Unique Holiday Gifts

Do not try this at home.

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas

Theodore and family celebrated his first Christmas this year, and it was a blast!

Someone knows that Santa made a visit.

Bubbles! My new favorite!

I guess instead of a real car this one will have to do (for now)

Amanda got the Kathy Griffin book!

Matt enjoys his gifts over a tasty eggnog.

Fancy tights!

For the rest of the Christmas shots, including our visit to the Guarino's, check out the full album.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

The holiday season continues, and we're so excited to celebrate our first Christmas with young Theo. We got a little tree, and thanks to Mom, we have hung our stockings in Brooklyn in anticipation of a visit from Santa.

Following the Plattsmier family tradition, we each opened one gift tonight, Christmas Eve. Enjoy some pics, and Happy Holidays, everyone out there!

Theodore got his first ornament, an engraved silver bell.

Matt received a can of tomatoes, which is a very long story he'd be glad to share with you.

Amanda received a bona fide certificate entitling her to Matt's infamous chili, which has been threatened but never materialized in the 4 years we have been together. Hopefully we won't have to end up in small claims court over it.

Hanukkah with Luvie & Grandpa

Theo spent some Hanukkah quality time at Luvie & Grandpa's this season.

Lookin' good!

Mind meld

Enjoy yourself 'Manda!

And for fun, Luvie gave Theo his first taste of applesauce! Let's see how he likes it:

Cousins

Happy Hanukah!

Come Light the Menorah!

The first night of Hanukah

Check out my dance moves in my fresh new furry moccasins!

Theodore is 6 months old!

As a big 6 monther, Theo is starting to try out some solid foods for the first time. Luckily Uncle Dave was in from Texas and got in on the action. The reception of the foods has been lukewarm so far, but we're sure he'll find something to like sooner or later.

Trying out a bib

David and Goliath - only in this case, David IS Goliath

Finally some got in!

A whole lot to be thankful for...

We are so blessed this year. It wasn't difficult to come up with what to be thankful for at this year's Thanksgiving table. A happy, healthy, wonderful little baby has to be one of the greatest gifts you can ask for.

In addition to having Plattsmiers in from Texas, lots of delicious food, and family time with the Gonsky-Plattsmier crew (see pictures here), we had another eventful occasion to celebrate - Theodore started crawling! His Grammy figured out that bare knees helped him get the traction he needed to get on the move. Check it out!

Moves

Theodore's First Halloween : The Strongman

This was Theo's first ever Halloween, and as you could have guessed, Amanda went for it on his costume. In Theo's first few weeks we loved to admire the baby rolls on his arms and legs, joking they looked like giant muscles.

It was then that we realized a circus strongman would be a great costume for the youngster. This image became our inspiration:

[Our Inspiration]

Amanda found the right material for the suit and broke out the needle and thread. For the dumbbell I took a baby rattle and covered in black electrical tape (natch). And here, ladies and gentlemen, we present to you Theodore the Strongman:

[Theo the Strongman]

We couldn't have been more pleased!

One side note though, after seeing the following photo which shows Amanda's handywork with Theo's moustache, we couldn't help but see the resemblance to a certain eccentric painter. What do you think?

Pre-crawl

Theo is about four and a half months old now, but apparently he can't wait to start getting on the move! It looks like it's going to be any day now.

First Lover's Spat

Theodore and Oona O'Driscoll got into fisticuffs while Daddy Trevor refereed. Nice parenting, Trevor!

Somebody Needs A Shave!

We knew he was growing up quickly, but this is ridiculous!

Santa Chibs is coming to town!

Time to Get Bundled Up!

It's getting cooler, and little Teddy needs to keep cozy. Check it out!

And a little bonus one that's just plain cute.

Theo's room on Project Nursery!

Amanda & I really enjoyed the process of designing Theodore's nursery. It was a challenge to make such a small space comfortably hold all the items we'd need while also being aesthetically pleasing and in keeping with the design sense of the rest of our apartment.

Through planning his room Amanda found all these great baby design blogs that helped direct us in our decision making. So once we were done we decided to submit photos of Theo's room, and it was picked up by Project Nursery!

Check their profile of Theo's nursery, featuring some of these choice photos below.



And here are a few extra detail shots of some of our favorite features of the room that were not included, including the wild Jonathan Adler light fixture.

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Thanks to Molly for the beautiful mobile and to Melissa for the lovely and unique Japanese kokeshi. And of course, our thanks to Moomer again for creating the incredible crib bedding that is such a focal point of the room.

Forever in Blue Jeans

Life's a Beach

Check out a video of the whole gang spending a chilly afternoon at the beach in the Hamptons.

Family Fun

Young Theo's adventures outside Brooklyn continue! We spent a wonderful weekend with Aunt Sis, Uncle Dr. Ascot, and cousins Shiloh and Tallulah in East Hampton. Below are a few highlights. Please feel free to view the whole album here.

Theo looking smashing in his awesome cowboy jammies

(courtesy of Reverend Molly)

Stop! Jammie time!

Aunt Sis getting some jolly grins from her nephew

T and Shi getting chased by the surf

Holy Roller!

Look at me folks - I can roll over! Next stop: crawling!

Let's laugh

We went to Storm King yesterday for a little sculpture & nature. However, Theo seemed to enjoy singing and laughing in the car more than anything.



One tech note: Some folks have been unable to see the videos we've uploaded to Vimeo, so we're switching to YouTube. You can check our page to see some of the ones you may have missed.

The Afterbath

What is it about babies after their bath? They are so irresistible!

A Visit to the Hamptons

We visited the grandparents and had a beautiful weekend in East Hampton. Bright sunshine, clean air, and lobster rolls - who could ask for more? Thanks, Luvie and Grandpa, for a great visit!

The eponymous specialty - yum!!

Theo Loves the Hamptons - a series

Some pics at the house

And the finale - Theodore meets his first celebrity!

Lidia Bastianich imparts wisdom about Italian cooking.