I'm Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick....

OK so nothing is worse than being sick right...well how about being sick with a four month old to take care of and a husband on call. So wicked fun for me. Since our return from NH I have had this terrible cold I can't beat and to top it off yesterday I came down with a nasty stomach bug. And like I said The Doc was not home to take care of me. Hmph! I had no energy, I couldn't eat and all I wanted to do was sleep all day but I couldn't because I had to entertain David.

Thankfully he must have known I wasn't myself because he was on his best behavior and he slept from 8pm to midnight the longest stretch he has done at night in a long time! The Doc came home this morning to David and I napping and then he went out to the store and got me chicken soup. I love to be taken care of when I am sick! I am starting to feel a little better and maybe I can even eat some real food soon.

Christmas Slide Show

Here is our family enjoying the holidays and helping us celebrate David's first Christmas!

Getting started early

They say addictions run in your genes - well, apparently David has one from Dad. Here's a shot of him from Christmas, reaching for his first cup of joe. You wouldn't believe the effects a full cup of coffee can have on a 4 month old baby; he started out by bouncing up and down in his jumperoo for 50 minutes straight while loudly babbling and flailing his arms, then peed through three diapers, got a nasty case of the coffee trots, crashed, and fell asleep for the next day. It was awesome.

27 on the 27th

Just wanted to give a Happy Birthday shout out to P. Buttercup! She is old now like the rest of us!

David's First Christmas!

Well after a long drive last night we are back home! It was great seeing all our family and friends as we celebrated David's first Christmas. It was a very busy weekend and the three of us were exhausted last night. Even after sleeping the majority of the car ride home David went straight to bed and gave me three hours of continuous sleep!



On Saturday we visited with The Doc's extended family. David got to see his Great Aunts and Uncle and his Great Grandmothers. There was a fabulous spread of candy, fruits and veggies and pie! After that we went over to Brian & Erica's. P. Buttercup and her man joined us too! Brady was too cute when Brian left to pick up the pizza and he couldn't go with him.

Christmas eve was spent over at my parent's house aka the Zoo! We had a nice brunch compliments of me! I made home fried potatoes and scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese bacon, ham and sausage. It was very good if I do say so myself. After that we left to have dinner at the Longhorn Steakhouse with MIL, FIL, SIL and Grammy. Then it was back to my parents for a quick visit before heading over to church. You can see a pattern here - we didn't stop moving the entire weekend!

Here is David all dressed up for Church in the outfit that his Great Aunt Vicki got for him. It's all the reindeer on a really cute sweater with blue corduroys. David was very well behaved at church he sat and listened to the music which was especially good! When we got home I put David into his very first Christmas Pajamas!

Growing up in our house it was tradition that every year on Christmas eve we would get a new pair of pajamas to wear so that on Christmas morning we all could take a picture looking spiffy in our PJ's! So it was great when I was shopping and found this outfit for David to wear. It has a picture of Santa on the front and says "Santa's Favorite" underneath! The we put the Santa hat on. Just look at how cute he is!



Christmas morning we woke up bright and early and headed over to my parents house where Santa left tons of cool gifts for David, Scottie and Little John. It was a crazy morning with 14 people opening gifts in a living room overloaded with presents! After that we headed back to MIL & FIL's (good thing they only live 10 minutes away!). David napped while we opened our gifts. Santa was VERY good to me I loved all of my gifts!

After that MIL made a wonderful pot roast for dinner and then it was back to my parents for desert and Secret Santa exchange with my extended family. By 5:00pm it was time to head on back home! I am working on loading all our pictures onto another slide show for you all to enjoy. I hope to have it up soon! I hope every one's holiday was as fabulous as ours!

Merry Christmas!

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am right now! David's first Christmas! Even though he is not old enough to understand what is going on he will be all smiles today as our families shower him with attention! I can't wait to see what Santa left for him under the tree at his Grammy and Papa's house. And because he is little his cousin Scottie will help him open all his presents. We already have tons of pictures to share when we head back home to Philadelphia.

