Mommy Mommy, You're the One. You Make Bath Time So Much Fun.

The joys of an 8 week old

Mateo is 8 weeks old today. The week or so has been rough on us, as he moves into a new developmental stage. Despite his frequent fussiness, there have been many moments of adorable smiley faces. Here are a few of those moments (These have been hard to capture on film, since he often stops smiling when we point the camera at him. Also, since we don't use the flash, in an effort protect his sensitive eyes, we need him to be very still to get a good shot.)


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Baby Shower, Take Two

Since Mateo was so impatient to be born (or actually Mommy's body was impatient), his second baby shower had to be rescheduled since it was during post-partum recovery time. So, at 6 weeks old, Mateo got to attend the baby shower thrown by Anita's school chums who were all delighted to meet the little fellow. We had delicious food, played "match the baby picture to the adult person" and decorated clothes for Mateo. Of course, everyone took turns holding the guest of honor, too! Big Thanks to Jessica & Lucretia for hosting and organizing the party. Here are some pictures from the event:

Jessica, Lucretia, Laura & Sarah Enjoying Themselves

Tamra & Liz Sipping Tea

Soson Admiring the New Baby with Julie in the Background

Erin & Tammy Happy As Clams on Jessica's Hammock

When Mateo got sleepy, Tammy offered to rock him to sleep.


What Success!

Why It's All Worth It

Days spent covered in spit-up from a baby who refuses to be put down for more than 10 minutes and hates naps. Nights spent sleeping in two hour stints while sitting up so the baby won't choke on the spit-up coming out of his mouth and nose. In the middle of the night I blearily bend over to pick up Mateo and in the dim light I am greeted with a pair of bright eyes and a big grin. I sure love this baby.

A Few More Mateo Photos

Mateo has been quite a handful lately, and so we haven't much of a chance to post new photos of him, let alone take many new photos. In the mean time, so as not to disappoint those of you regularly check our site in hopes of seeing some cute new Mateo pics to brighten your day, here are a few to add that smile to your face.

Enjoying himself on Daddy's lap.

Our chubby little 7-week-old is always a happy camper after his bath (although not nearly as happy as he is during the bath itself -- he loves the water!). The strategic placement of the washcloth is not for modesty purposes, but rather to prevent us getting sprayed in the face by his "live cannon", which loves to go off when he's naked, especially after baths.


Loving his soft new outfit.

Welcome, Maya Mae!

Mateo's newest friend has made her awaited debut!
MAYA MAE DARCY was born on Friday October 19th, weighing in at 8lbs 11oz.

Mateo and Maya were due only two weeks apart, but it appears they didn't want to have to share birthday parties, so Mateo came early and Maya came late and now they are nearly 7 weeks apart! We were lucky enough to go meet her on Sunday evening, and see her parents Jim & Casey and Grandma Susie. She is SO adorable with beautiful chubby cheeks. Maya even has a website: mayadarcy.com
Unfortunately, Mateo was a little crabby, and could not be consoled so we had to skeddadle early... perhaps he didn't like us giving away his newborn sized pajamas. In any case, we think he will learn to share and the two of them will be fast friends!

Get Your Daily Dose of Cuteness

A little while back, we posted a survey asking whether people primarily visited our blog for the pictures or the articles. Pictures won out overwhelmingly (well, at least among the 4 of you who voted), so here you have it. A picture is worth a thousand words. Video clips are always fun, too.

5 weeks old

We've been fairly busy lately, and haven't had the chance to post anything for a week, so here are some new photos of our adorable little 5 week old.

In the last few days, Mateo has definitely been smiling at us. Whereas in the past, he produced brief hints of smile-like facial expressions that were questionably related to his emotional state, now it's pretty clear that he smiles when he's happy -- for example when Anita rubs his belly during his "naked baby time". This photo doesn't quite capture his full smile, which includes dimples, but hopefully we'll get one soon that does.

Mateo loves staring at faces, especially that of his beautiful mother (who always hooks him up with the good stuff).

We started trying out the mechanical swing chair this week. It's been hit or miss, so the verdict is still out on whether he's a swinger.

This weekend, Mateo was very lucky, since he got to meet his Granddad (Fonz - Anita's dad), Nana (Sherry - Anita's stepmom), as well as two of his Uncles (Jacob and Samuel - Anita's stepbrothers). They drove all the way from Phoenix (13+ hours each way) just to spend a day with Mateo and bring him lots of great gifts. This baby will certainly be spoiled by all 6 of his grandparents, not to mention his 7 great grandparents and one great great grandmother. Unfortunately, it was a particularly fussy day for Mateo, complete with an eye infection, but they loved him all the same, and Sherry taught us her expert baby comforting tricks (she raised 5 boys of her own). We're happy to report that his eye has cleared up, and his tummy troubles seem to be a bit better.

One Month Old

Today is Mateo's one-month birthday! We started the day off with a trip to the doctor's office for Mateo's one-month checkup. He's doing great overall, but the pediatrician confirmed that he has a bit of reflux and a small umbilical hernia (both of which are very common in infants and generally resolve on their own over time). He's definitely growing well -- he now weighs in at 9 lbs. Since our appointment took us to the Inner Richmond neighborhood, we decided to grab lunch at our favorite restaurant, Burma Superstar. It was our first time out to eat since Mateo's birth, and we enjoyed it thoroughly. Then we drove to Ocean Beach and took Mateo for a long walk along the shore. It was his first time to the beach, and he seemed to like the soothing sounds of the waves, judging by the fact that he slept the whole time we were there. This evening, Anita's boss Carlina came by to bring us dinner, which was delicious and fun.

Baby and mom each enjoying their drink of choice.

Jesse wearing Mateo on the beach

Baby Massage

The Zamora-Rissman house is like a spa. Every day Anita lays out a soft quilt, takes out the baby massage oil, and gives Mateo the royal treatment.