Beanie's First Christmas

Beanie's first Christmas went very well. She had a lot of things to open and yet a lot of things still remain. Those that were left behind will be opend when Nonni and Grandpa get here on the 3rd of January.

Beanie had a hard time opening her gifts, but was more than happy to go though both Michael's gifts and mine and decide if we should open them or not. If they were unworthy, she pushed them across the floor towards the front door. If they were worthy...she tried to open them.

Needless to say she was very excited with the things she was able to open. She got a set of Leaprfog drums from Aunt Sarah and Uncle Sam...yeah, good choice, she loves to bang on things and now she can bang on something and learn her a b c's. She also got a charm bracelet from cousin Gina that is in memory of Grandma Patti. It will be the first thing to go into her jewlery box....when she gets one. Beanie also got some stylish pink boots, new shoes, a scooter, 3 outfits and a few other things.

I can't believe that Christmas is over already. Now we are gearing up for her very first birthday which is also shared with Jeffrey Meehan and Morgan...both Jeffrey and Morgan will be turning 2 this year.

This week was also marked by the arrival of Great Grandma, Great Grandpa Romano and Great Aunt Barbara. They all arrived safely Christmas afternoon. It was great to have family here for the holidays. We had lots of fun while they were all here. We shopped, went on a cruise of Ft. Lauderdale, and spent quality family tme together. Michael and his grandfather also went on an airboat ride. The pictures from that are amazing.

If it wasn't for thr pictures, I would swear that the last few days were a dream. Thank You for coming and sharing your time with us...you are welcomed any time.

Emotions run amuck

Ok, so with the Christmas right around the corner...we have been getting in packages from family and friends...it's not the ones for us that get me, it's the ones for Beanie that get to me.

Today she got in a package from Grandpa (Mark, Michael's Dad) and it made me cry. It simply read " to Victoria, love rom Grandpa" and that's all it took and I was in tears. I wrapped a gift from beanie to dad (Michael) and I cried today when I read it...and I'm the one who wrapped and wrote it. Yeah, needless to say the emotions are on the run. I even cry at commercials now...I didn't do that the first time. If you have ever heard the song about a little boy who wants to buy his mom red shoes for christmas and there's not much time....oh yeah, I cry every time...heck, i'm crying now just writing about it. There was a movie made about that song and I cried like a baby, but on the bright side, I slept really well that night.

Anyway, here is to the holidays, time with family and friends and to all the packages that are going to make me cry...Cheers to all!

mommy and daddy's night out

So last night was the second night that Michael and I have gone out without beanie. This time, though she was crying when we were heading for the door. Yeah, that's heartbreaking.
It was tough not having her around for the night. I kept hearing her laugh or yell for attention. I couldn't resist calling Kevin and Lisa to see how beanie was doing. She would fall asleep...folded over in half, wake up..look around, cry then go back to sleep. When we walked over to get beanie, Lisa was holding her. She (Lisa) looked like she was holding a baby doll, until beanie heard mom and dad, then she was wide awake and ready to play.

The United Franchise Group Christmas Party went well. The food was amazing as always as were the desserts. It was good to see many of the people there and we were able to meet a few new faces enjoying their first company Christmas party. Michael and I even got out on the dance floor and did a chorus line to NY NY...that was a sight to see. All in all it was a great night and to top it off, we won a $100 gift certificate to Bloomingdales. Shopping here we come!

I'll have what you're having

So Dr. Bell said that if Beanie is showing interest in what we are eating, then we should share some of the food and see what she makes of it. This was a great idea. I couldn't wait to have her start trying real food. The downside? now everything I eat she wants and won't eat what's infront of her.

Last night I fed her 1 bottle (8 oz) and a jar of mashed pasta primavera. She should have been full. So I made my dinner and sat down at the table. She crawled over, stood up and opend her mouth for what ever I was eating. How can you tell that cute face no? Well, I can't, so i grab a small spoon for her and give her small bites of my mashed potatoes, stuffing and green beans. Her and I both cried when it was all gone.

If you have ever witnessed beanie trying a new food, the face she makes is oh soo funny, then she decides that she likes whatever the food is and wants more. She has even graduated to eating small raviolies, plain. She loves to mush them up, then eat whatever lands and stays on her hands. She is eating fruit in the morning along with a plain waffle and a bottle of milk to wash it all down, well formula that is.

She ust cracks me up. I love watching her try all these new foods.

In other beanie news, she has taken to cruising the furnature around the house and she's getting very good at it. We even noticed that she sits very gently. Most kids would just drop to the floor, not beanie. She will reach for the ground, then drop slowly down, then take off like a rocket on her hands and knees. It quite a sight to see. All too soon she will be walking all over the house.

The update on #2 is great. The blood test results came back from round 1 and all is normal. We go for the last ultrasound and final blood work on the 26th. This time we should be able to find out what we're having. Though as many of you know, I do believe that Michael will be the onlyone to find out as I don't want to know....but still, I am very curious. Good thing we have 2 names picked out! Delivery is scheduled for sometime late may (around the 20th or so).

I guess that's it for now! Happy Holidays!

Beanie's First Thanksgiving

We traveled to Rochester for Thanksgiving this year and it was COLD, very very cold. Well, ok for those of you that live there, it was warm, but for us, it was cold.

I had a hard time finding an outfit that she could wear and be warm. I did, though se looked like she was ready to go jogging instead of braving the cold weather of Rochester, but she was warm and happy and that's all that matters.

Victoria had a few first, besides the major one, Thanksgiving, she learned how to clap and took her first carolsel ride with me and Nana. That was exciting.

Thanksgiving was wonderful. We spent the afternoon and most of the evening with Great Uncle Tom, Julie, Jonathan, Jordan, Nana, dad and myself. Beanie tried turkey, green beans, carrots, corn, bread, and I am sure a few tiny bites of dad's ice cream when I wasn't looking. Then we headed over to Great Uncle Tom's house for a few hours of family time and being looked after by one of the family dogs who was later put downstairs for paying too close attention to beanie.

I have to back track a little cause I missed a few minor things:

Saturday night I went over to Bills' house to hang out with Bill, his new blushing bride, Levi and Jeffrey who was visiting while Danielle and Brian were out on the town. It was good to be around friends again, I realized how much I miss them when I head home to Florida and I wish that we all lived closer. I had the chance to spend some time with Danielle and Brian when they arrived to pick up Jeffrey, but as always, it was never enough time, so we made plans to visit on Monday.

Sunday Nana, beanie and myself spent most of the day shopping for Christmas gifts and just haninging out. I have to give beanie a lot of credit, 6 hours of shopping and she never complained. Guess there's a little bit of me in there too!

Sunday night i was reunited with 2 old friends from highschool. We met at Olive Garden and closed the place down. I am glad that we were able to reconnect and had a wonderful dinner, though there was a fight over who would get the black tie cake...they only had one piece left..it was a close call, but Kristy won out and I settled for some chocolate cake with some good frosting, besides, that's what maternity clothes are for...right? i look forward to the next tim we can get together, i hope there will be more of us next time!

Monday night I headed over to visit Brian, Jeffrey and Danielle with Nana and beanie. We had the opportunity to watch Jeffey interact with beanie and his occupational therapist. It's amazing to watch Jeffrey get around. He's as active as ever and wonder how Brian and Danielle keep up with him. I am glad that we were able to spend some time with the Meehans, it was great to watch both Danielle and Brian with Jeffrey and Beanie. What a team they both make. Jeffrey is lucky to have such great and loving parents!

Tuesday night we spent the evening with Great Uncel Ernie and Great Aunt Brenda. Matt, Mike and Katie were there hanging out as well, so we had the chance to see them befire they headed home for dinner. Beanie was having a great time showing off her skills of crawling, getting into everything and pulling herself up on to whatever and whoever she could.


She's a great kid and loves to be around family. I am glad that we had the chance to spend some quality time with Aunt Brenda and Uncle Ernie.

It was a wonderful trip and we cherished all the time we had with both family and friends, but as always, the trip was too short, guess that means we will have to make another trip up! Looking forward to it!

As for me, I am doing well, getting bigger by the day. i haven't felt any kicks yet, but I know that all too soon those will be on the way, along with feet in the ribs all day. We go tomorrow for an ultrasound to check on the progress and to test for downsyndrom. These results along with another blood test and ultrasound from the second trimester will tells us what our risks are for downsyndrom.

If you are wondering, yes, we have names picked out:
boy: Logan Paige Brugger
girl: Rebecca Jo Brugger or maybe Rebecca Ann Brugger, I still haven't figured that out yet. We won't be able to give you the real name of Jr until he or she is born and we can't wait to make the announcement!

hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

The Stork has struck again!

