Baby's "Firsts"
There's a fist time for everything and we'll try to write about the ones worth remembering.

First Word: "Mmmm", "Ma", "Mom", "Mama" … Anything that doesn’t sound like "dad".

First Poop: June 26, 2007. It only took a few minutes after his birth. Michael was laying in the incubator and out shot a black tarry poop. I was still in awe of being a dad, so I asked the nurse to demonstrate the cleanup “procedure.” After that, I changed every diaper for the next two weeks. Then, mom was feeling well enough to join in on the fun.

First Nickname: "Little Bear." Nicknames are so much easier to pick than real names. Michael in Polish is Michal. A short variation on Michal is Misiu. Misiu means little bear. Our Misiu was also making little grunting sounds like a bear when he was only a couple days old, so the nickname fit him well.

Second Nickname: Daddy was calling Michael by a made-up name that means nothing -- "Facofelek." Grandma misheard it and called him "Kartofelek." Kartofelek translated into English is "Little Potato." Another nickname that fits him well since his hair started rubbing off and he now looks a little like Mr. Potato Head. Kartofelek has certainly grown on us.

First Restaurant Experience: July 28, 2007. After a long stroll along the river walk in Naperville, we went to eat at Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria. Michael was extremely well-behaved even though he wasn’t able to sample the cuisine.

First Injury: August 5, 2007. Michael was sitting on a kitchen counter, held by daddy. When dad lifted him up, the back of his Michael’s heel scraped against the sharp edge of the counter. Michael did the typical baby thing – he paused for a moment and then let out the loudest cry, including real tears. No permanent physical damage was caused. Dad has learned to be more careful around countertops.

First Giggles: Grandpa Andy gets credit for this one. Sometime during month three, he found that tickling Michael's belly or side with his nose makes him laugh out loud and giggle. Mommy and Daddy make sure to use this trick to get him out of his occassional cranky mood.

First Babysitter: September 15, 2007. All the grandparents sat for Michael when we went to Eric’s and Sara’s wedding. This first time without mom and dad did not go so well. Let’s just say that mom had to rush home to soothe baby. Read about it in the Baby Blog.