Valentine's Day

Elena and I had a quiet Valentine's Day.  We spent the morning at home playing in our pj's and then had lunch with Grandma and Grandpa.  Daddy sent some beautiful flowers to his favorite girls that really brightened our morning.  We're missing him this week...He is shacked up at a hotel in Manhattan for the week.  Originally, we had planned to stay over with him for a night or two like we did back in July, but we didn't really want to mess with Elena's bedtime routine, especially since she is the lightest sleeper EVER.  We figured none of us would get any sleep, so a lonely evening it was.  I had some pastina and a rice cake with peanut butter while he dined with work peeps at fancy schmancy Buddakan in the city.  Hmph.  Hey, I can't complain.  I got the best Valentine's gift ever...my little love bug fell asleep in my arms.  That never happens anymore! It was a treat for this mama! 

Food Shopping with Mommy

Our Love Story...my first link up!

Doing my first link up with FromMrstoMama...

Me my love

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?

We will be together 17 years officially this June.  That sounds crazy and makes me feel incredibly old.  

2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?} Paul and I grew up in the same town in NJ. We spent our entire lives living 2 miles away from one another and finally meeting in high school.  We ran in different circles initially but eventually Paul and I started gaining mutual friends.  He played on the Lacrosse team and I was the statistician and we also had some classes together so we started becoming better friends.  At the time, I had a boyfriend, sort of- More like a guy who I was obsessed with that wasn't really ready to call me his girlfriend (he is still our friend and was actually in our wedding party!) Before long it became clear that Paul had feelings for me.  I was having a hard time denying that I was falling for him and, well, the rest is history.  On June 29, 1995, at a typical high school house party I told Paul that I was ready to choose him.  We've been Katie + Paul ever since. 

3. If married, how long have you been married? If not, is this the guy you hope to marry? {do tell} We were married 4 years this past October.  Yeah, I know that sounds crazy- we dated for 13 years before we got married.  You don't have to remind me! It was worth the wait, though! Let's just say there were a lot of things in our way...USMC boot camp, 4 years of college, living separately, living together, a deployment to Iraq.

4. If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding?  If not, where would you like to get married? And will it be big or small? We got married at The Grain House Restaurant at The Olde Mill Inn.  I would say my wedding was intimate, though to some I'm sure it seemed like a big wedding.  We had 123 guests but there were many people we wanted to invite that we could not.  I actually planned my wedding in 10 weeks so we had a fixed budget and limited time to find something that met our desires. My mother was sick with cancer and sadly did not make it to see us get married, passing a few weeks before. It was a bittersweet day but I felt her presence all around me and know she was smiling down on us. 

5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? Do share! Most commonly- Babe.  That is universal. Although these days I find myself calling him Daddy a lot :) We make up some truly ridiculous names and after 17 years together I could probably rattle off quite a list.  Some of the ones he calls me are Blonde Bunny, Irwinator, and Booby-head (romantic, I know...it has nothing to do with my boobs, PS).

6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey. He loves his family.  He still makes me laugh every day.  He's an extrememly hard worker at everything he puts his mind to...his job, his family, his health.

7. Tell us how he proposed? Or your ideal proposal? I would venture to guess that I may be the only girl ever proposed to in a cemetery.  Yes, that is correct, a cemetery.  It was the perfect proposal and had so much meaning behind it.  As tradition goes, a good boy will ask for the dad's permission/blessing prior to popping the question.  Unfortuantely, this girl's dad wasn't here to give her boy that opportunity :( My dad passed away from cancer when I was 10. Nothing makes me sadder than the fact that my father and Paul never met.  I know they would have really loved one another.  The cemetery where he is buried is a place of great comfort to me.  I have always tended to his grave-planting flowers in the spring, decorating at Christmas, visiting when I was lonely.  Paul and I went to the cemetery together as we typically did to water the flowers and to shine my dad's police badge.  While I was watering my grandparents' grave just beyond my dad's,  Paul called to me to come look at something.  When I turned around I saw him down on his knees with a box in his hand.  It was his way of including my dad and it was the most thoughtful, amazing gesture.  

