1st Quarter Report

Nicholas is 3 months old today, and no matter how much I relish in the smallest, quietest moments with him, they still don't slow down. At his 2 month doctor appointment he was 8lbs, 15 oz and had fallen from the 5th percentile to the 3rd, so the doctor has me bringing him in tomorrow for a weight check, and asked that I supplement with formula after feedings some more. I told him I would, but a lot of the time he falls asleep after he nurses. That, however, has changed in the last 10 days or so. He has been on a fierce growth spurt and will take a bottle of 6 ounces like it's a piece of cake!

Monday of last week was Patriot's Day/Marathon Monday and my mom and sister, Jen, came to visit, which was nice since Thomas' daycare was closed, and I wasn't feeling too well. Just from that Monday to Easter Saturday I knew they would see the difference, as I could certainly feel the heft coming on. My validations are confirmed in his clothes fitting snugger now too, and the small protrusion of a double chin.

So I'm very curious what he will weigh tomorrow...my guess: 10 lbs 8 oz

3 months also marks the end of my maternity leave. However, since he was due February 13th we weren't really gearing up the start to daycare until mid-May or so, never expecting a January baby. Thankfully, I will work part-time from home in May and then we'll both be full-time starting June 1st. Thomas is pretty excited to have his little brother right across the hall where he can visit him whenever he wants. I love how much he loves him. And when you ask him what we are, he'll reply, "We're a family, and we love each other."

Indeed.

Franklin Park Zoo

March 18th Thomas' daycare was closed for a professional day so I decided to meet up with Pam and her boys and with the unseasonably warm weather (almost 70 degrees) we went to the zoo.

It was nice to get out and enjoy the warmer weather for a change as this winter has been relentlessly snowy. The 2 highlights of the trip were seeing the lion roar loudly and seeing Kiki's baby gorilla, Kambiri, who was oh-so-adorable!

It was a warm day, but the wind knocked the feel of the temp down. We were watching the lion when the wind got particularly fierce. After some hard gusts the lion stood up and looked directly into the wind and just roared at it, as if to say that's enough already! It was pretty cool. Thomas and Shaun got a little scared at first, but were assured they were safe and not going to get eaten (Shaun was so cute!)

Fully asserting that he holds the title, King of the Jungle, we could hear him throughout the park whenever he roared again. Thomas cannot stop talking about it (and the waterfall) and recounts the tale by giving his own hearty impression of a ROAR.

Toward the end I ran into a bit of trouble when Thomas, tuckered out from walking around and playing with David and Shaun on the playground, combined with skipping his nap, refused to walk and wanted me to hold him. By that time my legs were pretty tuckered out, too. Pam and I tried to convince him to ride in her double stroller (an essential purchase for having two so young), but he refused. I did my best to carry him and push Nicholas in the stroller one-handed, but when I couldn't hold him any longer I ended up sitting him on top of the stroller (not ideal, but the only other solution left) as we made our exit.

We all had a fun time and look forward to going back; next time equipped with the mighty double stroller and a daddy!

2 against 1*

At 10:45pm I finally got a chance to sit down tonight!

The Hub was out enjoying company box seats at the Celtics game so it was just me and the boys. Two is much easier to handle when you have two adults. It was a pretty good night, but when it comes to bedtime Thomas has been so resistant lately. Once 8pm came along I was about to get him upstairs, but then Nicholas woke up and needed to be fed. And fed...and fed. I figured Thomas would have a late bedtime tonight, but after diaper changes for both of them and a phone call to Uncle Ettore, (hanging up on him and laughing) and then a phone call to Auntie Lisa, 3 or 4 books and a drink we all went up at 10pm--his latest bedtime ever!

Thomas' diaper change took even longer because he's been doing a wonderful job with the potty; so much so that if he goes poop in his diaper he wants to put it into his potty or the toilet. I convinced him tonight to either let me just change his diaper or put it in the toilet as I don't want to clean out the potty if I don't have to. Into the toilet it plopped!

I was going to stay upstairs and go to sleep too, but needed to come down and pump and tidy up a little. Since pumping is a bit on the boring side I kill the time by watching TV or going online. Now that I'm done, I better be peace I'm out. Just wanted to post a cute picture of Thomas holding his baby brother that we took yesterday. He was so proud, and so were we.

Nicholas Daniel

Hoping to make good on my vow to post at least once a month, here I am!

The biggest news is the early arrival of Nicholas Daniel who surprised us the morning of a blizzard 2 1/2 weeks early. I definitely did not expect a January baby, but am so glad he's here and healthy.

