*Big News!

I am writing this post on Friday, August 29th, with the intention of making it public at a later date. I just wanted to write everything down now, while it's still fresh in my mind!

Long story short... I AM PREGNANT!!! :) It truly is amazing how things work out. We knew we were ready to start working on baby number two, but there was one big obstacle: as a teacher, I have to use my sick days in order to get paid during my maternity leave. With Nikos, I used up all but one-half of a day, so my sick time was almost completely depleted. With this in mind, we decided that our efforts to try for a baby were going to be a "limited engagement"-- that is, we would try ONLY during the month of August, in hopes of getting pregnant with a late May/early June baby. If that didn't work, we would hold off on the baby-making for another year or two, until I had enough sick days stored up for a decent maternity leave.

It took me seven months to get pregnant with Nikos, so I was convinced that we wouldn't be lucky this month. I consoled myself with thoughts of drinking great wine at Mike and Steph's wedding in Napa in November. Gus and I also said we would take a vacation together next summer, if I wasn't pregnant. While those things sounded fun, I really just wanted another baby-- a little brother or sister for Nikos! Still, I was not optimistic.

Just like the last time I got pregnant, there weren't really any huge signs. I always hear people say that their breasts started to hurt, etc., but that just isn't me, I guess. I have been exhausted all week, but that's nothing unusual, given that school just started up again. Everyone seemed exhausted, to be honest. I also felt bloated, but blamed that on the fact that I was eating a lot of junky food. The only sign that made me possibly suspect that something was up was my sense of smell... For the past few days, I have noticed more smells than usual. And some of them really bothered me. Like on Wednesday night, when I stepped out of the shower only to find that Gus had taken my bath towel (he was doing laundry). I quickly grabbed a clean towel from the laundry basket on our bedroom floor, and started to dry off with it. It smelled AWFUL-- like it had been sitting in the washer for a while before being dried. Kind of like vinegar. I was so nauseated by it that I opted to dry off using my hand towel-- no joke! And when I complained to Gus about it, he swore up and down that he could not smell a thing. That's when a little lightbulb went on in my head! ding!

Today, after work, I got home and saw the box of pregnancy tests just sitting there on my bathroom counter, just daring me to take one. I knew that it was probably too early, since most tests recommend waiting until 14 days after ovulation (today is day 11 for me). Still, I figured, "Why not?" I took the test, set it down, and it appeared to be negative right away. No surprise. But I carried it with me into another room, and glanced down a minute later. WAIT-- was that the beginning of a second line???? I ran into the dining room, where the natural light was better. Yes, there was definitely a second line, and it was getting darker. It didn't get especially dark, but it the world of pregnancy tests, "they" say that "a line's a line!"


Being the planner (and daydreamer) that I am, I had a shirt made months ago for Nikos to wear on exactly such as occasion! It said "Have you heard the news? I'm going to be a big brother!" I dug the shirt out of its hiding place in my dresser, and dressed Nikos in it. I then took him out in the yard to attempt to take some pictures (for blogging purposes, of course!), but my model was uncooperative and kept trying to crawl off the blanket. So we went back inside and played for a bit, waiting for Daddy to get home.

And of course, Gus had to work later than usual! And then he stopped to get us dinner at Chipotle on his way home, making him even later. By the time he walked through the door, it was just about bathtime for Nikos. I tried to hold Nikos so that Gus could read his shirt, but he just wasn't noticing. Finally, I said, "Hey! You haven't even commented on your son's new shirt!" He took Nikos from me, read the shirt, and gave me a look. Not a look of excitement, but rather one that very clearly meant "Really? You got him a big brother t-shirt and you aren't even pregnant yet? Aren't we jumping the gun a little?" So I said, "But it's TRUE!" Gus was in shock!! He thought it was still too early for me to test, and wasn't expecting that news at ALL! But the shock quickly gave way to happiness and excitement, and we began to discuss various details (due dates, rearranging furniture to make another nursery, names... that sort of thing). Anyway, that brings us to right now! We're having another baby, due sometime around May 15th! And this time, it happened on the first try! We feel so excited and blessed... So stay tuned! :) :)

10 Month Letter

Dear Nikos,

Well, it's official: you've hit double digits! Ten months old! And still as wonderful and amazing as ever!

