Birthday Week Day 5: Life Changer

The Date:  March 1, 2012

The Place:  Inova Fair Oaks Hospital Women's Center

The Time:  11:09 AM

The People:  Two very nervous and very excited Mangiaracina's

The Purpose:  Delivery of the newest member to the Mangiaracina Family

When you are expecting a baby, everyone tells you how different life will be once he arrives.  And while you know this to be true, you don't really understand it until your child is born.  From the moment I heard James' first cry after they pulled him out of my belly, my heart opened up and my brain flooded with more love and emotion than I ever knew could exist.  Ed would agree that when we both took a first look at our little boy, we were introduced to a different kind of love that was so overwhelming it brought tears to our eyes.

A year ago today, James Edward Mangiaracina entered the world and changed our lives forever.  From day one, James has been a loving, sweet, happy boy that finds joy in all that he does.  His big smile is infectious and his enthusiasm for life is inspiring.  He is a blessing in every way and we are so proud of the little man he has become.

This year has been a wild ride filled with ups and downs and many, many learning experiences.  James has grown and flourished in so many ways - more than we can list in one blog post.  Thank God we have an archive filled with his many milestones over the year!

Month 1 | Month 2 | Month 3 | Month 4 | Month 5 | Month 6

Month 7 | Month 8 | Month 9 | Month 10 | Month 11

And without further ado, here is James' official 1 Year photo - a handsome little man if I do say so myself!

Milestones to report:

• We have a walker on our hands.  James is still a little off balance - kind of like a drunken sailor - but he is taking many more steps at a time and his confidence is growing. So much so that he is now in possession of his first pair of big boy shoes from Stride Rite.

• Words, words words!  While we can't say that he has an official "first word", he has lots of things to say through his babble and chitter chatter.  There is lots of "dadadada" and "mumamuma" and "dedede".  We are working on the word ball since he seems to love to play with his EduShape Sensory balls the most, but so far we have "ba" which is close enough for us.

Now, in true Laura Mangiaracina fashion, I decided to go a little overboard for James' first birthday and put together a video to highlight his first year.  The good news is that it is awesome!!  The bad news is that I can't reveal it until Monday.  We want to show it first to our family who will be in town this weekend to help celebrate James' birthday.  Once their eyes see it, then yours can so stay tuned!

Happy 1st Birthday James!!

We love you more than you will ever know!!!

Birthday Week Day 4: Monthly Outtakes

Since the beginning, we have been documenting James' growth with a monthly photo.  It is something that many parents do and we decided to join the band wagon and we are really glad that we did.  With James turning 1 tomorrow, it has been great to look back over these monthly photos to see how much he has grown and changed.  

But the really fun part has been looking at the "outtake" photos from these monthly photo sessions.  As James started getting bigger, capturing the "it" picture got harder and harder.  Our subject doesn't like to sit still and would often crawl off set making it quite a challenge to snap the photos.  Here are some of our favorite outtakes from each month.

Month One

Month Two

Month Three

Month Four

Month Five

Month Six

Month Seven

Month Eight

Month Nine

Month Ten

(got our "it" picture on the second shot this month!)

Month Eleven

His 12 month photo will be revealed on the big day so stay tuned.  It's a good one ~ we promise! :)

Birthday Week Day 3: True Love

Before James was born, there was one little lady that was the center of our world.  We treated her like our child and loved her more than words could describe. This has not changed with the arrival of our little guy.  In fact, our love for her has grown especially when we see how much our little Lucy girl loves her brother James.  From the start, the two of them have had the bond of true love and as James grows, the bond grows stronger.

Lucy didn't really pay much attention to my growing belly before James arrived.  The only thing I can say is that she was a great at cuddling when I couldn't get off the couch because of my giant ankles.

She had no idea what was coming when Mommy and Daddy left for a few days in early March.  But I can say she was a very happy girl when we got home - even if we did come with some extra baggage (aka James).  I remember seeing her through the screen door as I slowly made my way up the stairs and into the house for the first time after being at the hospital.  She was SOOO excited to see me, but also knew that I was not in tip top shape so she was very gentle when she said hello.  And then we introduced her to James.  It went very well.  :)

That night, they got very comfy together on Mommy and Daddy's bed.

Since that first day, Lucy has had a love/hate relationship with James.  It is probably 90% love and 10% hate.  Well maybe 80/20. :)  The hate part is at night when he cries and wakes her up.  She is not a fan of that, but she LOVES playing with him during the day.  Ten months ago she was all about keeping him company on his play mat.

Now a days, Lucy loves running around with James and she makes him crack up like no one else can!

From forced photo shoots that Mommy and Daddy put them through...