Thomas is being such an outstanding big brother that I really couldn't be happier with the transition. He says he loves him very much and was patient enough to understand that he needed to keep his distance while he had a cold and conjunctivitis (which we all ended up getting eventually, and Nicholas still has). When his little brother cries he holds his hand and pets his head and talks to him. It's adorable!

Stats:
Nicholas Daniel
Born: January 27th, 2011 at 7:30pm
Weight: 6 lbs, 6 oz
Length: 19 inches

At his one month check-up he is now up to 7 lbs, 5 oz and 21 inches after going as low as 5 lbs 14 oz. I was pretty pleased with this number as noone really thought he was over 7 lbs, but the pediatrician would like it to be higher and wants me to supplement with formula after I feed him. Not sure how much I agree with that, but of course if he's still hungry I will.

We needed to buy preemie clothes since he didn't fit in anything, but he's slowly coming into his hand-me-downs.

I'll try to post more as this birth story was quite eventful thanks to the excessively snowy winter we've been having, but for now off to get some much needed sleep...zzzz.

Still here =)

I don't get a chance to post much anymore, but I'd like to make more of an effort this year. My goal is at least once a month! I do miss writing, but creating a legit post is so much more time-consuming than a quick status update on Facebook. And now that sommmmebody got me addicted to Bejeweled Blitz, it may be even harder to not waste time there.

The biggest news right now is that I'm due in a month with baby #2! We're all excited to expand the family as Thomas has been such a joy and a lot of fun. He's sweet and kisses my belly, and says "Good morning, Baby Brother" with a little belly pat. We haven't picked out a name yet, but have it narrowed down to the top 5.

Since we've already had 2 big blizzards this winter (one on my birthday and one yesterday where we got 18 inches), I'm starting to get a little nervous that I'll go into labor during another nor'easter. Fingers crossed!

Thomas is doing really well at daycare and a few weeks before his 2nd birthday they moved him up from the toddler room to the pre-school room since he was well ahead of his classmates in the language department and has been really benefiting from being around older kids. The teachers all really love him, which is nice and we have a long list of babysitting offers from different ones.

Well off to go make dinner, but I did have one short video to share from my birthday.

Summertime, When the Living's Easy

We had a great summer, and I can't believe how fast it flew by! Most of it was spent at the beach, a nearby pond/park, or on the playground. The two trips we went to toward the end of the summer brought us to the Cape for a 2nd time and then to Storyland with the Wicks' crew. It was a lot of fun, and I totally wished my parents had taken us when we were little. I'll upload more pictures later since Thomas just got up from his nap.












Now it's time for apple picking, hayrides and trick or treating...

Old McDonald

One of Thomas' favorite songs.

Excitement Over a New Toy

I love how he flails his arms and kicks his legs when he gets excited. We bought him this toy last Sunday and I'm glad we got his reaction on video.

Thiiiiiiis Close!

Thomas is so close to crawling. He has been crawling backwards for some time now, which is the first stage of learning how to crawl.

He just can't get over one of his large thunder thighs! Ever since we introduced cereal after waiting a week before his 6 month mark he has gained an impressive amount of weight and it has all seemed to go to his thighs! Though he has cute chub folds on his arms too. The Hub and I give him a good amount of time on his belly and put things he likes just out of his reach. He is very determined, and I'm afraid once he masters this new milestone he will be off like a rocket, and we'll have our hands full! I'm just really hoping we get to see his first success at it instead of missing the moment at daycare, but we're aware it will probably happen out of our sight =(

Today he really started to get the hang of using a sippy cup, which makes him look like such a big boy. He watches the older babies at daycare so I feel like he will be quite pleased with himself tomorrow. He only goes Tuesday through Friday.

This is my favorite picture of him taken so far (actually taken in June on one of the very few non-rainy days).
-Future Red Sox player

I got that Red Sox ball from the Mass Mentorship Luncheon I attended right before I got pregnant and he absolutely loves it! He will not let it go and sometimes falls asleep holding it. A few weeks ago we've started to play catch with him and he actually has a great arm!

He's so much fun! I just wish he would sleep a bit more...maybe some day. For now, a girl can dream...maybe.

Summertime

And the living is easy.

It was a long winter with record snow storms and a confused spring, so I am so happy summer has finally arrived!
After the cloudiest, rainiest June New England has had since 1903, I am seriously lacking good ol' Vitamin D. I could never live in Seattle if that's what it is really like there. Crapola--I love me some sunshine!

For the 4th of July we went to The Wicks' place in Revere and brought Thomas to the beach for the first time. It was a bit windy, but he seemed to like it. Daddy kept him in the Ergo since he was getting sleepy so he never actually sunk his toes in the sand. We'll be making our annual Cape trip in August when the Daycare is closed for a week so he'll get plenty of sandcastle building time. I can't wait; I need a vacation soooo badly!!!


