Beach Bums

The last week of my maternity leave was spent with the family basking in the sun at Bethany Beach.  We have been going up to Bethany for many years now as a family and are lucky enough to stay in the Doyle's beautiful house (check out the tour here).  This year was especially exciting since it was James' first time as well as Grandma Mangiaracina's first visit.  

The weather was beautiful and we took advantage of all the sites ~ well, as many as you can with a 3 month old baby.  Going to the beach now is not quite the same as it used to be.  In what way, you ask? Well, for one thing, we didn't step foot on the sand.  The sun was so hot and James is just too little to be basking in it.  We kept saying we'd go at dusk to enjoy "our time" (shout out to Petherton Peeps!), but we never quite made it happen.  That's okay - James still got to wear his cool-man shades. :)

We did manage to hit the pool and James was decked out in his swimming finest.  He wasn't a big fan of the water but he did manage to catch a few zzz's.

Bethany is an adorable town with a cute little boardwalk. We took in the sites on night one and indulged in some beach ice cream.  Doesn't ice cream just taste better at the beach?! James slept, but I know he enjoyed himself.

One of the best parts about being in Bethany is that it is so close to some other great beaches including Rehobeth and Ocean City.  Rehobeth is a cute little beach town with a great boardwalk complete with Fisher's Popcorn, Thrasher French Fries and Dolles Taffy.  We spent an afternoon taking in the sites and enjoyed some Mexican fare at Dos Locos.  James slept, but I know he enjoyed himself.

We did lots of outlet shopping, celebrated Ed's Birthday, Dad's Birthday, Lucy's Birthday and Father's Day and even managed to get in some valuable tummy time for the little man.  Lucy was a BIG fan of the vacation and got lots of joy watching the golfers outside the front window.

On our last night in town, we decided to check out the Ocean City boardwalk ~ something we have not done in many years.  James slept, but I know he enjoyed himself. Notice a theme??  Actually he was awake for some of it.  Although being that it was Senior Week, I'm not sure it was anything I wanted him to see!!

All in all, it was a great week and we were sad to see it end.  Even though it didn't feel like a true, relaxing vacation (not sure that is possible with an infant), it was nice to get a way.  We especially liked all the extra hands to help out with James.  

I think next year we are really going to enjoy ourselves - especially since James will be an eager toddler ready to build sand castles!

Not So Bad

So I know I owe everyone an update on our vacation to Bethany Beach and I promise it is coming.  The Mangiaracina household has been in flux since our return and it deserves a shout out. 

Yesterday was a BIG day for all of us.  Not only was it the end of my maternity leave and the first day back to work, but it was also the first day of daycare for our little man.  I had been dreading this day for over 3 months and did everything I could to stop it from coming.  But Old Father Time ticked on and the big day arrived. After a lengthy pep talk advising James to get along with the kids and not to pick any fights, we decided Ralph Lauren was a good first day of school outfit.  :)

I did most of my crying the night before because I really wanted to stay strong when we arrived at the daycare.  Mission: Accomplished...sort of.  We arrived around 7:30 am and I anticipated that James would get spooked when he saw all the strangers.  Not so much. As Miss Nigora showed us around, James just took it all in ~ and was smiling.  By the time we left, he was deeply involved in his play mat so we knew he would be just fine. 

I cried in the parking lot.

The day flew by as I caught up with 3 months worth of work and tried to remember things that my now Mommy-fied brain had forgotten.  I gave a call to the daycare center around noon to check in on the little guy and was pleased to find out that he was doing great.  He had taken a few naps and had fun during tummy time.  Apparently he is "very smiley" and "sleeps well without having to be rocked."  Yah!

Finally it was 5:30 pm and time to pick him up. When we arrived he was out cold in his crib.  We collected his empty bottles and picked him up to load him in the car seat.  He was very groggy - never have we awoken him from a deep sleep. But then the big smiled creeped onto his face.  It made my heart melt.  We spent the rest of is awake hours playing in our Bumbo and with Lucy.

He fell asleep at 8 pm and slept for a blissful 8 hours.  Maybe daycare isn't so bad after all.  :)

Bright, Shiny and Just Like New

It's amazing how you don't really appreciate something until it is spruced up.  Take the railing on our front porch for example. It's an ordinary, wrought iron railing.  It is on both sides of our 8 step porch and helps us get up and down the stairs with ease.  Nothing to get excited about.  Just an ordinary railing.

Until now.

Take a few days of sanding, a few coats of pain and some serious amounts of sweat and you get yourself a bright, shiny, new fancy pants wrought iron railing!

Look at the shine on that puppy!

So why did we ~ meaning Ed ~ decide to spend 3 weeknights sanding this sucker and a weekend painting it?  Well, we were heading off the Little Rocky Run HOA Architectural Review Board.  You see, they go around the neighborhood and look for things to bug you about.  Whether it is too many toys on the front lawn or a broken screen door or mold on the siding, they look for it. Then they send you a letter telling you that have X amount of time to fix it or you will get fined.  Nice, right? :)

Well, we are proud to say that in the almost 2 years of living here, we have yet to receive such a letter.  We have been working hard to not only maintain the place, but actually make some improvements.  But our wrought iron railing, you see, was the weak link.  After years of being out in the elements with no attention it was starting to look sad.  Not only was it dull and flakey, but it was also rusting in some areas.  So Ed put on his painting finest, and got to work.  Unfortunately, I don't have any "during" photos, but really it is the end result that matters.  Look at this baby:

Ed did a fantastic job. Not only is this puppy totally sealed up, it looks pretty. And really, that is all that matters.  My favorite part about the job ~ the "Wet Paint" notices so that no one would mess up the masterpeice.

So take THAT Architectural Review Board! And I mean it in the nicest possible way. :)

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!!