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The Joy of Feeding Miguelito

Miguelito has been a challenge to feed since we embarked on the whole solid food journey beginning when he was around 6 months old. He is a boob man and is still a boob man although his days are numbered much to his chagrin.

I am always trying to come up with new and interesting things for Miguel to eat. He is difficult to please, though. He prefers to dine, so mealtimes at our house take anywhere from 45mins to an hour. He gets that from Nonnie because she likes to dine as well. What he loves one day is what he really hates the next, so that is always fun for Mommy. Meals tend to have a wide variety of offerings since he likes 5-10 bites of one thing and then is ready for the next item on the menu.

You must take care in not putting too much on his tray because it will end up on the floor no matter how hungry he is. For fun, he likes to throw his sippy cup at Mommy. Oh, my son, my son.

Today I decided to make Cornbread Taco Mini Muffins. He really likes anything he can eat independently and he prefers if you give him the whole piece of whatever it is he is eating, so mini muffins are a great solution.

One of my Mommy friends makes something similar for her children, so I thought what the heck let's see if Miguelito likes it.

I took one box of Jiffy Cornbread Muffin mix, 1 egg, 1/3 cup of organic whole milk, about 1/2 pound of ground meat browned with taco seasoning, and 2 handfuls of shredded sharp cheese. Mixed it together then put by teaspoonfuls into a mini muffin pan. Baked at 375 for about 15-18 minutes. Made 24 mini muffins, but Miguelito insisted on having one fresh from the oven! It was a winner....he loved it! Score one for Mommy!

Easter 2008

Shocker of the day....Miguelito was not cooperating for photos because he wanted the camera! He is something else and pretty darn difficult to take a photo of these days.

Tearing into the Crayola markers

Counting the eggs

Oops, picture time is over. Must. get. camera.

Miguelito had an Easter basket with a few eggs filled with jelly beans, a marshmallow egg, a small beach ball, silly putty, a couple of small balls to throw at Mommy, Crayola toddler stampers, markers, a couple of books, and playdoh.

He has eaten way too much sugar today, but that is what holidays and being a child are all about, right!?!?

Tonight he managed to drop one of the eggs filled with jelly beans and the jelly beans went everywhere. I quickly tried to pick them all up, but he managed to shove about 5 in his mouth and grab another handful, which he stashed somewhere in the living room. I thought that I had discovered his stash under the couch, but he kept reappearing with another one in his mouth! He is such a hoot.

Happy Easter to all of our family and friends!

Ah, our lima bean!

Baby Wood v2.0 made his/her debut on ultrasound at our 8w OB appointment. I was finally able to install the drivers for the scanner after sweet talking my laptop and scanner into cooperating for the nauseated pregnant woman who really needs a nap right now. ;)

Without further ado, here are the ultrasound photos of our sweet lima bean!

Happy Easter!

I took Miguel to Northpark Center to have his photo taken with the live Easter bunnies. The wait was long (more than 2 hours), but friends met us and we shopped, had lunch, and then went back to wait for our turn with the bunnies. Miguel was quite funny and enjoyed all the silly faces the photographer made, so it was hard to pick just one photo. See that basket of wooden eggs...yep, my son thought it would be fun to throw a few at the photographer!

Photo by Marc Robins

Baby Wood v2.0 8w update

Let me explain...if you don't speak computer-ese, then Baby Wood v2.0 doesn't make sense to you. Baby Wood version 2.0 is what it means. Get it now?!?! I am a computer geek wannabe who lives with the uber geek of computers, so, of course, we think the moniker Baby Wood v2.0 is adorably cute. ;)

We had our first OB appointment with Dr. Tara Dullye on Friday, 14 March. Miguel and I were beyond excited, but also a little nervous. I was in desparate need of re-assurance that the little one was growing and doing just fine. We met with Dr. Dullye, who we simply adore, in her office before going to the exam room. We went over the basics, but since we just did all this 14 months ago, we did not have many questions and we ended up chatting about babies (she has 4 children) and life. Plus she told us she will more than likely be in Disney World for my due date, 21 October. I am pretty dead set on having Dr Dullye at the birth, so we might consider an induction if things look favorable. Who knows what will happen between now and then, so we will wait until much closer to decide what to do.

