Two Weeks Notice

It's official.  I've given my notice.  Not to TIA...but to James.  How is it possible that in 2 weeks, I have to drop my sweet baby boy off at daycare and head back to the daily grind?!?!  I'm having a harder time accepting it than I thought I would, so I am making every day count in these last 2 weeks of my maternity leave. We started by making funny faces in the camera today before our bath.

Okay...so maybe I was the one making the funny faces.  :)  But seriously...

We had a great weekend, but the fun really started on Thursday afternoon when we met good friend Andrea for lunch at Cheesetique in Shirlington (p.s. YUM!!).  Andrea is one of those friends that just makes you smile all the time and she did not disappoint when meeting James.  It was a gorgeous day so we dined outside and then took in the sights of the newly enhanced village.  James was also treated to a new book from the One, Two Kangaroo Toys! store called Belly Button Book.  It has already become a favorite at bedtime!!!  Thank you Aunt Andrea!!!

The weekend came and so did Grandma and Grandpa Q.  Daddy was busy with a home improvement project during a good portion of the day on Saturday (details to come soon!), so James and I met up with Grandma for lunch and some shopping.  Grandma treated us not only to lunch, but to some cute stuff from Carter's.  It's hard to believe that there were actually clothes from that store that we don't own yet, but there were!!  Daddy met up with us later on in the day for a BBQ dinner and we ended the wonderful day with an early bed time followed by 7 hours of sleepy bliss! :)

And finally, today we decided to take advantage of the amazing weather and hit the trails of Burke Lake Park.  The place was packed, but we managed to find a bench to enjoy a picnic lunch before taking a stroll on the trail along the lake.  Lucy made lots of friends and James slept through the entire outing!  

So here it is, Sunday night. The baby is sleeping.  Ed is figuring out stuff for his Fall school semester.  Lucy is resting on her chair. And I am thinking about all the things I will do with James in these next 14 days. Seven of those days will be spent in Bethany Beach with the family which will be really great.  The rest of the time poor James will have to deal with Mommy kissing on him constantly. Because he is probably going to get 110 kisses and 55 hugs per hour per day until I drop him off on the morning of June 18th.  I just love that face!!!

James' Monthly Photo Project: Three Months Old

Happy 3 Month Birthday James!!

James has come such a long way in 3 months - and so have Mommy and Daddy.  When he was first born, we didn't know what the heck we were doing.  I'm proud to say that we have all improved and even though we are still lost, we do it with more confidence!  We are so in love with this little guy and can't wait to see what the next few weeks bring.

Milestones:

• There were 2 in the bed and the little boy said ROLL OVER!!  James recently treated us to the significant baby milestone of rolling from his tummy to his back.  Lucy did her part in teaching him how it is done and we are now working on rolling from our back to our tummy.  He is SOOOOO close - if only that darn arm would get out of the way!

• We have gained much more control of our head - so much so that we are finally ready to sit in the Bumbo that Stella Poos so graciously let us borrow.  Thank you Stella!

• Can we say 7 HOURS!!!!!  That's right...the past few nights James' has logged 7 straight hours of sleep at night.  I think we are most excited about this milestone. :)  Although I do have to say that I still wake up at 3 am to check if he is breathing!  

As this month begins, we have lots to look forward to including our family beach vacation in Bethany.  We are also looking at some major changes including Mommy going back to work and James going to school.  It's going to be an adjustment, but we welcome the challenge!!  Happy 3 months Buba - Mommy and Daddy love you!!

Milestones

Guess who rolled over for the first time last night?!  That's right, our little guy has reached this important milestone and right on schedule.  Such a scholar.  :)

We were getting him ready to take a bath and Ed had him doing some very important tummy time when all of a sudden, he rolled over onto his back.  Well, the real story is that he did it while I was upstairs getting his bath stuff so Daddy kind of forced him into doing it again so Mommy could see it.  So really, he did it twice in a 10 minute period!!  It was such an exciting moment - I cheered and cried at the same time!

Unfortunately, I don't have any footage of him performing this feat, but I do have some footage of some practice tries.

It is so hard to believe that our little man is almost 3 months and performing these new acts of bravery.  Way to go James!!

A Family Baptism

What an amazing weekend we just had as we welcomed family into town to share in the celebration of James' Baptism.  We feel so blessed that our baby boy is surrounded by people that love him so much and is now a member of the Catholic faith.  Thank you to all that made the trip down to see our little guy welcomed into the arms of God!

