Happy 4th of July!

First time on the bike for Leon.  I was nervous at first but as soon as we got going I felt more and more comfortable.  Extra cautious though- the entire time.  Life as a mom has definitely turned me into someone who drives a little slower than I used to.  My little ones safety is the top priority.

Attended a block party in Studio City right by the CBS lot.  Wish we could have stayed longer.  

Thanks Dave for inviting us in your neighborhood!  We had lots of fun.

on the move soon

He is just so eager to get moving and so much fun to watch....

Scooting! from Anna Cherubini on Vimeo.

Lovin new books

Leon received the sweetest learning gifts from the Toolan's... Thank you so much Trish, Brian and Ava.

Among the three books we got he especially loved "Tails" and kept fiddling with the furry animal tails while I read the book to him.  I've been waiting for the moment when I could begin reading to him and I'm so happy the time has come.  He finally gives me just enough of his attention for us to go through one small book.

Halloween weekend

I love Saturday mornings. Chris is home and we have the whole weekend ahead of us.

Before having a baby Chris and I swore up and down that we won't let our house look like a playground. Obviously we didn't know exactly what we were heading into. A baby does take over the living room no matter how hard I try to keep baby items at a minimum. At the moment we have a large blanket right in the middle of the room for Leon, a jumperoo next to the couch and an exersaucer by the kitchen. Oh well. Anything to keep Leon entertained and whatever buys me some time to rush to the bathroom, get a snack or even check emails.

I was so sick over the weekend. The worst cold I've ever had. It's been going around town and I wasn't lucky enough to miss it. I blame the drastic weather changes. Rain, sunny like summer and then very chilly at night.

I noticed Leon was a bit under the weather too. In this picture we tried so hard to make him smile. What we got was a tight lip and very serious face. He humored us though. He wore the costume and sat by the pumpkin his pops carved without budging until we were done.

My two loves

Here is Lucy entertaining Leon. I normally use my Flip camcorder but this time all I could grab fast enough was my Iphone. Excuse the fuzzy picture quality. I'm so grateful I caught this ever so precious moment that I will play every time I need a dose of happiness.

Make sure your volume is on to hear the cutest baby giggles.

cute booty

Lucy does not care much for Leon. I can't blame her really. It used to be that Lucy was the center of my world. I treated her like a real baby. Not the four legged kind but the kind that got strolled around the mall in her very own pink stroller. Yes I did. I was once that lady pushing around a dog stroller. I love Lucy dearly and I still do but things definitely changed when Leon arrived. For one if Lucy is barking for a treat at the same time Leon is crying- my instinct is to soothe Leon first and then while he is in my arms we rush to the fridge to grab a carrot for Lucy.

Recently I've caught Lucy make major progress (picture as proof). It's quite hard to believe it has taken almost 7 months for my sweet princess Lucy to get used to the fact that the baby we brought home is not going to disappear.

Evelyn and Leon

It was wonderful having sweet 'lil Evelyn over today. She was such a darling. Apparently, Evelyn finds being in-motion very comforting- so much so that she prefers sleeping on her swing or bouncer. It amazes me how every baby is so unique.

Evelyn's awesome mom- Lisa. She's a mom of two and is so cool about parenting. I love her no nonsense very practical advice on caring for a newborn. It was such a treat to have friendly pretty faces over today on top of quite a delicious lunch.

Thanks a million Lisa!

p.s. Sorry Lucy snagged half of your sandwich.

I loved holding Evelyn in my arms! She is so sturdy and adorable.

Shot with my Hipstamatic for iPhone
Lens: John S
Film: Kodot Verichrome
Flash: Off

1 month old Leon

Our sweet 'lil boy is 1 month old today! Time truly passes so quickly. It seems like only yesterday when my greatest task was labor and his birth. The last four weeks have been enjoyable and exhausting at the same time. There is nothing like witnessing our son grow, become more alert and learn to recognize who we are in his life. On the other hand, Chris and I have never had to miss out on so much sleep as we do now. It's all an amazing experience and we are savoring every moment. Everyone says that babies grow up so fast and that we should relish this time and I totally believe it.

Baby pouch

I purchased this Baby Pouch from The Pump Station and even though I'm not a pro (yet) at wrapping it the right way- I think with enough practice Leon and I should be able to enjoy some hands free time while still being close together.

Leon seemed to like it- he was quiet the entire time and kept his head close to my heart.

I needed Chris' assistance this morning to test it and I highly recommend that new mom's ask for help before actually placing the baby in the sling.

Here's a video of the wrapping instructions:

Baby Pouch Wrapping Instructions from Baby Pouch on Vimeo.

A 3D photo of Leon taken 20 weeks into my pregnancy. I have not had any recent photos since as clear as this one. I'm now going on 37 weeks and am completely filled with mixed emotions. I can't wait to see his 'lil face, I wonder if he has a full head of hair and I would love to smell his scent. His movements are growing stronger everyday which reminds me that we get to meet our son very soon.

Cool Baby Mobile

The first time I saw this baby mobile was at my cousin's and I could not believe how entertained both her twins were. Each of the babies were in complete awe of this nifty but extremely simple baby mobile. It simply is genius.

It's called the Manhattan Toy Infant Stim-Mobile and it's available at Amazon for much less than the fancy rotating musical mobiles out there.

I literally took down a baby mobile that cost triple and replaced it with this one.

The trick is it features visual cards that directly face the baby when they are laying down. Each card has high contrast graphic images of bright colors and black & white. Along with it comes a wide array of other designs so that parent can replace the cards in case baby gets bored.

I hand made a baby mobile that now hangs above the changing table. To match the bird theme we have going on in the nursery, it originally had small birds dangling. Since the new mobile came with extra graphic cards, I cut off the birds and attached each of the graphic cards instead.

I'm very excited to see how Leon responds to it!

Leon's Nursery

Presenting... Leon's nursery!

Pre pregnancy I would have never thought that I would get so much pleasure from putting a baby nursery together. As the days went by and the closer I got to our due date it's as if a switched turned on and I was on get-the-nursery-ready mode.

I did my best to keep the decor as neutral as possible since I've never been too fond of blue. The main color is a light almost powdery green. One of our good friends commented that the room lacks super heroes and trucks but Chris and I have always been more of the artistic types rather than action adventure fans.

The framed art on the wall and the birds hovering are from www.etsy.com

Chris painted the birch trees on the accent wall behind the crib and both crib and co-sleeper we bought used from Craigslist. Slightly used and half the price- total winner!

Baby Shower for Leon

Chris and I figured it would be a while after we have Leon before we host a party so we went all out for our baby shower. We had about 60 guests, good friends and family celebrate with us on February 20, 2010 at our home. It was truly a lot of fun. We were all too busy mingling so no one was in charge of photography. Thanks to my sister Pia who took the liberty of shooting a video. Here it is....

Chris & Anna's Baby Shower from Anna Cherubini on Vimeo.

Thanks to everyone who made this day very special. My heart is so happy that Leon will be surrounded with such amazing people.