After chatting for a bit, we went to the exam room for an ultrasound and the usual stuff. The ultrasound was amazing. The sac looks great, the little bean was floating around with a fast beating heart (165 bpm) and measured right on. Miguel and I just stared at the screen in awe! Dr Dullye is pretty amazing...she sees pregnant woman all day every day and she was genuinely excited to see our little one on ultrasound and just kept saying...isn't he/she so cute!

After the ultrasound and exam, we headed to the lab so I could give my donation of 5 tubes of blood.

Our next appointment is at 12w when we will do another ultrasound for genetic screening and listen for heart tones via doppler.

I do have two ultrasound photos to post, but for some reason (not operator, I am positive) I can't get the drivers for the scanner to upload to my laptop, so it will have to wait for now.

A tisket, a tasket, a boy in a basket

Miguel thought is would be a good idea to pull all his toys out of the basket and then attempt to climb in. With a little help from Mommy, mission accomplished! He really liked being pushed in the basket all over Sweetie and Papa T's living room floor.

 

Baton Rouge Visit

Miguelito and I had a great time visiting family while we were in Baton Rouge even though we both weren't feeling terribly great. I managed to take a couple of photos while we were there and they are long overdue making their debut on the blog.

Miguelito got his first taste of Diet Coke...yes, I know, but what happens at Sweetie's house, stays at Sweetie's house.

Ughh, not too sure about the first sip of carbonation

This is kind of fizzy, Sweetie, and my tongue is tingling!

Well, let me try just one more sip.

And another.

Dang, that was GOOD! Let's keep it between me and you...don't tell, Mommy!

Baby Wood v2.0

Miguelito wants everyone to know he is going to be a big brother! Baby Wood v2.0 has an approximate release date of 21 October 2008. We are over the moon excited and feel incredibly blessed.

Update on us....

Miguelito has made a full recovery. Me, eh, not so much. I am feeling better, but my cough is something pretty fierce. I have photos to upload and posts to do, but it probably won't happen until tomorrow night at the earliest. My good friend, her husband and adorable toddler are visiting from Houston this weekend, so we are busy chatting and watching our toddlers play while I hack up a lung and run to the bathroom to pee every 3 minutes. ;)

The house of snot...

Miguelito and I are running a close race for who can use the most Kleenex in a day. Poor little man and poor poor Mommy.

After a few phone calls, I was able to get another antibiotic called in for myself without having to go to the MD since that would have required bringing a very fussy and clingy 14 month old with me. I am now taking Augmentin twice a day for the sinus infection from Hades, and I seem to be a bit better this morning. If only the darn hacking cough would go away so I could sleep at night. Did you know that sinus pressure in your face can make your teeth hurt?

I took Miguelito in to see his pediatrician yesterday morning and he still has an ear infection in his right ear and he has coxsackievirus, which is a relative of the virus that causes hand-foot-mouth disease. He does not have hand-foot-mouth disease, but has blisters/whelps in his throat along with a runny nose. He is also taking Augmentin twice a day along with Tylenol and Motrin for pain. He is not eating well, but seemed to be in better spirits today than yesterday.

I really hope by tomorrow Miguelito and I will both be feeling much better, and I will have something upbeat and witty to post about.

Hi Ho Hi Ho...

It's off to the doctor we go...AGAIN! It seems that Amoxcil is pink junk in a bottle and does nothing for Miguelito. He and I flew home yesterday evening and by this morning he was running fever again and not himself. The cough is gone, but the runny nose continues. He is half way through the second 10 day course of Amoxcil, and he is no better. So it looks like he is going back to the pediatrician tomorrow.

I started Zithromax on Friday for my self diagnosed sinus infection and hacking cough. I still feel like a freight train plowed over me, so I am calling the doctor for myself as well tomorrow.

And the cherry on the proverbial top of it all is Miguel says he has a headache and doesn't feel well. Of course, he blames his sickness on Miguelito and me, but seriously, we have been home together for less than 24 hours. (Insert the most loving voice ever here.) Give me a break, dude. Could you have possibly contracted something from the 1000 or so people you were with last week?!?!

So much for the TLC I was hoping for this week...guess I will be the one giving out the TLC now.

Sick. sick. sick.

It appears that Miguelito was "well" for a mere 24 hours. He and I flew to Baton Rouge  on Sunday for the week and by Sunday evening his runny nose was back with a vengeance and he was hacking up a lung. One phone call later to his pediatrician in Dallas, he was back on Amoxcil for another 10 days. He seems to be feeling better...the cough and runny nose are subsiding thanks to the antibiotic, or it could be because he passed the germs onto me...his Mommy.

