Category Archives: A update

Me & My Llama….

Posted on by

2

(or baby) Goin’ to the dentist todaaaayyyyyyyy!!!! (or Friday!)

I took A to the dentist on Friday!  My pediatrician said she’s got lots of teeth and that it was time to see a dentist!  I have a ridiculous fear of the dentist.  I don’t know where it comes from, but its a real fear that keeps me away from dentists for long periods of time.  I have never done recreational drugs before, but if they marketed Nitrous Oxide for the general public, I might sign up!  It’s the only way anyone could get me to the dentist as an adult!

**Actual conversation with the dentist as he walked in the door, before he sat down.  Me:  “My dad said to ask for the gas”  Dr:  “We don’t usually use gas for cleanings….who is your dad?”  Me:  “HK”  Dr:  “Uh-huh…I got it…nurse, please get her set up with the gas…thanks” (My dad is known for his love of the perception altering substances!)

My fear, I’m pretty sure, came from my childhood dentist.  He was Mean.  He never should have been treating children.  Where is a mommy to go when she needs to find a dentist for her baby, but is too scared to even go herself?!  This is like, when the mommy hates a food, and doesn’t give it to the baby…only there’s like a thousand other fruits for her to eat & she won’t miss eating mango!!!  Never going to the dentist is clearly not an option!  In comes 1-800 DENTIST.  Yup – I actually used them, and they were great!  Let me tell you the best part of their service.  They DO EVERYTHING…including calling the office and making your appointment!  (A step that paralyzed with fear mommies can’t do!)  Anywho – they set us up with an appointment for Friday and off we went.  He was GREAT!  Not that A needed much coaxing…as she screamed to climb into the dentist chair!!!

See my so so scared baby?!

"What's next Doc?!"

"Whaaaaatttt??? TV in this big giant comfy chair?!?! OK!"

"What's that big light for?!"

There was minimal crying….only really when the Dr. took the toothbrush away from her, and I even made myself an appointment!  I’m even thinking of keeping it!!! (I checked they give the gas for cleanings…)

Happy Father’s Day!!!

Posted on by

1

Dear Daddy,

Thank you for being the best Daddy a girl could ask for.  From the moment I was born you have loved me with all of your heart and I am the luckiest girl in the world to have you as my Daddy.  You are always happy to play with me, give me baths, feed me, rock me to sleep, and do anything I want really….You also make sure that I have everything I need, and lots of things I want.  I can’t wait to celebrate so many more Father’s Days with you!  You deserve a day for the world to celebrate you!

I love you more than anything in this world.  I hope your Daddy’s Day is perfect! (even though you’re pretty sore from cleaning up the yard yesterday!)

Hugs and lots of kissies!

Baby A

A & Daddy snuggling...about 5 days old

2 peas in a pod! 12 1/2 months

 

A special Happy Father’s Day to my dad…and ALL the other dad’s I know!  Specifically, Uncle B…its your 1st Father’s Day & I hope that you’re enjoying that tiny little girl!  She’s a lucky girl!

Summer fun …

Posted on by

1

Its been HOT here in NY.  Really hot.  I know I live less than 1/2 a mile to the beach, but with A’s naps & lunchtime & attention span, I think I’m going to try to stick around the yard…now that I have a yard (or 2)!

We got A this sand & water table the other day…she loves it!  She made herself all sandy…and my driveway…and me…and T.  She played in the water table with the boats & swam in her baby pool.  She even got T to come for a swim too!

Not gonna lie…I’m a bragger…my kids are the cutest.  Hands down.

Can we just check out T's smile!

T loves the sun.  He’s mexican through and through.  Now that its hot as hades outside, he can’t get enough of it & tries to get out every chance he gets.  In the winter, I’m lucky if he gets out of bed on his own!

Apparently…A loves the heat too!  Playing outside is doing this girl some good…we’ll be living outside all summer.  You can find me in the baby pool!

Kisses for everything!

Posted on by

1

A loves to kiss.  Mostly, she loves to kiss her baby dolls, her stuffed animals, all real babies, and all real animals.  Not so much me…but I ask all the time!

