Super Bowl; taste of eggs; exploring the outdoors

Despite all the cheering the Patriots lost :(
For the first time Nikolas had (two) eggs scrambled with some feta cheese and olives, and loooved them! He needs more meat on his bones after he got so skinny during the holidays from a cold. I'm glad that he likes eggs since he is not a fan of meat and he needs the protein.

We started playing on the grass in the front yard on a regular bases. He loves to feel the grass and dry leaves. It's great to see the way he shares everything he plays with whether it's the toys, leaves, food, water... He will stretch his hand and offer it to me, whatever it is--sometimes he will take it back as if he suddenly changed his mind, but sometimes he'll wait for me to take the object and be very happy and proud of it. He shares his food and water too: he has held his bottle for me to drink and also has put some of his food in my mouth. Cute, and it also makes him feel proud to imitate the adults.
Another typical thing is pointing at objects and then saying something as if he is calling a name for the object (he always points to the ceiling fans as he sits in the high chair, also to trees, grass, etc.). It's time to learn to decipher baby talk!

Check out our latest walking skills :)

First night without nursing

For the first time he went to bed without breastfeeding! I held him and told him a story, and he fell asleep on my shoulder within 5-10min. I'll call it beginner's luck this time.

As a side note, today he stood up and walked across the living room on his own. It was not just a few wobbly steps this time, it was a real walk :) He is getting much better at getting up on his feet. Usually he sticks his butt up as he stands on his feet and hands, legs straight (as if he was watching mommy doing the upward dog yoga pose), and then he shifts his weight onto his feet until his arms float up. He also gets up from sitting on his heels, usually when he is holding something in his hands.

OK, another side note: last night he was giving me his cup to drink from it, holding it still as I drank, and today he was feeding me his Cheerios. He thought it was so much fun and at the same time he looked a bit proud of himself for doing what the adults do to him.

I took this picture after Cynthia recently commented that it must be a Moore gene that all kids like to sit with their feet crossed! I paid attention since then, and yes, Nikolas always crosses his feet when he sits either on the floor or on a chair.

I can't help adding a video of what he does whenever I feed him from a bowl. I don't let him touch the bowl to keep the mess to a minimum, but he persistently tries to get it closer to his reach:

First (controlled) steps

Today he took his first solid steps. Sure I could count the steps he took a month ago as his first, but back then he didn't realized what he did when he moved from the chair into my arms. This time they were controlled. He knows what he is doing and is more inspired to continue practicing by himself!

Nikolas is such a cuddler! He will come up to me and place his face against my chest or on my belly or on my hand, whatever is convenient, with this smile that shows that he is melting from joy (and not to mention how it makes me feel!). Robb is teasing him that he mama's boy. So what!

Just a couple of cute pictures...

Look at those teeth :) Luckily, he stopped biting me as he used to!
Look at us properly sharing toys (the screen might show up black, but the video will play when you click on the play button):

Back at home

We are back in Florida!
The house is still in one piece and there are no roaches to be seen, amazingly!

Nikolas's cold has subsided but I took him to see a pediatrician anyway. It turned out that he had a mild ear infection that probably caused by the cold, as was his chest congestion that he's had lately. Poor thing wheezes so much that I've been worrying whether he has been getting enough oxygen, especially at night. He got some medication for the ear infection as well as a nebulizer to ease the breathing passages, and this really helped within 10 days.

Jan. 20th:
I think this was the first time I let him feed himself lunch entirely on his own. I cut up some green beens, chicken and bread and placed them on the tray of the high chair. He enjoyed it very much! Sure, there was a mess to clean after he was done, but I'm sure that he felt proud for eating like an adult!
He loves bread and crackers. I have to watch him while he eats bread though, because he will continue to stuff his mouth with it until he gags, then he'll take a quick break to push some bread out of his throat, then continue eating. It will be a good idea for me to take a CPR class to be prepared to help him if he chokes for real! He is definitely not a passive eater that he was before the trip. He won't just eat anything. If it's not Cheerios or bread or crackers, he will check it out and feel it in his mouth a bit, then hopefully eat, and then he'll try to pick it from the spoon with his fingers or if he doesn't like or has had enough, he'll slap the spoon and send the food flying all over the place. And giggle afterwards, of course... Or, he'll pick the food and as he stares at me in the eyes, he will slowly move his arm so that his hand is hanging over the side of the chair and slowly let the food fall on the floor. If I ask, 'Do you want more?', he'll say 'Da-da-da' with excitement, and if he doesn't want any, he'll shift in the chair as if he wants to get out and won't say anything, but sometimes he'll shake his head as if saying no! Also, he will point to the food that he wants and shake his head to the food he doesn't want.
Snacking on peas and Cheerios:

