Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Fun with Dada and Doggy




Photo 1:

"Dada, why is Doggy on your head?"

Photo 2:

"No worries, I got him!"

Photo 3:

"No explanation needed. Talk to the hand, Dad!"

p.s. I *think* Adam said "keys" today when he saw them hanging up. He only said it once, though, in a quiet voice so I'm not 100% sure. Not too surprising, though, since the kid is in love with keys.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Dr. visit and NEW FOODS :)





I still need to post some photos on last Friday's "field trip" to a wonderful park with Riley and also Adam's special visit with Mr. and Mrs. D, who were in town from Boone, NC. I promise those posts are coming later this week! :)

For now, I will update our Adam Fans with some other news. Adam finally had his 12 month check-up last week (3 weeks late... our Drs. are busy!) and he was officially diagnosed as a "lightweight". He weighs almost 20 lbs. (hopefully he's hit the big 2-0 mark now since the appt. was last week) which places him in the 5 - 10th %ile, the same %ile he was in when he was born. Fortunately, he did triple his birth weight (just barely, but he did). Length-wise, he only grew 1 inch in 3.5 months which means his height dropped from the 50-75th%ile to the 25-50th%ile. Of course, this being ME, I was a *little* concerned. I'm not concerned that he is on the "smaller side" (as long as he's healthy), I'm concerned that the length percentiles dropped during the last 2 appts. At four and six months, he was in the 75th%ile (25th%ile at birth) and it's continued to drop since then. The Dr. didn't seem too worried, though. He said if he continues to drop in the percentiles, we can check his blood during his 15 month visit. I *really hope* it doesn't come down to that!!! He recommended feeding him LOTS of protein and giving him the Step 2 formula (20 - 24 oz. a day) instead of milk. He also wants us to keep him on bottles (instead of sippy cups) until his 15mo. visit.

We got the "thumbs up" to feed him anything but seafood and nuts. As a result, we've been experiencing with lots of different foods, all of which Adam has seemed to like (YAY!). His "new favorite foods" are cottage cheese on whole wheat toast and scrambled eggs with cheese. He also has tried cheese lasagna (his face was priceless when tasting the marinara sauce!), pineapple, rice and lots of versions of chicken (he's been eating plain chicken for months now). Hopefully he'll continue to eat well and grow, grow, grow!!!

Interesting side note... ever since Adam has officially become a walker, he has been sleeping 11 - 12 hours a night after only sleeping for 10 hours a night for months and months. Guess he needs more rest now that he's practically running through the house! :)

Photo note 1: As all faithful Adam fans know, Adam LOVES dogs! Real dogs (he smiles and laughs whenever he sees a dog... so cute) and, of course, stuffed dogs. I bought him "White Doggy" (see second photo) for Valentine's Day and he has recently taken a liking to him, too. Do you think this is his way of telling us we should get a pet dog?!? ALSO, if you look carefully at the photo (you can click on it to enlarge it), you can see Adam's reflection in the window! You may also notice the curls coming in on the back of his head... which everybody comments on...

Photo note 2: Isn't the Roots T-shirt adorable? It is a hand-me-down from the cousins, probably a gift from our other cousins who live in Toronto.

Photo note 3: This is LL's usual sleeping position. He *loves* his bumpers and is always in the corner, against the bumpers. When I put him in his crib at night, he graps Doggy (or Doggies -- plural! -- and Ducky) and proceeds to his corner. When I get him out of his crib in the AM, he usually smiles at me and then bends down to pick up Doggy (if he isn't holding him) and then, finally, puts his arms out to get out of the crib. PRECIOUS!!!

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Cutest Outfit. Cutest Kid. Ever.


Check out the title... okay, I admit I'm a little biased. However, Steven and I feel that Adam just keeps getting cuter. Grandma agrees... that counts, right? :)

About the adorable outfit... it pays tribute to Steven's place of birth -- Cape Town, South Africa. It is part of the (RED) Campaign where proceeds go to AIDS research in Africa. Bonus... it was on sale at Baby Gap (online) for $6.99. SWEET!

Friday, April 25, 2008

"MAMA"



Lots of stuff to write about... our "deck adventure" from last week, our special visitors yesterday and our great fun at the park today with Riley. However, I am tired from having such a fun-filled couple of days so I will write about an incident that happened tonight that filled me with joy.

