Six Little Peeps

Every month we take pictures of Beckham, but this month was a little different. I had to get creative for his milestone birthday - 6 months!

Paige gave me these stickers with a different number on each one (0-12). You put it on a white onesie and take a picture each month to document the baby's growth. In another post, I'll show a picture from each month so you can see just how much Beckham has changed.

With the help of some of my Facebook friends, this proved to be the most interesting photo shoot yet! Since it's so close to Easter, we bought six chocolate Easter bunnies and six Peeps to use as a photo prop. Justin and I should have known where they were headed... straight to Beckham's mouth! For a kid who's only had breastmilk and cereal, I'm sure chewing on a marshmallow is a big no-no. Oh well, I'm a first-time Mom!

Aside from his hilarious expressions, I am so impressed at how well Beckham sat up all on his own! That was definitely a first.

It's Shark Week

This is what Beckham is dealing with today as it looks like the first of many pearly whites are coming in.

Make no mistake, the cries of a little boy, the gnawing on plastic, it can only mean one thing... Shark Week in The View.

One Last Post from Daddy

The week has flown by, and my platform to wax poetic about my boy is going away... so with one last bated breath, I leave you with an ode to cousins

Happy Birthday Papi

Beckham made a special video for his Papi (Raquel's father, in case you were wondering).

The Briefest of Evenings

This is how I spent my evening with my son.

Beckham decided he was 12 and didn't nap all day. So when I came home, expecting a son filled with wonderment to engage and play with, Becks fell asleep while drinking his bottle. Not just dreary-eyed asleep for a second, but like I could have tossed him into the crib from the family room and he wouldn't wake up asleep.

I spent the bulk of my day thinking about how I wanted to spend my time with my son, what I wanted to do with him before mommy returns home and I become irrelevant... and 15 minutes into my glorious litany of activities, I find myself alone with the monitor.

Such is fatherhood...

Tuesdays Gone with the Wind

Tuesday is the day Beckham spends with GiGi. It's one of the greatest blessings to have family around for Becks to spend time with, but for some reason today was particularly difficult to say goodbye to him and go to work.

He was so happy in the car entertaining me with his noises (usually around 30 minutes or so into our trip he's ready to get out of his car seat... and since Riverview is an hour away from everything, its just the way our car experience goes). He gave Gigi besos (kisses) as soon as he saw her and was content as can be while we got his breakfast ready.

I found myself thinking about just how big and grown up he is - how much he has changed in 5 months. It was like a scene from a cheesy TV show, and I just wanted to spend the day watching the Bubbacito.

I finally got to play with him later in the evening. I am determined to make "dada" Becks' first word, so we practiced for most of the evening. He just smiles and coos but I know he's getting it. It's just good to watch him react to me in distinct ways - like he knows mommy still rules, but there are some special things just for dad! Like this picture...

Becks eating dinner last night... he looked at me half way through like "you're not Mom?!?!".

Hostile Take-Over

This week Raquel is in Chicago for work training... so the Pullaro blog will be updated by me, the Father (at the instruction of her work partner, Jordan... who better leave a comment so I know she read this).

To be honest, I was the one pushing for a blog all along. In the process of setting this up Raquel informed me that I was not allowed to contribute because she thought it was 'flakey' for dads to obsessively blog.

Well guess what - it's time for Gator Tales to get an injection of TESTOSTERONE!

Check back daily, as I will show the world how awesome Daddy-bloggin' can be.

Boy Meets Food

It was a big day for Beckham - he ate something other than breastmilk! After much contemplation, I started him on cereal. The pediatrician suggested I wait until 5-6 months because he was growing well and getting all his nutrients from breastmilk. But in the last week, it seemed as though he was ready for more. He was hungrier during the day, waking up early from naps and occasionally at 5am instead of sleeping until 7am. I'm a little overwhelmed - I stayed up until after midnight reading my books and trying to figure out exactly how to do this and how to readjust his schedule. I went to bed thinking... "Maybe I should wait. It's so easy to just nurse him and not have to worry about anything else."

But deep down, I think I was really excited. I jumped out of bed when my alarm went off this morning (for those of you who know me well, I'm a snoozer and hate the mornings!). I decided last night that I would introduce the rice cereal at his first feeding. I was determined to have a successful day and in order for my new "schedule" to work, we had to start at 7am! Beckham, however, was still sleeping. I love to watch him when he hears my voice and sees me in the morning or after a nap. He gets the biggest toothless smile and it just melts my heart! I sing him the same song every day and I think he's starting to recognize it. I made it up to the tune of Frere Jacques.

It goes something like this:

Buenos dias, buenos dias
Beckham Cruz, Beckham Cruz
Como maneciste, como maneciste
Es sabado, es sabado (or whatever day it is!)

So after lots of hugs and kisses, a diaper change and saying good morning to Daddy in bed, Beckham nursed. And then... he ate! His dad says it's time to start loving food... and by some of the faces Beckham made, it may take a while!

Here are some of the highlights from our first Saturday breakfast with Beckham!