THE POLAR EXPRESS

My husband and I took Sal for his first ever (and ours) Polar Express experience. The only word I can use to explain it is MAGICAL. To begin with, we arrived about 10 minutes before the train was set to depart (oops). Upon arrival, we were quickly directed where to park and went straight to the tent to pick up our tickets. The "conductor" started shouting over the loudspeaker about boarding, and I started to panic. Luckily, the nice man behind the counter reassured me that I was fine and wouldn't miss the train.  I simply gave my name and received our three golden tickets and a bag containing three Polar Express mugs.

Here I am thinking everything is great until I see the giant tears rolling down Sal's face. Que guilty mom. We quickly boarded the train and found my brother in law, sister in law (and her mom), niece, and nephew. Sal was clinging pretty tight but no more tears. We got ourselves settled and the magic began. The staff was very friendly and genuinely seemed to enjoy what they were doing. As a parent, I really can't put into words what it was like to watch my baby's face throughout this experience. He just had this look of wonder on his face. He kept staring all around as he took it all in. I had to hold back tears a few times, but, when Santa came out, it was almost impossible. This was an experience that I look forward to doing again.

As soon as we got home I took an extra clear ornament that I am currently using to make the favors for Sal's first birthday party and put all three of our golden tickets inside. We also hung the three bells from Santa's sleigh on the tree. I figured that if I didn't do it as soon as we got home those tickets would have ended up in a drawer.

If you are on the fence about buying tickets to the Polar Express, I suggest that you go. :)

MASTERING SOLIDS, CRAWLING, STANDING OH MY!

Oh boy, it has been a while! I have been super busy with my sweet little baby. Sal is almost a year old (HOW DID THIS HAPPEN) and keeping me on my toes!

MASTERING SOLIDS 

In my last post, FIRST FAMILY VACATION, I talked about Sal's 6 month check up and the goals set by his doctor. Just to recap, our pediatrician wanted Sal to be on all table food with no blending and 24 oz or less of formula a day. I was nervous but SUPER excited to begin. In the beginning, it was slow because only one new food could be introduced every 2-3 days to make sure there were no allergies. Luckily, my son has not shown any reactions to food (knock on wood). Sal was no longer eating blended food by the time he was about 7 1/2 months. Even baby cereal was kicked to the curb after our family vacation.

Now, fast forward a few months, and my sweet baby is about to turn a year old on the 28th. He eats really well and does so with NO teeth. That's right, not even one little tooth yet. However, he is still able to eat turkey meatballs, pasta, grilled cheese, eggs, bread with yogurt, peanut butter sandwiches, fruit with the skin, cheerios (or in our house, they're Joe O's from Trader Joe's), green veggies, and more. Tonight, Sal had the same exact dinner as me and my husband: penne pasta with asparagus and mushrooms in a garlic parmesan lite cream sauce. Granted, I had to sprinkle some cheerios and puffs on his tray, but, none the less, Sal enjoyed the same dinner as us.

CRAWLING & STANDING
Crawling probably started right before we went on our first family vacation and has not stopped. Sal is all over the place! We invested in an enclosed gate to keep him in one place to avoid any boo-boos. He is all over the place. The gate has been really helpful when it comes to standing. Sal will pull himself up to see what's going on and will walk along the perimeter. We are working on taking steps...
He will take some steps holding our hands but isn't ready to let go just yet.