Loads of Firsts!

Well, Little Ricky has reached the six month mark! Can you believe it? Along with that, there have been tons of developments:

1. He has mastered rolling over from his back onto his belly. He flips and lifts his head as if to say, "Look what I can do!" The only downfall is that he hasn't quite figured out how to flip back, so he gets stuck and frustrated after a little while.

2. The daily menu has expanded! We have added rice, oatmeal, and veggies (sweet potato and squash, so far) to lunch and dinner, and the baby is a pro at eating off of his spoon. We do have to work a bit harder at shoveling the grub into his mouth fast enough; otherwise, there is quite a bit of grunting to be dealt with. He actually has a bit of an attitude about his food- I think he gets that from his mother. It has also made diaper changing very...interesting!

3. Our son is a fish- and a cute one at that! He had his first swimming experience and he seemed to really love it. We spent our 7th wedding anniversary in Orlando and had a chance to take a dip with our cutie-pie. He got plenty of attention- we're not sure if it was the usual big eyes and smile, or if the addition of the super floatie, his shades, or his Nemo trunks that did the trick. Heehee! Besides being attacked by a floating alligator, we had a great time and discovered what happens when Papi is in charge of the suntan lotion.

4. We think Ricky is definitely teething. It could be that he is beginning to chew on everything! Most times it is his hand, but other times Mom's face or a foot works too.

Besides that, Ricky has been spending plenty of time with his best buddy (and potential future wife) Soleil. He doesn't seem to mind that she's not paying him very much attention yet, and seems pretty satisfied that her arm tastes just as good as his own.

We'll have our first beach outing this weekend to celebrate Father's Day, and are happy to say that our next blog update should be all about our first airplane ride and trip to NYC! We can't wait!

Mother's Day Fun!

We knew this year would be extra special but we had no idea how full of surprises it would be! On Tuesday, May 8th, we had a visit from Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma kept her Mother's Day/ Gabby's birthday Florida visit tradition- 3 years in a row. The visit was extra nice since it was actually Grandpa's first time seeing little Ricky. He could hardly contain himself; he even made the premature purchase of little Ricky's first baseball glove. Since he is not quite ready for the baseball diamond or the schoolyard yet, we have him breaking in his glove and taking warm up reps in his crib. Note: he fully suits up for his drills- he is wearing his slugger shirt and his baseball cleats (not pictured). And since we are in an era of extra competitive athletes, his baseball drills are followed by drills in basketball and soccer...just in case!

It was a quiet but enjoyable couple of days- that is, until late Thursday night. We were waiting for Grandpa and Jimmy to arrive from the airport with Jimmy's dad. Actually, the flight was delayed and our energy was slowly fading...

until we were met with the hollars of, not Jimmy's dad, but twelve- yes, twelve- Roman family members who came to spend the weekend with us: Celi, Milin, Monchi, Marilyn, Ivy, Bobby, Layla, Olivia, Mario, Olga, Amanda, and Junior! YEAH! You don't believe me ... here they are pictured in my backyard.

And just when we thought it couldn't get better, it did! Abuelita Lydia had joined the crowd and when she popped up out of nowhere, the video camera was practically flung across the room. It was fantastic! She and Grandma Rosa took turns giving ample grandmother spoiling time.

The weekend was very busy, to say the least. On Friday, most of the crowd went to Disney and others stayed behind to become Wii champions. On Saturday, we celebrated cousin Gabriella's eighth birthday with a big BBQ and time in the jacuzzi. On Mother's Day, we hosted a Barbecue at our house and the family was able to take some sun. We think Grandpa said it best when he said, "These are the best three days of my life!" He promised to tell little Ricky all about it when he got older.

Road Trip!

We've just been on our first road trip to Coral Springs and we had a fantastic time! We stayed with the Santiago family and Nana (a great-grandma five times over), and Titi was a pro at making Ricky laugh and putting him down for naps. Nana played with him every morning...that is, between her traditional breakfast outings, aerobics classes, and work schedule. And as usual, Rick and I were embarrased that our 77 year old grandmother had busier days than we normally do. Pitiful!

We had a very busy weekend! On Friday, we celebrated Sebastian's 2nd birthday and taught him the best way to eat birthday cake- with your fingers! On Sunday, we went to Miami to see Laura, Tony, and Elena, who is so big. We visited Dona Maria and Don Carlos, who reminisced about taking care of Jomar and I when we were little and worked hard to convince us to move closer to them so they could babysit. On Monday, we met up with Rick's childhood friend Suzie who recently moved to Florida from Brooklyn.

Since we've been home, there have already been some exciting developments. First, Little Ricky has become an expert at using that heartbreaking bembe- you know, the infamous puffed up bottom lip that can get you to buy him a car if he asked for one. Uh oh! Second, he has been sleeping in his crib for the past two nights...yes, in his nursery! Rick and I moved the rocker and all of his things out of our bedroom, and after crying for a half-hour, Rick suggested that we sleep in the guest room until we're comfortable. In other words, the parents have to transition- how funny! Also, Ricky now sits up in his Bumbo chair all by himself. I think he likes to feel like a big boy. Finally, we said hello to our newest friend, and perhaps future wife, Soleil. She was born on Thursday, March 29th and they are bound to be best buds since Harmony's mother will be taking care of both of them when she and I go back to work in August. Exciting!

So much fun!

Ever since Ricky started laughing, we have found ourselves doing everything possible to get it out of him. But the most successful of all has been his new best friend. "Tickle Me" Curious George has by far won the kid over. He has tickle points under his arms, on his feet, and on his belly, and he laughs aloud. While I at times find it a little frightening, Ricky absolutely loves it. He has also made a new discovery...his feet! It seems as though one day he was looking down and...there they were! It's hysterical how he gets fixated on them and how they move (although I'm not sure if he's figured out that he actually moves them).

We also made it to our first Apollo Beach festival last weekend. It was a beautiful day and we met up with Titi Betzy and Cousins Gabby and Anthony.

The bad news: Daddy and I think Ricky's getting a bit too big for his bassinet. That means that we'll have to start getting him used to sleeping in his crib during nap time, and eventually have him sleep there at night. Yes, he'll have to sleep ALL THE WAY on the other side of the house in his room- a full 68 steps from our room (I've counted!). Needless to say, I am having a slightly hard time coming to grips with this one. We'll keep you posted on how I- I mean, he- does with the new change.

In a couple of weeks we'll be visiting Nana and the Santiago family in Coral Springs. We'll also be counting down to our trip to NYC in July (that means you people have plenty of time to get rid of all of that snow before we arrive). We have our cousins David and our newest cousin Michaella to meet, and Abuelita and Grandma have plenty of spoiling to catch up on!

Here are some more pics to enjoy!