The only thing that would've made this day better is some Christmas snow. Oh well maybe next year! Hope Santa was good to everyone and all the best for a safe and Happy New Year!

~P. Sophie, The Doc and Little David

Ms. M has a blog!

Hooray! It's finally happened! Check out Ben, Robyn and Ms. M at there new home on Blogger! Click the here for pictures and updates!

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Our Big Boy!

David had his four month check up on Monday. He is growing according to schedule falling into the 50 percentile in height and weight. He weighs in at 15lbs 2oz and he is 24.5 inches long. I was right on the money with the weight and way off on the height. Guess I was just wishfully thinking David would be tall like his friend Brady - but he's just an average Joe! His hair is finally growing back. He had such dark hair when he was born and now it's growing back a very light brown as you can see from the above picture. So far his hair is straight but that could change with time.

We are looking forward to David's first Christmas. I even bought him his very own super cute Christmas PJ's. It's a red and white stripped onesie that says Santa's Favorite with a pair of red fleece pants! Today the Doc and I were at Target and I saw Santa hats for little babies and said we should buy it for him to wear on Christmas morning. The Doc was like - yeah I don't think so!! So that is when I put the hat on his head (I just had to) and wouldn't you know it...we bought the hat! The Doc couldn't resist - I mean can you really blame him!!

Christmas Cards!

I finally got all my Christmas cards in the mail yesterday! Hooray! This year we used Snapfish to make our cards and I was very happy with the results. I wasn't nuts about our picture this year but it was I had to get a husband, two cats AND a baby to cooperate. The Doc was done after the tenth try and we were getting no where with the cats who didn't want to be near David. He suggested we try one without the cats but I just couldn't leave them out of the picture no matter how uncooperative they were. We've done this for the last four years and the cats are a part of the family too! Next year it will be better because David will be able to sit on his own!

Below is Ben, Robyn and Maddie's Christmas picture. It came out so nice I asked if I could post it to the blog. This is Maddie's first Christmas too! She is getting so big! Happy Holiday's everyone! Only 12 more days until Christmas!

David's Dating Video:

Now that David is 4 Months old the Doc and I figured he is old enough to play the field. This is the dating video we put together for him:

Our Peanut is 4 Months Old!

Hard to believe but it has really been four months since David joined our family! Everyone said it would go by fast but man! Just take a look how big he has gotten in the last four months:


David - on 8/16/06


David - One month old - 9/9/06


David - Four months old - 12/9/06

He is a giant now but I still call him my peanut! Tomorrow he goes in for his four month check up at the Pediatrician. My guess is that he will weigh 15lbs 2oz and that he will be 27 inches long! What's your guess!

Smiling to Fussy in 3.6 seconds:

It's been a week since our trip to NH and we are finally getting back to our routine. Our little David was spoiled rotten in NH! I think the only time David wasn't being held was when we were driving around or when he was sleeping. He was so spoiled he if we put him down he became what we refer to as Fussy McCrankypants.

On Monday I dropped him off to daycare and told the assitant director that he was spoiled by all the family and I have a funny feeling that he may be a fussy pants. Sure enough when I picked him up I heard a baby crying and said "That's my baby!" The teacher said he had been like that all day and nothing they did would console him.
They are not used to him being like that because usually he is such a happy baby at daycare!! Tuesday and Wednesday were better and by Friday he was back to his old self laughing and smiling! Thank goodness!

Our Week in NH - A Synopsis

Last week for the holiday we were in NH. It was a very busy week and we spent most of it running around so here it is our week in a nutshell:

Friday November 17, 2006: We leave for NH. We got on the road about 3pm and hit some fun traffic. It's always fun to travel in the busiest time of the year! We were going to be spending the weekend with Buttercup at their new townhouse. We got in about 9pm. Since David slept the entire car ride he was wide awake to play for another hour and a half.

Saturday November 18, 2006: We ate breakfast and headed to Boston for an afternoon at Faneuil Hall. You can read all about it on Buttercup's blog by clicking here. Later that night we headed out for dinner and we all agreed that Buttercup ordered the best meal as we all shared some of her Mushi Chicken.