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals? We're not huge Valentine's Day peeps but he definitlely gets me a sweet card (I'm a total card person) and usually something more functional than candy or flowers....like a zippy hoody from Victoria's Secret or something he knows I want. 

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch? We are total homebodies.  I've never even had a sunset dinner on the beach (gahhh!), not that I wouldn't enjoy it! Date night for us usually consisits of a lot of talk of big plans to do whatever, followed by just winding up on the couch with a movie.  And that was even pre-baby!  That's us though and I wouldn't change it!

10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere? Drive cross-country in an RV taking our sweet time visiting family and historic places.  Oh, and Disney World would be nice too!

11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day. Paul commutes to Manhattan for work but has to spend that entire week at Wholesaler's meeting in the city so he'll be at a hotel.  We'll drive him in Monday and have dinner and probably sleep over.

12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day? Nothing special.

13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love. Compromise.  And never go to bed upset.

14.  Show us a picture of what love means to you. 

Finger Food Love

Today's breakfast did not go down as I had intended.  Mango puree + yogurt did not a happy baby make.  I think she has had it with being fed.  Little Miss Independent wants to do it herself or not at all.  She made that abundantly clear when she swatted the spoon as I was trying to feed her.  All the while thrashing her head from side to side in an angry protest.  I had a brief moment of panic as I tried to figure out what the heck I was gonna feed her give her to eat.  I decided to lightly toast some quinoa bread from Trader Joe's (yum!! 7g of protein in 2 slices!), cut them into strips and slop the puree that she wouldn't allow me to feed her on top.  Result= toast sticks=SUCCESS! She loved them!

A day at the park

Our last winter in NJ before we move to OH has been pretty good to us.  The days have been unseasonably warm and we are taking full advantage, happily running our errands, getting out of the house, and yes, even going to the park. I was pretty sure Elena's first swing at the park would be in Ohio this spring, so I was delighted that, with temps in the mid-60's and Daddy working from home, we'd get to go to our neighborhood park for some February fun.  Serioulsy? I'll take it! That groundhog better not see his shadow.

Elena loved the park and could have happily stayed in that swing all day if she had her way.  It took my breath away to see her, mouth open, breeze blowing her hair, legs kicking.  She took it all in and it was pure magic. How I have longed for this exact moment.  And it played out in my head exactly as I'd always hoped and dreamed it would. 

Celebrating Grandpa

Tonight we celebrated Grandpa's 71st birthday.  I was feeling especially blessed that we were all there together to honor him.  We missed you Liz! It puts it into perspective for me.  Without his birth 71 years ago none of these beautiful children that call him Grandpa would be here. All 6 of the grand kids were there running around.  It's a lot of fun to see them all interact and play together.  They love their baby cousin, Elena, and she adores them.  I am so excited for the relationships that they will forge over the years.  I have dreamed of this moment at birthday celebrations past; that we would have a little love of our own in the mix.  She is finally here and longing has been replaced with gratitude. It was loud and chaotic, but the good kind.  The kind that means we love each other, we're having fun.  And I'm not just talking about the kids.

Grandpa has always loved to remind us all to let dust be his destiny.  He's come farther than he thought he would, always saying he'd never imagined he'd surpass his 65th birthday...which I believe is how old his father was when he died.  It has always upset me to hear him reference not being in this physical life with us.  I've already lost two parents and frankly, I don't want to lose anymore for a while.  Naturally, a birthday brings thoughts of mortality as people age.  I know in Grandpa's eyes he was wondering if this would be his last.  The last time he'd hear Happy Birthday and blow out candles.  The last time he'd read a birthday card from his sons.  I think part of us all wondered that a bit this year. 

