Psyched!

I am sitting here, literally on the edge of my seat (my bed actually), anxiously waiting for the clock to say 8:00 so we can all hop in the car and head to the airport! Uncle Eddie arrives at 8:52!! It's been a looooong time coming.  It is going to be an amazing weekend watching my brother meet my son for the first time.  I cannot wait to see them play together! I wish Aunt Jaime could be here this weekend for his birthday party also!  We spent the past day clearing out the cobwebs in the guest room and doing some MUCH needed dusting in preparation.  We also got a Christmas tree that we will all decorate Friday.  It's going to be an awesome weekend, ending with Dominick's First Birthday Bash on Sunday!! I am all prepared and all I have to do now is decorate and have fun!!!  I will post pics of tree trimming and birthday celebrating next week! 

YAAAAAAAAY!!! it's 7:49, almost time!!!!

Phew!

Whoa, it's 9pm and I'm actually ready to sit down and veg on the couch.  Sure, the kitchen is a bit messy, but the dishes are clean...at least.  I can quickly get it straightened out in the morning, easy peasy.  I spent the past hour FINALLY decorating the front of the house.  I feel so good to have it done.  The only thing missing now is the tree.  We will be getting one Tuesday and decorating it Thursday with my brother.  That will be so much fun.  It's cutting it a bit close to Christmas, but I really love the idea of trimming the tree with my munchkin and my big brother.  I plan on making Tiffany's candy cane cookie special for the event! I really look forward to it.  I actually found out today that my brother will be staying until Tuesday the 21st, which is Dominick's actual birthday.  I am psyched about that.  He will be here to open presents in the morning and have a birthday breakfast with the little man!!!!  YAAY

Well, my coffee is brewed and hot and the donuts in the pantry are calling my name.  Time to lounge on the couch and chilllllllllllllll

Time Flies

First of all, I have been getting way too spoiled by the little man.  He hasn't gotten out of bed before 9am in at least a week.  Today he was up at 8:30, was singing and talking to himself and must have fallen back asleep.  Meanwhile, 2 hours later I get a phone call and realize it's 10:30! 10:30!  So I send hubby in there to check him.  This is what he finds:

(by the way, this was supposed to be a picture, but we had it on the wrong setting)  Dominick had fallen asleep with his face mashed between the bars of the crib! My poor Monka!  He had indents in his face for at least an hour after waking up.  I am still in shock that I got to sleep til 10:30! this morning.  Fascinating! haha.  We'll see what happens tomorrow morning!

I've been so stressed these past few days.  So much to do before my brother comes next week.  Finally got my Christmas decorations out and managed to decorate the front windows.  I still have to do outside, but it's after midnight and this is the first time I've sat down since I rocked Dominick to sleep at 8.  Why is it that every year I feel like I don't have enough decorations? Last year I must have spent about $300 on decorations and I can't figure out where they all are.  It doesn't help that half of them are either staying in the box or just thrown in random places because they can't go anywhere within reach of the Monka-Maniac!  We, well I, decided to put the tree in the front game room instead of the living room.  It will still be up, but it will be out of the way of the monster.  Also, I always loved the look of a Christmas tree through the window from outside.  Now I get to do it!

We FINALLY got a gate for the stairs.  I bitched and complained, whined and moaned about it for so long and now that the one I "had to have" is finally here and installed....I hate it. haha Well, hate is a strong word.  It's just slightly pissing me off.  The molding on the bottom of the wall is in the way of opening and shutting it smoothly.  They sell a spacer for such things, but we didn't order it.  On top of that, because it's mesh the top seems a bit flimsy to me.  I knew it would have a little give - but this seems like too much.  Maybe I'm just too nervous?  Here, take a look for yourself.  :

So Far, So Good..Right?

 

Maybe Not?!

 I called the company and they said it's "normal" to have some give.  I guess I expected more for $150.  I read a hundred reviews and they all were great and none of them mentioned this problem.  Maybe it's only a problem for me.  I do seem to be stressing way easier than usual lately.  I have a hunch it's because I stopped nursing.  Dang hormones can really mess with ya!  Now, I just wish someone would explain it to my hubby.  I have been freaking out about any little thing that goes wrong or not as planned and then the freaking out makes him react defensively, which stresses me out even more.  I should just start my morning with a swig or two of wine, that would help.  Ha, I kid, but I would be lying if I said I didn't think about it!

