summer time

I've been so tired lately. Rocco is on a mission to make our nights a living hell. He wakes us up a lot, sometimes to eat, and sometimes just to talk. Ah. I started giving him protein at night hoping for some extra hours of sleep. We'll see how it works out. I've given up and now think of sleep as a fantasy.

But besides lack of sleep, he's great. he's healthy and really growing so tall. Everyone that sees him thinks he is so big until they hold him. He's only 18 pounds 5 ounces. He's very tall and lean.

My mom leaves for Arizona on Monday and we are enjoying our last day together. I got some gardening in while she took care of him. And she and I had a glass of wine in the back yard and enjoyed the sun. We put Rocco on the floor and let him spin around in circles. It's his major move towards crawling these days.

Ok, that's it for now. Hope everyone is well.

Daniel uses the dishwasher

Do I really need to write an entry?

No wires hangers

A 'mommy dearest'

photo session while cleaning the closet.

Easy Clean up

So i've figured out that the best

way to feed Rocco is without a shirt. It makes clean up sooooooooooooo much easier. This day we fed him carrots and he didn't like it much. He spit most of it out.

We've been feeding him with his very own spoon. Oma Anne sent him monogramed cutlery. He is so classy - he's living such a fancy lifestyle!

Frijolero

The pictures say it all: he loves frijoles. I make him a little batch each day. He can't get enough. So far his favorite foods are frijoles and mashed potato with butter.

Today he tried sauteed tofu in olive oil with black beans and he liked it. Overall I have to say that it's been fun trying foods with him, as well as very messy. Ah well, he always looks very cute after a meal and I don't mind cleaning him up afterwards so it's all good.

Green butter

We tried avocado again and this time he liked it. Thank god, I was beginning to wonder what was wrong with him. How on earth can anyone dislike avocados? They rock. After the food fest I had to take off his onesie. He was covered with avocado. I gave him a bath too because it was everywhere.

Today Daniel took me for Ethiopian and Rocco ate potatoes with garlic, onion and curry. He loved it. And this afternoon at a BBQ I gave him tomato hummus and he grunted that he wanted more. Daniel fed him until he stopped grunting. He was a mess when we left the party and I had to clean him up when we walked in the door. He is finally getting into food. Finally!

Baby's hit the big time!

It's official. My baby is a discount mattress model. He's made the big time.
Here is the advertisement that is coming out very soon. In fact, I talked to Andy today and asked him WHEN the paper copy would be out. I can't wait to frame it!

ahhh. I'm unable to upload the PDF.
Gwyn - need yer help!

Plastic Fantastic

He's been sitting up for several weeks now and it's great that he has more control over his little body. He can hold himself up, but more importantly he can sit alone for at least an hour playing with all things plastic - containers, lids...etc. He has wooden and lots of cloth toys too. I feel much more comfortable with those toys but there is something about banging the lids of the Tupperware containers. He loves them and I just keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't put them in his mouth. It's one of the many things i have to watch out for these days.

Barrio Norwalk

So as most of you already know Rocco and I spent 5 weeks in Norwalk while my mom was very very VERY sick. Can I emphasize that she was very sick! Seriously, I told my brother half jokingly that I'm going to need therapy once all this is over....

LUCKILY, she is doing well and slowly recovering. And while she complains about being in cold cold Oakland, I think that she is mostly enjoying herself. She was very sad the first day and felt that I kidnapped her from her home. Ah well, she'll get over it once she is healthy and back in her space. For now, she needs to be here - plain and simple. But besides her regular complaints, she loves to spend time with her ONLY grandchild. I have to emphasize this just in case Andy is reading this. And she is getting out of the house and sitting in the yard which is good for her. She need fresh air and the warm sun on her skin, even if she thinks it's cold.

So to the pictures:

Pic 1: Rocco crying. I don't remember why he was crying - I think he wanted me to pick him up. I'm running on very little sleep these days so I hardly remember anything.

Pic 2: Rocco and I at Lisa and Kemo's house.

Pic 3: Rocco at the cemetery. My mom and I went to visit my dad. He rolled around on the grass and watched the trains go by while my mom and I cleaned the tombstone.

Pic 4: Visiting Sally and Martin Gaytan at their new home on the posh side of Downey. We had a very nice visit and I wish we could have stayed longer. Next time...

Pic 5: Baby Daddy and Rocco in the living room in Norwalk. It was 100 degrees that day and very uncomfortable.

Pic 6: Tio Marcos a.k.a Dark Chocolate. He started to call himself Dark Chocolate and Rocco White Chocolate. They spent a lot of time together and my uncle sang songs and played with him and took him to the market. My Tio has 7 grandchildren so he was a natural. I was very happy to have him around. He made me laugh all the time. According to my Tio, the best way to sum up the 5 weeks in Norwalk is "el pinche pretisone"

Pic 7: Tia Elvia cutting Rocco's hair. He ended up with a 90's Roman cesar cut.
Pic 8: Tio Marcos and Tio Cano with Rocco in the backyard

Pick 9: Rocco in front of one of the many mirrors. He loves LOOKING at himself. He takes after my brother.

Pic 10: Rocco with his cousin Esiah who is only 8 months older than him. Rocco just stared at him run around my mom's kitchen.

Infamous Tia Chuy

Here is the infamous Maria Jesus. She is my grandmother's sister. Unfortunately my nana Victoria passed away in 94. My Tia is 87 years old. She loves to wear high heals and clean everything with vinegar. She has been taking care of my mom on and off since she was 13 years old. She has taken care of so many people, it's hard to keep up with the list of who's who .

I'm so glad that my aunt was able to be with me most of the time while my mom was sick. She was so helpful and great to talk to....

In addition to cooking all day long she was able to take care of Rocco for an hour or two each day. She fed him frijoles and he really loved them. So far, frijoles are the ONLY food that he really likes so it's official. Rocco is a beaner.