He has definitely learned the meaning of no (Serbocroatian version, 'ne'). He'll crawl into the kitchen and toward the cabinet that I don't want him to open, and just as I start reaching for him to move him away, he'd shake his head left-right and say 'ne-ne-ne!' Or he'd start jumping on his knees while saying 'ne', I guess thrilled by his own mischief.
Speaking of jumping on his knees--this is his next step towards walking. He'll raise himself tall on the knees and either jump with both legs at the same time or drag knees forward one after the other. The other thing he started doing since we got back is to stand on one knee and one foot and then push himself up and forward, almost standing before he'd land on his hands. He's been jumping like this across the living room so much that sometimes his knees and hands felt a little swollen but he had so much fun doing it that he didn't notice the pain!


Even funnier is when he starts 'walking' on his knees:

Walking is no problem as long as there is something to hold on to. Even if he just barely holds on to one hand, he will walk steadily. He needs a bit more inspiration to let go entirely.


Here is Nikolas being very helpful in cleaning up his room:
The main attraction of his room is his window. He'll stand there and look out, play with the string for the blinds, or bang the shutters open and close.

Dallas through New Year's

We are spending the next couple of weeks through the first week of New Year in Dallas at Mike and Cynthia's. The entire Moore family was there except for Grandma, Grandpa, Steve and Laurie with the kids. We have all been wishing Grandpa a quick recovery so that we can see him and Grandma soon!
The main attraction for all the kids this year was Wii--I can't even imagine what kinds of toys will be out there when Nikolas is old enough to play with them. Wii was great, Robb enjoyed playing golf while seated on the sofa, and I tried a game of tennis :)

Nikolas is solidifying his new skill of drinking water out of a cup. Here he is, drinking away, with uncle Tom and uncle Mike watching his back...
Tommy and Sean are playing, and Nikolas is still working on that water...
Still drinking (and playing with the little people at the same time)...
Could I ask for a designated driver tonight...!?
It's time to open the presents under the Christmas tree. Nice little red toy that sticks to my fingers... I can't shake it off!
Oh, there are more presents?
Where is the my ribbon, ahhhh?!
We all crowded the TV room for the Patriots' game. Mike and Cynthia's neighbors never realized what an animated and loud group of fans the Moores were until tonight :)
Here is Nikolas in his new Brady shirt, playing with his buddy Sean.
Nikolas, Robb and I were the only ones to stay in Dallas through New Year's: Robb then left for a conference in Colorado for a few days, so Nikolas and I got to hang out with Mike, Cynthia, Kayleigh and Ryan that week. The kids gave us constant entertainment: Kayleigh and Ryan loved playing with the baby and showing him toys, cuddling with him, playing peekaboo, showing him how to climb up and down the stairs, how to play the piano, etc. Nikolas had a blast with them. He is generally into older kids and new things--I haven't yet seen him enjoy the company of a baby his age....those he completely ignores. We also played outside a couple of times when the weather warmed up. He got a juicy lick from a big labrador from the neighborhood one time, and loved it. It would be nice to have a dog he could play with, if only I could rent one and not keep it forever, walk it every day, etc. He loves dogs!
Check out my favorite song:Click right here, Ryan, where I'm pointing, see!Wow, interesting game....!Working on those stairs....

Mischievous look: "Hello there--I'm on my way to the bottom on the stairs where I'm going to disassemble the wooden reindeer for the 20th time, then I'll start climbing the stairs (this is where mommy will get me), and then I'll roam around the area and see if there are any tasty bits on the floor like the pine tree leaves or that piece of mint candy that I found the other day."
Yes, that was pretty funny with the mint candy: I noticed that he put something in his mouth but when I reached to pull it out, he had already swallowed it--but his breath was minty fresh, and not from the toothpaste :)
Another one of his acts that made us laugh was when he crawled to an electric outlet that had a clear plastic protector on it, he turned his head towards me to check if I was looking at him (I was), and then quickly before I could grab him and pull him away, he stuck his finger right on the outlet. Of course, because the protector was clear he thought he was still touching the outlet and that he got me. But that look that he gave me and a quick action were genial!

Nikolas loved having Cynthia talk to him--whether it's the voice or the intonation, he reacts to some people more than others (Cynthia and my mom definitely inspire him to talk and shriek!). For now the most frequent words are a loud 'Aaa' and 'Dada', while his more creative monologues usually happen first thing in the morning right after he wakes up (words that sound like 'boy', 'bla', 'baba', 'mama', 'dai', 'nana' and then a whole bunch of 'words' that I'm not sure how to write here....). I'm pretty sure he started understanding, just before we set out on our CA trip, that 'daj' means 'give' (in Serbocrotian, of course) and he gives me the object when I ask for it. Now when I feed him he says 'Da' and points to the food, and I don't know if he is trying to say 'give' or 'yes' for yes, more food!

We've been extremely lucky with his sleep over the holidays. Maybe it was because he's had this bad cold the whole time that we were gone from home, which must have made him exhausted and ready for sleep anytime, but anyway, he has been taking a couple of naps a day and going to bed by as early as 7pm to wake up around 6-7am pretty regularly, no matter where we were staying. He always slept in a play pen. In Dallas I was able to put him in the play pen still slightly awake for his morning and afternoon nap, and he would either go down immediately or after just a few minutes of crying, which was awesome! He even slept through the second half of the Patriot's game with everyone cheering unbelievably loudly just a few meters away from his room! On the other hand, my plan to stop nursing by the time Nikolas turned one got a bit disrupted--he seemed to need it more lately and this was probably because he's had that horrible cold where his nose has been running like a faucet and the poor thing couldn't breathe (he has been wheezing and snoring) or taste his food (his appetite has been down too). I tried to give him a little bit of extra comfort by nursing him 3 times a day, and I figured some antibodies wouldn't hurt either.

Christmas in the Bay Area

It was sad to leave Tahoe the day after we got tons on fresh snow....but on the bright side we had an easy drive back. Plus, as an added benefit, we stopped to visit Asja and the girls in Folsom! I was happy to see my old friend as always, and Nikolas had a blast roaming around and playing with the new toys.
We spent another couple of days at Steve and Laurie's before we headed back to Palo Alto where we met my parents to spend the next few days with them, staying in the same hotel. Nikolas still particularly reacts to my mom's voice--whenever she talks to him, he gets motivated to respond loudly and intensely, making a lively conversation. Every morning I'd take him to their room as soon as he would wake up: this is his prime time for talking and cuddling. Just put him on the pillows and talk to him, and he will beside himself from giddiness, throwing himself left and right, up and down like a little puppy, talking and screaming.
Again, every day we were making sure that downtown Palo Alto was still there :) and warmed ourselves up at the new Pete's Coffee on University Ave that Robb and I miss so much in Florida, as it was still cold, cold, cold. While we sipped our lattes, Nikolas decided it was time to start drinking from his straw-bottle or he wasn't getting any drink otherwise. Finally!
We visited teta Snjeza and cika Ljubisa. Nikolas discovered a magnet, and after he lifted a spoon with it, he persistently tried to use it on all kinds of other objects, unfortunately none were metallic so he kept failing and trying...
But he successfully balanced an apple in the hole in the truck meant for a little toy-person :)
We spent Christmas Eve at Tijana's new house. Her whole family was there except for Tamara, and we really enjoyed catching up since the last time we saw each other at our wedding! It was great to see the Stamenovs.

Tahoe

On Sunday after Robb's conference we headed for Tahoe for some skiing. There wasn't too much snow there yet, but a huge storm was in the forecast for the following couple of days. With or without snow, this was going to be fun because we had a great group of people arriving at the cabin: Goran and Fare were coming from Colorado; Zina and Fedja from Houston; Ben and Tim from Robb's old VLF group. We took Steve's guitar up with us. Goran was the only one playing it in the end, mostly YU songs that a few of us sang to. It's been a while, we all got a bit rusty with lyrics. We'll do a better preparation in the music department next time!

Zina with Nikolas, Goran in the back:
Ben helping with dinner, Tim giving him moral support:
Nikolas with his favorite toy (like mommy, like son!):

Robb was wonderful to let me go ski while he watched Nikolas! We skied at Heavenly and it was much better than I expected! Or I was so excited about skiing that I forgot that that this was my least favorite resort around Tahoe...
On Tuesday we got some fresh snow so Robb and I decided to take Nikolas out to experience it. First, we tested the new suit at home. He apparently didn't like it too much:
Then we bundled him up for a car ride to the park. Here is our little crepe with an adorable hat:
And now starts the real fun!
Someone, anyone, pick me up, I can't move over here!
First taste of snow, literally:
Hello, teddy bear :)
It's all complete with a snow man!
Those huge snow flakes didn't exactly impress him this time...it was freeeezing cold, too!
Whether it was due to the cold that he caught just before the trip or the altitude, Nikolas slept 'like a baby' every single night. We had him in the play pen in our room. Usually, sharing a room with him means that he will sense mommy and wake up a few times until I pick him up and move him into my bed. This time he slept all the way through every night, from 8pm until 7am!

Back in Palo Alto

We got back from a full month of travels and it's about time to update the blog!

In early December we flew to SF for Robb's conference. That first week we stayed in a beautiful B&B place right downtown Palo Alto called Cowper Inn, that we had actually never noticed while we lived in the area. As Robb left for the city every morning, Nikolas and I enjoyed the breakfast downstairs in the coziest dining room that definitely felt like it was at a friends' house and not at a hotel, and where I could have spent hours browsing the newspapers and books and sipping tea (it was a cold week!) only if Nikolas had the same patience too. Oh, I have to mention the homemade granola that we had there every day--the best I've had so far. Breakfast was also a great opportunity to meet and chat with other guests and hear each other's stories. One nice lady, Meredeth, and I decided to go hiking Stanford Foothills together, with Nikolas in the stroller. Last time I hiked there was a month before Nikolas was born! It was much easier to haul the belly up the hill that push the gigantic stroller, I have to say...
After the morning hike or a stroll around downtown and on to either Stanford or the Stanford Shopping Center, we would meet someone for lunch. First, there were the IC guys: Gilles, The Linh, Jason, Ron, Tim, Dan, Luke, the new Greek guy and the Asian girl whose names I already forgot, outch! (did I forget anyone?). There were some good laughs there :). Then Will and Laszlo met us for coffee in downtown Mountain View, my old usual coffee shop, which was also very pleasant and energizing ('energizing' and 'Will' in the same sentence? True though :)).
Then we met with the Yugoslavian girls, Svjetlana, Ceca, Sanda, Maja and Marija, and although the lunch was a bit rushed, it was great to see everyone. I saved the Friday lunch for Phil and Kishore at the Faultline Brewery, of course, just like in the good old times.
We spent a few hours at Google too, having coffee with Matteo and Ugo and showing Nikolas his primary business competitor a few years from now :)
So mommy definitely got her share of socializing this week, yet poor Nikolas spent most of the time bundled up in blankets and a hat and stuck in the stroller on a car seat going from one place to another.

Other than going crazy over Cheerios and some cables on the floor at Google, he was forced to resign to the fact that there wasn't much play for him in the plans, and he took it incredibly well. He really didn't fuss at all. I actually envisioned that we would spend a few hours every day with either Nurit's Dani who lives almost around the corner from our B&B and Ceca's Marko. We visited Ceca a couple of times where the kids got to play together, in a very friendly manner too, while I got to catch up with my friend.

However, Nurit, Dave and Dani were just about to leave for Israel, but we did see them the night before they left.

Nurit made my life much easier by letting me borrow the booster seat and some toys for Nikolas for the hotel room. Oh yes, traveling with a curious child is a major project. We arrived from Florida with 3 suitcases and a bunch of bags, and that was just the BASIC stuff, no toys, no unnecessary outfits, just the basics. We even shipped most of the ski equipment before we left. So now, the first time I tried feeding Nikolas his oatmeal, both of us and everything around us got covered with the sticky stuff. Next, try letting the kid play in the hotel room without toys--let's see: there are outlets, wires, brochures, trash bins....so Nurit, thanks again!
After the conference we spent a couple of days at Steve and Laurie's. We were reminded by how much we missed hanging out with them! The kids were great with Nikolas. This time they could actually play with him and not just try to hold him as a little baby. Nikolas got his first lesson about how to go up and down the stairs between the family room and kids' play room.
Here is Jenny pushing Nikolas--he was having a blast in his new 'car':

By the way, Robb and I got a special treat from Steve and Laurie: Nita watched all the kids, including Nikolas, while the two of us went with Steve and Laurie to their friends' Christmas party in Los Altos. How fun!