Oh, July

Why do the days of July just seem to slide off the calendar?  They're not any less busy than the days of any other month.  In fact, our calendar seems to be packed with much more exciting "to do's" in July than in any other month.  But instead of being ripped away and swooped up in a tornado of get-it-done-now-ness, the days of July just slip quietly away and flutter to the floor.  Mmmmm, summer.  I'm in heaven.

*sigh*

Anyway, I realized tonight as I rocked my sweet baby to sleep (okay, she was already asleep and I just had to rock her anyway, since this time is so precious and it will be over after I finish this next blink) - I realized that I have way too many pictures and updates waiting to be posted, so I forced myself to put the baby down and hit the blog.  Here you go!

Fourth of July was a wonderful blur.  We spent a lazy afternoon out at my Dad's house, playing with them while they got ready for their own picnic that evening.  Sylvia played on the floor with John and Evan while Sylvain and I tried Sally's signature drink she concocted for that evening, some sort of pink lemonade and vodka delight that I would have had ten more of had we stayed there for the picnic and had I not been breastfeeding a three month old baby - darn it!

After lunch at Dad's we headed to cousin Charlie's birthday party!  He turned ONE YEAR OLD and I cannot believe it.  I was reminded that this time last year Sylvia was nothing but a twinkle in her Daddy's eye!  Oh, what a difference a year makes.  I didn't take pictures there because Mom was snapping photos left and right and she has some good ones, but I don't have them to post, so just imagine the cutest red-headed boy with Matt's face tearing into a giant piece of cake and smearing it all over himself.  There, that's the highlight.  It was FUN!!

Now, on the fifth of July, the three Fasciottos packed up the ol' Toyota Corolla and hit the road for Hotlanta, Georgia!  Let me tell you, we had a BLAST.  Sylvia was made for road trips.  She slept and ate and played by herself in the backseat like it was her job.  She slept in the pack-n-play at the hotel almost better than she sleeps at home.  While Sylvain went to teachery workshops all day, Sylvia and I hit the city's best family-friendly sights.  Here are the highlights:

On Tuesday I took Sylvia to the Zoo (she didn't really care about anything there, but she had a good time cruising in her stroller) and the Aquarium.  Georgia has the largest Aquarium in the world and let me tell you something, that place is a WONDERLAND for three month old babies!  All the lights in the tanks...and the fish swimming in their pattern-like schools...and the soft, slow, watery music.  This girl was in heaven.  I've never seen her stare like that before!  If you've never been there, it's totally worth the trip and the outrageous entrance fee ($27!!?? for some FISH.  That's not even including the special exhibits.)

The next day, we headed downtown to the Center for Puppetry Arts where we saw a Puppet Show!!!  I found this place when I got lost on my way home from the Aquarium and I'm so glad I did.  It was opened in 1974 and Jim Henson cut the red ribbon with Kermit the Frog to honor the Center's goal - keeping the puppet arts alive and well in the south!  They had a museum full of Sesame Street and Muppet characters and the man who put on the one hour show that afternoon was phenomenal!  I cannot describe how impressed I was with this place.  Here's a picture of the set of the show. (Sylvia loved the first five minutes, then she stared at the red exit sign for five minutes, then she fell asleep).

On Thursday, Sylvain got out of his workshops early (woohoo!) so the whole famdamily headed to the Atlanta History Center where we toured an AMAZING Civil War exhibit and a historic nineteenth century farm.  Sylvain and I loved the farm tour but the Nugget...

...was not impressed.

And finally, on Friday before we headed home, we stopped by the Margaret Mitchell House to take the Gone With the Wind tour!  I loved every second of it, but Sylvain couldn't get over the fact that we didn't get to see the whole house.  In fact, it wasn't even a house, it was an apartment building, of which we only saw her apartment on the first floor, and he wanted to see the rest of the place.  Oh well.  I thought it was delightful.

We had some excellent dinners each night at some excellent pubs and restaurants.  Here's a cute picture of the Nugget and her new favorite toy - her thumb:

Since we've been home we've been doing absolutely nothing and it's been glorious.  We've been eating great food from our garden and our share of farm veggies from our CSA.  We've been playing with the baby all day, taking evening walks after it cools off a few degrees, and reading ourselves to sleep at night.  We had Sylvia's three month photos taken today and I cannot WAIT to get these pictures.  I have a big idea for a new blog header, so I hope it works out!  If it were up to me, July would last forever, but alas, August is right around the corner.  I can't wait for school to start and as much as I love watching Sylvia's every move right now, I can't wait to see what she does next.   

