new babysitter

Since Thad's back at work and out of the house we've arranged for some daytime babysitters for Nate so I can also work. But we found a fun and less expensive option (and it also works when Nate has friends around!) Check it out:














We also have a cardboard version, however that's not quite as helpful since it's less sturdy. I guess you get what you pay for.

And in unrelated news, Nate's Grandpop Hudak is 21 today. Hooray Grandpop!

back to the grind

Whew! We are home. It was weird to have little to no baby responsibilities yesterday and we were actually able to enjoy a relaxing meal and conversation! The wedding was great and we had fun visiting with Thad's family. And then we returned to our hotel and looked at photos and videos of Nate because we missed him! Here's one from yesterday morning, before we deserted him for the evening:


Thad starts his new job tomorrow morning. We found out Thursday that his FBI clearance went through, so he will be working at long last! And none too soon. 31 and he finally has a real job. Except it's not really, since it's a postdoc position. And I'm still freelancing, so it's back to being like old times with just me and Nate home during the days, except that it's just me and Nate, my mom, sister, and sometimes Dave (and dad at night).

withdrawal!

Thad and I are in Connecticut for his cousin Dave's (and Eliana's) wedding and we are in Nate withdrawal! A whole 10 hours away from him...

dog days of winter

Perhaps Nate has been spending too much time with Halie and Trevi?

full house

I've made the analogy before about feeling like we're living in the Cosby household. My parents have been generous enough to let Thad, Nate and I live here while job and house hunting. So Thad and I have taken over the attic and Nate's in my old nursery on the second floor. My sister, Jean, who is in grad school nearby, is living in the basement, and although her boyfriend doesn't technically live here, he visits a lot. Last week my parents went to NJ to visit their families so the house was relatively quiet (nice pun!) and returned with Great Grandpa Corbo, who came up to visit and celebrate his 95th birthday (BTW - you can get "happy 95th" balloons! Cool.)

So, Jean wanted to make Grandpa a cake and decorate for his shindig this past Saturday. She offered to watch Nate while Thad and I were at yoga and was going to work on the party planning when we got back. So, in good sitcom form, Thad's car got yet another flat tire (did I mention he had one a couple of weeks ago?) So my cousin Lucia had to come pick me up from our broken down location in the middle of this wacky intersection in Newton (near Watertown and the Mass Pike, for those of you familiar with the area) so I could relieve Jeannie of Nate-duty. Grandpa has a bit of a cold, but otherwise all went well with the birthday celebration (sans family lip-syncing performance of Otis Redding or James Brown). And speaking of colds, yesterday morning my grandfather and aunt woke up to find that my aunt's furnace died so now they are also staying here too. Jell-o pudding pops for everyone!

bend it like carlson

Nate started throwing things. He's been throwing food for a while now, and has unfortunately good range these days. Then he moved on to balls, which seemed great since that's what balls are for. And his arm is getting stronger (Carolyn suggested he will perhaps be the next Sox ace), although his aim isn't all that good. Usually the ball goes forward, but there is an occasional backward throw (creating an entirely new meaning to the word "backhand"). Now he's throwing all sorts of things. It's great that he's learning fun new skills, but I'm not sure throwing things around the house is such a good idea. I wish it were a little warmer out so he could learn to throw outside. As we all know (well, everyone except Thad) from watching the Bradys that you shouldn't play ball in the house. Nate's latest talent is kicking the ball, like a soccer dribble. I'm all for soccer. As much as I love the Sox, I'm not sure I want Nate to go on tour for so much of the year. And some people have mentioned football, since Nate's a little bruiser, but football players tend to die young, and I'm not cool with that. But soccer... that works for me. Sure, there are some head injuries, but overall I'd guess soccer players are in pretty decent shape for professional athletes. And really, I have a hard time believing Nate will be a professional athlete (it's up to him, though, of course!)

In other news, Thad has seemingly passed his background check. Now his last hurdle is a physical. He got a note in the mail yesterday, the 16th (Great Grandpa's 95th birthday, btw), saying that he needed to have his physical done no fewer than 15 days before his start date of January 28. Hmm...

jinx

So there I go, flapping my big mouth. I should know better. Sorry about the Cowboys, Steve. And Thad's sick. My (belated) New Year's resolution is to cease and desist from making any more predictions. If I do, feel free to bet on the opposite result. I will not hold it against you.

big things

We've got all sorts of big news these days. First and foremost, pending a background check, Thad will be employed soon! He got offered a postdoc position at Wyeth in their Cambridge office. He'll be in the inflammation department researching a protein, which is apparently quite interesting to Thad.

We're also getting ready to start our house search. We've narrowed down our search and are focusing mostly on Arlington, although we're still open to other towns. Arlington's located just north of Cambridge, so it'll be a great commute for Thad, has a good school system, and is somehow both urban and suburban at the same time. We know we'll have to make some concessions on the house, but I think we'll be able to find something pretty nice and livable in our price range [crossing fingers].

The (physically) biggest problem with our moving plans is that my parents just purchased a new HD TV. I think they may be bribing us with fancy toys so we'll (aka Nate) will stay here. We haven't had the High Def signal hooked up yet (because Direct TV is inept) but watching the NFL playoffs on the huge screen, even with just the regular signal, is really great. And related to that, we are so excited to watch the Pats this year. And we're rooting for a Dallas/Pats Superbowl just so we can talk trash with Steve.

he's growing up so quickly...

...his goatee is turning grey!

dih dih dih

Nate's language skills are really improving these days. He is understanding a lot of what we say (for better or worse!) and has been emphatically attempting to communicate back. He does have a few words - he still says "t" for "light" and also has said "more" and "dada" and some other misc words. He might say "all done" but that's debatable. The main problem with his current communication technique is that although he repeats what people say to him, he does it all on the same syllable. So, for instance, if we say "Aunt Jeannie" Nate will reply with "dih dih dih!" (that's a half note and two quarters). He gets the emphasis and intonation right, but it's still all "dih." It's pretty easy to translate when we say the word first, but it's challenging to understand when it's unprompted. Say, for example, at dinnertime. Nate's in his high chair, eating happily, when he says, "dih." Sometimes he points, sometimes he signs, but often he just says, "dih." This leaves us playing Where's Waldo? with Nate's favorite things in the kitchen. Usually after offering a handful of objects we make a match (most likely a clementine.)

Loose ends:
1. Stephanie, always observant, correctly noticed that Nate does in fact have snow boots. We found them while we were in Vermont and they are very nice and very huge. We still couldn't find anything in Nate's size, but he could at least walk in this pair. And, hey, they should fit him well in August.
2. We are still sick. With the exception of a handful of days in December, this has been a consistent theme for Nate and I. Thad, on the other hand, seems to have a miracle immune system (what was he really doing in that immunology lab?!)

happy new [cough cough]!

So, we're sick again. Nate and I both have some sort of cough/cold. So far 2008 isn't off to the best start. In an attempt to be optimistic, I'm going to assume that things will improve from here. In the meantime, enjoy some of Nate's Photo Highlights from 2007...

happy new year

Happy 2008! This is Nate's third calendar year. That makes him sound old (relatively.) He's growing so fast these days it seems like he'll be a teenager in a couple of weeks. In fact, he welcomed the new year with a goatee!