Adam has being saying "dada" since 5.5 months... of course, it was just a sound until a few months ago. He nows says "dada" referring to Steven once in a while, definitely not on a consistent basis (which the pediatrician assured me was normal at his age). He only started saying "mama" a few months ago (he never did say it as a sound). A few times a week, when Adam's annoyed, he'll say "mamammamamamma" which is awfully cute. However, he's never just said the two syllable "ma-ma" to me. Until tonight...

When Steven got home from work, he took Adam out onto the deck to walk around. I started waving to Adam from the glass door and Steven said "Adam, look" and pointed at me. Adam then gave me a huge smile and said "MAMA". It was THE BEST since it was the first time he's really said it in context. He then said it two more times in his adorable little voice.

We are so in love with that child.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Adam's first kiss







Adam had his first kiss today! We were over at Riley's house (Adam's best friend) and Riley decided that she was going to give Adam a kiss. At first, Adam wasn't sure what happened and they just looked at each other (see photo one). And then Adam kissed Riley back (see photo two)! It was soooooo funny (and incredibly adorable). I crack up each time I look at the photos!

Today was also Adam's first day wearing shorts this year. They were a little long (see last photo)since his waist is so tiny but are so cute on him. You may notice that he has a measuring cube in his hands... his new favorite toy. He has discovered a drawer in the kitchen with lots of cool gadgets (all safe for baby). He is always walking around with a measuring cup or spoon these days. We may have a future chef on our hands!

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Passover -- Night Two







Adam really does love matzah... and kugel, tzimmes (carrots & sweet potatoes)and Kosher for Passover stuffing! He ate the whole Passover meal tonight (see 1st photo)!

We went to the Shumans for the second Seder and had a great time. Adam got to play with Larry & Deanna's grandaughter, Alexi, who's 9 months older than Adam (see last photo). He had a lot of fun playing with all of her toys (see 2nd and last photos)!

Adam also continued to bond with Uncle Steven and Aunt Elizabeth (see 3rd and 4th photos). It's so sweet to see him playing with them. We are SO happy that they are in town and that we got to spend this special holiday with them.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

First Night of Passover









We celebrated the first Passover Seder this evening. It was actually Adam's 2nd Seder... he was *five days old* during the Seder last year. We held it in the kitchen at Mom's house... it was just me, Steven, Mom and Adam. I nursed Adam on a chair at one end of the kitchen with "My Brest Friend" blue gingham nursing pillow and Steven lead the (*very* abbreviated) seder at the kitchen table. We kept the lights really dim since Mom was worried about the bright lights in a newborn's eye. The evening was very special, of course, and definitely unlike any Seder in year's past b/c Adam was here and my dad, sadly, was not. Three days later was Adam's bris, one day late since no Mohel would travel during the first two days of Pesach. We had the most delicious "Kosher for Passover" spread and were blessed with family and dear friends at his Bris.

This year for Pesach, Uncle Steven and Aunt Elizabeth are in town which we're so very happy about. Steven and Elizabeth are soooooo much fun to be around and have a wonderful energy surrounding them.

We had a faboulous Seder at the Merrill's (Carl and Alice) home in Potomac. Adam sat in the highchair with his "I love Matzah" bib on and his Passover board book on his tray. He happily ate chicken and banana for about 30 minutes and then he was ready to start walking around again. He loved playing with the dog... of course, since Adam loves doggies and this was a real one! :)

I just love Alice and her mom and Carl's mom. "The two mothers", as we call them, are 96 and 93 years old. They are two of the most incredible and inspiring women I've ever met. They not only look 15 years younger, they have the disposition and personality of two women in their sixties. They are so full of life and joy. Truly inspirational and quite lovely women. I just love them. Adam did, too... especially their jewelry, of course. I'm hoping to take him to Rockville to visit them one afternoon.

Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera out of the car so I didn't get any adorable Pesach pictures of Adam. GRR. He looked so precious, too, in his little Polo shirt, khaki pants, and leather sandals (see photo above which was taken before we left today). I will be taking plenty of photos at the Seder at the Shuman's home tomorrow evening...hopefully!

It was such a busy day as we also had Riley's birthday party this afternoon. It was so much fun and Adam loved the Elmo theme! Of course, I forgot my camera (again... GRR) but Molly said she'll e-mail me some pics. Needless to say, Adam is in a very deep sleep now after a very fun and eventful day.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

"Moo" and other other animal sounds



I guess our *three* trips last week to Frying Pan Farm paid off.

