A Christmas Miracle

So technically the miracle did not happen until December 26th, but we are saying it counts.  What is this Christmas miracle that I speak of?  Check it out:

That's right.  Our little man put two and two together and finally clapped his hands on his own.  He and I have been practicing for weeks and he decided to pull it off while at the dining room table in front of us, all the Grandparents, Aunt Suzy and the Connecticut Quartuccio's - Uncle Billy, Aunt June and Cousin Michael.  We were all so excited ~ I actually cried. :)  The best part was how proud he was of himself.  Now he loves to clap all the time and he receives the same type of oohhh and ahhhs every time. :)

It's Never Good When Daycare Calls

It was 1:30 pm on a Monday afternoon. I was on the phone with my boss when the call waiting started to beep.

Willowcreek Academy.

It was James' daycare. And you know a call from daycare in the middle of the day is not good news.  I quickly clicked over and heard the Director on the other side of the phone tell me that James had a 104.1 fever and that I needed to get there ASAP.

104.1

That was the only thing that I heard.

Of course I grabbed my keys, raced to the car and flew to grab James.  Luckily, the daycare center is just 3 minutes away so he was in my arms within 5 minutes.  I couldn't believe how warm he was and how quickly it came on.  He was screaming (naturally) and I did all I could to make him comfortable.

We were at the doctor 30 minutes later where she confirmed pretty much nothing.  Ears were fine.  Lungs were fine.  His throat was red, but that was all she saw.  She said it was viral so she sent us home with instructions to administer Motrin every 6 hours to bring the fever down and make him comfortable.

The minute we got home, I gave him the meds and laid him on my chest.  He passed out immediately.

Over the course of the next 5 days his fever went up and down.  He developed lots and lots of congestion and a wicked cough that kept him (and us) up at night.  We spent lots of time in a steamy bathroom to help him breathe and we've used lots of saline drops to soothe his nose.

By Saturday morning, he was no longer taking his bottle or any other form of liquids and did not have a wet diaper in 8 hours.  It was off to the hospital we went.  We saw nurses and doctors, had a chest x-ray and dined on some Pedialyte.  After 4 hours we left with a prescription for amoxicillan for his double ear infection and instructions to keep him hydrated and comfortable so that the RSV does not get worse.

It amazes me how hard this virus has hit him and how it has completely disrupted our lives.  We had to take days off from work that weren't planned and had to get used to sleeping in 2-3 hour shifts - similar to when he was first born.

But through all this mayhem, there has been 1 silver lining.  We got to slow down and snuggle with our little man.  All he wants to do is lay on us or next to us and snooze.  And that is all right in our book.  We are hoping that this nasty virus leaves our house soon - especially since Santa is expected.  But we do hope that our snuggly little guy sticks around.

All I Want for Christmas...

Today James had the pleasure of meeting the big man in red - Santa Claus! It was exciting for all of us and I'm happy to report that Santa did not scare the ba-geezzus out of James.  :)

In an effort to stay sane, we decided to avoid the Santa lines over the weekend.  Both Ed and I had an extra day to burn before the new year so we thought why not have a family day today. With all of my recent travel and Ed working weekends we started to feel a little disconnected.  Spending the day together cured that!

We began the day with breakfast at IHOP.  Since James' day started a bit earlier, his IHOP experience was more about dreams than about pancakes.

After cleaning up and dressing in our finest, we headed to Fair Oaks to meet the big guy.  Of course, by the time we got there, Santa was on break.  We killed time with some last minute Christmas shopping and then joined the small line that started to form.  This year, the Santa photo theme is based on the most recent Ice Age movie.  The setting was cute and sure did keep some of the older kids occupied as we waited for Santa to return from lunch.

Finally Santa made an appearance and it was time to meet the man of the hour!  There was a bit more waiting.  Actually a lot more waiting.  Apparently Moms are really particular as to how their kids should look in their Santa pictures.  From what I remember when I was kid, you sat on his lap, told him what you wanted, they took a picture and off you went.  I guess times have changed.

