Cedric in Cayman

When we left Cayman in March of 2012 we knew it would be hard to transition to our new lives in a new city with our new baby. We started planning, almost immediately, our first trip back to Cayman. We knew taking a 4 month old would be a little tricky but we missed our friends, the island and the weather. We also wanted to celebrate the end of our 20's as we are both turning 30 at the beginning of 2013. And it turns out Boston is cold in the winter. 

Luckily Jet Blue has started a seasonal, non-stop flight from Boston to Grand Cayman. The word isn't really out yet as our tickets were pretty cheap and the flight wasn't full. Cedric, being an experienced flyer now, was able to relax and charm the other passengers. 

Here is Cedric, trying to adapt to the warm weather. It took about 2 days for him to adjust, though it probably didn't help that I insisted on dressing him in long sleeves and pants during sunburn hours. I was a little overprotective when it came to the sun. He was always in his hat with sunscreen on his exposed skin. I had consulted with his pediatrician before our trip for safe sunscreen and other tips. 

While in Cayman we stayed with our good friends Alanna and James. We started our vacation off right, with fancy brunch at the Ritz-Carlton. 

 Those of you who went to the Ritz Brunch know it is filled with excellent food and real champagne. They also have remodeled the restaurant, making it much more comfortable and relaxed. 

We did make it to the beach a few times, always after 4 pm. Cedric seemed okay with the beach, though we couldn't really tell. Maybe he was just soaking it in. His little sunglasses were a big help. They fit like googles and helped keep sand and water out of his eyes. Cedric has such light blue eyes now that the sun was really bothering him. When we practiced wearing them at home he was always trying to take them off but in Cayman he wore them without complaint. 

Cedric also spent some time in the pool. It was a little chilly so I don't think he liked it as much as the ocean.

We did get out and about. Bob and I each took a turn going out with out the baby and we all went to lunch at a few old favorites. I had seared yellowfin tuna for most meals, it was delicious!

Bob had never made it over to the Caybrew factory while we lived on island, so it was a must this trip. In true Cayman form the tour started late and was cut short. They showed us the canning facility, where they store the grain and filter the water. Bob did get plenty of free samples, so not the worst tour he's been on!

The one meal where I did not have tuna was at our old favorite - PD's (Pirate's Den). We spent some good times in PD's with Alanna and James, it was nice to stop in. They still have our Jayhawk flag up!

We really enjoyed spending time in Cayman. It was weird how little had changed and how easy it would be to slip back into our old life. Did we make the right decision, moving from Cayman to raise Cedric in the US? We think so but we will always fondly remember our time in Cayman. We will definitely be visiting again, we can't wait for Cedric to go when he is a bit older and can fully enjoy the sea. 

A big thanks to our hosts, James and Alanna. We had a great time and we appreciate them being so accommodating to us and our little one. It was a very fun week and we can't wait until they come to Boston for a visit!

Baby's First Christmas

We spent Cedric's first Christmas in Boston and had a nice and relaxing day. We began the day with our normal routine but when Cedric woke up from his first nap, it was Christmas time!

No joke, this is the first photo I took as we were getting ready to open presents. We started our first fire in the fireplace (duraflame), which mesmerized Cedric. Such an excited boy!

Here is Cedric opening his first present. He did a good job of holding onto the paper and ripping. He didn't really know what was going on, but he liked the sounds and colors. 

Siena wasn't forgotten, Bob's mom sent her a lovely gift of a beef tendon from her old favorite store, Brookside Barkery. She isn't as young as she used to be, it took her about 4 hours to go through half!

Cedric had the most presents to open and really enjoyed ripping the paper and being the center of attention. 

Cedric had the largest gift, a play center from Grandma and Grandpa Podany. It took us about an hour to assemble but he seems to really enjoy it! 

 Not sure if you can tell from this photo but it was snowing when we woke up on Christmas morning. It was only a dusting of snow but I joked to Bob that I wonder who in Newton paid for the snow :) I'm sure someone had the right connections!