Ok, hubby is sick and in bed.  He actually called in to work for about the 2nd time in 7 years.  It will be nice to not go to bed alone tonight.  

Sweet Dreams Friends!

My Boys

It's December.  No, my calendar must be wrong.  It can't be December.  I have a lump in my throat just thinking about it.  Actually, the lump seems to be a permanent resident these days.  Between getting things ready for Dominick's birthday party and Christmas, I just can't deny it any more.  It WILL happen.  My sweet, little, itty bitty baby will be 1.  :^(  I was going through my pictures earlier, trying to put together a small collage of Dominick's first 12 months to display at his party ( I have extra scrapbooking paper that I'd hate to see go to waste).  I was under the impression that I had at least a billion pictures of him.  I was wrong, I don't have enough!! Flipping through pictures of his first few months I just kept saying to myself..."No, wait, there has to be more!"  At the time I felt like I was taking about one picture a minute, now it seems like there will never be too many!  I want to go back in time and relive the moments that went all too fast.  I want to hold my little 3 week old in my arms again and kiss his tiny face.  It just goes by too fast.  This isn't understood until you become a Mama.  I never believed it.  When I would see my friend's son, I'd say, "oh, he still isn't talking/walking...", it seemed like it took forever for him.  But, he wasn't my son.  Being a Mama, I now realize that you never want them to grow up, you want to hold them in your arms forever.  Then there's the other side of that coin, the side that is in utter awe of the person he is becoming.  I am amazed every day by the new things he does.  He is a little ham and I get excited literally every morning wondering what new think he will do that day.  Too bad we can't have it both ways, somehow.

::Gulp::Sigh::Wiping tears from my eye::

In other news, Reggie had another seizure today.  His first was only 2 weeks ago and I was hoping with all my heart that it was a fluke thing, never to happen again.  I am now living in constant fear that it will happen again.  I really cannot relax, at all. I am constantly looking at him, making sure he is breathing, listening for any strange noises.  There goes that lump in my throat again.  I cannot stop my brain from going to the worst scenario; that this is the end.  This will somehow lead up to me having to say goodbye to my puppy.  Maybe that is just a side effect of losing nearly every person in my family, including my precious kitty, Ani.  Still, you'd think after having lost so much I'd be better prepared.  Nope.  I have to call the vet tomorrow and fill him in on his recent episode, but what more can he do? He's taken all the blood tests already and we can't afford to send him to the Veterinarian Nuerological Center.  I guess just wait until I talk to my doctor before I start going down this path.  For now, I will take my puppy upstairs, as I do every night, kiss his nose, tuck him in and pray for the best. 

Wish me luck, I'll need it.

Hot Dog

Phew! Long day over here!  Dominick and I went Black Friday shopping with Jenn and family today! Not the crazy 4AM Black Friday shopping tho.  We left around 10, which is good because I don't think it is humanly possible for both of us to be up, fed and ready any time before 10AM.  I know, I've tried.  It was a great day.  I got a bunch of birthday and or Christmas gifts for Dominick! So exciting!  The poor little guy only got about 30 minutes sleep all day.  By the time we got home it was already almost 5pm so a late afternoon nap, like I planned, was out of the question.  These are the times I hate Steve's shift.  Dominick was cranky and hungry but we had to wait for Daddy to wake up before we could eat.  We weren't done eating until 7:30!  Not the best day for that.  And that was a "quick" dinner, just had to boil water for left over sauce.  So much for tubby tonight.  There's always tomorrow!

I finally finished Munchkin's Sprout birthday card too!  YAAY  I HAVE HAVE HAVE to go to the post office tomorrow! I have 2 gifts in my back seat that need to be shipped to NV and I need to get his card in the mail.  Don't want to miss the deadline.  It came out really cute.  Wanna see? hhehehe

 

There ya have it! I am kind of annoyed about how sloppy my handwriting is on the back, but, whatever. 

