A Rock Star

Midsummer Sprinklers

2011-06-28T14:00:00.006-04:00

Not much has changed in two years.
Little Rock still loves summertime sprinklers.

Summer Sprinklers

2009-07-15T22:12:00.008-04:00

Little Rock discovered the joy of the humble lawn sprinkler earlier this week.
At first the cold water shocked him. He quickly recovered and was hooked.

15 months and what do you get

2009-06-03T21:38:00.003-04:00

Two new teeth for a total of eight, six on top and two on bottom.
Mastery over stairs this week, after falling down the porch steps last Friday.
Love of food, particularly bananas, pasta and ham.
Dramatic flair, on display during temper tantrums.
Words

First words: "uh oh"
Words for everything else: "dadada"
Parrot words: "dank yu" and "more"

And now two pictures:

First Haircut

2009-04-14T20:37:00.004-04:00

Daddy Rock has been threatening to cut Little Rock's hair since Christmas. I successfully managed to hold him off -- until this past weekend.

I was nervous about the prospect of giving a constantly-moving-13-month-old a haircut, but it was surprisingly easy. First Little Rock sat in Daddy's lap while he got a haircut to get used to the sound of the clippers. Next I snuck the clippers down and trimmed Little Rock's hair. When he started getting antsy we bribed him with his favorite puff snacks. It was over in a matter of minutes with no tears.

Before

After

Two Rocks

Toddler Boy

2009-03-13T13:37:00.004-04:00

Little Rock is officially a toddler. He got tired of hanging on the furniture and struck out on his own on Valentine's Day. He hasn't stopped moving since; He is simply motion in tiny human form.

He started daycare at the beginning of February. Since then we've experienced multiple colds, pink eye and the stomach flu, yes Mom and Dad too.

He had his first taste of cake for his birthday and was smitten. He is starting to communicate more - well when he sees tasty food such as cupcakes he makes lots of noises.

Here are 12 pictures from month 12:

Little Ladies Man

2009-01-29T15:43:00.007-05:00

We stopped by the mall today so that Little Rock could stretch his legs at the play area. At first he just sat there in awe of the screaming children running laps around the area. Then he crawled over to the big tree in the middle and started trying to climb up the slide. He cruised around a bit and somewhere along the way he picked up two older chicks.

Snow!

2009-01-27T11:27:00.009-05:00

It flurried a bit yesterday though nothing stuck. Then when we opened the curtains this morning the whole world was covered with a cold white blanket of snow. After breakfast I dug out my ski pants and pulled the man's snowsuit out of the back of the closet. We bundled up and headed out to experience it first hand.

A Perfect Ten

2009-01-09T14:08:00.001-05:00

Here are some pics from month Ten.

New Year's Day Eruption

2009-01-09T11:26:00.003-05:00

Little Rock celebrated the New Year by teething. He was super cranky and fussy. We couldn't figure out why until we notice a little white spot on his top gum. Tooth #3 arrived 4 months after tooth #1 and #2.

Curiously it doesn't seem to be one of the middle teeth. It appears to be his right maxillary lateral incisor. I guess we'll know for sure if a maxillary central incisor appears soon. Though if the eruptions are 4 months apart his adult teeth could appear before all his baby teeth erupt.

9 Months Out

2008-12-16T11:42:00.003-05:00

Little Rock is officially a cruiser. He pulled himself up November 13 and hasn't looked back.

At his 9 month checkup he weighed in at 20 pounds and 3 ounces. And measured up at 30 inches long.

He is an eating machine and really enjoys squashing bits of food between his fingers.

8 Great Months

2008-11-13T12:40:00.004-05:00

Little Rock is officially crawling though sometimes it is more of a crawl-hop. He moves his hands forward and then kicks off with his back feet. He also started waving at random.

He has two bottom teeth and loves to put things in his mouth. He adores Cheerios. He gets so excited and bangs his hands whenever he sees the container in which we keep the precious Cheerios.

We've joined a playgroup. He is the youngest but he seems to enjoy seeing the other babies each week.

Decision '08

2008-10-17T10:17:00.013-04:00

Little Rock needs YOU...

to help him decide which costume to wear for Halloween.

First up is Ba-Bee Rock:

And next we have Chick-Magnet Rock

Leave a comment with your vote!

Bringing Down the House

2008-10-16T22:11:00.002-04:00

Hurray the house is down.
Oh no the house is gone.
We are home-less.

