6 months old

I'm a little late in posting Cash's birthday update, but our apartment looks like a bomb went off in it due to the move so I'm a tad bit preoccupied. Cash turned 6 months old on December 12th. We had his well baby appointment this past week and he is now 15lbs 7oz (10th-25th percentile for weight) and 26.5 inches (50th percentile for height). Here are a few of the things Cash is doing at 6 months:

-Sitting pretty well unassisted. We still have a few instances of keeling over but for the most part, he's a certified sitter!
-Eating stage 2 foods (mainly fruit mixes) when he will actually eat. However, he has started wanting to grab the spoon and feed himself.
-Drinking out of daddy's water glass from time to time.
-Still wanting to crawl so bad and still not quite getting it.
-Enjoying his exersaucer immensely.
-Getting a bit of separation anxiety when mommy or daddy leave the room.
-Still waiting for his teeth to come in but chewing and drooling all over everything in sight.
-Babbling up a storm.
-Smiling and laughing all the time.
-Hugging! His day caregivers have said that he is the only baby they have ever known to hug so that's all kinds of adorableness.
-Reaching out with one hand to "point" or motion that he wants to be picked up.
-Playing in the bath with some toys.
-Quickly growing out of his size 2 diapers in what will now be known as the weekend we were all constantly covered in poop.
-Still being the totally amazing and good-natured baby he has been since day 1.

Here's to half a year with my beautiful baby boy!
-

Watching soccer with Daddy

Cash looks so happy here. He doesn't even realize how boring of a sport soccer is yet.

Christmas in a one bedroom apartment

May I present Cash's first Christmas tree. Or rosemary bush to be exact. Since we are moving the day after Christmas this year, we decided that a rosemary bush would have to suffice. I did get a "Baby's First Christmas" ornament though.


Cash's present stash is a bit minimal in the ways of size and amount as well. I was looking forward to spoiling him a bit and giving something big from "Santa" but at this point, I'll be lucky if the things I did get are wrapped. I'll just have to make sure to take lots of pictures next year and pretend that 2011 was his first Christmas. It will look much nicer - full size tree surrounded by presents, a mantle with stockings, a fire in the fireplace. Oh and a house for Santa to show up at. That's pretty good too.

Feeding himself

Lately, Cash has decided that he would rather feed himself than have me shovel food in his mouth. This was the result of a particularly lively dinner session with a prunes and oatmeal mixture. I think I may have to nickname him Jabba.

Hiccup Burp

Last visit with Cousin Sam...or so we thought

Cash can't believe he has to see this dude again in his new home.

Ross's cousin Sam came over last week to say goodbye to us...or so he thought. However, after getting some ridiculous quotes from movers (Really! $3K to move 400 square feet of possessions that doesn't even include a couch OR a bed! REALLY!) we decided to bribe Sam with promises of a quick glimpse at the ocean and taxing physical labor to help us move. So on December 26th, Cash and I will be flying to Winston-Salem by ourselves and Ross and Sam will set out on the road trip to end all road trips. Will they arrive in Winston in one piece? Will Ross even attempt to drive the truck at all? Most importantly, will I open up the truck when they arrive and find all of my belongings "packed" in trash bags...it remains to be seen.

NYC-ya later

Cash, in disbelief that he will finally get his own room after 6 months of having to share.

So, the secret's out, we're moving to Wilmington, NC at the end of the month. Ross got a job with a great company down there and I will be keeping my job and working full time from a home office. After 10 years, 3 apartments (1 of the subterranean kind), and 1 baby, we will be saying so long to our beloved NYC and settling into a lazy, beach existance down south. And we could not be more ecstatic. We are so ready for some more space, a little more convenience in our lives and to be closer to family (as well as have more of an ability to see our family that will still be far away). Our good friends who live down there are renting one of their properties to us so I guess I will have to rename the blog to "Baby in a Three Bedroom House (with Dishwasher!)".

We are frantically trying to get stuff together for this move in a couple of weeks but I'm trying to take a few minutes and enjoy the things that I love about this City and hopefully show a few more to Cash before we leave. No matter what, he will always be connected and I can't wait to tell him stories about how we all crammed ourselves into about 400 sq. feet of space, walked miles everyday as if it was nothing, and rocked him to sleep to the sounds of sirens and screeching cabs outside of our window. Hopefully, when he is older, we can bring him here to visit and maybe he'll feel a little stir inside and get as excited to see the skyscrapers getting closer as you drive into Manhattan as Ross and I do. Maybe he will recognize that there's always a little bit of the City within him and that when he's here it's a little piece of home.

A few photos

Here are some pics from Thanksgiving on. It's been a busy couple of weeks to say the least and some big changes are coming up that I'll write about soon. Exciting stuff for the new year...