I'm Skipping Ahead

Okay, so I have lots of fun pictures to post from the Fourth of July and our trip to Atlanta, but here are some pictures from a much more important event: MY birthday (today)!  I went out this morning to get a manicure and pedicure, and buddy, did I need them!  The little lady who did my toes was more than opinionated about the dire state of my toenails.  But don't worry, they're pretty now!  Anyway, I came home to find that there was a gift in the mailbox from my lovely husband (a book wrapped in cupcake wrapping paper - hooray!) and the baby was taking a nap.  An honest to goodness daytime NAP!  It only lasted for 35 minutes, but it was glorious.  Then, when she woke up, I asked her to help me pick out my outift for our dinner date tonight and she got a little squealy when I started pulling out my necklaces.  So......I put one on her.  Then another one, then....the rest of them. 

Most of them were longer than her.  She had a blast.  We narrowed it down to a few of our favorites and picked out a pretty dress.  I can't wait to go out on the town, but I'll miss my little nugget tonight!

Here she steals a look at Daddy behind the camera as if to say, "She can't be serious, right?"

I was having way too much fun, so I also enlisted the cat's help.

She was not amused.

Now, as soon as I find my other camera, I'll post pics from our vacation and the Fourth of July.  It's around here somewhere.  I have some adorable videos to post as well, but I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how to do that. 

Three Months

Dear Sweet Sylvia,


My, how you have changed in the last month! You’ve made the leap from newborn to sweet baby and I must say, you take my breath away. When I look at you and you smile back, I sometimes think to myself, there is no greater gift than watching this sweet face. Your smile reminds me of your Uncle Jordan’s smile when he was a kid in that when you open your mouth and turn up the corners, it takes up the entire bottom half of your face. As your daddy would say, you could park a car in there! And you have no teeth yet, which makes your smile look even bigger. Nothing but gums and teeth and giggles all day long. You are such a happy baby!

One thing that still captures your complete and utmost attention is that damn DUCK! You are totally infatuated with his yellow shape and his vibrating tummy. You’ve made a good choice for a first love, too. Daddy and I totally approve because he has taught you some important things – mainly, he’s taught you excellent hand-eye coordination and, well, that’s hard to find in a lover these days, it really is. You have started to figure out how to wrap your tiny little fingers around his pull cord and sometimes, every once in a while, usually when no one else is looking, you can manage to pull it down just a click or two to make him vibrate for a split second. Then you laugh and shake your arms and legs without letting go of the duck, so it looks like you’re trying to kill him, but we all know you’re just overcome with merriment! I hope you find many things in life that make you as genuinely happy as Mr. Quack. I don’t know how any of us ever lived without him.

You’ve done a lot of living this month, little nugget. You helped Daddy celebrate his first Father’s Day and words cannot express how much he loves you. You are so lucky to have such a loving, playful and doting father. He’s so enthralled by every tiny little thing you do. He nudges me all the time and just says, “Look at her!” We spend a lot of time looking at you. He takes great care to change your diapers as gently as he can and when I’m giving you a bath at night he gets your room ready just the way you like it. He closes the blinds, lays out your pajamas and your vitamins, straightens up any stray blankets or burp cloths so that when you’re ready, you and I can sit down and nurse and get you straight to bed. With all the baby love flying around our house lately, I’m surprised the cat hasn’t decided to move out!

Another big first for you this month – your first rooooooooooooooad triiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip! Daddy and I have always loved taking road trips and I was a little worried that traveling with a baby would be hard. All I can say to that is PISHAW!! You’re a total road warrior baby! Born to ride, made to cruise, loving the open road! Our seven-hour drive to Atlanta, Georgia was an absolute delight, once we figured out that we should feed you after you wake up instead of waiting for you to get fussy. (We had to pull over to the side of the road on the Jellico Mountain to feed you because it was 30 miles to the next exit and you were SCREAMING! Sorry ‘bout that.) Everywhere we go, whether you’re in your stroller, strapped to me in the Moby wrap, or just slung over my shoulder and perched on my arm, you are so interested in everything there is to see. You like to look at lights and faces – especially eyes – so you make friends every time we stop somewhere long enough for you to make eye contact. And let me tell you – people LOVE YOU! The two things people always say are, “She’s so tiny!” and “She’s so alert!” Which means you might not be as gigantic as most American babies your age, but darn it, you look smarter than all of them already!

