Restless

Lucas is getting more and more fidgety by the day.  It's so hard to change his diapers now because he can't stay still.  He rolls over, then sits, then stands up, and even tries to crawl his way off the changing table!  Charles and I would often do it together--one of us changes his diaper while the other holds him down.  And still it's not easy.  I wonder how his elderly nanny does it during the day.

When I carry him, he keeps twitching and squirming, as if trying to break free.  But if we put him down, he would scream, sometimes cry and ask to be carried again.  He would also climb up to my shoulders using my tummy and my boobs as his steps.  Yeah, it hurts!

Now it's time to really baby-proof the house because what comes next is even more challenging.  Pretty soon, we'll be chasing after him!

Finally, A Tooth!

I started to worry.  At almost 8 months old, Lucas still didn't have any tooth.  My nephew had teeth when he was six months old.  A colleague's baby had his when he was four months.  Another colleague's baby is 2 months younger than Lucas, yet she's had teeth since a couple of months ago.

I heard most babies get sick when they're teething.  Lucas has never been sick so I thought maybe it's really not time for him to have teeth yet.  But why this late?  I thought he was an early bloomer--having crawled at six months and standing up straight at seven.  But when it comes to teeth, he's no early bloomer at all.

Then finally, yesterday morning I fed him pieces of chicken with my bare hands.  He tried biting my finger and I felt something sharp.  I checked, and there it was--some tiny white thingy sticking out of his gums!  Lucas finally had his first tooth, just before he turned eight months old!

Standing up

For the first time today, Lucas stood up on his own!  I did not witness it, but Charles did.

I tried to put him to bed, but he wasn't sleepy yet so he got up, sat in his crib and started playing.  I left him there.  He normally would just fall asleep when he gets sleepy.

A few minutes later, Charles went to his room to check on him and there, Charles found him standing on the corner of his crib trying to grab the baby monitor that was placed on top of the dresser next to his crib.

Lucas managed to pull himself up!  Charles was so shocked at what he saw, he exclaimed "Hala!" and frightened Lucas.

I think Lucas is pretty advanced when it comes to his mobility skills.  Today, I read this at Babycenter.com:  "Your baby is now 7 months old.  As your baby's muscles are becoming stronger, he's apt to lunge forward onto all fours from a sitting position.  He may go into a "precrawl" exercise, rocking back and forth on hands and knees with his trunk parallel to the floor."  Well, Lucas was already doing this a month ago and this was exactly what I wanted to describe him do in this blog.

I am happy to see these early signs of mobility in him.  At least I know his muscles are strong.  I was a little worried about this part because he drinks less milk than he's supposed to.

Tech-y

I think my baby is growing up a geek.  He loves electronics!

Anything that lights up and has buttons interests him.  He would ignore his toys if he sees a phone or a remote control.  He likes pounding on a keyboard.  He stares at the computer with utmost curiosity.  Of all the things in his room, he seems to be most interested in the baby monitor--he likes playing with it.

When he sees me with my camera, he smiles!  And I think that's because he is amazed at the camera and the light that flashes from it, not because he understands that I am taking his photo.  Well, at least it helps me take photos of him smiling!

First New Year

This was Lucas' first New Year celebration.  We planned to just stay home, have a nice dinner and watch the New York ball-dropping ceremony on TV.  But Charles decided to invite a few friends over.  They were Filipino trainees at his work, who didn't have their families here to celebrate with.  I'm glad they came.  We had fun and they stayed way past midnight.  We just chatted, ate, watched TV and did a little karaoke.

As for Lucas, he tried his best to stay awake.  I tried to put him to bed around 10pm, but he wouldn't sleep. He is like that when there are people around.  He doesn't want to go to sleep, as if afraid he would miss out on all the fun.  So I thought, "that's fine!  Maybe it's also a good thing that he's awake to meet the new year". Sadly, he fell asleep just 10 minutes before the strike of midnight!

This is his very first 2010 photo...

On New Year's Day, we went to a friend's place for Sunday Brunch.  It was awesome!  I got to give myself a break on the holiday cooking!  I love to cook, but sometimes it's nice to be the one enjoying somebody else's cooking!  The food was good, the company was even better!

On New Year's day, Lucas has the chance to play with other kids.  He is the youngest of these three little boys--Matthew (at the back) is 2 years old, Enzo (right) is 11 months.

Seven

Lucas is now seven and a half months old, and he has changed so much!  I am amazed at how some things seem to happen overnight.  He seems to understand us better.  When we talk to him, he would stare at us and listen--as if he understands what we are talking about.  When Charles and I are talking, he would also stare at us and listen like a "chismoso" would.  He also now knows how to raise his hands when he wants us to pick him up.  He knows how to want to be part of a conversation by babbling while we talk, and raising his voice if we don't listen.  He also does not want to go to sleep when he sees that we are still doing something--either watching TV or on our computers.

He is now more coordinated and can crawl faster.

What's not great right now is that he won't stay still.  He moves so much and he always wants something to do.  Nanny has started complaining that it's getting harder and harder to change his diapers.

I wonder what's next...

Celebrating Motherhood

I celebrated my 34th birthday today--my first birthday as a mom!

When my mom was 34 years old, she already had all three of us--my sister, me and my brother.  Now, at 34, I've just become a mom.

I didn't have big plans for the day.  I didn't even think about skipping work.  But a few days ago, I thought to myself, "it's my first birthday as a mom, and what better way to celebrate it than to spend the day with my son".  And that's just what I did!

At 34, I became a mom, and motherhood is the best birthday gift I've had in my 34 years!

Took Lucas to the kids play area at a mall nearby.  It was too cold to go to the park.  Excuse the blurry photo--taken with a cellphone camera.

Fall-like Winter

It was a beautiful winter morning!  The sun was up and the air wasn't as chilly as it normally is this time of year.

So right after we got home from church, I brought Lucas out to the front lawn.  I couldn't resist the bright colors of the maple leaves that fell to the ground and covered the grass.  I just had to take a photo of Lucas sitting on the ground.  The combination of green, browns, oranges and red made everything look vibrant.

It looked like Fall, it felt like Fall!  It was nice to have a day like this in the middle of the winter!