And now a musical montage/homage to Little Rock's first home...

Lucky Month Seven

2008-10-15T14:26:00.003-04:00

Little Rock mastered the art of sitting unassisted during month seven and worked on several yoga poses. He is getting quite good at Downward Facing Dog and is working on his Table pose. He isn't crawling but he sure manages to inch his way around the family room.

Albums from previous months:

Little Rock - Month 6
Little Rock - Month 5
Little Rock - Month 4
Little Rock - Month 3
Little Rock - Month 2
Little Rock - Month 1

Teeth Glorious Teeth

2008-09-30T12:30:00.000-04:00

Well actually make that tooth. Cousin Ella discovered Little Rock's first tooth a few weeks ago. She stuck her finger in his mouth and then a few seconds later quickly pulled it out saying "He bit me." I assured her that was not possible since he didn't have any teeth. But then I checked and sure enough there was something hard and razor-sharp poking through his gum.

Six Months Already?

2008-09-21T09:42:00.007-04:00

Well actually we're halfway to seven month - Little Rock is six and a half months old. The past two months have been super busy. We visited friends and relatives in New England, moved!, trekked to North Carolina, swam in a pool, met Grandpa John, started eating solids and made great progress in sitting.

But most of all Little Rock has been growing. He was off-the-charts tall at his six month checkup. He measured in at 29 inches long and 17 pounds 12 ounces. And his noggin is on the large side at 18 inches around.

Here is a slideshow of photos from month 6:

And a slideshow of photos from month 5:

Albums from previous months:

Little Rock - Month 4

Little Rock - Month 3

Little Rock - Month 2

Little Rock - Month 1

Little Rock and the Peach

2008-09-06T08:14:00.006-04:00

I think we've found Little Rock's favorite food - peaches. We've had a random food journey so far. We started with rice cereal a few days before his 5 month day. He was not impressed.

Then we tried green peas because we had a jar. He thought they were slightly better but not all that.

Then we had some ahem digestive blockage issues that commonly happen to babies when they start solids. So we tried pears to help unclog the pipes so to speak. Pears resulted in scrunchy face and gagging sounds.

The fourth food we tried was avocado. Little Rock thought baby guacamole was quite tasty and fun to smear here there and everywhere. But the baby guac was not quite a "more, please" food.

Food number five was bananas which were ok. We did a revival of pears and found them a bit more pleasing. And we introduced a cup with very diluted pear juice on his six month day. Little Rock thinks the cup is great fun as a toy.

Finally I steamed and pureed some peaches. Little Rock slurped them down in a flash and banged his tray demanding more.

We are Family

2008-07-29T21:51:00.003-04:00

Little Rock met many Aunties, Uncles, Cousins and his Granny Spice this past week. He traveled through 8 great states - VA, MD, PA, NJ, NY, CT, RI and MA to reach the town of Mashpee on the great Cape.

First he met Uncle Patrick, who made him cry.

Then Granny Spice, Auntie Fabi and Cousin Teagan.

Little Rock is nearly as tall as Cousin Teagan - he is a bit tallish and she is a bit petite. And she can walk, while Little Rock got a helping hand from Auntie Kiara.

He spent some quality time with the Cousins and Gran.

And Cousin Aidan promised to teach him how to play golf one day when he is a bit bigger.

Stand in the Place Where You Are

2008-07-16T14:20:00.002-04:00

Little Rock has discovered he can lock his knees and stand with a little help from Dad or the couch.

He LOVES to stand.

It is hard to get him to sit. If you can stand why sit?

Birthday Booty Shake

2008-07-09T18:41:00.004-04:00

Inspired by Little Elvis, Little Rock decided to make a video for DiDi's birthday.

Go on DiDi - Shake Your Bootie!

Happy July 4th!

2008-07-04T16:06:00.001-04:00

Growing, Growing, Growing

2008-07-03T13:16:00.011-04:00

It is official, Little Rock is growing. His 4 month checkup confirmed it. Since the last checkup he has grown almost an inch and gained almost 3 pounds. He measured in at 25.5 inches long and tipped the scale to 14 pounds and 6 ounces.

Here is a picture slide show of the past month.

Albums from previous months:

Little Rock - Month 3

Little Rock - Month 2

Little Rock - Month 1

Milestones

2008-07-03T12:17:00.006-04:00

We reached a few developmental milestones this week. First Little Rock is now trying to grab his toes. It is only a matter of time before he has them in his mouth -- everything goes in his mouth.

Little Rock is really using his hands now. He consistently grabs the toys on his bouncy seat. He picks up the whoozit all by himself. He has started picking up and shaking his rattles after several days of watching me shake them.

And last but certainly not least, Little Rock rolled over from his tummy to his back! He is a rolling rock indeed :-)

Baby Dates

2008-06-28T14:59:00.008-04:00

Little Rock had his second date with Miss Sophia this week. She is 3 months older, but he seems to dig older chicks ;-).

We met up at Gordon Biersch - Little Rock's favorite restaurant. They stared at each other for a while. They shared toys with each other. Then Little Rock fell asleep.

Movie Star

2008-06-21T13:47:00.004-04:00

I finally figured out how to make movies. Here is one of Little Rock talking, or at least doing his best to communicate.

Wiggle Worm vs. Bouncy Seat

2008-06-21T13:21:00.001-04:00

DSC04564
Originally uploaded by iveyrocks

I left Little Rock in the seat while I went to the restroom and returned to find him happily chewing on the monkey at the bottom of the seat. Yes, the Little Rock had nearly wiggled his way out the seat. We'll be using the bouncy seat belt from now on out!

Speaking of Hands

2008-06-20T08:20:00.000-04:00

Right now hands are one of Little Rock's favorite toys and comfort devices. This morning he sat and stared as his hands for a good 5 minutes, watching them open and close. He is getting much better at using them.

He has started grabbing the hanging toys on his bouncy seat. This is great fun because the grabbing and movement makes the bouncy seat play music.

And as for comfort, Little Rock has discovered that not only can he suck his pacifier, but he can suck his hand and fingers too.

First Night in the Crib

2008-06-18T14:48:00.000-04:00

Little Rock spent his first night in the crib on Tuesday. Well he spent half the night. It was way harder for mom than him - he just snoozed right through it. But mom being the world class worrier had to keep checking on him to make sure he was okay.

All hands on board

2008-06-17T13:45:00.000-04:00

Little Rock has developed some preferences over the past few weeks. He definitely likes to sleep with his his hands touching his head or face. This is a typical pose:

Bubble, Bubble, Drool

2008-06-06T14:36:00.000-04:00

This past week Little Rock has started blowing some serious bubbles. Last night he blew so many it looked like he was almost foaming at the mouth. Then the bubbles collapse into a stream of drool. Much to the chagrin of Daddy Rock who hates drool more than any other substance.

[wearing a froggy outfit from Dan, Evelyn and Lillian.]

Baby Legs!

2008-05-31T19:11:00.000-04:00

A recent issue of Mothering magazine came with a free sample of BabyLegs leg warmers in Curry. I love the idea of BabyLegs. They protect precious knees when little ones learn to crawl or can be used as an extra under layer of warmth in winter. And best of all BabyLegs don't get in the way of diaper changing.

I thought that only girls could wear these wonderful creations, but since I had a free pair I decided to try them on Little Rock. And they look quite smashing with his orange gDiaper.

Here is a close up. (Yes, technically his gDiaper is on backwards.)

Little Rock obviously enjoys his BabyLegs.

TeeHee

2008-05-26T20:51:00.001-04:00

Little Rock laughed today. Sister and the cousins said he laughed on Friday, but that was nothing compared to today. I was taking off his onesie and he started giggling up a storm - the little man is ticklish on his sides.

Motor Skills

2008-05-23T10:10:00.000-04:00

Little Rock is learning how to use his hands. Up to this point he has used them more or less as pushers. If you put his teddy bear next to him he can use his hands to push it to his mouth and then proceed to maul Mr. Ted. But this week he has started a bit of grabbing. And this morning he grabbed my face, my neck and my hair - ouch.

First Squeal

2008-05-21T20:25:00.000-04:00

Little Rock gave me his first squeal today. He was so excited this morning that he let a squeal of delight. Though he may have squealed yesterday morning around 4am, but I'm too sleep-deprived to be sure.

Mini G Washington

2008-05-12T13:58:00.001-04:00

Mini G Washington
Originally uploaded by iveyrocks

Homemade hat makes Little Rock look like a miniature George Washington. Don't fret - the hats are getting better.