Fun pictures...

I thought these might be amusing for some of you to see. Can you guess who it is?


(Answer: It's me - Jodi!)

First Rice Cereal

Mateo had his first rice cereal today. He wasn't too sure about it at first, but then he started eating it... sort of. It didn't take too long before he decided he was quite finished, thank you! It was cute to watch. We used the silver spoon that Rafi was given when he was a baby, the bib that Mima (my mom) made for him, and the camera tripod that my dad gave us. Here's a link to the video, although I warn you it's not great quality.

My Smiley Boy

I just wanted to post a photo of my smiley boy. :-)

Surfer Theme

Here's our first theme for Mat's DOC band. He's a surfer dude! We'll see how long the decorations last. I have several other themes up my sleeve to come. Thus far he seems to be adjusting to it quite well, and already we can see a difference in his head shape. Some of Mateo's recent pleasures include Mother Goose Lapsit at our community library, watching soccer with Daddy, and screeching at the top of his lungs (which sometimes makes for a very long day for mommy). Obviously he also enjoys looking at his handsome self in the mirror, too!

In other news, my mom has been visiting for about the past week. It's been so great to have extra hands! Super Target likes it when my mom visits, too. Ha! Besides that not a lot is going on. Later this month we should be having some canned and under the cabinet lighting installed all around downstairs. I think we'll really enjoy that. Okay, more updates to come soon!

Mat's DOC Band Fitting

We have a band! Here is a link to the fitting. Basically we went in, they gave us instructions to read (do skin checks every few hours, shampoo his head every night, wash the band with alcohol every night, wear the band for 23 hours a day, etc.), and then they fitted his band to him. They had to shave off some areas around his ears and eyes a few times, but otherwise it seemed to be a good fit. He didn't react much to wearing the band at the clinic, but when he tried to take his first nap with it he kept pulling at it with his little hand. :( So sad. I'm sure he'll adjust soon, though. So tomorrow my mom visits, and we'll go sticker shopping!

Pretty darned nifty...

Okay, so first watch this video. (You don't have to watch the whole thing, just watch part of it so you get the idea):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFhXyns6vzE

Okay, now watch THIS video and be amazed!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIGbhPLZmjY

Mat's Casting

Mateo had his casting done today for his Dynamic Orthotic Cranioplasty, or DOC, band. He did really well! They start with putting a stocking net over his whole head, cut out a hole for the mouth, and then mark the eyebrows and ears with a pencil. Then while he was still on his back, they began to layer the plaster strips over the front part of his head. He drank from a bottle during this part (I had timed it well so he'd be hungry) and did quite well.

After this front part set after a few minutes, he had to sit up so they could start layering plaster on the back. This didn't go as well. The pacifier helped for a while, but I'm sure he thought the chirping monkey I held in his face was mocking him! Rafi did a great job at holding his shoulders down. (I, on the other hand, did a great job taking photos!) The plaster was quite heavy, so I think he was most uncomfortable just due to the weight on his head.

After this set, they took off the two halves of plaster, and voila - a happy baby!! Okay, so he was a bit worn out, but he has always calmed down fairly quickly. So into the bath he went, off the plaster bits came, and a fresh baby got to go home. (We'll be back to the orthotist next Tuesday for the fitting of the band, so stay tuned!)

Just an hour later we packed back into the car and went to our first Mother Goose Lapsit at the library. We read a book with two other little girls, sang some songs (he HATED "I'm a Little Teapot"), and played with some toys. Then we went with his friend Amelie (and my friend Renee, the librarian at my school) to Barnes and Noble to look for some bilingual books.

After a day of excitement, we went home and took a much needed nap. :-)