I also got the invitations all ready, just have to fill in some missing addresses and mail them.  Hopefully I can get this all done tomorrow. 

Time for Mama to veg out in front of the TV with my spiked sweet tea.  Num Num!

Lump In My Throat

I've had a lump in my throat all day.  I am feeling totally overwhelmed with the mess that is my house.  I want to cry for any reason under the sun.  PMS much? Sheesh.  I am sitting here in my living room trying not to concentrate on the clutter.  I have absolutely no will to get up and start cleaning at 10:45 pm.  The stupid thing is, if I would have just done it when Dominick went to sleep at 8 pm I'd be done by now.  Instead, I just sat here, for almost 3 hours, doing absolutely nothing but obsess over how stressed the mess is making me.  It's and endless cycle.  Maybe I will wake up tomorrow motivated.  I have to do some cooking in the morning, luckily nothing too major.  Steve will have to go to sleep almost as soon as he gets home from work, which means I will have to clean and cook with the little monkey swinging from the vines.  aaah!  I don't know why I am surprised about this feeling.  It comes every year about this time ~ the holidays.  No matter how happy I am, this time of year always seems to drudge up the little orphan in me.  The little girl who just wants her Mommy.  It almost sickens me that I have the nerve to feel sorry for myself.  I have SO much to be grateful for, my life is literally my dream come true.  Will that little girl in me ever grow up?  I'm the Mommy now, stop sulking and start cleaning!

It's Official

My munchkin turned 11 months old yesterday.  I guess I have to surrender to the fact that he WILL turn one year old.  In LESS than a month!  Waaaah.  - Ok, enough whining.

Today we started him on whole milk.  I was a bit nervous, but he guzzled it down!  He drank a whole sippy cup and then came back for more after his nap.  Not even "loose" poops afterward.  He's got a tank tummy!  We are only doing milk with lunch for the first week, then I will gradually start with breakfast, then dinner.  So, the exciting news is I can retire my pump.  Amen and halleluia.  Baba's are also no more.  My itty bitty is now a biggy wiggy.  Ha, corny.  He drinks from a straw sippy cup like a real little boy.  What the heck is going on around here!?

I am working on Dominick's birthday card to send into Sprout TV.   I am so excited about this.  I really hope it comes out as cute as I envision it. I need to sort through my gazillion pictures and pick out a few of my faves to put in the card.  I am hoping Jenn can help me put it together on Thursday.  We will be going next door for Thanksgiving.  I remember last Thanksgiving like it were yesterday.  It literally feels like it could have been last week that I had my little monkey in my belly and I was waiting anxiously to meet him.  Now he is here and he is the MOST amazing person I have ever met!

So much to do this week.  Invitations.  Sprout card.  Post Office.  Thanksgiving!

Ok, Walking Dead time!

2-fer Thursday!

Yo! It's almost time to go! (aw) But, first, let's go back and remember all the fun things we did today! (yay) Can you help me? Are you ready? Well, let's do it. Break It Down:


First:  We went to see Dominick's doctor to get weighed and ask a few questions about starting whole milk.  He says he is growing wonderfully! He weighs 21 lbs 12 ozs and is a whopping 31.5 ins long!


Then: We had our very first ever grilled cheese sandwich! YAAAY We loved it.  Wait, we pretty much love anything but cauliflower at this point :)

Then: We video chatted with Aunt Jaime, Uncle Mike AND Uncle Eddie!  It was awesome, but still made me sad and jealous that I could not be in NY with all of them.  They were going out to dinner.  Without us.  :'( BooooooooooHoooooooo :'(

Later: We took a nice long walk to the playground!  We climbed up the stairs all by ourselves and slid down the slide with Mama!  We played with the fake steering wheel and played music.  Sadly, I did not get a picture of him going down the corkscrew slide by himself. With Mamas assistance, holding him, of course.  It was hilarious.  Between his face, which was priceless, and the large amounts of static causing his hair to stick straight up.  Fun times! He loved it!

