And...we're back at 6 months.

Drrr...Drff drff drff

We have been off the radar for about a month now...and for a blog documenting the firsts in my son's life, a month is a very long time. For that I feel guilty and sorry - but I just have to jump back in and try again. So here we are.

Today marks Vinny's 6th month out in the world. He now regularly eats an afternoon meal and an evening meal. Usually sweet potatoes, bananas or risotto for lunch and cereal for dinner. He seems to really like the risotto and cereal, potatoes, green beans, peas, pumpkin, avocado and apples, not so much. But he is down with the cereal.

He had a rough time with the jet lag from our recent trip to the States, but after a week there and a week here, we are back on track. He regularly takes a nice morning and afternoon nap, along with his 10-11 hours of sleep at night; although his nightly sleep includes a couple of feedings. He now sleeps in a real crib like a real boy. A crib with a monkey, a lion, a giraffe, a zebra and  an elephant to keep him company. This is the crib that was our niece Katarina's crib, and also flew off the roof of our car when we were transporting it from Slovenia to Austria. He really likes it and sleeps like a champ. Vinny is laughing like crazy, loves his Uncle Justin, loves any type of swinging, bouncing, falling and swooping. A little danger and some G forces are simply the bees knees. I get a huge smile from him each morning. Being naked is his favorite way to live. He approaches crawling like it is a puzzle which must be solved at a dizzying pace. His hair is coming in brown but his eyes remain a dark, delicious blue. He has a very masculine voice for a baby boy. A warm, low laugh and a velvet gurgle. He regularly entertains himself. If he wakes before me, I can find him playing with his hands or staring out the window in the mornings or after nap time. He happily spends time on the floor practicing his rolling, working on his crawling, looking out the window and giggling at the ceiling or house plants. At 6 months I can clearly see a HUGE developmental jump. In the last couple of days he will see something he wants to touch, and reach out and touch it. He grabs and reaches for that which he desires. Vin loves to be held, but is cool on his own. He really likes to sleep and gets crabby without enough of it (a boy after my own heart). His chubby cheeks remain, but his belly is still taught and hard and lean. He is a good boy. A great boy. A really wonderful person to spend your days with. And we are both excited to explore the summer together. I am astounded to look back and think of the little pot roast we brought home just 6 months ago. A half of a year has made a little pork chop into a little boy. Perhaps too fast. I can't help but think our time together is slipping through my fingers too quickly.

I am naked and I want to crawl.

We were in the States for two weeks to go to a friend's wedding and then the last few weeks we have been repairing from jet lag and just living low.

Right now my brother is visiting us, having run in the Vienna Marathon this weekend and now we are enjoying being all touristy in Vienna this first strong Spring week of the year.

Twins!!

We first discovered the necessity of feeding Vin naked...and just recently realized
that we must not only feed him naked, but also naked
in the bathtub - to consolidate the explosion that is Vinny when eating.

...and engage ab muscles to get the crawl going.

Papi is playing soccer and Uncle J is commentator for me. I like soccer -
or 'fussball' as the Austrians call it.

And that is all for now...