We've had a really fun time together this past month. You laugh so easily, and are SO aware of everything that goes on around you. And now, you can chase after the things that catch your interest! You are an army crawling machine. Just a week or so ago, we were sitting on the couch watching your Baby Signing Time DVD. Normally, the video keeps your attention pretty well. But that time, you grabbed a toy, threw it off the opposite end of the couch, and proceeded to fling yourself onto your tummy and army crawl to the edge. And then you attempted to throw yourself over, only to have your efforts thwarted by Mommy. Fear. We need to instill at least a little bit of that in you, it seems! Since then, you've started army crawling EVERYWHERE. Nothing is safe anymore! So we'll be keeping a very close eye on you, you silly boy!

To keep you from more attempted stunts at home, we've started getting out and exploring the outside world a lot more. You are now on a predictable eating/sleeping schedule (like clockwork!), so it's SO MUCH easier to go out and do things in between your naps. For the first time in your life, you got to ride in the seat portion of shopping carts this month! You used to either ride in the infant carrier or the Ergo. But the seat is a new and exciting experience! When you sit there, you laugh and babble and point and wave at anything and everything you can find. Now you have a better view inside exciting places like the grocery store or, even better, Costco!

You also went to the zoo for the first (and second!) time this month. We had a feeling you'd love it, given how obsessed you are with our household pets, and we were correct. You love staring at the animals, pointing and waving at them, and talking to them. Saying what, exactly, we don't know... but you certainly had a lot to say to the llamas! Maybe you could fill us in on that someday? You also met your first dog (Kobe, your godparents' dog) and saw your first horses. Talk about exciting times!

Speaking of, well, speaking... You are really starting to communicate with us. You don't have any true words yet, but you have totally mastered the art of pointing at something you want. You are always pointing at one thing or another: the pictures on the walls, things in the refrigerator, a cup, food you want to eat, your reflection in a far-off mirror... the list goes on and on! You've also started to play with your hands a bit while watching your sign language video... Several people have seen you make what seem to be the signs for "mom" and "banana," but there's no consistency yet. Still, you are clearly learning and taking everything in. Our little sponge!

I was talking to my friend the other day, and she described this stage of your life as the "honeymoon" phase before the toddler years begin... I would have to agree with her on that one. You are so fun, so sweet, so loveable in every single way. Even the cat clearly loves you, despite the fact that you almost always come away from him with a clump of his fur in your hands. You've brought so much joy to our lives, and I loved the chance to stay home and just be your Mommy all summer long. Daddy and I wouldn't trade you for all the money in the world. We love you, peanut, and nothing will EVER change that. We can't wait to see what goodies await us in the months ahead!

All Our Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Nice Weekend

Our little family has had such a nice weekend! Yesterday morning, Aunt Maria (Gus' sister) came to visit. We all went out to lunch, and Nikos got lots of quality playtime in with his aunt. After he fell asleep, we had a yummy dinner (gyros, Greek salad, pita, and tzatziki) and then watched a rented DVD. Maria left this morning, and Nikos was sad to see her go!

Later in the morning, after nap number one, we decided to walk down to the park It was surprisingly hot and uncomfortable for it being so early in the day- yuck! Nevertheless, we had fun, and Nikos got to ride on the swings (his favorite). He also saw horses for the first time ever! He was, of course, captivated by them, and the riders even said hello to him. Our little guy really does love all animals-- it's so cute!






Finally, I just have to share this video of our little guy army-crawling. It's amazing how fast he's getting. He's especially motivated by the cat, the vacuum cleaner (he'll chase me around when I'm vacuuming!), and our hammer. Funny guy!

What a Week!

I have officially survived the first week of the school year, and I am SPENT! I have 33 kids in my class this year and, no, that's not a typo! I can't even describe how exhausted I am, even though they do seem to be a good group. My throat is raspy and sore, my muscles ache, and I am just bone-tired.

Add to that the fact that Nikos has become a little crawling machine, and is going EVERYWHERE these days! He still army-crawls, but he's fast... and when he sees something that he wants (such as the cat), he's off and running. It's amazing and wonderful, but he officially requires constant vigilance! We are going to have to step up our babyproofing, and quickly!