James (and Ed and I) started getting very antsy in line so we decided the tickle monster had to make an appearance. And since our little man is all about exploring these days, we put him close to the floor which brought on the smiles.

Finally it was our turn!  The nice little Elf-lady gave us some newbie advice: execute the Drop and Run technique.  Apparently, the best thing to do with little ones is to drop them slowly in Santa's lap while having them face you and quickly make your way back to the camera without losing eye contact.  It was good advice because IT WORKED!!  We are happy to report that we don't have the "Screaming Kid with Santa Photo" but instead the "Contented Kid with Santa Photo".

Even though there was no smile, we were pretty pleased with the outcome.  And look at that Santa - he's one good looking guy!  We removed James from Santa's lap before he realized who was holding him and quickly told him what we wanted for Christmas this year.  James has been an exceptionally good boy and I believe that Santa will bring him everything he wants! :)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

James' Monthly Photo Project: Nine Months

James is 9 months old today.  Woah.  He cooked for 9 months in my belly and he has successfully grown for 9 months outside of it.  James is a VERY active little man with LOTS of personality.  It's amazing how much he has changed over the 9 months he's been with us - and we know there are many more changes to encounter.  :)

We once again have a slew of milestones to report:

• This kid has mastered crawling.  He is into everything which means the house is baby proofed as best it can be.  He really loves following Lucy around the house.  She's not so into it, but as a loving big sister, she lets him.

• With the help of Daddy, James is learning how to climb stairs.  He made it about half way up with a spot from Dad and continues to want to try. I think we created a monster.

• We have been introducing the sippy cup and he seems to be liking it.  He can grab it, put it up to his mouth and drink...kinda.  :)  It seems that he likes to teethe on it and throw it to the ground more than anything.  It's a work in process.

• He had his second hair cut at Cartoon Cuts this month.  His beautiful head of hair receives lots and lots of compliments...especially from the ladies.  

• James has become quite the Chatty Cathy lately.  He babbles all the time - so much so that it seems like he is having a conversation using his own little language.  Sometimes he sounds like those little guys from Spaceballs - he loves saying "daydaydaydayday".

• We have 4 more teeth cutting through and causing major chaos.  All of the incisors are coming in and according to Doctor Killian, it looks like there is some swelling going on in the back of his mouth which means some molars are starting to wake up.  Thank God for Tylenol!!

HAPPY 9 MONTH BIRTHDAY JAMES!!

Some Unconventional Thanks

Thanksgiving is here which means it is time to give thanks for all the wonderful things we have.  Of course we are thankful for the usual stuff - family, friends, home, life blessings.  But this year, we thought it would be fun to share some of the things we are truly thankful for that don't always make it onto the Thanksgiving dinner table list.

• I am thankful that Nordstrom decided to centralize their buying offices making it that much harder to get off the sales floor and into a buying office.  When I left, I started a career within the non-profit sector leading me to have the best job I have ever had.  EVER.

• Both Ed and I give big thanks to BFF Jim Graziano who convinced me to move up to New York in the summer of 2006.  It was that Labor Day that Ed and I met and the rest, as they say, is history. :)

• We are all thankful that Safari Stan decided to open their doors in Westbury in the summer of 2009.  Our visit during their opening weekend to buy cat food led to our bringing Lucy into the Mangiaracina family.

• Thank you to the key people at Sprint who helped Ed receive a transfer to the VA office thus causing our move and leading us to find our beautiful new home.

• Thanks to musical artists like Jewel, Lisa Loeb and Jack Johnson for writing children's music that is not annoying to listen to after the 150th time and makes our little man lull into a deep sleep each night.

• I am thankful for the good people at Apple Inc. who invented FaceTime.  It makes my monthly trips to New York a little bit easier.

