"Before and After" video

Check out this exciting before and after of Maya's latest haircut...

Kiddie Dinner

On the second day of solid food, Dexter is starting to get the hang of it.  He especially liked sitting in his highchair at the table with us.  

PEARS!!

Delicious.

Maya is a bit indulgent with her food choices from our favorite local Mexican place, Casa Manana.  Practicing for her career making new menu items at Taco Bell, she takes a tortilla with rice and beans on it and wraps her quesadilla in it.  Maybe it should be called the Quesoritto Grande.  

Dexter and Daddy approve.

Solid!

Dexter has plenty of energy after the 5 calories consumed during his first non-milk meal.  Here are Dexter's thoughts post solid food...

Solid...

...food is actually quite delicious.

"Dexter First Solid Food" video

Maya has been looking forward to this historic moment.  Dexter has his first solid food...

Dexter at 6 Months

Here are the latest stats:

Weight: 16lbs 8oz (around 30th percentile)
Height: 27 inches (around 60th percentile)
Head: Big

Dexter is now a champion sleeper.  He sleeps from about 7:30pm through the night until about 7:30am (with a dreamfeed at around 11pm).  He is now solidly taking 3 naps a day which range from 45min - 1.5 hours.  We can feel that the pattern is getting close to changing to 2 naps, but for now 3 is still the magic number.  

Soon after 4 months, Dexter discovered rolling and now he rarely stays on his back for long.  He is quite a wiggler on his belly and he's being to be able to move around a bit when he's on the floor.  He has also discovered the exersaucer and the jumperoo which both capture his interest for 15 minutes at a time.  Recently he has started sitting on his own and is getting more stable in that position.  He also can sit (with amazing posture) in the high chair which is a great sign as we are planning to start solid foods now that he has hit the 6 month milestone.  

Dexter's favorite activities these days include doing anything with his sister.  His face lights up every time she comes near him.   He loves walks in the Bjorn.  Crankiness is always solved by a quick walk around the block. 

He is at the very beginnings of communication.  He makes lots of 'aaaa' sounds which are very cute.  Sometimes when we come in a room he makes more distinct 'aye' sound which we think is the beginning of 'hi,' but we could be reaching.  He hasn't started working with any consonant sounds yet, so there's no 'da da' or 'ma ma' in the works just yet.  

We've been dealing with a decent amount of sickness around here including colds, pink eye, and a stomach sickness.  Dexter is certainly getting an immune system workout much faster than his sister did.  It definitely is a new challenge for us to try to navigate the new level of germ management when you have preschooler bringing home a petri dish of germs to choose from. 

Dexter is in the glory days of babyhood.  He's very smily and is happy to just be carried around and watch what's going on.  We are enjoying this brief moment of gerber babyhood until we move to the next level with crawling, eating, etc.  Go baby, go!!

Lap Children

Crazy to think that these two little people belong to us.

Daddy's lap is a lot more crowded.

Just Dexter

Here are few more photos capturing our expressive little guy...

Dexter sits looking a bit worried.

Dexter practices advanced sitting while eating a toy in high chair.

Dexter eats foot on floor.

Dexter responds to allegations of eating foot on floor.

Dexter finds counsel.  Counsel (aka Daddy) suggests that he say no more about this matter.  Looks like they're trying the classic Cute Baby defense.

Saddest Dinner Ever

A few days after the beginning of the Stomach Illness 2012, this is what dinner looks like.

Wouldn't you love to join us?

Dexter Is Taking It Up A Notch

Dexter is getting big fast!! He's now enjoying much more grown up activities like sitting unsupported (hooray), playing in the exersaucer and the jumperoo thingy. He's very expressive and quite lovable.

Chillin' in the exersaucer.

Sitting unsupported.

Standing in jumperoo.

Now jumping in jumperoo. Very fun.

"Yes, I'm cute."

The cuteness can even bring a smile to a sick momma.

House of Pain

Earlier in the week, Dexter seemed to have caught a minor stomach bug. Little did we know what was headed our way. Mommy started feeling bad and Maya followed quickly after. Daddy, who was working weekends finishing up work on The Avengers, was spared the multi-day gastrointestinal fiesta.

This about sums it up.

Crazy Aunties

Marimar and Coco are little crazy. They decided to share some of the great dance moves from their youth with the next generation in an evening dance party. The results were...interesting.

You may be noticing the flags hanging overhead. Everyone at Coco's shower made a little blessing flag for Coco's little girl to be. We decided to hang them up during the party.

Nice moves.

Hmm.

Looking good, ladies.

Maya in awe of her aunties.

Three sisters head out for dinner after the dance party finishes.

Coco's Keiki

Happily, both Coco and Marimar came to visit us. We are very excited that Coco is expecting a keiki (Hawaiian for little one) this May. Even though she lives in Hawaii, she has many close friends from her many years in San Francisco, so her two sisters decided to throw her a baby shower.

Maya was delighted to take turns having stories read to her by Coco and Marimar. Coco first...

...then Marimar.

Three sisters.

Maya radios in for backup before the shower.

It was a rainy Sunday, but we had a wonderful time celebrating inside.

Coco absorbs some shower love.

Later, Dexter felt like taking a walk...

...with three of his favorite ladies.