Easter and Our Big Fat Greek Baptism and Other Stuff

Big stuff happenin' here in April. Easter was a typical holiday in that everyone played pass the baby, and John and I got to eat a meal with both hands.

On April 10th, we had CJ's baptism, or should I say Demetrios' because that is his baptismal name. Baptism in the Orthodox church is a big deal and gets a ceremony all its own for each baby. I know some western churches have it as part of the Sunday service or do multiple babies at once. Nope. We do it up right including spitting on Satan and full baby nudity. CJ was a trooper. No crying at all! Though he kept trying to suck on the priest's finger when he was being blessed with the oil. Alex is his godmother, and she showed major stamina. It's not easy to hold a baby for the better part of an hour.
Of course along with the complete ceremony must come a proper party. We had everyone over to the house for a cookout. At one point, I did feel like I was in the middle of a feeding frenzy while everyone was helping themselves to food in the kitchen, but I think it was a great day. Everyone seemed to have a good time.

CJ is quite enjoying solid foods. Bananas and apple sauce top the favorites list with sweet potatoes right up there too. Less interesting are avocados and peas. Next week we move on to carrots. I am excited to use an awesome new gadget we were given by our honorary grandmother, Gray. It cooks the food and purees it too. Recently, we have started using a sippy cup for some water to help wash down the good. For some reason, he finds the sippy cup hysterical and laughs as much as he drinks. If you have met him, you know how infectious CJ's laugh is. Mealtimes are highly entertaining.
He is also sitting up on his own with only momentary imbalances. Rolling over seems to be a nocturnal activity because we find him all over the crib. John found him up on all fours the other morning. I have asked him to put off crawling until 2.0 is at least a month old, but I don't think CJ is listening.
2.0 is doing exactly what a fetus is supposed to do, get bigger and push Mommy's insides around a lot. We have another ultrasound on Monday, so hopefully we will know if we are indeed getting a Boy 2.0 or a Girl 1.0. Stay tuned!

Almost There

I know this information was shared on the adoption blog and facebook, but in case anyone checking this blog doesn't check those other sources, I thought I would share here. The Termination of Parental Rights went smoothly. This is a big step in the adoption process. Basically, while we are still not the legal parents, CJ's biological parents no longer have an legal claim on him. Finalization should occur in May. At that point we will get a birth certificate listing John and me has CJ's parents. At that point we are his legal guardians instead of the adoption agency. You'll know when that happens!
Look for the next blog entry about mid April. It will feature the baptism highlights! And with Alex as godmother, you know there are going to be some good highlights.

We're Ready for Spring

I am usually one to be content in winter. I like cozy. After this winter though, bring on the warm weather. We've had two days of almost 60 degrees, so CJ is getting to experience short sleeves and fresh air. Of course, John has taken him on several walks over the last couple of months, but my pregnant self was not feeling up to crisp winter walks. Finally this weekend I felt that my toes had thawed enough, so we got a family walk.
So bring on the nice weather because it is the only way I am getting any exercise.
John and I are taking a childbirth class. It's kind of an important step we missed the first time around. It's not the best presented class I have ever been in, but we are getting the information we need. I don't want to look like idiots in there after all.
CJ had his four month check up on the 8th. 16 lbs 7.5 ozs, 25.5" long and a healthy baby. This first year of grow can certainly take your breath away. I have outfits I want to get on him and take pictures because I know they are only going to fit this once. He really is a funny kid to watch and interactive with. He's almost sitting up and when tummy time doesn't make him freak out, he will roll over from his tummy to his back and from his back to his side. He is also starting to realize that he is in control of his own feet just like his hands! And he has a belly laugh that would make the Grinch's heart grow three more sizes. He makes every day so wonderful.

I Kinda Like Him

In three days CJ will be three months long. I am starting to like him. Yes, from the moment he was put into my arms I have loved him, but now, he's getting fun. He laughs and smiles and plays. He will actually look at the book for a moment or two while we are reading. I think he has even started watching the movement of the TV screen which is fun, but also means I am trying to keep it off more. We had a friend's two-year-old daughter over for a visit, and she was watching Sesame Street. CJ was in his swing which does have a view of the TV. When Elmo's World came on, I swear, he turned his head and watched the whole thing. He even laughed. Here are pictures.




























 He is also really in control of his neck and loves to sit in the Bumbo chair we have thanks to the Layous.

He definitely wants to be part of it all, always preferring to be on someone's lap if we are eating than playing or swinging by himself. We make have to get a high chair just to keep him happy, not for eating.

Our one real hurdle has been Coltrane's development of one highly stuffy nose. I spend a good bit of the day holding him down so I can shoot him up with saline and suck all the gunk out. It's very pleasant for both of us. Really. I am usually a winter fun kind of a person, but I hope Phil doesn't see his shadow tomorrow if it means an end to the nose fun.

The pregnancy is motoring along at full speed. I have started to pop out a little and the weight gain is going at an alarming rate. I think I felt the baby move this weekend, but it could have been a muscle spasm. I am on the look out. If we get to know the gender, it won't be until 32 weeks at the next ultrasound. 2.0 wouldn't cooperate last time. 

Life is good. We are really enjoying being parents, even the rough patches like last night. My only complaint I can think of at the moment has to do with baby and kids stuff. I cannot believe how much the kid industry pushes gender stereotypes. EVERYTHING is "boy" or "girl". Even white socks are label as boy socks and girl socks, and they always seem to work a flower on something for a girl or a truck on something for a boy. It's absurd. However, that is my only complaint, so I go back to the beginning of the paragraph.

When I realized that I'd adapted to parenthood . . .

This morning, I had a particularly astute observation. I did my normal thing, up at 5:00, walk the dogs, feed the dogs, workout, shower, dress for work. As I was getting dressed for work, Duffy mentioned that Coltrane hadn't pooped the previous day -- now, he's been sniffly, sleeping a lot, and not eating as much as normal -- all things leading to the fact that he was likely fighting off a cold, and the lack of poop wasn't particularly worrisome.

So, I go to work, and get a text from Duffy as I'm in the middle of a meeting -- big poopie diaper. I realized that I had actually graduated to "father" when these were not the first thoughts that went through my head:

1. Ewwww!


2. I'm glad I didn't have to change that one

My first thought was "what did it look like - is he exhibiting signs of illness?". And, then I realized that I'm actually thinking like a father, & not just a guy who suddenly has a kid in his life.

The Holidays

November and December of 2009 may have been the busiest months of our lives. Coltrane arrived at the beginning of November along with the news of Baby Batzer 2.0. Right after Thanksgiving Auntie Alex or Tee Tee got married to BJ (not Meathead. At least one of your nephews will respect you, BJ. Then again, is BJ a whole lot better? ;-) ) Then, of course, it was into full Christmas mode. CJ made out like a bandit. Seriously, it took me two days to get all the presents out of packaging and the clothes all washed. John got  a lot of clothes too along with a new XBox game to unwind with. My highlight gifts were a Kindle (so sweet), and the promise of costume made maternity clothes from Yiayia. Seriously, the clothing industry apparently believes that women under five foot, especially curvy ones, should go naked during pregnancy. And, as usually, we got to spend a lot of great time with family and friends. It was truly amazing to finally have our baby for the holidays. Nothing was missing this year. That was gift enough.

Double the Trouble

Just to make us a perfect cliche, we are expecting a biological child in June. We will be finding out the sex sometime in February. We will keep you posted!