Days in the Life of Michael Altavilla and Ivy Antoinette

Michael and Dom Play Catch

2010-12-30T05:26:00.000-08:00

Before bed last night, Dominic decided it was a good opportunity to run some football drills with Michael. His catching skills need some work, but he's a decent quarterback in the making!

In this next video, he's saying "When I say 'hut,' you hut. Okay?"

Christmas 2010

2010-12-30T05:13:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since we've posted. That's because he's usually a lot more active than in this video:

I don't think he was quite awake enough to enjoy the surprise from Santa. Also, it wasn't much of a surprise since he had mention of it every day for the past 2 months! But the promise of a Pillow Pet and Handy Manny's Big Construction Job was how we got him potty trained and to quit fighting us about brushing his teeth at bedtime. He's been a very good boy!

(We also got a way better reaction when he opened the gifts from us, but I forgot to get the camera back out.)

Partridges, Move Over!

2009-05-10T07:53:00.000-07:00

Michael is becoming quite the musician! Dom loves to take him out to the garage for jam sessions on the drums
and now Michael is composing his own songs on my guitar!

Maybe we'll make our own family band?

Eggs-actly!

2009-04-12T11:52:00.000-07:00

And the hunt begins! He wasn't quite sure at first, but he caught on that there we're eggs all over the back yard quickly. Although, he didn't want to put them in the basket. He'd rather carry all of them by hand.

Hoppy Easter, You Rascally Rabbit!

2009-04-12T10:35:00.000-07:00

Ever wanted to see the Easter Bunny in action, delivering all those goodies? Well "Pops" Pond decided to stay up the night before and catch him on video!

Since Michael was too little for chocolates for his first Easter, the Bunny made up for this time around. He got lots of candy and toys, and even did an egg hunt in the back yard. This is shaping up to be his favorite holiday.

Here he is discovering the basket.

He loved the toys and the candy!

We also hid some eggs out in the back yard for him to find. There will be a separate post those videos so I don't upload too many to a single post.

Surprise, Surprise!

2009-03-18T11:33:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we made a special trip out to Arkansas for Grandpa DiMaggio's surprise 60th birthday party. It was great to see so much of the family together! Michael was in it like the rest of us. He even put his finger up to his mouth and said "shh" when we were trying to stay quiet. Here's the big reveal...

Grandpa was nice enough to let Michael have the first taste of cake.

He gave him a balloon, too!

We're really glad Michael got to see a lot of his extended family and we all had a fantastic time visiting the whole weekend.

Christmas in March

2009-03-04T11:31:00.000-08:00

Because I am so far behind, here are the videos from Christmas at the Pond house.

Opening our presents...

We were supposed to be singing "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas" while Brooke played the music on her keyboard, but we soon realized no one knew the words.

Shout Out

2009-01-08T11:47:00.001-08:00

I would just like to call attention to a special event happening today, since someone isn't wanting to acknowledge it at all...

Happy Birthday to my cousin PHIL GILLEN
of Wichita, Kansas
who turns 40 today!

Happy Thanks-Birthday!

2008-12-01T13:41:00.000-08:00

We had a great time at Thanksgiving! The trip to Arkansas was about 11 hours long but we managed just fine. It was probably a good thing that Michael didn't drive though.

We also combined Turkey Day with a family birthday party for everyone that couldn't make it down for the party we had in Louisiana. It was a lot of fun! Michael's cousin Mary was there to help him open packages and play with his new toys.

Uncle Joe and Aunt Nattie brought the neat Elmo cake! It was so cool. Michael definitely liked it!

Happy First Birthday!

2008-12-01T08:31:00.000-08:00

Michael's first birthday was a success! Everyone at the party here in Louisiana had a great time playing, eating, and laughing (as you can see)...

Here we are singing "Happy Birthday."

Then it was time for the birthday boy to chow down on some cake!

After the party we wrapped up the evening by heading to downtown New Orleans to see some friends.

Trick or Treat, Smell my Feet!

