and then there's junebug

Well things have changed

part5: cute kids everywhere

part 4: big jack, little jack and lilly (and grandma beth)

nj/ny part 1

We had such a great time with family and friends last week on our trip to NJ and NYC.

We went to the playground with Morgan.


Jack had fun digging in Aunt Nancy's back yard (and looking for BB's)



and playing Uncle Tim's guitar


Tomorrow: Part 2: Paige's wedding

friday roundup

two months

Dear Jack,

Today you are two months old. This month there have been so many changes in you, it is like you are a completely different baby from the one we brought home from the hospital. You have started genuinely smiling this month, and every time you look at me with that incredible gummy grin, I fall more and more in love with you. Your personality has gone from that of a grumpy old man to a chortling, contented little bundle of happiness.

This week, I bought you some books with pictures of animals in them and you study the sheep and dogs and cows in amazement. Your absolute favorite thing though, is a box that sits over your head on the activity mat that lights up and plays music and when I turn this thing on, you stare and giggle and coo and wiggle your entire body with joy. It's amazing to see how much you really love it, and I wish that everyone had something in their life that makes them as full-body-happy as this toy makes you.

You have also done a lot of growing this month, packing on almost 3 pounds and 2 inches in length. Some days I will go to pick you up after a nap and I swear I can feel the weight you have gained since I put you down. I had to pack up all of your newborn-size clothes and it made me a little sad that you will never be that small again but every day you grow and discover new things, and I discover new things about you, and together we will figure it all out.




Love, Your Mama

one month today

Dear Jack,

I can't believe it has only been a month since you came to join us. It feels like a million years ago that I carried you in my belly but I guess that's how the human race has been able to keep reproducing because if I think about it really hard I kind of remember those last couple of weeks really stinking bad.

None of that matters anymore though because, besides the occasional bad day, you have been a great sleeper, a world-class eater, and generally the sweetest most beautiful baby I could ever hope for. I lay in bed with you at night and feel your warm little body so relaxed between your papa and me and I remember how warm you were the first time the nurse put your face against mine in the hospital and how I could actually feel my heart swell in my chest with all the love I had for you. It's such a cliche but I really don't remember what I did before you were here and I can't imagine ever being without you again.

You have gained over a pound this month and have regained those chubby cheeks you were born with. Your hair is getting lighter but it's also getting thinner and we are all hoping that the new hair that comes in is more like your father's because, while there are many good qualities you can hope to get from my side of the family, hair is not one of them and you will thank me one day for hoping this for you when you are in your forties and still have a full head of hair.

Every day you become more aware of your surroundings and stare at your papa and me when we talk to you and the other day you actually smiled at me and it was the best gummy smile I have seen in my whole life. We have started taking you out more and you are slowly adjusting to the world and its noises and all the people who coo at you and say you are so beautiful because really how could they resist that sweet face of yours?

I can't wait to watch you grow up and become the great man that I know you will be, but I also want to keep you this little forever so I can always kiss you and cuddle you and see you smile at me because I know this time will not last forever but I hope you will always know how much I love you.

Love and a Million Kisses,
Your Mama

happy boy

My parents have been here for a week to help me out with the baby but today they went to Naples to visit some relatives so Jack and I are on our own.

We are spending time together and trying to get into a rhythm because starting next week we will be on our own permanently.

I am really enjoying every minute I spend with him because I know that he will not be this small forever and I will miss this time when he is grown.

As great as it is, thank God for slings, bouncy seats and naps!

nights

Have I mentioned how lucky I am to have Chris?

He comes home after a full day of work, walks the dog, and takes the screaming baby from me so I can have a few moments peace.

As much as it helps to have my parents here and Chris's mom here before them, it is amazing to have a partner who cares so much about me and who wants to help me and most of all, wants to spend time with our little boy.

I've said it before and I will say it a million times again.

I am a very lucky girl.

happy days

We are all doing well and hoping to go home tomorrow (Monday). So far, all checks with the pediatrician have been wonderful. He has only lost a couple of ounces and I'm sure he will make those up quickly because he eats like a champ, hardly giving his mama a break but I love every minute of it. 

He has the sweetest disposition and after most feedings we sit and look at each other and chat. OK, I chat and he listens but he's a great listener and I can just tell he's really taking it all in and I've only caught him rolling his eyes a couple of times. (KIDS!) 

I will follow up sometime this week with the story of his birth and the exciting 2 days leading up to it. Thanks to everyone who sent their good wishes. We feel so blessed and lucky to have all of you caring about us, even if it's from far away. And Jack can't wait to meet you all! 

meet jack (guest post by daddy)

jack's first day...

This is Jack, born January 2, 2008, at 6:41 p.m. in Miami Beach, Florida. He weighed 6 lbs. 14.7 ounces and was 19 inches long. His eyes are deep blue and his hair is light brown. He was born on a beautiful Miami day, not a cloud in the sky and a cool 74 degrees.

So far he is an excellent eater and sleeper.

In the nursery right before they bathed him for the first time the nurse turned on the radio. Jack's first song was by Rod Stewart's, "Some Guys Have All The Luck". That could be said for Jack or his papa.

He is not happy with being bathed...as evidenced in this photo...



And this...



But when he's with his papa he's calm...

to say the least, mama was happy that Jack was safe and healthy and it was allllllllll over...

more to come...

beans n franks! franks n beans!