Grandpa is facing surgery in two weeks to remove a tumor from his colon that they suspect is cancer.  Just typing that sentence pisses me off.  Seriously.  I've had it with cancer, thankyouverymuch.  So yeah, I think that's why Grandpa's mortality has been on all of our minds lately. 

I wish I could capture and save the love affair that he and Elena have.  It is so crisp and clear and it fills my heart to the brim.  The thought of him not being here with her doesn't fly with me.  They need more time together.  Lots more time.  There are so many things they've shared already in her short 7 months. Grandpa laughs at me because I take so many pictures.  I try to capture them on camera as much as I can so that one day Paul and I can tell her how much her Grandpa loved and adored her. 

Grandpa loves to sing to Elena.  Half the songs I don't even know. Songs like, "How glad the many millions of Annabelles and Lillians..." and silly songs like "See Saw knock at the door, who's there? Grandpa.  What does he want? A bottle of beer..." and "Elena Josephinaaaa don'ta leana ona the bella".  He also says "Elena....do you want Grandpa to hit you?"  He says it all the time and uses the back of his hand to ever-so-gently tap her chubby little cheek.  It is a lot more endearing than it sounds.  

He has lots of nicknames for her....Murphy, or "Hey Murph" but it really sounds like "Moiph" with his accent.  Flanagan Face is another one.  The kid is half Italian but she sure doesn't look it.   Speaking of Italian, he loves to say "A face doya vadein" which is totally spelled wrong but means something along the lines of "That face."  He calls her a beautiful creature, which I love because my mom always called me that and I know she'd say the same about Lainey.  We can't forget, "What a prize package you got."  And Grandpa isn't always right, but he sure is about that one.  

We love his daily, impromptu visits and will miss them when we move to Ohio.  Lola bounds to the door to get  a treat.  She gets more excited to see him that she does when Paul or I come home.  She's no dope.  And when we sit at the table to eat a meal together, you can find Lola scratching at Grandpa's leg.  Like I said, she's no dope.  We save him leftover pizza in the toaster because he doesn't like it refrigerated. We always have pretzel sticks because that's what he likes.  He says he has to go for half the time he's there, but we never mind that he stays longer than he intends.  He remembers jokes and stories from the old days like his mind is a steel trap.   Sometimes he tells a story we've heard a hundred times but we listen and laugh like it was the first time we'd heard it.  He's got some great stories from his Brooklyn days.  

He's gotten sentimental over the years.  He'd tell you so himself.  If he knew I was writing about him he'd say verbatim, "I don't care what they say about you, Katie.  You're all right."  And then he'd tell me I was his meat with a hearty laugh.   So tonight my wish is that next year I'll be writing a similar post about celebrating Grandpa on his 72nd birthday.  Happy Birthday...We love you G'pa!

DOC Band Baby

My sweet little love is getting a DOC Band.

Back story....

Elena was born with Torticollis.  I probably noticed it when she was only a month old but if you look at pics of her -even in the hospital-her preference to look right and tilt left was clear even then.  I didn't know what Torticollis was at the time but I Googled something along the lines of "my baby doesn't look left" and was able to diagnose her right off the bat.  It is basically wry neck from the way she was positioned in my belly.  Imagine looking over your right shoulder while simultaneously cocking your head so that your left ear touches your left shoulder.  That was baby girl's sweet spot. 

We started going to physical therapy in August when she was 2 1/2 months old and have been going weekly ever since.  Ms. Eleanor is amazing and Elena has made such incredible progress.  They have the sweetest little relationship and I am such a proud Mama as I sit and stare in awe at my girl and how far she's come.  I pretty much cry every week.  I don't really know why.  It's more of a my-heart-is-so-full-of-love-it-could-burst sort of cry.  Like I am just so overwhelmed when I watch her from the sidelines, interacting with someone else.  Usually I am in the moments with her, loving her up.  So to observe her from afar, well, it just totally fills me up.