Yup, it's true. Michael and I are expecting our second child sometime next June. Though the due date seems to bounce around a bit, we are due sometime around June 5th.
We go for our second ultrasound on Monday the 28th of November. This ultrasound will be combined with both another blood test and another ultrasound from the second trimester to tell us a more acurate due date and our odds of having a child with downsyndrom.

I have been very tired and unable to get a lot of sleep. I stay up late to get things done after beanie has gone to bed, then I'm up with her around 7am. I know I should count my blessing, there are a few parents out there that have busy lives and have kids that get up before the sin even comes up. My hats of to you, I don't know how you do it and with a smile.

I have moved into my maternity clothes already. My jeans have gotten just a little too tight. There are a few things that I managed to forget about over the last 10 months or so...like how tired I get just from walking up the stairs and the indigestion. Boy did I ever forget about that.

I know that it's all for a great reason and that it will soon be over and we will have another bundle of joy in our lives. Since I will be a scheduled C-section again, we will be able to pick both the due date and the time of arrival...that's odd to me, but because I was a c-section the first time, I will be again. There are less risks this way to both the baby and to myself.

In case you are wondering...No, I am not going to find out what we are having this time. Michael will find out, but I don't want to know. This is the last big surprise we are going to have for a few years. So, If you want to know what we are having, ask Michael.

Beanie is doing well. She is crawling forward and has 5 teeth. She has 3 on the bottom and 3 on top and counting. She is starting to eat more and more "table" food and loving it. She has also learned how to pull herself up onto things, though this is still new to her so she doesn't do it all the time. I went in to get her from a nap the other day and she was standing in her crib waiting for me to come get her. Yeah, that stopped me in my tracks.

She has also taken to kneeling against the rail that has the camera for the beanie-vision on it. When you look into the screen...it look slike she is staring you down...it's very funny to watch and yet a little un-nerving all at the same time. She's a geat kid and I hope that #2 gets her sunny disposition as well.

Trick or treat-Victoria's First Halloween

Halloween 2007 waas a great hit. There were tons of costumes for Beanie to check out. The only one that scared her themost was Michael. As usual, he was dressed as scary as possible, but for the first time in 6 years, neither one of us bought a new costume.

This is the lamb costume that I bougth a few days before Hallowee, can you blame me? She looks so adorable in it, though she was incredibly hot in it, so she was only in it long enough for us to take pictures.



The other Halloween costume she had was this:
It's a shirt that reads "Ghouls just wanna have fun". She is wearing the same color "diaper" cover. She has on her cat socks and there was a cat hat she was wearing, but every time I would put it on, she would pull it off. I guess that's what happens when you play peek-a-boo with a baby, they learn to pull everything off their heads.

The neighborhood looked great, there were 3 homes that got into the spirit of things and had a haunted theme, either outside or in the garage. Down side, we have tons of candy left over...all good stuff, though I promise. Anyone want any candy?
All in all it was a great night, but by the end of the night, we had all had enough. Next up...Thanksgiving and Turkey, can't wait!

Say Cheese!

Just a quick note to say that the pictures from our trip to Seattle, wa have been uploaded and are now on the blog. there are also a few pictures from a Halloween party that we went to on Saturday.

more pictures to come after Halloween!

First words

Yup, it's been 9 months in the making. Beanie has learned a word and loves to babble about it. DADADADADADADADADADADa over and over again. She can be in the middle of drinking, stop and say dadadadada, then go right back to drinking or eating. It's the funniest thing I have ever seen. Though she has no idea what it means or who dada actually is, it's still amazing to hear.

I am hoping to find a way to get a clip up on the blog, but that may take some time, so bear with me.

Tonight we are going to a Halloween party at a friends house. Then downtown for moon fest. They close off some of the major streets downtown for the event. It's a great place to people watch and see all the costumes. There are even a few haunted houses to go through. I can't wait to see beanie all dressed up in her onsie, hat, socks and bib that we received from our family. I have a dorothy costume for her, but I'm not sure if i'm gonna put her in it. I have some shopping to do today, so if I find something cuter for Haloween, i may buy it. Besides, she can never have too many costmes!

Those Pearly Whites

Yup, Beanie no longer has that cute toothless grin anymore. She now has 4 teeth, 2 on the bottom and 2 on the top. It funny to watch her smile, they look so out of place. Though she has gotten into the bad habit of grinding her teeth together, whenever the mood strikes her. If you tell her no, she laughs and does it anyway....she's more like me than i thought!

She has learned a new trick in her crib, she likes to either sleep on her side or sleep on her tummy. The first time it happend, Michael and i flipped out, now, it's not such a big deal. Someday i'll go in there and she'll be standing up looking at me with her arms up waiting for me to get her out of her crib!

homeward bound

This is a quick post to welcome David to the United states and to Welcome his new bride, Michelle Bolden home from Australia. By now, Michelle and David are tucked warmly at home in Rochester, NY.

I hope they had a wonderful journey and enjoyed thier surprise in Seattle where Michelle was reunited with some long, but not lost friends and David heard wonderful stories of our years in highschool. I am sure that there will be many more to come, especially once the yearbooks come out of hidding!

Welcome home David and Michelle. We are glad to have you back, we missed you!

Up, up and.....down again

Yup, beanie has figured out how to pull herself onto things. Upside, she hasn't figured out how to get her feet under her to stand up yet. I know that won't be too far behind. She has also figured out that if she rolls around she can get anywhere she wants to. Now this is pretty amazing to watch.

Beanie has also figured out to scoot backwards. She is starting to put her knees under her, but then she goes backwards. Yeah, I know, before I know it she'll be moving forward and I'll be chasing after her...or she'll be chasing after me or the cat or the dog, whichever is the closest to her. I can't wait!

Her laughter is infectious. Her smile is mesmerizing. Our daughter rocks and we are very proud of her!

Full speed ahead

Beanie and I are feeling much better and finally back up to full speed. She did great...me, not so well. I hate being sick, it sucks.

Anyway, we bought beanie this really neat ball that rolls around (all on its own) and plays songs and asks you where things are on it. It's made by vtech and we bought it at Target. She got made when we had to take it away so that it could be paid for. We get it home...she loves it. She likes to try to reach for it when it rolls away, no, she's not crawling yet, someday maybe.

She can push herself up and lean forward over her one foot to reach things that are a bit far, but it stops there. We go to see Dr. Bell on Monday for her 9 month check-up. I can't believe that it's been 9 months already. By the time we head home for the hollidays, she'll be 2 months away from 1 year. Wow has this ine year gone by fast.

People getting Married (Gina and Travis Horton and Bill Mack), people moving (Scott and Jenna and Michelle and David who are moving back to the states...finally). Jeffrey, EJ, and Morgan celebrating their first birthdays, Shauna and Grant, Rene and Aaron celebrating their one year wedding anniversaries. It's been a big year for firsts.

Anyway, nothing much goin gon other than waiting for beanie to take her first crawl across our floor. Oh wait, yeah, she rolled over. She did the hard roll over too!!!!. She rolled over from her tummy to her back. I couldn't believe it. She just layed there watching me and wondering what happend. I just sat there in amazement and cheered her on....then she decided it was nap time and that was the end of that!

She can also wiggle around in a 360 degree pattern. Now that's funny to watch. One minute she's looking at you, the next you're looking at her tush. Even she thinks it's funny. Someday soon she'll be chasing us around the house. Can't wait!

Share and share alike

If you have kids or you are around them alot...this will make sense to you.

Last thursday, Beanie came down with a neeze and a runny nose, followed by a stuffy nose. She was also running a small fever, so I guess this would be her first cold and she took it like champ. She can sneeze all over you with a smile and go right back to playing with her toys.

We did have a ruff few nights of sleeping all because she couldn't breath through her nose, which also made drinking bottles and eating a bit difficult, but she seems to be taking everyting in stride...unlike me.

I hate having a cold. everything tastes funny and you always have to have tissues with you and sleeping sucks cause you can't breath. I guess I could take a lesson form Beanie and just deal with it with a smile, nontheless. I can't wait for both of us to be back up to speed and feeling better!

Home Sweet Home

Home again! The trip to Black Mountain was amazing. It rained the last day we were there, which made for a slow go to the airport, but we arrived safe and soundboth to the airport and home.

Mom hit a bump on the way back to Rochester, well, actually her plane hit not a bump, but another plane, in Atlanta. So she ended up stuck in Baltimore friday night. She got home around 6pm saturday night.

The cabin trip was great and I would do it again in a heart beat, maybe next time family and friends will be able to join us. The pictures do not do this place justice, though. Before you leave, you are asked (ahead of time) to sign the gues book. Do you have any idea how hard it is to write in a guest book about this place...there are no words to describe it. So here's what i said ( the parts I can remember):

As we sit here, the day before we leave, we listen not to the sound of planes over head or loud neighbors, but to the sound of soft conversations and laughter. We are left with wonderful memories of family and fun. Victoria even found a friend. The pillow will be missed.

