The Wheels on the Bus

Rocco just loves to lean against Scott's legs and have 'The Wheels on the Bus' sung to him. Of course the most important part is making his little hands go 'round and round' - gets a smile every time!

Rocco's Beluga Whale Nursery

I'm completely honored that Rocco's nursery was selected to be highlighted on Apartment Therapy's wonderful website! For those visiting my blog from that site - Hello! If you have any questions about his nursery or where I got any particular object featured in his room, please feel free to leave a comment and I'll respond as soon as possible. Here's his nursery for those who haven't seen it yet:

 

Selected lyrics from the tune 'Baby Beluga' - printed above the dresser in the room

Funny story about the above pillow sham - the first time it came in the mail, it looked like this:

Can you say 'fail whale' ?! The whale is frowning and the name is upside down. Nice quality control.

And because I'm a proud mom, here are a couple of cute newborn photos of Rocco in the whale basket from his room:

Tummy Time

We try to squeeze in as much tummy time as possible. Which is a little hard considering he only lasts about two minutes before he decides to face plant or roll over (if it's a hard enough surface for him to push off on).

A Daily Dose of Rocco

If you have ever had a baby, more than likely at one point or another you have had a stranger (always a woman from my experience) come up to you and tell you to make sure to enjoy your little baby because they grow up in the blink of an eye. They aren't joking.

Since Rocco was born, we've been taking a photo every month on his birth date, the 17th (or as close as possible now that I've gone back to work), so we can record how much he has grown and changed every month over the first year of his life. We wanted to keep the backdrop colorful, but the same, in every photo so we chose to just lay him down on the rug in his nursery. We also needed an object in every photo to serve as a reference point for how much bigger he is getting in comparison. Since we are taking a photo every month, the choice was obvious - a calendar! We are even able to keep his outfit the same every month because we bought the same cute whale onesie (to go with the whale theme of his room) in every size up to 12 months.

Now that he is one-third of the way through his first year, you can really see a lot of changes! Take a look for yourself:

Even though I am taking a photo every month, I still feel like I am missing capturing things. The small everyday things. Like how he wakes up with a smile on his face in the morning so happy to start his day, no matter how much (or how little) he slept the night before. Or how he closes his eyes and falls asleep while still drinking his last bottle of the night before his bedtime. So to make sure I capture his everyday mannerisms, those small things that make Rocco, Rocco, I am going to try to take a photo of him daily. Starting with today. So here is today's photo: a close-up of my happy boy smiling at me while he played on his activity mat after he came home from school.

Also, here are his 4 month stats from the pediatrician: Weight 14lb 4oz (40%), Height 26in (87%).

Playtime with Rocco

Rocco got a brand new activity mat for Christmas which he absolutely loves. It has a keyboard that he can play music on with his feet, a mirror, and several hanging animals for him to swat at with his hands. At first, all he wanted to do was vigorously stomp on the keyboard keys and occasionally would happen to notice the handsome baby staring back at him in the mirror. Recently though, he has learned that he can grab things with his hands and he pretty much has stopped using the keyboard all together. Here are some photos of our little monkey playing on his activity mat while Scott and I recovered from a wonderful case of food poisoning.

Mirror, mirror, who is the cutest baby of them all?

Me? You must say that to all the babies!

Unrelated - I still have no idea what color Rocco's eyes are/will be. When he was born they were steel gray. Over time they have changed. One day they seem to be bluer, the next day greener, and some days they even appear to be turning hazel/brown near the pupil. Any guesses on what the final color will be? There's a poll on the right hand side, so place your bets!We won't know for sure until he is about a year old, but they will more than likely not get lighter in color, only darker if anything. Either way, his little peepers are pretty cute:

My Funny Valentine

It's been a miserable couple of weeks in the Mintz household as we try to recover from Bronchiolitis (aka the-devil-disease-that-will-not-die). However this weekend I forced myself to get out of bed and take some Valentine's Day photos of Rocco since he is finally feeling better at least. Originally I was going to send out Valentine's Day cards but the aforementioned illness ruined those plans, so blogging it will have to do.

Rocco is my 'funny' valentine because he has recently learned how to laugh! Well, it's not quite a full-fledged laugh. More like a high pitched squeal with a huge gummy smile. It's just about the cutest thing ever, but I'm a bit biased. If I manage to get it on video I'll make sure to post it on here! In the meantime, Rocco sends all of you his love:

All you need is love, love. Love is all you need.

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!!

Becoming A Mother Has Changed Me Forever

It's weird to think of myself as a Mother. Sure, I have an adorable baby boy, but I don't particularly feel like a M-O-M. To me that word conjures up images of my own mother, or women her age in general. Surely not someone who is just 28 years old like myself.

But tonight while I sit here awake way past my bedtime because Rocco has Bronchiolitis/RSV and I'm too worried about him to go to sleep, I was thinking about this - I feel like a completely different person.

Before Rocco was born or even thought of, I would hear stories in the news about missing children, children with cancer, children left accidentally in a hot car, etc. and I felt sad for those families.  But it was generally a fleeting feeling. Now? Those same kind of stories bring tears to my eyes. Those stories are my worst nightmare and they move me in a way I can't even begin to describe. I feel like becoming a Mother has unlocked a part of my heart I never even knew existed. I feel sorrow and empathy more deeply than before, but conversely I feel love more intensely than ever. Today, seeing Scott trying to comfort Rocco, made me feel as much love for him as I felt on our wedding day. As for Rocco, I actually miss him when he is just taking a nap. So you can only imagine how I felt on his first day at daycare. I was a complete mess to say the least. But I wouldn't trade these more powerful feelings, good or bad, for the world. I'm more sympathetic. I'm more grateful. I'm changed. Forever.

All because I'm a Mother