We saw the gorgeous sunset behind the White Tank Mountains

Even Later: Dominick started getting very cranky and upset because his gums were really hurting.  So, to mix things up, I put on his awesome red sweater from Robyn, directly from Ireland and took him in the backyard to look at the stars with Reggie.

Finally: We had dinner (angel hair with garlic, oil and steamed broccoli, butternut squash AND applesauce).  Then we took a much needed tubby and dried off with our favorite monkey towels.  Some advil, orajel and lots of giggles, hugs and kisses to end the night.

Goodnight sweet little boy.  Sweet dreams!
Mama loves you to the moon and stars. And back again  <3
XOOX

Hello Toof!

We FINALLY have a tooth!! It officially peeked through the gums on the 8th and is slowly (very slowly) making his appearance.  He has been such a sweetie too, barely ever cranky.  Only thing now is, he is already putting that half of a tooth to use and biting the side of his crib.  I went in his room after his nap just now and he had black specks all over his mouth, tongue and tooth! Let the games begin!

Sigh, as fun as all these new things are: new teeth, new words, hopefully a step or two in the  near future, a big part of me is just not ready for it. I wonder if I can will the Gods to slow down time?  It's a reasonable request, isn't it?  Can't I just get another year of my baby being a baby?  Just one more year.  I am not ready for him to be a "big boy".  We are starting the little monkey on whole milk Monday.  No more nursing for us.  Yet another bittersweet passage into big boy-dome.  *Don't get me wrong, Mama is ready for this one, or at least my boobies are*

Birthday party supplies are ordered, guest list is being worked on, all I have to do now is figure out what we're going to get the monkey! I just made his 12 month check up appointment today.  It's on his actual birthday, but I think I will postpone it until after Christmas.  I don't want my little baby to get a bunch of shots ON his actual birthday! That's no fun!  Only fun stuff for my little boy for his big day.  Maybe we will take him to the zoo.  I just better remember to not put any makeup on because I have a feeling I will be in tears all day. 

That's all I have to report today!  Time to go play!

You learn something new every day.

HOW is it November?  Where is this year going?  I have to order Dominick's First Birthday party supplies! REALLY ?? I almost can't accept it.  My little tiny baby is growing up too fast!  We are doing a small party, just for the few people we know out here in AZ and Uncle Eddie and Aunt Lou will be here!  I am so excited about that!  I wish everyone could be here.  Especially Aunt Jaime and Uncle Mike :(  But, what can I expect? I live on the other side of the country.  I knew when we moved it would be hard at times like these, but I never really knew how it would affect me as a "Mommy".  How could I? I've never been one before!  It stinks, and it hurts, but as much as it hurts I am so grateful to have this beautiful house to raise my baby in.  I get to stay home with him and see his sweet little face all day.  There is nothing to compare to that.  I certainly could never afford to do that in NY.  :(
FaceTime is really making things easier.  We get to see Aunt Jaime (& Uncle Mike) almost every day!! It's great!!  Now if only Uncle Eddie would get with the program and hook up his webcam!  I cannot believe he has never seen my son!  How is that even possible!??! The first time he will meet him will be for his 1st birthday.  Craziness!!!
What else is new? Besides avoiding mirrors at all costs?!  I chopped my hair and every time I look at it in the mirror I seriously want to cry.  Yeah, Yeah, it will grow back! Yeah, Yeah, it looks "cute" . . . whatever!!!  Not soon enough, I say.  My hair was kind of stringy and ick before tho, I must remind myself this.  It feels healthy now, it just looks like crap.
So, now on to the new thing I learned today. . . apparently my first baby teeth grew in rotten!! How did I not know this?  I knew I had to have them pulled really young, like 2 yrs old.  I knew they were rotten, I just thought they rotted from too much candy/sugar.  I have never heard of this.  I am almost positive it happened cuz my mom was doing some kind (or many kinds) of drugs while she was pregnant.  I really need to look it up, I am intrigued.  I wonder if this is a common?
Speaking of teeth, Dominick still doesn't have his first!  This is crazy!!   I will miss his gummy smile too much, so I shouldn't complain.
Well, that's all I can come up with for now.  Looking forward to tomorrow.  Dinner with Jenn and some shopping!! YAY

I'm back!!