2008-11-05T06:13:00.000-08:00

Halloween was a lot of fun! Michael enjoyed the walk around the block and meeting our neighbors and we enjoyed showing him off. Our costumes were a big hit! After we got back from trick-or-treating, we gave him some chocolate. He didn't seem to like it to much unless he was doing this with it...

Now Walk it Out

2008-10-28T09:29:00.000-07:00

Michael's walking! He's been taking little steps between Dom and I, but now he's really got the hang of it. I moved all the furniture back to let him have some space and you can see what happened.

Which is great since this is his usual method of movement...

Everything's Just Ducky

2008-10-28T07:32:00.000-07:00

Our playgroup went to Ducky Joe's Indoor Playground last Friday and Michael had a blast! There were lots of things to climb on,
a ball pit,

a play house,

and plenty of neat toys.

One of his favorites was a soft jungle gym that he enjoyed doing this...

By the end of our trip they turned on a bubble machine. Here is Michael with our friend, Geraldine, popping them.

Tricks and Treats

2008-10-20T13:00:00.000-07:00

I know it's not Halloween just yet, but I've got both tricks and treats for you! Michael's been learning some new tricks, and Vega too.
He can turn on the light saber all by himself...
And he feeds himself... and he shares with his best friend!n
Now here's your treat! These are older videos that never got uploaded. In this first one, he had thought that my "sinister" laugh was funny, but as soon as we tried to get it on camera he changed his mind.

Next, here's Michael watching Daddy mow the lawn.

Finally, here's Michael's first wagon ride. (He enjoyed it more than the video lets on.)

Mr. Popularity

2008-10-20T12:02:00.000-07:00

We've only lived in Louisiana for a couple of months, and Michael's already making friends! Lexia (about a month and a half younger than Michael) is the daughter of one of my friends from College of Charleston. Their family moved here about a year ago, so we thought it was about time those two met!

Then we met some other stay-at-home moms and their kids at the park. Here's a picture of him playing at the zoo with Faith (2 1/2)and Christian (18 months).

And then there are his good ole friends...his toys! He got really excited about his new toybox...
And he loves to read, too!

Beachy Keen

2008-08-11T11:22:00.000-07:00

We got back from vacation this weekend! We had a great time in the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Michael got to go to the beach for the first time,

had his first Hibachi grill experience,

and played with his Aunts and Uncle! He seemed to have as much fun as we did.

He makes a particular noise when he's interested in something though. It's usually made when he finds small things on the floor, like paper or carpet fibers. In this case, yarn from my knitting bag in the car.

He also really loves his Uncle Bil. Maybe because he gets to play with Uncle Bil's ponytail like string? Every time he came into the room, Mikey was really excited to see him. Here are a couple of videos of those two playing together.

When we could get the little guy away from his new best buddy, we did get a video of him at the beach. I promise he had more fun that this lets on. We had just prevented him from eating sand, and it upset him. He had been laughing and splashing.

No Joltin' Joe

2008-06-25T12:54:00.000-07:00

Well, maybe Michael isn't one of the more athletic DiMaggios. He didn't seem to have much interest in playing ball with his Daddy.

However, he very well could be an Olympic swimmer...if he doesn't drink the pool water.

Wiggle Worm

2008-06-25T12:45:00.000-07:00

We're on the move! Michael finally figured out how to inch forward after a few months of pushing himself back and making large circles around the room; now he's a real crawler. I was fortunate enough to sneak a video of the actual moment he first scooted forward!

Now he's supporting himself on all fours more often and lunging back and forth. He can get pretty much anywhere now, but thankfully he doesn't realize that yet. But life is much happier for the baby boy now that he can reach things (most of which is stuff he shouldn't).

Long Time...Lots of Talk!

2008-05-12T06:43:00.000-07:00

Our kid's got a lot to say lately, but mostly he favors "Brrrrrlllllllppppphh." He's been doing this thing where he takes a toy (or his hand) up to his mouth and moves it back and forth while while talking. It makes a cute sound so I thought I'd share.

He also says "hi" a lot. And occasionally we'll get a good "Momma" out of him, but I haven't caught that one on camera yet.

