11 Months Old

Ella turned 11 months on the 27th of July...and I'm freaking out. Not only do I have to plan her first birthday party which stresses me out a bit (it has to be awesome despite the fact that she won't remember any of it), but my baby girl is turning ONE YEAR OLD.

Just this past weekend I held my newest niece who was only six days old. She was teeny, adorable, doing that whole...I don't know how to use my hands yet...and it reminded me of Ella. Was it even possible that she was that little ever in her life? Impossible, she's been 20lbs forever.

The countdown has begun to one. Until then, I will spend all of my spare time baking practice cakes for the big day and watching the RSVPs come in.

Mommy's College Reunion

Her shirt says "I Love Holy Cross"

Today I went back to Holy Cross. I had been back just three times in the past 10 years since I graduated in 2001. The first time was for homecoming in the Fall after my graduation. The second time was in 2007 when some former roommates were visiting from around the country and we made the trek to the hill to visit the campus (it had been 10 years since we met each other -- I think almost to the weekend). The third time was for my bridal shower in 2008 (a central location for family and friends).

Holy Cross holds some very special memories for me. I met some of my best friends there, the education shaped my life (and even what I do for work now) and the college experience was something that I knew I was fortunate to have while I was living it. I kept saying to myself, "Everyone says college is the best time of your life, enjoy each day of it." When I was back home during the summer all I wanted to do would be go back to school, and when I was at school all I wanted to do was take-in each class, enjoy the weekends with my friends, and spend time making relationships that would matter to me even ten years later.

Facebook really did make the reunion a bit different than I expected. I knew what everyone would look like (and I have to say, everyone looked amazing...we aged well :) I knew their spouses and children and I saw them grow over the few years that I've had my Facebook account. But, it was great to finally see them in person, and it was great to introduce them to Ella, the 9-month old they've seen grow up through my posts.

When I was showing Ella a bit of the campus I couldn't help but wonder if she'll be a Crusader one day. Regardless of where she goes, I hope she enjoys each moment of her college experience as much as I did whether she's in purple, or---maroon and gold.

I Know, I Know, She Looks Like Him.

My daughter looks unmistakably like my husband. A pretty version of him. Don't you find it's always a bit weird to say that a baby girl looks like their dad or a baby boy like their mom? I find it a bit weird, but it's entirely true. The baby girl could look like a pretty version of her dad and the boy a handsome version of their mom.  Anyway, just thought I'd put that out there. More meaningful posts to come.

8 Freaking Months Old

That's what I have to say about Ella turning 8 months on the 27th. 8 Freaking MONTHS!!! I think you need to be a parent to understand how quickly they turn from 8 minutes to 8 months. Sorry, no offense to non-parents, but it's a million times quicker than anything you've ever experienced. Quicker than an engagement, quicker than a countdown to a vacation, quicker than that vacation, and quicker than a pregnancy (but some might think that pregnancy goes by very slowly...and those someones might be moms).

Feeling the Grass for the First Time

Today she played with her cousins Ava and Billy who are visiting from Kentucky. She was playing with the big kids -- 3 1/2 years old, twins, and full of energy. They love Ella and Ella loves them. You can tell. They asked me questions like, "Auntie can baby Ella eat potato chips?" and, "Can I give baby Ella a kiss?"  "No hunny, she can't eat potato chips just yet." And, "yes, of course you can give her a kiss (on the cheeky please)."

Ella likes to make funny noises and Ava and Billy would make noises to her and she would mimic them back. It went back and forth for quiet some time and Ava and Billy were laughing hysterically. Ella would smile and laugh too -- a child language just for them.

She just looks at them and you can see wonder in her eyes. Billy asked me if Ella was going to dream about him tonight, and I'm pretty sure the answer is a yes...and Ava too.

She's getting ready to crawl, scooting all about, she's pulling herself up, she's finding toys herself, when I say, "where's Sophie?" she finds her and smiles and then picks her up (even if Sophie is nowhere in site...she'll find her). She's feeding herself, exploring her sippy cup. She felt grass for the first time today and was tentative about it, then kept running her hands through it laughing. She laughs all of the time, and smiles, and just lights up when she see us. She uses her walker and comes to us when we say, "Ella come to mommy (or daddy)!" She'll go around obstacles (none that would hurt her, of course) to get to us.

She's going to be crawling soon, walking soon, talking soon and getting so much older so very soon. I'm afraid I won't remember these moments as much as I want to. I wish I could freeze time but I can't. Instead I try to write her and write notes of what she's doing each week, I take photos and videos and hope that it will be good enough to remember how quickly the time is passing. 8 Freaking Months Old...I cannot believe it.

Table Food

Ella is 8 months soon and our pediatrician said she should start table foods around 8-9 months. So, that's what we're doing. She's been on organic purees that I've been able to make for her and now, I have to admit, I'm a bit nervous about moving to table food. Nervous, and excited.

I'm completely nervous that she's going to choke on something. She has no teeth but I know that babies usually just chew with their back gums anyway, but I am completely paranoid that she's going to choke. Luckily, Aaron, my mom and I attended an infant CPR and choking class so I'll know what to do, but I'm also sure that a lot of that goes out the window once it actually happens. The teacher said to practice putting your baby over your leg (for play) just so you know what it feels like if you do have to stop them from choking. Dear God I'm getting nervous just thinking about it. Onto the excited part.

I'm excited because now she gets to eat all of the food that she's been lunging at (that's been on our plates) and excited because she gets to experience a completely new set of "firsts." She gets to eat pasta (yum!) and chicken and beef, and tofu and a whole new set of veggies and fruits. She's becoming such a little girl.

For some reason I think the table food milestone is a pretty big one. Crawling, walking...table food, they are all little markers of time gone by. Little by little she's becoming more independent and proving how amazing the first year of life really is.

It's been 10 years since...

She's growing up too quickly. 

...I graduated college. I remember thinking about the Alumni reunions even when I was on the hill at Holy Cross as a student. I kept thinking perhaps at the 5-year I'll be married, and the 10-year I'll have a baby or two but it always seemed so very far away. I always wondered what I would be like married and a mom, working or not, and what type of mom I'd be, how many kids I'd have and what type of job I'd have and on and on. I always had this vision of myself in my 30s and I guess the fact that my college reunion is this June makes me think about whether or not I achieved it.

I was speaking with a college roommate today about our children. She has a son who will be turning one soon and I have a daughter who will be 8-months old at the end of the month. Our conversation focused on the important things in life: our children, our husbands, and the rest of our family and friends. We talked about our children, how big they were getting (and how quickly it was happening -- in a flash!). We talked about our husbands and our mothers who both see and help take care of our children on a weekly basis, and we talked about how we both think a car ride bopping away to music is a bit of mom-time that we both enjoy.

The Stephanie of 10-years ago envisioned some semblance of a life that's like mine, only the reality is much better. It's much better because I have my health, I have my family, and I have my friends who have been my friends for over a decade. Some, even for several decades. I'm lucky because I love and I am loved, by them, my family, my husband, and my daughter. I'm thankful for the simple things in life.

When I say our nightly prayer with my daughter, I wish all of our family and friends health and happiness, not 2.5 children and a house in the suburbs and a vacation condo in New Hampshire. I hope I teach her that above anything else -- and to not envision herself older than she is, because man, those 10 years flew by. And, the only thing that flew by quicker than those 10 years was the past 7.5 months.

Hello, I'm Stephanie

I don't even know why I'm doing a post about who I am, because pretty much all of you know who I am already. But, here I go.

Hi. I'm Stephanie. Sorry I didn't say so in the first post, but better late than never. This actually reminds me of when I "met" my husband. Yes, we met on www.match.com. We e-mailed each other constantly one day and I realized I didn't even know his first name, so by the end of the day I asked him and he said, "Oh, I'm Aaron. My mother would be so ashamed that I didn't tell you that by now." Or...something like that. I immediately thought to myself, "Nice name...I could totally get used to saying that every day for the rest of my life." Sigh...I know. We knew 2-weeks into dating that we wanted to marry each other. I won't even tell you what he texted me the day after we went out on our first date (it wasn't anything inappropriate, it was actually a very sweet foreshadowing of the little girl we call Ella).

Ella is our 3-month old baby girl who is one of the most beautiful babies I have ever seen in my life. I know, I'm completely biased, but other people have told me the same thing so I'm going with it. It's a year ago right now that I found out I was pregnant (I have a pet peeve when people say "we're pregnant"). I remember testing and thinking I saw two lines but thought I was crazy because I tested early. But sure enough, the next day yielded a darker line and the blood test from the doctor's proved I was indeed pregnant. Now I had a secret that I had to wait to share with my husband until he got home from work. Did I also mention that I had a meeting at my husband's company that day with Embryo? Yeah, that made for an interesting meeting. All I could think about the whole time was, "I'm pregnant! You're sitting across the table from me and you're going to be a dad but you don't know it yet!" So, I had to hold my breath at the meeting as well as the entire ride home from the commuter rail where I picked-up Aaron at the end of the work day.

We walked into the house and I picked up a present under the Christmas tree and said, "Here, Santa left this for you." I said, "I know it's too small for you, but I know someone who can wear this in 9 months." It was a baby hat from his favorite band Phish that I had purchased a month before. Needless to say, we hugged and I told him about how I knew yesterday and it nearly killed me keeping this secret from him but I wanted to be 100% sure. I admit, it was quite thrilling knowing something so huge and keeping it a secret.

Since it was Christmastime we shared the news with our parents who were overjoyed. After the 10-week mark when we heard the heartbeat, we shared the news with our siblings who probably weren't too surprised, but were very excited for both of us. Aaron and I have seven (and counting) nieces and nephews so we were very excited to add to the family. Being an Aunt and Uncle to so many wonderful kiddos gave us some great practice for parenthood...or so we thought.

Next time...more about my nearly trouble-free pregnancy.