Easter Happenings

Easter 2013.  It came in like a lion, kicked our butts and left us going to bed at abnormally early hours when it was over.  Yes, it was THAT fun!

We made a long weekend out of the holiday and headed up to NY to spend quality time with the Mangiaracina/Kolb family. We crammed so much stuff into the 4 days that we needed to take a nap in the middle of writing this post to get through it all!  Here is a run down of the hectic schedule:

Thursday, 3/28 | 6:30 PM

Dropped Lucy off at the Quartuccio house and hit the road for a 5 hour trip to Long Island complete with a stop at White Marsh Town Center for a diaper check, BK dinner in the car and a cranky, non-sleeping toddler.

Friday, 3/29 | 12:30 AM

Tried very hard to settle a SCREAMING kid who was 100% overtired and didn't want to sleep in a pack n' play in the same room with his parents.

Friday, 3/29 | 10:30 AM

Kept a (finally!) napping kid napping by driving around the old neighborhood while on the way to our favorite breakfast spot, the Eggery.  The nap worked ~ check out these smiles:

Friday, 3/29 | 1:30 PM

After playtime at Aunt Adriana and Uncle John's new, beautiful house, we headed back into the car to visit Grandpa Mangiaracina at the cemetery.  It was a lovely moment to have James there with us.

Friday, 3/29 | 4:00 PM

Time to play with the puppies and kitties at Grandma's house.  James was enamored with Marty, Uncle Joe's black lab and Princess the cat was enamored with James.

Friday, 3/29 | 6:30 PM

After another failed quick nap, we had a quick dinner at Grandma's house and a visit from the Green family.  This was the first time James met Dominick and Guilianna and they all had a blast playing.  James played hard to get with his new lady friend. :)

Friday, 3/29 | 7:30 PM

Cue the James melt down.  We stuck it out as long as we could but it was time to head back to the Kolb residence for a bath and bedtime.  I think he fell asleep before he hit the not-so-comfortable pac n' play mattress.

Saturday, 3/30 | 4:00 AM

Wake up call courtesy of James.  He refused to go back to sleep in that damn pac n' play.  I broke a cardinal rule and let him sleep with us just to get some more zzzz's.

Saturday, 3/30 | 6:00 AM

And we're up.  Sorry Uncle John and Aunt Adriana!

Saturday, 3/30 | 11:00 AM

Daddy hit the car show at the Javits Center with Uncle Joe so James and I decided to head out east to meet adorable cousin Kevin.  The boys were adorable together and Nean and I had chance to catch up.  We shared lunch with Aunt Kathy and Uncle Jimmy and ended the awesome visit with a walk through the neighborhood.  Jeannine and I grew up together and spent our childhood playing Mommy to our Cabbage Patch Kids.  It was a surreal moment to share now that we are Mommy's to real kids. 

Saturday, 3/30 | 6:00 PM

It was dinner time again at Grandma's house and because of only one crappy 45 minute nap earlier in the day, a full on melt down ensued at the dinner table.  Luckily, he was more well behaved during dessert but I think it was the ice cream that Daddy was feeding him that kept him happy.  

Saturday, 3/30 | 9:00 PM

With James down for the night, it was time to dye those Easter eggs.  There were strict rules to obey - one color per egg, but after lots of lobbying of Adriana, I was able to make my grenade egg.

Sunday, 3/31 | 6:00 AM

Awake.  At least he is consistent.  The Easter Bunny found James and gave him a great basket filled with all sorts of toys.  James was more interested in the new game we invented called "I'm gonna get James".  Basically we say "I'm gonna get James" in a silly voice and he gives us big smiles and giggles and walks away from us.  Or towards us.  Depends on his mood at the time.  Apparently this game was more fun than his Easter basket.  We did not take offense.

Sunday, 3/31 | 9:00 AM

It was back to Grandma's for Easter breakfast.  James (in bunny ears) had some yummy bagel and was treated to some awesome gifts from Grandma. Now, while I love when his Grandparent's spoil him, I can't say that I love the Yankees hoodie that he is now in possession of.  From the looks of things, he wishes it was a Mets hoodie too! :) 

Sunday, 3/31 | 11:00 AM

NAPPING!!!!!! WOO HOO!!!!!!!

