Casey crawled into that nook while chasing after the Yankee ball Papa got him the day he was born. He got stuck and needed some help getting out.
Also, please note the stuffed Smurf in the picture. I got that when I stopped using a bottle. No, it wasn't last week.

9 month checkup

We had our 9 month checkup today. Casey wooed the office staff and his nurse with his smile, cooing and overall genial demeanor. He also flirted with a little girl in the waiting room. He weighed in at 17lbs, 27 5/8 inches. While extremely pleasant for most of the visit, he was not happy after he got his shots. He's doing well developmentally and has 6 teeth.

Today Casey had fajitas for lunch at prison daycare. He's been a fan of the Mexican food here, so I was not surprised to hear he ate heartily. He also took 2 naps and spent some time doing manipulative play. We drove Aunt Cristen home from work and stayed for dinner. Please note I did not say we ate dinner. That would mean we all ate, and that would not be the truth. Most of us ate and Casey threw food on the floor, ate some puffs and yelled excitedly.

After breakfast Casey crawled out of the kitchen and sat, shaking this ball to make it jingle while he yelled. At the top of his lungs.


He spent at least an hour playing with these FiberOne bars (which are not only fun toys, but are also delicious). Seriously, they were in the box, out of the box, intently stared out, shaken heartily. And they were yelled at...loudly.


To get him to sleep we gave him a cocktail in his cup.


Last night we dined with the grandparents Rubin and Aunt Jessica. For dinner Casey ate some fruit, Cheerios, and threw his chicken on the floor.

I do not know why I am able to access the blog from work today, but I will take advantage during lunch. Daycare has an inservice for the staff this afternoon, so we would have had to pick him up by noon. So, Casey is home with his dad today while I'm hard at work. Yesterday he had ribs for lunch & quite enjoyed them. Perhaps he will love BBQ as much as his dad does. After a little nap after we got home last night, Casey was all smiles. He enjoyed his bath and even went to sleep without too much of a struggle.

Casey takes after his father...he likes a sauce on things. Tonight we had pork chops with apples and thyme. He ate half a pork chop, some rice, fruit and then, of course, puffs and Cheerios. He's now in the bath, getting the food from the day off his body.
I really can't believe how big he's getting. He's starting to look and act like a little boy already!

The boy has been enjoying lots of new food lately, the latest being Rice Krispie Treats. He loved them.

Casey enjoyed ham for dinner. Ham on rye with mustard, to be exact.

9 Months Old!

Believe it or not, it has been 9 months to the day that Casey was born. It's amazing how much changes in that amount of time ... time that sometimes seems will never end (2 a.m. screaming) ... time that seems has gone by too fast in how much Casey has changed - he looks more like a little boy and less like a baby everyday. The 9 month checkup will be delayed by a week or so, however it appears that Casey has re-gained most of the weight lost from the illness. He hasn't quite got all of the fat rolls back, but the gut looks healthy. He has 6 teeth, and counting. The hair is filling in nicely - he officially now has more than his father. He is discovering new things all the time, especially himself. He crawls, traverses steps, chants, waves, and bangs. He walks with the aid of furniture and toys, and while he can stand on his own for a brief second, has not taken any steps yet. He doesn't like an audience for dinner - he seems to eat better (read real food) when only Carrie and I are around. He hates a hat and anything on his feet. Oh, and Matt's bloodline is definitely strong with this one - he loves to stay up / sleep late, anything electronic, appreciates a fine automobile, a groovy tune, and loves to grope. Speaking of the no sleeping...

This is from the 16th, Casey's 9 month birthday. He enjoys a good book.

Yesterday we had a belated Christmas celebration with Ken, an old family friend. Casey enjoyed talking to & smiling at Mr. Ken. He also enjoyed untieing his shoe. We all had a lovely time, and we enjoyed Grandma Z's cooking. We forgot our camera & therefore have no photographic evidence of the event.
In more recent news, Casey ate chicken again for lunch today. And he took 2 naps on his Sponge Bob couch.

Here comes trouble!

