baby talk

So, as many of you know, Thad and I have a habit of occasionally speaking for Nate. He has slightly different accents depending on which parent he's with, but Nate tends to speak in a high, squeaky voice. We've pondered whether we are the only people crazy enough to do this, and we're been pretty sure we're not despite the fact that nobody else will fess up to doing it themselves. So last night we settle in for our fun-filled hour of The Office and Scrubs and, low and behold, JD and Turk (from Scrubs) are hanging around with their babies having a chat in good old fashioned baby voices. So we're not alone (even though they aren't actually real people... but whatever.) But I'm really not sure if I should be comforted or disturbed by this?

tearing it up

Yesterday, for the first time, Nate stood up without holding on to anything. All he does now is walk around. And usually he also waves his arms around. These waves usually get exponentially more frenetic as he gets tired, which is pretty amusing. He's also gotten back into the habit of doing yoga poses when he's tired - down dog is always a favorite.

It's crazy how quickly he's moved from being a baby to a toddler. What's next, a goatee?!

toddler heaven

We found the greatest place on earth. Nate had SO much fun. No, not Chuck E Cheese. Not Disney World. Not the Children's Museum. Where then, you may ask, would be the most wonderful, exciting place for a one year old? DSW Shoe Warehouse, of course! It's huge, with lots of wide aisles, low mirrors, and people to smile at. And the worst that can happen is you knock over some shoes (which really do belong on the floor anyway). We went over the weekend with Great Grandpa Rocco, Grandma Corbo, Great Uncle Rob, Cousin Lia, Aunt Jeannie, and Thad. It felt like we were living in a Seinfeld episode because every aisle had something new and humorous, but in the end nothing really happened. Nate had so much fun doing lap after lap of the store. We met a boy, around seven or eight, named Jakob who talked for about 15 minutes straight without taking a breath. His mother's name is Katherine. He is a lady's man and hides in the boys' room between classes to escape the mob of girls chasing him around. Blah, blah blah... We met lots of nice ladies looking at shoes who thought Nate was the cutest thing ever. Nate was dumbfounded by the display of purses, all sparkly and shiny. Oh, how glorious! We must return soon to again wobble through the long aisles.

These photos are completely irrelevant, from some time last week, but I thought they were cute so here you are!

bright lights big city

I'm playing a bit of catch up here. We've had a nice holiday with a load of Corbo relatives, but it's made me a bit of a delinquent blogger. So to catch up on yesterday's action, we took Nate downtown for his first big city experience. I thought he'd be really interested in the tall buildings, but he didn't seem to take much notice of them. Maybe it's just that from his perspective, everything looks like it's looming. We met up with my old friend Amelia, who was quite impressed by how much Nate's walking has improved in just a couple of weeks. He's a true toddler now - that happened in the blink of an eye! Nate's favorite part of our visit to the Copley Square area of Boston was the lobby of Meils' parents' building, where he wobbled around for a while, screeching.














Then it was off to the North End for pizza at Regina's, my absolute favorite pizza place. It's kind of like the Dinosaur of Boston - no reservations, a long wait, mildly friendly staff, and wherever you stand you are in serious danger of being hit in the head with a tray of something delicious. So yummy!

thanksgiving

It's after 11pm, and as much as I'd like to entertain you all with the minute details of our day, I'm tired. So here instead is a Thanksgiving synopsis: we cooked a lot and ate a lot. Nate is thankful for cornbread. Halie is thankful for tennis balls. Thad and I are thankful for our friends and family, which is what matters most to us.

oh, my darling

Nate is very into Clementines. He had his first about a week ago and now he gets very excited when he sees one, even from across the room. No big surprise, but he doesn't understand that you need to peel the Clementine before eating it so he occasionally gets a mouthful of delicious peel. He also doesn't really eat the segments so much as he drains them of their juice, like a little orange-sucking vampire (albeit, with no canines). Usually he bites one in half, sucks on it for a second, and then discards it for a new piece. If he sees you give him a "used" piece, he gets upset, but it's still relatively easy to sneak them back into the rotation. And by the end of the snack, he's got a makeshift graveyard of Clementine shells all piled up in front of him.

sleepless in boston

Or perhaps "Night of the Living Dead" would be more appropriate? Nate hasn't slept through the night in over a week and, thus, neither have his parents. We had a horrible night Friday when Nate was awake about 75% of the time from 11pm to 5am, but the last couple of nights he woke up only once. We're not sure what's bothering him, but we think he might be getting more teeth.

Other than that, Nate's taking figurative leaps and bounds with his walking. So much so that my father didn't see him for about 36 hours and couldn't believe how much better his walking was in that short period of time. Nate can walk really well if he's holding on to something and has gone across a room without any support. He can even turn now. For a day or two he would do this funny side step, like he was in a Frogger game and instead of turning he'd just shift over to one side or another but always facing the same way. But that quickly passed for the ever-popular 90-degree turn. He just needs to learn how to stand up without grabbing on to something and he'll be running all over the place.

welcome to massachusetts

Lots of people joke about Taxachusetts, which Thad and I both agree is a load of hooey. Across the board, we paid far more in taxes in Rochester than most people in Massachusetts (especially our property taxes - yikes!) But I can honestly say that we have had to jump through so many hoops here, it's getting ridiculous. Between unhelpful elections officials and grouchy DMV workers, page after page of seemingly unecessary paperwork, and forms requiring obscure information, I'm surprised we've gotten any accomplished.

