Damien Goes to Bethel Island

So, the day after Damien's fever spiked, with his fever way down, no other symptoms and the go ahead from a few doctors, we decided to take Damien to Bethel Island after all and keep a close eye on his fever. Well, not a great idea in the end. With all the commotion, it was hard for Damien to take a nap, so he's wasn't in the best of moods. He had some good moments and went to bed early and slept the whole night until the early morning. Unfortunately, his fever spiked way up the next morning, so we quickly packed up and took our sick little one home. Lessons learned. Many more to come for sure.

Don't worry, Momma didn't let Papa take D out on the paddle boat.

A few smiles.

It's like a giant sleep sac.

Now I really am a mini me.

Damien Gets Roseola =(

Well, the Craig's were all set to go to Bethel Island for Memorial Day weekend. Momma, had cooked and baked a ton of food, the car was packed, we were just waiting on little D to wake up from his long nap. Well, when he did, Momma noticed that he was burning up. So, we took the little guy's temperature and it was 102.7. Yikes. His first big fever. We grabbed the baby medical book, put a call in to D's doctor and called our friends to cancel. Poor little D was super sad, clingy and sleepy. He spent most of the day in Momma's arms. Damien's fever lasted for 3 days, and on the fourth day he broke out into a rash all over his chest and back. Well, that confirmed the diagnosis, he had Roseola. A viral infection that is pretty common in young babies, and pretty harmless. D took it like a champ!

A pair of sad pandas.

Our poor little guy running hot.

Starting to feel better, despite his illness, he still had some smiles.

The rash. Thankfully it did not bother him.

What rash? I'm still a happy monkey.

Damien Discovers His First Victoria Secret Catalog

So, after getting the mail one day and placing it on the coffee table, Damien, who likes to grab at anything within reach, grabbed Momma's Victoria Secret's Catalog. He was quite entertained with the magazine. He mostly liked to take it in one hand and rub it back and forth on the couch then switch to the other hand and rub back and forth, then grab at it and try to pull it apart. It was quite amusing. See for yourself.

Hmmm, what is this, very interesting, does not compute.

Oh gosh Mom, she's silly!

Is this funny? I am not amused.

Damien and Lucas Go to the Marina

One Monday afternoon, Damien was able to coordinate with his buddy Lucas to go for a nice stroll down at the Marina. The boys took nice long naps during the walk, and then awoke in time to have a little face to face playtime. It was pretty windy down at the Marina, and since it was pretty hot in Berkeley, the boys were a little under dressed. But they tolerated the wind for a little bit to squeal at each other. Everyone had a blast.

Hey, it's Lucas, I haven't seen you in a while buddy, my how you have grown!

Yeah, Damien I am practically all grown's up now.

Let me bless you my friend.

Damien Discovers Teething Biscuits

Well, with teeth coming in like crazy, Momma thought Damien was ready for teething biscuits. Boy was he. Not surprising, he LOVES them. At first he wasn't sure what to do with it, and started banging it on his tray, like he does with all of his toys, but when Momma put it in his mouth, he realized it was a yummy tasting treat. He went to town, making a colossal mess. A great new activity/snack.

Whoa, this is different.

Hmmm, it is hard, yet sweet.

Ohhhh, me likes it. If only I could get more in my mouth at once.

Mom, stop taking pictures, I am busy here.

Damien Shops Organic

Damien, being the hippie Berkeley baby that he is, eats homemade organic food most of the time (or Earth's Best organic baby food). So, on a rare Saturday when Momma and Papa had no plans, the Craig's walked all the way from their home to the downtown Berkeley Farmer's Market - approx 40 min walk each way. Damien has not loved his stroller for long periods of time, until this day! He was an angel and didn't complain until Momma and Papa were almost done shopping. So, Damien was released from his bondage and enjoyed some organic fresh apple cider and some swing action. He was a happy camper. Afterwards, it was naptime, so Momma put the stroller into flat position, gave Damien his white noise giraffe that he sleeps with and his blanket, and off to bed he went for the ride home. A dreamy Saturday.

I love cups, especially when they are filled with whatever the heck this delicious stuff is.

First liquid candy, now swings, this is AWESOME!

Peace Bro - this Berkeley livin is alright.

I got you right where I want you Momma!

Yessssss, I am King of the World!