Adam has said seven words "in context" and 4 out of the 7 are farm words: quack quack, moo, chicken (said it about the meat not the animal... but still) and baa.

Now you can see why his birthday theme was "A Barnyard Bash"! :)

Today was the first time he said "baa" (in context, of course. He's been babbling the sound since he's been 5.5 months old!). Grandma gave him his little sheep toy (part of the barnyard truck from Bobbe & Zayde) and Adam said "baa" when he saw it. When I asked him what a sheep said, he also said "baa". I had no idea he knew the word! All those nights of reading "Baa Baa Bedtime" have paid off!!!

BTW... these photos were taken last Friday at Frying Pan Park. Adam wasn't too fond of the horse! Actually, he was... he was upset that I pulled the hood up on his stroller. He had just discovered it and found it to be more interesting than the animals. Once I let him play with the stroller hood again, all was well.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

a little scare


Yesterday we were at Pamela's house for a big playdate. Adam was showing off his new walking skills and was quite happy just walking around Pamela's house. At one point, Adam walked over to the front door. Next thing I heard was a big boom (in the split second that I took my eyes off of him) and Adam was lying on his back on the hardwood floor. Fortunately, he was on the little mat by the door, but still. I ran over and he just looked at me with a startling look (a "how did I get here on the floor?" look) and let out a few little cries/sniffles. I held him but he was eager to start walking again. He seemed to be 100% fine... walking and grinning within a minute of falling so I forgot about it. Until this morning when he threw up after drinking his bottle. Besides Adam's two little bouts with a stomach virus, he hasn't vomited since he's been five months old (before that, he suffered from horrible acid reflux and threw up about every other day). Needless to say, I was a little concerned since vomiting (up to 24 hours after a fall) is a sign of a head injury. I called the nurse hotline at our pediatrition's office and she told me to immediately bring him in to get examined. I managed to keep my cool and we went in to see Dr. W who performed a neurological exam (checked pupils, reflexes, etc.) on Adam. Thank G-d he said that he passed the exam just fine and he doesn't seem to have a head injury. Thank G-d. Who knows why he threw up this morning, maybe he just had a "bubble" like he used to when he was younger?!? He did not act sick at all... was his active happy self all day. So the incident this morning is a mystery.

No great photos to post but doesn't LL look adorable in his footsy pajamas (Thanks, Aunt Samantha!)? Also, the photo shows Adam with his two doggies. Original doggy (in his mouth) got stained in the laundry. Look at the difference in color between the two dogs! Can you tell which one is new? :)

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Milk, Cheese, Chicken... & New Shoes (& bath toys)







The title pretty much summarizes our weekend.

Adam is experimenting with new foods. He had milk for the first time and seemed to really like drinking it from his sippy cup (yay!). The Doctor advised us to keep him on formula until his 12 month appt (which will be next Tuesday, almost a month late -- our Doctor is so busy!) but said we could slowly transition the milk in. He also had toast with cream cheese for the first time today and loved it (like any good Jew would... we just have to switch the toast to a bagel!). Other news in the food department... Adam has been eating chicken for a few months now and loves it. Yesterday he took a bite of the chicken and announced "chicken". It was great... he repeats the word all the time but it's the first time he's said it on his own.

Adam's shoes were too tight so we went to Stride Rite and picked out two new pairs (buy one, get the second pair half off -- good deal!). It took him a few minutes to adjust to walking in the new shoes but by evening, he was walking in his new sneaks like a pro. :)

We also broke out Adam's new bath toys this evening. He got a cool water movement toy from Zayde and adorable color changing ducks from his cousins Jake, Evan and Zach. He loved his new toys so much that he took them out of the tub with him!

Photo note #1: Adam is loving his new sneaks! If you look carefully, you can see some chicken in his mouth (I didn't realize that he hadn't swallowed it all till I saw that photo. Oops!).

Friday, April 11, 2008

Back to the Farm







Adam and I headed back to Frying Pan Farm Park for the 3rd time this week!!!