She doesn’t care so much what the animal is…I’m just hoping that this doesn’t extend to bugs too because I will freak out.  Really.

We went on UB’s boat this weekend & did a little fishing!  As we found out in the Keys, A loves boats!  She was sooooo good.  Daddy was catching lots of baby fluke….and all A wanted to do was to kiss it!

(that is her going in for a kiss…but we didn’t let her get too close otherwise she really would have had fish lips!)

 

 

Our backyard playground…

Posted on by

1

…is the beach.  True its not exactly in my backyard…I have trees in the actual yard, trees with bugs in them.  I grew up in Long Beach & Friday night was the definition of why I wanted to bring A back there to grow up.  Friday night, the girls were bored, and we went to the beach!  There was a cool breeze, some sun, lots of sand and A & her BFF PD!  It was PD’s first time on the sand & the girls loved it!

1st time on the beach!

 

We give lots of kisses!

 

America's Next Top Model (very short edition)

 

Guarding the snacks

 

They definitely ate a ton of sand….but they had a great time!  So did their Mommies. We’ll see how they like it Monday – Friday in the heat of the daytime!  Something tells me we’ll be there at night too!  Next time I’m bringing T…

Just a day at the Ritz…

Posted on by

1

So LK got a new job.  Not me…the other one.  So far, so AWESOME.  They are responsible for our amazing Memorial Day weekend – and I couldn’t be more grateful.  I have to admit I was a little nervous to see what a “company trip” was going to be, and in my mind there was going to be a ton of business related things, and me being left to tend to little A while the husband talked work & “shmoozed”.  Luckily, to my surprise, this wasn’t what happened at all!  As you saw – we went to Disney and had a great family day there.  Sunday was for relaxing by the pool!  I was determined to hang by the pool all day and not get stuck in our room with A…so we did it!  Even better, A cooperated!!!!!

First.  I can’t speak highly enough about California Baby Sunscreen.  It has kept little A protected from sunburn many times since she was an infant.  She has very sensitive skin and is allergic to Johnson & Johnson and Aveeno products….she has had no adverse reactions to the California Baby stuff.  We had no umbrella at the pool for shade, she just wore her hat most of the day.  She swam a lot & took 2 good naps in her stroller.  (ahh that Disney Magic Air)

I got to have a great massage & the husband got to go to a golf clinic.  By the end of the day we were relaxed & ready to party!  I didn’t snap any pictures of the company BBQ that night, but it was great!  A was dancing & playing with all the kids and we even got a fantastic fireworks show!

Thanks to everyone for treating us “new guys” like family & for the opportunity to have such an incredible family vacation!

 

Disney with a 1 year old!

Posted on by

1

Here are some pictures from our trip!  We really are so lucky to have been treated to such an amazing trip!

I did some research into what the best things to do with a 1 year old are in the Magic Kingdom & I think the most important thing was to be flexible.  The day was a great success, due mostly to the fact that us LK’s gave up on us enjoying the normal Disney stuff and instead followed A’s lead…it also helped that we got there at 8am.  If you make it there early, especially on a holiday weekend, you get at least 2 hours with no lines!

First we came up to Main Street and A was entertained by some singing passerby’s while Daddy snapped a pic!

Then we headed over to the castle because everything we needed was through there!  We got a photo pass but only got 1 snapshot of us which I don’t really want to pay $15 for!  I think it’s a great way to get lots of awesome photos of you and your whole family and not have to carry around your camera, but I had mine, and we were tired of taking A in and out of the stroller!

The first ride we saw was the Mary Poppins Carousel.  I know A loves to ride the horses so we had to stop there!  We got to ride twice since there was no one on line.  She got to ride the little horse and she LOVED it!

Next we went to “Its a Small World”  Our daughter is really social.  We sometimes call her the Mayor.  She needs to check everyone out, say hi, make sure everyone is entertained…and she felt it was her duty to make sure to greet all of the puppets in all of the small world!  She was blowing kisses, and getting very excited!  It was pretty dark in there but I got a little video of Miss Mayor…

Right after that, we went straight across to the Peter Pan ride.  She liked it, but it wasn’t as great of a reaction as the last one, and it was too dark to get any pics!