Damien Freelances for Morgan Lewis

In his spare time, Damien likes to check in with his peeps and bill a little time. No, seriously, for some reason, mommy's blackberry is the magic device that can get him from screaming lunatic to happy baby in a snap. If mommy's IT department could see this they would probably freak out, there is always a fair amount of drool involved!

Hmmm, what's on the agenda today?

Whoa, a 2pm meeting, no that doesn't work, I have park time.

Yeah, I tell you what I think of working during park time. Bite this.

Damien Does Dinner in the Park

On one of Daddy's daycare days, mommy was running a bit late coming home from work. And, despite the pretty crummy rainy, cloudy weather Berkeley has been having, it was a nice evening. So Papa took Damien to the park and brought his dinner and momma ran from BART to meet her boys at the park. Momma found Damien in the swing and had a blast pushing him, as evidenced below. After some swing action, Momma fed Damien dinner in the park - avocado pieces and some jarred puree. After dinner, Damien didn't want to go back in his stroller for the walk home, so he was carried home like the prince he is! A fun and special Friday night!

Ohh, an evening stroll, are we going to go find Momma?

Momma, boy you sure are happy to see me, rough day at work?

Mom, that kid looks like he wants my avocado!

Ok, now that I am done, those kids are no longer a threat to my dinner, can I go play?

Damien and His Monkey

Our little baby wind monkey loves his monkey stuffed animals. He sleeps with his little Curious George monkey, loves to play with his soft Jelly Kat monkey, but he is pretty enthralled with his big monkey. See for yourself.

Monkey lovingly looks on while Damien plays.

A gentle embrace.

Um.... Damien, what are you doing?

Damien, we don't gnaw on our monkeys, no ... not even a little bit.

Teeth and Giggles

So Damien started having his teeth come in back in April, but it took a while until they were big enough to be captured on film. Well they have grown in quite nicely. He started out with the left top and bottom, and then got the right top and bottom soon afterward. They are sharp like razors! Luckily his teething episodes haven't been too bad. Although the first time we didn't know what was going on, but were wondering who took our happy baby and traded him for a fussy newborn. We are much wiser now, and reach for the tylenol on those bad days. The photos below are when we took him for an evening walk and caught him in a great mood. He was more than happy to show off his new teeth.

Yeah, check out my new front teeth, pretty hot right?

The better for me to chew on my dear!

Yes, come into my lair, I'll try not to bite!

Damien Shares His Toys With Kellen

The little bear cub pals got together again, this time at Damien's pad. Damien was really happy to see Kellen and shared his plethora of toys, mostly. He's already into taking toys from his friends, so there was a little bit of that, which Kellen, understandably, didn't like too much. Kellen showed off his agility and almost crawling, slithering skills. Damien still hates to be on his stomach for a second, so that's probably a ways away for him! Damien's aggressive ways did have Kellen a little uneasy at times, but overall the boys seemed to have a fun afternoon.

Playing a safe distance apart.

Kellen slithering into Damien's reach, here comes trouble.

Damien watching Kellen in his jumperoo with earnest.

Kellen LOVED this toy.

The jumperoo yielded sweet smiles.

Damien is a Cowboy

Grandma Linda got Damien this ridiculously cute Harley Davidson cowboy outfit. Momma finally got around to dressing Damien up and taking some photos. Thank you grandma Linda for the outfit and thank you grandpa Richard for inducing the smiles. He is one adorable cowboy!

The Marlboro Man's got nothing on me, plus I'm easy on the lungs.

Cattle? No, I corral kisses.

It's easy, I just sit here looking pretty, they come flocking.

You know you want one, I'm simply irresistible.

Damien Richard and Grandpa Richard

Grandpa Richard came back to visit Damien Richard for a work/play weekend. He had to go to a Arthritis Foundation walk in Sacramento, so he flew up on Friday afternoon and left on Sunday afternoon. Damien was delighted to spend special time with his grandpa. Momma was so happy to have all her boys together. Grandma Linda hijacked Grandpa's suitcase and brought up many new clothes and toys (thank you Grandma Linda)! Damien is a lucky boy.

Grandpa was on baby duty Friday afternoon, bottle is a good way to start!

Reading Thomas the Tank Engine Book Grandma bought him.

Loving the swing in the park.

Damien sure loves his swing.

Checking out the kids at the park.

Lots and lots of smiles.