Four Christmases

No, not the movie. This is our reality. And someday Luigi will love it, because every kid loves four days of presents. This year I took advantage of dressing Luigi in outfits he will probably object to in the future.

In preparation for Christmas Grandma Patty and Grandpa Jeff took us all out to dinner, then took aunt Kelly, uncle Travis and the kids to see the Novato Christmas house.

Christmas Eve was the traditional crab feed at the Orlandi household. We had a bath in the morning...don't you just love the rolls on his arms as he lounges back? A body only a mother could love. Bob picked up the crab from a wholesaler in Santa Rosa. Then Bob and I cracked 42 lbs of crab and made the special Italian sauce. Great-grandpa made wo yummy yule logs for dessert! Don't you just love the matching outfits Bob and Wigi are wearing?

Christmas Day Santa came to my parents house, where my brother joined us for the fun. We got a Wii, which everyone played while I made breakfast. Later we all went to Jim and Chau's for a Yoder family Christmas. Bob was tormenting Tracy as usual. Gigi (aka great-grandma) got to feed Wigi.

Christmas +1 we met Aunt Aditi and Uncle Mike at the Nut Tree. It was such a treat to see them! That night we had Christmas dinner with the Davis's. Even Richard was able to join us this year!

Christmas +2 was a full day at Grandma Patty and Grandpa Jeff's. Sorry no pictures. All in all, Wigi made out like a bandit and has some serious thank-you notes to write.

Love to all and happy holidays!

Thanksgiving Fun

This year was Luigi's first Thanksgiving. He had 18 people vying to hold him and console him, which turned into stimulation overload. He made up for it on Black Friday, the day my nuclear family spends wine tasting every year, by sleeping ALL DAY.

Here are some great pictures from Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

Head Control

Luigi now has control of his neck, and we have some pictures to prove it! It's never too early to start pushing your kid to achieve, right? We practice rolling-over, sitting and standing every day.

One of my favorite shirts, a gift from Patrick H. Luigi grew out of it quickly...our sturdy 2.5month old, who weighs in at over 15lbs and is 24" long, is wearing 9mo. clothes.

Isn't he so cute in his J&J clothes?

I had his pants off because he was having a melt down on the changing table, but I couldn't resist taking this picture when I realized he looked like Tom Cruise in Risky Business.

Another new development...the bottom lip platapuses out. Too cute!

Finger Saga Concludes

The blood blister-like growth on my finger that started at the beginning of my pregnancy grew into a huge infected cyst that had to be surgically removed. Most of you, unfortunately, had to see that ugly growth. But now it is gone!

The timing of the surgery was a surprise. I happened to visit the doctor on a day when there was a last-minute cancellation in the OR. I didn’t realize it would be such a production. One minute I was sitting comfortably in the doctor’s office getting a consult and the next I was getting moved to an operating room where my doctor and I were being scrubbed for surgery. I couldn’t bring myself to watch, but I was forced to hear the 20-minutes of scraping and cutting. Yuck!

They left the wound open because of my recent staph infection, so I go back tomorrow to have the dressing changed. Double yuck!

The pain is crazy wicked, as breastfeeding prevents me from taking anything more than some Tylenol. But it will be so worth it when I can play with Luigi with two hands and without the fear of giving him staph.

Two Months Old

Luigi is growing so fast. He’s become my chubby, little Michelin man and has developed quite a lot in the past two months.

Some of his favorite things to do are:

1. Stare and smile at mama and daddy.
2. Blow bubbles with his siliva.
3. Kick his feet and have his legs bicycled.
4. Sit in his “magic” chair and be bounced.
5. Listen to mommy sing (although god knows why).

He dislikes tummy time, hoodies and waiting to be fed when he’s hungry. I make him practice holding his head up and I read French nursery rhymes to him every day. Playing dress-up is a regular occurrence, mostly because something is always leaking onto his clothes. He’s wearing 3-6month size clothes these days.

Halloween was fun because grammy and grampy came for a visit. Luigi wore three different outfits for the holiday. And with two babysitters Bob and I enjoyed our first real date night, dining at Cavallo Point in Sausalito.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the past two weeks.

Grampy and Luigi nap together. Luigi's bear costume from Jenny Tarantino.

Luigi is Beary Scary...thanks aunt Liz and aunt Tracy.

My favorite smile. I love making him laugh.

Jenny visiting and she brought Luigi a new hat!

Luigi's new hat!!
A boxer-to-be.

My J&J shirt fits great grammy!

Too cute!!!!!

Pigs Must Be Flying

After 3 months of arguing with Comcast and our landlords, we FINALLY have internet...via a Verizon wireless MiFi card. Bastards. I've only used it for 1 hour, but the speed seems to be fine.

So what will I do first on the internet (besides check my 300 unread emails)? Read the news. I just found out last week that the Bay Bridge broke. Without TV or internet I am totally oblivious. Bob also handed over an internet-related task list for me.

The only remaining step is to order the satellite for TV. I really hope SYTYCD is still on.

Gone Baby Gone

Well, it looks like our efforts to get internet access at home has not been successful. Therefore, these posts are not very frequent...sorry.

Sam has grown tremendously in both size and weight. Not only is he out of his newborn clothes, but the 0-3m clothes are getting snug quick. Today I have him dressed in an outfit, size 3-6mo, which includes a sweater Bob wore frequently when he was a baby. The tiny infant we brought home from the hospital is quickly becoming a large baby. Time flies so fast!

To help capture his infancy we did a photo shoot, and here are some of the highlights.

Grammy visited yesterday and watched Sam while Bob and I went on a date night.

We are still having a hard time keeping him asleep - he insists on eating every 2 hours like clockwork. I think he gets the eating habits from my side of the family...you should hear how loud he is when he eats! The new swing grandma Patty bought Sam will hopefully help, but it appears it will take some getting used to. Sam spends lots of time practicing how to hold his head up and follow objects, and he is so very close to smiling (on purpose).

Thinking of you all!

Our First Outing Alone!

After two weeks of help from grandma I am now on my own all day long to take care of Luigi. Despite being a bit dazed and confused from lack of sleep (he wakes me up every 1-2 hours for a feeding), I managed to get us both bathed, dressed and out the door for an outing today. Nothing special, just a trip to Aabalat so I can use the internet. I feel so disconnected from the world without internet, tv and newspapers. So, as Luigi sits on my lap napping I thought I would paste a few new pictures and some updates on his "progress."

Daddy and Luigi having fun.

I think that is a smile!

My kid is a good sleeper - he sleeps anywhere and in strange positions.

Luigi - almost 3 weeks old:

1. He's growing like a weed...hence the frequent feedings. Tomorrow is another Peds appointment and I can't wait to see how much he weighs now. I think this will be the last week he will fit into the newborn clothes, as they are pretty snug.

2. Like a miracle, he suddenly takes the pacifier with pleasure when he's upset. Bob discovered this just this morning!

3. Bob is now bottle-feeding Luigi once a day, which should help me get at least a 2-hours stretch of sleep. We are still learning how to have the bottles sterilized and the milk warmed in time for the feeding, though.

4. He seems to have bad acid reflux, or so I speculate from the crying fits after eating, arching back, frequent hiccups and spit-up. Something to ask the ped about...

Thanks, again, to everyone for your warm wishes via email, snail mail and phone calls.