Let me first start by saying that I miss writing on the blog so much. I’m sure those days will come back around again sometime. Rest assured that I am just as excited, as I was the day he was born.

AKELLO!

He turned 4 months on Christmas Eve. He is so sweet, and we are learning that he is sooooo sleepy. We have been really trying to help him to sleep more. Theresa is feverishly reading Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, (revised edition) that Mi let us borrow. Theresa claims that it is the best book that she has read yet.



We are learning some great new information. We take his sleep very seriously and have been concentrating on it more than anything. Basically, akello is a great kid, but he can’t fall asleep on his own. That’s the tough part. We need to teach him how to do it. It is very montessorian, for him to be independent like that but at the same time we cant stand the thought of having him “cry it out” It might be what he needs, but I also think that akello can cry for days and never get any sleep!

At this point he will sleep for maybe 3 hours max if were lucky and he should be sleeping for at least 5 at his age.

BABY ETIQUETTE 101:

Don’t ask a parent, “So is he sleeping through the night yet?” just ask, “how’s the little one doing?”


A lot of things have been happening lately., with akello as well as ourselves.

I have much to share but as soon as I sit to write, I become overwhelmed with how to start at the beginning and I ultimately x out of the screen and go to bed. So this post is an attempt to tackle the true family update and I have been working on it a little bit each day.

Theresa has been looking for part time work that could supplement our single income. She found a great gig with “stretch and grow” which I talked about a few posts back. This is a great gig for her, for us. But its only two days a week.



Theresa has always kicked around the idea of maybe starting a Montessori school. Her passion lies in education, that’s for sure. But she has a very entrepreneurial spirit. She also is a devout student of the Montessori method.



Theresa knows a lot about Montessori and has observed classrooms and assisted at Lara's school from time to time.

But she has never had any “formal” training.





One of the things that makes this formal training difficult is cost. For those that don’t know, anything and everything having to do with Montessori is EXPENSIVE. Training…..sending your kid to a Montessori school…..toys….you name it. If Montessori is in the title, get ready to earn some miles.



Another thing is the fact that there is not an accredited school that teaches in Austin. The nearest place is Dallas.

So that would mean that T would have to go to Dallas for a year to get certified in a specific age group or she could go 3 summers in a row. This to the tune of 7,000.



So.



A year or two ago, we had kicked around the idea of her going to Dallas for 3 summers in a row to get trained. But then we put the crack pipe down and realized that doing that would be too much, monetarily and emotionally.



Then we found a school that had online certification. That was more affordable. But it’s online. I mean, I wouldn’t do film school online. I couldn’t imagine learning to teach online. But hey, that’s just me. Theresa thought the same.



Fast forward to today. Last month one of Theresa’s friends with a one year old asked her if she would watch her son during the week.



Hmmm.



Now I should say that when Theresa was one day pregnant, she was already researching ways to stay at home…and still make money. She weeded through all the scams and had a few great ideas. One being textbook reviewer or curriculum correlater for some publishing companies that she could do online. She actually got a temporary gig like this over the summer and we were hoping that they would use her again come baby time. They haven’t called. But oh well.



A year ago We kicked around the thought of Theresa running a small daycare out of the house, but Theresa didn’t know how she would feel, having a baby, watching and teaching others, all on her own. She put the thought out of her mind and decided to focus on finding a job that she could do on Tuesday and Wednesday (my days off) or a job that she could take akello too. Like a personal assistant, or maybe as a teachers assistant at a daycare.



Well she found the tus & wed job with stretch and grow. She then found a wonderful opportunity.



Theresa found an ad for a prestigious private school. They needed a teacher’s assistant for their faculty day-care. And it was cool to bring your child. You picked your own hours too! How sweet it is!

So Theresa interviewed and they asked her to come try it out a couple of days.
Theresa just never felt right about the position. She would have to leave akello in a bouncy seat as she worked. Theresa was hoping that she could wear him in her sling. The school was also filled with “passive electronic toys” and those toys were never cleaned at the end of the day after being in so many different kids mouths. Theresa feared for akello’s health. The staff didn't seem to give proper attention to the non mobile infants. They were just kind of placed here and there and it made theresa nervous for their safety when it came to the mobile infants. . Oh, and it wasn’t Montessori.

But the campus was gorgeous and the opportunities that could arise in the future for akello were tempting. They never told Theresa that she had the job, but they kept on introducing her to the parents as if the gig was hers. (Don’t you hate that)? Money had never been discussed either.

One day Theresa went to go give it one last try. It was on that day that akello was crying in a bouncy seat and a staff member walked over to him, shook his foot, and said, “your ok, Theresa nothing to cry about and walked on.” That’s when Theresa validated her gut feeling that this just wasn’t the right place for her, for right now.

Well, one day Theresa asked me in a sheepish sort of way, “What do you think of having a small school run out of the living room? I was like, “umm yeah why wouldn’t I?” her reply to that… “Well, we would have to re-arrange the living room”

What a great wife. Theresa knows how much interior design and furniture arrangement means to me. Most of you readers at home know this too.

BUT

I didn’t hesitate. “You can do whatever you want if it means staying home with akello,” I mean seriously. This only gives me ANOTHER chance to re-arrange and decorate!

SO, going forward Theresa is going to start small. She will accept 2 students and only do it on Monday Thursday and Friday. Seeing as those are the days that she is available. In the summer when stretch and grow is over she can go 5 days a week.

Now we kicked around the idea of the Online certification because she can get 0-3 training which is mostly theory and reading anyway for $1600. Not bad. But at this point we think that Theresa’s education and her love of Montessori is enough to get started. So that is the next best thing.

Nothing is really new with me, accept that I will soon be getting to re-arrange.
That is all. Well not really. If you have been following this blog from the beginning, then you will remember the whole thing about finding a rocker or “mamas chair”. And you might remember that I had the opportunity to win an Eames lounge chair that would solve all our problems?

And you might remember how I did not win and we just made do with the rockers that we had?

Well the “making do” will soon be over because back in October I ordered my dream chair. That’s right. The Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman in the Santos Palisander Rosewood Veneer and Black “Dream Cow” Leather.

I sound like Ralphie from A Christmas Story talking about his red rider BB gun every time I say that.



Now don’t start going crazy thinking I’m daddy warbucks or something.
It was a grand opportunity. To say that it was offered at a discounted price is an understatement.



I presented the opportunity to Theresa and she was like, “if you know that this is the best deal…then feel free to sell anything you own in order to buy this.” So that’s what I did. I wrote a check the next day using the money from our savings account. an account that our financial advisor likes to call “for emergencies AND opportunities.” That’s why I like him. But anyway, a week of craigslist ads and transactions later…and I had that chair paid for…and it arrives at the end of January!! I can’t wait.



Well I say all this because I had this perfect spot for it in the living room! No more because of the school. But oh well, it will be nice to have in the TV room upstairs anyway for a little bit.

Oh, and another note. i will be deleting my other design blog, and talking about design and home improvement projects at the end of the posts that way if you dont give a flip about my new chair then you can quit reading after the akello parts.

Merry Christmas!

i am working on the monster of all updates but wanted to post some pics from today!


christmas eve. i had to run out and get akello a stocking to add to the chimney!
i put twinkling lights in the fireplace around the stereo, so it seems like theres a fire flickering in there when you dont have a full view of the fireplace


festive and cozy!




We always use a small rosemary bush for a tree. maybe next year we will get a big one!


akello wakes from hibernation to greet the guests.


grandma pearl and akello!


the great grandparents!



akello in the Bumbo

update

We have been working on developing akellos hand/eye and feet/eye coordination.
Theresa got a pizza sheet and covered it with aluminum foil, and he kicks it. Thresa says we are supposed to use a pie foil, but that this will work for now. its supposed to teach him cause and effect. He has got quite a foot on him! once he almost kicked the thing out of my hand!

Theresa also rigged this thing from the cieling. a long red ribbon with a toy at the end. we place akello in front of it and have him kick it!



once i find out what makes akello laugh, i want to do it all the time.



we were in a fender bender (totally not our fault). everone is ok, but we are now driving a ford tauras until our CRV gets fixed. it sucks cuss we got to take out all the baby gear out of the car, including the baby seat, wich is a bitch!.

oh and get this...akello likes the tauras a whole lot more than the CRV. we think its because he can look out the window in the back instead of staring at the cieling. Dont think that the thought of trading in the CRV or my truck has not crossed my mind.

this past week akello had visits from Grandpa Ted, Grandpa Gilbert, TIa Gina, and MY aunt Mona.
Mona gave akello a gift card to Carters, (they have a store now in round rock). i went and used some of it for a couple of winter clothes. and now....its sunny.

those were the first clothes that we had bought for him. up until now, he has been wearing gifts, and all of Michelle's son's old clothes. I feel like we are signed up with some sort of service. because every month or so we get a box of clothes from Michelle that Eneas has outgrown.

Nothing beats this gift from the people at work,,,, the "hey how are you shirt"



i am also fond of the "party at my crib" pajama set that vero had to buy for him on her way into HEB to buy some chips.



yep, its very hard not to pull the trigger on cute clothes for baby...i find myself doing it all the time, a trip to target for xmas lights turns into 30 minutes in the baby section and at the end of it, i put all the clothes back up and walk out with some beer or something.





when ted came by , we all went to the park for a walk.







look at this. the first pic was taken seconds before the second. (thats obvious but funny)
cuzz its all sweet and cute and stuff , and then reality rears its ugly head!

triplets!

new toy

Hello readers! sorry its been a while. we just werent taking pictures there for a while. ive got some video of baby boy droolin and making some funny noises. He has started to teethe and its part of whats keeping him awake at night., as you might have noticed, theresa and i seem more tired than usual.

be warned. this video contains mild nudity as im not wearing a shirt.




We bought him a new toy, a lamze mirror. (the company is called lamaze)
we bought it off amazon. he likes it, ill talk more next post, but didnt want another day to go by withought posting.




-tired gil

new traditions

This past saturday we all went to the capitol for the annual sing-a-long and tree lighting hosted by john Ailee of KUT fame.

it was theresas idea and im glad she thought of it. she wanted to start some new holiday traditions and this was definitly on the list!





people hanging out and singing at the steps of the capitol.

This was the first time that we got to try out akellos new hat and mittens that i had bought him at babys'r'us a couple of days prior to brace for the impending weather.



He looked pretty adorable and i took way too many pictures. luckily a few turned out. He seemed very ho-hum throughout the event. kinda like, "what are we doing here? oh well, beats riding in the car!"









he seemed to enjoy church a lot more this morning. He was talking through the whole thing!

preacher- "lord hear our prayer"
akello- "bzzzzzzz blah blah!"

when the choir kicked in, he was smiling as mama swayed him from side to side. the funny thing was that i was swaying and bouncing as if i was holding him! i caught myself actually going through the motions. i now have a subconcious instinct to bounce and move if there is music and baby in the same room, b/c im so used to it. it was hilarious. i couldnt even stop once i realized what i was doing. so there we were, all bouncing and swaying as a family.

(Oh and Marthachick!
theresa just told me that that was you sitting next to us!!! i wish i had known, i would have introduced myself. i had no idea! send us your email. theresa forgot it.)

This was the first time i was able to attend church with Akello and mama since switching to the 10:15 service. we used to go to 6:00 but that is now getting in the way of his sleep schedule. Theresa and I take seperate cars to church b/c i have to leave a bit early in order to make it to work on time.