Today we went with Adam's buddy, Riley, and her awesome mom, Molly. Riley turned the big O-N-E yesterday and is the most adorable little girl! Adam and Riley have been "hanging out" since October and it's so fun to watch them together... especially when they're chasing each other in a crawling match! :)

Today we went on a hayride (with no hay?), saw a cow and goat being milked, and saw lots of animals (pigs, cows, horses, etc). Of course Adam was more fascinated with his stroller hood than the animals (see last photo) but it was a beautiful day and we had lots of fun. Happy Birthday, Miss Riley!!!

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Angel Baby




Is it just me or does LL look like an actual angel when he's sleeping?

He *rarely* sleeps on his back so I had to capture it. He loves to sleep up against his bumpers, as you can see. How he got himself in that position (he was in the center of his crib, on his stomach, when he originally fell asleep) is a mystery. We might have a future gymnast on our hands! Notice in photo 3 that his crib is HUGE (well, the average crib size) and yet Adam only takes up a few inches in the corner. We could fit triplets in that crib! :)

In other news... ADAM IS OFFICIALLY "A WALKER" NOW!!!

LL walks EVERYWHERE now and only crawls when he's really tired. He's fast, too!

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Two doggies!!!



Adam finally received his birthday present from us today (12 days late, since it had to be special ordered): a New Doggy! It is the exact same Gund dog, Spunky, as his beloved original but it's much bigger and doesn't bark. It's also machine washable, a BIG plus, since I'm hand washing (original) Doggy at least once a week.

We decided to get LL a new, bigger doggy since, as Steven pointed out, Adam has gotten bigger so Doggy should also be getting bigger. :)

Actually, the real reason we bought New Doggy is to have a back-up dog if, G-d forbid, something happens to (original) Doggy. As I've mentioned earlier in past entries, Adam is truly in love with (original) Doggy. He takes him wherever he goes. Yesterday when I went to get him oout of his crib, he reached back to pick up Doggy before going into my arms (so cute). He loves to walk with Doggy... usually holding Doggy by his ears. If there's something else Adam wants, he'll actually carry doggy in his mouth, usually by the ears (he loves those ears). He always kisses Doggy on the nose when he sees him.

Hopefully he'll get to love New Doggy once he "breaks him in" aka biting/kissing him on the nose, ears, etc. He gave us an ENORMOUS grin when he saw New Doggy and started walking around the living room with him. A few hours later, I put both Doggies together, for the first time. Adam was so confused... he kept looking, very seriously, at one dog and then the other. Then he broke out into another huge grin and paraded around the room holding a dog in each hand. Priceless.

Photo note 1: Ignore the diapers in the 2nd photo photo...Adam had just finished going through his diaper bag!!! See the size difference of the dogs in the photo?

Photo note 2: If you look REALLY closely in the corner of the photos, you can see Doggy #3 (aka "Big Doggy")! It's actually a doggy blanket, another gift that we received when Adam was born. FYI... he likes "Big Doggy" but is not attached to him.

Monday, April 7, 2008

New favorites: bubble maker and Adam's own cell phone!




It is rare to find Adam without the following in his hands (besides doggy, of course):

his bubble maker or his new cell phone (we're starting him young with technology).

The bubble maker was a birthday gift from Zayde. Adam is absolutely fascinated by it and spends at least one hour a day playing with it. He knows how to "work the machine" all by himself and stares at the bubbles in awe -- or smiles -- everytime the bubbles come out. He also loves to walk around, holding the bubble maker by the handle, like a lunch pail.

Adam also loves his cell phone. The rumors are true... babies really do love cell phones, keys, remote controls... anything grown up that they shouldn't be playing with. I found an old cell phone of mine and cleaned it up and presented it to Adam. Even though the battery is dead (no noise), he still is enamored with it.

Other LL news... Adam stood up for the first time today (without holding on). Even though he's been walking for weeks, he's always held onto something to pull himself up. Today he finally got up all on his own. He is walking about 75% of the time and he even ran a little bit today. He's such a joy...

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Fun at Frying Pan Farm Park











It was a beautiful Saturday so we decided to go on a little adventure. We took Adam to Frying Pan Park... a beautiful county park with lots of barns full of animals. Adam loved it... he took it all in and smiled at the animals. Afterwards, I told him he we saw some cows and he went "MMM" (as in "moo"!)

Next, we went to Barnes & Noble (our favorite store) and let Adam walk around the children's section. He LOVED the train table (especially eating the little trains... sigh) but it was so endearing to watch him walking around the table. He found a little girl (2 years old) to play with and pointed, smiled and talked to her. It was precious... except when the little girl got scared (of little love?!?) and cried. All in all, It was a really fun family day.