Sunday November 19, 2006: With my new found love of cooking I decided to make breakfast for the crew. I whipped up an egg scrambler ala Sophia (with breakfast ham, sausage and bacon) and some home fried potatoes. It was very tasty if I do say so myself. Then we watched the Pats kick some butt shutting out the Green Bay Packers. After the game we left and headed to my parents house for a lovely dinner of Roast Beef and Spiral Ham. Dad told us that we should come home every weekend because it seems that Mom goes all out when we're in town!

Monday November 20, 2006: We headed to Lebanon, NH home to us while the Doc got his medical degree. We went to introduce David to the people of M.J. Hayward. He also got to meet Lula and Burke the M.J. Hayward mascots (a Weimaraner and a Springer Spaniel). We also drove around to see all the new construction that was done at and around the hospital. On our way back we went to visit Mimi at her work so she could introduce her grandson to her co-workers.

Tuesday November 21, 2006: Time to introduce David to more people first we went to visit Grampy at his new office and then we visited with Grammy at her work. After that we stopped by Sanborn Regional High School to get a tour of the new school by the new Assistant principal Mr. Stack! For lunch it was Chinese food (The Doc's reward for all the driving around) and then time to get ready for our night out in Boston. David was dropped off at Grammy and Papa's house where he went to meet more people at the bowling alley that Uncle David and Grammy bowl at. We headed to Boston and had a fabulous dinner at Laurel Grill & Bar. After dinner we went Fire and Ice (yes I finally went back!) for desert and drinks. The girls shared a Chocolate Fondu that consisted of strawberries, bananas, marshmallows, kiwi and pineapple. It was was really good and I would highly recommend it! It was a really fun night and I can't wait to be able to do it again!

Wednesday November 22, 2006: In the morning we picked up Scottie and headed to the mall to get pictures with Santa! David was on his best behavior and the picture came out great! Perfect for Christmas cards! We ate lunch at the food court and then headed back to do some more visiting and more showing off of the little guy! We stopped by the Pillbox where I used to work while I was still in school. That night we had Chinese food from Lucky Corner for dinner.

Thursday November 23, 2006: Thanksgiving! This day was spent with my family at my Aunt's house. The food was awesome and I stuffed my self until I couldn't eat anymore! David spent most of his day being passed around to the different family members. That night we headed over to the Stacks where Brian saved me a piece of his "brined" turkey. While I admit it was tasty I don't feel it was any tastier than my butter basted stuffed turkey!! I really enjoyed the cookies with Erica's homemade whipped cream! The boys looked so handsome in their Thanksgiving outfits as seen in the picture below:



Friday November 24, 2006: Thanksgiving Take II! How lucky am I that I got to have TWO turkey days!! This Thanksgiving was with the Doc's family down in Cape Cod. David's two Great Aunts took turns holding him and I wasn't sure if they were ever going to let me have him back!! He also got to play with Casey (a Bichon). I again ate so much I couldn't move but if I had to do it again...I would!

Saturday November 25, 2006: Went to the mall with my cousins and what was supposed to be window shopping turned into me carrying five bags of stuff! It was nice to get some shopping out of the way though especially with no sales tax! After shopping we went to lunch and then then the Doc came with David to pick me up and we introduced him to Moose and Alaska (Siberian Huskies). I think we're going to have to get a dog because he just loved them! Poor Trot and Drew. That night we met up with Steph for dinner at the China Blossom (we ate way too much Chinese food) then we headed over to the Bejing for drinks and some singing!

Sunday November 26, 2006: 8:00 am we hit the road home! We wanted to miss traffic and get home in time for the Pats game. Plus the Doc wanted to relax before starting his rotation in the MICU. As you can see it was a busy week and we did a ton of running around but it was fun and good seeing everyone!

David's First Thanksgiving!

So we are back in Philly after spending a week in NH for Thanksgiving. It was crazy and we were on the move non-stop! It was great to see all of our family and friends. There are many stories to tell and pictures to see but for now enjoy this slide show of David's first Thanksgiving.

Sleep?!? What's That?!?

