mamacat

Houston Observations

Well, we've been here for a month now and I'm starting to feel a little more settled in.  Embarassingly I still have a bunch of boxes in my dining room and office but otherwise we are pretty much unpacked.  I'm sure I underestimated the time that gets sucked out of every day taking care of Sebastian but he has been so much fun I really don't mind.

Weather: it is hot here.  Yes, it has been well over 90 degrees every day that we have been here.  It was extrememly dry last month (the dryest month on record) but now we get quick moving thunderstorms that roll through every afternoon, dump two inches of rain, and move on.  Road flooding is a major problem.

People: In general the people are extremely friendly.  I have met some very nice moms while out walking who invited me to join them on their walk.  One even invited me back to her house to give me all kinds of contact information such as in-house help (for cleaning and child care support), and a hair stylist (considering my hair is in desperate need of a haircut).  I also started strollerfit and met some really nice moms that way too and we even got invited to our first kid birthday party that is non-family.

Driving: I heard that Texas drivers were little crazy but honestly I don't feel like they are that bad.  I did notice that most of the moms I have met drive full size SUVs, not minivans.  The roads in Houston right now are a mess because there is a TON of construction going on.

Location: I LOVE our neighborhood.  Everything is close by, and even more is near by. Imagine we have two pottery barns in a 15 mile radius!  There are great specialty food stores here, and the international grocery stores are great too.   We can walk to the biking trail and there are several parks nearby too.

Stroller fit

Today was my first day of strollerfit, a group fitness class where the
strollar is incorporated into the workout. We met at the local park and
started with some stretching then pushed our strollers and did exercises
like squats. Sebastian was a great baby the whole time and we've
already been invited to a birthday party!

Jessica in houston Jessica

Mmmm...Cookie

Sebastian may be teething, or just fussy, but we decided to give him a biter biscuit to suck on.  While technically he doesn't meet the requirements as being ready for it but it was definitely love at first lick.   He held the cookie himself, and licked and sucked on it for a while, then happily went down for his nap.  It was really fun to see him enjoying something so much and he giggled when I cleaned off his face.

Yesterday I chased Sebastian around with the camera just about from the time he got up until the time he went to bed.  The first picture here is him having just woken up.  He is such a happy boy in the mornings.  Picture two I have must moved him over to his changing table which is in front of french doors overlooking our front yard. He loves looking out onto the trees.  And he is just about to get that thumb in his mouth.  Sticking his tongue out is is new favorite thing to do.  Finally, picture three, he is trying to figure out "what is that big black thing in front of your face?"

First Meal

This morning Sebastian had his first bowl of cereal!  He had a lovely 4 tablespoons of rice cereal (one tablespoon of powder mixed with three tablespoons of formula).  I set up the video camera so you can watch 2 minutes of his first meal (warning...14 MB)Download SebastianSolids.avi 

A Southern Visit

Last week Sebastian, Leo, and I drove over to Fairhope AL to visit my sister-in-law and her family including three kids and a lab.  The 7.5 hour drive took me 9 because of our pitstops along the way but both Leo and Sebastian did great in the car, overall.  When we got there everyone was at a swim meet so Sebastian and I made ourselves at home while Leo raced around the house checking out every smell, and eventually finding a rawhide that belonged to their dog to occupy himself. 

Sebastian was asleep by the time everyone came home so the first morning was busy with everyone meeting Sebastian before we headed out for swim practice.  Sebastian was the star as the kids brought every coach over to meet him. Later that night I had the rare night out without the little guy as we left three hungry kids, a hungry baby, and two hungry dogs with my brother-in-law so we could go to bunco.  Really, the man is a saint!  I had never played before but had a great time and enjoyed seeing all the ladies.

The third day of our trip started with lots and lots of rain so we didn't really get out to do much.  For dinner, however, I got to have my first yacht club meal which was very yummy.  The baby did great as long as he was on someone's lap but we didn't mind the extra snuggle time.  Leo was exhausted when we retured after a full day of playing with their dog and having kids climbing all over him. 

Finally, on Friday we again piled into the car and made the long drive back to Houston.  We made more stops along the way but both Leo and Sebastian were really good.  About halfway home I discovered E! on XM Radio so I listened to a documentary about Lisa Marie Presley and one on Allysa Malano which really helped pass the time.  There was an insane accident where a tractor trailer had crashed in the median on the way home and it was hard to believe that a few minutes earlier it had actually been a truck because it looked like just a pile of rubble.  It was the scariest accident I've ever seen upclose because they were still trying to get the driver out. 

4 month checkup

This morning Sebastian had his four month checkup with his new pediatrician in Houston.  She was very nice and exactly what I wanted in a pediatrician (hard to pinpoint but I just felt comfortable with her).  Unfortunately she is expecting her second baby in a few weeks so we'll have coverage with one of the other doctors in the practice until she returns but at least we got to meet her.

Sebastian showed off his rolling over capabilities to the doctor who was very impressed as he is advanced for his age with rolling over both ways.  She tried sitting him up and while he can't really sit up yet, she did say that his back strength is also advanced for his age.

His height wsa 26.5 inches which puts him at the 91st percentile for height, and his weight was 16lbs 6 oz which puts him at the 80th percentile for weight.  Now we need to get him a new carseat because he is only supposed to be in our current one until 26 inches.  Luckily Babies R Us had an excellent variety (as well as about a million other things I wanted).

We got clearance for starting solids too so that'll be our next adventure...speaking of which, I need to go put the high chair together.

4 months

Tomorrow will be Sebastian's 4 month birthday!!!  He is still our sweet little angel baby and is becoming both more independent and interested in the world around him.  He managed to roll himself completely over from back to tummy when he was sleeping the other day.  He still wakes up frequently around 4 when he'd like to have a feeding. When I give in  he'll go back to sleep for another 4 hours.  When I don't give in, he'll get up for real between 7-7:30 in a fabulous mood but VERY ready for his bottle, then take a good morning nap.

He looks around to see what is going on around him. He was fascinated by all the kids and activity while we visited his cousins this week.  Nothing like a bunch of kids at swim practice with lots of colors and noises to grab his interest.  Before we know it that will be him swimming laps in the local pool, if not our own.