Saturday, November 24, 2007

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Thanksgiving came and went. Thankfully, without a hitch. Patrick spent his first night at his grandma's house and behaved like the good little boy he is (yeah, right!).

Yesterday, Mike and I ventured out to Target (one of my favorite places in the whole world - next to Disney World, of course) to buy a few things. We thought we might go late at night but instead opted to go around 4 pm. It wasn't even crowded! Next year, I am totally going shopping on Black Friday. I'll even take Patrick with me. Yeah, right.

Last night, we took pictures for our Christmas card. Loads of fun, folks, and I can't wait until people start receiving them. Having a baby is like having a doll sometimes. Seriously. :)

Today we plan to put up our Christmas tree as we attempt to watch the Florida-Florida State game. I feel awful that I haven't cheered on my favorite college team this season. I am going to try to make it up to the Gators today, though.

Now, as I figure out which channel the game will be broadcast from, enjoy this outtake from our Christmas photo shoot:



Questions: how do baby keep that extra bit of milk on their tongues? Don't they know to swallow it? And how, with FOUR people watching him, do we fail to realize that the boy has a booger in his nose? How?

Oh, and... Go Gators!!

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Thankful

Last year, I took on the task of hosting my first Thanksgiving. This year, I have given the holiday back to my mother-in-law. With Patrick only a month old, I didn't think I would be able to pull it off. I did manage, though, to prepare a spiral ham, basted with Coke. I hope everyone likes it!

Since last Thanksgiving, a lot has happened in my life. Exactly a year ago, I got the okay from my doctor to become pregnant. I was very lucky that it only took a short amount of trying, and I am thankful for that.

I am thankful that I have a healthy baby boy that I can stare at all day long.

I am thankful for my husband and for the way he loves me and our son. For the way he has adapted to being married to me for the last few years and for the years we have before us.

I am thankful for my extended family and friends, who show me daily how much they love me and my family.

I am thankful for my health. After almost a year of being pregnant and being sent home on "limited activity", I am happy to say that I am as healthy as can be. Even the recovery from my c-section has been relatively painless.

I hope everyone has a great holiday - please remember to tell those nearest and dearest to you how thankful you are to have them in your lives.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Month One

Dear Patrick,

Tomorrow is your one month birthday and in such a short amount of time, you have grown so much! If every month of your life goes by as quickly as this one has, I don’t know what I’ll do. It goes by so quickly and there is so much to savor, so much to remember, so much to write down.

Being pregnant with you has been, by far, the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me. Actually, let me correct that - being your mother has been the most amazing thing to happen to me. And the day you were born was one full of emotion. The second you were born you began crying, and to me, that was the most beautiful sound I ever heard.

Shortly after your arrival, a nurse noticed you were having a slight problem breathing – it was nothing serious, just something that happens to babies sometimes when they are born via c-section. It seemed you still had some fluid in your lungs and needed a nasal tube to help remove it. Quickly, you were moved to the neo-natal intensive care unit (NICU) and they started you on this tube. I was recovering from the operation of having you, and your daddy spent most of the morning running from my bedside to yours. You spent the first 48 hours of your life in the NICU, where the doctors and nurses took such great care of you, I will be forever indebted to them for treating you with such love and care.

At home, you have been amazing. Your abuelo and abuela are here with us and everyday, your abuela washes you down and tells you stories. You aren’t too fond of being scrubbed down, but you love when we pour water over you. You love to listen to our voices. We sit you in a bouncy seat in the kitchen with us and there, you are exposed to all kinds of sounds and smells. Your daddy and I sit you down with us in the living room and as we watch television, you look at us, perfectly happy to be there.

Every night, your daddy takes you upstairs and gets you ready for bed. He carefully changes your diaper and changes your clothes. This is a big deal because in the first days of your life, your dad was so scared he might hurt you if he carried you the wrong way or picked you up incorrectly.

When you are sleeping, you scrunch your face up and show signs of worries lines on your forehead. I wonder what you might be dreaming about that makes you so serious. As soon as you wake, you begin your hunger whine. It goes on and on until you get a bottle. And once the bottle is near your face, you begin panting like an animal. You are so ravenous! It’s very cute – except at 4 in the morning when the only thing your daddy and I would like is to continue sleeping soundly.

When you were two weeks old, we took you to church. Your dad made us sit at the end of a pew in case you starting crying. I kept a bottle right next to you in case you woke up and demanded nourishment. We were ready to go. But interestingly enough, we didn’t hear a peep from you for the entire hour. You did wake up at one point, and I put a bottle in your mouth. You drank every last drop and fell right back asleep. You were a hit! And all those people who gave us skeptical looks when we sat near them had to take back whatever mean thoughts they had of us when we originally sat down.

While on the subject of church, I should probably explain this a little bit. Your daddy and I, both raised Catholics, have not been church-goers during our adult life, but when you learned you were coming, we decided that we needed to expose you to religion. The world is too ugly and dangerous for people to be without faith and we want you to learn that there is a supreme being that looks over and protects you. We also want you to learn faith and spirituality, because in times of crisis, you will need them. And so we are committed to exposing you to the religion we know – it may not be the best religion and you may choose not to attend once you are older – but it is important to your dad and I to teach you and baptize you, which will happen in early December.

I continue to read books to you and play music. I dress you in all the outfits you have received from family and friends. I took you shopping one day and you loved it! You are going to be a great companion during the holiday shopping rush.

And, as promised, you have your own official paparazzi. When you are older, you are going to ask me why there are 54 pictures of you taking a bottle or 208 pictures of you sleeping. The answer will always be the same: because I cannot resist looking at you, and I want to record every minute of your life. You are my greatest creation and I am proud to show you off to anyone who will pay attention.

Thank you for blessing me with your existence. I love you unconditionally and with all my might.

Until next month,

Mommy

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Tributes

My good friend, Courtney Lynn, posted a great tribute to Patrick earlier this week.

I started working on this one a few weeks ago and have been using time here and there to finish it up. I wish I had more time, but for now, this will have to do.

Enjoy!



Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Guess What?

Not only have I lost all the weight I gained during pregnancy (10 pounds), I've also lost an additional 15 pounds.

It might be the lack of sleep.

Whatever it is, I'll take it!

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Patrick Wears Shoes! And Likes It!

All dressed up for church - 16 days old.


Hanging out with my daddy during tummy time.