Casey strolled around using a walker push toy yesterday & was quite pleased with himself. His love of Cheerios continues. He ate cut up chicken on Wednesday night, but wouldn't eat it Thursday or Friday. In fact last night he put it in his mouth, then spit it out, then threw it over the side of his highchair. Perhaps someday he'll eat something other than Cheerios.
We have a busy day ahead of us. We're going to take advantage of the nice weather & spend a little time outside. We're also expecting a visit from Nicole & Susie. Then the grandparents Rubin & Zukowski & the NJ aunts (Cristen & Jessica) are coming to dine with us.

new pictures

There are some new pictures posted from Dec 26th & 27th.

Merry (Little) Christmas

Because today brings to an end the Twelve Days of Christmas and we were all sick on Christmas Day, we decided to have Casey open his gifts this morning. So here are a few photos of him. He enjoyed playing with the paper and trying to eat tape more than he enjoyed any of his actual gifts. (I also have to get the pictures of him opening presents at my parents house a couple days after Christmas with Caroline.)

Casey doesn't make this face. This was an accidental shot, but it shows off his bottom teeth very well. He's feeling much better, is eating and keeping us on our toes. Friday evening he knocked down one of the baby gates and laughed.

At our visit to the dr yesterday Casey weighed 15.8 lbs. That means he's lost over 1 1/2 pounds with his latest illness. He DOES NOT have an ear infection, contrary to stupid doctor from the 26ths diagnosis. He is still getting over a particularly bad bout of a stomach virus. Due to his constant pooping, he's got pretty nasty looking diaper rash, which he now has some magic cream to cure. Because he's had the squirts for so long, the very nice new pediatrician sent us home a stool sample collection kit so she can rule out a bacterial infection. I can now say from experience that it takes more time than one would think to scoop a vial full of baby poo out of a diaper with a tiny scooper--think of the old coffee stirrers from McDonalds, the white ones with the little spoon on the end. I can also say from experience that you will do things you never imagined when you have kids...you won't throw up when they puke on you, you won't mind having bananas all over your clothes, and you might be lucky enough to scoop poo.
Grandma (Z) watched him today so he didn't have to go to baby prison (daycare) today, which was lovely of her. Per her report he was very good all day, but he screamed for a good hour this evening and wouldn't sit in the tub. Perhaps his rashy bum is causing him pain? Perhaps it's the new teeth he's working on? If only babies came with a decoder ring...

Happy New Year!

Casey seems to be getting back to his regular self. He's been crawling up a storm, talking, eating. Gone is the week of him laying limply on someone. He still has a hacking cough though, so we will be going to the doctor tomorrow. A new doctor, as I hate our current pediatrician with the fire of a thousand suns.

Someone seems to be feeling a little better. He wouldn't eat during the day so Matt ended up swinging by my office so Casey could eat. He then needed a diaper change so he got to visit my office. My boss quickly darted away from him, probably trying to avoid me making him hold Casey again. Casey made up for his lack of interest in eating once I got home and he even ate some little bits of chicken during dinner.

Without giving you all the long, drawn out story, we had a not so great experience with our pediatrician this week. The more I think about it, the angrier it makes me. We saw a covering doctor on the 26th. She insisted Casey had an ear infection, not a stomach virus. Forget the ER doctors diagnosis of a stomach virus and the fact that he had been vomiting for 3+ days, and the fact that Matt and I got sick. Shockingly, when we took him back to the office--and saw a different doctor--on Thursday, we were informed that he did NOT have an ear infection. Such a vote of confidence for the care our boy is receiving!!
Due to all the throwing up, Casey was on a Pedialyte-only diet until this morning. Currently our fridge and freezer look like a dairy bar due to all the pumping that was going on during this ailment. He's been slowly getting some energy back, but he's still not back to his regular speedy moving self. Soon, we hope.

Casey looking sick with his cousin Caroline.

Here are a couple pictures of Casey opening gifts at Grandma & Papa's house. Caroline was very excited to help.

Blah Humbug

We missed Christmas. I do not joke. We really missed it. Matt, Casey and I were all sick and home in bed. All day.