Bonus photo of Adam walking included! He is walking more and more... almost running at times! As you can see, he LOVES to walk and finds himself to be very funny and clever when doing so! What a cutie (or as his shirt says, "Naturally Adorable"!) :)

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Wordless Wednesday (yummy!)




Here are a few pics of Adam from today. Grandma prepared him a delightful dinner of chicken, sweet potato, and peas. If you look closely, you can see the evidence on his face! :)

Fortunately, besides the fountain of snot (which cleared up a little later in the day), LL was back to his happy & energetic self today. Yay!

The Story of Adam -- Part 1: Preconception & IVF

Since LL turned "the big ONE" on Friday, I thought I would write some posts in regards to how Adam "came to be" -- from preconception through his first 10 months (when I started the blog) in the next few weeks. Warning: These posts might be on the lengthy side and will be filled with some nitty gritty details. Since I have not really kept up with a baby book, I'm afraid that I'll start to forget the minute details if I don't write them down now. And, hey, this is Adam's blog and you wouldn't be reading if you weren't 100% interested, right?!? :)

So let's begin...

Steven and I met (blind date) on November 14, 1999 in Washington, D.C. We were instantly attracted to each other and began dating exclusively in January 2000. Two years later we got engaged during my family's annual holiday cruise. We got married about 16 months later on June 1, 2003... exactly 2 weeks after I received my Master's Degree in Counseling. My mom thought it was so cute that I was getting two degrees at once... my marriage degree and my master's degree. The wedding was wonderful... all of our family was there. Our nephew, Jake, was the 2.5 year old adorable ringbearer and our siblings were in the wedding party, along with friends (Christy was my "unoffical" matron of honor) and Steven's cousin, Howard. My dad was SO HAPPY and gave a beautiful toast. I remember him telling me how proud he was of me right before "our walk" down the aisle. Steve and I took an Alaskan cruise for our Honeymoon (we LOVE cruising... can you tell?!?) and it was absolutely incredible.

We decided to wait to start a family and just enjoy each other, sleep late, TRAVEL (our European cruise was the best!) for a year. During our second year of marriage, we started "trying to conceive" but did not spend too much thought on it; thinking it would happen when it happens (we were so naive). Well, after two years of marriage (and one year of sorta "trying"), my biological clock really started to TICK (ironically enough, it was right after I turned 30). We decided it was time to seek "professional help" and we went to a fertility clinic. Long story short (I'll spare all the details for once), the Doctor recommended that we do IVF with ICSI. Otherwise there was only a 5% chance in the next 15 years (!) that I would get pregnant. It was shocking (and a little bit devastating) news, to say the least. We actually got the news as were boarding a Crystal Cruise Ship in CA for our Thanksgiving cruise with my family. What a way to start a vacation, huh?!? Steven was wonderful... said we would do whatever it would take to have children. My parents and his parents agreed and were so supportive, as well.

I was all set to begin IVF in January when it was discovered that I had a massive fibroid that had to be immediately removed. Another shock. I had laproscopic (sp???) surgery to have it removed. The Dr. thought she got 90% of the fibroid out but an ultrasound 6 weeks later showed she only got 50% out. By this time it was May 2006 and the Dr. said enough of the fibroid was removed that a pregnancy would be possible. However, since I still had a "good-sized" fibroid, we were ineligible for "shared risk" (where you pay about $20 grand -- aagh! -- but can do IVF 5 times and get the majority of "your money back" if the IVF was unsuccessful). We decided to go for it anyway.

