Casey is over babyfood & has been for some time now. He had waffles, yogurt and Cheerios for breakfast. For lunch he had chicken from fajitas we had the other night, and of course some shredded cheddar. As a snack he ate puffs and cheesedoodles. And for dinner he ate chicken parm (1/2 a breast) & a few bites of pizza. He also ate some apple today...

He LOVES to play with these spoons. He falls asleep holding them sometimes.


Casey hates this hat. Absolutely detests it.

We had a nice family day. Casey did lots of giggling, he danced, played, crawled around & we got to enjoy him. Matt is in AC for the night and, I'll probably jinx myself, but I'm enjoying the quiet.

The day in photos.

Snow Day!

There was a decent amount of snow on the ground when we woke up this morning. I crossed my fingers as I dialed the 800 # to find out if work was closed...and it was not. That's when I made the executive decision that Casey and I would be having a snow day. Matt is working from home, so I let him participate when we went out in the snow. Otherwise we have not seen all that much of him, as he's been working.
So far we've had breakfast, played in the snow, played in the house, roamed all over both floors of the house, and taken 2 naps (we're currently on nap 2 as I type). In addition, we've gotten 6 loads (and counting) of laundry done, ironed and re-hung some curtains from said laundry, and put all of Casey's laundry away. All this and it's only 2:15.
I'll post pictures when Matt steps away from the computer, Casey permitting of course.

He loves to point.

10 months old

We played, took some trips to the store, and then played some more. Casey also went on a bit of a nursing strike, which ended at bedtime tonight.
In celebration of his very merry unbirthday, Casey actually ate dinner. After dinner he pushed his high chair around, played a little, then took a bath and went to sleep.

Happy Valentine's Day

Luckily, we have outlet covers...

Double ear infection. That was our diagnosis Monday morning. Matt took Casey to the doctor in the morning, and I took him for a test in the afternoon. No RSV for us, which is good to know. I vaguely remember some friends/former coworkers kids having this, and it was no fun. Casey spent Monday mostly with his dad, yesterday Grandma came over to watch him while Matt worked from home, and today he's back at prison. He has been slowly regaining his "Caseyness". Last night he pushed his high chair all around the kitchen and tried to push it down the step into the family room. He was not happy when I stopped him.
I have been waiting for snow so I could bundle Casey up and take him outside. It finally snowed yesterday. Reasons Casey did not get to go outside and get his picture taken in the snow:
1) he was sick
2) the snow was turning to rain when I got home from work
3) he screamed when I took him near the door to show him the snow, so I do not imagine he would have been happy to actually go outside.
So, after dinner Casey took a bath instead.

The little man is sick again. He woke up with a cough and runny nose and just out of sorts. Poor baby. He's been blowing enormous snot bubbles, and has still been in a good mood, which has made his ailment easier for us. Looks like someone will be headed to the doctor tomorrow. In other news, we now have a gate at the top of the stairs to prevent Casey from taking a tumble, so we can let him crawl around freely upstairs.***
Casey wishes Aunt Berta a Happy Birthday.

*** This is a joke. We will obviously keep an eye on him if he's crawling around, but the gate is a precautionary measure.

Today we shopped. Food shopped, house shopped, clothes shopped. Casey is the only one who got any clothes, though. Then we had dinner with the Grandparents and Aunt Rubin. Casey threw most of his food on the floor, so the dog got to eat a couple arrowroot cookies.

Casey's been enjoying school this week. He's eaten all sorts of interesting things, played with his friends, and made artwork. He's also been exposed to a few more illnesses, so we're hoping he stays healthy. This evening, he clapped on his own. He gets very excited and claps his little hands together. Sometimes he's so cute I can't stand it.

This evening Casey started rubbing his eyes, so I thought he was tired. I realized I was mistaken when the red hives pooped out around his right eye. Not sure what caused them, as he had been smearing food on his face and rubbing it on a variety of surfaces throughout the house. On the bright side, the hives were only in his face. Our fabulous new doctor promptly returned our call & suggested we give him some Benadryl. Upon my return from ShopRite for the Benadryl run I recalled Casey had used my shirt as a canvas for finger painting with his dinner. I realized I incorrectly gave credit for the cheesy beef yesterday. While Grandma prepared the cheesy beef, the recipe is really from my Aunt Sue, so I suppose I should have said Casey dined on Aunt Sue's cheesy beef as prepared by Grandma. Thanks for the recipe Aunt Sue, it was a hit.

Casey dined on Grandma's cheesy beef, some fruity yogurt, and little potato latkes. He's been playing up a storm, all while rooting on the Giants.

Cheers!

We've had a busy day so far. We had pancakes and cinnamon rolls for breakfast, did some things around the house, took a couple naps, fit in a trip to Target. Now Casey is preparing to watch the Super Bowl. He's sporting Giants colors and is excitedly looking forward to a large selection of finger foods to try out. Perhaps you'll see some pictures of his food covered self later. While he wishes his cousin Brady a Happy 1st Birthday, he still hopes the Giants win the Super Bowl.

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.