So, now I am blowing my nose every 2 minutes, hacking up a lung, and feel like I am swallowing razor blades.  How come no one told me Mommies don't get sick days?!?!

I promise photos tomorrow.

Finger painting Fun

Miguel ran fever all night and most of today. The pediatrician declared his ears and throat clear, but it was given the catch all diagnosis of "viral infection." Take Motrin and Tylenol, and call if he gets any worse or other symptoms appear.

Once we got home, he seemed to be feeling a little better, so I broke out the finger paints and he had a blast until he decided he. was. done.

We are leaving for Baton Rouge tomorrow, while Miguel flies to Seattle for MS Sharepoint Conference and then Las Vegas for MS Mix08 at The Venetian. Yeah, I feel for him...NOT!

Wouldn't Ya' Know?

Wouldn't ya' freaking know, today of all days Miguel decides to get sick again. We have been battling a clear runny nose and cough for almost a month. We went to see Dr. Kennedy last week and it turned out Miguel had a sinus infection and ear infection, so we started on Amoxil and Zyrtec for suspected allergies. He seemed to be doing much better. Never ran fever, runny nose and cough disappeared, and I became a pro at hiding the antibiotic in whatever he was eating.

We were bummed out last week that I had to re-schedule his one year photos and family session...yes, I am aware he is almost 14 months old, but we were waiting for him to walk...with Jen. After once again juggling schedules, we decided on his photo session tomorrow morning...the clothes were picked out, cleaned, iron and ready to go. Best laid plans. Miguel woke up from his nap this afternoon with 102 fever and a clear runny nose. So instead of meeting Jen tomorrow morning for our session at Prather Park, we are heading to the pediatrician's office to see what is going on with Miguel. Oh, and let me add that we are flying to Baton Rouge on Sunday for the week. Fun times, let me tell you. Fun times.

We did manage to have fun this morning. Miguelito likes to put the colander on his head and run around (see photo) and we squeezed in a visit to Curtis Park in University Park.

Colander hat and an XBOX 360 controller...what more can a little boy ask for?

This is my mean face. If you tell Daddy, I was playing with the XBOX controller I will scream LOUD!

A is for Apple, B is for Boy, Y is for Yummy

One of Miguel's great pleasures in life is to run to the refrigerator when I open it and try to grab something out of it before I can close it. He usually grabs an egg and promptly squeezes it in his hand or throws it on the floor, but today an apple caught his eye.

He grabbed the apple and started chomping away. I tried to get it from him to at least wash it and peel a bit of the skin away, but he would have nothing of it. So, in my effort to avert temper tantrum number 1,256,791 for the day I did what any mommy would and gave it right back to him and ran for my camera.

Look what I have Mommy!

Just try and take my apple from me again and see what happens...

Who can resist a face like that?!?!

Sweetie's visit to Dallas and other random thoughts...

I am finally back online after what seemed like an eternity without a laptop. I am now the proud owner of a Dell XPS M1330 laptop with all the bells and whistles. Honestly, what did we do before computers and the internet?!?!

Lots has happened since my little hiatus from blogging, so let me give you the quick run down. Miguelito is pretty much sleeping through the night now except for a brief wake up because his pacifier is lost (even though he has 3 in the crib) and he needs a hug, Miguel flew to Phoenix to teach a Sharepoint class to a bunch of wannabe uber geeks, my mom aka Sweetie flew to Dallas to visit with Miguelito and me, Miguelito's runny nose turned into a hacking cough, sinus infection and ear infection, shopped for the perfect outfits for our family photo session I had to cancel our family photo session with Jen for last weekend, multiple emails to Miguel while attempting to re-schedule said photo session, Miguel flew home, Sweetie flew back home to Baton Rouge, and Miguelito learned how to give us a cheeseburger smile, which has yet to be captured on camera.

So, I am back and everyone is caught up on my life with dos Miguels!

Here is Sweetie and Miguel:

How does that old saying go?

The baker has no bread, the cobbler has no shoes and the computer geek's wife has no computer. My laptop died a very sad death while Miguel was in Phoenix last week. A hardware failure complete with the blue screen of death.