Getting Ready

The Godparents

Mommy and Daddy

St. Mary of Sorrow's Catholic Church

Welcome James!

Totally Beat!

Time to Celebrate

Love you, Buddy!

Best Title EVER

Since I entered the work force, I have held many titles in my many jobs.  I've been Department Manager, Assistant to the President, Marketing Manger and Meetings Coordinator...to name a few.  With each new position, I felt a sort of pride in obtaining that new title.

Well, the best title I could ever and will ever have was given to me a little over 10 weeks ago.  It didn't come with a salary increase, but it does come with a lot of satisfaction.  I don't get paid to do this job, (well unless you count smiles as currency) but I have a feeling it will be the best job I will ever have.  The title is Mom and it was something that was celebrated yesterday on Mother's Day.

Since it was the weekend, Ed took care of the baby during the night feeding so I started my first Mother's Day very well-rested.  My baby boy not only treated me to a barrage of coos and smiles, but he also awarded me with a beautiful Coach watch.  Lucy was in charge of the card, and she did not disappoint. :)

During James' mid-morning nap, I spent some time with my Mommy at the nail salon - you gotta love mani and pedis!  As you could imagine, the place was packed with Mother/Daughter duos.  After our pampering, we headed to Mom and Dad's house for a Mother's Day BBQ.  It was gorgeous out so we ate on the deck and just enjoyed each other's company.  It was a great first Mother's Day and I look forward to many more.

Friendship

I consider myself very lucky to have the friendships that I have.  In addition to the special relationship I have with my sister and the deep friendship I have with my husband, there are a number of people in my world that hold a special place in my heart.  They are people I've known my whole life and whom I have met only just a few months ago. They are people I went to high school and college with.  Whom I shared laughter and tears.  Whose shoulders I lean on and whose advice I cling to.  I cherish my many friendships and look forward to the new ones that I will make as the years go on.

Why so sappy about friends?  Well, I had the pleasure of spending time with two of my best friends this past weekend.  We had such an amazing time that it really made me think and appreciate that I have such wonderful people in my life.  Who, you ask, would bring on such strong emotions?  Well, Jim and Daniel of course!

It's hard to believe that Jim and I have been friends for close to 15 years.  We met at JMU through the Delta Sigma Pi fraternity and it was friendship at first site.  We spent LOTS and LOTS of time dancing at the frat house, shopping at thrift stores for our many themed parties (pimps and ho's party anyone?), and grabbing a much needed bite to eat to cure the hang overs.  

But our friendship really blossomed post college when we both moved back to the DC area.  I remember spending hours and hours on the phone with him talking about everything - but mostly our dramatic relationships.  We hit the clubs with the best of them and spent Sundays lying around watching SATC and Will & Grace re-runs.  When he moved back to NY, things didn't change - in fact, we became closer!  We were there for each other through good times, bad times, challenges and changes.  At this point, we were no longer friends.  We were family.

I visited NY a lot after Jim moved and in the summer of 2006, we made the decision that it was time for me to move up to NY and live with him in his awesome Forest Hills apartment.  We were both single and thought we would live it up in the city - Sex and the City style (our favorite show and form of therapy!).  Well, wouldn't you know that 2 weeks before the big move, I get a phone call.  Guess who met someone?  Enter Daniel.

From the moment I met Daniel, I knew that we would share a special relationship.  We spent a lot of time together those first few months - he essentially was dating both Jim and I!  I still remember the first night we met - we all went to dinner at a Thai restaurant in Forest Hills and went to see The Devil Wears Prada.  Daniel had brought some of my favorite candy to the movie and from that point I was hooked.  It was a fun summer that got even better come Labor Day because that is when I met Ed.  The boys LOVED him from the start and we all became good friends.

The boys came down to VA this past weekend to spend some quality time with us and meet the baby.  We had an amazing time - toured the burbs of VA, had a BBQ with Jason, Betsy and Stella, enjoyed brunch in Reston and just laughed.  They both totally dove in with all things James and fell in love with him (how could you not!) It was such a good time and we can't wait to do it again.  

We have come a long way since 1997 and I think that there are many more memories to come.  We all feel very blessed to have each other in our lives and wouldn't change a thing.  As Samantha says in the second SATC movie, "We made a deal ages ago. Men, babies, doesn't matter. We are soul mates."  So very true.