So here you are, three months old in July. Summer is in full swing, fireworks are the latest nighttime bling, and my own birthday is right around the corner. What more could I want than the sweetest, friendliest, loveliest baby in the world? Nothing but the opportunity to watch you grow and relish in every tiny goal you accomplish. As our favorite song says, you are my sunshine. Thank you for lighting up my life!

Love You,
Mama

Day Care

I can't even type those words without wanting to simultaneously breathe into a paper bag.  I've done a lot of research on day care centers in our area and we already chose one that's close, convenient and came highly recommended by lots of friends and co-workers.  We visited many day cares while I was pregnant and I even visited this particular day care a second time before filling out the necessary paperwork just to be SURE that it's the perfect place for us.  And it is, I know it is.  But this morning I had to talk to them about starting Sylvia a week earlier than I had originally planned, so instead of calling, I thought she and I could go pay a visit so I could see the place one more time and ask them a million more questions that have come up since she's been born.  No biggie, I thought.  We'll just go take a peek. 

The good news is, it's just like I remembered it.  The nursery room for infants is lit with small lamps and has soothing music playing.  Each sweet little crib has each sweet little baby's name on it, so she'll have her own little space to sleep and chill out.  They have lots of toys which I know she will love.  There are swings and bouncy chairs and a huge assortment of other baby-friendly things that we just don't have at home, so I know she will absolutely love it.  The young college-aged girl who works in the infant room is very nice and seems more than capable of taking care of many babies.  In fact, it was clear that the babies there all love her.  Sylvia smiled when she said hello to her, so I know she'll take very good care of my baby.  Also, and most importantly, the whole place is...quiet.  Every time I've been there I make a point NOT to call ahead, to just "pop in" and talk to them about a few things, and every time I'm always so impressed by how mellow and calm the atmosphere is there.  Of course, there's a fussy baby here and there, but I've never heard more than one baby at a time crying and that one crying baby is only crying for a minute before someone comes to soothe it.  As a former daycare worker, I know that this is nothing less than a miracle.  These people know what they're doing and I know in my heart that it's the right, and best, place for us. 

But you guys, that was hours ago, and I'm just now returning to a normal breathing pattern. 

I strapped Sylvia in the car when we left, climbed into the front seat, shut the door, and proceeded to hyperventilate.  I was looking at her in the rear view mirror and saying things like, "Isn't that place great, honey?" pant, pant, pant..."You're just going to love it there!" pant, pant, pant...heart about to explode..."You'll make so many new friends!" pant, pant, pant...burst into tears.  And I didn't even leave her there yet!  I don't have to leave her there for another month!  Poor Sylvia has a basket case for a mother.

As I drove around running errands, I had to calm myself down.  I reminded myself that this is what's best for us both.  She'll be around other babies and I get to be around adults again.  We picked a wonderful place and I really am excited about going back to work.  I have a teacher's schedule, so she doesn't have to be there every day - we get lots of days off, including holidays and, oh yeah, summers.  She's really got it pretty easy compared to most babies in day care.  It'll be fine.  It really will be fine.  She'll love it, I'll love it, everyone will adjust accordingly and our family will be A-Okay.

So why do I feel like I need a stiff drink?  Perhaps because I know there's just no substitute for a mom.

Down Time and a Genius Child

It seems like we've been running ourselves ragged lately with all of these trips to my parents' houses.  Father's Day weekend turned into a longer than expected trip, but it was well worth it.  Last weekend we went to a baseball game and went out to visit my stepmom and brothers.  But this week Sylvain has meetings all week for work, so Sylvia and I have the whole glorious week to ourselves.  Ahhhh, special snuggle time with the wee Nugget. 

I was going to save this for her three month letter, but I'm too excited about it not to share, and besides, I have plenty of other good things to write about in her upcoming letter.  (She'll be three months old next week!  Can you believe that?!  I am the mother of a THREE MONTH OLD BABY!!  Weird.)