He's also learned a new trick, by the way: Nikos now knows how to pull off his bib. Which he likes to do mid-meal whenever he's eating something particularly messy. I learned that one the hard way. Safety pins really are useful things to have around, you know?

At any rate, I'm tired. Very, very tired. All I want to do is sleep. Have I mentioned how tired I am?

New Camera!

I got a new camera on Monday!!!! A Canon Rebel XSi Digital SLR... it is SO awesome! Anyway, I'm still reading the manual and figuring out the settings, but here are a few pics I took yesterday. I LOVE IT!! :)

Going Commando

hehehe... I crack myself up! But our little guy is, in fact, doing some army crawling when the mood strikes! I just took this video about 10 minutes ago... I bet he's going to be crawling for real within a month! Go, Nikos, go!

Boy's Day Out

Yesterday, Gus took Nikos up to a barbecue at our koumbari's house in North Hollywood(I'll explain that in a minute). I stayed home so that I would have uninterrupted time to work on various work-related tasks, since school starts on Tuesday. Since it's easiest for Nikos to make those longer drives when he's asleep, Gus drove to his parents' house in Orange County during nap number one, and then drove from Orange County to L.A. during nap number #2. He drove all the way home at bedtime. And, somewhat shockingly, the day went very smoothly and they both had a great time!

Before I post pictures, here is some background. When we got married in the Greek Orthodox Church, we needed to have sponsors ("koumbari") who were members in good standing. Gus' parents asked their friends Maria and Manoli if they would like to be our koumbari, and the rest is history! It's tradition for the koumbari to also be the godparents ("nouno" and "nouna") of the couple's first-born child, so they will be Nikos' godparents when he is baptized in a few weeks (stay tuned!). So essentially, they are part of our family now. Now to switch gears for a bit... August 15th (this past Friday) is a holy day, and one of the biggest holidays in Greece. It's the feast day of the Assumption of Mary, which means it is also the name day (similar to a birthday) for anyone named after the Virgin Mary. Maria is, obviously, named after her, but so is one of her sons, Panagioti. In Greek, the holiday is called "Panagia" ("all-holy," a common nickname for the Virgin Mary)-- see the connection? Anyway, the family hosted a small-ish barbecue this weekend in honor of the holiday. And so Gus and Nikos went!

It seems that our little guy is moving beyond his stranger anxiety phase, which is a welcome relief! Gus said he let everyone hold him, but was especially fond of the two boys (Panagioti and Irakli). I say "boys," but they are really only a few years younger than us, haha!! Anyway, he had a good time, slept the entire way home, woke up just for a second when I moved him from the car to his crib, and then went back to sleep without a peep! I really missed him yesterday- the house felt so empty! But I am glad they had fun, and I definitely needed the time. Here are some pictures from their adventure...





The only bad news? It looks like our little guy may be coming down with a cold... He has a stuffy nose and is napping horribly. :(

Prepare for Photo Overload!

I told you I had lots of pictures to post, and I didn't lie! Yesterday, we drove up to my parents' house for a visit. Grant and Melissa were visiting, too, having just returned from their honeymoon in the Cook Islands. Along the way, we stopped at Hooters to meet up with some of our good college friends, Brian and Megan. That's right-- we took our nine-month-old child to Hooters for lunch. And you know what? Every table around us had at least one child sitting at it! However, Nikos was the youngest by a long shot, and the waitresses were giving him so much attention. He loved it! He ate his lunch happily while we ate ours and had time to visit with friends. Megan even bought him a Hooters onesie, which is hysterical! Here are a few pictures from his first "fine-dining" experience (haha!):




After lunch, we got to my parents' house and put Nikos down for his nap. When he woke up, we walked down to the pool and play area in my parents' neighborhood. For the first time, Nikos really loved being in the water! He splashed and kicked and even put his face in a few times! And when he decided he was done with the pool, he had a total blast on the swings. His Uncle Grant pushed him higher than he's ever gone before, and he LOVED it! We also took some family photos with Grant's camera before heading back to the house, and they turned out pretty well!