Well, physically anyway.  My body is here, but my heart is still in NY.  I am also exhausted beyond belief.  10 straight days of running around with a 10 month old is deserving of a vacation.  Hubby got to enjoy a 3 day conference in Scottsdale at a nice resort as soon as we got back.  Free food, free room (I only let him stay one of the three nights) ~ No Fair!
New York, besides being draining, was so much fun!! I'm so happy we stayed with my sister and her hubby.  Even on the days we were running around town we got to see them when we got home and in the morning.  They really are amazing Aunt & Uncle to Dominick! They spoil him beyond belief!  New clothes, new toys, new shoes, new iPOD!!!  The iPod is so we can "FaceTime" aka video chat.  I didn't even know what FaceTime was until last week. ha.  We've already used it twice and Dominick loves it!  It makes me happy that he gets to "see" Aunt Jaime, especially now that he just saw her for 10 days, he knows who she is.  Anyway, they were way too good to us while we were there and I will and do miss them greatly.  :(
Dominick turned 10 months old yesterday! I cannot believe it! Where has the past 10 months gone!?  He is starting to "walk" while holding our hands.  His new favorite thing is to climb the stairs.  I wish there were a better way to descibe it because "climb" doesn't do it justice.  It's more of a frantic, hysterical (laughing) rushing zoom up the stairs!  While it's quite adorable, it's equally scary!  Obviously we will be getting a gate this weekend.  I'm a bad Mama because I love to let him do it just for the entertainment! His little laugh and how he moves SO fast cracks me up.  He honestly gets up two flights faster than I do!!  I'll have to have Steve record it before we put a gate up! (Bad Mommy!)  Dominick also has been saying "Ma" "Ma" a lot.  I just wish he would say it when he is happy.  He only says it when he is upset and crying.  The best is now when he wakes up in the morning or in the night he calls "Maaa" "Maaa"  I love it!!  We're still working on clap hands, blowing kisses, touching nose/eyes/mouth.  I am enjoying every second with my little maniac monkey. I am still in awe that I get to be this amazing little person's Mommy.  What did I ever do to deserve such love and beauty?  He is a blessing to us and there is not a moment that passes that I am not eternally grateful.
OK, time to shove some food in my face before the monkey wakes up!

Overdrive

I don't even know where to begin, I am beyond exhausted.  NY was awesome, amazing, wonderful and EXHAUSTING!  I have been home for just over 24 hours and I cannot shake this feeling.  I honestly can barely keep my eyes open.  Man, I am officially getting old!  Dominick was adjusting today too and it had him in overdrive.  He was full speed ahead from 7am.  Our bags are still where we plopped them last night.  The kitchen WAS clean when we got home, now? Not so much!  Hubby had training this morning, tomorrow and Friday.  He isn't even coming home at all tomorrow night.  UGH.  I don't know how single parents do it! 

I think I will have to go into more details about my trip another time.  I'm fading . . . .FAST!

Bagel with Fly Cheese, Please

Winding down my weekend here on the couch with my hubby.  Munchkin upstairs, waking every hour or two.  Poor baby, I think his teeth may finally be coming in.  Although, I've said that a hundred times.  Who knows? It's a guessing game.  We could feel the bumps under his gums on top and he has been gnawing on his fingers like crazy all day.  Hopefully he won't be in too much pain while we're in NY.   I can't believe this time next week we will be there, and probably freezing.  YAY.  

We had a great weekend.  Did some shopping Friday, dinner Friday night with Jenn.  Spent the day with Jenn and her Mama, including yummy Thai food.  Unfortunately Saturday ended on a sour note - on our way home we stopped for Dunkin' Donuts, we both got the pumpkin iced coffees.  We also both got the shakes as a result.  Something about the coffee was definitely bad, but we couldn't figure out what or how.  Oh well, we're fine now.