I said more things, but at this point, I can't remember what I said, go figure! I posted some of the pictures, including the pictures of us on the Segway. If you are ever offered the chance to get on a Segway, take it. They are alittle scary at first, but they rock and it's something you will never forget.

Can't wait for the next trip.

A long way from civilization

Here we are in Black Mountain, NC and a long way from civilization. I have to say, at first thought I was scared to death of being so far form the next human, but oh my god do I love it. we can sing and dance and scream with laughter and no one can hear us.

Beanie can cry and there is no neighbor to complain, no loud drunk neighbor yelling at her kids ( mom's neighbors) no loud planes coming in for a landing, just the sound of bugs and bears, not that we have seen any, but we know they are there.

I wish you could all see this place...wow. a log cabin at the top of a mountain, miles from anything. very nice. Victoria and nana are getting a lot of bonding time along with Michael and I. just what we all needed, time to do nothing. Yeah, that sounds funny, time to do nothing. do you really need time to do nothing...is that something that you could put on your schedule for the week?

mon-laundry
tues-shopping
wed-do nothing

anyway, just wish we had the rest of the family here, Nonni, Grandpa, Aunt Sara, Uncle Sam, Uncle Matt, sandy, molly, Uncle Tom, and loads of other family members. A chance to hang out with everyone with no where to go and nothing to do. now that's my idea of a vacation!

until we return...have a great week!

Sleepless in Florida

For the last few weeks, Victoria has been waking up in the middle of the night and not just once. She goes down around 9pm, then up around 1am then again around 6am then up for the day at 9am. Each times she gets up she cries and fusses until i go i to get her.
yes, we do let her fuss, sometimes she settles back down and goes back to sleep, most times she doesn't.

I looked it up in the 2 baby books we have, but it says she could just be teething. So I'm not sure what the issue may be. Last night I gave her some tylenol and that seemed to help, she actually slept in until 8:15am this morning, that was nice.

We still can't see any more teeth coming in, but then again, we didn't see the first 2 come in either. They kind of snuck up on us! Yeh, I know, the drool should have been a good cluethat teeth were coming, but the drool doesn't stop.

On other news, today Michael and I are celebrating our 3rd wedding anniversary. Hard to beleive. We have been together for 6 years, married for 3 of those 6 years. I can't imagine my life without him. As he was leaving for work this morning, he was standing in the door and asked me to turn around and wave at him....I almost didn't, but glad i did, he had sdomehow managed to get a dozen roses on the table. Yeah, I'm blind to those things. He could have out them out last night and I still wouldn't have seen them.

He is going to leave work early so that we can spend some family time together. I love days like that. When he takes off form work or we meet himf or lunch. Beanie gets such a kick out of seeing her daddy. She lights up like a christmas tree, then agaon, so do I!

House Hunting

As some of you may know, Michael and I are looking into maybe getting a bigger house. So on saturday, we went house hunting. We took Victoria with us. Picture this...90 degree heat, a car seat and being in the car for 4 1/2 hours.

I know what you're thinking, she must have been cranky. nope, she just smiled and had a good time. She only fussed when we were on our way home, she was very hungry. The realestate agent we are working with was very impressed at how well Victoria behaved, then again, so were we.

No, we didn't find a house that fit what we needed, so the search continues...and yes, we are staying here in Florida. Sorry.

anyway, Michael took some professional pictures of Victoria a few weeks ago. We took over 300 photos and tried to get our top pictures down to around 50 or so...it waas hard to do, but we managed to get the best of list down to 35 pictures.

It just cracks me up. I try to take candid pictures or video of Victoria, but as soon as she hears the beep for the camera or the camcorder, she won't take her eyes off it. She's such a ham!

She has finally been upgraded to sitting up in her bathtub for bath time. She likes to play with er ducks. Her favorite thing is to either eat them or to try and drownd them. Either way, it's funny ot watch. Nonni bought these disco ducks that light up in water. These are great for bath time. I usually turn off the lights for a moment or so so that she can watch the light show. I don't know who is more entertained by them, her or me!

I guess for now, that's it! Hope all of you had a great 3 day weekend!

Feet

Look at that cute foot. I look at those feet and I am amazed at how far they have come in just a few short months.

Michael and I went out and bought another pair of baby shoes for these tiny feet. I had no idea how hard it would be to find shoes for this kid.

I went to 4 different stores until I found these really neat ones. They are made of all fake leather and look like shoes. I guess they are good for her cause her feet can still feel the ground when she decides to start walking.

Hmmm. what else can I tell you? Victoria is sitting up all on her own, for the most part. She has mastered the balancing part of it, though she still falls over once in a while....like when she gets over excited about something. It's very funny to watch...her getting excited that is. THe hands get going, then the feet and her face lights up.

Do you know how many hours I spend laughing at her? I don't, but I thought you might. You should see the 2 of us together. She makes a funny face, i laugh at it, then she laughs at me, then I laugh at her laughing at me. Victoria just cracks me up.

Here is a great picture of Victoria. We had gone to Fudruckers for dinner saturday night. Lia (Nonni) had bought this chair for Victoria out in California and we loved it so much that we bought one for Florida. She loves it. She can sit at the table with us and play with her toys. We did discover one downside, though. She likes to eat the table. I guess it tastes good and it's hard and feels good on her gums. Gotta love the expression. Dazed and confused. Guess i should stop using the flash so often!

Joys and sorrows

Last night we the amazing wedding of Sarah Brugger and Samuel Sanford. Yeah, it was a night to remember. Sarah's dress was amazing, along with her hair, the makeup and above all, the love she has for Sam.

It was a small wedding, set above water as the sun was setting. It was the stuff girls dream of. There were a few things that brought me to tears, each for different reasons.

Mark walked Sarah down the aisle. What an amazing sight. Then there was watching Lia in action as she made sure that everything was running as it should and greeting the guests as we all arrived. The awe and love that was there last night was inspiring. Then there was the "who gives this woman away?" I have to tell you, this brought me to almost tears. Why? Sarah is getting married, Mark is giving her away. I didn't get that. My dad didn't give me away, but i had the next best thinhg. An uncle that loves me and was always there for me. It was an honor to have him give me away. The last reason, this will be Victoria some day. Michael and I will be in Mark and Lia's position. Waiting to give Victoria away to the love of her life.

Then there was the father/daughter dance. Mark and Sarah did a wonderful job. The steps were flawless and both looked amazing and happy. I am glad that we were there to watch the magic.

why did this bring me to tears? Again, some day this will be Victoria and Michael. I'm not sure i am ready for this and yet I am. I hope I am there for all the big things in her life, like her wedding. though right now I'm not even ready for her to be crawling and talking.

The last reason, yeah, I didn't get to have a father/daughter dance with my father. Why, he wasn't there and that breaks my heart. i wish i had had that chance, that memory, but i never will. Instead I have the memory of dancing the night away with family, my new husband and lots of friends and My Uncle. can you tell I am overly proud of My Uncle Tom? He rocks. Actually, both of my uncles rock. They raised wonderful familys who are growing faster than I can keep up with.

Anyway, Sarah and Sam's wedding went off without any issues. It was a night that will forever live in our minds and our hearts. I wish them all the best of luck, a wonderful marriage and all the love and laughter their hearts can hold. Cheers!

To do or not to do...that is the question

As Victoria's first birthday gets closer and closer, Michael and I are talking about having another child. Yes, I know, i said that i would never have another kid in this lifetime. Well...i changed my mind. I can do that ya know!

There are loads of things to consider before we gwt that far, though. Like, who gets the new car. Mine can't hold 2 ca seats and I won't drive a minivan. I have a hrd enough time driving Michael's suv thing. Then there is the lack of space to consider. Yes, we have a 4 bedroom house, but one is the master, one is Michael's office one is beanies room and the last one is the guest/craft room. We could switch beanies room with the craft room, but then the baby will keep er up or she could keep the baby up. Then there's the traveling. I can travel with one kid, but two....one my own...i don't think so.
The upside of 2 kids is that they will have someone to play with and someone else to talk to and someone to plot against us with and we will be even when we head to the parks at Disney, there will be 4 of us.

You know, I was ready and happy and excited about having one child, but having 2 seems to stop me in my tracks and scare the heck out of me. Oh well. If it happens, it happens. For now, I enjoy all the time I can with Victoria who amazes me everyday with the things she does.

Can you imagine...she will be 1 year old in just a few short months. WOW! I knew that time would fly, but geeze. Anyway, I have more laundry to do before we headout to California for Aunt Sarah and Uncle Sam's wedding. We can't wait. Family, friends and good times ahead!

Fetch

If you're reading this and already laughing, you have gone through this yourself. Victoria is testing gravity. Everything goes on the floor and way out of reach, when everything is off her tray, she cries. So i go around picking everything only to have her throw it all ont he floor again.

