The Name is Azer, Teddy Azer (but you can call me Blue Eyes)

Teddy is definitely becoming more social and insists on kisses and hugs for all (until you try to take him to a fancy dinner near his bedtime...right Adrian?). Well, today the daycare had a late Valentines Party (thank you Snoverkill) and asked that all children be dressed. Teddy insisted that he wear his tux from his Uncle Bobby, so Teddy wore the tux....and the ladies loved it. Here are a couple of shots for your viewing pleasure.


He is ready for his closeup now:

Snowmageddon Teddy

AN OPEN LETTER TO MY FUTURE DAUGHTER IN LAW (or whatever, no judgment here):

Dear Lovely Lady,

I want you to know that Teddy has been spoiled rotten up to this point; he gets lots of love from his parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, well, basically, everyone he knows. He is a little high maintenance and likes to have the full attention of his subjects. In order to put him in his place, I have taken many photos to embarrass him and will bring them all out strategically for your viewing pleasure.

Love,
Your Mom (or Monster) in Law

***********************************************************

This was my first week back at work and everything went fairly well overall (many thanks to all who emailed to check on me, your kindness really helped get me through those days and special shout out to Anita for talking me off the ledge, you are an awesome mentor and friend). I am getting used to being back in a routine and Teddy LOVES daycare.

Now, when I tell you that he loves daycare, I mean it. The kid loves having this huge "audience" to "perform" for--they call him Teddy Pendergrass (reincarnated?) because he is so smooth. The teachers told me that they all love to hold Teddy because he likes to love on them and will just smile and coo all day long. He also eyes all the other little ladies and I can just see in his mind the wheels turning (scary how much he is turning out to be like Adrian). They have a Valentine's Day mixer and are supposed to dress up. I won't spoil the outfit Teddy has in mind, but let's just say that he is going for the James Bond look.

In honor of the Snowmageddon, here is a photo of Teddy in his snowsuit. Thanks Uncle Bobby!

Revelation: Teddy is Growing Right Before my EYES

I have been trying to relish every last minute of my time with Teddy before I go back to work (even though he has been in daycare this week). I cry a lot at odd times, e.g. when I am putting him to bed, picking him up from daycare, feeding him and/or other inappropriate times. Needless to say, Teddy LOVES daycare and has been really enjoying his time there (well, daycare and Oprah...when she is on, he is mesmerized and drops everything to stare at her). I also can see that Teddy does not really need me as much as I would like to think he does (yikes, I cannot imagine how this feels when he is 18). Teddy is a social baby (shocking, I know) and daycare is making this even more pronounced--he smiles at strangers which does help me get tables faster at restaurants. He is also learning a lot of self-help skills there and by watching other children (he is the youngest in his room). His newest trick is sitting unsupported for long periods of time! We are super excited and this is his preferred way to play now at the 5 month mark.

Pray for me next Monday when I go back to work full-time. I know I have had longer than most with him, but it will never be enough. I have really enjoyed this time (perhaps because I know it was ending???) and I am ready to go to work (okay, not really but I am psyching myself up). Let's just pray that it is not totally crazy when I return and that Teddy does not grow or do fun things until the weekends...got that Teddy?

Teddy is Eating Everything

It's that time of year sports fans, you guessed it, time for Teddy to eat solids in earnest and explore everything with his mouth. To illustrate, I created a small slide show (with captions) to give you a sense of his "eating habits."

Teddy loves nothing better than his own feet and Daddy's nose. I am hoping he begins to show the same appreciation for fruits and vegetables but if he is anything like me, he will drive past those straight to chocolate.

He is starting daycare tomorrow (please pray for me, I am having total anxiety about this and going back to work!).

Until next time.....

Holiday Wrap-Up (Pun Intended)

The Adams Azer family had a wonderful holiday that was filled with friends, family and love. It all started off with the lovely snowstorm timed for my Momma's pre-holiday visit. She got to DC just in time and we enjoyed being cooped up in the house watching Adrian shovel snow. (Adrian is an expert snow shoveler and, according to my neighbor, I am a big, strong girl who is an excellent helper.) I have never in my life seen that much snow fall in one day (26 inches) and we did not take Teddy out in it because we did not have the proper clothes for ourselves, much less a baby (hello, I lived in Miami and Dallas prior to DC...not much need for snow boots).

We then enjoyed Christmas here in DC with the Azers. Teddy woke up on Christmas Day and had absolutely no idea that it was Christmas but I of course dressed him for the event (he hated all his Christmas outfits pretty much...but I cannot say I blame him, I mean all that white, fluffy, itchy stuff in your face would be annoying to me as well). He was of course spoiled with love and attention by his Auntie Viv in from NYC.

Then we drove down to Lee County to spend some time with my family and celebrate a baby shower for my cousin Sara. Cara and I always make some of our favorite Christmas cookies, and this year was no exception. Most believe we created the perfect Christmas Crinkle Cookie this year and I have to agree. Again, Teddy was spoiled with attention and love and has now become demanding of me now that we are back in DC, i.e., I must hold him always, clap for his jumping abilities, shower him with kisses constantly and never leave while he is "performing." (Who am I kidding, I do this anyway...I do have to go back to work so this is ending for those of you afraid I am raising a self-absorbed bratty baby.)

