21 Weeks

Santino made it through Christmas last week and all the festivities. He really loves staring at the lights and pretty ornaments on the tree.

We started him on prunes a few days ago and he loves it mixed with his rice cereal. He gobbles up the food just about as fast as we can give it to him. You'd think he would be sleeping through the night, but no such luck. (He's slept maybe a solid 4-5 hours a few times, but I don't consider that sleeping through the night). He still continues to wake up a couple times a night for me to feed and change him. 

When Santino is lying on his back on the floor, he gets a kick out of Maximus coming over and lying on top of him. It kind of freaked me out at first when Rob showed me, since Maximus is so much bigger than S. I was afraid that M was hurting the baby, but then I saw the huge smile on Santino's face and it made me feel better. We continue to caution Maximus to be gentle with his brother, and for the most part he is.

Santino likes to scratch and pull at things. He'll scratch his fingernails on pillows, clothes and the couch. I'm not sure if it's the sound, texture, him just trying to grab at things, or all of the above that he enjoys. He's also really good at pulling hair. Ouch! Even Maximus has been the recipient of that.

Santino likes sitting upright and if supported well, he can sit on the couch by himself. He's not totally independent when it comes to that yet. He still doesn't have the balance to sit on his own.

He definitely likes attention, lots of bouncing, holding and kissing. Yes! This baby LOVES kisses! I can't even tell you how many times I kiss him a day. Muwah! Santino also loves it when we talk or sing to him.

Can you believe tomorrow is the last day of the year? I can hardly wrap my mind around how fast 2013 has gone. I feel so blessed in many ways. One thing I appreciate are all of you reading this. Thanks for taking the time to stop by. I've truly "met" some of the nicest people through blogging.

I hope to post some photos from Christmas this week.

Happy New Year!



20 Weeks

Happy 20 weeks Santino!

  

Merry Christmas to ALL!

Haircut for Maximus

I've always trimmed Maximus' hair in the past, but today we took him to get his first professional haircut.

Rob and I prepared Maximus ahead of time by talking about going to the hairdresser and what he could expect.

He did surprisingly well for a toddler getting his haircut. He even seemed to enjoy the whole process.
 

I think he felt pretty grown up.

When it came time for Molly to clean up the back of M's hair, he wanted to hold the clippers. She was so sweet and patient and obliged, with careful supervision of course.
 

When she was all done cutting his hair, she gave him a piece of candy.

Before

 

After


I think it looks a lot better. We wanted to keep it on the longer side but just tidy it up a bit.

Photos

Most of my posts have been the weekly photos of Santino. I've been wanting to post more, but just haven't. So, here's a bunch of photos from the past few weeks. 

Maximus by the Christmas tree

 

I took this with my cell phone. M wasn't wanting to take a picture. In fact he was pulling away, but I still got a smile out of him.

 

M being silly on the floor by the felt Christmas tree.

 

Santino...ha!

 

Another self portrait

 

Squeezable

 

Sweet bundle. I'm sure when S is a teenager he won't think this was very cute.

 

Love this face

 

M has been using a cardboard wrapping paper tube for sliding pencils through.

 

Intense

 

S used to dislike being on his tummy but now he enjoys it. He has really good control and strength lifting his head.

 

That's all for now, folks.


Have a good weekend!

19 Weeks

A more serious side to Santino

When he's sucking on his hands, he gets pretty intense. Sometimes he even makes himself gag. He's discovered his feet a few days ago, so he's been grabbing at them.

This past week Santino has been rolling a lot. I don't feel comfortable leaving him in a room for too long unattended.

On Saturday, Rob mashed up an avocado really well and mixed it with olive oil and fed that to Santino for the first time. He enjoyed it!

Santino absolutely loves watching Maximus. He'll just stare at him as if he's looking up to his big brother. Maximus likes to play with him and gets excited when Santino is grabbing hold of things like the toys hanging down from his play mat. The interaction between the two of them is so sweet at times.

I hope you had a good weekend. Christmas is next week! Can you believe it?

Happy day!

What's in the Package?

"Ohhhhh...Christmas presents! I've GOT to take a peek into THIS package."

 

"Yay!!! It's Santino!"

 

"You're the BEST Christmas present EVER, Santino!"

 

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Lately Maximus has been saying to Santino, "I love you baby." Followed shortly by, "I love you too, Mama."

 

My heart melts. 

18 Weeks

Future soccer player perhaps?

 

Big news this week...Santino had his first solid food. On Saturday we gave him some rice cereal. He loved it and did really well eating. It will be fun to start adding more foods down the road. I still can't quite wrap my brain around the fact that he is already 4 months old!