This morning Jenn and I went to Massage Envy for her birthday and I finally got to redeem my Mother's Day present!  It was awesome!  I've never had a massage like that!  There were times where my mind would be deep in thought about something, then poof, gone.  I was so relaxed I couldn't even complete a thought.  Whereas, normally I am too busy and frantic to complete a thought, haha, I much prefer losing my mind in massage!  Here's where it gets funny.  We went for bagels after our massages and we were just talking, having a good time.  I was in the middle of telling Jenn a story, actually I was in the middle of a sentence when all of a sudden something is stuck in my throat.  As soon as I felt it I realized that I just SAW a bug fly into my mouth!  It all happened so fast that I stopped mid word, jaw dropped, contemplating if that had actually just happened and if it had-would the bug proceed to the exit as swiftly as he entered? I waited, replaying his last flight over and over in my mind, still in shock.  When I realized that I had a tickle in my throat that was not from my bagel I began to cough, hoping it would come up and out.  No such luck.  All the while Jenn is looking at me wondering if I even realized what she just witnessed.  OK, so, now that we all know a bug just flew into my mouth.  No, not into my mouth - down my throat.  He did not pass go and did not collect $200.  He went straight down.  Now What?  do I swallow what's in my mouth? Take a drink?  I was so unnerved and stunned.  Finally, I had to swallow and take a few swigs of iced tea.  That's when I asked her what kind of bug it was, I saw it, but just faintly, just enough to confirm what happened.  Apparently it was a fly, and a big one at that.  GREAT.  Now I need to run out of the place and vomit.  Except when I get out there there is a dude watching me, so I don't.  OMG.  I just ate a fly.  I am still mortified!!  As gross as it was, it was also one of, if not the funniest thing that has ever happened to me.  I laughed and got grossed out about it for the rest of the day.  I guess it was a "had to be there" kinda moment?  The story would have been a lot shorter and a heck of a lot funnier if I told it about 3 hours ago.  Instead I am telling it now at midnight and I am beyond exhausted. 

Monkey is up, again! 

Happy Halloween Month!

Yay! It's October!  I love October and Halloween.  It's officially time to get my decorations out and start decorating.  Have to get it done this week, before we go to NY.  I remember last year putting up webs on a ladder in the front of the house 7 months pregnant.  Seems like a lifetime ago and yesterday all at once.  I will learn my lesson this year and do all my exterior decorating after hours.  No need for the whole block to watch me wrestle with spider webs.  Ugh, I'm so anti-social!

It was a short, busy day today.  After waking up every hour last night, the munchkin finally took a nap at 10 am, and I did too.  He didn't wake up til 1 pm.  From the moment he woke up we were on the move! He did some shopping with me for Jenn's birthday then we came home said Hi and Bye to Daddy and were out the door again within 40 minutes.  We had a great dinner with Jenn at our "go to" mexican restaurant.  $2.50 Blue Moon's.  Nice.  I couldn't even finish one.  I'm getting old!  Then shopping at Kohl's.  We bought a bunch of warm clothes for NY.  SO cute and cheap!!  Picking out little sweatshirts, sweaters and pants made me so excited to see him all snuggled up and dressed warm.  I can't wait!  He is gonna look like a little boy, and not my little baby.  Makes me sad and excited.  I never want to hold him back just to please my need to keep him my little baby.  He's already way too busy for me all day; crawling, cruising, exploring. He is going to be a very independent little boy, I can see it already.

Here are some photos from our dinner tonight~!

The Birthday Girl

He decided he was DONE with the highchair! No complaints here!

Weeeeee!!

Adios September!

Ah, September is finally over.  Good riddance to you.  I hate September, it's one of those months that just make me feel like I'm 12 years old again.  And not in the good way.  

Today was pretty much uneventful.  Eat, play, sleep. Repeat.  I can't wait til the weather cools off so we can go for afternoon walks to the park.  Just getting out of the house is nice, but it just didn't happen today.  Considering I did next to nothing today, I am pretty damned tired.  I think I may actually go to bed early tonight, for real.  I always say that but hate to give up my "me" time while Dominick is in bed.  Eh, there's always tomorrow.

Since nothing big happened today I will share some pics and a video I took of Dominick trying to clap his hands.  Gotta love it, he is just too darned cute! 


  

Dominick decided he wanted my straw.  He used it like a big boy and got a few sips of water, then decided it was his!