Bug

Thankfully, Casey has slept through the night for the past five nights. I've probably just jinxed us, but I mention this because when we retrieved him from his crib this morning, it looked as though he had gotten drunk and passed out in a now dried puddle of his own vomit. I changed him, and brought him to Carrie so he could nurse. I was just about to fall back to sleep when I heard the tsunami of vomit rush forth washing us all out of bed. Several hours and two vomit baths later, we called the doctor, whose message referred us to the covering doctor. Assuming he was only going to tell us to go to the emergency room, that's where we headed. Infants and chest pain are apparently the fast lane to ER service, as we were in and out. After charming the admission staff and nurses, the doctor determined that Casey had the stomach bug going around and suggested small amounts of pedialyte on regular intervals.

I forgot to mention that we are currently boycotting etoys and Walmart.  Both companies have made me irate in the past few weeks, so we're boycotting.  

Casey returned to daycare yesterday.  The teachers seem frustrated by his lack of napping, but that's nothing new.  Sometimes he just doesn't like naps.  While I was getting Casey ready for bed I turned to get PJs out.  He was on the floor & I really only turned around long enough to get PJs and close the drawer.  Somehow he managed to take off his diaper.  He then crawled away from me as quickly as he could--laughing, of course--in what I think was an attempt to stay naked as long as possible. 

Although sick, the little guy is still in a good mood. And he always enjoys a bath.

Casey is sick again. He's got another ear infection.

8 months

Casey is 8 months old today.  He's crawling like a speed demon, cruising all over the house, and he desperately wants to walk.  I made him some real food for dinner, but he didn't seem so interested.  He did, of course, eat mangos.  Not sure if it's been mentioned before, but Casey got some bath toys as a gift.  He likes his rubber duck, but the assorted sea creatures scare the bejesus out of him.  He stares at them in horror and then starts shrieking when he sees them. Naturally we use them for punishment.  

The PC/Mac debate seems to have been settled in our house.  We all vote for the Mac.  Our PC is still not working right & that is why you haven't seen any new pictures. 

Today we went to Jacob's 1st birthday party. Casey was excellent. Sadly, he slept through a visit from Santa, although he did catch a riveting game of Pin the Tail on the Donkey, which by the way, has come a long way since my day, complete with inflatable donkey.

Casey enjoyed his first Hanukkah celebration on Sunday night.  Matt tried to post pictures, but the other computer crashed & the pictures are on that one.  This is why we love the Mac...so user friendly and reliable. 

Casey still had a runny nose.  Matt is fine.  I feel fine but for some reason have no voice.  (I am aware that Matt is probably thrilled).  

Happy Hanukkah

Even though this is already the 6th night of Hanukkah, we celebrated the Festival of Lights tonight. Casey was showered with gifts, shielded from the dog, and managed to choke down a piece of brisket. He wasn't so interested, however, in watching old home videos of his father's first year of life.

Casey went to the doctor yesterday.  He's got an ear infection, so they Palm Piloted his prescription for the delicious bubble gum flavored antibiotic to our pharmacy.  He has been in a remarkably good mood.  It would be nice if he would sleep more, but who can fault a sick baby for wanting to play at all hours of the night.  Matt started to feel ill yesterday, and I'm not feeling so hot now.  I suppose it's good that Casey likes to share...

In more exciting news, Casey has been cruising around the family room holding on to the couch, or the gate set up and his Jumperoo.  He's been increasingly daring about letting go and trying to stand on his own, and he managed to do it for a little bit this evening (Matt witnessed it, I did not).  

Sick Day

Casey was home sick today. He went to bed at normal time last night & woke up a couple hours later with a very stuffy nose. None of us really got much sleep last night, and we decided he would not be going to "school" today. So, we hung out all day. He was in a very good mood, especially considering he was unable to breathe through his nose. This evening, he developed a little fever, but hopefully it's nothing serious.

Here's proof that he survived day 1 of daycare.

Crawling...


Mid-stand...

Trying to climb onto the couch...


Had Daddy given him a bath tonight these pictures would not have been possible. There is a strict no standing allowed policy during Daddy given baths.

Casey and I survived his first day of daycare. According to one of his teachers he did very well for his first day. He only fussed and cried a little and he took a nap--in a crib, nonetheless. He was not a great eater, but he did play with the other kids quite a bit. He was playing when I arrived to pick him up, and it took a couple minutes to get his attention. Then, of course, he was full of smiles and ready to go.

Today is Casey's first day at day care. He was a bit reluctant at first for me to put him down or for Miss Hyiesha to hold him, but once his new friends came over to say hi, he was all smiles.