Head of the Class

There haven't been "official" rankings, but I'm sure my little guy is at the top of his class (seen here). He's younger, sure. He's smaller. And, okay, he doesn't crawl, walk or eat actual food. But, he's very clearly advanced. According to reports, he's "happy" and "attentive" nearly every day. We've also just received his first evaluation from daycare and it was glowing.


He's added rolling over (from belly to back) and squawking to his bag of tricks, and will "stand" when you hold him and is just beginning to arch his back and reach when he's about to be picked up. We're delighted with the occasional giggle and is also progressing in his social skills. As I understand it, is starting to put the moves on the girls in his class.

In addition to his evaluation, his teachers commented on his friendly demeanor. Turns out that he and one girl in particular (sitting on the lap of the teacher in the red shirt in the class photo) have been caught holding hands in class. Interestingly enough, she was also supposed to be a lobster for Halloween. (Turns out the costume was too hot and she cried. She ended up staying in her Pumpkin garb.) Lobsters are monogamous, so this could be a potentially long-term relationship. While a lobster will mate for life with another lobster, I'm still unclear as to whether a lobster will mate with a pumpkin.

Sam's still battling his cold (we're nearing the 2-month mark), but takes his medicine like a champ. The docs tell me that's normal, especially since he goes to daycare. Their advice: "Get used to it. It's going to be a long winter."

During his latest trip to the doctor, Sam tipped the scales at 14 pounds, 10 ounces. He continues to grow, but didn't even come close to the Thanksgiving turkey, which weighed in at 21 pounds (without stuffing).

He seems to have all of the classic teething symptoms, but we can't see any pearly whites poking through his gums just yet. Maybe he'll be more determined once we tell him about all of the yummy food that gets put out during the holiday season.

Mmm...seafood.

Who knew you could get such good seafood here in Chicago? As you all know, I loove Halloween and, in the past, have always gotten a costume for Louie. Well, just IMAGINE my excitement at having a little baby to dress up this year! Unfortunately for the dog, it doesn't mean he's off the hook. Now, just IMAGINE my excitement at finding a lobster costume for BOTH OF THEM. Odd...neither of them were nearly as excited. Party poopers.

There was a Halloween parade at daycare, so Sam marched (er, rolled in a big stoller-thingee) through the halls with an elephant, a couple of pumpkins, the Easter Bunny, Eyore, a strawberry and a spider. He and Louie both donned their costumes again that night, but they were pretty short lived.

I've been traveling alot, so there's been a lot of "guy" time at the Mendez house. Everyone seemed to do quite well and Sam never once wore dripped cheese or wing sauce, so it was a pretty successful week. (Not sure how Adrian fared.)

Poor Sam headed back to the doctor and apparently has bronchitis. He's got some medicine now, so I think we're headed in the right direction. (And it's that yummy pink bubble gum stuff. I totally forgot how good that was!) The boogie monster continues to be his mortal enemy. The little man is packing on the pounds too, as he was 14 pounds, 10 oz. at his appointment.

Sam pretty much has his hands or fists in his mouth as long as he's awake and there's a lot of gnawing and drooling going on. We can't feel any teeth coming through, so we're not sure if that's the cause...or that he just likes to chew on stuff. Thinking of giving him Louie's extra kong.