Anyway, we went out to eat last night and after dinner we thought we'd go rent a movie (who do we think we are, right?).  While Sylvain was in the movie store, Sylvia and I waited in the car.  I turned around in my seat to play with her and her boyfriend, the duck.  I was pulling the cord down, wrapping her little hand around it, and letting go while her hand took a ride up to the duck as it vibrated, which, to a 3 month old, is a TOTAL PARTY!  She was shrieking with delight every time I let go and her little legs would start to kick furiously as if to say, "Again!  Again!"  By the time Sylvain came out to the car, she and I were both cracking up laughing.  Alas, all good things must come to an end, so as she let go of the pull cord I turned around to face forward and buckled my seatbelt.  We started driving back home and I was in the middle of explaining what was making her laugh so hard when we heard it...

click click click BUUUZZZZZ!!!!

We both snapped a drop-jawed look at each other, implying, "Oh my god, did I just hear what I think I heard?"  Then I turned around to see her little fist all wrapped around that blue pull cord.  Shock and awe, people, shock - and - awe!  I looked back at Sylvain and screamed...

SHE PULLED DOWN THE PULL CORD ON HER DUCKY TOY ALL BY HERSELLLLFFF!!!!  OUR BABY IS A GENIUS!!!

And she is.  This is what happens when you let your daughter fall in love with a duck.  We basked in the glow of first-time parentdom all the way home!

Our Extended Holiday Weekend

What a glorious Father's Day Weekend we had as a family this year!  So glorious, in fact, that it's 9:27pm on Tuesday and I'm just now starting to feel like our long weekend has come to a close.  Phew!  It was a doozy.  Here are the highlights.

We went to visit the grandparents for the weekend to celebrate all the wonderful dads in our lives.  We arrived on Saturday afternoon and had dinner with Ann and Andy, who are expecting their first baby (a girl!!) in November.  I haven't seen Ann since shortly after she found out she was pregnant, and I am happy to report that she has an adorable baby bump and she's doing well.  Andy was brewing beer, so Sylvain started his Father's Day festivities as "assistant brewer."  An excellent start to the weekend.

On Sunday, Mom and I got up early and took The Nugget to church while Sylvain and Jay slept in.  When we got back, Mom made a HUGE breakfast, which we enjoyed with Jordan and Grandma Neltner.  We handed out presents for Sylvain and Jay, and we even had one for good old Uncle Jordan (a cute picture of him and the baby)!  Sylvain decided to share his gift with Sylvia...

 She's holding that cigar right in front of her new "I Love Daddy" onesie!  If she isn't present enough for Father's Day, I don't know what is!

Next we headed out to my Dad's house for a wonderful dinner with his family.  When we arrived everyone passed around the baby...

But she ended up sitting for a long time in the head honcho's lap, watching motorcycle races on tv...

That's my Dad and he's the best!  Doesn't he look like the happiest Grandpa you ever did see?  And she was so cozy and content there in the crook of his arm.  I have to say, spending time with him and Sylvain on Father's Day was...well, it was more than my heart could take.  I was so filled up with love (and baby cuteness) all day long, that my heart was nearly about to burst every time I turned around.  It was a great day.

Since we were already up north, we decided to go to King's Island on Monday with John and Evan.  Some people (mainly my mother) thought we were crazy to take a baby up there "in that heat!"  But we decided to stick to our plan and see what would happen.  We drove separately from my brothers just in case we had to leave early, which I thought we would certainly do.  The first two hours of the day were pretty darn hot, so we found ways to stay cool...

There was plenty of shade and plenty of air conditioned places where Sylvia and I could hang out while the boys rode their rides and had their fun.  Then it stormed and WOAH, BUDDY, LOOK OUT!!  Everyone in the park swarmed to the large, air conditioned hall to take refuge.  Luckily, we got there before the crowd and found a seat, had some lunch, and played with the baby until the storm passed. 

I remember saying to my brothers, "What would we do without this baby?  We'd be totally bored!"  After about an hour, the storm cleared and the temperature was nice and cool.  Thank you, Mother Nature! 