I won't mention the fact that I have been begging him to set up my new laptop that has been in his office since, oh, Christmas time because I knew something wasn't right with my laptop. He blamed it on operator error....umm, I think not! ;)

Needless to say, Miguel will not get a moment's rest or peace and quiet due to my constant nagging until my new laptop is up and running. So I apologize for the unintentional break from blogging. I have lots to say and photos to add once I am up and running again.

Sleep...glorious sleep

I do not think I have gotten 4 consecutive hours of sleep since Miguel was born....until last night! He went to sleep around 7:45p and woke up at 6:30a to breastfeed and fell back asleep for another 20 minutes before getting up for the day. HALLELUJAH! Everyone sing with me...HHAAAALLLEEEELLLLUUUUJJJJJAAAAHHHHHHHH!

So, anyone willing to place a few bets on whether or not a repeat performance will occur tonight?!?! ;)

Oh, please sweet little sleep fairy smile on me and let this be the beginning of a wonderous time in my life...my life with sleep.

Happy Valentine's Day...and a brag!

I have to brag on Miguelito today! We have been taking Mommy and Me swim classes once a week at Emler Swim School since he was 7 months old. It is a fun class with lots of singing and playing while working on skills to become independent and safe in the water.

Onto the brag...each class Miguelito gets to hang out on barbell floaties while I try to get he to float/balance without much help. Today, Miguelito decided to stick his face in the water and blow bubbles! It was adorable and amazing to see him start putting together all the skills we have been working on for so long. Way to go, Miguel!

I have not been able to get any photos of him in swim class since I am alone with him, so a photo of him playing in the pool at the Marriott's Beach Club in St Kitts in Dec 2007 will have to do. He was in love love love with the water fountain in the pool!

Happy Valentine's Day! Miguel and I decided we are going to start a new family tradition and celebrate Valentine's Day at home with Miguelito from this year on. I am going to break out the fine china, cook a delicious meal and serve it by candlelight...it will be our Romantic Family Valentine's Dinner Date.

Well, this year there was no fine china or candlelight, but I did manage to cook dinner and a dessert before Miguelito decided he was done. done. done. Oh, well...there is always next year!

Miguel and I exchanged cards, and gave Miguelito his card and Valentine's book. Nonnie (my maternal grandmother) sent Miguel a card and an adorable dog that shakes and wiggles his ears and asks for a hug. Miguelito was not quite sure what to think of the dog at first, but now they are best buds. Of course, Miguelito was not into posing for a photo, so this is the best of the bunch I took.

Checking out the doggie

Splish Splash I was takin' a bath!

Miguel loves bathtime! He has always enjoyed the water. I like to think it is because he took a bath with me every evening until he was 7 months old, so he was accustom to being submerged up to his neck in warm water.

Given our recent picture taking woes, I thought I would try and capture a few of him tonight in the bathtub while he was occupied playing with toys and attempting to splash all the water out of the tub.

Playing with Sammy the Starfish, a bathtime favorite

Look at those eyes! Splash, splash, splash...Mommy are you soaked yet?

Happy boy!

PSA numero dos

After chatting with Miguel tonight, who is currently in San Jose, California attending a Microsoft Office System Developer Conference (the ultimate in geekdom), I had to call him back for help with the blog. I have always wondered how you were able to put a link to something in your blog using a word or phrase versus the link itself. Clear as mud, huh? ;)

Anyway, after attempting quite a few times I gave up and called my resident computer guru and admitted defeat. Of course, he was able to tell me how to do it without a second thought all the while I am sure trying not to laugh at me. So it works and we hang up after a few I love yous and I miss yous then the trouble begins when I click Publish Post.

Where are the darn underlined words alerting blog readers to the cool little link thingy that they can click on? If you scroll over it, it is there and it is appearing in the preview of the blog post, but instantly vanishes once published. After a more attempts to solve the issue than I care to admit and a few choice words I concede to defeat, so the PSA is click on the words in bold for cool links. ;)

Mommy's got the Camera

I finally remembered to re-charge the battery for my camera and decided I would try to take a few photos of Miguelito. Try meaning sneak up on him while he is doing something utterly adorable, which he does every single day, and snap a few photos while he is unaware of the camera because once he sees the camera the photo taking is over. done. fini.