 

Rob was out of town most of last week so it was just me with the boys again. It was a little crazy at times trying to take care of the two of them, but we made it. Ha! So thankful that Rob is back home though. I've mentioned it before and I'll say it again, he's a huge help around here.

 

I hope your week is off to a good start. Our forecast is saying snow this afternoon. I hope they're right!!!

 

Happy day!



Baptism

I'm finally getting around to posting some photos from Santino's baptism a couple weeks ago.
 

We had a private ceremony with our families. It was very special because the Pastor (now retired), was the same one that baptized Rob & Maximus, in addition to performing our wedding ceremony.

 

Maximus was not in the picture taking mood that day. Ha!

After the ceremony we had a little lunch reception at my parent's house. I was happy with how the cake turned out that I ordered.

 

 

I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the holidays. I love this time of year. I still need to do some shopping, but at least our tree is up. What about you? Are you ready?

 

We are having super cold weather here. Tonight, temps are forecasted to be in the single digits. BRRRR...

 

I had to throw in a photo of the two of these guys together.

Love them!  

17 weeks

When Santino is lying on his back, he rolls to the side and now onto his tummy. He also loves to stuff his fingers in his mouth as you can see.

 

He is quite stiff legged at times...pushing himself up to a standing position if we're holding him. He's been like that almost since birth. Lately, however, he has been trying to sit up straight when we put him in the bouncy chair or swing. He'll lift his head up as if he's trying to do sit ups.

 

He continues to growl, laugh and make really loud noises.

 

Santino finds interest in toys that make noises, like the crinkly books, his Baby Einstein musical toy and Maximus' bright colored blocks. He has a love/hate thing going on with his play mat. Sometimes he can lie there and be completely content and entertain himself, while other times he cries and doesn't want to have anything to do with it. He is grabbing at things more and is able to hold onto them for short spurts. I'm sure all of this learning can be a bit overwhelming for him. Whew...

 

I am staying busy, and it's exhausting at times, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I feel so blessed to be a Mom to my 2 boys!

 

Happy day!

16 Weeks

I thought I'd change it up and go with a semi-serious photo of Santino, even though he smiled a lot during this photo session.

 

We had a busy week. Santino was baptized on Saturday. It was a beautiful day with our families celebrating this little life being dedicated to Jesus!

 

Santino did great and didn't cry at all during the ceremony. I will try and post some pictures this week.

 

I thought I'd mention that Christmas is exactly 1 month away from today. Can you BELIEVE it? WOW-WEE...Where has this year gone?

 

I am so looking forward to the holidays. I hope you are too.

 

Happy day!



15 Weeks

We've had sickness throughout our house lately, except for Santino. So thankful we are all feeling better and that S has been healthy! Here's what's been going on lately...

 

• If I'm out of Santino's sight for too long, he starts to cry.

• He loves to be held by Rob or myself and needs to be involved with whatever is going on.

• S enjoys facing forward so he can see what's going on around him.

• Just today, he was studying Maximus so intently as M was eating celery. Maximus loves this kind of attention.

• When Rob and I kiss Santino on the cheeks and neck playfully, (over and over), he smiles and giggles.

• The other night Santino was mimicking some of the noises that Maximus was making, such as "aaaaahhhhh" and growling noises.

• Naps are becoming shorter during the day for Santino. He averages about 30 - 60 minutes at a time. However, if he is asleep in the swing and wakes up, we're usually able to get him back to sleep if we push him really fast. He'll sleep much longer this way.

• When he wakes up from napping, he'll be up for about 1 ½ to 2 hours before he goes back down for another nap.

• At night Santino goes to sleep around 9:30 - 10:30. He usually wakes up between 12:30 or 1:30 am and then again around 4:30 or 5:30 am to be fed and changed.

• Santino still doesn't travel well. In general, he doesn't like the car seat and if we are driving, he likes going at fast speeds without a lot of stop and go.

• He is starting to reach and hold onto things. He's not proficient at it yet, but it's fun to see him making the attempt. 

 

We love this happy baby!

14 Weeks

I'm loving all of the smiles and giggles I get from this baby. He's especially giddy when I put him in the swing and tuck him in, or when he's lying on our bed and we're interacting with him. Rob switched out the light bulbs in our ceiling fan to a very low wattage, so now Santino loves staring at the light.


He's starting to drool and blow spit bubbles. When he can, he enjoys chewing on a blanket.


Last week Rob went on a business trip, so it was just me with the boys. Whew...we survived! Maximus is always a big help. When it comes to changing Santino's diaper, getting burp clothes, or pushing him in the swing, Maximus loves to assist!


Happy Veteran's Day. Thank you to all the men and women out there who have served our country, past and present. We owe our freedom to you!