Papa's Traditions...

Baby's First Ornament from Papa! The tradition continues...

Back when Michael and I first met, he began a Christmas tradition. Ever since that first Christmas he has brought me home an ornament for our tree. Every year I wait to see what he has chosen for me. The ornament always has special meaning and it is my favorite yearly gift! This year he brought me my ornament (which was an adorable mama bear reading to a baby bear) but he also extended the tradition to his son. I was brought to tears when he gave Baby Michael his first ornament, a Classic Pooh Baby's First Christmas! It is so adorable and absolutely PERFECT. Thank you Michael, for being such a loving, romantic, thoughtful husband and Papa. Baby Michael and I are so blessed!

Working together...

Please excuse mama's homeless look! We love the weekends here in our little home. It means precious time together doing simple things like cooking and laundry. Here Mama and son are working together on folding clothes. Baby Michael struggled a bit since his fine motor skills are pretty limited, but he did a great job keeping the clothes warm under his bottom!

Snuggles from Papa make baby happy!

How did we get so blessed with all this love in our home?...

Squeeky Clean!

Baby Michael is still a great fan of bath time. We would sometimes give him two baths a day when he was sick, just to calm him and give him something to enjoy. Here he is just a few days ago showing off his rolls as mama bathes him. He is almost too big for the sink bath, but not quite ready for a seat in the bathtub upstairs. So in the meantime we are enjoying not breaking our backs leaning over the big bathtub and tolerating the water park he creates with all of his kicking! This is a special family time for the three of us!

One of his favorite parts of bath time is trying to catch the water as it pours down! We love to watch his wonder as he reaches out to touch the stream and feel the water run through his fingers!

little Michael decides to leave an early X-mas present for Mama.
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It's Winter!

Baby Michael went to his first December Nights!! It was finally cold enough to put him in his bear suit! So we cozied him on up and went to see San Diego kick off the season of giving! Once we found parking we got to see all the pretty lights, listen to the loud music, and smell the good food. We met up with friends for a while and soon all decided that next year we are going to do December Afternoon instead!

I don't know who is less impressed, baby or daddy?

Mama's little bear cub!

My First Day at Daycare!

Oh, what a day!

Mama smiled for the camera, but boy was she shaken' in her boots! Yep, she was getting ready to leave her baby at school for the first time! It was time to return to work, so Baby Michael spent his first day at Childtime where his Nana Deanne is director. We were lucky to have our first daycare experience be with Nana! With bottles packed, diapers, blankets, paci, and of course baby Michael's favorite fish, the life of two working parents began. Soon baby Michael will begin St. Andrews nursery, but for a couple of weeks he spent his days with Nana and was initiated into the world of child care. Other than a hunger strike and his first cold, all went smoothly!

Papa is showing baby Michael the nursery where he is going to spend his day. You can't see from the picture, but some toddlers are visiting the baby room and waving up at Michael. He seems a little skeptical!

Here is Baby Michael with his nana! He ended up spending most of his days in her loving arms. It's great to have your grandma be the head hancho!! Baby Michael learned early, it's all about who you know!

Let's catch up...

Happy Thanksgiving

We have so much to be thankful for this year! Like...

The Love between a Papa and his son....

The Love of family and friends...

and a mama's arms! (and baby Michael's favorite fish!)
These pictures were taken the night before Thanksgiving at Uncle Dave and Aunt Daniele's Thanksgiving soup night. Unfortunately, Thanksgiving day did not yeild many pictures, as Baby Michael had a blowout in his Thanksging outfit! Better luck next year!

Rolls anyone?
As you can see, our little boy has gained some poundage!! It's hard to believe you can get this rolly polly with just breast milk, but that's the case! As you can guess, baby Michael has not skipped a feeding! We love seeing him in the buff, he is round, huggable, and healthy!



"How YOU doin'?" Baby Michael feels his Italian roots. Fuhget-a-boudit!



Happy Halloween!!

Baby Michael had his first Halloween! We did lots of fun things in October. Including, going to a pumpkin patch with Nana and Grandpa Romero. As for Halloween night, well, we were working hard to get Baby Michael on a sleep schedule. So Halloween night was more like Halloween evening! We spent some time with Baby Michael's cousins who were also adorable in their costumes. But it was a little too late and too cold to hit up the neighborhood for candy. So we just showed off our little cowboy outfit to the family. Nana was inspired and added a bandanna and vest to the ensemble!