By then, she was exhausted…she was off schedule and we knew it was naptime.  We strapped her in the stroller and took a walk while she napped.  It took all of Disney’s Magic to get her to nap in that stroller, and she did it!!!!  We were proud 🙂

After her nap, we went to lunch.  Not much opened in terms of food until 11, but we managed to get an 11:15 reservation & got to catch the Mickey & friends show at the Castle.

The hat was essential!

After lunch we headed over to the other LK’s favorite ride in Disney.  Most men would be psyched to get to ride Space Mountain, or Splash Mountain or some other thrilling roller coaster ride…not my LK.  He loves the teacups.  The pink one to be precise.  I have a photo of us in the pink teacup circa 1999 that will not be shown on this blog 😉  or it might.  I haven’t unpacked it yet!

After this, we waited on line for the Winnie the Pooh ride for 30 minutes…at which point A was cranky, we were sweaty, and we decided to go back to the hotel for naptime!  This worked like a charm.  A was able to get in some good sleep, we rested up & got ready for dinner in Japan at Epcot!

A ate everything in sight at dinner....she went especially crazy for the steamed broccolli...

It might look like LK peed in his pants...don't fret...he just spilled an entire bowl of Miso soup on his lap!

We did a little shopping after dinner & A got to pick out her favorite Micky or Minnie doll…she had many to choose from!

She chose the Minnie from Paris! (Auntie H…that’s in France, not London!)

Then we watched the fireworks show & headed to the Monorail.

(A fell asleep on our wait to the monorail & we went for some dessert back at the Magic Kingdom while she napped!  While we were there, I made LK buy an extra special light up balloon for A to wake up to!  It was $15, but what is our daughter’s smile worth really?!?!

In many ways, taking a 1 year old to Disney is silly…but it was great for us.  She wasn’t scared of anything, but she never really is…and the Disney magic made my sassy girl into an angel.  Mickey & Minnie…move over…A is movin’ in!

Parenthood is…

Posted on by

1

Asking for help.

I am putting my mind into this book and evaluating my little girl as fairly as I can.  I need to do this for both of us.  I miss A’s infancy.  I miss the little cries & whimpers.  Toddler cries are way more dramatic!  I have to learn how to be less reactive to her whining & crying and more reactive to her underlying needs.  I need to set boundaries & stick with them.  I need to find my patience and stop “loosing it” when she’s screaming at me.  It is hard.  Parenthood is so hard.  I need to do whatever I can to make it easier and to get out of my own way.  I’ve taken the quiz in this book and it seems we have a “Textbook Baby” on our hands….with a little bit of a “Spirited” & “Angel” kid thrown in for good measure!  I can’t wait to read the rest of this book!  If it doesn’t work, I have some more on the list to read, but I believe in the “Dog Whisperer” so why not the baby one!

Vacation OVER :(

Posted on by

2

We’re back from our trip to the Florida Keys with the G Family.  We had the BEST time.  I am so sad and lonely being home alone with A.  It was way more fun in FL with our friends!

We’re so lucky to have such great friends to share vacation with!  If only we were lucky enough to have them live in NY!

Miss you guys 🙂

Its A’s Party & She’ll cry if she wants to…

Posted on by

3

I think it is an unwritten rule that on the day of your party, you are a B*&@$!  At least, all the girls that I know are.  exceptmeimperfect.  The LKs were up until 2am on Saturday night preparing the house for this party.  We had help from Auntie S & Uncle P to move all the furniture out and bring the tables in….the house went from Living Room to Catering Hall in a matter of minutes.  It looked great!

Then A woke up.  At 7am.  SCREAMING.  This is not her normal way to wake up, but it was the day of her party…so of COURSE she was cranky pants!

Our house held 85 people.  I can’t even believe it.  I know lots of guests thought it was crowded, mostly because it was, but it was crowded with all the people we love!

An amazingly talented friend came to the party & lucky for the LKs he brought his camera.  We didn’t expect him to work the party, but he seemed to be having fun capturing everything & who can argue…A is a pretty cute subject to photograph!

