Chili

Note to self: Nikos likes chili. Especially when he feeds it to himself. :)

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

It seems like Nikos has really hit a developmental spurt in the past few weeks! There are probably too many new "tricks" to describe, and I will surely forget some of them, but here is my attempt! For one, he finally started clapping not long ago. He claps for a few seconds, then throws his hands high in the air (think: "touchdown!"). He thinks it's hilarious to watch every adult in sight copy him (I don't blame him... what power he has over the big people!). He's also started tickling peoples' feet. He'll crawl over to where I'm sitting, look right in my eyes (while trying to contain giggles), and then ever-so-gently touch my foot. When I kick my foot and laugh, he thinks it is absolutely hysterical! And the sometimes, while he's playing on the floor, he'll put his head down and pretend to go to sleep for a minute... only to burst into giggles. His sense of humor cracks me up! He also knows that his Little People belong in their cars, and he will usually put them in there (properly!) before pushing the cars around on the floor (and making accompanying noises). He is beyond adorable!

And then there's the talking. Many of his words are still difficult to understand, but we are realizing that he DOES have more words than we previously thought. His clearest ones are still "mama," "daddy," and "uh-oh," but we think he's got a bunch more. He definitely says "doggy" (his obsession), "baba" (bottle), "duh" (done), "no" (complete with shaking his head), "kaka" (cracker), and he has a funny little fake phone conversation that includes two words that sound sort of like "hi" and "bye-bye." He also says something whenever he sees Charlie, but I'm not quite sure if it's his version of saying "Charlie" or "kitty." In addition to all that, he understands quite a bit! If you ask him what a duck says, he will sometimes say "cack, cack, cack." And, according to him, a doggy says "ar, ar, ar!" And if you ask him about doggies while he's eating a meal, he'll turn and point to the little picture of a dog that's printed on his headrest! I just can't believe how much is going on inside that little head of his! He learns something new every single day!

As for the physical stuff, he is taking his sweet time. He can stand alone for a second or two, tops, but could go a lot longer if he wasn't so wiggly (he is SUPER wiggly and energetic). Pulling up and cruising is second nature to him, though, so I'm sure that walking can't be too far down the line. Gus told me that he didn't start walking until he was 15 months, so maybe Nikos takes after his daddy! It's fine, anyway... Everyone keeps telling us to enjoy this time, because once he starts walking, he'll learn to RUN... and then we'll be running, too! :)

And then, of course, there is sweet baby #2 cooking away in my belly. There have been a few times at night recently when I have really been able to feel him/her. I know that the baby is still pretty small, and maybe it's due to where he/she is positioned in there, but I swore I could feel a little arm or leg last night. It was poking out, and it was tiny, but it was definitely not a normal part of my belly. And then it moved. I haven't been able to show Gus yet, but it's so cool! This is a lot earlier than I ever felt Nikos move. I also had a dream last night that this baby was a boy, which was sort of odd. Everyone thinks it's a girl this time, including me, so we will see who's right (me vs. my subconscious). We should know in 17 more days!! :) I can't wait-- either way!!!

P.S. Last night, Nikos turned on the stereo, switched it over to CD mode, and hit play-- all by himself! Gus was watching him when it happened, and couldn't believe it. He turned on the Christmas music for us, hehe!!!

Turkey Day

We are home! After driving to/from Napa earlier this week, and then driving to/from North Hollywood yesterday, I'd say I'm pretty much sick of being in the car. Now it's time to stay home, get out the Christmas decorations, and help Gus with his various home improvement projects (he's got quite the To Do list for the weekend). Hooray for being home!!

We did have a lovely Thanksgiving, though. We spent the afternoon at the home of Nikos' godparents (our wedding sponsors) up in North Hollywood. So it was their family, Gus' family, two other families, a few "Thanksgiving orphans" and us-- seventeen people in all. Last time we had Thanksgiving with them, the drive took us somewhere between four and five hours (it should be about two hours). So we were prepared this time, and decided to make the drive in two chunks: from San Diego to Orange County (Gus' parents' house) during Nikos' morning nap, and from Orange County to North Hollywood during the afternoon nap. Shockingly, we ran into very little traffic, and the overall drive time was about two-and-a-half hours! What's the deal with that??

As a result, Nikos' afternoon nap ended up being shortened quite a bit, and he was in a semi-cranky mood for a bit (the big crowd didn't help). Eventually, he warmed up, though, and was highly entertaining! He showed everyone how he can say "doggy," and made some funny sounds with his lips (cracking himself up). He also ate a TON of food... Turkey, mashed potatoes (a lot!), ham, tiropitas (cheese turnovers), apple pie, ice cream... you name it! He was quite a little piglet! When bedtime came, we put him down in the pack-n-play in one of the bedrooms, and he conked out right away. We socialized for a bit, then transferred him to the car and made the long drive home. We ended up getting home around 11pm, and I think I fell asleep as soon as I hit the sheets!

