Jason at the Beach

Last week, Jason packed up his diapers and headed down to OCMD with the whole Ceonzo clan!

First time seeing the ocean! 

Jason was a little wary of the ocean.  His favorite way to enjoy the beach was to sit in the sand with his cousins, with a big bucket of ocean water next to him to play with. Sometimes he agreed to stand at the edge of the water and let the waves wash over his feet, but he lost his patience for that after taking a big wave to the face.

King of the buckets!

Keeping hydrated.

Dads and cousins.

Jason didn't spend all his time on the beach, however.  He also participated in a family photo shoot, and took a couple of walks on the boardwalk.

Dave with the best fries on earth.

Jason loves Thrasher's! We gave him some the first time we were on the boardwalk and he thoroughly enjoyed them. Then a couple days later, we took another walk, and of course got more fries. As so as Jason saw our cup of fries, he lunged for them! 

We took a walk in the park and checked out the bay. Jason got up close and personal with a crab when a guy caught one right in front of us!

Jason loved playing with his cousins. Here is Chad cooking a delicious taco dinner.

Jason's first beach vacation was a success!

Summer

Jason is enjoying his first big boy summer so far. We kicked off Memorial Day weekend with a brunch with Aunt Val and Uncle Mike, then had a nice little cookout. 

Jason ate baked beans (beans are one of his favorite foods), chips, corn, chopped up hot dog, and a little bit of pie.

Stuffed.

Jason also went strawberry picking with Mommy and Daddy. We went to Fishkill Farms.

He loves wearing his little sun hat.

Ready to pick!

Jason enjoyed wandering around the patch, but he left the actual picking to us.

We took a quick look at the chickens. Jason was unimpressed.

I love this picture! Although there were several pictures taken of Jason and Mommy, Jason's developing little brother has rendered Mommy the size of a house, and she will not be posting them!

It was hot and humid, so we took a break  for hydration purposes. Jason also shared dulce de leche ice cream with Mommy and Daddy. 

And where are the bushels of fresh strawberries we went home with?

Ta da! This small bowl of berries cost us sixteen damn dollars, and Jason doesn't even like them. 

In other news, Jason has spent the past week getting over some fever/runny nose/loose cough nonsense. He also has become a somewhat picky eater, although I'm hoping that's due to his illness. If we let him, he'd exist on a diet of apples, bananas, peas, and peanut butter. Apples are definitely his favorite food, and his favorite word to say. He's not much of a talker, but he calls me "Emmy" for Mommy, and he calls Dave "Gaggy" for Daddy. He can also say Apple, owl, and egg. He can point to most of his body parts when we ask him

to. The cutest is when we ask him where his belly button is, and he pulls up his shirt to point it out!

Today Jason will be doing some shoe shopping when he wakes up from his morning nap. 

Snip snip

We put off cutting Jason's hair for almost sixteen months, but he finally reached embarrassingly shaggy levels. So today, I took him to Snip Its for his very first haircut.

Our shaggy dog.

Snip Its offered a first haircut special, complete with a lock of hair, a certificate of bravery, and before and after pictures. Thanks Snip Its, but I can take my own pictures and Jason would just rip up the certificate. The lady who cut his hair gave me a piece of it in a little bag anyway. I'm not really sure what to do with it, so it's still in his diaper bag. 

Waiting for his turn. 

Jason was so well behaved! He didn't fuss or fidget at all. 

He's our little gentleman again!

Slightly disheveled after taking a nap, but he's still our handsome monkey!

It's been a while

Getting up at 4:30 every day, working, commuting, having a 16-month old, and growing a tiny human means that most days I am barely able to keep my eyes open past 8 pm, let alone update the monkey's blog. Sorry Jason!

At Jason's 15-month appointment, he got three vaccines. This left him quite miffed. He is following the growth curve quite consistently. Jason also had an appointment with a pediatric urologist to deal with a minor issue left over from his first hernia surgery, but fortunately he was give a thumbs up for that region. Well done, Jason! 

