First Thanksgiving

C-Dub's first Thanksgiving was a success.  He got to bond with some family peeps, sleep in 4 days in a row, try a little cranberry sauce, get kissed many times, and model the latest in napkin headwear.  The Dubs is a trendsetter. All in all- I would call it a great holiday! 

Sitting at the big table is so fun:

Aunt Katie helping C-Dub pick his best color:

Talking about Jesus: 

These eyes melt my heart

A man on the move

The nugget is so close to crawling.  Rolling over is now child's play for this little man and he has his sights set on crawling.  He has all the pieces down- he just needs to get them going at the same time.  Here's a little video I shot the other night.

Tough love is working...a little

We have been "tough-loving" the nugget for a couple of weeks now when it comes to sleeping in the crib.  He got a little too spoiled sleeping in the bed, so it was a big adjustment going back to the old crib.  We've seem some late nights, tears, and tantrums- but I think we are rounding the corner.  **Knock on wood**

Here's the nugget showing off those sleeping-in-the-crib skills:

Please ignore the terrible picture quality- but I couldn't resist this shot.  There's nothing cuter than the way babies sleep with the little tush in the air!  I will say, I am proud that Christopher keeps it classy when sleeping, unlike some other people we know.

What a trooper

Christopher is a tough little dude!  He still wants to follow a career in law enforcement despite all of the terrible things he has experienced in his 6.5 months- a burglary, multiple Browns losses, the end of Entourage and repeatedly trying to go to Chick-Fil-A only to remember that it is closed on Sundays. 

Rocking his "new" Trooper shirt from Grandpa B:

I can't believe he used to be this small (look at those chicken legs):

The onesie shown above is now considered "hot".  If you see it- please call the Cleveland PD immediately- or call me and I will go regulate!

Chicken...it's what's for dinner

If you know anything about me, it's that I'm awesome I love chicken.  And apparently my son loves chicken too!!!  He recently added protein to his diet- and chicken is proving to be on the top of his list.  I couldn't be more proud.  Tonight we ventured to the delicacy known as chicken and rice. 

Shop till you drop

This weekend C-Dub was reunited with Lil' Mike.  Lil' Mike (and his peeps) came and stayed with us for the weekend.  The boys decided to spend the day Saturday cruising the mall for chicks.  While Christopher didn't find a babe to share a happy meal with, he did have a great time with his BFF.  And he even got to meet Santa Claus for the first time.  He was pretty indifferent to meeting such an important man.  But we did get some photos- to be shown at a later time. 

BFF Christmas Card??

Looking cool for the ladies:

 

We're thinking Michael is going to be the designated driver when these two get older:

Everybody jump jump

Jump up jump up and get down!  The nugget loves to jump.  And thanks to Ryan and Reese- he inherited this fun bouncy chair.  Besides his mom (obviously), this is Cee-Dub's 2nd favorite thing in life.  Ok- maybe I am exaggerating- he also loves turkey with sweet potatoes, trees, reality television and things he can chew on.  Oh- and his Daddy is pretty high on that list as well. 

Check out those argyle socks!

Each time I see that little smile, I realize more and more that I am never going to be able to discipline this child.  He will smile, and I will cave.  So I apologize in advance for having "that kid".  But back me up here, how cute is he?!?!

Dadada

The nugget's vocabulary has just added a new word "Dada"- or actually "Dadadadadada".  I like to think that he is saving the best for last in the dada/momma battle.

Rubber ducky, you're the one

C-Dub has a new favorite toy- his rubber ducky- whom he named Beyonce.  This is one of those neat little ducks that tells you when the bath water is too hot.  Christopher loves the toy; though ironically enough, he does not like to play with it in the bathtub.  When we bring Beyonce into the tub- he would rather play with his wash cloth.  But when Beyonce hits dry land- it is on.  He squeezes and chews that heck out of that girl!!

Comfortable enough in his masculinity to rock the pink/purple pacifier:

Looking so crazy right now, your loves got me looking so crazy right now (lyrics courtesy of Mrs. Jay Z):

Ok- so it was either the "love" making him look so crazy- or one of those infamous daycare happy hours. 

25, 26, and 27-week photos

Another day, another dollar.  Another week, another completely precious, adorable, stinking cute photo.

 

6 Month Stats

Christopher had his 6-month doctor visit on Friday.  He was once again batting those baby blues and getting a couple of nurse's phone numbers.  Now he just needs to get a phone.  Christmas gift anyone!?!?

He did a great job at the appointment and the doc said he is perfect.  I swear this lady loves to tell me things I already know.  His stats are as follows:

• Height:  2' 4.75" (73 cm) = 98th percentile
• Weight:  17 lbs 11.6 oz = 50th percentile
• Head circumference:  46.3 cm= 96 percentile

So nothing new there- this nugget is long and lean with a lot of brain power. 