Anyway, I knew that the helmet was a possibility, as Torticollis can cause Plagiocephaly, which is when the head begins to develop a flat spot from the constant pressure on the skull.  Plagio also has become more prevalent since the launch of the Back to Sleep Campaign.  Knowing this, Paul and I were fairly vigilant about repositioning her whenever she was sleeping, in the car seat, in her swing etc.  We tried to do tummy time as much as she would tolerate, which, in the early months was not very often.  She hated it and would face plant into her activity mat and scream. Now I can't keep her on her back if I wanted to and tummy time=all the time. 

(stupid effing blogger just deleted the end of this post...grrr)

Soooo, where was I ...Her flat spot seemed to get better so I wasn't really thinking a helmet was in her future.  Her PT and Pediatrician didn't seem too concerned at first either.  It wasn't until she was 6 months that I really started noticing the asymmetry in her face.  So, at her 6 month well visit, I brought to the doctor's attention the bulges I noticed above her ears and the slope in her forehead.  I also noticed her head was coming up to a point sort of on one side.  He met my concerns by telling me that her head wasn't perfect but it wasn't as severe as some cases he'd seen.  Deciding to listen to our gut, Paul and I agreed to get an evaluation.

We went for the evaluation the following week.  The entire situation was overwhelming but the people at Cranial Technologies couldn't have been nicer.  Considering there are only 13 locations for the DOC Band, we felt truly blessed that one was so close to us.  We met with an OT, had some pictures mugshots taken of Elena and ultimately left with the  recommendation for treatment.  She has a moderate case of Brachycephaly.  If we don't treat with the helmet her head will continue to grow the way it is growing and could lead to jaw issues and difficulty with glasses due to the squamoid bulges she has developed over her ears.  Her facial asymmetry also has the potential to get worse.  As someone who has my own facial asymmetry due to Bell's Palsy, I live with it every.single.day and would not want to subject my child to a lifetime of living with it.  If it can be corrected in 3 months with the band at an age when she will never remember, it's a no-brainer.  Done and done.

Can we discuss for a moment how well-behaved and cooperative our girl was?  I mean, seriously...this girl knows how to step it up during times of stress.  If she could talk she'd surely have assuaged our fears and told us, "Mom, Dad....Chill.  I got this." Any tears shed were mine.  And really only a few of guilt over not listening to my gut sooner. 

Wanted: Baby girl.  Chubby cheeks. Chubbier thighs.  Rosebud lips.  Button nose.  Comb over.

You can see in the pic her left shoulder hikes up.  That is a result of the Torticollis.  We still need to gently remind her shoulder that it shouldn't creep up to meet her ear.  That will continue to improve with PT and the stretches we do at home.

We went back for a follow up visit to have the digital images of Elena's noggin taken so that they could custom make her band.  Again, she was such a trooper and just let the girls position her as they needed to in order to get the right photos.  To get the most accurate images they needed to put a stocking over her head.  Between the mugshots and the stocking, my child officially looks like a career criminal.

So, there you have it.  We're on our way to becoming a DOC Band family.  Lainey will get fitted on the 21st so stay tuned for pics!

Christmas Card Pics

Tada....My first real attempt at shooting in manual.  This is the main pic I'm using for our Christmas cards.

I may have bit off more than I could chew trying to do the whole twinkle light thing. All in all, I am happy with it, though.  Those twinkle lights were a bitch.  Lucky for me I had the cutest, most cooperative subject.  I'm embarrassed to say how many pics I took over the span of the two days to get it right.  Paul was a good sport helping me move the set up all over the friggin place trying to get the lighting right.  Adorable baby smile is thanks to him for doing something silly with Piggy Pie over my shoulder.  Piggy Pie would be the stand in for Elena, as I attempted to get the shot right.

 I'm anxious to get the cards and hope they came out nice.  Husband was right...no one will notice my first attempt at bokeh anyway.....they'll be too captivated by that smiley sunshine girl in the cute hat!