Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Perfect Fit

A few weeks ago, my bff was working in Maryland and drove up to New Jersey to see us. I would like to think she drove 4 hours to see how much my belly had shrunk, but in reality, she wanted to meet Patrick.

Proof that they got along:



So comfy!

Monday, January 28, 2008

It's Official

With my maternity leave running out very soon (three more weeks! ack!), I decided to request working only part-time. It doesn't seem like that will happen at my current job, so guess what?
I am going to be a stay-at-home-mom.

How could I not? Have you seen this kid:



To all the stay-at-home-moms out there: please tell me, how do you do it? Do you cook and clean all day? Do you walk the mall? The park? How do you manage when it's freezing outside and you can't take the baby out?

Monday, January 21, 2008

Month Three

Dear Patrick,

A few days ago, you turned three months old. Again, this month just flew right past me.
We started out by celebrating your first Christmas at Grandma’s house. Everyone was there including your Abuelos, your cousins Michael and Tommy, and your aunts and uncles. You didn’t know it, but years from now, when you look at pictures from that day, you’ll want to know all about the day: what we ate, what stories were told, what gifts you received from Santa, and much much more. This, Patrick, is the beginning of your memories. And your dad and I are making sure we document them for your.

At the beginning of the year, your Abuelos went back to Miami. After almost three months of being here with us, they went home. Now, it’s just you, Daddy and me. And, you know what? We are having a great time! It was wonderful to have your grandparents here for the time, but it’s also great to have you all to ourselves. I officially became a stay-at-home mom the day they left and while it’s challenging, it’s fantastic. I love spending the day with you – playing with you in the morning, watching you drift off for a morning nap, singing songs to you, and going on walks.

You are growing by leaps and bounds – you have already outgrown all of your newborn clothing and many of your three month outfits. I find myself putting clothes on you “for the last time” many days.

You are beginning to “talk” too. You look at your mobile in your crib every night and are completely enthralled by the animals that go around in circles. When the music stops, you complain and your Daddy and I have to wind it up again. You also have animals that you “talk” to in your bouncy seat. You have started to punch them and are fascinated when they move.
You become very excited when you hear your Daddy come home from work: already you recognize his voice and know that you are going to play!

We practice tummy time daily and are teaching you to roll over. So far, you haven’t quite caught on that you have to move your arm out from underneath you in order to make the complete roll, but we are working on that.

Your sleeping habits have started to have to structure too. You are awake most of the day, taking cat naps when your eyes can’t stay open any longer. And at night, you are sleeping for longer stretches: 5-6 hours at a time. We are so proud that you are so independent at night, waking up only once to eat.

And speaking of eating… you are still a force to be reckoned with when you are hungry. Once you start eating, it is almost impossible to take the bottle out of your mouth to clean your face or burp you. You become very upset and “yell” for more food. You even try to “hold” the bottle in an attempt to feed yourself.

You have recently discovered your hands, and on more than occasion, we have found you sucking on your fingers. You stare at your hands, you study them, you put the two of them together, you punch things with them. It’s incredible to watch you make these discoveries and I can’t wait until you discover your feet!

This past weekend, I took you to your Grandma’s house for the long weekend. In a few years, you might complain that we “abandoned” you, but in reality, your dad and I worked the entire weekend to move your room from a colder one into a warmer one of our house. We slaved over it all weekend and are happy with your new room. We can only hope that you will love it too and make memories that you will talk about as your grow up.

While you may not have missed us those three days, we missed you immensely. I never knew I could miss such a little thing so much. I must have called your grandma two dozen times to find out how you were, what you were doing, and how you were playing. I did get to speak to you on the phone and I am told that when you heard my voice, your eyes lit up.

Patrick, you make my eyes light up. You are my sunshine.

Love,
Mommy

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Long Weekend

I'm overdue on my month three letter to Patrick. One day late, as a matter of fact. But I will have it up in the next two days or so.

Mike and I have been busy swapping out Patrick's room for the guest room. It's a project that has involved me taking the baby to my MIL's house for the weekend and Mike and I taking apart the crib and daybed and putting it all back together.

Yesterday, we got a lot of work done. We are still doing final things today. The rooms looks great. Pictures soon, I promise!

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Delurk

Apparently, it's delurking day. So, go ahead, people, if you are a reader of this blog and don't comment, please do so.

Thanks!a

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

And we walked and walked and walked...

As I mentioned in my previous post, it was unseasonably warm yesterday and I took the opportunity to talk a long walk with Patrick. It was his first walk; his first time in the fresh, crisp air.

I think he was a little skeptical at first:

This is his Samual Jackson face: What? What ain't no country I ever heard of. They speak English in What?


After a few minutes, though, he got comfortable. He slept the rest of the afternoon.

Ahhhh, bliss.

PS - Update on the rat: Mike came home last night and armed with gloves, a garbage bag, a flashlight, and a shovel, got rid of the pesky thing.

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Oh, Rats!

Happy new year to all!

Boy do I have news to share!

A few weeks ago, we noticed there were rats in my neighbor's backyard. We mentioned it to them and they were surprised with the news (yeah, right!). However, when mentioning using some kind of bait to get rid of the rats, my neighbor said there was no way he could use it since he had a dog.

Last week, we noticed a rat running across my backyard. Yikes! And since I don't have dogs or any pet that spends time in the yard, my dear ole dad planted bait along the back fence.

After planting the bait, he watched intently to see if the bait had been moved or worse, to see if there were any victims of the bait.

Yesterday, my mom and dad went back to Miami, leaving me to fend with the rat situation. There wasn't a trace of a rat in the yard yesterday.

Today, as I was looking out the kitchen window I saw - A DEAD RAT!!! AHHHHH! YIKES!

I immediately called Mike at work: THERE'S. A. DEAD. RAT. IN. THE. YARD. DO. I. HAVE. TO. GET. RID. OF. IT?

He assured me that we would get rid of it when he got home. He's obviously not home yet and all I have are visions of the dead multiplying into hundreds of them.

I would have taken a picture of it and posted it, but it is so DISGUSTING. I should, however, take a picture and send it to my dad.

Ick.

(Tomorrow: photos of Patrick and I on our first walk together. It was unseasonably warm here today, so we went out. So did the rats - tee hee hee.).