At the end of the night my little munchkin was super mushy so I sopped up every second of it! We read a couple books and he even lay his head on my chest.  It was a very tender moment.  It's not often that he isn't on the go, too busy to snuggle with Mama!

Long Day

It's been a long day and it's only 10:30.  I remember the days when 10:30 was *early*, these days I am longing for my bed by 9!  

So many things happened today, I tried to remember all the small details that make up a day in my life, but it seems like it is inevitable that I will miss something.  Here are the highlights of my day:

Both Dominick and I had to have blood drawn today.  Me for my kidney issues and Dominick because his doctor routinely checks iron levels at 9 months.  I assumed that the test would be one of those little sticks in the toe, nothing with an actual needle.  Not in my little baby!  Of course, by the time I found out it was going to be an actual needle I didn't have time to protest. (much)  My heart immediately started pounding in anticipation.  My poor monkey!  The nurse who drew my blood had another nurse come in to help "hold him down".  She then told me to prepare for a screaming fit, but "it's ok, he will surely nap after screaming so hard"  Umm, is that supposed to make me feel BETTER?  So, now, of course I am beyond freaking.  But, I must keep it together for my munchkin.  I didn't want him to feel my anxiety, so I tried to relax when Steve placed him on my lap.  We gave him his favorite binky and I held his left hand as tenderly as I could as the nurse prepared his right arm for the needle.  The whole time Dominick sat calmly on my lap, giving both nurses his famous look.  The inquisitive look that often gets misinterpreted as a "mean" look.  When they were ready with the needle I swear my heart stopped beating, or at least skipped a beat or two.  I had to turn my head as they poked my poor boy's arm . . .  I kissed his head and talked softly to him, fully expecting a fit and a half.  What did we get? Barely a whimper! He was such a trooper.  He sat still and watched the nurses do their thing as if he were merely allowing them the privilege.  I was so proud of him! My little tough guy!!  

A couple other little things happened today.  Dominick went over to the end table in the living room, pulled himself up and came face to face with a picture of my Mama.  He tried to reach for it, when he couldn't he lifted his cute little hand and waved.  I almost cried.  I said " Oh, are you saying Hi to Grandma "?  Which just felt so weird coming out of my mouth.  Grandma?  I kept saying "Say Hi to Grandma", thinking maybe if I say it a few times it will sound more normal.  Never happened.  The little moments like those will fill my heart with sadness until the day I die. Doesn't help that today is the 29th, the day my Daddy died 21 years ago.  How could I ever call him Grandpa when I barely had the opportunity to call him Daddy?  *sigh*

The last cute little thing that happened today is Dominick tried to clap his hands.  Tried.  In trying he nearly knocked himself out a few times, but, it was still the cutest thing.  I've only been trying to teach him how to clap since he was, oh, a week old? hah.  Now, when I say "Yay" or "Clap Hands" he knows what I am saying! Who could ask for more!?


Oh, did I say last? I forgot one more thing.  After giving Dominick his dinner of carrots and peaches, he seemed a bit out of it.  Tired and just kind of zoning out.  At one point he looked like he was pooping, with some strain.  Poor booger.  So, a little while later, during his tubby he just didn't seem like his splashy, singy self.  He kept pulling, squeezing and scratching at his belly.  I couldn't figure it out.  Sometimes he "finds" new body parts, and thought maybe it was that.  But, that paired with his zoning out seemed too coincidental.  Steve mentioned that maybe he has a tummy ache and is trying to tell me.  He said I should be happy that he has a way to show me his tummy hurt.  He was right, but I still just couldn't believe that that's what it was.  So, we cut tubby time a little short.  When I lay him down to change him he strained and let out a big ol' fart!  He was so relieved after that, back to himself again.  Singing, playing, blowing bubbles.  My poor little monkey had a belly ache!  For some reason this makes me happy?  Ha, I am just still kind of shocked that he can express himself so clearly.  I gave him some gas medicine and he went peacefully to sleep. 


That was over 3 hours ago and since then I feel like I've done nothing!  Where does the time go!?


Wonder what "little" moments will fill up my blog tomorrow!!