What they're doing now... recent updates. February 2009

MATTEO
* He is the easiest baby ever! Until it comes to food. Then, his stubborn side comes out. It is WORK feeding this child. You have to tell him a story and point at pages in a book OR do animal sounds or he will not eat.

* Prefers to feed himself table foods with a fork. So, we have to load the mac-n-cheese or egg (or whatever) on the fork for him, and he’ll put it in his mouth himself. Rarely does he allow you to feed him table foods on a fork.

* Has an amazing attention span and concentration level and IS very tactile and good with his hand/eye coordination and development activities. Future surgeon perhaps?

* Loves to play catch!! If you throw him a ball… he’ll get it and throw it back to you. He gets so excited when you play catch with him that he’ll often go find a ball to get the game started. Definitely a future little leaguer!

* Climbs up onto and down from the sofa quickly and safely all by himself. And lately, he threatens to jump off the back for attention. I don’t think he’d ever do the sofa dive like his brother did… but he knows we come running when he does this. We’re his lab rats. He laughs hard while it frustrates and scares us.

* He’ll fake coughing or sneezing to get more attention. For example, if he or his brother has a real cough/sneeze and we say “Are you ok, Matt/Rocs?”, then Matteo will proceed to fake a cough/sneeze an additional 4 or 5 times so we keep saying “Are you ok, Matt?” He LOVES doing this. The funniest part is watching him fake the cough/sneeze… his face gets all red because he works so hard to fake it!

* Loves to chill on the sofa and watch TV. Loves any show his sister watches, but Diego and Wonder Pets seem to be the favorites.

* Loves jumping up and down on the sofa and then crashes on it, while laughing. Great fun!

* Claps and waves on command or whenever he hears “YAY!”

* Stands on his own without support. Not for too long… but he’s working at getting better.

* Scoots all around the house on his 2 feet, practicing his walking skills, while using the walls, sofas toy boxes or whatever is handy to steady himself.

* LOVES being outside and going for wagon rides.

* Loves dogs and animals… and often spots birds outside the window while he’s eating.

* His hair has curls! I love it! It’s gotten a lot thicker recently and has developed a lot of wave and curls. Very unlike his sister and brother who have straight, fine hair.

* Favorite table foods: apples, mac-n-cheese, hot dogs, waffles, pizza, crackers, cheese

* Will not eat: most fruits, green veggies, or any of the baby foods that are not in a specifically branded jar… because yes, he KNOWS the labels and will look before he lets you put food in his mouth.

ROCCO
* Has the best belly laugh ever! It’s so fun to hear him laughing hard.

* Getting very fast at walking.

* Loves chasing his sister and being chased by anyone. He will laugh soooooo hard and watching him run makes us laugh.

* He has started jumping. He will jump on the trampoline and just started jumping over things in the house. It’s cute to see… it’s a very little jump, but he’s got the right moves!

* Waves on command. He’ll even flash a big smile and wave at pretty ladies in public.

* Claps on command. And, he’ll clap when he sees other people clapping or hears someone saying “YAY!”

* Is often seen holding our B.lackBerries, the home phone or play phones to his ear while pacing the room and ‘talking’. JUST LIKE HIS FATHER! LORD HELP ME!

* Has no interest in watching TV. His interest lies in moving, exploring and moving some more!

* Loves to hold a fork or spoon while we’re feeding him. He an feed himself with a fork, but we usually have to load food on it for him. He tries to get food on the fork but hasn’t had too much luck to date.

* Demands a try of any food that he sees us eating. He points and wiggles and stretches to reach your food and won’t give up until he gets some.

* Favorite table foods to date include: mac-n-cheese, hot dogs, apples, sausage, cheddar cheese, deli meat, and eggs.

* Table foods he doesn’t like: Anything that’s too sweet (cake, ice creams and super-sweet fruits like strawberries)

* Hates getting his diaper changed. It has become a wrestling match, literally, 80% of the time. You must pin his left shoulder down (which REALLY gets him screaming) so he can’t flip over and stand up. And, you’ve gotta be FAST!

* He is often busted for stealing toys from his brother.

* He LOVES his brother and sister and is always so excited to see them.

* Loves being outside. And, he’s got a great eye for animals. He’ll point and start grunting whenever he spots a squirrel or bird in a tree or flying through the air.

GABBY
* Loves going to school! Has two wonderful teachers and approx 8 school friends that we hear about on a regular basis.

* Recognizes B.arack O.bama. She will point him out to us if she sees him on TV or on a magazine cover in the grocery store. If you ask her who he is she’ll tell you he is the president. And, if you ask her what # president his is she’ll say “forty fourth”.

* Loves to sing the ABC song to her brothers and can now recognize most of her ABC’s. We’ve also started working with her on the sounds each letter makes.

* Loves to color and play with playdough.

* LOVES to do art projects with glue and tape. Even though our house doesn’t like her playing with either (think glue and tape EVERYWHERE).

* Puts herself to bed at naptime. Is getting better at going to bed by herself at night.

* Still has a hard time waking up. Usually wakes up from naps crying. Clearly… she gets her love/hate relationship with sleep from her mommy.

* She is not a picky eater and will try anything. Our challenge with Gabby has always been getting her to actually eat more than a few nibbles.

* Favorite foods: Macaroni & Cheese, hot dogs, salmon, pizza, avocado, pears, cottage cheese, edamame, black beans, apples, waffles, strawberries, and carrots.
* LOVES being outside.

* If Gabby sees /hears that Dan or I going on a run, she’ll start running down the sidewalk saying “I want to go too! I run REAL FAST!” Dan and I have let her ‘go on a run’ a few times in the past year (while we walked the babies) so we could see how far she’d go. She made it a full half-mile once. Quite impressive!

* LOVES getting dressed up in princess dresses, playing with her baby dolls and B.arbie dolls.

* She will do imaginary playtime with her friends from school… she’ll talk to them as if they’re in the room, or call them on the phone. And, she’ll often throw them birthday parties too… we get to hear the birthday song a LOT in our house!

* Loves playing with my makeup, shoes and jewelry.

* She will sometimes go through 10-12 outfits in one day. It’s a constant wardrobe change for Miss Gabby. She could probably employ her very own stylist and/or launderer.

* LOVES her little brothers so much. She is often busted hugging them too hard. She plays nicely with them, helps keeps them in-line, loves to help feed them and is such a great big sister!