Vince's +1sie Powers

This weekend it was nice and sunny on Saturday, so we decided to head out to the day for a long walk and a visit to the park. We had so much fun watching Vince for the first time in the baby swing at the park near our house. He was still a little bit too wee to completely fit in the swing so we bulked him up with some blankets in the back.

Here he is just hanging there, not really sure what to think about it yet

Daddy gives a push

He quickly caught on when we started swinging him, laughing and giggling like crazy! The higher we sent him the more he liked it, I'm hoping this kid will be a daredevil like that!

We cruised around Fresh Pond enjoying the sun, while Vince happily noticed all the dogs out and about.

Then when we got home, he started holding his own bottle himself! Add this to the list of things a parent will happily freak out about when their kid does it for the first time. I spared the next set of pictures where there was milk all over the place, on him, the carpet and the floor. He quickly learned he could squeeze the nipple and get milk to squirt out (mainly on his face).

Vince also started going from sitting to crawling, which may not seem like a big deal either, but he's been afraid to do it for over a week now. Why was Vince finally able to perform these firsts in one day? Mike's theory is that it's because he was wearing his +1sie (some weird Dungeons and Dragons thing):

Here's a picture of the end of the day. It's the only time Pootie would allow Vince to be so close... while he's asleep.

Weekend Recap

I figured I better get some notes and pictures down of last weekend before I get too far behind. This weekend was really fun and busy for Vince, as he had his Nonna come and visit from New York, he attended his friends first birthday party (and got in a fight with a balloon), and then went house hunting with Mom, Dad, and Nonna on Sunday.

Having Some Fun on the Couch With Nonna

Nonna always brings something special for Vince when she sees him, and this time it was a new cap (one that actually fits his head!). We managed to get him to stop trying to take it off for enough of a chance to get some pictures, Nonna made sure to get one that matched his blue eyes...

Iman and Tayeb turned one on Saturday, so we all had a fun time celebrating their first year. They were gifted with their own cakes that had ducky candles, home made by mom (cake, not the ducks).

Sitting Down To Their First Cake

I caught Tayeb trying to reach for the candle smoke, so cute!

Iman has become well known as a little pacifier thief. She may have one in her mouth... but she'll crawl over the most innocent of babies only to strike with her thievery, and grab that ever coveted pacifier. I usually bring the pacifier clip whenever we go visit the Benali twins, because of Iman's swift hand..... but here I managed to catch her red handed with Vince's pacifier, showing that she is too clever for the cheap pacifier clip idea. Poor Vince is too shocked to even know how to react, while Dad just looks on, amused by it all.

St. Patty's Day Munchkin is 9 Months Old

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Did you dress yourself or your munchkin in green today? I have to say we didn't. I'm making up for it now by putting Vince in his hip froggy pajamas for bedtime. I managed to capture a shot of him smiling for a second in the rocking chair before he started wailing. Today is a big day for the little green monster as he is 9 months old as well! But when I call him munchkin, boy do I mean munchkin! ....Why you say?

Well, Vince had his 9 month medical visit on Friday and the latest stats on his height and weight prove his munchkin-ness! He only grew an inch from his last visit in December... making him 27 inches, and he now weighs 17 lbs 14 oz... only up about 1.5 lbs from December. This puts him in the 12th percentile for both height and weight! Our little munchkin needs some more protein! Vince's Nurse Practitioner reminded us that genetics is starting to take over as well, so we'll see. We won't quite get out the stretching machine yet. We are thankful that he's a healthy and happy little guy. Mike reminded me that he was the shortest boy in his class until around 6th grade, so we're holding out hope. Vince's head on the other hand, is still way too big for his little body. It measured out at 45.4 cm, about the 55th percentile for other kids his age. So he's got a lot of brain in there!

In other news, we are going to have to lower the crib mattress pretty soon as Monkeyman is practicing to break out of it daily. He can't quite get himself up all the way yet, but we don't want to wait until he can.

He was pretty happy when I helped him up

Vincent: Artist

Vince has been feeling inspired by the state of the world, which has affected his artwork. Daycare has provided him with interesting media that he uses to express his thoughts and feelings. Here are a couple of examples.


This work is a commentary on the current state of the world's financial system. The pieces have fallen apart, and no longer fit together.



This work is inspired by the US healthcare system. It shows the needs of the patients, represented in gold, clashing with the healthcare industry, in green.

We've also noticed that he has been signing his work with only his first name: Vincent. That brings to mind another famous artist who did that:

We're keeping him away from any sharp objects.

Our Little Dracula

Vince's babysitter Kathryn noticed the other day that he had some top teeth coming in. Our baby is getting his baby teeth! When we hung him upside down to look at what was growing, while fighting giggles and wiggle worm movements, we saw that he looks sort of like Dracula! His canine teeth are coming in faster than the incisors, so it looks reminiscent of little fangs coming in. You may have to click on the picture from the blog itself in order to make it so you can see the little fangs shooting through. He'll be a carnivore for sure!

Vince's First Date

Thank you all for your e-mails on my last post! We had a nice weekend including being able to go out to dinner with friends so that was a good way to unwind from a busy week. This week's challenge is getting Vince to daycare, getting myself to work, and coming home to get us ready for dinners, baths, and sleep. Mike left this morning for a business trip to Texas so I'm left with a busy couple of days. Of course this morning there had to be a huge storm rolling through Boston so getting to the train with Vince strapped to me proved to be an adventure. I wore Mike's jacket thinking that I could cover Vince up but that didn't end up working. The wind was so strong that both he and I were getting smacked in the face with snow. By the time we got to the train we both had snow in our noses, eyes... everywhere! People were looking at me like I was crazy to be bringing my baby out in such horrid weather. Nevertheless, I got him to daycare and was only about 45 minutes late for work.

So, a little more about dinner out this weekend. We went to eat at an Incan Restaurant called Machu Picchu, the menu had delightful choices that reminded me of the summer I spent in Peru hiking the Inca Trail and exploring the many beautiful areas of that country. Vince sat in a restaurant high chair for the first time! He did a great job, and accomplished what every baby's duty is while out to dinner.... of trying to grab everything on the table that is within reach. We managed to pull things away before any major catastrophe's....

Vince and Sylvie sharing drinks and nice conversation(they were both too shy to look at each other though) Sylvie chose a Pisco Sour while Vince had a Gin and Tonic

The Drinks were on Sylvie! What a nice gal

Don't they look so happy