This video was taken a little over a week ago and I wasn't going to post it because it's not that exciting but I don't have much else to share because I am so gosh darn tired these days. Since going back to work David has decided to wake up every two hours. The frustrating part is that he was starting to sleep for five to six hour stretches so I KNOW he can do it. Sigh. The worst is when he wakes up around 2am because it takes me over an hour to get him back to sleep. I tried to explain to him last night that Mommy likes her sleep but he just stared at me wide awake and smiled and so how can you really be mad at that.

David or Pablo Picasso?

Today when I picked David up at daycare one of his teachers handed me this piece of paper. She said that they did an art project today. The art project was pasting circles onto a large piece of construction paper. I scanned it into the computer for all of you to see. His teacher said that she had to help him paste the circles but that he crinkled them himself. You can't tell from the picture but trust me they are crinkled. Here is the first of many accomplishments that will be taped to our refrigerator!

Happy Birthday Reshea!

I can't believe that she is 15 already! That means that by this time next year she'll be DRIVING!! Oh my goodness! Hope you had a great birthday!

David's New Friend & New Clothes

Two weeks ago I received an unexpected package in the mail. It was from my Great Aunt Eileen. She sent David this soft fuzzy Teddy. It's the same size as he is! I am sure he will love it when he is a little older!

The Doc was working all weekend I decided to do some shopping. David will be 3 months old on Thursday and he is now too big for all his 0-3 Month clothes. We usually just keep him in the one piece pajamas. They are light weight and comfortable for him so I was psyched when I found them on sale for 5 bucks a piece at Carter's for Kids in the Franklin Mills Mall! They were having a huge sale! I also found a cute sweater that he can wear at Christmas that isn't covered in lame teddy bears and plaid! I bought him a pair of jeans that button at the bottom so they don't need to be taken off for diaper changes (nice added bonus) and a cute button down blue stripped shirt.

I discussed my frustrations of shopping for a little boy with the cashier and told her how happy I was with my purchases. Now I have some nice stuff! That's when the lady in line behind me said "Now you're all set for about a week because before you know it he won't fit in those clothes anymore either!" Isn't that the truth! It's why he wears $5 pajamas when he is home. I can't justify spending a lot of money on something he may get to wear once!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Happy Halloween! Check out my little pumpkin head! My supervisor leant me this costume so I wouldn't have to buy one! Isn't he cute! He is too little for trick or treating so we sat outside and passed out candy to all the other kids! We didn't stay out long because he fell asleep but at least I was able to get a couple good pictures!

All Hail Mephistopheles!

Behold, I am Damien, spawn of the Damned, born to man to usher in the return of my father. The fire that burneth in my eyes foretells the wrath that shall reign on those beholden to the Father and his self appointed second son, George Bush. Mephistopheles takes no survivors! All your worst nightmares are about to come true! Many are here, I am here. But soon, you will not be here.

Apparently I'm blogging again...

So after listening to much angst the last year about the dearth of new online literary works from the Doc, I have been guilted into posting again by the missus' now inescapable whine of "but I have to get up at night to breastfeed him".

Please don't wait on bated breath (interesting story about that phrase here) for future postings, however; my blogs here will likely appear with the frequency of an intelligent Bushism, a significant plot development on "Lost", or a newly grown hair on Brian's head.

Happy Birthday Baby Bro!

Today my baby brother is 22. Happy birthday David! So cute in his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sweater!

Weekend in NH

We are back from our weekend away to NH. We had a great time. The purpose for the trip was so that the Doc and I could go out on a date. With no family here, we have no one to watch David so he comes everywhere with us. It was nice to have a night out. We left for NH on Friday night around 6:30 so we decided it would be late enough by the time we hit NY to take the GW. It actually wasn't bad, there were a few slow spots but nothing that slowed us down too much. We figured we'd be making great time since we didn't have to take the Tappen Zee. Anyway by the time we hit CT we were stopped. I know I have said this before but I HATE CT. Every time we drive through CT it seems there is a problem. If it isn't the traffic then it's a monsoon. It was 9:30pm by the time we got there it made no sense to me why there was so much traffic that late at night...it was so bad I could've walked faster. So we arrived in NH at 12:30am and of course because David had slept the entire car ride he was wide awake when we got there. Thankfully it only took me an hour to get him to go back to sleep! Saturday morning we gave David a bath in MIL's kitchen sink...he still doesn't quite like the bath. After he was cleaned and dressed we went to visit with family. We took lots of pictures and they all came out great!