They say that the definition of insanity is doing the samething over and over again expecting a different result. So having said that, I mist be incredibly insaine.

I created these toy holders to travel. They are long strips of ribbon with buttoned loops at each end. one end goes around a pole or whatever she is sitting in and the other goes around the toy she is playing with. This way i don;t have to go too far for the toys and when she figures it out, she can pick up her own toys. This also stops them from landing on the floor when we are either in the car out out and about in her stoller. I love it, though it dones't stop the insanity!

anyway, there are some new pictures posted, so go on, have a look!

Love...unconditional and utter love

You know, I thought that I would hate being a stay at home mom, and to some degree I do, but there are moments that I get to witness that I i wouldn't trade for anything in the world. Moments when Beanie discovered her feet or the way she laughs when I get her after a nap, you know, that moment that your child realizes that you are there.

Or when you come home, tired and stressed and your child loks up at you with admiration and complete love, at that point you just melt.

There have been a few times when I have missed bedtime and when I get home, I go into her room and there is always part of me that hopes she wakes up just so that I can spen a few moments with her, rocking her back to sleep, then there is the other part of me that is screaming "if you wake that child up, you'll never get to sleep...so back out of the room and GO TO BED". So I just stand there, watching her sleep...no cares in the world, I kiss her, tell her I love her and head to bed.

That's my beanie. For better or worse I lve that kid and I couldn't imagine my life without her or Michael.

what????

Yup, she has another ooth coming in, right next to the other one, Holy cow. I knew that her teeth would come in really fast, but geeze.

She seems to be taking it well, though she will chew on anything that you put infront of her. She seems to like her keys the most, I guess 'cause she can fit them into her mouth and it's hard. She also likes her feet, though she has yet to put them into her mouth.

I have also started up with baby yoga again. I didn't realize how much I missed it. It feels good to stretch and move around, and beanie sleeps like a champ at bedtime!

Alright, off to the zoo we go, yup, we now have a zoo membership, now we can go whenever we want to!

See you later!

Just in case you were wondering...

Yes, I have finished the Harry Potter book, no i will not tell you what happend, yes I am glad that I got the chance to read it...yea I will read it again and again.

Now...I can read other things (sigh of relief ). Can't wait. There are so many books that I have wanted to read, but never had the time and I was waiting for the potter book to come out.

I wish that I had more news for you other than that, but I don't. I could tell you about the loathing i have for my father and the ill will I have for him or how much I would love if there really was someone like Jason Bourne (Bourne Identity) that i could send after him, but there isn't, so for now I sit here stewing over whether I should respond to a letter I received in 2005...it was an 8 page bashing letter. God, why do you send letters to people that you don't know, bash their family and then try to be their friend, i mean, hellloooooo. Did it ever occure to you that I might hold that against you in some small way????

HERE'S YOUR SIGN!

Yeah. loads of resentment there. I am working through it, though...it's still legal to buy guns and drink, right? Just kidding. Really, though...I am ok. He's there and I'm here. Life is good. I have a wonderful family, a great mom and Uncles that were always there when I needed them, even now! So...there! (yeah, that sounds childish, but hey, it's 11pm and I just finished the last potter book, cut me some slack.)

so, after all that, martini anyone? :-)

The End of Harry Potter

No, tht does not necessarily mean that he dies in the book, though I am only half way through it, I don't know his fate yet.

Anyway, the book release was amazing. There were a few people there to say the least. We weer one of the first people there to get our tickets for the book. (you get a ticket by group and then they call each color after midnight...green was first, then red and then after that...well, we were gone by then!) I went with Amanda and Mike R. Both of them work for Michael and are very big Potter fans. It was great.

They did a count down, the amount of noise at the stroke of midnight was unimaginable. I couldn't beleive it. Yes, i have pictures, no I haven;t posted them. Not sure I will...you have to ask yourself, do you really want to see the pile of boxes holding the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows books under a tarp behind the counter??? Yes, I took a picture of that. We got so excited with every box we saw... mean it's Harry and it's the last book, how could you not.

If you are wondering, yes, I am more than half way through it. I tried to read it that night, but fell asleep. No, I have not dared look at the last page...I want ot be amazed and surprised with what happens and I know that if i look at the last page I won't be.

So thus ends the world of Harry Potter. I am sorry to learn that this is the last book. I loved reading it. it got me excited to read again. But, I have so many other books that I have been waiting to read...like A thousand splendid suns and wicked. Yup, thank goodness for traveling. That's the one time I can read and not have a baby to worry about...she sleeps.

i guess that's it...for now....

Long Distance hug

As many of you know, my grandmother has passed away. Today I received a hug in the mail.

Michelle sent me this Eeyore all the way from Australia. The message: Since I can't be there to give you a hug, this will have to do!"

Yeah, nothing makes you miss great friends more like when they go above and beyond and do something sweet.

Every once in awhile I get a call from Brian. I have to tell you, I love hearing from both Brian and Danielle. The stories that they have about life and Jeffrey always make me laugh. The other night Brian called and I got to help give Jeffrey a bath, I wasn't there, but it felt like I was. Turns out Jeffrey loves the water. Brian gave me some great tips on how to help Victoria sit up and what to expect with food...and what to miss and save money.

As you may also know, Jenna, Scott and Ej have moved to Seattle. Hearing from Jenna is a hoot. She sounds so much like me it's amazing. Hearing or reading of their adventures in Seattle is always a page scroller.

Having this blog has brought a few new people into my life...well, ok, just one. Kellie and Morgan and Jimmy. Kellie, your blog should be published or used for stand-up comedy. I often wonder if Morgan will grow up like you, if she does, she is one lucky kid.

Then there's Chris. You live your life they way you want to. You get to do things most of the time i am oh so jealous of, mainly you get to hand the kids back at the end of the day and go party...just kidding, some days! So for you, here is a hug accross the miles for the loss of your cousin who is now happier and healthier. :-) X

Each of you make me smile and a cloudy day and I thank each of you for being my friend and for being there when it counts. Now, go have a drink, lock te kids away and party...like it's 1999, yeah I know, we are way past that, can't blame me for trying, can you?

Which House do you belong to?

Ok, I got this off of Jenna's site. Since I love Harry Potter, I thought this would be great.

Harry Potter Survey

GRYFFINDOR:

[x] You've never done drugs.
[x] You have a lot of friends.
[x] You get along with everyone.
[ ] You love soccer.
[ ] You love baseball.
[x] You're into writing and art
[x] Favorite music genre is rock.
[x] You believe in "innocent until proven guilty" theory.
[x] One of your favorite colors is red or gold.
[x] Good grades at school. (well, in college, not grade school)
[x] One of the worst things you can do is lie.
[x] You plan on going to college. (again)

TOTAL: 10

HUFFLEPUFF:

[x] You're content with mostly everything in your life right now.
[x] You laugh a lot.
[ ] You like to follow trends.
[x] Politics suck.
[x] You love to swim
[ ]Water polo is cool.
[ ]Pink is one of your favorite colors
[x] Black is morbid & depressing. (not always)
[x] You're an optimist.
[ ] You're very emotional.
[ ] You believe in going steady at a young age.
[ ] You haven't made fun of anyone this month. (no, but i'll make up for it next month)
[ ] Loyalty is the MOST important thing in a relationship. (several things outrank that)

TOTAL: 6

RAVENCLAW:

[ ] You're depressed to a certain extent.
[x] You love to read.
[x] You appreciate theatre & arts.
[ ] Sports suck.
[x] Hate is completely unneeded.
[ ] Indie is your favorite genre of music.
[x] Every once in a while you have little anger outbursts.(name a person that doesn't)
[x] Lying is sometimes okay.
[ ] Blue is one of your favorite colors.
[x] Knowledge is the key to power
[ ] Sarcasm is the best kind of humor (it's good though)
[ ] People should know what they're talking about before they talk.

TOTAL: 6

SLYTHERIN:
[ ] There's at least one person you hate.
[ ] Basketball is a good sport.
[ ] Football is amazing.
[ ] Black is a cool color.
[ ] You've lied about something serious
[x] You're a very deep person.
[ ] You have considered suicide.
[ ] You are not very loyal.
[ ]sometimes you like heavy metal.
[ ] They make school seem more important than it is.
[ ] You're scared to grow up.
[ ] Anger is one of your primary feelings.
[ ] You have trust issues.
[ ] Guilty until proven innocent.

Total: 1


So, it turns out that I would be joinging Harry, Ron, Hermonie and mnay others in the Gryffindor common room! Yeah!!!!!