It's been a bit since the last update but I'm behind on the videos. So most of these are a little old, but new to you! Michael now has 2 teeth and we have the sore fingers to prove it. He's been chomping away at most things in his path, and some things not so close that he manages to rake over to him.

He's not crawling yet, but he does "creep" backwards. Really, it just aggravates him and he flips back over. As much as he is a happy boy, he does have his moments of frustration. This next clip he didn't get to play with the new toy exactly the way he wanted....so he had his first tantrum.

But I can't leave you with THAT! Here is a cuter clip of him discovering that Mommy can make a "pop" sound.

Mother's Day

2008-05-12T06:06:00.000-07:00

Our first Mother's Day was a lot of fun. We had lunch at Fatz Cafe and then went shopping at the outlet mall. While at lunch Michael tried some new things! First off, we had our first restaurant highchair experience. He handled it like a champ. No problems sitting up on his own but he was a bit bored, so we gave him something to eat.

Since the potatoes weren't much of a hit, I gave him a taste of my pickle. Apparently that was the way to go. By the way, he does have his first tooth in now. So it was rather dangerous of me to have my fingers so close to his mouth.

After wearing both Michael and his Daddy out from shopping all day, we came home and played with the puppies for a while. He still really likes dogs and loves to pet Vega.

Overall it was a great day and I can't wait for next year!

Mary Mary

2008-04-15T10:29:00.000-07:00

All three of us had a great time with the family on our trip back to Arkansas. I'm pretty sure you all enjoyed it to, at least Mary did. Here is Michael and his cousin Mary at Aunt Cecillea's house.

This Little Piggy...

2008-03-14T10:52:00.000-07:00

...cried weeeee-weeee-weee all the way home! Michael has discovered that squealing is hilarious fun. He does it in his play center. He does it in the highchair. And yes, he does it in the car on the way home from doing it at the restaurant we ate lunch at. Here he is having a grand ole time in his new exersaucer.

And he is most definitely a little piggy! He's a fan of food in general now, but pears and bananas don't last long in our house. Yesterday he grabbed the spoon away from me and tried to feed himself. So I ended up getting a second spoon to scoop food onto the one already in his mouth. He eventually grabbed that spoon too and had one for each hand.

New Tricks, New Foods, Same Laughs

2008-03-04T11:48:00.000-08:00

So much growing up has happened just in the past week or so! We had our 4 month check up on Monday. Michael now weighs 16.14 lbs and measures 26.5 inches. That puts him in the 90th percentile for his height and in the 75th for his weight! The doctor says he's doing great and we are now ready to try some different foods. We've been eating a little rice cereal with formula the past two days now and later this week we'll try some fruit or veggie baby food. He liked the cereal so much, he decided to eat the bowl!

Hopefully he will continue to remain an adventurous eater (like his Mommy) and not be as picky as his Daddy is! I'll let you all know how our little foodie likes pears later on this week.

Also, Mikey rolled over for the first time last week. Pretty impressive! Our dogs don't even know that one. This is an important milestone and we're very excited about it. Soon, he'll be on the move. He already likes to stand up while holding onto our fingers, so I predict he'll be more interested in walking than crawling when the time comes.

Today we also took a bath, so I shot a couple of quick videos of him playing with the rubber ducky. Enjoy a few more giggles!

Hilarity Ensues

2008-02-22T12:25:00.000-08:00

Cat's groom their own young to keep their coats clean, much like mothers like to apply the licked thumb to a dirty toddler face. So, does this mean that Opie thinks Michael is part of his litter? Though my little kitten didn't seem to care either way about his cat bath, I thought it was hilarious.

What Michael does find quite funny, is a good diaper change! He get's really giggly when we set him up on the changing table. I'm sure he likes the direct attention, but me tickling him probably helps too.

Southpaws

2008-01-19T10:50:00.000-08:00

Michael loves his puppy dog, Vega. And she enjoys a good scratch behind the ears too, so they make an excellent pair!

It seems that his left hand is the favorable one when it comes to actions like this and grabbing items. And it also makes for a tasty treat; when he decides he wants to chew on something he almost always goes for it. Perhaps we'll have an artist?