Anyway, it was a nice day, but I am glad the driving is done. It sure is a big change from last year, when Nikos was just a little one-month-old blob! :)

Fun Day...

First, I just want to say that I will no longer be writing monthly letters to Nikos... He's 13 months today, but I figured I'll just write them whenever I feel like it, as opposed to keeping a schedule. Now that he's over a year old, I think I can do that!

That being said, our little guy spent his 13-month "birthday" doing something different: he visited Santa Claus at the mall!!! I would LOVE to post the picture here, but alas, I cannot. And that is because it is going to be our Christmas card this year, and I wouldn't want to ruin it for you! :) Let's just say that he didn't exactly find Santa all that appealing. The picture is HILARIOUS!!! Oh well, maybe next year he'll be a little more interested, hehe!

This afternoon, I had a quick doctor's appointment to check on "Rainbow." The nurse practitioner found the heartbeat quickly, and it was nice and strong! Such a great sound to finally hear! She also told me the results of all my bloodwork from my first appointment, and everything looked fantastic. After we were done, I walked down to the lab to get more blood drawn for the AFP test. Yes, that's right, the AFP test. You might remember the last time that happened?? I got a positive result, which ended up leading to having an amniocentesis done to see whether or not Nikos had Down Syndrome. Fortunately, he was completely healthy and perfect. I am dreading the results of this test, but at least I know what to expect this time around. I won't be as frightened if I get another positive result. But still... here's hoping for a "negative" in a few weeks!!!

And so that was our day... Interesting, to say the least! The plan for tomorrow is to attempt to bake an apple pie to bring to Thanksgiving on Thursday. I might even put up the tree and/or bake cookies! Wish me luck! :)

Wedding Weekend!

So as it turns out, this past Saturday was a popular one for weddings! Not only did my high school friend Ikuyo get married in Japan, but two of our very best college friends, Mike and Steph, got hitched up in Napa! Gus and I were both in the bridal party for Mike and Steph's wedding, so that's the one we attended, but I can't wait to see pictures from Ikuyo's wedding, too! Hooray for weddings!!!

Anyway, we had a fantastic time. It was so much fun to see Mike and Steph again, and to meet their other friends John and Jelena. The six of us were all staying at the same hotel, so we were actually able to hang out despite all the wedding activities, which was really nice. Nikos stayed with my parents this time, and was in a great mood the entire time we were gone (of course!). We left early Friday morning, and then returned home last night after a stayover in Pismo Beach on our way down the coast. All in all, it was really a fun weekend-- one of the best times we've had in a while! Here are a few (okay, a LOT of) pictures from this weekend's festivities (taken with my cheap, crummy camera because it was smaller and fit into Gus' pocket)...





And a few from our day/night in Pismo Beach... cold, but very pretty!

Clapping, Cuddles, and Communication

Our little guy seems to be going through a developmental "growth spurt" lately, and it's been so much fun! For one, he finally started clapping. He'd been pointing and waving for months, but would never clap (even if I put his hands together and showed him). All of a sudden, he started doing it! He thinks it's HILARIOUS, too, and gets the biggest smile and giggles while he's doing it. I've been trying to get a video, but no luck so far. I think I might just die from the cuteness!

In the past few weeks, Nikos has also started giving "hugs"-- or his version of them, anyway. I'll be sitting on the floor in the living room, watching him play, and he'll come crawling over to me at full speed, pull up on me, spread his arms out wide and rest his head on my belly or wherever. And before you know it, he's off playing again. It's like he just needs to check in with me and give me some love before he goes to play some more. It is just the sweetest thing!

Finally, I'm realizing that he understands much more than I thought. Last night, he drank about half of his bottle and then abandoned it for some toys. I said, "Hey, drink your bottle!" He turned around, crawled back over to his bottle, and chugged it. Is he a good boy or what??? :) We won't mention the spectacular tantrum he threw about an hour later. Oh no, we won't mention that at all. But while we're on the topic... Gus and I are attempting to ignore the tantrum and redirect him to his toys, and it seems to work most of the time. The tantrums are getting shorter and less frequent... Let's hope the trend continues before I lose my mind!

And, lest my second child reads this in the future and thinks I have forgotten about them... I think I am feeling the baby move!! A couple of times now, in the evening, I have felt those familiar movements in my belly. It should become more obvious in the next month or so, but it's so cool! I don't think it ever gets any less amazing... I can't believe that there's another little person in there!!

Ups and Downs

First, a picture of very-happy Nikos, upon discovering Charlie's napping spot (Charlie was not so thrilled):

I may be biased, but doesn't he have the BEST smile??? I need that right now!