Sylvia was such a trooper!  She sat in her stroller and smiled at her duck/boyfriend ALL DAY LONG.  She fell asleep a couple of times and I fed her when she was hungry, but she never, ever fussed and never seemed uncomfortable.  I thought she and I would have left early, but we stayed with the boys all afternoon and into the evening.  By the time we finally left (waaaayyyy past her bedtime) she was pooped, so we decided to stay at Mom's for an extra night instead of driving home.  I'm so glad we did, because that meant that today we could go relax at my Aunt Dar's pool before heading home...

  "Somebody get me a beer!"

Now we're home and it feels like we've been gone for a week.  I'm looking forward to some quiet family time in our little house - lots of snuggles and smooches so we can celebrate Father's Day every day.  Here's to a wonderful Daddy and a sweet, sweet baby.  I could not be more blessed!

Dr. Abrams

Okay, every parent I've talked to in the last year says they loooove their pediatrician, so I know that all pediatricians are good.  I assume that, as a mother, anyone in a lab coat who tells me my baby is healthy and happy would be great in my book.  We loved the pediatrician at the hospital (Dr. French! How weird is that?) and we loved the doctor who gave us a tour of the office when we were looking around at different groups.  Given all of this evidence, I should just say that I love pediatricians in general but...BUT...

I LOVE DR. ABRAMS MORE THAN ANY DOCTOR ON THE PLANET!!!

Yes, I'm sure your pediatrician is nice and I'm sure you love him or her, but you don't love your doctor as much as I love our doctor - I promise!  Dr. Abrams is the sweetest, nicest, most reasonable person I've ever met, and for a neurotic worry-wart mother like me, she is a gift from heaven!  We took Sylvia for her two month appointment today and I had a gigantic list of questions to ask her that I've been saving up for the last eight weeks.  Side note - my list was hanging on the fridge this whole time and yesterday I passed by and did a double take at when I realized that Sylvain added question number 8, "What can you tell us about the ten million dollar buy-out option?"  Oh, I laughed and laughed.  He's good for that.

Anyway, my first few questions were answered right away - yes, she weighs enough.  Yes, she's long enough.  Yes, her head is big enough and her soft spots are totally normal.  All of her stats put her in the "average" category for size and I was very happy with that.  Yes, we can take her in a pool or a lake.  Yes, we can put baby sunscreen or baby bug spray on her.  No, it's not weird for a breastfed baby to go three days without pooping.  But any doctor could have told me all of that.  What I love about Dr. Abrams is her sincerity. 

I love the way she said "How did it go with the spitting up?" as soon as she walked in the door, just to follow up on that situation I called in about six weeks ago.  I love the way she held Sylvia still and said, "Let's look at those pretty blue eyes," while she waved her little light stick in her face.  I love the way she asked me, "How's the breastfeeding going?" and the way she said, "Oh good!" when I told her it was going well.  And when I told her how Sylvia is sleeping at night (anywhere from 3 - 6 hour stretches over about 12 hours) she said very matter-of-factly, "And that'll get even longer as she grows.  You'll get more sleep."  Oh, hallelujah, the words "more sleep" made me want to reach over and kiss her!  She rolled Sylvia onto her tummy and watched her hold her head up, then she screamed "Yea!!!" and clapped her hands for MY daughter!  How many babies does she see every day?  And she gets this excited about MINE?!  What a wonderful doctor.

What I'm trying to say is - our doctor rocks and yours is just so-so.  No doctor is as great as Dr. Abrams.

Now on a more somber note - that crazy lady who comes in after the doctor and pokes my kid with three huge needles?  She's not my favorite person.  She was very nice and sweet, until she pulled out a sword and held it up to the light so we could all watch it gleaming.  She grabbed Sylvia's legs in a death grip and stabbed her with that giant sword, then two more giant swords, and left my daughter screaming for her life.  I thought I've heard this kid cry, but it turns out all that fussing she did at my house was NOTHING compared to getting stabbed.  She was M-A-D mad, and if she could cuss that lady out, I bet she would have.  I picked her up and she grabbed onto me for dear life, the poor little thing.  I fought back my own tears while I bounced her up and down and said, "It's okay....it's okay...." over and over again.  Needless to say, she's been a bit groggy today and will hopefully be back to her bright and chipper self tomorrow.  And if she's not, I'm calling Dr. Abrams - the lady who makes everyone feel better (especially me)!