Farewell 2008

2008 was such a big year for us, it would be nearly impossible to recap (read: I'm too lazy to do a thorough job). Instead, I stole this from here .

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?

Gosh, so many things - got married and had a baby, to name the big ones.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I almost never make resolutions because I'm not very good at keeping them. This year, my goal is to make a little "me" time in every day. I think that if I can do this, I will be much better in all my other roles.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Not that I can think of. I have a bunch of friends and family with babies coming in 2009, though.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

My grandmother passed away December 26, 2007, so that's about as close as I got this year.

5. What countries did you visit?

None.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?

Balance.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

August 16 - Our wedding day
November 16 - Baby J's birthday

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Surviving wedding stress and pregnancy/childbirth.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Not taking enough time out for me.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

No, thankfully.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

We got a Wii, does that count?

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Our family and friends who stepped up and made our wedding day amazing.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

I'm going to go ahead and plead the fifth here.

14. Where did most of your money go?

Wedding, moving, baby (pretty much in that order)

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Pretty much anything related to Baby J.

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?

The Time of My Life by David Cook

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? happier
b) thinner or fatter? about the same, unfortunately
c) richer or poorer? about the same, I suppose

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Time with family.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Stress about wedding stuff - oh, and worry about what other people think

20. How did you spend Christmas?

With my family - new and old

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?

Yes, with my son.

22. What was your favorite TV program?

I love TV. Maybe The Big Bang Theory?

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

No.

24. What was the best book you read?

I'm not sure I read an entire book this year.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Do the CDs our DJ made of wedding music count?

26. What did you want and get?

My Flip!

27. What did you want and not get?

A new sewing machine.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?

I can't even remember the last time I watched a movie. Was Rocky this year? That was surprisingly good.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 31. I went to dinner with my mom and some friends. Sal and I must have celebrated a different day because he was working.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

"Winning the lottery" was the previous person's answer. I'll go with that.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?

I'm not sure I ever had a "personal fashion concept".

32. What kept you sane?

My husband and my FIFs.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

I don't know. I'm better at listing people I don't like.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?

Obama's election was huge. I cried on my couch and was so proud to be an American. It's amazing to me that my son will get to say he was born during this historic time for our country. Also, the gay marriage issue. I could go on and on, but what it really comes down to is that I don't know why people are so worried about other peoples' business.

35. Who did you miss?

My grandpa. My wedding day and the birth of my child would have been among the most important days of his life. I like to think he's watching over us, though.

36. Who was the best new person you met?

My son, obviously.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.

Never say never - life has a way of throwing things at you when you least expect them.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

I’ve been waiting for my dreams
To turn into something I could believe in
And looking for that
Magic rainbow
On the horizon I couldn’t see it
Until I let go Gave into love and watched all the bitterness burn
Now I’m coming alive
Body and soul
And feelin’ my world start to turn

And I’ll taste every moment
And live it out loud
I know this is the time,
This is the time
To be more than a name
Or a face in the crowd
I know this is the time
This is the time of my life
Time of my life

Holiday Recap

Christmas has always been a busy time for me. Having an extra set (and some years two) of parents and even more grandparents means having that many more people to see, gifts to open and such. Not that I'm complaining, it just is. Sal has been really supportive of all this. He isn't good for my need-to-be-everywhere-and-see-everyone nature because he also thinks we can do it all. That said, we decided that this is the year to a) cut back and b) start some traditions of our own. I think it worked out pretty well, but I will say that I have never been as tired at the end of it all as I was this year. I guess that just goes with the new baby territory. I'm hoping next year is better.

Since Sal had to work, I spent Christmas Eve with my mom's family. Mom, Gram, Uncle Jeff, Sandy, Baby J and I all gathered at Gram's for a prime rib dinner. It was really mellow which is something I desperately needed after running around all day to get my Christmas crap finished up. We had dinner around 6 and then sat around talking, staring at Baby J, and watching TV until Sal got off work at 11. Then, we opened gifts. The adults had decided to draw names this year, so it wasn't as big of a production as years past, but it was still a lot (since none of us follow directions well). The most exciting gift I got was a carpet cleaner from Uncle Jeff. And yes, I asked for that. My carpet drives me INSANE. Baby J got some cloth diapers from Gram - more on that little experiment in a later post - and a 49ers onsie that Sal wants to hang on the wall.

