Desmond is 8 Months Old!

Can it really be that Desmond is 8 months old? That means in 4 more months, he will be ONE YEAR OLD!?!?! How can time be flying by so fast. Well here are some highlights of what Des has done and can do since he turned 7 months old:

• Besides baby food, he has had plain white rice, watermelon, real bananas, and mangoes. He has also sucked on apple and pear slices but they are too hard for him to chew on. His sister has also fed him cupcakes when Mama wasn't looking and Des loved it =:)
• Des has also managed to eat the candy coating of an orange M&M that fell on the floor out of Stella's hands before Mama could pry it out of his hands. That boy has eyes like a hawk and managed to see and find the one M&M that fell onto a red rug that has lots of print on it.
• Des can sit upright by himself, although he has yet to go from the laying down position to sitting by himself, but he is trying. He will often prop himself on one arm/elbow while on his side.
• Des still army crawls and he is very mobile going from the living room to the dining room and kitchen in a flash. Luckily we have safety gates in place to the entrances of all of the stairs from Stella's crawling days.
• Des will often get on his hands and knees and rock back and forth but he still doesn't use this method to crawl...if only he realized that this is much easier than army crawling. But hey, he gets to wherever he wants to go using his method, so that's what counts.
• Des loves to "pam...pam...pam" his toys on the floor like a hammer. He is such a boy.
• He likes putting his mouth on the rim of drinking glasses...this amuses him so much even if he is not drinking water out of them.
• He thinks it's funny when Mama or Dada yawns...silly guy!
• He jumps so high on his jumperoo, up and down, up and down. We will have to post a video of this because it is hysterical to see him go crazy in it.
  

Back from NJ

This past week we took a trip up to NJ to visit Amamma, Appachen, and Aunt Sil. We drove up Fri night (6/13/08) and Sat, Dada took the train back to MD because he was traveling all week for work. Mama, Stella, and Desmond stayed behind in NJ for the entire week and had a blast spending some quality time with the grandparents and Aunt Sil. In fact we were too busy having fun to even remember to take pictures...sorry! Dada came back on Fri (6/20/08) and we all drove back home this past Sunday.

This was the first time we had ever been away from Dada for this long. But luckily, we had Amamma, Appachen, and Aunt Sil to keep us company. This marked the first time Dada had ever been away from his son and Des sure missed his Dada because upon Dada's return, Des just laid on his belly gazing up at his Dada, completely mesmerized. It was soo cute and sweet to see!

Dada remembered to take a few pictures when he returned to NJ. Here are a few shots of Des crawling over to get the camera while wearing his green and yellow turtle polo shirt...one of Mama's favorite shirts she bought for him.

Other highlights from our time in NJ include a trip to Chili's during which Des had serious anger management issues because he couldn't have our food, Stella playing in the big blow up pool Appachen bought for her, sitting outside on the deck enjoying the beautiful weather and getting our daily dose of sunshine, Stella going for walks with her grandparents to the bridge that went over a creek, Des getting his first taste of real, sliced up bananas and mangoes...he loved them both, and just enjoying Amamma's pampering and delicious homemade Indian food .

Our last day in NJ, Appachen remembered to bring out Aunt Sil's old electric keyboard and the kids had a blast with it, especially Stella.

Stella playing the keyboard, while Desmond tries to sneak in there. Poor guy, every time Des would come near the keyboard, Stella would push him away.

The two best friends horsin' around!

Desmond Can Sit Up!

For the past week or so, Desmond has been able to sit upright without assistance. But the funniest part is that when he is sitting, he thinks he is immobile. He'll see a toy in front of him that is out of reach and he wants it but doesn't know how to get it. But we finally were able to entice him to move forward from a sitting position by putting the toy in front of him and bringing it closer and closer to him until he finally reached for it.

Since Des is able to sit up and he has also graduated to his stationery car seat, we have to put him in a high chair when we go out to eat. This past Sunday night, we went to the Silver Diner for dinner and Des sat in a high chair for the first time.

The Gup sitting in a high chair like a big boy with his big boy professional haircut.

As excited as we were for Desmond to sit in a high chair, we quickly realized that it came with a price. You see Desmond is a squirmy wormy who doesn't like to sit still and he also desperately wants to eat adult food. So sitting in a high chair at the table, enviously watching the rest of us eat delicious food, without himself getting any, spelled for a bad combination! After he had his "dinner" of oatmeal cereal, we gave him some fruit star puffs and cheerios to eat, his favorites, while we ate our dinner. Des quickly got fed up with his finger foods and became angry and belligerent because he couldn't have what we were eating. If we gave him a toy, he would throw the toy away screaming. So Mama had to quickly scarf down her dinner and walk around the diner with him while Stella and Dada finished their dinner. I think our dining out days are numbered until Des is able to eat the food we are eating...when he is around 9 months or so!

Here is a picture of sweet little Stella girl at dinner, coloring away while waiting for her favorite chicken noodle soup.

Stella Can Spell Her Name!