David with Auntie Robyn


David with Uncle John


David with Uncle David and Auntie Krystal


David with his Cousin Scottie


David with his Papa and David with his Grammy


After that we went back to MIL's to get ready for our date! She was our babysitter along with Auntie Kristin. For the most part David was on his best behavior but they did get a glimpse of Fussy McCrankypants! On our date we went to see The Prestige. Going to a movie is not something we can do with David so it was nice to be able to go and get popcorn and see what ended up being a really great movie! After that we grabbed a bite to eat. It was really a nice night out!


The Doc and I ready for our big date!


On Sunday we went to P. Buttercup's new house! They've lived there since August and we just haven't had the chance until now to see it! It's a great place and our new home away from home! Not sure how poor Simba and Darla felt about all the commotion. There was a battle between Simba and David and we're pretty sure Simba won this time - I mean, afterall, he did have the advantage of being mobile! It was a fun time hanging with them the Stacks and Eric. No Sunday this time of year would be complete without the Patriots! It was the perfect end to a perfect weekend. Beer, Football and good friends!

The Family ready for the game!

Shopping for Boys:

What is the deal with shopping for baby boys? I have been to Target, Old Navy, The Children's Place, Carter's, OshKosh B'Gosh and Babies R Us and I can't seem to dress my child unless I wish to dress him like the picture on the left. So instead our poor child is wearing onsies and pajamas. Old Navy is the best for casual wear but I hate spending 15 bucks on a pair of khaki pants that he will not be able to wear that long. Not to mention that the legs are so long the Doc calls them his "Grandpa Pants".

That is why I am so excited that I am going to have a baby niece that I can shop for! My brother John and his girlfriend Kim are expecting a baby girl Savannah Nicole on February 23! It's going to be hard going into the baby stores now that there is going to be a girl in the family.

I am also going to be getting another nephew my brother David and his girlfriend Krystal are expecting a baby boy Cohen Michael on March 7th. My word of advice is please don't put him in Teddy bears and Plaid it's NOT cute! I must say that while it takes a lot of time searching you can find some cute outfits. It's just not the same as shopping for a little girl!

So congrats to both of my brother's can't wait to spoil them!

Bitter Sweet!

12 weeks goes by fast. A week from Wednesday I will be returning back to work. That means we will be sending David to daycare. We chose the Brightside Academy Center. There are several locations in Philadelphia but the one we chose is about a mile form our home. It's nice because it's close to the EL and so I can park my car right in front of the center for the day. Today was David's first day. We are easing him into going by doing some half days and then by the end of this week he'll stay for the full day.

This morning I dropped David off at 7:20am. I met his teacher and she assured me he would be fine. It must have been very obvious that it was my first time leaving my little guy. She humored me when I kept rambling! So it was a bitter sweet day. Bitter because I hated leaving him and sweet because he'll get to be around other kids and play! The last thing I want is for David to only want to be around mommy and daddy. I didn't even cry when I left! I think it was because he didn't cry. He was so good. He was laughing and cooing at the teacher! He is such a good little guy! I enjoyed my morning off by catching up on some zzzz's. Tomorrow I will tackle some housework!

Temper Tantrum:

Yesterday David and I went to the supermarket to pick up some ingredients for dinner - I know what your thinking...your thinking I can't believe they are actually cooking. It's true and it's all thanks to Rachael Ray's 30 minute meals...she's a lot crazy but her recipes are to use her word YUMMO! But I digress...so back to the supermarket story.