Here we are at Victoria's Garden looking for a pumpkin. It was about 90 degrees and we were burning up. So much for the fall experience!! We found out when we arrived that most of the animals and features of the patch had been shut down and many of the pumpkins were already picked. But we still enjoyed the experience and decided a Vons pumpkin would do us just fine! It was a great day to spend with Nana and Grandpa Romero. We saw Llamas, walked through a corstock maze, and took lots of fun pictures. Family outings are Baby Michael's favorite activities!

Our pumpkin! Here he is in his golf pants and Halloween bib. The chair was a little scratchy but he was a trooper.

I'm 3 months old!!

That's right, Baby Michael is three months old!! He is growing fast and doing new things every day! He loves to stand now and often refuses to bend in half when we try to sit him down. He is getting bigger (especially his tummy!) and recently weighed in at 13 lbs 5 ounces. His hair is growing and beginning to flip up like little feathers on his head. His favorite activities are taking a walk in the sling, sitting in his bouncer, and relaxing with his daddy. He also is becoming very fond of the TV, so Mike and I have had to turn it off so that he can't watch it.

The pics above are sweet smiles he flashes when he wakes up from a good nap. These are some of my favorite moments with him! What a handsome little guy!

Just as she did for 9 months, Momma continues to carry her heart, hopes and dreams just above the belt line. This may be just an evening stroll with her son, but for him, it is an exploration of an unfamiliar world made pleasant by the warm touch of familiar skin. As baby explores the smell of fall wind and the sounds of a slightly suburban neighborhood, his mother keeps a vigilant eye on him at all times. Having explored this new world many years ago, Amanda has taken on the role of Momma and shows true perfection through her motherly instinct. The simple act of putting a cap on baby serves multiple loving intentions and as the thoughts of a runny nose and bright sunrays run through her head, he just sits content, wondering what that warm feeling is.
These little things are what make my wife a great mother and me so proud.

Lets go padres, Lets go!!

Can you believe this is our first family photo since delivery day? It seems one of us is always behind the camera. Here we are.. The Romeros 5 before a Padre game. Well, Baby Michael didn't get to go, he stayed home with his Nana Deanne and Grandpa Mike. But we dressed him in a baseball outfit so he could cheer from home! Michael and I know we look a little tired, but we still manged to have a great time at the game. Padres lost...of course! But the hot dog and beer softened the loss!

Papa Time!

Here is Baby Michael feeling his first raindrops! Papa walked him around in the sprinkling rain to introduce him to fall weather! He was a little unsure of the speckles on his arms and face. It's moments like these that we love so much...experiencing new things with our little man!
We are all thankful that the temperature has dropped (and we are hoping the electric bill will as well!) and that fall is in the air. There is even the faint scent of burning fireplaces in the neighborhoods around our area. It's time to take out the holiday decor!


Baby Michael loves spending time with his papa! They love to sit and relax together. Baby Michael also loves his hands! He is in awe of his fingers and thinks they are delicious! Here is a snapshot of my two favorite men having some lazy time on the couch.

YeeeHawww!

Howdy Partners!


We are trying to decide what Baby Michael will be for Halloween and we are considering making him a cowboy! Here he is sporting his sheriff cowboy hat and a killer grin! We are so excited to put hats on him now that they fit him better! He tolerates having them on and doesn't seem to mind. We are going to take advantage of this time, because we know he will soon be able to reach up and pull them off. Also, notice the double chin! Fabulous!!

Our Little Pooh Bear

"Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh, Chubby little cub all stuffed with fluff, it's Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh, Silly willy nilly old bear!"
As you can see, our pooh bear is getting round! We hear a grumbly in his tumbly many times a day...and night! We love his rolls and tummy! He is nice and healthy and fun to tickle and kiss!!!

Don't forget about me!!!

We thought we should honor Chloe since she has taken the back seat since baby Michael arrived! She has been a super dog, only barking when people knock on the door. This sometimes wakes the baby, but we try and be understanding that she is just doing her doggie job!! She sleeps around the house, sometimes facing the swing while baby Michael is in it. She wakes up and she will pop her head up when she hears him stir in his pack and play or cry. Overall, she has been a trooper.