That was yesterday. Today, we decided to make a family trip to the zoo, since Gus wasn't able to join us last week. We met up with his buddy Eric and his four-year-old daughter, Taylor. Once again, Nikos loved the llamas. It wasn't a fluke! Taylor seemed to like them, too, chanting "Llamas! Llamas! Llamas!" as we made our way through the zoo. Funny kids!!

3 Videos: Standing, Swimming, & Swinging

The title pretty much says it all! I am exhausted from a busy day, and we have another fun zoo adventure planned for tomorrow, but I wanted to post these videos before crashing for the night. I have a lot of great pictures that I'll be posting soon (including Nikos' first real restaurant experience-- at Hooters, of all places!!), so stay tuned! (oh, and the lines in the second video were from all the light reflecting off of the pool... it was bright!)

First Trip to the Zoo!

Seeing as this is my last week of summer vacation and we haven't been to the zoo at all, I figured it was high time to get some mileage out of our annual passes! Luckily, my parents have passes, too, so the three of us took Nikos on his first zoo trip. He had a great time! Grandma and Grandpa bought him a junior zookeeper's outfit, as well as a storybook about pandas that was autographed by the author just for him. We got there right at 11am and left at 2pm. The little guy didn't fuss at all and then fell asleep on the ride home! And since he is still asleep, I must share a handful of the millions of pictures I took. :)
Yeah! I'm at the ZOO!

Meerkats (and lots of baby meerkats!)

Yeah, yeah, I see the elephant... But LOOK OVER THERE!!!!!

It's a LLAMA!!! My favorite animal of the day!

Giraffes are interesting, too... but they're not llamas.

Camels! (and Grandma and Grandpa)

I probably wouldn't be smiling like this if I had noticed the giant black jaguar at the top of this enclosure...

Even junior Zookeepers need to take breaks every now and then...

Then and Now

Nikos and I had a lazy Sunday together, just hanging around the house and not doing much (I'm tired, to be honest... I just want to sleep in!). This afternoon, I noticed our baby swing sitting in the living room, and (yet again) made a mental note to fold it up and move it out to the garage. Nikos hasn't used it in months. But just for fun, I put him in there for a few minutes to snap some pictures. He actually thought it was very entertaining, even if the swing itself barely moved under all that weight! After I got the pictures onto my computer, I compared them with pictures I took in his first weeks home from the hospital. It's incredible to see how much he has grown and changed!!

THEN...

AND NOW...

Such a big boy!!! And finally, for good measure, here is a video from today. Nikos loves to look at his reflection in the mirror. I mean, really LOVES it! My little narcissist! :P

Bryce's Wedding

I LOVE WEDDINGS!!! Last night, Gus and I went to Bryce and Aditi's wedding while my parents came and had a great time with Nikos. The ceremony was really beautiful-- the entire event took place at this mansion overlooking the ocean in La Jolla at sunset! Anyway, I am very happy for my very good friend Bryce and his wonderful and sweet wife, Aditi! I just wish they weren't moving to Texas next week... :(

Congratulations, you two!!

Cause and Effect

I learned something new about the little munchkin this morning: He understands cause and effect, and has learned to anticipate things! Lately, he thinks it is great fun to throw his water cup on the ground during meals. While it doesn't bother me too much, sometimes the cup bursts open and water gets all over the (fairly easy-to-clean tile) floor. This morning, at breakfast, Nikos grabbed his cup, moved it off the edge of his highchair tray, and let go. And then flinched as though he was expecting to hear it hit the floor... which it didn't, because I caught it. He instantly looked over the edge, and was simultaneously surprised and delighted to see that it was resting there in my hand! He had totally been expecting the cup to hit the ground, and he knew that it would make a noise! That may not seem like a huge deal to most adults, but it's incredible to me to see the little wheels in his head spinning... What a smartie!

In other, completely unrelated news, today is the first day of August, which brings me great sadness. I only have one more week of summer vacation!! Well, technically I don't have to go back to work until the 14th, but I'm starting back on the 11th so I have more time to get my room ready. sigh... so sad! :( At least I have Bryce and Aditi's wedding tomorrow to look forward to. THAT, at least, should be loads of fun. Hooray for weddings!