Christmas morning (after only 2 or 3 hours of sleep), we woke up to do the Santa thing at home. Baby J got all kinds of fun things in his stocking, I got a Wii game and Sal got a Wii reomte and some clothes. Apparently, someone tipped off Santa that the Wii is our most favorite thing right now. After that, we headed down south to my dad's house. Everyone else had stayed the night there (which has always been the tradition in the past), so they were just kind of waiting on us. We got tons of great gifts there including the video camera I have been lusting after for months (look for video in the near future). Santa had also stopped there and left us stockings - so fun! Our next stop was Sal's parents'. We opened gifts (yay GPS!) and then had a late lunch of yummy seafood and lasagna made by Sal's dad. We headed home early and the three of us were in bed by 8.

Here are a few photos of Baby J's Christmas experience.

 

Gram's Birthday Continued

 

For Gram's birthday dinner, Mom and I decided to take her to Antonello (Sal's restaurant). Jeff (my uncle), Sandy (his girlfriend), Tom (Gram's cousin) and Rita (Tom's wife) joined us. Baby J slept through dinner, but the rest of us had a great time. We had yummy food, great wine and decadent desserts. I think Gram thought it was the perfect way to spend her 75th. All through dinner she kept talking about how she and Baby J are going to have a joint birthday party the year she turns 100 and he turns 25. If only we could be lucky enough to have her around that long!

Happy 75th Gram!

 

One Month Today

Dear Joseph,

You are a whole month old today. In some ways, it's hard to believe it's been that long and in others, we can't ever imagine that there was ever a time you weren't in our lives. You have grown so much over that last month, it's amazing. In the next week or so, we might even have to bump you up to your 0-3 month clothes. Apparently those eating issues we haven't quite figured out are not getting in the way of your growing.

You think you're such a big boy - you've started trying to lift your head and one night you even (accidentally) rolled from your stomach to your back. You turn your head at the sound of our voices and sometimes you will even smile when we talk to you. And for very special people, you will make sweet baby noises in response to being talked to.

Just today, you discovered the magic that is TV, before that your favorite thing to look at was the painting of Venice above the couch. You're still not sure that the swing is a good idea, but your carseat is awesome for travelling, sleeping and general hanging out. You're still not sure what you think about tummy time, but you're getting better about it.

It's been so much fun watching you grow for the last month. You are amazing - even at 3 in the morning. Please just try to be patient with us while we bumble through all of this. Even if it seems like we will never figure you out, I promise we will one day. And then you'll be on to something else and we can start all over again. Just in case you ever wonder, you're totally worth it.

All our love,
Mommy and Daddy

Cookie Time

Every year we do a cookie exchange at work. Everyone brings in some cookies to share and then we fill up our plates with a variety of said cookies to take home. Oh, and some are consumed right then and there.

I am always at a loss as to what to make. Some people make the same thing every year, but I a) think that's boring and b) don't really have a "trademark" cookie. The one I chose for this year, is courtesy of my friend Heather in Santa Barbara.

Here are the cookies I made following this recipe for Peppermint Bark Chocolate Chip Cookies. I forgot the part where you're supposed to sprinkle some of the cut up peppermint bark on top, but whatever. They're ridiculously yummy anyway.

 

Here is the batch where I got creative (something I almost never do in the kitchen. When I was at Cost Plus picking up the peppermint bark, I noticed eggnog bark and thought that might make for interesting cookies. Some improvisation was also required since I didn't have enough regular white sugar to finish the recipe. I substituted a little baking Splenda and some brown sugar. I'm not sure if it's that or the eggnog bark that made them kind of ugly, but they taste good. I guess that's all that matters.

 

4(ish) Weeks Old!

Here are some pictures from the last week or so. We've been really busy (still) trying to figure out Baby J's GERD issues. None of us are getting much sleep, but Sal and I are confident we're going to get this figured out.