We kept the decoration simple since there would be so many people … I thought it would be too much with too many decorations!  We had some pretty flowers…

We had pink, black and white polka dot balloons too!  I almost got those beautiful perfectly round balloons – however those things are 36″ in diameter.  Each.  It would have taken 20, 15 minute car rides to get them blown up and to the house.  Have you seen gas prices?!  We went with regular balloons!

There are many benefits to having an April birthday.  (I prefer a May birthday myself but April has become a new favorite!)  One of these benefits was that I was able to walk with A outside from the time she came home from the hospital because the weather was perfect!  The other, was when shopping for her birthday party, I was able to have my pick of all things pink!  All the stores are stocked for Easter!  Since they start Easter decorations in about February…I had lots of time to get all the pink platters and serving pieces!

We catered bagels and fixings for the main part of the brunch, but the desserts were something I wanted to put a more personal touch on.  We had help though!  Not the same help that Auntie H got for S’s party…nowayinhell.  At the time of Cousin S’s party, I was pregnant with A and I promised my then unknown baby that when it came time for their 1st birthday, I would put more effort into their desserts than I did for my beautiful sweet niece.  I didn’t know if that was possible since my mom and I put about 20 hours worth of effort into S’s party stuff!

For A’s party we had lots of help!  Our friends E, R & PD came with a fabulous cake for A to get her hands into!

Fabulous cup-cake by E!

Aunt D brought her famous mini-cupcakes in polka dot liners with pink icing!  She is an ah-mazing cupcake decorator if you need one.  I know mine are simple, but that is what I asked for.  She made some awesome Easter cupcakes recently which I will show on here soon!  Shameless plug for my bestie and her talents!

Perfect mini cupcakes by Aunt D

Finally, I made A’s cake.  It took me about 3 hours total.  I was inspired by 2 photos of cakes I had seen.  1 is this rainbow cake which has been seen all over the place.

The 2nd was this M&M decorated cake.

I was going to make 2 cakes, but once the guest list topped 80, I decided I should prepare in other ways and combined my inspirations into 1 (i think) perfect cake!

The best part of this cake by far was that it was sitting nice and pretty on our dessert table, waiting patiently for us to sing the Happy Birthday to A, and I was taking a moment before gathering everyone to sit with my family…and in walks a cousin….with a plate….with the cake…already cut…WHATHUHHOWWHEN?????OK time to sing…NOW!

Another decoration that I insisted on doing myself is this Birthday banner.  My A needed some handmade-ness in her party & I was determined to give it to her…

The only other decoration I used was A!  I hung her monthly photos along the wall next to the tables in the living room, and I put up a few of her 1 year photos from the photo shoot she did up by the drink table!  Ugh I love this kid!

The weather was our major worry leading up to the party…but as it turned out, all the rain came and went just in time!  We were able to have a great party inside AND outside!  Our guests were certainly the best part of the party!  I didn’t get to spend much time with any one person, but I hope everyone there had fun!

Auntie S getting some good snuggle time with Baby A2

Friends CMSquared 🙂 That boy melts my heart.

Cousins CM & RM! All the way from PA! They seem to be having fun!

Boston friends came too! So happy they enjoyed the outdoors!

They really made a pretty picnic on our lawn!!! Love it 🙂

We got Auntie S2 to come from MD with my bun...

A having some special Uncle C time 🙂

Before the party ended, we had to get an all girls shot. GIRLS RULE BOYS DROOL!

A’s birthday was so special.  A had her screaming moments, she didn’t have great naps that day, but overall she was so good.  As usual when she didn’t see me she was on her best behavior, but I was so proud of her for being such a good girl & sharing all her toys with the other kids, smiling for the camera, and being my sweet girl!  I can’t believe she’s 1.  She is talking up a storm now which keeps me laughing.  She has such an opinion on everything!  I can’t wait for the new adventures we will go on during this next year and the next 100! gw

Thank you everyone who came to her party & shared in her special day.

Special thanks to Aunt D’s date.  Without you G, no one would have eaten, drank, had lemons, or pretty much anything else!!!  So thankful!