Our afternoon and evening was a little crazy, as Cedric missed a nap and our steak was under cooked, then over cooked. Our sides were great and eventually Cedric went down for bed. 

We also were able to enjoy one of our wedding wines from Balk. We were meant to drink it at our 5 year anniversary but didn't have it around. It was SO good! 

4 months old!

Our little happy boy turned 4 months old last week while we were in Cayman (photos to come soon). He finally had his 4 month appointment today and here are the stats for this happy baby:

Length: 27.5 inches - 98th percentile
Weight: 17 lbs, 1 oz - 76th percentile
Head: 43 cm - 82nd percentile

His weight percentile has been going down but the doctor isn't bothered since he is getting so long. 

New Tricks: Grabbing his feet 

He started this in Cayman and now it is his favorite hobby, along with sucking on his fingers and trying to chew everything in sight. He has really started to master the grab and bring to mouth motion. If he gets it in his hand - it will go in his mouth! 

Cedric has been rolling over from back to belly a lot lately, so much so that we really can't leave him anywhere alone. As soon as you put him down on his back the first thing he does is roll over. Then he gets cranky. He seems to have forgotten that he can roll from his belly to his back, we are going to have to spend some time working on that. Actually, I think he wants to crawl and that is why he doesn't want to go on his back. It will be a while before he can do it but you can see it in his eyes that he wishes he could move more. 

Cedric also is much more smiley and enjoys babbling more. We can get him to repeat "Hi" to us sometimes, though he doesn't know it is a word it is still really cute. I've started singing a few songs where I replace all the words with mama. We will see if that works. 

Ever since our Thanksgiving trip to Kansas Cedric's napping and sleeping has been off. We are going to work on getting him back on track this week, now that we will be home for a while. Hopefully we can get him to sleep longer during his naps and go down by himself. Big dreams, I know :). I think we need to move to 3 naps instead of 4 . . .

Another big milestone - Cedric is recognizing dogs! Sadly the first dog he noticed wasn't Siena it was Belford, a dog Alanna and James were watching for friends while we were in Cayman. Granted Belford is black and white, so he probably stood out more than Siena. Since we've been back Cedric has been watching Siena more and even trying to touch her. Siena is being very good, letting Cedric put his hands on her and the few times he has pulled her hair, she hasn't done a thing. I guess all of those years of us manhandling her have done some good! Also, his pulling can't be any worse than me trying to brush the mats out of her hair. 

Cedric is such a good boy, every week he grows so much - I can barely keep up!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! I hope this post finds you well, warm and ready for a day of celebration! Cedric is ready for his first Christmas, he's been eyeing the presents under the tree for weeks :). 

We didn't get stockings in time for the big day, so a regular sock will do. Too bad Cedric's feet are so small, Santa isn't going to have much room for gifts! 

We are in Newton for Christmas this year, our first as a family. We have a nice tree, Christmas movies, and some yummy food planned for tomorrow. We are looking forward to a relaxing and cheerful day! We hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

3.5 months!

It feels like a long time since I've posted about Cedric's development milestones, probably because so much has happened! We left for Kansas on his 3 month birthday and the past 2-3 weeks have been big. Firstly, on the 16th of Nov he weighed 15 lbs, 10 oz. Now? I'm think about 16 lb, 5 oz but that is just a guess. I try to measure him at home and it looks like he is at least 26 in, maybe more. Basically, a big baby! He is still in 6 month clothes but a few of the new 9 month outfits he received at Thanksgiving are fitting. My little monster :) 

Milestone 1: Baby wants to sit up. This started before our trip but was contained to when he was in our arms. Now he wants to sit up on his own, all the time. He can't quite manage it yet, he still needs pillows and guidance but he is getting close.  In the photo below he was supposed be be laying on his Boppy pillow and instead was trying to sit up. He is working on straightening out his back while sitting, but doesn't have the balance quite yet. 

Milestone 2: Baby can roll from back to belly. While in Kansas Cedric started bringing his legs up a lot and my mom commented that it looked like a roll would be coming soon. Bob's mom concurred and soon after we returned to Boston he rolled over. I'm not as excited about this one, now I feel I have to really watch him all the time. No more down to the laundry while he laying on his mat, you just don't know where he is going to go! Sometimes the positions he gets himself into do not look comfortable. 

I think the rolling over has been the root cause of Cedric's poor sleep over the past three weeks (of course the trip didn't help either). I watched him sleep the other night after he woke me up for the 4th time before 4 am and noticed he was kicking up his legs a lot and startling himself awake. So yesterday I bought this sleepsuit that is supposed to keep him from flailing so much and it really worked well! He only woke up once to eat in a 12 hour period. Let me tell you, I was about to lose it after 3 weeks of poor sleep. Right now he is napping in the suit and seems to be doing well, I think the swaddle is out for good!

Milestone 3: Baby is teething. Maybe. He wants to chew on stuff and seems happy when I put gentle pressure on his gums with my finger. He isn't cranky about it yet but I can tell he is learning how to chew on toys for relief. He isn't great about putting things in his mouth but is working on it. 

Milestone 4: Baby is grabbing. Not just grasping whatever might be around but really grabbing purposefully and pulling it closer. Again, he isn't doing it well or all the time but he is working on it. 

Cedric is also starting to find more things to be funny, like silly noises and faces. I probably look like a weirdo when we go out together. By the way, when we are out we get stopped a lot by people wanting to tell me how cute Cedric is. Tuesday we were in Trader Joe's and 6 people stopped to talk to me and make faces at the baby (he was front facing in the Bjorn). People comment he looks like a Gerber baby. Maybe I should see about talking to a modeling agent? Am I depriving the world with the cutest baby ever?

Below are some photos from last weekend. We went Christmas shopping both days and tried to get Cedric in the spirit. He was generally not amused but was festively dressed. 

Meeting the Podanys

Early on the Friday after Thanksgiving we drove up to Leawood to be with Bob's family. First stop was to pick up Cedric's Great Grandmother, Alvera. She was a little more than pleased to meet him. 

On Saturday we were visited by Bob's aunt, uncle, and cousins from Nebraska. It was very sweet of them to make the long drive down to meet our son, we appreciated it very much! Below you see Brett, Bob's godson, holding Cedric for the first time. From what I hear about the first time Bob held baby Brett, this meeting went much better! 

Younger sister, Blaire, was the next in line to hold little Cedric. She was very excited!

Aunt Anne probably spent the most time holding Cedric. It may be a toss up between her and her dad actually, but I don't seem to have any photos of Cedric and his grandpa - so Anne wins. 

It was a very nice long weekend with family and it was nice of them to spend so much time with Cedric. He doesn't do much yet but everyone was happy to watch and hold him. He is one well loved baby! 

It was nice that Cedric was able to spend so much time with his great grandma. He was a very good boy and didn't cry in her arms once! 

I'll leave you with a very special picture, baby's first trip to Oklahoma Joe's (the fancy new one in Leawood). Too bad you couldn't try the BBQ baby, maybe next time!

Cedric and the Masons

The first leg of our Thanksgiving trip was spent in Wichita, Kansas with the Masons (my family). We were able to visit my grandmother in Kingman twice and Cedric met all of his great aunts and uncles, as well as a few of his cousins. Here are some photo highlights. It was great to spend time with the family. We didn't do much but eat yummy food and play with the baby!

Cedric and Grammy 

Cedric and Grandpa Mason

Cedric and his Great Aunt Elise

Cedric and his Great Grandma Mason

Cedric and Grammy

Cedric and his Uncle Clifton

Cedric and cousins Abigail, LeAnn, and Samuel

And the rare photo of Cedric and his mother, enjoying babies first trip to Felipes'