This is a really fun age- because he has definitely developed his own personality.  And with this personality comes the cutest attempts at temper tantrums.  Here's the 411 on little dude:

Likes:

• All foods (even green beans!!!)- if I hadn't carried him- I wouldn't believe he was mine
• Moving around - we can't keep this man in one place- he kicks and rolls and scoots like a champ
• Yelling- the nugget found his voice and wants it to be heard
• Spitting- spitting and blowing bubbles is fun and classy
• Sitting up- it's a whole new view



• New chair that clips to the table- it's about time he got in on the dinner action

Dislikes:

• Being restrained- can't nobody hold him down- oh no- he's got to keep on moving
• Changing clothes- pants are ok- but don't mess with my shirts
• Public restrooms- too many people and too loud of noises for this guy
• Sleeping in a crib- but we are on day 4 of "tough love"- so hopefully this will soon move into the like column (or at the very least the indifferent column)

Friends don't let friends eat their toys

But BEST friends totally let BEST friends eat their toys.  C-Dub and Petey (aka Lil' Mike) were reunited on Saturday for a little liquid lunch.  They sat in their high chairs next to each other, and immediately wanted the other one's toy.  Lucky for us, both boys know that sharing is caring.  Either that, or they were too busy planning their own toy steal to care. 

On second thought, maybe C-Dub skipped the sharing episode of Barney:

Don't worry Michael- those scratches will heal in 5-7 days- just in time for our next meet-up!

Morning jam session

I woke up this morning to a little hand squeezing my nose.  Apparently Christopher was awake and wanted to play.  Perhaps he did not get the memo that 4:45am is NOT play time.  I even tried to tell him no- but I'm sure you can guess who won that battle.  The sun wasn't up, the Today Show wasn't even on yet- but we were playing.  And by the time we were ready to head off to school and work, we both needed a nap.  Unfortunately only one of us was able to take one.  Who knew that underneath my desk could be so cozy?? 

We whipped out a new toy for our before-the-crack-of-dawn play time.  We inherited this toy- and I am glad we did because the nugget had a ball!  We pushed buttons, looked at lights, smiled at ourselves in the mirror, and listened to some sweet jams, including "if you're happy and you know it clap your hands".  And clap our hands we did. 

Getting ready to beat up that beat:

Can you hear those sweet lyrics??  Head, shoulders, knees and toes...

The last song that we rocked out to was Happy Birthday.  And it was dedicated to this little guy (only he's not so little anymore):

Happy 4th Birthday Jack!!!

6 Months Old!!!

The Nugget turned 6 months old yesterday.  How is this happening?!?!  To all of you that called to wish Christopher a happy 1/2 birthday (aka. Daddy, Lil' Mike, Grandma B, and Ryan)- thank you for the calls.  You are all at the top of C-Dub's Christmas shopping list.  For the rest of you- you are all getting coal and will be lucky if Christopher talks to you/grunts in your direction next time he sees you. 

We had quite the elaborate half-birthday celebration.  C-Dub went to school, then came home and played on his new floor mat.  I have no idea how we can top that for his 1st birthday. 

While we didn't have any cake- we did have the next best thing: the bottom lip.

Drool on your shirt if you love your momma:

Raise your hand if you're cute:

These have been the best six months of my life and I can't wait to see how this little guy grows up.  But maybe we can slow it down a bit.  Either that- or C-Dub needs to promise me that he will never leave me and it will always be okay for me to kiss those cheeks.

Hitting the slopes

This will likely come as a huge shock to all of you, but it's been a bit chilly in the Cleve in the mornings.  And each morning is a sad reminder that 3 8 months of winter are around the corner.   Lucky for Christopher, he has the gear to get him through the cold weather.  This morning he requested his snowboarding gear and I just can't say no to that little man.  No seriously- I can't tell him no- why else does he sleep in our bed and keep me up all night???  He wears the pants in this house- but they are really stinking cute pants.

I dare you to tell me no:

Mom, don't forget the back:

Are you ready for some football?

We've been busy people over here in Casa de O'Neill.  It's not so easy juggling a career, being a wife and a mom- and cooking, cleaning, etc...  Ha- I couldn't even type that with a straight face- the cleaning may have pushed the envelope a litte bit.  But none of these should come in the way of sharing C-Dub's greatness with the world.  I apologize for the blogging break.

This Saturday, Daddy had a playoff football game.  Christopher and I are the team's #1 fans- so of course we went to cheer for "More Cowbell".  And it's a good thing we did- because I'm pretty sure we were the driving force behind the 48-6 beatdown that Daddy put on those guys (and one girl that he may or may not have taken to the ground)!! 

Showing Daddy how to intimidate the other team: