Meeting the Easter Bunny

Last Wednesday, my mom and I took Frankie to meet the Easter Bunny.  We couldn't get him to smile for the camera but he didn't seem scared of the bunny, either.  He was holding onto his fuzzy thumb and staring, not knowing what to make of the large white rabbit. 

  That afternoon, we headed into DC for a picnic and to check out the cherry blossoms. 

Cuddling with Grammy

Fascinated by the blossoms

Loving it!

Standing?

Now that Frankie can sit up pretty much on his own, he really doesn't enjoy laying down on his playmat.  He's also very much into 'standing' and playing.  Last week while he was standing I took my hands off of him and he actually stood on his own while holding onto his toy.  This is one strong little boy who is growing up way too fast!

Don't interrupt me; I'm playing!

Tummy Sleeper

It's official...We have a tummy sleeper!  Last Friday morning (3/16) I went in to check on Frankie when I got up and almost had a heart attack when I saw him on his stomach.  I practically climbed in the crib with him to make sure he was breathing!  Ever since, each time we put him in his crib to sleep, he immediately rolls over onto his stomach.  He's even demonstrated his new skill on his playmat a few times.  But he doesn't realize that he can roll back over onto his back yet...He just looks up at us with a big smile on his face, extremely proud of himself...until he gets tired of tummy time!

This is a horrible picture, but I didn't want to use the flash, or get too close, and wake the little guy up!

Enjoying the Weather

I completely lucked out with the weather throughout my maternity leave!  I easily could have been holed up inside but with the mild weather this winter we were fortunate to enjoy many, many walks - and last week the temps even soared close to 80!  We had planned to go to another Mommy & Me movie last Tuesday, but instead grabbed lunch outside with Jenny and Spencer (from my Mom's Group).  And, since the 10 day forecast showed consistent 70 degree temps, after lunch, Frankie and I headed to Carter's to buy the little guy some warm weather clothes that fit!  A few weeks ago, I hit up Gymboree and bought him several summer things in 12-18 month size, thinking he would fit into them in the summer months, but he didn't have anything for now.  He seems to already be filling out the Carter's 12 month summer items that I bought him! 

Taking advantage of the great weather outside

Storytime at the Library

A few weeks ago we had planned to attend Baby Steps at the library and unfortunately discovered how popular the Friday class was when we arrived a few minutes late only to find that it was already full!  Last Friday I was determined to attend the 10:30am class, so we arrived a few minutes before 10am (and actually waited outside for the library to open).  It was definitely worth it - Frankie loved the songs, nursery rhymes, and just looking at the other babies.  The coordinator even printed out the words to each song for the day so everyone could sing along (which was extremely helpful since one was in Hindi!). 

While we were at the library, Frankie checked out his first books, too!  Well, ok, I did it for him, but we picked out a few Spanish books for Maria (his amazing nanny) to read to him.

This picture has nothing to do with the library, but I figured the post needed a little cuteness added to it! :)

 

Sitting Up

Last week Frankie started sitting up by himself for short periods of time (about 30 seconds or so)!  He's a fan of his VTech ball in this picture and enjoys watching it roll around and, of course, trying to eat it.  And last night (on his 5 month birthday, 3/6), he discovered his toes in the bathtub!  He sat up and reached for them and was quite intrigued for awhile until it was time to rinse off and get ready for bed. 

Sleep Update

About three weeks ago, around the middle of February, we decided to try to push Frankie to only one nightly wake up.  Previously he had been waking up around 1 and 5 to eat and then quickly going back to sleep until waking up for the day between 7-8.  Since he goes to bed around 7pm, he was already sleeping a good 6 hour stretch, but we were pretty sure he could go longer.  The first night when he woke up around 1, we kept going in to soothe him back to sleep and attempting to give him his pacifier in place of nursing...this lasted for about an hour and then he went back to sleep for just a bit - but it was definitely progress.  The next night he slept until 3am and then woke up at 7am...and with the exception of a few nights, has kept to one 3am wake up since!  We've heard from the doctor and several others that he should be able to sleep through the night, but for now, we're happy with the 8 hour stretch and I am ok with the one nightly feeding...Maybe when he's 6 months old, we'll try shooting for a 7pm-7am stretch! 

Getting ready for bed after his bath