, I realized it had gotten quiet. She conked out and, very unlike her normal M.O. stayed asleep long after we stopped moving.

So, we took a picture together outside the Carousel. (So rare for both of us to be in a shot!)

But alas, Sophia rallied for a ride on the oldest carousel in America:

Dad & Theo couldn't miss out!

Theo's ready to board the Ferry home (and his ride for the day)

Family fun at the end of the day. What a great trip!

Fall Fun - Pumpkin Picking

This is just going to be mostly pictures. We did the family fun pumpkin picking adventure today at Drumlin Farms. We've been a few times and love the farm & Animals. Pumpkin picking was an added bonus, alas, they were somewhat pre-picked.

Sophia & Theo still had some good fun though.

 Enjoy the pumpkin blanket...ahem, patch

Self portrait!

Long distance shot under a gorgeous tree!

Me & my two crazy monkeys...

 Theo & his pumpkin:

 Couldn't be happier!

Making a break with them:

Sophia (inadvertently) goes swimming

Swimming lessons have been on the docket for Sophia for some time. Fond memories of growing up swimming in my backyard pool, playing water polo in College and, of course, safety, make me want to ensure that Sophia (& Theo, when it's time) can hold their own in the water.

I signed Sophia up for classes to start after Labor Day. She, however, decided to test her skills a little earlier than planned...

Every time we go for drinks at the club, Sophia inherently runs right down to the docks to throw rocks in. It's adorable, fun, entertaining and of course, occasionally terrifying as she stands with half her foot over the edge, no matter how many times we back her up. Usually she stands on the beach side. In fact, here's a shot of her and her friend Ainsley doing just that: (Sophia is bent over in the darker outfit).

After this trip down to the water, she came back up the hill and grabbed Dave for some more rock throwing. Ainsley and her mom Meaghan joined as well. The rest of us stayed up on the hill, having our drinks and chatting. 

Before I know it, Dave was motioning to me from the bottom of the hill to "wrap it up." I figured Sophia had a meltdown (She hadn't napped that day) and we should head home. Then he follows it with "She Fell In!" 

Apparently, she had gone to the other side of the dock (essentially behind the black car you see in the picture above) to throw rocks with Ainsley. Dave & Meaghan had followed. Sophia was throwing with some force, lost her balance and tumbled in. Luckily, it was low tide and she landed on her feet in a little less than 3 feet of water (i.e. her head/mouth/nose were all above water). Dave jumped right in and fished her out. It's about 8 feet from sea level to the ground in that area. Meaghan grabbed her and concurrently held off an interested Ainsley from repeating the process!

After being carried up the hill, soaking wet, by Meaghan, (who, unfortunately, was wearing a white shirt)  I saw she was in good shape. A little shaken, sopping wet and a bit chilly, but in good spirits. I stripped her naked (yup - on the hill, at the New York Yacht Club, in front of about 40 people enjoying sunset and cocktails) and bundled her in a nursing coverup, toga-style. She couldn't have been more thrilled. (Maybe we've used the phrase, "Toga, Toga, Toga" a few too many times. It was at that point they shot off the gun for Colors, meaning we couldn't really leave. I held Sophia and the entire time we're at attention, she's whispering loudly, "I fall in the OCEAN Mama! Daddy Got Me Out!" 

She was such a trooper and for the entire week following, she would retell bits of the story, and with particular admiration and pride, telling how "Daddy got her out!" What a hero! :) 

She also made sure to tell us she wasn't going to fall in again. Whew...thanks for that Sophia!

So...swim classes it is!

Six Months of Baby Theo

Baby Theo, as Sophia likes to call him, is officially (and about 10 days past) being 6 months old.

Time has really flown - he's such an amazing little boy. Happy, content, loves attention when he gets it all to himself but happy to be entertained by the antics of his big sister.



He's starting to scoot around on his belly, pushing himself backwards and around in 360's. While he doesn't go very far, he does do well for himself.

He's currently enjoying a menu of foods including breastmilk, cereal, pears and whatever other purees I can drum up the time to make (or pouches to buy!) Since we began pulling him up to the table to sit in his high chair, mealtimes have become a blast. Even if he's not eating, he's content to play and chew on two spoons and Sophia, ever the helper, loves being able to get them for him when he drops them (often!)

This big news is due to his flat head, called plagiocephaly, Theo will be getting a helmet next week. This helmet, which he'll wear about 23 hours/day, will help to re-shape his head into a proportional, roundish head. There is no medical danger to plagiocephaly in his case. Due to all his time spent lying on his back sleeping, his skull & brain have just found other places with less resistance, to grow.

The estimate is that he'll have the helmet for 4-6 months. We go for measurements every two weeks and we'll see progress quite rapidly. Here he is being fitted for his helmet: 

He was a trooper. I know he'll do great with this and, in the end, have a head that is appropriately shaped, thus allowing him to wear sports helmets (or even just hats) that fit his head correctly and safely. Pictures to follow of the helmet!

Finally, here are some shots from the 6 month birthday: