Xmas and Grandma and Grandpa's

Dad and Bev were heading to Florida for the season, so they invited their grandkids over the Saturday after Thanksgiving to put up their xmas trees. They have a wonderful tradition where each one of their grandkids have their own tree. Every year they give them a silver ornament so that by the time they are adults, they have a beautiful collection of silver ornaments. The first year they get a silver bell. Coco got her little bell and put it on her tree.



Watching Coco with her bell was so adorable that Poppy got a little overwhelmed and had to excuse himself to let out a good cry in the bedroom.

Coco with her cousins Mitchell, Tyler, Morgan, Becca and Ben

The photo session for her holiday card

Halloween!

We were very excited just before our first Halloween in the burbs last year. We never got one "trick-or-treater" at our apartment in Brooklyn. We piled up with pounds and pounds of candy in anticipation of the hoardes of kids that would be coming to our house. Last year, we did not get visitor and I think we still have candy tucked away. We got the inside scoop that all the true Halloween activity occurs in the pedestrial friendly part of town. Our friends Randy and Larry invited us down to their house for a little party with a few other couples. We dressed Coco up in a Lamb costume. We also got an adorable kitten outfit from our friend Liz Arnoff which Coco sported with the family in our pre-halloween viewing.



She loves to stand on her tippy-toes!














Those hoofs are too much!











She looks as if she is about to make a very important speech.









Just before we walked around in the beach area of Rye.

9 month checkup

Coco turned 9 months on November 4th! It seems as if every week she is doing something new and exciting. She started crawling at about 8 months. It was difficult to call it crawl at first since she would move forward a little bit, then backwards. Not a very efficient way to get from one place to another. A couple of weeks later, I was laying on the floor and she crawled up to me, put her hands on my hips and stood up. I was pretty stunned. After mastering standing, she became pretty good at shuffing down the couch in a standing position if she saw something that she wants. She will probably start walking any day now.

Coco continues to grow at a rate of about one inch per month. She was 30 inches tall at her last appointment. Her weight gain has stabilized with her most recent weigh in at 23 pounds, one ounce. The doctor was at one point worried that she was gaining weight too fast, now that has reversed. She is definitely going through a growth spurt and she doesn't have the appetite she once had. That might have something to do with her teething. It looks like she has four teeth looking to pop through at the same time to join the two she has already. Ouch! She is handling it like a trooper though!

We had all the grandparents together for a group photos for Granny Self's birthday celebration.

Hours of entertainment with Coco's box of toys.

We went for a walk in the Rye Marshlands on the second weekend it November. It was a stunning day in the mid-60's! Here we are crashed out on the beach. Hard to beleive this is just one mile from our house.

Coco sporting her pink UGGs from the Luiso family.

Standing, Crawling, Clapping and Swinging

Just a couple weeks after Coco starting officially crawling, she is darting all over the house. She is also standing for extended periods of time if we put her next to something that she can lean on. Yesterday we were sitting around and she crawled over to me, put her hands on my leg, extended her legs and pushed herself up to a standing position.

One of Coco's favorite activities is the Mother Goose Reading Hour (actually 20 mins fortunately) at the Rye Library. She learned to clap there.


The Rye Historical Society sponsored a pumpkin picking and carving event. Seemed like a perfect fall outing. We walked away with a pretty cool carved pumpkin.







Coco demonstrating her standing skills during a visit to the Caiola McGill residence in the Hamptons. Adam and William are in the background











Coco could stay in the swing for an hour without complaining. She loves it. She usually has a fit when it is time to get out, regardless of how much time she has spent in the swing. Our cousins Buddy and Urusula and family gave us that adorable outfit that she has on.










Arm flapping is another favorite Coco pastime. Here she is wearing one of the many dresses that were included in the John Laidman/Alicja dossier.












Having a blast with the cousins: Ben and Becca Fraley and Emma Lincks. They are all so good with her.

Coco at 8 Months

Coco turned 8 months on Monday. We are very blessed that she has been completely healthy and happy! She is sleeping and eating very well. She is starting to move around quite a bit. We are calling her first official crawl last Sunday. She easily goes from a seated position to a crawl position, but she would usually go backwards instead of forwards! Now when she sees something on the other side of the room that she wants she can make her way over there. Fortunately, she is not that fast though...yet...

She loves her swing called "jenny jump up". It is a contraption that hangs from a door jamb that allows her to jump up and down. She will often want to stay in there for 20 minutes. We think it is great for her leg muscles, so we encourage it...especially since she loves it so much.



Coco with Grandma Fraley. The dress was a gift from John Laidman and Alicja. She looks soo cute in it!












Coco in her Jenny Jump Up. She can now wear larger bows in her hair, which dramatically increases her accessorizing options.

A sweet moment with cousin Ben. Diana White from my office gave her that outfit which is hysterical. It is so cute to see a little baby in a sophisticated "Diane von Furstenburg-esque" wrap look.

Coco striking a pose (a little scary that she can be a ham at 8 months). Enjoying some quality time with Grandma and Grandpa.

I love this pic. Coco is watching Daddy teach his "Boot Camp" at the Rye High School. She is all decked out in her turquoise Juicy Couture sweat suit that her Jewish Godmother Robin gave her while we were still in LA.

Swimtime!!

Coco started her swimming lessons at the Rye YMCA a couple of weeks ago. We are lucky in that she really seems to enjoy the water. It will probably be a few years until she can swim on her own, but it is good to get babies accustomed to the water while they are young. They have us practice getting her head dunked under the water. We were afraid to do it at first, but Coco seemed ok with it. Class has been great fun and it has been terrific meeting babies Coco's age in Rye.



Fortunately the pool is heated!







All the parents stand around in a circle and the instructor throws the ball in the middle. The parents bring the babies toward the ball. This is the one exercise Coco is not too fond of. I think she freaks out being in the crowd of babies for some reason.





Coco getting dunked! The instructor recommends that we count 1,2,3...blow in thier face lightly, and then go under together. Blowing in their faces makes them hold thier breath.








Coco loves watching us blow bubbles in the water.








Not sure who is having more fun...Daddy or Coco!

Seven Month Checkup

Coco had her seven month checkup yesterday. We are very blessed that she has been completely healthy since she was born (**knocking on wood**). She weighed in at 22 pounds, up one pound over the months and 28 inches, half an inch longer than last months. The doctor said that she was the 105th percentile for weight (??) in retrospect, I am not sure how it is possible to more that 100%, but she looks great and is very healthy so we are not going to read too much into it.

Coco had been a very good sleeper since birth, sometimes sleeping as much as 12 hours from 6:30 pm to 6:30 am, but she started going backwards a bit over the summer waking up a 2-3 times during the night. We think this may have been due to staying in Fire Island and maybe she was not used to her surroundings. When we got back to Rye we decided some dreaded sleep training was in order. The first night was a little rough. She woke up around midnight started crying. We practiced the Ferber Method where you go in every 12 minutes and just put your hand on her to sooth her, but do not pick her up out of the crib. That went on for about 1.5 hours, but then she slept until 5:30 or so. The next night it went on for about 30 minutes, but the crying was a bit more extreme. The third night was a little less and by the end of the week, she was pretty much back to sleeping through the night. Let's hope that keeps up!!




She is starting to look like such a little girl!!











She has two teeth on her bottom jaw. You can see them in this pic.








My father's cousins in Missouri and Minnesota made her this beautiful seersucker dress. We have received so much love and support from our family and extended family. We have never met Dee or Paula, but they sent us a huge care package filled with wonderful gifts for her. Seersucker is definitely the look this season...very chic!!

Summertime!!

We were very fortunate to be able to spend a big chunk of time in Fire Island this summer. Coco loves the water. She started the summer being very sensitive to light and wind, which made being outside not so pleasant at times, but by the end of the summer, she seemed to enjoy being outside a lot more.