We are sad to say that we had to get rid of her buddy, Sophie cat. But we are pleased to say that we found her a good home! We miss her greatly, but know she was meant to be with her new family!

Getting Big...

Baby Michael is getting big and is anxious to look around! If only he could sit up already!! Here he is in his Bumbo chair trying to sit up like a big boy. We are anxious for him to sit up also, since this skill will likely grant us a few more minutes to get things done around the house.

As you can see, he is getting used to the camera and is quickly learning to pose for a photo. What a ham!

Mama's little helper...

Mama really needed my help cleaning the other day. I really didn't want her to put me down for one second! So she put me to work. I'm becoming a big help now that I am grasping objects! Here I am helping her put the dishes away. She feels like she didn't get a lot done, but I think she did! We are working on how to accomplish things together! We make a great team!!

Tia time!

My beautiful Tia Andrea spent some time giving me hugs and kisses!! I'm looking forward to when she takes me to the zoo and spoils me! I promise I'll behave tia! And I promise you we will have lots of fun together! Love you!

Too Funny!!

Baby Michael has really developed a great smile! He loves to smile at Mama and Papa, and sometimes strangers too! He has actually chuckled a few times also. Here he is sitting on the couch while his personal jesters (Mike and I) stand on their heads to entertain him during his fussy hour. It's times like these that we just can't stop taking pictures! This is certainly one of my favorites!!

I'm 2 months old!!!

It's hard to believe baby Michael has been with us for two whole months!! It seems like just yesterday we were wondering what this little guy would look like and what it would be like to be parents. Now we know how wonderful it is to be able to actually hold in our arms the love we have for each other. Now our hearts exist in this amazing creature and we are blessed to be chosen to be his mama and papa. Thank you God. We love you our little man!

Visalia or bust...

Baby Michael flashes the peace sign as he poses with Great Grandma Katie and Grandpa Trino!

So engaged!! Baby Michael loves his Great Grandpa who advised him to only allow people to call him Michael...not Mike or Mikey!

A loving gaze for Great Grandma Katie!

Baby Michael takes a photo with all of his cousins and Great Grandpa Trino. What a special day!


Yes...we did it...We drove to Visalia!! It was an interesting trip (to be read with a thoughtful tone..) We embarked upon our drive at noon on a Friday and prayed that our little one would tolerate the trip. Can I just say...WHAT A TROOPER!! He slept most of the time and took the bottle like a champ! I sat in the back with him (because I'm a neurotic mom) and pumped his lunch with perfect timing. We had a little traffic hiccup near Magic Mountain, but survived and didn't hear a peep from him until we turned on to grandma and grandpa's street!

Everyone was excited to see him! He was the center of attention and it was wonderful to watch!! The best part was that Baby Michael got to meet his Great Grandparents. What an amazing moment! How blessed we are! And our little guy hammed it up with smiles and cooing for all to adore! We watched like proud parents and captured the precious moments with a million photos! Now we can't wait for Christmas, when we will travel again to see our wonderful family!

One of my favorite things...

Momma and Papa were worried Baby Michael would not enjoy his baths. The sponge baths of the early days were not a big hit! The screaming, the shivering, the pure agony!! Momma was ready to let her baby be a hippy and skip the baths all together!! But then the belly button and the ;) healed. Now we are on to the good stuff and Baby Michael is loving it! it is truly one of his favorite things. And since a nice warm bath helps him sleep longer, it is now one of momma and papa's favorite things!

We have learned that keeping an extra warm wash cloth on his belly keeps him warm while momma perseverates on cleaning all the nooks and crannies. Can't wait too long though or Baby Michael might add a little "water" of his own to the bath tub! All in all, bath time has become a special bonding time for our little family! (Maple leaf added for modesty...original photo to be revealed to Baby Michael's future love interest in approximately 30 years!)

Model Baby...

Baby Michael loves to sleep with his hands up by his head. Papa had fun adding a little humor to a recent picture. Though we know we are biased, we feel baby Michael would make a great model for advertising! We will make this the first of many for his portfolio.

Welcome Baby!

Baby Michael spends time with Tia Kim!
Tia Stephanie would like to take Baby Michael home with her!
Joshuah has lots to teach his new baby cousin!
With Grandma Martha...
With Nana Deanne...
With Grandpa Michael...
With Grandpa Frank...


Baby Michael was welcomed with so much love. Here are a few pics with our wonderful family!