Teeth!!!

Nikos' first tooth has arrived. He had been in a bad mood the last couple of days. We suspected teething and today I got a good look at it. Both he and the new tooth are resting comfortably at the moment.

I'm sure Heather will get pictures posted soon.

Our House is Finished!!!

DirectTV came by yesterday and installed our new satellite dish. So we have TV again. I am officially declaring our remodel complete. Who needs doors anyway? Oh, and pay attention when exiting through those french doors. That first step is a doozy.

Haoles and Injuns

Nikos and Marco met today for the first time. Nikos was obviously totally looking forward to it. He wanted to wear his new Uggs and he asked me to give him a haircut (his 4th one so far). I even put some of Uncle Vernie's hair product in his hair.

Here he is patiently sitting with Caterpillar and waiting for me to finish getting ready. Don't the (too big) Uggs make him look long!

By the way, his outfit says Lock Up Your Daughters. Ha! Too bad we realized he was pretty much too big for it. We ended up changing him at Jeff and Sarah's and just leaving it over there for Marco to grow into.

Taki was excited to hold Marco for the first time. Yes you read that last sentence correctly. I mean, do you see the smile? You can see teeth!

And now you see where the title of the blog comes into play.

On a side note, Marco is wearing one of Niko's old outfits, that was a gift from Sarah's Dad and Step-mom, Linda!

Here we show off the family Uggs (Taki banned from picture as he wasn't wearing his Uggs today).

After we left Team Cecchin's house we decided to go on a walk that ended at our favorite pizza place (shocker). While I was tying Bosco to the tree next to our bench Nikos stole a piece of crust off my plate.

Little thief! Notice the devious expression.

The Newest Cecchin

Tonight we were thrilled to go to the hospital to meet Marco John Cecchin. Here are a few cute pics of the little guy, who totally looks like his dad.

Cruise Crazy

I'm sorry, I can't get enough of it...

"Every time Tom squirms awkwardly in his chair and can't finish a sentence, drink!"

Hee hee.

Welcome Marco Cecchin!

Marco born happy and healthy early this morning! I'd add more details but I'm not sure if they want to debut them on their own blog! :)

Waiting for my Friend Marco to be Born

Sarah is in labor and our whole house is very excited about it. Nikos was so amped up about it he decided to kill some time surfing the internet.

Yes, I caught him watching the Tom Cruise Scientology video. I guess I can't blame him since I just bought the Unauthorized Tom Cruise biography. Ha!

Next Nikos showed me this site where he found Jerry O'Connell parodying the Tom Cruise video. Taki and I found the video to be hysterical and we were also quite impressed with Niko's internet skillz.

Alright, back to wondering how things are going with Sarah!...

Show-Off

Nikos finished his first container of baby food in one sitting this weekend. Wahoo! Here he is with the sweet potato remnants.

At CPK he tried out his first restaurant high chair. (If I would have taken the picture three minutes later, you would have seen how unimpressed with it he was since he was sitting in my lap.)

In other exciting news, Nikos is once again sleeping through the night. For those that are familiar with his sleep habits, he slept through the night (12+ hours) for two straight months, early on. This all came crashing to a halt on October 31st, and he hadn't slept through the night since. However, the last three nights he has slept 12-13 hours at night. WAHOO. Hopefully me blogging about it won't curse us.

The Brooke and Nikos Show

This weekend was full of action. On Friday night the D'Angelo's came over for dinner and Nikos and Brooke spent some quality time together.

Here's Nikos trying to impress Brooke with his toy collection.

Later he told her a secret.


Saturday morning we met up with Brooke and Katie at swim class. Nikos used the floating-on-your-back time to work on his abs.

Brooke was more interested in trying to taste some of the water.

The instructor had the kids go under water for the first time. Niko and Brooke were champs, not crying at all. Here is a shot of Niko hazing Taki, making him stay under water longer. Is this considered water-boarding? I hope not.

Sadly, Taki's steer towel was at home so he had to use the Y towel.

And the "No"s Have It

Well, the polls have closed and it looks like Niko's hair is toasting itself - 57% of you voted that we should NOT cut it. 23% wanted it lopped off and 19% wanted to see it with some product in it before they made a decision. Who knows what happened to the other 1%.

Excited that he gets to keep his flowing locks (or his "Donald Trump Combover as meanie Uncle Vernie calls it), Nikos kicks up his heels in glee. Simultaneously, his hair stands at attention to salute those who took the time to vote.

Challenge Accepted!

Today when I got home from work Nikos was so excited to show me a piece of mail that arrived - the 4 minute $100 Challenge! Yes, this marketing piece was written by his Aunt Sarah, in a new, more personal, neighborly tone that he really enjoyed.

Here he is showing it off. Try to concentrate on the brilliant marketing piece and not the fact that Taki has him wearing his Halloween sleeper. HALLOWEEN PEOPLE. IT IS JANUARY. I digress.

Reading the fine print...

And finally, a sign of true acceptance.

My Money Is On His First Word Being IKEA

Taki is doomed, doomed I say! Nikos graduated into a big boy shopping cart today, he is becoming quite the little shopper and can now describe the interior of IKEA almost as well as he can the local Starbucks. Of course, I was totally unprepared for his move out of his car seat and into the shopping cart's driver seat and I forgot his cute little shopping cart germ thing, so I just had to stuff his blanket underneath him and hope that the cart he was clinging to was relatively germ-free (ha!) Note how I had to boost him up on the left side with my vest.

Here he looks at the amazing stuff in the Kitchen Section. He must feel like he is at home.

Next we took a spin through the Kids Section (and by took a spin I mean I can never figure out how to follow those shortcuts and not go through every section - despite the fact that they have those little posted maps and arrows on the floor, and that I am there at least once a week). I think the big snake stuffed animals were capturing his attention in this shot.

About 20 minutes into the trip (okay okay, an HOUR and 20 minutes) he decided to let go of one hand and go a little crazy. Wahoo!

After our successful IKEA trip (many returns, many purchases, I think the security guard greeted me by name...) we drove out to visit our friends Gail and Christian. Gail is due any day now with her first baby! Well, more specifically, Gail is due on February 5th, which makes her 36 weeks and 6 days pregnant today. Coincidentally, I gave birth to Niko when I was 36 and 6. Strangely enough, Gail looks FABULOUS and I looked, well, like I had swallowed Gail. (See photos below if you don't believe me).

Gail - 36 weeks and 6 days pregnant.

Heather - 36 weeks and 6 days pregnant.

The Puppet Master

To give you some background, OFF-CAMERA: Taki starts out by explaining to Niko that this is Tatiana (the San Francisco tiger that escaped from her zoo grotto and mauled the teens on Xmas Day). I explain to Taki that the puppet he has stuffed on his hand is actually a lion, not a tiger, so he shouldn't be freaking Niko out with Tiger stories. ROLL CAMERA: The lion (voiced by Taki) starts barking. (???) Hello? This poor child is going to be very confused. Note - later on an elephant and an alligator joined the party. Taki had the elephant doing some sort of horse neigh/cat meow hybird while the alligator just spoke to Niko in English and talked about swimming in the OCEAN. And they say "learning" starts at home. Ha!

Good Morning Nikos...We're Glad You Came to Swim!

No dreadlocks in class - phew! Other than that is was pretty Berkeley, there were a few same sex couples, I was quite envious of them after swim class when I was trying to shower both Nikos and myself and then get us both changed out of our swim suits and into our street clothes. Oh to be in a lesbian couple. Anyway, I digress...

Class was fun. Sadly, Brooke had a fever so I had to go at it alone. There were about 15 kids in class (the class is for 6 - 18 months) and it looked like Nikos was the youngest, he was for sure the smallest. He did really well, no crying and just seemed to enjoy sucking on his hand the whole time. We sang a lot of songs (can't wait to see Taki trying to remember the verses to Wheels on the Bus next week) and just got the kids used to the water. I was bummed we didn't sing the song that I remember from swim class at the Y when I was growing up "This is the way the farmer rides..." - I'm not sure of the name of it. Maybe I'll suggest it next week. Here are a few pictures.

If I EVER want to cut my hair short (and I'm not talking Katie Holmes short here - because I may do that - I mean old-school Winona Ryder short) please show me this picture. Ick! But Nikos looks all cute , checking out the other kids splashing in the pool.


Here we are during Old MacDonald Has a Pool (I was the idiot that kept singing Farm, like seriously every time. IDIOT.) Note poor Dominic behind us, he was NOT a fan of swim class.

Who You Callin' a Shrimp?