So, on with updates. Victoria got her 6 months shots on tuesday. She did great that day, but now she has a small fever and is very clingy. Though she is still happy and smiles, a lot, she is taking longer naps and wants to be held. Not that i mind holding her all the time, I want my normal child back. The one that can lay on the floor and play or go for walks and watch everything go by!!!

ok, so as I sit here wondering if there is anything else that i should be writing, I realize that, no, there is nothing more I can tell you. Sorry. I could bore you with Harry Potter things, but I don't want to put you to sleep. If you are wondering, yes, I have already gone to see the movie, No, I didn;t see it at modnight, I saw it wednesday at 8pm and yes, iw ill be going to the midnight release of the final book and yes, I will be dressing up. i have a cape (black) and a Hogwarts patch to go with it. I thought about coloring my hair in honor of Tonks, but mine is too short, though I may still do it for the fun of it.

Come on, it;s the last book. Yes, I know that I'm 27 years old with a daughter, but still, it's the LAST BOOK. Yeah, Like Victoria needs more reasons why she'll be in therapy when she grows up, so what's one more, Right?

I will post pictures of the event nex weekend. I can't wait!

is that a tooth we see????

Oh my god...she has her first tooth!!!

Yeah, I would show you some awsome pictures, but everytime I try, she puts her toung in the way and laughs. Smart kid. I mean, i can't blame her...do you like it when someone puts their fingers in your mouth??? yeah, neither do I!

She handled it very well. It was actually spoted by her cousing Chelsea and Erika during our trip home. i thought they were kidding, I mean a tooth...this early...I'm not ready for that. Well, ready or not, here it is! She loves to play with it. She moves her toung all over the thing including her fingers. No, she won't take a teething ring, I've tried. Wrm, cold, iced...nothing will do except her fingers...or mine, or daddys. If you are brave enough to stick your finger in there, that is.

She is now into size 3 diapers, mainly for bed. That way she can't pee all over herslef and the bed, seems to be working out very nicely. She is also on solid baby food. She loves carrotts, applesauce, sweet potatoes and anything else you put in front of her. I am trying to get her into a routine of eating...then having a bottle, if she is still hungry. So far, she seems to like the food more than the bottle. I have even managed to feed her on the go instead of a bottle.

Don't worry, she still gets a bottle last thing at night and sometimes in the morning, so she is still getting plenty to drink. I had no idea I would be this excited over solid food. I love watching her eat. Downside of that is...she makes me laugh, which makes her laugh, which makes anything in her mouth come out...all over me. Yes, I do a lot of laundry, but it's worth it...as the song goes...just to see you smile...i'd do anything that you wanted me to...well, with in reason.

I guess that's it for now. As soon as I can, I will post pictures of her shiny new tooth...or maybe just the marks that it leaves on my fingers.

Happy 4th of July

yup, it's Victoria's first 4th of July and how did she celebrate it???? By sleeping. Yeah, she slept through the whole thing. I couldn;t beleive it. I thought she would be wide awake, nope, not even a peep and to top it off, she even slept late this morning. Go figure.

The dog was a wreck. I gave her some infant ibprofin and she was a happy dog. Last year we gave her some alcohol, this year i thought I would try something different. this worked, so I guess we will be using it again next year. The cat, yeah, she could care less. She just wanted some treats, a quick scritch and then to be left alone.

We had some friends over for some food and fireworks. Too bad it rained most of the day. It cleared up just in time fo rthe fireworks, but the bogs were out in full force. Yeah, you wold think with the great screened in patio we have that the bugs would stay out, nope. We figured out the hard way that in order for the patio to stay bug free, you have to leave the doors closed, not wide open. Though it gave the cat something to do, she had some bugs to chase down. So i guess fun was had by all, except Victoria...she missed out on all the excitement.

Life and Death

Last saturday nioght I got the phone call that I have been dreading for some time now...My Grandmother past away. Carol Bales was an amazing mother, grandmother and great grandmother to everyone in her life. She was one of those people that would give the shirt off her back to help you, she always found the good in people...even in those that treated her wrong.
She was and will always remain an amazing woman. She will live through her family and friends and those that had the pleasure of meeting her and through each new generation.

Because of this loss, I made the trip up to Rochester on Sunday morning at around 4am, then drove the 8 hours from Rochester to Ft. Wayne with Mom and Victoria. This was a trip to remember. Mom and I made this trip each year as I was growing up to go see the grandparents and the rest of our family. Needless to say this trip was bitter sweet. it was great to be on the road trip again with mom, only this time I was also the mom. Yes, i took lots of pictures and have lots of great memories to pass on and share as Victoria gets older. I hope to someday make the trip again when she is old enough to remember.

It was great to see family again. I learned a lot of things while I was there. I learned that our family is growing. Congratulation to Loni and Lisa who are expecting their first child sometime in february of 2008. For the first time in 20 years, I met my father. Yes, it was awkward and no, I don;t want to have to go through that again. He's alive and looking old, that's all i wanted to know. I also had the chance to meet my half sister, her husband and their daughter. I guess interesting is the only thing I can come up with.

Aunt Nancy and Uncle Dave are enjoying a full house again. Olivia and her younger sister, Rachel are keeping both Aunt Nancy and Uncle Dave very busy and young at heart. I don;t know how they keep up with either of the girls, I tried...I needed a nap afterwards.

It was good to be there, I got to spend some much needed time with family and some quiet time with my grandfather. There were many stories of fishing and family that he shared...

price of ticket: $355
price of hotel: $90
Spedning time with family: Priceless

For everything else...well, you know the rest!

Here I am back in Rochester and on a mission. I know that mom has tons of family pictures lying around the house, my missions, to collect each and every one of them and put them somewhere safe and write on them. Who they are, what year they were taken and so on. I want to be able to come here one day and tell future generations all about those that came beofre us. Who they are, what they did, what thy were like...yeah, lots to do and little time to do it.

Victoria is doing well. She is very excited with each new person she meets. We had family over last night to meet her for the first time. She did great. It was ...pass the baby around the room. She just smiled and laughed, but at the end of the night, it was mom she wanted and I her. We had some bonding time this morning after her 6am bottle. we went back to sleep together. I wrapped her up in the bedspread and snuggled her in my arm and took a nap with her. She woke me up around 9am for another bottle. How did she wake me up you might ask???? well, she rolled towards me and slapped me in the face, not hard, but just enough to tell me to get up...i guess because I didn't move fast enough, she sqeeled...loud, then tried to hit me again. Violent child, isn't she. I guess it's revenge for all the time i did washermachine with her and made her throwup. Guess I won't be doing that again any time soon...yeah, right, who am I kidding, I love doing that. I get to watch her laugh and be happy...as she pukes all over me with joy!

Ain't parenthood grand!

P-I-G

For the first time ever, Victoria not only tried, but ate the whole container of carrots. It's one of those gerber containers that has a lid, very cool. i couldn't believe it. She ate the whole thing then wanted more. PIG. and she smiled the whole way through!

As for the trip to St. Mary's, all went well. She swallod all the vanilla flavored barium, then wanted more (odd child), then they had her swallow some water to see if it would go back up...of course it did..it's water. Not a lot...just a little. I went to lunch with a friend of mine that day and Victoria made her noise again and the comment was made that it doesn't sound like indigestion or any other type of stomach thing, but a respitory thing. So at this point I wait to see what the pediatrician has to say, but the appt isn't until next month.

Other than that...nothing is going on, well besides trying to feed beanie. how can something so small eat so much, where do they put it?

Father's Day

Today was Michael's first official father's Day. Why official? Cause this time last year, we knew that we were pregnant. So I got him a card, of course it wasn't gender specific, but it was a father's day card nontheless.

Victoria picked out some work socks and 350 thread count all cotton sheets for the bed. Michael is always wanting them for our bed, but they never go on sale...Victoria paid...with diapers and formula.

sszxxscffffddddddddddddddddddddff ( Victoria wanted to say hello and Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!)

Victoria and I spent saturday wrapping up the gifts for Michael. I had this brilliant idea to put watercolored paint on her foot and hand to make prints all over the paper. That was great. Michael decided to keep one of the foot prints as it came out very clear. I also traced her hand over my hand...that was rough. Getting a 5 month old to hold her hand still long enough to get the marker all the way around it. She even signed her own card...yup, she held the marker and everything. She had a great time!

All in all, it was a great day. Michael even got to take nap. As for me, I went shopping. Rag shop is going out of business, so I went shopping. Great deals are to be had by all. I decided to make a cape for the final release of Harry Potter year 7. Yes, that's right folks, I am a Harry Potter fan and I will be attending the midnight release of the final book in July. I can't wait!!!!

The rest of the day was spent cleaning and fixing up the house. It was kind of a mess, but it's all better now. Tomorrow at 8:30am Victoria and I will be heading to St. Mary's hospital. No, nothing serious, she is going in for a barium swollow and an upper gi. While we were shopping on thursday, she made sounds like she was gasping for air for over 3 minutes. I called the pediatrician and they got me in 20 minutes later. She hasn't made the noise since....go figure.