Sunday, 3/31 | 2:00 PM

We were back in the car and headed west to Staten Island for Easter at the Giocolano's.  Guess what, MORE NAPPING!!!  Good thing - traffic on the Belt was thick!

Sunday, 3/31 | 3:00 PM

James was full of smiles and giggles as we settled into the cozy Giocolano home for Easter dinner.  A big thanks to cousins Renee and Mike for the awesome new duckie that keeps him laughing for hours!

Sunday, 3/31 | 7:15 PM

After a delicious dinner, the clothes came off and the peep show began.  Ha!  Kidding.  Kind of.  Mr. James was down to his undies and decided to put on a show for the neighbors.  Thanks to cousin Mike, he had a ball playing in the window.

Sunday, 3/31 | 8:00 PM

With jammies on, it was time to head home.  But not before some extra hugs from cousin Renee.  The little man was sleeping within 5 minutes of being in his car seat.  Upon arrival at the Kolb house, we did a quick diaper check and put him down where he was out cold.  Looks like the lack of sleep caught up to him...finally!

Monday, 4/1 | 6:00 AM

Up and at 'em! Seriously...this kid needs to learn that 7:00 AM is a very good hour to wake up!  We said our goodbyes to Uncle John who headed to work, had some breakfast with Grandma and Aunt Adriana, packed up and hit the road. James slept most of the ride until we hit Delaware where we stopped for a potty break and some lunch. He wasn't happy about the rest of the ride, but once he saw Lucy girl, he forgot all about it!  

So that was Easter weekend in a nutshell.  We are still trying to recover and are hoping James will be back on a normal sleeping pattern soon. It's always fun to visit the family and we are all looking forward to seeing them again very soon. 

Over the River and Through the Woods...

... to Grandmother's house we went this weekend. Although it was more like over a few rivers and through  construction on the New Jersey Turnpike.  We headed up to Grandma Mangiaracina's this weekend for a few reasons - partly because we had a wedding to attend on Long Island and mostly because James was finally going to meet some of his Aunts, Uncles and Cousins.

We dropped Lucy off with Grandma and Grandpa Q. on Friday night and hit the road. The drive up was slightly brutal, but we managed to make it to Long Island in one piece. 

James was a trooper ~ he slept the entire car ride, had a bottle upon arrive, doled out some smiles and then hit the hay until the next morning.  First thing on the agenda: visit Gennaro Jewelers to have my engagement ring and wedding band re-sized.  I have not been able to wear them since about month 3 of my pregnancy so it is pretty awesome to get them back on my 1/2-size bigger fingers.

After our errand, it was time to head home and party like it was 1999 with the family.  James, thankfully, was in a good mood and let everyone hold him and kiss on him.  Don't get me wrong, there were a few fussy moments, but all in all everyone got to see our sweet little boy with smiles on his face.  Cousin Renee fell in love immediately. So much so that she would not give him up!! 

It was a great day, followed by a great evening.  We there to attend the wedding of Ed's good friend Patty.  The wedding was at the Garden City Hotel and it was black tie optional so it was a chance for Ed and I to shed our spit-up covered clothes and get all dolled up.  Aunt Adriana, Uncle John and Uncle Joe were on hand to baby sit and what a great job they did. We put James down before we left and he continued to sleep well into the night.  When we woke up, Aunt Adriana fed him, changed him, played with him and put him down again with no real drama.  What a pro!!

The wedding was lovely but unfortunately we were so tired from the drive and the day that we bowed out a little early. The bride looked gorgeous, the food was awesome and the band rocked so I'd say it was a huge success.

 

Wedding highlight ~ Bill Pinkey, one of the original singers from The Drifters, was there and put on a small concert for the guests.  Who are The Drifters, you ask?  Well they sing things like "Under the Boardwalk", and "Up on the Roof".  Apparently, he is a friend of the guy who owns that band that was hired to do the wedding. And the guy who owns the band is a close personal friend of the groom. And that is probably more information than you care to know, but needless to say, it was cool. 

So there you have it.  Lots of fun crammed into a short amount of time. We headed home first thing Sunday morning and once again, James managed to snooze the entire ride.  We feel very lucky that we have a kid who can adapt to our go-getter lifestyle.  :)  Later that day we enjoyed a birthday dinner with some neighbors at a Japanese Steakhouse ~ but more on that later.