One of Miguelito favorite activities is to take things out of something and then put them back in and then take them out again and move onto to the next eye catching thing leaving the mess for Mommy to clean up. Today he decided he needed to take all the books out of the basket, but as he took a book out he would flip through a few pages and then move onto the next book. It was as if he was looking for something interesting to read. Adorable.

Being the sneaky Mommy I am, I walked as quietly as possible to the kitchen to retrieve the camera and then steathly snuck up on him to take a photo of above said utterly adorable thing. Unfortunately, he has impeccable hearing...must of gotten that trait from me because Miguel numero uno certainly doesn't hear that well or maybe he just ignores me, but I digress...and he heard me take the lens cover off and came right over to me to inspect the camera (see exhibit A).

Exhibit A

Of course, he decided he was not close enough and it was not enough to just look at the camera, but he needed to touch it (see exhibit B).

Exhibit B

After playing with the camera for a few minutes I convince him to let me take a few photos of him, which mainly consist of portions of his head as he bobs and weaves his way to the camera and the ever dangling lens cap. (see exhibit C) I quite often miss the "good" shots because the shutter speed is slow and it takes the camera a little too long to write to the CF card thus missing the next photo op. <---this last statement is added to make Miguel numero uno feel guilty about all those missed photos and hopefully convince him that I need a new camera. Did it work? ;)

Exhibit C

Things quickly escalated into a full on meltdown mode with the usual ending photo of Miguelito throwing a fit...most certainly a trait from Miguel numero uno because everyone knows Mommy is a perfect angel again, I digress. The cause of the meltdown was because I would not let him lick the camera lens. Mean Mommy. see exhibit D

All I can say is may the force be with you, Jen Weintraub, for our family photo session in two weeks.

Exhibit D

Sneaky Mommy hid the camera behind the pillows on the couch and waited for the next opportunity to subject Miguelito to a little camera torture. A little later in the evening Miguelito had long forgotten about the camera and came toddling down the hallway holding a water bottle and I was able to snap one photo before he came running to the camera (see exhibit E). Ahhh! Round Two goes to Mommy!

Exhibit E

Yo, Papa T!

Happy Birthday, Papa T!

Mommy, Daddy and I hope your birthday was spectacular. We wish you good health, love and happiness in the coming year. By the way, Mommy tried to take a photo of me today for you, but she said I was not cooperating (whatever that means) and then the camera battery died, so Mommy gave up.

Love you, Miguelito

This is me enjoying ice cream on my 1st birthday!

PSA: Photos on the blog

My sweet husband wanted me to let all my blog readers know if you click on the photos in the blog you will get a full size version, so click away! :)

I'm cute, I know it!

When Miguelito gets finished with his meal, he likes to throw the rest of the food on the floor or wipe it in his hair.

Miguelito cut his two bottom front teeth at 8 months old and then he did not cut another tooth until the week of his 1st birthday when he cut all four top front teeth at the same time. He now has another bottom tooth coming in as well.

Mommy, give me the camera now!

If Miguel and I had known that Miguelito's favorite toy would be the remote to the TV, we could have saved a ton of money!

Look, Momma, I just stole the remote off the table!

Me and my favorite toy, the remote!

Scottish Rite playground

Since Miguel had an all day meeting at work, Miguelito and I met a couple of friends at Scottish Rite playground to burn off some energy and have a picnic lunch today. The weather was gorgeous and Miguelito had a blast exploring the playground, and loved the slide.

Little Picasso

I decided to start a tradition with Miguel and have him paint a canvas the week of his birthday (8 Jan). I can't take full credit for the idea because my mom has the graduation pre-k children at her childcare paint a canvas before they leave for Kindergarten, and she displays the masterpieces on the walls at her school.

Miguel and I went to Michael's and bought an 11x14 canvas and a set of acrylic paints. I laid out a plastic table cloth on the kitchen floor and stripped him down to his diaper. Acrylic paint comes off skin, but not clothes. Unfortunately, I should have paid closer attention because Miguel mistook my pj's for his canvas. Oh, well.

Checking the paint out

Yum, this paint stirrer aka chopstick sure tastes good.
I'm getting the hang of it!
Want some, Momma?
Concentrating hard on painting my leg...notice the tongue.

Finished masterpiece!

Joining the Blog bandwagon

I decided it was time to join the Blog bandwagon to document my incredible life with my husband and 1 year old, known affectionately as the Dos Miguels.

Check back for updates, but it is time I woke the little man up from his nap.