Giggles

We finally captured a few of Nikos' elusive giggles on video today! He wasn't in a big laughing mood, but at least we got a little bit out of him! :)

On another note, it seems as though our little guy has really started teething. He's fussy, has run a low-grade fever off and on, isn't sleeping as well as he was, and chomps down on anything that comes near his mouth. Keep your fingers crossed that his first tooth will emerge sooner rather than later-- because this isn't terribly fun!

Some Videos From Today...

5 Month Letter

Dear Nikos,

I can't believe that you are already five months old! The days are beginning to fly by faster and faster. You are a completely different child than you were just a month ago!

You have been a very busy boy this month, to say the least. One day, while you were enjoying some tummy time on the floor, you just decided to roll over to your back like you had been doing it for years. I was such a proud and excited mommy, but it didn't faze you one bit. A few days later, you rolled the other way (from back to belly) at night in your crib, causing you to scream bloody murder until we went in and flipped you back over. Most recently, you've started sitting up on your own for a few seconds at a time. You get better at sitting every single day, so I'm sure you'll be a pro by the time I write your six-month letter. :)

Another big discovery you made this month was your feet! You love to play with them when you are sitting on the floor or when you're on the changing table. Changing your diaper has become quite a challenge, because you are constantly rolling from one side to the other, grabbing everything within reach, playing with your toes, and kicking your cute little legs! You've also started bouncing a bit in your jumperoo and your doorway jumper, and you've learned to arch your back dangerously while sitting in your Bumbo chair so that you can get your legs out (a skill which scared your mommy quite a bit!).

You've also turned into quite a vocal little guy this month. In addition to your existing repertoir of shrieks, coos, growling sounds, gurgles, and babbles, you now laugh and scream! The sound of your laughter is something that Daddy and I have waited to hear for a long time, and it is the best sound in the universe. You had giggled periodically for a month or two, but you just recently started really chuckling. So now, in addition to having the cutest smile ever, you have this fantastic laugh! No matter how bad my day at work might've been, it all gets erased if I can get some laughs out of you. (the screaming, however, isn't the greatest sound... I think you're just experimenting with the power of your lungs. We'll work on that!)

All in all, though, I'd have to say that your fifth month of life has been the most amazing so far. You have a definite personality now, and you are growing and changing by the day (by the minute, even!). Your smile lights up your entire face, and our hearts, and we love you endlessly, Brown Eyes. I hope that your sixth month is just as magical as this one has been!

All My Love,
Mommy

Happy Easter!

Surprise!!

Yesterday afternoon, my parents came down to visit, and my mom took me out shopping for birthday presents (since my birthday is in a week and a half). After a productive trip, we arrived back at the house around 4pm. I got out of the car, collected my shopping bags from the trunk, and retrieved the mail. Nothing exciting. But then I opened the front door and... SURPRISE!!!
Gus had planned a surprise 30th birthday party for me!! Not too many people could make it (largely due to the fact that it was the day before Easter), but there were probably 15 or so guests. The weather was absolutely beautiful, so we grilled up some hamburgers, enjoyed cold beverages, etc. It was such a nice treat! I was impressed to learn that Gus had been working on this for a few months now. He had decorated the house and everything!

Now if we could just get Nikos to like parties a bit more, then life would be perfect (he started screaming as soon as everyone yelled "Surprise!" and then didn't really calm down until bedtime...). :P Oh, well... Maybe next year!

(P.S. I'll post more pictures later, if people send them to me... This is pretty much all I have right now!)

Progress!

So this week, we're working on sitting... And we're making progress! Nikos can sit with limited assistance for a very long time, and with NO assistance for about 10 seconds. Not bad, considering he couldn't sit alone at all just last week. Here is the little man performing his new trick!



And, just because he's so stinkin' cute, another picture of our lovebug:

(and yes, we are getting a lot of mileage out of his St. Patty's Day outfit... He grows so fast!!)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

He Did It!!

He can roll from his back to his tummy!! And when did he decide to accomplish this feat for the first time? At 9PM, of course-- an hour and a half after bedtime! He woke up and started wailing about 15 minutes ago. I was going to wait a bit before checking on him, but something about this cry was different. I thought it sounded a bit muffled, like maybe he had something in his mouth (??). So I went in to check, and there was the little guy lying on his tummy. He was none too happy about it, either!

Anyway, Gus and I were both excited. This has been quite a week, in terms of milestones! :)

Logging Off

Every afternoon, after Nikos has had his nap and a meal, I quickly check my email while he sits in my lap. After I'm done, I usually let him play on Kneebouncers.com for a few minutes, since he loves to pound on the keyboard. Well... I decided to record him playing on the computer, since it was so cute...

hahahaha!!!!! I love it!!!! :)

Giggles and Good News!

First, the good news... I will have a job next year! This may not seem to be too earth-shattering, given that I am a tenured teacher and all, but I had fully expected to receive a pink slip this week. Given the current budget situation in Sacramento (thanks a lot, Arnold), my school district is projecting a loss of $15 million in funding next year, which means that they are doling out pink slips right and left. ALL temporary employees, plus 108 other probationary and tenured teachers are going to be cut next year. At my school, there are four of us who fall into the "newly-tenured" category, as we were all hired at the same time. After handing out the pink slips to all the probationary teachers, the district needed to cut seven more (newly-tenured) teachers. Those seven teachers were chosen at random, and one of them happened to be my coworker. It could have been me, just as easily. I am hoping that, in the end, the budget situation will get straightened out, and everyone will get their jobs back... but in the meantime I am so, so, so thankful that I will have a job next year. Thank God!

And now for the giggles! Because that's what Nikos does now! He has done a few giggles here and there over the past month or so, but today he really started going at it. He giggled a bunch for me when I blew raspberries on his belly, and he full-on laughed when Gus was getting him ready for his bath. It is the best sound in the universe!!! And a perfect day for it, too, given the good news. Everybody here is happy! :)

The Many Faces of Nikos

The little man was being so cute in his jumperoo earlier, that I couldn't resist taking a million pictures! Enjoy!

P.S. The hairy knee in some of the pictures belongs to Gus, in case you were uncertain (you never know!)
P.P.S. Nikos would also like to say: "Happy birthday, γιαγιά! Σ' αγαπώ!" ("Happy birthday, grandma! I love you!")

To The Left...

The little pumpkin can now roll to his left (not just his right). I think I find this way more amusing than he does! :)

Let's Roll...

Big news today-- Nikos can roll from his tummy to his back!!! Finally! He just didn't seem all that motivated before, but this afternoon he did it six times in a row like it was no big deal. And the best part is that I caught the first time on video, completely by accident. I thought it was cute how he was pushing himself so high up on his arms and wanted to record it, but then he rolled right over!!!! HOORAY!! At any rate, here is the video evidence (the first time and another time, to prove it wasn't a fluke):



Next up-- rolling from his back to his tummy... he can already roll easily from side to side, so I don't think it will be too much longer! :)