Other than that, life is good.

Public Information

Yup...after all that hard work you went through to create an account to see our blog...I've decided not to make it private.

I did a search for Victoria and found 2 websites...both of which we know the owners. Very cool, so for now, this blog will remain open for public viewing.

Thank you for your patience and for taking the time to sign up...it means a lot to us to know that no matter what, you are willing to stick with us and read about our adventures!

If you can read this...

Then you got the e-mail that I sent out. Michael and I decided to make our blog private. Here is the article that prompted it:

Baby Pics on the Net: Public or Private?
Wed May 30, 2007 4:28PM EDT
See Comments (244)
A friend of mine, a new mom who is very tech savvy and comfortable socializing and sharing info on the web, recently raised a good question for young parents. Like lots of first-time parents, she put images and videos of her child with her name on the web for friends and family to see. She used Flickr and Yahoo! Video, which makes it easy to send links that people can click on and be brought immediately to a public photo or video gallery.
But when she did a search on her daughter's name, she was surprised to immediately find links to the images. It made her stop and think about how they handle their child's images on the web before she is old enough to have any say in how she is presented online. For now, she has taken the most prominent links down, and she and her husband have decided not to use their daughter's full name on anything they post in the future. Friends of theirs take an even more cautious stance: they will not put any images of their children on the web before they are old enough to say whether they want them there or not.
Either way, it's an interesting dilemma for parents who have come of age at ease with sharing images and writings about themselves on MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, and other social-networking sites. But when it comes to children, parents need to weigh their kids' right to privacy with the desire to share their joy with the world.
When Richard M. Smith, an Internet security consultant based in Boston, searched on his grandson's name, he was surprised to come upon a page of Flickr photos of the baby set up by his son-in-law. "Seems like a problem," he wrote in an email message. Because Smith is concerned about safety as well as privacy, he notes that putting full names of family members online is not a good idea, especially when there are tools that allow people to search on names of adults and come up with home addresses.
If you've set up a family web site, Smith notes that you can use a ROBOTS.TXT file to tell search engines to go away so the site does not show up on search index pages.
The simpler solution, he said, is to choose web-based photo-sharing options that allow you to keep the sharing between family and friends and not in the public domain. With that in mind, here are a few ways to share in a less public way:
Privacy settings: Flickr now has a "hide your photos from public searches" feature in the "my account" section of the site. You can also change privacy settings to restrict those who view your photos to friends and/or family. If you do this, you'll need to invite some friends and family to sign up on Flickr, which may take a little explaining for some less tech-savvy family members. (Note: You can not make uploaded videos to Yahoo! Video private.)
Private photo and video sharing sharing: All the major photo web sites have sharing features, though many require the viewers to register with the sites to see the photos. Shutterfly does not, which is one of the reasons why I like it. To share videos with family members and friends, try Motionbox, which has a private setting, and One True Media, which allows you to share videos on a personal TiVo channel.
Family social networking sites: Some charge subscriptions, some are free. A few free ones worth checking out are Famoodle, FamilyRoutes, and Kincafe. For a scrapbooking approach, try Smilebox.
Those are a few ideas for sharing photos and videos of your family with the people you want to see them and not necessarily anyone who finds them on the web. If this is something you've given some thought to, too, please share in the comments below how you share images of your little ones with an eye toward privacy and safety.

We may decide at some point to make this public again, i gues it all depends on how much it affects the people that read this. I also decided to do this to stop some of the unwanted comments that I have gotten in the past, although the more I think about it, the more i realize that if you are going to post in someones blog and tell them what a bad parent they are then you shouls be bold enough to leave your name...and your blog, that way I can return the favor. It was said on another blog, it was great, so I am going to repeat it...If you don't like what I have to say then stop reading this blog.

i am not a bad parent...i love my daughter...i just don;t like being watched while I am eating dinner with my husband and our sleeping child...if that makes me a bad parent, then I was a bad parent long before Victoria was born.

Home we go...

Yep, she got her own seat. You have no idea how invaluable a car seat is until you can't have it. The first few flights that we have taken, there wasn't room for the car seat. not this time.

The flight crew for delta did the best that they could to make sure that Victoria could have her own seat. I have never beem so happy to be able to use the carseat in my life.

Victoria once again did great on both flights. She cried twice before the flight heading home took off, but once we started moving, she was out cold.

The trip out to California as wonderful, but like all of our other trips, it was too short. Great Grandpa and Grandma Romano were thrilled to meet Victoria for the first time. She was captivated by both of them. Victoria meet her Aunt Sarah and her soon to be Uncle Sam, Uncle Matt, Grandpa and Noni, Great Aunt Pam and Great Uncle John, Great Uncle Tony and Great Aunt Barbara and all of her wonderful cousins.

Her feet never touched the ground...so to speak. It was wonderfult o watch everyone interact with her.

Victoria was wonderful during Gina and Travis' wedding. She even laughed at all the right times. Both the wedding and the reception were wonderful and I am greateful that we were not only invited, but able to attend.

Victoria had no problem adjusting to the time change. She went to bed at her normal time when we landed in California and then when we got home today. Must be nice. Here I am ready for bed...and that's after the 5 hour nap I had this morning when we got home. God getting older sucks. For now it's back to the routine. Laundry, walks, naps...lots of naps...for me, not her!

Enjoy the pictures from the trip.

up up and away

Oh so much to say. Nana came down over the holiday weekend for a visit. To say that it was nice to have her here would be an understatement. it was great. We took a family vacation up to Universal Studios for a few days. The first day mom stayed in the hotel with Victoria so that Michael and I could go act like kids again. Yeah, no prompting needed that day. Even the dog was amazed at how fast we got up and out the door.
The second day (saturday) mom came with us as it was our last day there. If you haven't had the pleasure of baby-swap, let me tell you....that rocks. Basically, the person with the baby goes to a special area and when you get off the ride, you go there...change places and the first person gets to go on the ride without having to go through the line again. How nice that ws. I got to ride all the great rollercoasters twice in a row. Once with Michael, then with mom. Victoria had a great time. There was so much for her to look at. She wore herself out. There is one show...posidens adventure. It's a walk-through "ride". I had Victoria in the baby bijorne. She did better then some of the adults that were there. She never cried, just smiled and laughed through the whole thing.

Tomorrow we are getting on a plane for the second time this year to go out to California. Victoria is going to get to meet the rest of her family. Her aunts and uncles and Great grandparents. How exciting for all of us. There is even a wedding over the weekend. Can't wait.

I also got my motherhood charm. Mom found one for me. I love it. it's a heart with a parent and child in it. I can't tell you how long I've waited to have one. I wear it with pride, along with all the baby spit up and stinky diapers that happen to land on me.

I have also started baby yoga and pilates every other day with Victoria. While mom and I were out shopping, i found this great vd at Target, so I thought i would give it a try. I love it. It gets me up and moving and stretching and I can still interact with Victoria. There is even a section on there for her with tummy time and stretching and at then end...a baby message. WOW! She sleeps great the days that we do yoga.

Beanie may be crawling soon. She likes to hold herself up on her arms and kick her feet, though should would rather be standing than sitting or learning to crawl. i hope she crawls first...I think I need the baby steps more than she does.

I guess that's all until we get back from California. Until then...

4 blocks and holding...

I bought baby einstein blockes for Victoria. I have been looking for cloth blocks for awhile now. Target was the place that I found them and for a good price.

2 rattle, one vibrates and one quacks. No, I didn't buy them because the yellow one quacks when you squeez the duck, that was just an added bonus. Michael was playing with her one night, showing her the blocks and what they can do. So he hands her a block and much to our happiness, she holds on to it and trys t bring it to her mouth...then she got mad cause it didn'd fit.

All in all, she likes the blocks and I love to watch her with them. I put them in her lap when she's in her highchair or on the floor or in her bumbo seat. Still waiting for her to find her feet.

Other than that, same old same old...until next time!

4 Alarm Blaze

Ok, so this doesn't look that bad...but this was right before the flames went out. This recipe called for 4 shots of alcohol then I had to set it on fire. Yeah...I was sooo ready to call 9-1-1. I had to keep taking it off the stove in fear that it was going to set the microwave on fire.

The steaks came out great. Both Michael and I were impressed by it. Will I be tying this again??? Maybe, but next time I will have someone here to videotape it. You gotta see this from the start, it's awinspiring and scary all wrapped into one meal. Even Victoria was impressed by the flames.

Michael even offered to buy new pans for me for cooking. Sadly I got excited at the prospect of new pans to cook with. The ones that we have now are a little warped, but still work great and can handle anything that I can throw in them...and that takes a lot cause sometimes I suck at cooking and forget about things. Yeah...I even burnt a pot cause I forgot about the water boiling in it. Go ahead, laugh, you know you want to. I did...well, not right away anyway!

