4 Months Old

Tiago had his 4 Month check-up on Friday morning (and more vaccines-ugh). The doctor gave him a clean bill of health and was impressed with Tiago's visual tracking and advanced motor skills. While he usually waits until the 6-month check-up to advise parents to "baby proof," he urged us to go home and begin to bolt down our furniture immediately. He predicted that Tiago will be crawling any time now (he was impressed to see Tiago scoot and lift his entire body--plank style--while on the office table). Tiago continues to be above average in height and weight (?!!?). He was 16lbs, 11oz and 26.5 inches. It's no wonder our backs hurt when wearing the back-pack. (PS: please excuse our "new-parent" boasting; we are working on it)

Meeting Abuelo Sabad

Finally! Tiago has met the last of his grandparents. Abuelito Sabad came for a very short visit during the week and was thrilled to finally be able to meet his youngest grandson. They bonded nicely over "tummy time" and "jumping time" (Tiago's new favorite pass-time).

Included is a video of Tiago laughing at his abuelo's funny whistling (we were glad to see that Tiago still laughs--it's been a while since we've heard him laugh--tough critic!):

Channeling Great Grandpa Jorge?!

I have recently observed an amazing behavior in my son: On several occasions, while driving in the car, Tiago has made it quite clear that he does not like being strapped into a car seat. During one particularly difficult protest, an old Peruvian song (Jose Antonio), came on and immediately halted Tiago's wailing. Thinking it was a fluke, I jokingly commented that he must have been channeling his late bis-abuelo Jorge. However, when the song ended and his crying resumed, I thought twice. I re-played the song, and again he quieted. "Surely, he must have fallen asleep?" The song ended and once more, he began his protest. Over the next couple of car-rides, whenever he began to cry I played Jose Antonio (a love song for Peru's coastal, criolla, culture) he would stop crying. This week, I decided to set up the camera on the bed, near his co-sleeper (as previously mentioned, Tiago has not been napping successfully). I found Tiago's response to Chabuca Granda's Jose Antonio absolutely fascinating. You'll have to take my word that when the song ended, he resumed crying and upon repeat of the song, he stopped. When I played a different song, it did not have the same effect. I like to think that my grandfather Jorge La Serna is watching his great-grandson Tiago Jorge, and chuckling, "Que hermoso es mi chalan."
...Now, if only we could find a song that would put Tiago to sleep!

6am vs. 6pm

Tiago is mostly a happy boy with bright eyes and a contagious smile. However, the difference between his 6am self and 6pm self is strikingly different. At 6am, he's charming. He'll gladly partake in "dress-up" and gleefully chat it up with whomever is on diaper-duty (ha! doody). By 6pm, he just doesn't have the patience for fumbling fingers on the changing table and he really can't be bothered with small talk...He sometimes almost seems to be swearing, "Let's just eat already and call it a day!" At other times he is downright pitiful, rubbing his eyes and pleading, "For the love of God, I need my REMs."

PM picture: I think he's starting to favor his daddy in these pictures (maybe even going a little blonde, like his daddy's baby pictures)? Notice how his eyebrows are coming in dark and thick (I suppose there was no escaping that one)!

After a long day of running errands, Tiago obligingly posed for one more picture with mommy!

AM picture: Abuelita bought Tiago some adorable "shoe" socks in various colors. LOVE these! They are so cute and they are much more appropriate than real shoes at this point. Now he can sport several 'Converse' high-tops and colorful 'Crocs' sandals. They're great!

Who says you can't play dress-up with boys?! (You just have to do it while they're too young to protest...and at 6AM!)

Labor Day and 9-9-09

We accomplished a whole lot these past few days! (Thank Goddess for momma's momma!)
We had a wonderful impromptu visit from Lita Susan this week. She couldn't have come at a better time (with the recent sleep deprivation and all). Mommy was able to catch up on sleep, exercise and hygiene (making her a much happier person all around) and daddy was able to work on home improvements, walk the dog and play his video games! It was a blessing to have her here, although the visit was much too short. We're sad to think that it may be a long while before we get another visit from Lita but we're hopeful that it will be before Tiago's first birthday?!
Tiago demonstrated his first belly laugh on September 7th. Mommy knew that it was only a matter of time, since she had witnessed him laughing in his sleep just last week (ever the light sleeper, she was awakened in the middle of the night to his subconscious laughing--it was worth it)! Included are two short clips. The first demonstrates his very first conscious laugh (with his abuelita) and the second was his very second laugh with his daddy (we haven't heard a third laugh yet, it was only the one day, but we're sure there are many more up ahead). The first clip was taken after he had already been laughing for a while (I just wanted to enjoy the moment without running for the camera). The second clip catches the laughter a little sooner.

Growth Spurt

WOW! So, Tiago seems to have had a growth spurt since he turned three months old. He decided to reduce his sleep-time (napping for no longer than 30 minutes and not more than twice a day) and he has upped his feeding to every TWO HOURS during the night--whoah! It's been hard to keep up. Needless to say, Blogging has been neglected. Hopefully, with a little help from abuelita, mommy can get some much needed rest. To be continued....

our little G is getting big!

At just over 3 months old, today he weighs 15.5lbs and is 26" long!

Three Months Old!

Tiago has finally hit his three month marker--no longer considered a newborn (sigh). And, we will never forget the night of his third month; he hollered inconsolably for almost an hour (seeming to get upset about being upset). All of mommy's tricks could not calm little Tiago down until he felt ready to be calmed down. He apparently didn't get the memo that babies generally become more easily soothed at three months (oh, no! we hope he doesn't have this backwards). In his defense, he appears to have started teething (!!!) For the past couple of weeks he has been drooling incessantly. Last week he began mouthing at his fists and trying to chew on nearly anything that passed his lips. Needless to say, we are cycling through cold teethers, spit-cloths and bibs like mad!

Tiago is blossoming into such an adorable little character! He is vociferous, opinionated, sweet and charming all wrapped into a bundle of hardy baby. This weekend, he met his great-tios, Pepe and Veronica and his two 2nd cousins, Enzo and Fabio. After waking from a slumber and finding an audience, he was initially startled but he warmed up to the idea of having so many admirer's. I am including a picture of the La Serna family in our dining room and a picture of Tiago's adorable smile as he was being held by tio Pepe.

This weekend, Tiago also enjoyed a visit from great-aunt Karen and great-uncle David. The weather was pleasant and we enjoyed a nice lunch in the courtyard. We snuck this last picture of aunt Karen just before she left (we had to get at least one picture)!