Believe me, we are thankful everyday for all that we have.  But we are even more thankful for the little things that have helped us shape our wonderful life. :)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Picture People

A few weeks back, we took advantage of a great gift I received at my baby shower (thank you Kim Newland!) and this week, we received the goods.  The Mangiaracina's met with Erica of Elevee Photography at the Sully Plantation on a chilly day in October to do our family photo shoot.  When I called Erica to schedule the shoot she told me that she was 100% booked until the end of the year (boo!), but she was able to squeeze us in if we could do a week day (yah!).  Luckily, we all had Columbus Day off so that was our day.

We all dressed in our finest and headed to the site to meet the lovely Erica.  She was fun, bubbly and a Mom herself to 3 young girls so she totally related to all of the baby-isms we encountered during the shoot. And believe me, we encountered a lot.  Like  A LOT a lot!!  Our typically happy, smiley, giggly little man decided that this was the day he would not crack a smile.  We did everything in our power to make him smirk. There was dancing and singing and bouncing and swinging but nothing worked.  NOTHING.  He was more interested in checking the place out than to give a big smile for the camera.

But despite this obstacle, Erica was able to get a bunch of really great photos.  At the end of the 2 hour shoot, she caught the one smile of the day and actually got 2 photos of it!  And since she is such a great person, she is actually offering us another session at half price since James was so serious during this one.  Score!  Hopefully this time, he'll give us a peek at those pearly whites he's been working on so hard.  :)

Enjoy!

 



 

 

Psst:  The video is a little grainy when viewing it on the blog.  Check it out on YouTube using this direct link.  Enjoy!

Baby's First Halloween

I've never really been a huge fan of Halloween.  I mean, when I was a kid I loved it - who wouldn't?!   Getting dressed up and collecting candy all night long?  When you are little, that is the dream!  But as I got older, the excitement waned.  Not only was it frowned upon to trick or treat after a certain age, I started to feel pressure to come up with a costume that wasn't lame.  There were a few good years here and there, but overall, I would rather stay holed up in the house and pass out candy to the little ones dressed like Batman and Tinkerbell.

This year, that all changed.  Having a little one brings back all the magic of Halloween - even if your little one is only 8 months old!  James' first Halloween began last week at the party Willowcreek Academy threw.  All the kids were dressed up and even some of the staff joined in on the fun.  James dressed as Sheriff Woody from Toy Story and he could not have been cuter.  Too bad he fell asleep and missed most of the party!

On the actual day, James had more Halloween fun.  He dressed as a skeleton during the day and got LOTS of compliments on his oh-so-scary costume.  :)

Due to some unforeseen circumstances (aka spit up), James changed into his Sheriff Woody costume for trick-or-treating.  This time he was bibbed as to not ruin this costume.  We did a little photo shoot before hitting the streets - he was more interested in eating the camera case than smiling for the camera. :)

Because we have the greatest neighbors in the world, they invited us to join them as they walked the neighborhood for candy.  We bundled Sheriff Woody up in his carriage, tucked in his trusty steed Bulls Eye and hit the road.  

The neighborhood kids had some AMAZING costumes this year.  Nate was the powerful Voltron, Connor was an adorable Thomas the Tank and Ariana was a beautiful princess.

Everyone had a great time walking around, collecting candy.  Thomas the Tank needed some assistance up and down the stairs, but luckily there were many adults around to assist!  The men of the street may have had more fun than the kids this year - they had their own kind of candy to make it through the night!

Ed was his usual self and showed more interest in collecting candy than the kids did.  He carried James' pumpkin around and made his way to each door to get his coveted treats.  I think he may have knocked over a kid to get a full sized Hershey bar!  :)

Some of our neighbors went ALL OUT and decked our their houses.  We saw ghosts hanging from trees, a HUGE Grim Reeper, a smoke machine and a clap-activated demon.  Well done Little Rocky Run residents!!

We had a great time trick-or-treating and I think James' really enjoyed himself.  The best part for him was that we were outside in the dark and he got to stay up later than normal.  Ed and I already dove into his candy loot - it's not like he can enjoy it for a few more months!

Happy Halloween!!!