On a sad note, our Papaw passed away while we were there and I am glad that Teddy got to meet him on a prior trip. He was 87, a WWII veteran and a rural postman, but his most significant accomplishment was that he was married to Nanny for 62 years. He went peacefully and we celebrated his life in a fashion that he would have appreciated.

For the New Year, we had a low key celebration here with Amanda and Karen, complete with Prosecco, Brownies and Strawberries and Cream. Teddy woke up every time the fireworks went off in Alexandria and DC...oops. He is also beginning his regimen of eating solids and we began with rice cereal. So far, he is not a huge fan but I am hopeful we will get there. He sees me eating pretzels and always wants a bite so I figure that he will learn, even if I have to teach him table manners later.

I go back to work on February 1st...I am dreading the moment I have to leave him in daycare but I know it will be best. Let's all pray that I don't visit 20 times that day.

Here are some of the December highlights:

Teddy Loves Santa (and the Nordstrom's Mommy Lounge)

So today we braved the mall to go have a photo with Santa. All in all, Teddy loved the experience, and he was all dressed up in his Christmas outfit (while Adrian contends that this outfit makes Teddy look like a gay Midwestern man I beg to differ and love the outfit). Teddy was super smiley this morning so I wanted to take advantage (maybe it was the fact that he slept a little more last night...I pray that the sleep terrorist has moved on). Santa was awesome (real beard and super nice guy) and the photographer took a bunch of photos because there were no other babies in line, which we appreciated. Teddy would smile, but not look up and smile, hence the downward glance. (I almost wish he had cried as his little buddy Jack did at the end of his photo shoot and that was a priceless picture; more dirt for the first girlfriend, the wife, etc.)

So to take a little break, we went to the Nordstrom's Mommy lounge (love Nordie's and the fact that they have Mother's Rooms is awesome and makes me want to buy even more there to encourage them to cater to us mommies and our babies!). There was a family in there with a little girl having a total meltdown...and her brother just watching her. Long story short, the little girl hated her dress because she did not get to pick out the outfit for her photo with Santa and was not happy. Then she discovered Teddy--need I say more? She then turned all her attention to Teddy and decided that she wanted her photo with Teddy (which I don't have but I bet it was cute, he reached out to "hug" her in the photo (and by hug, I mean grab her hair)). Then her brother wanted in on the action and was super cute. They left and about 5 other mothers with newborns/infants came in and we had a little Mommy support group session, which at times can be too much (i.e. competitive) but these were super cool Mommies and we just chatted for maybe 45 minutes about all sorts of things. Now, I know what you non-mothers are thinking, but I got to tell you, that 45 minutes was actually pretty fun and makes me think that I may want to hang out in the Nordie's lounge more often (boy how times have changed...I went from Automatic Slims to the Nordie's Mommy Lounge). Oh, did I mention that Teddy was entertaining everyone? Oh yes, he was smiling at all the ladies, jumping on Mommy, grabbing my hair, and generally being a little charmer (all of this after screaming as I was trying to grab a bite to eat...go figure). He loves an audience...now which parent does he get that from you think??? On second thought, don't answer that.

The Cutest Little Sleep Terrorist Ever

I love my son more than anything (and just for Adrian, not more than you, differently from you love!) but he has become a sleep terrorist. As a newborn I thought it was great when he would sleep for 3-4 hours at a time when others were up every hour or two with their newborn and then at 2 months old, just seal the deal, Teddy would sleep until 3am, eat quickly and not get up again until 6am or so. I had it made and did not know it. Now Teddy has decided to make it difficult for Momma and likes to sleep until 12-1am or so, then get up every hour...yes, EVERY HOUR! He either wants to eat or be held, then go back to sleep, just to get up again in an hour and repeat. To make matters worse, all his other cohorts are starting to sleep better and their mommas look so rested and I look like the mother of a 2 week old instead of a 4 month old (no I am not putting concealer on because I don't have time or the energy it would take to get it on correctly). I kept praying for the 3-4 month time to roll around because everyone said that is when they begin to sleep through the night for 8-10 hours...not Teddy. So it looks like we may have to being the tough love phase of this parenting operation...crying it out. I know, I know, there are other options, but in the car when he is forced to cry it out on trips, he goes to sleep on his own and I think we need to teach him this for night sleep as well (am I a bad mom...yikes??).

Anyway, its hard to stay irritated at such a cute little man. This is a recent photo of him "eating" a candy cane (I am not that bad of a momma...yet). [Note the shirt does say that all mommy wants for Christmas is a silent night...seriously!]

Also, huge congratulations to Scott and Shelley on the birth of Hudson and to Roland and Brooke for their big news...I love that Roro does everything on a schedule compatible with mine...and I insist (read:demand) that we have a baby shower for Miss Brooke for this baby since you gypped us out of a wedding and wedding shower (I swear, we will do a gift card shower so you don't have to lug everything to your apartment and can get things that fit your space!)