Family portrait at the beach. Coco loves to yank on Nene's tail unfortunately. She seems to be going for it in this pic.

We love the dress that Coco has on. My godmother, Aunt Sandi, sent it from Hawaii.






Eva put Granny Self's hat on Coco and we all got really silly!











She looks like such a little girl in this pic. What a sweet face. Her auntie Mechelle gave her that sweet dress which fits perfectly.















Lazy days of summer!

Coco's 6 Month Checkup

Coco had her 6 month checkup yesterday with Dr. Madj. She weighed in at 21 pounds, up roughly 1.5 pounds since her 5 month checkup. She also grew about one inch, now totalling 27.5 inches. She is eating solid foods very well and has a great appetite. Bananas, pears, applesauce, sweet potatoes, carrots, etc. The doctor originally had her skip over cereals since she was in the 99th percentile for weight (they usually recommend cereal for weight gain...although clearly that was not a need of Coco's). She is now the 98th percentile for weight and 95th for height.

It seems like every week she is doing something new. I went away for a business trip for three days and when I came back she was sitting up like a champ (see pic on right). Her bib was a gift of Denise Roberts Hurlin who runs the Fire Island Dance festival. They made a special bib for Coco which says "my first dance festival". One the other side is a tuxedo shirt...so cute!



We have been spending quite a bit of time this summer on Fire Island. Coco has become good friends with Aiden (right), the son of Robbie Regina and Gene Kagan. They play quite a bit and are super cute together.









Patricia Moreno and Kellen Mori stopped by in Fire Island and gave Coco the toy she is holding. Patricia is due in early September. They are expecting a little girl and have named her Olivia. Coco is eagerly awaiting the arrival of Oliva!











Granny Self came to stay with us in Fire Island for the Christening. Coco has found her voice and loves to sing and chirp. Granny Self and Coco love to sing to each other. I captured one of their chirping sessions on the pic to the right.

Interview in Rye Patch

Victor was interviewed recently for an article on the gays in Westchester.

http://rye.patch.com/articles/an-invisible-community-in-plain-sight-2

Coco's Christening on the Beach

On July 25th we Christened Coco on the Beach in Fire Island Pines. The ceremony was conducted by Rev. Bill Warner-Prouty, the minister who presided over Chris' confirmation at the First Church in Windsor almost 30 years ago. Mike Fraley and Jennifer Lincks were asked to be the godparents. There were almost 100 guests in attendance. We had a brunch to celebrate at Whyte Hall after the ceremony.


Nephew Ben with his cousin Coco.














We cut some bamboo out of the yard to give ourselves some shade. The weather was a little hot, but otherwise perfect!








Bill Warner-Prouty with little Coco. She managed to get through the entire service without melting down despite the heat and sun.








Nephew Ben retrieved the water from the Ocean and Neice Becca held on to the chalice. Bill's wife Sue made the chalice with her own hands.






Coco's dress was picked out by our friend Jeffrey during a trip to Paris. In the spirit of the Congregationist Church, which encourages it's members to understand other religions, we named Jeffrey Kalinsky and Robin Arnold as Coco's Jewish Godparents to make sure she understands other traditions and religions.

Coco Rolls Over!!

Coco rolled over for the first time a couple of weeks ago, then did not do it very often thereafter. She now has it down and rolls very frequently. We think all the exercise is making her a little trimmer. She doesn't seem a chunky as she was a few weeks ago. Hopefully she will be able to keep the weight on as she gets more and more active.

June Pics

"I'm ready for the beach Poppy!









Auntie Mechelle gets leave from the military to visit her neice and celebrate Victor's 40th!







Grand ol'time with cousins.











"I got all dressed up in this pretty dress for Daddy's birthday, but I got hot and it was loud, so I got a little cranky and went to bed"

I love it when Daddy gives me a big hug.