... to captured moments of love...

... there is no denying that these two are best buds and will share a special love in years to come.  But that doesn't mean that there won't be moments like this.  What do you think Lucy is thinking? :)

Birthday Week Day 2: Picture People Part Two

As part of James' birthday celebration, we decided to meet up with Erica of Elevee Photography again to take some one-year-old shots of the little man.  We first met Erica back in October for James' 7 month photos at the Sully Plantation.  It was a chilly day made even chillier by James' sullen face.  For 2 hours, Ed and I jumped around like idiots trying to make him smile but we got nothing.  He cracked one smile and luckily, Erica captured it (thank God!).

Because Erica is a mom and a sweetheart, she offered to do another session with us for a fraction of the cost so that we can get some smiley photos.  We took her up on that offer this past Sunday.  It was a morning shoot so James was fresh and happy when we arrived at her beautiful home studio.  James was playful and jolly and a smiling machine!  Erica got some great shots - which we have yet to see other than these 2 teasers she posted on her Facebook page:

We are SOOOOO excited to see the rest because if they are anything like these, then we will have lots of walls in the house filled with this face. :)

Birthday Week Day 1: One Last Milestone

In honor of birthday week, we are going to do a post a day to celebrate our little man.  Enjoy!

James turns one on Friday.  He is a year old in 4 days.  How is that possible?  I still remember the big belly and swollen ankles like it was yesterday!  But before we get to be parents of a one year old, we wanted to squeeze one more milestone in for the baby book and the blog. :)  And it was a really good one because it involved footwear.

After a very successful photo shoot with Erica at Elevee Photography (photos to come soon!), we headed to Fair Oaks Mall to hit up Stride Rite to get the little man his first pair of shoes.  He started walking on his own at the beginning of the month and has been getting better and better as each day passes so it was time to get him some big boy shoes.

There was a bit of a rush when the store opened, but after a quick look at the options, we strategically placed ourselves near the register to get some attention from the lovely clerk.  Within seconds, she was helping us out and measuring James' little feet.  Our little monkey man has some chubby, 4.5 wide tootsies!!

James was a fan of the shoes that Daddy picked and loved trying them out at the store. The best part was when he sneezed right in the face of the lovely young lady who was seeing if the shoes fit correctly.  I guess when you work at Stride Rite, it is all part of the job! :)

Here is one happy customer ~ and some good looking shoes!  Next milestone = turning 1!

Emotional Mess

Toys  are a big deal in my world and not just because I have an 11 month old kid.  They are for playing, yes, but they also help pay the bills around here.  And this time of year is uber important because it is Toy Fair time.  My job is to sell the advertising and sponsorships at this show.  More than half of my promotional budget is made during this show.  I spend an entire year prepping and selling for it. In terms of toys and trade shows, it doesn’t get much bigger than this.  But all I can think of is how I won’t see this face for 9 days.

I’m a bit of an emotional mess today.  I’m writing this from the train as I head up to NYC for the big show. When James woke up at 5 am I decided to cuddle with him for a few hours rather than put him back to bed.  I cried when I dropped him off at daycare. I started tearing up when I saw a Mom and her kid board the train.  This isn’t the first time I’ve been away from the little man, but it is the longest and it is hitting me hard. 

I know my boys and my Lucy girl will be totally fine without me.  Things are a well oiled machine when I’m gone.  It still doesn’t seem to make me miss them any less. 

Nine more days. 

James' Monthly Photo Project: Eleven Months Old

Eleven months old.  Well, 11 months and 1 day old since we are a bit late in getting this post up.  Time has certainly flown by and James is more of a little boy than a baby now.  To say he is thriving is an understatement.  This kid has SO much energy - it amazes us every day.  He is curious and sweet and just wants to play and have fun.

James had some big milestones this month:

• The first and most important - FIRST STEPS!!!  That's right, our little guy decided that it is time to put those little legs to use and start walking.  It's just a few steps here and there now, but we know that that will change very soon.

• He is eating like a champion these days.  From chicken, to turkey meatballs, to pineapple to cheesy bread, there is nothing this kid won't try.  He is full on eating school food and is loving it all.  

• James' two new bottom molars have helped him with his new love of food.  They were not fun coming in, but now that they are here, they are very helpful in chomping down all the yummy new food.  That brings the teeth total to 10 - and we see a newbie starting to break through.

• This little man is officially into EVERYTHING!!  He is always on the go which keeps Mommy and Daddy on our toes.  Baby proofing was kicked into high gear with the addition of a new gate and some cabinet locks.  And man is he quick!

HAPPY ELEVEN MONTH BIRTHDAY JAMES!!