This is our normal, happy Jason.

This is Jason all day long after getting his shots.

After trying literally everything to cheer him up, Mommy found a Mother Goose show on PBS and gave the little patient a snack. All better!

Jason took his second annual trip to the Stormville Flea Market. He watched us buy a priceless piece of art for Babci's garden (a $20 metal rooster).

Our little daredevil learned how to climb onto the couches by himself, although he still hasn't mastered the art of getting down in a way that won't cause injury.

It's way past my bedtime and I'm getting delirious. Good night!

Our Big Eater

Jason has spent the past couple of weeks celebrating some holidays and eating us out of house and home. 

First came St Patrick's Day. Babci made us a big corned beef and lots of cabbage. Jason gobbled it up.

Little Leprechaun. 

Jason also likes to eat at restaurants with Mommy and Daddy.

Cheeseburger and sweet potatoes.

Eating lunch in his first pair of overalls. 

Next came Easter. Jason woke up and opened the gift bag the Easter bunny brought him. It contained goldfish, animal crackers, and a stuffed Elmo and stuffed Cookie Monster. He seems to be slightly scared of the Muppets. Then Jason put on his adorable Easter outfit and went visiting!

First he hung out with Uncle Mike at Babci and PopPop's house.

 

During dinner, Jason ate kielbasa, ham, roasted broccoli, potatoes, a whole crescent roll, and sauerkraut. For dessert, he shared Mommy's cannoli.

Then he went to Grandma and Grandpa's house. I can't even remember what he ate there, but I know he ate exactly half of my bowl of coconut ice cream. 

That night after we got home, he stopped in the middle of playing and started cranking. After some guesswork, we discovered that he wanted another bowl of ham for a bedtime snack. 

 

Last night, Jason ate more steak than I did. He also ate peas, corn, and animal crackers. This morning for breakfast, he ate a whole slice of French toast and a big pile of scrambled eggs. 

In other news, I found an approximately ten year old cell phone in my drawer, and bequeathed it to Jason in the hopes that he would stop grabbing for ours.

See the stain on his wrist? That's not a bruise, it's what happens when we give him blackberries with breakfast. His high chair and pants were also casualties.

Pregnancy-wise, the nausea is easing up.  I wouldn't say I've been having cravings, but every day at lunch I put coleslaw on whatever I'm eating. For example, the other day I had chicken parm, which is always yummy, but I had to cover it in coleslaw to eat it. My coworkers are used to it by now, but I hope it stops at some point. 

Big News

Yes, Jason is going to be a big brother! 

This is a very different pregnancy than last time. With Jason, I was prepared wayyyy ahead of time.  Like, I was taking prenatal vitamins two years in advance.  This time, when I called to make my first appointment with my OB, the nurse asked if I was currently taking a vitamin.  My response was basically "No. And I didn't know I was pregnant, so I've been drinking. Not a lot, but we just got through the holidays, so a bit more than usual. And I've been eating all the bad stuff, like soft cheese and sushi." Not exactly Mother of the Year.

Fortunately, my ultrasounds have shown a happy little monkey growing. I had to see a perinatologist because of my history of HELLP Syndrome, and he thinks we might be having another boy! We won't know for sure for another couple of months. 

If I had to describe this pregnancy in one word, it would be "vomitty." Or "fatigued."  Some days are ok, and some days I'm practically bed bound. Fortunately, I think the worst is behind us. 

Jason has no idea what he's in for, so he's been a happy boy as usual.

Blurry selfie with Mommy!

Picture time!

Not much new to report, but there are a ton of photos on my phone that I can share. Jason's favorite activities at this point include running around like a maniac, chasing Dave while Dave pretends to run away, reading books, and making funny faces. He enjoys grilled cheese, roast chicken, rice, pulled pork, broccoli, peanut butter, and tiny bites of Popsicles.

Stacking.

Rocking (thanks Ashcrafts)!

One of his favorite toys!

Trying to feed himself. 

He loves peas! He eats them one at a time like a gentleman.

Night night!