I ordered my IVF drugs, got the instructions, and was good to go. Like most people, needles make me a little squirmish. Needless to say, I freaked out a little right before Steven injected the first drug, lupron, which stops ovulation (if memory serves correct). I told him "forget it, I changed my mind" and pretty much ran around my living room. Eventually I calmed down and the lupron was injected. It really didn't hurt... a little sore afterwards but no big deal. I think we started on June 15, 2006... graduation day at the high school that I work at. The plan was to do the lupron injections every day for two weeks and then start the follistem, which helps your body ovulate a ton of eggs (instead of the usual one). I was so excited when I went in for my u/s and the sonographer could see the follicles growing. The IVF went as smoothly as possible (I was SO LUCKY; I've heard horror stories). I did become somewhat anxious (must have been all the hormones) and became pretty obsessed with the process, once I saw the follicles. My egg retrieval was on July 12. They were able to retrieve 7 eggs. 3 days later, on June 15, they transferred 2 embryos back into my uterus. One of the embryos didn't make it but the other six received the "highest ranking" possible (go embryos!). The transfer itself was super easy. What wasn't easy was hearing the news that I only had about a 40% chance of getting pregnant (expected) but I also had a 50% chance of miscarriage (twice as high as normal) because of my fibroid. WHAT?!? This was NOT mentioned to me before. All in all, the Dr. gave us a 20% chance of having an "actual baby" in late March/early April. Of course this news upset me but I was feeling surprisingly optimistic that it would work out.

After the embryo transfer, and for the next 24 hours, I was instructed to lay still on my back. I did not move off my bed (or sleep, for that matter -- it's impossible for me to sleep on my back) for the next 24 hours. I then took it easy for a few days (summer break had started) and waited waited waited for the pregnancy test that was scheduled in 13 days to see if I was pregnant. Some moments I felt like I definitely was and other moments I felt like I definitely was not. I religiously read about the early symptoms of pregnancy on the internet and tried to analyze every little symptom listed. I did start to feel a little nauseus, though, around day 9 post-transfer. I was planning to wait until the blood test at the IVF center on July 28th to see if I was pregnant. However, on day 10 post-transfer (a Tuesday) I woke up at 6 AM and impulsively to the 24 hour drugstore. To buy a pregnancy test. I couldn't wait any longer...

More to come during "The Story of Adam -- Part 2" in a day or two. I will continue to write current posts on LL, too.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Update on LL


Fortunately, LL did not have a fever again last night and slept until 8:15, as usual. However, he woke up CRYING HARD which is rare for him (I usually hear him talking on the monitor when he wakes up). I spoke to the nurse and she said to bring him in to the Dr. since he had a moderate temperature last night and still had a runny nose this morning.

We were able to see my other favorite doctor, Dr. W. I actually have two favorite docs, Dr. F (who LL usually sees) and Dr. W. Dr. W was actually MY pediatrition back in the day (about 20 years ago, when he was just starting his career. Now he has grandchildren!). I love Dr. W because he is very laid-back, a complete non-worrier. He also thinks Adam is adorable and "looks great"... besides the runny nose, of course. The Dr. thinks it might be a particular virus, but I think it's just a bad cold and teething. No infection, thank goodness. For the most part, he was himself today... a little bit more irritable than usual, but that's how he acts when he's teething. He also woke up from his afternoon nap SCREAMING for 20 minutes non-stop so I knew something was bothering him. I was finally able to rock him back to sleep, after he stopped screaming (I knew he was still tired since he had only been asleep for 30 minutes when the screaming started). Everytime I tried putting him back down in his crib he would scream again. This is very unusual behavior for LL so I let him sleep on me for a few minutes and then laid him down on our bed (see photo... so sweet). Fortunately, he fell back into a deep sleep and I was eventually able to transfer him back to his crib and he slept for 2 more hours. He was much happier after that nap and went to sleep happy, as usual, tonight. Good news: no fever! His nose is still runny, though, so we'll be homebound (except for a walk or two) again tomorrow.

Adam was also weighed at his appointment today. I was a little concerned at first since LL only weighs 19 pounds. He's gained only a pound in 2 months! However, Dr. W said that even though he is a "lightweight", I have nothing to worry about since he's on the tall side (I hope he still is; he'll be measured in a few weeks) and is extremely active. He also got the Dr's approval to eat anything and everything now except for shellfish and nuts. His appetite is definitely less, since he's sick, but we're looking forward to experimenting with some new foods in the upcoming weeks.

One more thing... Adam loves to repeat words these days. I'm not sure if really understand what he's saying but it's so funny to hear "real words" (instead of babbles) come out of his mouth. Yesterday he kept saying "UP" (as in "pick me up"). This morning he was sitting and said "UP" before pulling himself up to stand.
At least we think that's what he said. :) Tonight, he kept repeating the word "book" PERFECTLY CLEAR when we showed him his favorite book (and told him, of course, that it was a book). Who knows... maybe he'll be an early talker like his Uncle Joey!