First Christmas

Tavo enjoyed his first Christmas. . .especially the wrapping paper, bows and gift bags. He expereinced many Christmas celebrations with various relatives in Texas. Even though every time he woke up he was in a new place surrounded by different people, he still managed to enjoy himself and make everyone around him smile.

A Day at the Zoo

Tavo enjoyed the zoo, although he watched the other children more than the animals. His newest thing is to put both arms straight in the air when he is excited, as in the photo. The other night, we took a walk and discovered that he loves Christmas lights. At each house that had lights, his arms went up and stayed up. It is hilarious, we will have to try to get it on video for all to see. He also knows how to wave...but he is a bit confused as to when is the appropriate time to wave.

Nino Octavio at 7 months

Tavo is now seven months and is really fun to interact with. He loves to take walks in the French Quarter and to see the Mississippi River. At home, he crawls all over the place and gets into everything and puts everything in his mouth. He laughs easily and frequently while playing with his parents, but he can also be very independent and play quietly by himself. He constantly pulls himself up to a standing position and bets are that he will be an early walker. Here he is with his Papi, sleeping in the hammock.

I look like my Uncle Jason!

Baby Hairstyles

Nino, Kamal and Jana all got haircuts and baby Nino tried out two future hairstyle options: punk rock baby and the combed over look.

Mama

We're a bit behind on updating....at six months and one week, Tavo said his first word "ma ma." It will probably take him awhile to say "papi" but we are working on it. He is crawling fast now and loves to get handful of dirt from our indoor big potted plant. He smiles and laughs and sticks out his tongue among many, many other tricks. His happy times far outnumber his few grumpy moments.

Happy Thanksgiving and Welcome Tulasi!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We are celebrating Thanksgiving with Tavo's abuelita Christina, who is visiting from Brownsville. Grandma is elated to hold and play with Ninito.

We also had a trip to the hospital to meet Holly & Ravi's second child, Tulasi Vivianne, who was born last night at 11:58 pm. (Tavo's fiancee)

I Discovered My Tongue!

Last week, i playingly stuck my tongue out at Tavo. He stuck his tongue out at me right back! Ever since, he has been randomly sticking out his tongue. It was a great new trick to show his Papi once he returned from California. We are so happy to have him home!

Over the last few days, Tavo has gotten more and more mobile. He has been scooting around for weeks now, but has now begun to actually crawl. He also pulls himself up by using furniture, our legs or anything else around. A few times, he has pulled himself up to a standing position (still holding on, of course). It's cute, but kind of alarming! We will have to make some changes, particularly where he sleeps.

Fun in the Tub

Tavo wasn't enjoying baths in his bathtub anymore, so we tried out another option tonight...the tub used for bobbing for apples at my Halloween parties at the FEMA parks. Tavo loved it! Much more room to play with his rubber ducky and fish.

We are super excited to welcome Papi back home tomorrow. It's been a long two weeks, and the past few days were really rough. Tavo was sick for the first time. He had fever on and off for about 36 hours, but seems to be recovering now.

Happy Halloween!

Tavo and I spent Halloween at Davant, one of the FEMA parks that I work in. Tavo watched the kids search for candy in a haystack, bob for apples and parade in their costumes. He was a turtle as you can see in the pictures. With him in the picture are our friends Oscar, the scare crow, and Tremica, the French maid. Two of the kids were so scared of Oscar and crying so much that they had to leave the trailer! Even Tavo seemed a bit unsure about those fingers (usually he doesn't hesitate to put everything in his mouth).

Missing Daddy

The Quartet

We had another gathering of the fabulous four babies from our childbirth education classes. This time it was at Rea, Chuck and Jackson's place...a boat on Lake Pontchartrain! Tavo is the youngest of the group, but he is the first to scoot/almost crawl. Everyone was impressed at how athletic he is. That's our boy!

Photo 1: Ladies Man (Tavo has one hand on Evie and one on Tiba!)

Photo 2: From left to right: Evie, Jackson, Tavo, Tiba

Photo 3: Serious play time

Photo 4: Jackson eating Tavo's hand (and Tavo is not sure he likes that)

Enjoying the Fall Weather

We had a nice afternoon out in the yard with our neighbors. Tavo gets lots of attention from Benecio and Anjali, both four years old. Benecio gave Tavo the straw hat in the photo. Tavo also had some of Kamal's butternut squash soup, but probably got more on his clothes than in his mouth.

Big Boy

For the first time, Tavo sat in a high chair at a restaurant. We took Jason and Amy for breakfast at Lil' Dizzy's and decided to give it a try. Tavo enjoyed it, and mama loved being able to eat her meal peacefully.

Photos for Papi

Querido Papi

Hoy jugue mucho con mi tia Amy y mi tio Jason. Tambien fuimos caminando en la calle Royal con mi mama. Me diverti mucho todo el dia y no quise dormir.

Te mando unas de mis sonrisas bonitas.

Nino Octavio

Buenos dias Papi!

Baby Nino's father is working in California to provide support for children evacuated from their homes due to wild fires. We are missing him as much as he misses us. . .especially at 6 am, when Mama usually gets to sleep while Papi plays with the bebito. Here are some photos for daddy, taken this morning, one of Tavo playing with his toys and the second one wearing his cousin Galo's cute hat.

Pulling off Shirt Trick

It seems like every day Tavo is doing something new. Last night we were all entertained for a long time with this game you see in the video...putting the shirt on Tavo and watching him pull it off...and his laughing, which is of course the best part!

Tavo's First Bites of Food

Having reached 5 months, we decided it was time for Tavo to taste rice cereal. Actually he had been wanting to try food for weeks, always reaching for our food at the dinner table. So he was ready. When we tried he immediately grabbed the spoon in his Papi's hand and guided it to his mouth. Since then he has tried bits of aguacate and banana.

Grandparents McDonald Visit

Here are Grandpa, Grandma and Tavo in front of Jackson Square, the classic tourist photo of New Orleans. Tavo showed his grandparents how he moves around, plays with toys and laughs. Grandpa says he is "a great little guy."

Manoune's visit

Here we are with Manoune, a good friend from Mirebalais, Haiti. She came for a visit and we enjoyed showing her around New Orleans. It was her first time to eat a strawberry, first time to go to a casino and first time to go to a zoo. I was at Manoune's house every weekend in Mirebalais, and am glad that I could have the chance to have her as our guest. She loved Nino's migas and beans and also liked the bbq shrimp po-boy at Liuzza's By the Tracks so much that we went to eat there twice.

Yoda I Am

Nino Octavio has mastered sitting up (since about 2 weeks ago, I am behind in the blog). He is wearing an outfit from Oaxaca (thanks Ama, Alex and Ian). I think he looks like Yoda here, with his hands folded, his bald head and his big ears!

Too Many Kisses

Trying to Sit Up at Lake Pontchartrain

How did the baby get sand on his face? We went to Lake Pontchartrain on Friday for a picnic and Tavo discovered sand for the first time. We decided it would be a good opportunity to get a photo of Tavo sitting up for the blog, but instead the camera caught something funnier. We think the pictures tell the story.

Sunday in New Orleans

We had a nice Sunday, first with a walk in the newly renovated French Market (not completely finished however). Then, a swim in the pool with neighbors Ravi and Anjali. Tavo seems a bit perplexed in the pool....it has so much more water than his bathtub!

Grabby Boy

Baby Nino is more interested in grabbing everything in reach, including food. As you can see in the photo, he really wants that ginger bread. In the other photo, he's sitting still while his Papi reads him a story.

Strolling in the Treme

Here is shot of the two Ninos walking down St. Claude in the Treme, the oldest African-American neighborhood in the U.S. The church is St. Augustine, the oldest African-American catholic church in the U.S. The church is two blocks from our house and has wonderful jazz masses.

Nino Octavio had his four month doctor appointment last week and now weighs 14 lbs, 5 oz. He is 75th percentile for his height, and 50th for weight. Average weight, above average height. He impressed all the nurses in the office, with his smiles and cooing, and his general happy demeanor.