3 months and counting

Michael and I took Victoria to Sears portrait studio last weekend to have some pictures taken. We had a wonderful time and only had to do 1 picture over again. Is that some kind of record or what...I mean with me...better block off all day. i hate every picture that is taken of me, not this kid.

Anyway...a few of those pictures are uploaded ont her picture place...go take a look...one of them is guarenteed to make you laugh!!!

Yeah, that's the one that I was told I couldn't have Sears print to send out to family, go figure.

almost 4 month check-up

Monday we went to see Dr. Bell for Victoria's 4 month check-up and learned some interesting things about her!
1- she still has a small head
2- she now weighs a wopping 12 pounds
3- she is 24 1/2 inches long and growing

the last things...we can now start her on solid foods. Yeah, and I thought formula was messy. We bought rice cereal to give it a go and it was a no go. She decided that she wanted her formula instead. Instant gratification. I will keep trying everyday to see if there is any change. Can't wait.

Oh, yeah, she also got her shots and once again came through like a trooper...until we got home that night, then she cried and cried and cried, that is until daddy came home. Go figure. i guess she wanted someone else to look at, not that i blame her...even i get tired of hearing my own voice. Someday I will get to hear her voice instead!

The Chair

So Michael and I bought this chair for Victoria. She can sit in it, but not go anywhere. You should see her in this thing, she loves it. She no longer has to see the world on her back or in someone's arms.

Though looking at this picture, she looks drunk or stupified not sure which one fits better.

I take this chair all over the house with me...doing laundry, dishes, outside on the patio, on the livingroom floor. Even the dog gets a kick out of it...the first day it was in the house, the dog barked at it...go figure. I guess she was mad that they didn't have one in her size and color.

I will post tomorrow after her pediatricin appt. I am hoping to be able to start feeding her solid food soon...that will be interesting...thank god I bought more bibs.

Who knew...we got so many bibs that I though we would have an overabundance of them...but between the dryer eating them and Victoria spitting up on them, I never seem to have enough clean ones around the house and no, i'm not going to do laundry just for a few bibs, we are on a water restriction...even with an infant ( which I think is totally unfair). So today I bought some more bibs...I hope these stay arund longer than the last ones...where ever they seem to have gotten off to!

anyway, until tomorrow!

Feet

Why do babies think it's funny when you point out their feet?

i love to pick up Victoria's feet and tell her that those are her feet and she laughs. Though she also thinks that it's funny that i can still put my feet up to my nose...though I prefer her feet over mine any day!

That's it...just thought I'd ask!!!

Heart Beat

I didn't want to post this until we knew for sure that all was well with Victoria and now we know so here I am posting.

Victoria went into the cardiologists on Monday. At her last well visit, Dr. Bell heard an extra thump in her heart and wanted to get is checked out. So Monday we got to see her heart up on the big screen. All is well. There is a heart valve that is missing (no, I don't remember the technical term for it) but it's not causing any issues like leakage or stress or anything like that. She will grow up to be a normal child and will be able to play sports and what not. The only thing that will have to change is she will have to have antibiotics before surgery or dental work...no big deal. She was very good during the procedure...we fed her a bottle to help keep her mellow, though she kept watching the doctor. I think she ws fascinated by the white coat.

On a personal note...I want to thank all of you for the warm wishes for my birthday, yes, i am now 27...3 years away from 30...scary enough i am actully looking forward to it! Just another milestone! Anyway...Getting all the cards and phone calls makes me realize how much I miss all of you. There is so much going on in all of our lives on a daily basis...that's why i am glad that we all keep in touch every now and then. It's amazing to see how far ech of us has come in our lives and still managed to keep close over the miles.

Yeah, being here sucks...even with the warm weather...but it makes seeing all of you that much sweeter.

Friends

Ok, so this morning during bath time, I told Victoria that some day she will be heading off to first grade and mommy would cry and cry and cry some more. Then I told her that some day she would be heading off to highschool and mom would stop crying by then.

I told her about my time in highschool and all the great friends that I had. Each of them taught me a lesson, whether they knew it or not. I had one friend that taught me that no matter how old you get, you can still act like a kid, another taught me that there is always time for a good movie and the best way to watch that movie is in the dark with a big bowl of popcorn another taught me that it's cool to be smart and you shouldn't let the little things come between you and your friends.I was even taught by 2 great people that babies are not breakable, no matter what you do to them and for this I am a better parent and unafraid of my little wiggle worm. I lost touch with a few of these great friends, only to rediscover them later in life. I found out that we are all more alike than we thought. We all grew up, got married and started a family. These are the things that I wish for Victoria that she will have friends that she can count on, share secrets with and grow up with.

So here is a toast to all the great frinds in my life for all that you have shared and all that i have learned from each of you! You Rock!!!

to sleep perchance to dream

While Mark and Lia were in town visiting and meeting Victoria for the first time, we had another first...she slept through the night. Victoria went down around 9am and was up around 7am the next morning. I couldn't beleive it.

The next night we weren't so lucky...but then friday night it happend again. could this be the start of more sleep for all of us??? Nope. She goes down around 9pm and gets up around 4am then again around 8am. Yeah, I was hoping that she would stay asleep all night, but no such luck. Oh well. I know that there will come a time when she will sleep through the night.

Meantime, Michael and Mark finished the screened in patio in the back. i can't tell you how nice it is to be able to be outback with Victoria on the swing and not be eaten alive by the bugs. I can't beleive ow much work they got done in 3 days. It was amazing. Michael is still finishing up some final touches, but all in all it's a beautiful thing to look at. It's even better to be outside swinging. Even Molly (the cat) got the chance to come outside and check things out. I think she was amazed that she could come outside and not have me chasing after her to get back into the house.

Sandy, however, wasn't so lucky. During the construction, she managed to get out not once, but twice. The second time I had taken her out the front door for a bathroom break, Michael thought I would be outside longer and left both screen doors open. Sandy ran through both and, get this...stopped at the front door. What a dog.

Michael, Victoria and myself are all doing well after that mean guy hit us in Easter. I am glad to see that we weren't hurt and I'm glad that Victoria won't remember it...not that it was a bad accident or anything, but still.

Life is great!

Crash...boom...bang

First off, let me tell you that we are all ok.

Michael and I were on our merry way to Best Buy (not realizing that they would be closed...duh, holiday) when, while stopped at a red light, we were hit from behind. The jolt was hard enough to make our backs somewhat sore (I will be going to the chiropracter tomorrow). Michael got out to talk with the hitter while I checked on Victoria. Victoria had slept through her first car accident. After a few words were exchanged between the car that hit us and Michael, get this...the guy drove off...we were involved in a hit and run.

I called the pediatrician to see of we needed to take Victoria to the hospital and, thankfully, the answer was no. She was safer in her carseat than Michael and I in the front seat. Kind of makes you want to sit in the back from now on, huh! Ok, that's the way i feel. So for now, we just watch her and make sure that she is still the happy go lucky baby she's always been. So far, so good.

I do hope that they find the guy that hit us...serves him right. Yes, Michael even told the guy that we had a 3 month old in the car...goober...ug. What a thing to happen on Easter.

On the upside...take a look at her pictures...yes, we did the dress her up as the Easter Bunny thing. It was hysterical...and oh so cute.

Happy Easter to everyone!

Sleeping Soundly

We were having some phone issues the other night...we couldn't call out nor could anyone call in. And before you say it, yes, the phone bill was paid for this month.
Anyway, thinking that something was going to go horribly wrong I packed up the baby and headed upstairs and set the house alarm like we were going to bed. Michael came home around 11 pm with instructions that he needed to call home before he opend the the door, that way he wouldn't set off the alarm and have the police hsow up at our door due to the lack of a phone line. It didn't go according to my master plan. Michael came home and opend the front door. For those of you that have house alarms, you know how loud they can be, well, bless Victoria, she slept right through the whole thing. I had to go in and check to make sure she was alright...I mean, I can't even sleep through something like that. Very impressive.

Now allow me to explaine the picture above...she was sleeping in her chair...with her arms out. She looks like baby frankenstein. I tried to capture it on film, but it's very hard to get something like that on film, but that didn't stop me from trying.

I guess that's it until Easter...just wait until you see the Easter Bunny outfit we bought for her. This poor kid is gonna need therapy when she gets older!

Caught on Tape

Victoria rolled over again...4 times. The first time I was out of the room, the second time i was so excited I had to go find the video camera, the third and fourth time I finally caught it on film. I couldn't believe it.

I have never been so excited. Now I have proof that she can roll over on her own. Next: crawling.