Yesterday we went to the DMV to switch over our registration and drivers' licenses from NY to MA. We were able to get the cars registered, but we didn't have enough id to get our liceneses switched because MA requires FOUR pieces of identification. So back we went today, armed with a stack of IDs. We were told to bring along proof of MA residency, like a utility bill or something from our insurance company or bank with our new address on it. Since we're living with my family, we don't have any household bills in our names or a lease and since we just got here we haven't received statements, but our bank/insurance company sent us a document showing that we were switching our address over to MA for a variety of accounts. It's a nice little letter on their letterhead with address, phone, etc and looks quite official. Turns out, it isn't worth diddly squat here, and what we needed was something more easily forged, like a bank statement or a blank check. What?! How silly. I mean, I could probably order blank checks and just make up account information for $4.95 online. But something on letterhead showing that we've changed our address for our banking, life insurance, auto insurance, and homeowners policies doesn't count. To top it off, they made Thad sit down, took his photo, etc and then gave him an "application rejection form." And the lady "helping" him didn't even say hello! Somehow they let me sneak by because I had lived in MA before at the same address, but Thad has to go back for a THIRD time whenever we get a bank statement in the mail. Isn't that crazy?! If his license were expired or from another country I could rationalize it, and we both were somewhat understanding yesterday when we didn't have enough ID (although I still think four peices is excessive), but asking for something from the bank and then not accepting it because it's not the thing they wanted is ridiculous. But if anyone needs directions to the DMV, you know who to ask.

one!

...singular sensation, every little step he takes (da da da da da da). Which is not so far off base, since whenever Nate walks, even if it's just a few inches, whoever's in the room typically bursts out in cheers.

But, wow, he's one.
















As far as birthdays go, this one was an improvement from last year for both Nate and me, mainly because it did not involve a hospital. Nate welcomed the day by waking up at 11:30 pm (jumping the gun just a tad), 12:30 am, and again at 1:30. During the daylight hours we hung out with Aunt Jean; visited with Julia; had a quick visit with Anna; and (the grand finale) had a kid-friendly dinner of mac and cheese and apple cake with Grandma and Grandpop Corbo/Hudak, Great Aunt Anne, and Cousin Lucia. The ladies love him (and Grandpop too)! I'm sure Nate had no idea what was going on and seemed rather confused by the candle and singing, despite having just done the same thing a couple of days ago. He definitely enjoyed all the clapping. Another major highlight was the first poem from Great Grandpa Rocco - a Corbo-family birthday tradition.

What a crazy year. It seems like it has flown by, but at the same time it's hard to remember what things were like Before Nate. It's been so wonderful, exhillerating, and exhausting. We see the world from an entirely new (and much lower) perspective. Before Nate was born Alison said that with her son things were so amazingly great, and then they'd get better. For us, that is exactly what's happened. And I can't imagine Nate being any cooler or more fun. But I'm sure tomorrow he'll trump today and surprise us yet again.

blueberry pancakes

yum

live from vermont!

Sorry for the lapse in blogging. We're in Vermont and WiFi hasn't made it up here yet. Just kidding! I'm just pokey. We're visiting Thad's family to celebrate Nate's impending first birthday. Last night Nate had his first cake - he was particularly fond of the frosting. He also got round one of his birthday gifts, but seemed more interested in the radiator than the presents. I'm assuming that will change as he gets older. If not, it'll make for relatively inexpensive birthday gifts!

learning to play

Nate could use a lesson in playing nice with others:














Just kidding! He's not nearly as menacing as he looks here. He is really enjoying hanging out with other people, big and small. He's been clingier than usual with me and Thad, but is also adjusting well. His crib arrived this afternoon, so hopefully he'll be a bit more comfortable while he's sleeping. Otherwise, we're still getting settled in, and are feeling more like we'll be here for a while - more than just a visit. And we're up to our eyeballs in paperwork to switch over our car registration, health insurance, and other misc stuff from NY to MA. I don't remember this many hoops when we moved to NY. What's the deal? Trouble makers, I tell you.

word up?

What constitutes a "first word?" For a couple of weeks now Nate's been saying, "t" when he sees a light. And my parents are convinced that he's saying some form of "dog," and we're pretty sure he's saying "dada." But none of these words sounds like the actual word - it's more that he's making a consistent sound to identify the object. Does that mean he's said his first word, or do we wait until he actually says a word in English before we reach that milestone?

In other news, we have brought Upstate NY to Boston as it is raining here. Nice.

travels

Here are a few highlights from our trip last week. As you may be able to tell, I was not looking through the camera for most of these shots (so, no worries about driving unsafely!)

not fun

moving
packing
cleaning
dead rabbits
dead pets
screaming babies
driving with screaming babies
sitting in traffic with screaming babies
mufflers falling off cars
and, the number one thing that is not fun...















What's fun about a tiny piece of candy? My parents had Halloween bags of M&Ms and there were six in one pack. I think the king sized packs are far more fun.

On a brighter note, we made it to Boston safe and sound, albeit tired, with everything fit snugly into our cars (and Thad's muffler tied on with some twine). It's nice to be home (for me, literally), although it still feels more like a visit than a long-term situation. To reinforce our new, semi-permanent housing, Thad and I are heading to Vermont for a wedding tomorrow. Nate will be hanging out with Grandma and Grandpop, which will hopefully be fun for him. I have a bunch of photos from our trip yesterday, but they'll have to wait a few days because it is taking forever to weed through them tonight.

We miss everyone in Rochester a ton. Seriously.