Nikos has his first swim lesson this morning and we are all very excited about it. I'll be getting in the pool with him this week and then Taki will do next week - we thought we would trade off. It is a 7 week class - so I am sure he will be swimming laps by the end of it. Ha! Of course, I figure, I started my swim lessons at 3 months so he is already 4 months behind! He will be in the Shrimp class (this is not a comment on his size, merely the name of the class for 6-18 mos) with Brooke.

In preparation for class he has spent a short amount of time in the pool in Tahoe in November and of course time in the "big" bathtub kicking around. Hopefully he won't feel too out of his element. In preparation for class I shaved my legs (of course, I was telling Taki - if there is one time in my life where it doesn't matter if I shave my legs, Swim Class at the Berkeley YMCA is surely it) and said a short prayer that there will be no mothers (or fathers) with dreadlocks in our class. Okay, to be honest, it was quite a lengthy prayer and I really can't promise you that I won't get right back out of the pool if you put me in there with a floating dreadlock - eek, I want to gag just thinking about it.

Stay tuned for pictures and possible video after class!

A Star is Born

Nikos makes his web (non-blog) debut!

We recently had Niko's photos taken by an awesome photographer in the city, Danielle Taormina-Keenan. Danielle was great with Nikos, really patient and kind, she even put up with him through a two + hour photo shoot where he only smiled for, seriously, the last 2 minutes (thanks Mom!) Can you tell he is his father's child?? Anyway, despite the fact that she didn't have much smiling to work with, she ended up with some great pictures. If you want to see one of our favorites, click here and then select Portfolios/babies. Niko's is Image #13 - and Brooke is #9 and 12! I like to call it his thinker pose.

Dinosaur Lickin's

Caught in the act, Nikos goes in for some dinosaur meat.

Cast Your Votes

Who wants to vote for presidential candidates when you can spend your time voting for Niko's hairstyle? Check out the pic to the left and here are some more to help your decision. Note: contrary to popular belief, even though I did just buy him surf wax - there is no product in his hair.

Special thanks to Vanna (aka my mom).

When Monkeys Attack

Sure, everyone knows that you should watch out for a tiger attack - not too many people are familiar with the stuffed monkey attack. Be careful, it could happen to any one of us.

Rainy Days

We spent today holed up in the house cleaning and putting more things together. Everyone in this family knows they need to chip in - so naturally I was a little annoyed when I caught Nikos trying to catch up on gossip instead of working.

I thought I would teach Niko a lesson (after he caught me up on how Britney and Jamie-Lynn were Destroyed By Mama of course) - so I stuck him in an IKEA trash bin while I put up the rail for it underneath our sink.

So much for the lesson, not only does he look comfortable, with his arm resting on the side, he was even nice enough to give me a little wave.

After Taki and I were sick of cleaning/putting together IKEA sh*t, we went for a walk to 4th Street to pick up some bread, meat and cheese for a little snack before dinner. Nikos enjoyed the bread - so far the only two items of food that he has really taken to (besides the cantaloupe) have been bread and pizza crust. Carb-aholic like his parents.

I think his eyebrow is raised here because he is thinking "wait 'til I tell Dr. Ray (pediatrician) about this!"

Trying to Build Up to Cecchin Thighs

Here's Nikos having a ball in his jumparoo (aka drunkaroo for when Mom and Dad are hungover). It goes nicely with Brooke's neglect-a-saucer.

Stormwatch 2008

So I thought my East Coast relatives would get a kick out of this. We are being deluged by a major rain storm (no thunder or lightning mind you). It was pouring on my way to work this morning. It took me three times to cross through this open space between buildings to get to my office - the wind kept blowing me backwards and my umbrella broke! Anyway, I know at least three companies that let their employees go home today due to inclement weather. HA! We could never hack it in PA.

Free Stairmaster

I just thought of another resolution. Take the stairs at bart. Not just the ones from the train up to the station, but the ones from the station to street level. 98 stairs total.

And can someone please explain to me why there are 98 stairs up to street level at the Embarcadero station but 110 at the Montgomery station? Is Market Street higher up there? I mean, it can't be 12 stairs higher, can it? Is the station lower? Yes, these are the things I think about in the morning.

Amateur Night

I think there is something about drinking and having your camera (or DWC Drinking With Camera) which either makes you take pictures of EVERYTHING (see Jeff's neighbor Brad last night) or nothing. Sadly, I fell into the latter category. Here are all of my photos from last night. As you will notice, I took pictures at 7:15 when we got there, and then not again until 2:15 in the morning. Stupid vodka.

The girls (Brooke D'Angelo, Reese Grochol, Ryan Grochol) kick up their heels in anticipation of the new year.


Miffed that he missed the photo shoot with the ladies (he slept in his car seat from when we got there at 7:15pm until 2:15 in the morning) Niko posed for a few pictures with Jeff.

And how did I remember it was 2:15?

Seems like a bizarre drunk picture but for some reason I think Sarah had the camera (note how I don't know she had the camera...) and she was definitely not drunk.

Oh how the times have changed. No one pulled a shower curtain (and most of the plaster) off the wall, no grapefruits were thrown at St. Francis, and I actually made it to midnight.

Resolutions

Here we go... and by the way, while I am typing this we are listening to the Holly channel on XM - because I need to milk the holiday spirit for all it is worth (yes our tree is still up) - and the channel is in some sort of weird loop where it keeps playing the same four songs in a row. Taki wants me to log off and log back on again to see if that fixes it but I refuse to because it keeps cutting off this Mariah Carey Christmas song I really like (who knew?) and every time it comes back on (about every 6 minutes) I am all hopeful that it will play through this time. Also in the loop is this Chevy Chase quote from Christmas Vacation We're going to press on and have the hap-hap-happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap danced with Danny Kay. I think they cleaned that up for XM, I am pretty sure he drops an F bomb in the movie. And sadly, I think it had looped like three times before we had noticed. Yes, we are hungover in case I forgot to mention it earlier. I am sure you would have picked up on it from my first resolution anyway. And a hangover with a baby is a b*tch which should be obvious, and yet we still did it (thanks Jeff and Sarah for hosting a fresh party last night.)

Heather
1. Try to eat healthier - **Disclaimer - I am going to be starting this one tomorrow, in case you are one of my neighbors reading this and you saw the Dominos car pull up (followed by the Roundtable car shortly thereafter - yes, I know, we ordered from two different places. There were four of us and one of us doesn't like Roundtable so we had to order from both places.) This was, of course, an hour or two after Taki returned with our McDonalds breakfast. At least this year he remembered that for some bizarrely inexplicable reason the McDonalds by us doesn't serve breakfast on New Years Day. They are open in the morning, but they just start lunch as soon at 9am or so. I know, weird, huh. They serve breakfast the rest of the year. Sadly, the last three years one of us has gone there in the morning to discover this tragedy. Of course, we don't let this deter us so we just drive to the next closest one which is only semi in the ghetto. Bonus points to Taki for remembering this year and just going directly to the far one.
2. Pack my lunch more often - yes, last slice of Dominos sitting in the box...I'm talkin' to you.
3. Go on family walks more often
4. Limit my Starbucks intake - before I need to enter some sort of rehab center for caffeine addiction.
5. Create a budget - and actually stick to it.

Taki
1. Lose 15 lbs - when Heather lost the baby weight I found it
2. Remodel the house - note to audience, Taki is dictating these to me, he just said this one so he could see me choke on my pretzel. I am going to make him re-do this one.
2a. Exercise more
3. Watch more tv this year - note to audience, I don't think Taki is taking this very seriously. On the other hand, our contractor's guys accidentally broke our satellite and we haven't had tv since we moved back in mid-November, so maybe this one is legit. In fact I want to watch more tv too - so are Jim and Pam dating?? and what about JD and Elliott? and is that new chic still on CSI because I think she is D-U-L-L) so I'll let this one stick.
** Note to audience, I just logged off and back in to XM and we are out of the loop. But now I am kind of bitter because I was starting to like the repetitiveness and I knew all the words to the songs. Plus now I will probably never hear the Mariah song (All I Want for Christmas Is You). Sucks.**
4. Eat healthier
5. Run with Bosco more - note from Heather - More?? If he runs with Bosco ONCE this year it will be more than he did last year.

Nikos
1. Find more foods I like - I realize I can't subsist on cantaloupe and grapes alone. Of course, Mary-Kate and Ashley do it...
2. Learn to swim - or at least enjoy my swim lessons. Got to show off my skillz in Aruba in June!
3. Get to the 25th percentile for weight (see Resolution #1)
4. Visit more states - next time I go to Tahoe I actually want to cross the street into Nevada!
5. Convince my mom to stop dressing me in ridiculous hats/costumes - Note from Heather - not going to happen.

How Do You Like These Melons?