This post is long overdue but Mama heard Stella spell her name about a week and half ago. Mama heard her say "S-T-E-L-L-A, that spells me". And now if you ask her to spell her name, she will do it for you.

Here she is wearing an outfit her Ommy got for her. Although the top and pants are loose on her (Stella is a skinny minnie), Mama just loves the matching hair band. Stella looks like a girl from the 60s! It's a super stylish way to keep her curly hair out of her face. You can also see Stella's shorter haircut in these pics.

New Car Seats

We played our little version of musical chairs here with car seats. Stella's new booster seat finally arrived and Dada installed it this weekend. So that means that Desmond got his sister's old convertible car seat. Stella loves her new car seat so much that the first time she sat on it during a car ride, she didn't want to get out of the car when we arrived at our destination.

Desmond likes his new seat as well because it is a lot roomier than the infant car seat he was in up until now. Des had outgrown his infant car seat a long time ago.

Desmond's First Professional Haircut!

It was super hot outside here yesterday (and today) with 99 F temperatures and heat index above 100 F and we were crazy enough to run errands yesterday. In between errands, we decided to take Desmond to a professional hair salon (the oh so chic Hair Cuttery) for his first professional haircut, and his 5th overall haircut since birth. Desmond whined a little bit throughout the process but sat through it all. We unfortunately didn't have our camera with us so couldn't get a picture of him in the actual process of getting his haircut. After Desmond was finished, Miss Stella also got a trim around the edges.

Below are pictures from this morning when Dada placed Des in his sister's crib when she first woke up. Des really looks like a little man with his big boy haircut. Our little guy is growing up so fast!

Hopefully, these shorter haircuts can help the kids stay slightly cooler during this atrocious heat wave.

Stella is Potty Trained...Woo Hoo!!!

Stella is fully daytime potty trained...woo hoo!!! We'll say it again...woo hoo!!! Yeah Stella!!! We are so proud of you!!!

Shortly around the time she turned 2 years old, we had introduced her to the idea of using the potty and she had initial successes. But they were short lived. Some time after Desmond's birth, she really balked at the idea of using a potty despite the fact she knew when she had to use it. But experts say that this is common with the arrival of a new sibling. We would back off and try again some time later, but each time, Stella would vehemently resist using the potty...she had no interest. Needless to say, the process of potty training was becoming very frustrating for both parties involved.

This past Memorial Day weekend, we decided to put Stella in cloth training pants/underwear and told her that this is not a diaper but a big girl underwear and that she is to keep it clean and dry by using the potty when she had to "go". Stella had accidents the first 2 days, but by the 3rd day, she started using the potty and has not had an accident since...it's been 2 weeks!!! We have even been out in public with her without diapers and Stella has successfully used the potty in public restrooms. We only put a diaper on her during her nap and at nighttime. We are so thrilled and feel that this has been the biggest milestone Stella has reached thus far. Next step will be to work on staying dry during naps and at nighttime, although, her diaper after her nap has been dry each day for the past week.

Silly Girl

Stella did the funniest thing yesterday. In order to appreciate the story, you need to know a few background facts. Stella does not like taking baths because she doesn't like it when water gets in her eyes. Stella usually gets a bath every other night and she got a bath Sunday night. Last night (Mon) was Desmond's turn to get a bath. So David was bathing Desmond upstairs and Stella was playing and talking in the bathroom watching Des get a bath and I (Mama) was in the living room downstairs. As soon as David finished bathing Desmond and came out into the bedroom to towel him off and dress him, Stella disappears. So David is calling for Stella and we hear no response. So David then asks me if Stella was downstairs with me and I reply no. I then call out for Stella and still no response but I feel like I hear her breathing. I finally get off the couch and head to the stairs and there is Stella standing halfway up the stairs very still and quiet with a "deer caught in the headlights" look on her face. I asked her what she was doing and she replies, "I don't want to take a bath Mama".

Poor girl bounced from the bathroom as soon as the Gup was done with his bath and was coming downstairs to get away from Dada but, Mama happened to be downstairs in the living room so she had no place to go but stay in the middle of the stairs hoping that no one will find her if she remained quiet!

Ommy & Poppa Come to Visit

Ommy and Poppa came down to visit us this weekend. The kids had a great time playing with their grandparents and vice versa.

Desmond even tried to swipe Poppa's beer...he is starting already!!!

Despite the warm and humid weather, we spend some time outside as well. Stella enjoyed riding her tricycle...

...while Desmond got to watch wondering when his turn was coming. Does this boy need a haircut or what?...check out his mop on top!

Desmond was also diagnosed with his first ear infection...poor baby! Desmond had been fighting two back to back colds for the past two weeks. He was unusually cranky Sat night and had a fever of 102.2 F early Sun morning. We had to take him to Nighttime Pediatrics Sun afternoon and sure enough, when they checked out his ear, they were infected. He is on antibiotics now for the next 10 days. Surprisingly, Des has been in a much better mood since his diagnosis.