So today started off on a low note, which was a bummer. I had a doctor's appointment scheduled for 8:30am, according to the little reminder card they gave me last time. Gus and I got to the office and, lo and behold, they couldn't find my appointment in the computer! The receptionist must not have actually entered it into the system! I was so sad, because this was supposed to be the appointment where we got to hear the heartbeat for the first time. Anyhow, they were going to try to fit me in, anyway, but then the lead nurse took a look at my chart. She asked me if I was planning on doing the AFP test (the test that lead to all the drama last time around... yet we've decided that the pros outweigh the cons). When I said yes, she told me that I wasn't far enough along in my pregnancy to do that yet, and that I'd need to come back in two weeks, anyway. So... They made me an appointment for the 25th. No appointment today, no happy heartbeat. I very nearly cried, because I was so disappointed. I just hope the next two weeks fly by!

On a happier note, though, Gus has been Mr. Handyman this weekend! With some help from my dad (the home improvement guru), he tore out all the old kitchen tile, replaced it with new tile, and installed our new kitchen sink and faucet! It looks incredible! Here is an "in-progress" picture... Once everything is cleaned up in there, I'll post the finished product. It really does look great!

"Rainbow"

I can't believe that I forgot to post about this! Yikes! Pregnancy brain strikes again!

Anyway... Last week, I made the big announcement at work! In the lounge, I posted the picture of Nikos wearing his "Big Brother" shirt and wrote the news on the white board. Knowing that this sort of news spreads like wildfire around my small school, I knew I'd need to tell my students pretty much first thing in the morning. After they got unpacked and settled, I told them that I had a Picture of the Day to share. This is pretty common for me-- I almost always show them cute Nikos pictures. So when his picture popped up on the screen, I got the usual "awwwww"s from the kids. I didn't say anything. After a short pause, I could hear a few students reading his shirt out loud ("big... brother...??"). Next thing I knew, one little boy said, "Wait-- are you PREGNANT?!?!?!" The way he said it, with an accusatory tone, was hilarious (his mom just had baby #4 six weeks ago)! Once I confirmed that yes, I was indeed pregnant, they just went bonkers. Screaming, yelling, ticker-tape parade insane. It was a pretty great reaction, actually. They are so excited! (oh, and this was last Wednesday... it was a short day and the day that we celebrated Halloween at our school... So they were pretty hyper to begin with)

Anyhow... fast forward to this week. The same kiddo who figured out that I was pregnant asked me what I was going to name this baby. I said something to the effect of, "I don't know. Whatever I feel like!" He responded, "So... you could, like, name your baby something like Rainbow? Or Tree?" I told him that yes, I was planning to name my child Rainbow. Well, wouldn't you know that it stuck! All week long, my students have been calling my baby "Rainbow." In all seriousness! They'll start questions with phrases like "When Rainbow gets here..." It cracks me up! It's so much more fun than saying "it" or "the baby." Little Rainbow! :)

First Weekend Away...

Well, Gus and I just got back from our first-ever weekend away from Nikos. Gus' buddy from college got married up in Monterey, so of course we had to go! Nikos stayed with his yia-yia and pappou, and had a great time. They even took him trick-or-treating with his girlfriend, Simone (who was a ladybug)! Simone's daddy, Mike, supposedly took quite a few pictures of them, so we'll hopefully get to see them soon. And in the meantime, we can eat all the candy that our son collected for us (mwahahaha!!!). :)

Anyhow, we had a great weekend. The drive was incredibly long, seeing as how Monterey is way out on a peninsula and away from the bigger highways. It took us just over an hour and a half to get to Gus' parents' house in Orange County on Friday morning, and then another six-and-a-half hours to get from there to Monterey. It was a little faster driving home today (less traffic), but still looooooong.

Other than the drive, though, the weekend was great! The weather was drizzly and gray, but that seems pretty fitting for the area. The rehearsal dinner was on Halloween, and basically everyone who was invited to the wedding was there (biggest rehearsal dinner EVER! It was basically a pre-wedding wedding.). Gus got to touch base with a lot of his college buddies. The next day, we had time to kill, so we went and walked around Cannery Row. We met up with three of his friends, walked around a bit, and then had lunch together. We saw several sea otters, and even an escaped sea lion (who was supposed to be in a fenced-off area... he was a rebel!). After going back to the hotel and getting ready, we made our way to Pebble Beach and the Monterey Peninsula Country Club. It was off of the scenic 17 Mile Drive, so just imagine how fancy-pants it was! The wedding was beautiful, and the food was great. All of the UCLA people were pretty much seated at the same table, so it was fun! The scariest part of the evening was attempting to find our way home, when the 17-Mile Drive was just about pitch black and covered with dense fog. There were some hairy moments, but we eventually found our way to the gate!

Anyhow... Here are some pictures from this weekend! I might come back and label them later, but for now I'll just say "Congrats, Scott and Robyn!" :)