We had a fun time and then went to the Stacks' Casa the next day for another celebration. I'll try to post more, but for now Little Man is sleeping (not for the night, and dinner is served. Better eat in peace while we can!)


The W Clan walking toward the tide

Learning

to play guitar with Daddy.



He still has a little way to go.
=)

Not sure how long this will last...

but after a morning shower for Thomas (and Daddy), a diaper change (by Daddy), and 2 boobs' worth of milk for breakfast (by Do-You-Even-Have-to-Ask?), both of my guys are upstairs sleeping the beautiful morning away! I started to join them after Thomas went to sleep, but I was too awake with the day, and already got a refreshing 4 hours straight (unheard of, believe me!!!).

So here I am at 9am! Missing blogging, writing, reflecting, posting pictures...

I really wanted to post a 6 month stat update and still will (hopefully right after this post), but I think that is such a milestone it deserves it's own post, all to itself!

I will say, I can't believe how fast Thomas is growing! It really boggles my brain, and though he makes me proud every day, it also makes me a little sad that this time goes by so fast since it's so special. There are so many "firsts" not only for him but for me and The Hub. And even The Cats! Those Firsts also deserve their own posting IMO.

--Cute Shirt by Auntie Jen. I think Thomas is playing the Air Piano.

So here I sit, being "selfish" for a change. Wondering how much time I have to myself to enjoy a piece of me that I rarely share anymore, at least in a Blogspot World. I let my social butterfly out when I'm with people face-to-face or on the phone if Thomas "lets" me--COL! Yes, I mean COL. It looks weird to me too, but honestly, how much do you actually Laugh out Loud?? I tend to more Chuckle out Loud. Corny of me, I know, but I just like to be accurate (and understood!). I guess those who know me get what I mean, but whatever.

I think what I really want to post will be for 2 of my C friends who are preggers for the first time. I cannot wait to meet Baby Maz and Baby Campbell!! I know Maz will be a Boy!!! And I can't remember if BC is a Surprise or not...I could check something real quick, but don't want to get sidetracked like I always do, so I shan't. If it is a Surprise, I will guess Girl just b/c, but if not a Surprise then I bet it's a boy! Ha ha! My reasoning? EVERYONE is having BOYS so I would def remember if they were having a Girl!!! I guess that post will also be for another time as it deserves its own piece too.

Even tho I LOVE sleep, I have a certain love for the mornings as well. I always thought "morning people" were cool, so I guess in his own way Tad is making me cooler! Like a good housewife-who-also-works (WTF am I doing no wonder I'm exhausted and sick all the time!) I had made coffee on this fine morning. Apparently, I am too nice to kick Oscar off my lap so I will just peer around his tail as I type. The Cats also will get their own post since they are putting up with a lot and we try our best to make sure they still feel loved (cuz they are!) I am teaching Thomas to pet the cats gently and in turn praise the cats for not turning around and biting him! So far so good. Well so far, pretty good. The Baby needs more work than the Cats, but in his defense he's much younger! Plus, Darla, Milo, & Oscar have a lot of experience and...patience thanks to a certain someone I love so much who never grew up with pets--poor kid!

Well I hear my cue thanks to the Lovely clear monitor Jojo got for the Baby Shower--thanks Jo, you rock!


Many postings for another day--at least I got in my own cup of coffee!!! So selfish. Ha!

1/2 a year ago...

I had a fairly regular day...went to a prenatal appt and found out I was 4-5 cms and 100% dilated (aka Walking Time Bomb), went to the office even though I had the day off (for some reason I thought Veteran's Day was observed on that Monday), handed out most of my thank you cards from the work shower, met with the usual "YOU'RE STILLLL HERE?!?!" questions and faces, went to help out the Wicks b/c I think The Doc had car trouble while working at the VA, went out to eat at Fridays with the four of them, went online for a little bit, until the Hub and I thought we would watch some DVR Lost; 10 mins into the show TAD decided he had better vacate! Pulled an all nighter (first since college) and met Thomas at 7:27am the next day. Exhausted but delighted!

Crazy to me that he will be 6 months old tomorrow!!!
Thankful to have shared my 1st Mother's Day with my two favorite guys, and wishing I could have seen my own Mom yesterday as originally planned (stupid flu).

Love to all you Moms, Grandmas and Moms-to-Be!

On Loving Bathrooms by Milo Man

The aroma is profoundly familiar...





















like my entangled nuggets.

-Originally created 4/11/09 @ 2:28PM

A BEautiful Day.

..For a nap!