On the family front...Aunt Barbara was in town this week. It was great to have her here. She spent lots of time snuggling with her great neice. Wednesday Michael and I took both Victoria and Aunt Barbara on a tour of Palm Beach. We even got a glimps of the American flag being flown on Trumps property...like we could miss it. He is being fined $1500 a day by the town for not taking it down. Go Trump.
After we took a stroll down by the ocean we headed out to Wellington to have dinner at the Bamboo Club (Asian Fushion food), then it was home for the night. It was great to have Aunt Barbara here. It's always great to have family in town...new faces for Victoria to study and examine and smile at.

Mark and Lia are coming in next week. It will be the first time they meet their granddaughter face to face...and she can't wait. i have been telling Victoria all about her family. She smiles and laughs...mainly at me, but hey..I'd laugh at me too!

Up, Up and away

Here is a picture of the very first plane ride that Vi ctoria has taken. We were headed up to Rochester, NY for some family time and to check on a family member that is not doing so well.

It was amazing, I was more nervous thans he was. The first flight went off without a hitch. She slept through both takeoff and landing. We were amazed...so were the people around us. We got a lot of thumbs up on the way off the plane. Even the flight crew was amazed.

It was great to be home again. Victoria got to meet alot of her extended family. Her great Aunts and Uncles (though they were great before she was born) cousins, and some friends, including Jeffrey (her birthday buddy) and Ethan (EJ).

For me, it was hard to let her go. Eveyone wanted to hold her, and I don't blame them, she's a great baby and loves to snuggle with people, though by the end of the 3 day trip, I was glad to have her all to myself again.

The flight home was just as great. She didn't even fuss over some of the turbulance we had to fly thorugh, nor the rough landing into West Palm Beach Monday morning. I still have some fears about flying with her, I don't want to be one of those parents with the screaming baby that everyone wants to throw off the plane at 35,000 feet. The next trip will be out to California so that Victoria can meet her great grandparents, aunts and uncles. I am looking forward to the trip to California, just not the 4 hour flight part of it. It will be a close tie between Victoria and myself on who will sleep the longest. I am hoping that she will sleep for most of the plane ride, that way when we get into California, she will be wide awake and ready to go!

For those of you that we missed on this trip, I am sorry that we weren't able to get together. I wish that we had more time...there are lots of things that we didn;t get to do on this trip. I do want to thank Dani and Brian for lending me their car seat and Karen for lending us a pack and play for bedime. I had no idea how much stuf we would have to pack for someone so small.

Anyway, I look forward to our next trip back to Rochester. Next time I promise to stay longer and visit those that we missed. In the meantime, enjoy the pictures.

Update

The night after Victoria got her shots was not as bad as we thought it would be. She cried, and cried and cried, then went to sleep and woke up happy as ever and back to her normal self.

I was glad that we didn't get the fever or the all ngiht crying. I was rather impressed by Victoria. She took the shots like a trooper. Next time I think we will give her the tylenol ahead of time...too many people have said that it will help with the pain, besides, who likes seeing their child in pain?!

As the weather gets warmer here, not only do I get to wear shorts, but I get to put Victoria in all the cute onsies she received. I hate to sayt his, but i am actually kind of happy when she spits up on one of them, then I can change her into another one. Yeah it makes for more laundry, but I love seeing her in all the great outfits she got. I even tried to put a sun hat on her, though she lookd great, it was way too big for her...it did keep the sun out of her eyes along with everything else, it covered her face when it fell over.

How is it that something so small can captivate so many people? I am sure that each of you have watched your child for hours on end instead of doing something around the house or watching TV. Kids are amazing. What's even more amazing is to see things through their eyes. It's like seeing everything for the first time. The power of children.

Speaking of children, time for lunch! Have a great weekend!

Shots...Owwwww

Poor Victoria had her 2 month check-up today. She got her 4 shots, including her hep b shot. I have never seen Victoria cry so much in my life and it's not the I'm hungry or I'm tired cry either. She was pissed off. She was even producing real tears...and a lot of them.

We were told to give her tylenol every 4- hours to help with the pain. For the moment she is quiet and happy...and drugged. Thank goodness for that. I know that we have a long night a head of us.

As for the update, she is 22 inches long and 9 pounds 10 1/2 ounces. Can you believe it. Wow is this kid is growing faster than I can imagine. She aso had another first...

SHE ROLLED OVER. While we were waiting for Dr. Bell to come in for her check-up, I decided to give her some tummy time. Just as Dr. Bell walked in, she rolled over. So mark your calenders 3-7-07 at 3:44pm Victoria rolled over.

Yeah, not sure I'm ready for this. That means that she is growing up. I know it is going to happen no matter how I feel, but geeze. Poor kid had no idea why I was jumping up and down and very excited for her.

I guess that's it for now...until next time!

Are You Talking To Me?

Question:
When you over hear someone talking about how cute your baby is, do you respond to them and if you do, what do you say?

Michael and I were out eating dinner tonight and a mother with her 3 girls were sitting behind us. One of the little girls noticed Victoria in her car seat and said "look mom, a baby". THe mom started to tell each of the girls when they were born and how much the weighed. Victoria at one point opend her eyes and the little girl said " mommy, the baby is awake, come see her" the mom responded by saying that they would stop and look on their way out.

This never happend as Michael and I were the first to leave. I was a little uncomfortable during dinner because A- I could hear what they were saying about Victoria and B-the little girl stood up and was staring at all of us through the whole meal.

As many of you have already experienced this, what did you do? I wanted to turn around and say something, but then i would have to admit to listening to their conversations. I know that kids are very curious about the world around them and have lots of questions, but should I have turned around and said something like "turn around and let me eat dinner in peace"

Now, don't get me worng, i love hearing how cute she is or how precious she is or whatever comment people have to say, but why can't they say it to me or Michael and not whisper behind us. And what do you say when someone goes to touch your child without sounding mean or over bearing?
Who knew that having an infant would bring so many curious people and comments!?

So for now, I have chose to act like I don't hear them, unless they are speaking to me directly.

ABC's of Me

This was taken from Kellie's blog.


A- Available or Single?
Married happily now for 2 years and counting.

B- Best Friend?
All of you rock. Without each of you sharing your wisdom and guidence, I would be lost.

C- Cake or Pie?
Depends on what it is. If it's chocoalte, it's whichever I can get to first.

D- Drink of Choice?
Non-alcoholic is lemonade and alcholic is anything that tasts good, regardless of what form it comes in (jell-o shots, fruit soaked in vodka, etc)

E- Essential Item?
Phone, computer and baby. Ok, so baby isn't and item, but she is essential. She makes me laugh and I love spending time with her, when I'm not updating the blog for all of you to read and laugh at!

F- Favorite Color?
Blue or purple, then again, anything that isn't pink for the moment. We have so many pink things in the house from having a girl it looks like the house was sprayed in peptobismol.

G- Gummi Bears or Worms?
Neither, they both tast funny.

H- Hometown?
Rochester, NY. No matter where I am, this will always be my home.

I- Indulgence?
1000 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets. and nothing less will do

J- January or February?
January, it's the month Victoria was born and the month that all my troubles ended (my gallbladder came out)

K- Kids and Names?
Daughter-Victoria
Dog-Sandy
Cat-Molly-
Husband-Michael

L- Life is incomplete without…?
Love, laughter, sorrow, money and a great book.

M- Marriage Date?
September 5, 2004.

N- Number of Siblings?
2 half sisters (never met them)
1 Sister by marriage and one brother by marriage

O- Oranges or Apples?
Apples, cheaper in florida and the dog won't steal it from me if I leave it on the table too long and it goes great with the carmel topping I bought.

P- Phobias/Fears?
Hurricanes (yeah, I know, I live in the worng state for that one), losing a family member. I used to be afraid of needles, but I got over that one real quick.

Q- Favorite Quote?
Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get!

R- Reasons to smile?
My husband, my daughter, friends and family and reading the final book to the Harry Potter series.

S- Season?
Winter. You can snuggle up to a good book or a good friend and a great movie.

T- Tag 3 people?
If you are reading this, consider yourself tagged! So in the spirit of this: Tag, you're it!

U- Unknown Fact About Me?
Ok, this may seem odd, but, I can still touch both of my feet to my nose. Yeah, I know, weird, but you've come to expect that from me, haven't you!?

V- Vegetable You Hate?
Lima beans

W- Worst Habit?
spending way too much money, or so I have been told. That's what happens when I am given free access to money and the internet.

X- Xrays You’ve Had?
just two, one for my back at my chiropracters office and the other one for my kidney stones.

Y- Your Favorite Foods?
anything sweet and made of chocolate.

Z- Zodiac?
Aries….

now you are armed with more usless information about me. I am proud of you for reading this whole thing, that takes patience. Hopefully you learned something new and I made you laugh or at least smile or even think about chocolate cake.

Thank you for being here and alowing me to share my life with you...it's been a blast!