The day that you find out you are pregnant, all your ideas about how it is going to be instantly change. And if they don't then you are a bigger control freak than I am and YOU NEED TO LET IT GO. Trust someone who knows, because she had to learn it the hard way. Letting go is the only way, lest you have a heart attack and your head explodes before the second trimester. Because those little buggers have a way of throwing you a curve ball when you least expect it and from what I hear, it just never ends. Like most women, I had the fairytale fantasy of what the moment would be like when I found out when I was pregnant and told Chris, and we would both cry and then sit and talk for hours about how great this kid would be and what great parents we would be and make plans for where he would go to college and who he would marry, etc, etc. Instead, it was 5:00 in the morning, and we were both too shocked and freaked out to even talk about it for almost half a day. Even then, it took a couple of weeks before we were both really convinced it was true and could let ourselves be honestly happy about something that we both wanted so badly and had actually planned for, it was just that the reality was so...real and...fast and.... real.

I also thought that every sonogram would leave me in a puddle of happy tears and it would be like a Lifetime Movie where I would feel every kick from the beginning and sit and talk to my belly for hours, but alas, no. The ultrasounds freak me out more that anything because I can see him kicking me with all his might on the screen, and moving around and flailing his arms, yet I still feel nothing. Most of my ultrasounds have just been dominated by relief that the heart is still beating and he's looking healthy, but no real tears.
Until today.
We had the anatomy ultrasound, where they measure the head, arms and legs, check out the heart, and if the little bugger cooperates, the gender. I was shocked when the tech asked us if we wanted to know the gender, and Chris waffled a little bit and then after she asked the third time, Chris finally said, "OK, tell me what you see."

And she said, "See that leg, and that other leg? and see that thing in between? That can only mean one thing."

And I finally cried. He finally IS something.
A boy.
Our boy.
Our son.
Welcome.

hi! my name is...

I had a great weekend in NJ. It was exhausting for someone who is used to long naps almost every afternoon, but there was no time for that with a party every day and the fact that I did not sleep well Friday night did not help much. I had to get up at 6 to make my Saturday morning flight so I was really exhausted but I did get a little catnap in after I got there and I actually stayed up until midnight or so. BIG NIGHT for the pregnant girl!

Sunday, I got to have my Jersey Mike's that I have been craving for months and it was not a disappointment at all! I really wish someone would look into opening a franchise around here because I can honestly say I would eat it every single day for the next 6 months. I seriously crave it in a big way and I have to stop writing about it or it is going to make me very sad. Chris said that there is a pizza place a little ways away that makes subs that are "pretty good" and I may just have to check it out because it's better than nothing right? 

I put together a slideshow of some pictures from the weekend. For some reason I didn't take any on Saturday so these are all from Sunday. Please to enjoy:

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Oh yeah! You forgot to remind me to tell you about the guy at the gas station!
So I was going back to my sister's house with Tommy, Jenny and Kevin when we stopped to get some gas. So we're sitting in the car and the guy comes over to fill us up when all of a sudden, Jenny noticed something peculiar about the guy. So she took a picture.

(click on photo to enlarge)

That's right! Kumar was pumping our gas.
Good job on the covert photography, Jen!

garden state

I leave in the morning for NJ to spend the weekend with the family. Tomorrow will be my niece, Jennifer's graduation party and Sunday is a birthday party for niece and nephew Morgan and Connor.

It will be a full weekend but it will be so good to see everyone after such a long time. My parents are actually picking me up from the airport and I haven't seen them since they were here (in February? March? how time flies...) and I think my brother is going to be there tomorrow and I haven't seen him since Christmas so it will be a really good time.

This afternoon I got my suitcase out and started packing and Chewy walked over to it, sniffed it, and layed down next to it with his nose up against it. Either he loves the smell of airplanes ( and who doesn't, really?) or he is sad I am leaving. I will be back Monday afternoon so he will be with Chris all weekend and then I'll be home in time for his afternoon walk so I don't feel too horrible about leaving but it still makes me sad.
Oh yeah, and I'm gonna miss Chris too. (I kid, I kid)

I'm off to watch The Dog Whisperer. I was talking to my friend today and she asked me how I thought Chewy was going to react to the baby and I really don't know. Everyone has their own ideas about what to do and I'm sure I'll hear even more opinions in the next few months but I think he will be OK once we let him meet the little guy ( yup, there I go again with the boy talk) and he will be a great big brother. We just have to teach Kumar how to be the calm, dominant one.

One last thing, the Yankees are playing the Blue Jays tonight and the Jay's are wearing their throwback jerseys! I love it!

jenny's day!

Chewy and his Guuurls! , originally uploaded by buki-rama.

Back in March, my niece Jennifer and her best friend Britney came to visit over their final Spring Break before going into the real world. The first few days they were here, it was unseasonable cold and windy for March, but they nonetheless woke up early every day and went to the beach like it was their job.
(Which, when you are in your early 20's and on Senior Year Spring Break, I guess it kind of is.)

Besides the beach, we all went to a Marlins / Yankees Spring Training game and it was nice just having the girls here to make blueberry martinis with and make dinner for and hang out with. Chewy loved them so much that every morning when I got up, he would rush out of my room and to their bedroom door and wait there until they opened the door so he could jump all over them. They morning they left, they very quietly snuck out before we woke up and once we opened the door, he want racing into the room and jumped on the bed and sniffed around, frantically trying to find his girls. I think he still hasn't gotten over it.

Today, Jenny is graduating from Elon University and I hate that I cannot be there because I know how much it meant to me to have family here on my graduation, but with the holiday weekend and all, it just wasn't possible.
So, I decided to say it here-

HAPPY GRADUATION JENNY!!

Love and Kisses and all the best-
Chris, Christina and Chewy

PS- Chewy misses his girls and requests a visit soon. You're welcome anytime.