In the fuzzy bear suit . . .

 

In line for It's a Small World with Daddy . . .

 

In bed with Daddy . . .

 

Haiku Friday

Almost four weeks now
Baby J is getting big
And so much more fun
***
Next week lots of things
Holiday-related - yay!
Parties, cookies, more
***
Christmas is coming
Will be here before we know
Cannot wait for it!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

 

3 Weeks Already?

That's right. It's been 3 weeks since the little man arrived in our world. I have to admit, this last week has been the toughest - by far. I don't know if it's just timing or all the holiday excitement, but Baby J just hasn't been the same since about last Wednesday.

It started with him sleeping less and being super fussy. At first, we thought it was because of the stomach bug we were all exposed to (and maybe it is), but it just wasn't getting better. By the Saturday after Thanksgiving, I decided it was time for a formula change. I also got some different bottles because I don't think the Gerber ones were doing anything to keep the air out of his little tummy. The bottles made a difference almost immediately, but I don't think the formula change was a good one (we eventually switched back).

We had our two week check up on Wednesday morning and the doc diagnosed the fussiness as GERD. Big shocker, I know, since I have a long history of acid reflux. The doc suggested burping 10-20 minutes after feedings along keeping him upright for an hour. If that didn't work, she suggested another formula change. As a last resort, she wrote us a prescription for Zantac. We were supposed to try out all of these things over a 7-10 day period.

So, we tried. None of us were getting any sleep. It was a nightmare. Until you are a parent, you have no idea how much it hurts to hear your child scream in pain. Sal and I were getting increasingly snappy with one another, too. It was just not good and we were ready to say screw the doc and get the Zantac prescription filled after a day and a half.

And then, a miracle happened. I was chatting with my coworker and long time family friend, Issie, who reminded me that his wife is a pediatrician and that she would be more than happy to answer any questions we had. I called Issie on Thursday to see if his wife preferred one of the two formulas the doc suggested we switch to after 4 days. The next day, he called back and said that before changing formulas, Beth suggested we try thickening his formula with a bit of rice cereal.

Since we needed more formula anyway, I picked up some rice cereal at Target and after much discussion with Wendy, decided to start with just a tiny bit in his formula. After one bottle, I knew we had found the answer. I swear, after he drank that bottle, Baby J looked at me and smiled. And then, just as quickly as he disappeared, the angel I brought home from the hospital was back. Amazing.

We're still having some minor tummy issues, but he is no longer screaming in pain and is back to a somewhat regular sleeping/eating schedule. I even got to nap for 2 hours with him this afternoon. There aren't even words to express how relieved I am. We aren't sleeping through the night or anything, but we are getting 2-4 hour stretches out of him, rather than the 45 minute ones we were getting earlier in the week. It's heaven.

Here are some pictures from the last week or so. Oh, and just FYI, our little piggy is now 21 inches and 7 pounds, 12 ounces.

 

 

 

 

17 Things About Me

Because I was tagged by Merv and because I need motivation to blog something.

1. I knew I wanted to marry Sal even before we started dating.

2. I eat Eggo waffles every.single.day.

3. My parents split up when I was 3. I remember the day my dad moved out.

4. I still know the first boy I ever kissed.

5. I had no idea being a mom would be so hard or so amazing. It surprises me constantly.

6. My mother is my best friend. If you knew us 20 years ago, this would surprise you.

7. I have worked at the same place for 10 (almost 11 years). My dad also works there.

8. It would be impossible for me to pick a "best day of my life". My wedding day and the day my son was born are definitely the front runners, though.

9. I love Christmas. Halloween is a close second for my favorite holiday.

10. I have a habit of buying magazines that I never read.

11. The only thing I collect is craft supplies.

12. I have three tattoos in 2 places on my body.

13. I have never been out of the country other than Canada and Mexico.

14. I've never had a dog that wasn't purebred. I know, shame on me (or my parents, really).

15. Reality television is my friend.

16. I love sushi. A lot.

17. I never made my bed until I had fancy linens to put on it (wedding gifts).