I went to a different supermarket to check out their international food aisle (I was on a mission for Mango Chutney) because the Ghettomarket near our house well it's ghetto and has a small international food aisle. Those of you who remember CUSTEAUS MARKET it's sort of like that. I digress again...the point is I hadn't been to this market before and not familiar with the aisles. That meant I had to go up and down each aisle, something I LOVE to do...call me crazy but that is why I don't go grocery shopping with the Doc unless I have to. He doesn't let me enjoy the aisles. I must have a list and he gives me a time limit.

So I am walking past one of the aisles and I started to turn to go down until I saw something that made me change my mind. I heard it beforehand but it's nothing until you actually see it with your own eyes. There was a little girl no more than five years old, lying on her belly, on the dirty supermarket floor kicking her legs up and down and slamming her fist to the ground screaming bloody murder at the top of her lungs. I tried not to stare but I couldn't help it...this is something you see on TV not in real life.



I pictured that being me someday and I laughed...not my David...he is too cute and sweet to pull a stunt like that. I mean just look at that innocent face! I asked my mom if I ever did that to her and she said no - thank goodness. How embarrassing - although the mother didn't seem to pay her much attention. I would've be mortified if it were me.

Birthday Wishes!

Why is David so happy? Well today is Brady's first birthday and he is just so excited and wanted to wish him a happy birthday! Happy Birthday Philly Style! Your first cheesesteak will be on us!

Maddie and The Great Pumpkin

Now this is what I miss about NH. I have to say that it's been so warm here and everything is still green around us that I forget it's fall. I am glad to have this as a reminder. Can you believe we're already in the middle of October and little Maddie is six months old...

Watch out Ben - she'll be dating before you know it!

Shots and Little Old Ladies

Today was David's two month check up at the doctors office. His latest stats are: 12lbs 15oz & 22.5" all within the average standings! My peanut is getting so big. He also had his shots today and he was a champ! The first one didn't phase him but the second two had him a teensy bit upset! He was fine after about 30 seconds!

Before his appointment I gave David a bath and like always he started to cry...you can tell from the picture he's not real fond of the tub. The nice thing about today though was he stopped crying after a while instead of crying the whole time...maybe he's finally getting used to his tubby time!

The weather has been gorgeous recently. I even turned my A/C back on today because it's so warm....with the exception of Friday and Saturday of last week it has been pretty warm...high 70's. So we usually just keep David in a onsie so he doesn't sweat to death. Well wouldn't you know that twice last week while at the supermarket two old ladies felt the need to comment..."he's going to catch cold" or "don't keep your stroller closed up he won't get any air"...Um hello...it's not air tight or anything...

I am sure they mean well but it's annoying...First of all I cover his legs with a blanket and second babies are no different than you or me...the rule of thumb is if you're comfortable then the baby is comfortable...but thanks for saying I am a bad mother...

Oh and if you see a woman pushing a baby stroller around at a store...don't ask if there is a baby in there...of course there is you dumbass...I mean no there isn't - I just like to push baby strollers around stores because it's fun. Go buy yourself one of those t-shirts that says "I'm with stupid" only change the arrow so it points up.

2 Months!

Well we survived two whole months of parenthood. Here is a 2 minute picture slideshow that caputres David in the last two months. I know it's long but David is so damn cute you won't even notice how long it is! (wink)

A Day of Celebrations!

Happy Birthday I.A.! You've finally caught up with the rest of us geezers! Look how happy he is to be 27! So young and vibrant in his table cloth resembling shirt (don't worry I won't tell anyone that that picture was taken 6 years ago - wink, wink). My only question is - do you still own that shirt?!! And FYI - I am a big fan of clean shaven I.A. - there is a silly rumor going around that you're going back to the beard...DON'T DO IT!! I should do a retrospective of the many faces of I.A. - it could make for a very interesting blog piece...haha! Anyway happy birthday from all of us out here in Philly!


Today is not only I.A.'s birthday but it's also Brian and Erica's third anniversary. This picture was taken in 1997 at our senior prom back when Brian had some hair! I could do a retrospective on Brian's hair loss 1994 to the present...another intersting blog piece!! Most of you probably don't remember what he looks like with hair so I thought I would remind you with this throwback to the 90's picture! So Happy Anniversary...ship the kid off to the grandparents and enjoy a nice evening out!