28 Days Later...

Well, it's actually 26 days later, but, yes, the baby blogger is back by popular demand!!

You would not believe what can happen in a baby's life in just 26 days... I will do my utmost to catch you up!

I mentioned in my last post that we were moving to Albany, CA. We are settling into our new place and are very happy here so far. That is part of the reason I have not posted for so long, but it's just one of many reasons!

First up: a week after we moved into our new home, I had my first party!! I promise that I will soon have a post dedicated exclusively to my special day, but, for tonight, I wanted start with an overview of what I have been doing. The party was a blast, and I got to see (and meet!!) many friends and family members. As a matter of fact, one of my family members, my cousin Laura, decided to come up from LA and stay with us! She's going to be living with us and start going to college up here. After a while, she'll decide if she wants to live here for good and get her own place, or head back to LA (or maybe even Costa Rica, where she is from).

The Monday after my party, I went to the doctor's office to get my first shots. Can I just say, "Ouch?!" I was pretty unhappy about the entire business... I had to get 3 shots, all in my poor little legs. I cried for a few minutes in the office; then, Mommy May fed me, so I calmed down and went to sleep. I guess I slept for the rest of the day and didn't wake up until close to 6pm, which is usually when I eat dinner, take a bath, and then start getting ready for bed. Those of you that know me know I am a very happy baby overall, but I wasn't happy that night!! I cried and cried and cried, during dinner, during my bath, during my story time... nothing made me feel better. Finally, Mommy May gave me some infant Motrin (cause I was running a light fever) and then I was able to sleep for most of the night. By the next morning, I was smiling a little and a bit happier, but I was pretty sluggish and cranky overall for the next few days.

Just when I was recovering from that big shock, I experienced another major change... Mommy May went back to work!! Nani started to come over and stay with me here at our place, and I have been adjusting pretty well for the most part. I get pretty spoiled when Nani's here, truth be told, and I don't mind drinking from the bottle. There are times when I really, really, really miss my Mommy May, though. One day this week, Nani put me on the phone to talk with Mommy May while she was driving home (Don't worry; Mommy May was using her bluetooth headset). I had been pretty content in my swing until then, but, once I heard Mommy May's voice, I started to fuss and cry and look for her. Luckily, she got home soon to give me lots of hugs and kisses!!

I still take my naps and play more and more with my toys everyday. Here's a picture of me playing with a giraffe my Yin-Yin gave to me; Nani was amazed at how I kept reaching for the toy and hitting it over and over with my hands:

Here's another photo of me playing with one of my awesome new toys. All right, it's a photo of me sleeping after getting tired while playing with one of my awesome new toys. Mommy May was a bit slow on the uptake on this one:

I am becoming more and more of an expert on smiling, and I like to practice it whenever I can... am I not adorable in this photo?!?!

In addition to being cute, I spend a lot of time working on my skills... I am determined to learn how to suck my thumb, and I got very close in this photo while my Tía Lu dressed me:


Most exciting of all, I am doing my damnedest to communicate!! Here is my first video post, highlighting attempts at both thumbsucking and talking to Daddy May:



I will end with another darling picture, of me just doing what I do:

More soon, I promise!!!

My First Move...

Faithful readers will have noticted a decided lack of new posts over the past few days... the reason? We are in the process of moving!! We found a great place in Albany that was available right away. Since Mommy May still has this month off, we decided to go ahead and take advantage of the time and move now.

I am 6 weeks old today, and I am preparing to move for the first time... do I do everything super early, or what?!?! To be perfectly honest, moving has already been pretty hard on me. Mommy and Daddy May have had to be gone for a few evenings to finalize the paperwork for our new place, and that has really messed up my sleep schedule. Also, things are pretty noisy around here with all of the packing and cleaning, and that, too, has been hard cause I keep waking up. The good news is that it will all be over pretty soon, and I am excited to settle into my new place.

Well, I'd better go and make sure that my fancy stuff is being packed correctly! I will miss posting, but I promise to get back to it ASAP!!

XOXOXO

The Cat Days of Summer...