Talk, talk, talk...

2008-01-14T08:49:00.000-08:00

Michael has making more Ooohs and Ahhs of late. He's even throwing in a few different pitches in the last couple of days. I finall got a video of him recently rediscovered his bouncy seat. He enjoyed it and would like to tell you all about it.

Also, he had his two month checkup on January 3rd--complete with shots! He handled it like a champ. Didn't even notice the needle stick. The vaccine must have stung a bit though, because he started crying after they started injecting the solution. But by the time we got to the lobby to get our prescription for Baby Tylenol he was laughing and playing with his Daddy.

He is now 12 lbs 13 oz and in the 90th percentile in size for his age group. He's right on track in terms of developing. He's grabbing things and so incredibly interactive. He doesn't just follow people in a room. He talks to them. One of his favorite things to do now is laugh when other people laugh. He's kinda like the guy at the party that doesn't get the joke but laughs anyway to try and fit in.

Thanksgiving

2007-11-29T08:16:00.000-08:00

This year we obviously had plenty to be thankful for with having a new member of the family to celebrate the holidays with. Dominic and I enjoyed Thanksgiving here in South Carolina with our friends and neighbors, the Steadmans. But this year, we were all especially thankful because Meredith just gave birth to her son, Thian, a week after Michael was born. She went into labor prematurely due to a pregnancy related medical condition affecting her liver. Luckily, both Mom and Baby were perfectly healthy despite the circumstances; and we had a lovely holiday with Eddie, Meredith, their daughter Rienna, Eddie's mom, and two baby boys.

I know a baby's first Thanksgiving is more special for the parents than the child, but I'm pretty sure we all had fun anyway. Michael has been smiling more when we play with him. I even snapped a few pictures after he woke up that morning of him playing with his Daddy.

I've also determined that my son is much like a turtle in the fact that when he is on his back, he kicks his hands and legs back and forth like he's crawling. I keep expecting him to roll over and take off any day now. In fact, he's really close to rolling over on his own. When he's on his playmat, I often look over to see him mostly on his side. If he can just get that little push, he'd be on his stomach. I can't believe how fast he's growing! I have no idea how much he weighs, but we're into the 3-6 month pants because he's such a big eater. I don't think I'm ready for him to be going at this fast of a pace.

The First Two Weeks

2007-11-19T13:31:00.000-08:00

So, the first two weeks have gone by quicker than I thought they would and I figured it's time to share some of those funny little "growing up" stories with the family before they get lost in my head. I gotta warn you though, there will be plenty of icky poop tales and accounts of "where'd that pee come from?" I promise to make it tasteful, but let's be honest...it's poop. It's gross and it's EVERYWHERE when you're raising an infant. And I do mean everywhere...

A couple of days ago Dom went into the nursery to change Michael's diaper and all of a sudden I hear a barrage of "Oh my God"'s, "How did you DO that?!"'s, and "You've got to see this!" For as much as I wasn't sure I wanted to see this...I wasn't sure that I wanted to miss it either. Funny how you don't want to miss anything your baby does, even when it's a fecal explosion. And it was! It was everywhere and we had to take him into the bathtub to wash him off because there weren't enough wipies in the state of South Carolina for that mess. How could someone so little create such a mess?

But it's not all about the ever dwindling pile of diapers. There have been cuter moments too. We're getting to know our son as a person, figuring out his behaviors. I now know that when he's hungry he'll chew on his hand for a few seconds, and if you put in a pacifier it'll only last a second or two before he spits it out. The only thing that will satisfy him long enough to get a bottle ready a good ole finger....or Dom's nose. It's true. I even have it on video. Dom was holding Michael up to his face giving him kisses to calm him down and the nose went straight into the boy's mouth and he began nursing.

I just didn't realize that such silly things would become so important and entertaining. Now we're getting ready for a first Thanksgiving! Elizabeth is coming and we're having the Steadman family over again like every year. Except this year Meredith just delivered her son, Thian, so Eddie's mom will be here along with her 17 month old, Rienna. So babies, babies, galore! Happy Turkey Day to you all and check in next week for the holiday update!