We had a pretty quiet weekend, which we really needed! Saturday, we went to Nani's for a while, cause Daddy May had to change a tire for her. We also went to see a place in Albany (CA, not NY!), cause we have decided to move there if we can. Mommy May works in Concord, and Daddy May works in Oakland. We still want to live where there is nice weather, which, for us, means somewhere cool and close to the Bay. We considered Walnut Creek or Pleasant Hill, but it's just too hot out there!! We have had some issues with our neighbors here in El Sobrante, and Mommy and Daddy May want to live somewhere where there is a good school district. Albany seems to be the best choice for all of us. The place we saw on Saturday wasn't perfect for us, but we will keep on looking!

Sunday was the best, though, cause we just had a long, lazy day with lots of family time! We slept in, cuddled a whole bunch, and took a nice family nap in the afternoon. I also had a much-needed pedicure, included here for your enjoyment:

I continue to do well with my baba... I've become quite the expert, actually! I still like it best when Mommy May breastfeeds me, cause it helps make me feel all warm and sleepy, but baba and I have become friends. It's a little hard to tell from this picture, but I had a pretty grumpy expresssion... Daddy May took a little too long to get my feeding session going!

Weekends at our house are for play, and here I am working out in my "gym" which was a gift from one of Daddy May's coworkers. Thanks so much for the great toy!!

I will write more about some of my other awesome toys soon, but, for now, I will close with a few silly pictures we took while hanging out. This is me impersonating Cassius Clay: "Float like a butterfly, sting like a Baby May!" Daddy May can attest to the fact that I've got a killer right hook.

Here I am pretending to be a super hero. Like a bird, like a plane... it's Baby May!

I love music, and Mommy May and I sing together every day! Nursery Rhymes are so much fun! Here I am, acting out "I'm a Little Teapot, Short and Stout"

A Day in the Life...

Things around here have been busy, let me tell you! We haven't even had time to take too many pictures the past few days, though I promise not to let that happen often. Here's a photo my Yin-Yin emailed to us; she took it with her camera when she was here for a visit last Saturday:

Anyway, to begin: yesterday started super early... matter of fact, I think it's the earliest day I've had yet in my young life. We needed to take our hatchback in for service, so Mommy May hadto drop Daddy May off at the BART station by 6am. Well, as all of you parents out there know, you don't just roll out of bed and hop in the car when you have a baby. We all got up by 5am, so I could be fed and changed and ready in time to go. To tell the truth, I took the trip in my pj's... we figured it was ok seeing as how I'm a baby and all.

We got Daddy May to BART on time and then came home. We had a few hours to eat and relax, then it was time to head over to Nani's house. We picked her up and then went to the bank and then dropped off our car at the dealership. While we were there, Mommy May realized she hadn't brought something the dealer needed, so we had to go BACK home. Well, by this time, even the best of babies (i.e., me!) would need a break, so, since we were home again, we took another break so I could be fed and changed once again.

Next up, Babies R Us. I've written before about how Mommy May is already pumping milk to stock up for when she heads back to work in August. Well, our freezer is a disaster! Milk bags everywhere, even falling out whenever someone opens the freezer door. We went to the baby store to buy a special organizer box. Nani thought that was a little silly; she wondered why we couldn't just use a cheaper, regular box. But this box is fancy and squeezes the milk bags so they freeze flat and take up less space; the box also stores those bags standing up. It's really a neat system.

By this time, it was almost 3pm. Time to go home? Nope! Since we were out and near Oakland, we headed down to Daddy's work so I could meet some of his coworkers. Everyone there was very nice, although one guy said I was a beautiful girl. Of all the nerve! After the visit, Daddy May came with us and we went to Panda Express. I drank my baba and they had a late lunch.

Thankfully, the day started to wrap up after that; we just picked up the hatchback and took Nani home. Whew! I was beat! Here I am, taking a much-needed relaxing bath (censored for obvious reasons!):

A Month of Sundays...

Can you believe it?! I am one month old today!! It has been a great 4 weeks, and I am enjoying every minute of it! We had a very nice weekend, and I got to spend time with both of my grandmas. Yin-Yin came over from the city (of course, I mean San Francisco), and we all went to Applebee's for lunch. Well, I had my baba, but everyone else had Applebee's. Mommy May was saying that she could kick herself, because she didn't get pictures of me together with Yin-Yin and Nani. I went ahead and kicked her myself, cause I'm helpful like that. Daddy May did snap this quick photo of Mommy May and me, at least:

Mommy and Daddy May and I spent some time today taking pictures to commemorate my 1-month milestone. Before we get to that, however, I want to explain something about the Bay Area, for those of you who don't know (or who have conveniently forgotten!). Today is July 20, and today's high temperature at our place was 64 degrees. Fahrenheit. I share this because it made picture-taking a bit of a challenge. This is me taking a quick nap, in a long sleeve shirt, long pants, warm socks, a heavy blanket, and, yes, mittens!

That being said, I wanted to take everyone on a brief trip down memory lane... this was my 1st picture ever, at the hospital on the day I was born:

And here I am today, all grown up! (well, ok, so not ALL grown up, but you know what I mean...)
Check out another pic from day 1:

That outfit was ridiculously big on me then... see how my hands are lost in the sleeves? Well, take a look at this same outfit today:

I can still pull it off, but barely. My little toes are starting to get a bit cramped down there!

I was telling Daddy May a pretty funny joke in this last photo:

As always, more updates to come. Thanks to all of you for keeping track of my blog and following my (remarkable) progress... love you lots!

The Many Faces of Baby May...

Those of you who live for more pictures of me are in for a treat today! I haven't updated my blog for several days, but that certainly doesn't mean I've been idle. This entry is dedicated to my many layers... you know, like an onion.

Obviously, we have to start with sweet and sentimental, cause that's what I'm all about! Enjoy a special moment with Mommy May:

Then, of course, there's the political... I do live in the Bay Area, after all. Here's one I titled "Power to the People"

I can also be stern when need be. Check out my "We Are Not Amused" face:

My "Rico Suave" look showcases my smooth sophistication:


But, most of all, I live to be silly! What is life, after all, without laughter? This one is simply labeled "Stinky"

"Thank You. Thank You Very Much." No, dear friends, Elvis HAS NOT left the building:

Last, but certainly not least, is one I like to call "Popeye the Sailor Man"

(psst! Be sure to check back soon for a very special blog entry!)

Pump Up the Jam... er, I mean, Milk...

Today was Daddy May's first day back at work since my birth. I missed him a whole lot all day, but I got to spend time with him once he got back home. Plus we still had my bedtime routine together as a family, with one big change (I'll come back to that in a minute!).

Mommy May is still on summer break from her job as a teacher; she goes back to work the 3rd week of August. So we have just over a month left before Nani starts watching me during the week. With time dwindling down, Mommy May decided to start learning how to pump her milk and teaching me to drink out of a bottle. That way, being apart all day will be a little easier on both of us, at least in terms of feeding!

On the advice of my pediatrician, as well as Mommy May's mommy friends, they bought the Medela Pump in Style Backpack. You can see a picture here:

It looks like a regular black backpack, until you open it up and pull out what's inside... am I the only one who thinks these look a bit like instruments of torture? Well, that or strange horns:

Out of respect for Mommy May's dignity (and to keep this blog family friendly!), I will not post pictures of Mommy May hooked up to her little machine. She did say, however, that it makes her feel a bit like a dairy cow. Here you can see my reaction the first time I saw Mommy May getting pumped:

Personally, I wasn't sure how much I would like drinking from a bottle. I really like spending my feedings bonding with Mommy May; it's our special time. But, after trying it, I have to say the bottle's not too bad! Plus, I get to do feedings with Daddy May now, too. And, in the end, what I want is the milk, however I have to get it! Here I am, feeding with Mommy May (Daddy May was reading me my bedtime story):


Yes, that's a cloth diaper wrapped around my neck. I'm still a novice with this bottle-drinking phenomenon, so I tend to be a bit sloppy.