This boy is crazy

He is crawling and pulling up to a standing position onto stuff like chairs, couches, and coffee tables..now he wants to stand by himself. So a few times when I have held his arms so he can stand and practice walking, he has been able to jump with both feet an inch or so off the ground. Isn't that something a baby does around 1 1/2 years old?....

His favorite toy(s) are not his; he loves anything electronic: tv remote, cell phone, laptop computer. And when given a toy version of those items...he still goes after the real thing. And one day he happened to get a hold of the remote, he looks at it and then looks at the tv. He knows that that thing makes the tv work. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?...

He never stops moving. And he loves to babble. When asked what a sheep says, his answer is "Baa, baa." A pretty smart boy too.


He works really hard on feeding himself. He has a good pincher grasp so I've been giving him cheerios, pieces of bagels, and peas. He still needs to get better with the spoon making it to his mouth.

We end up with many messy faces at dinner time. Therefore he takes many baths too.

Easter 2013, family photo

We spent Easter 2013 in Virginia and Grandma and Grandpa Biasi's house. We even got together with Raymond, Melissa, Preston, and Lila. Monday after Easter, we went to Busch Gardens. It was the nicest day of the week and Virginia schools also had spring break so the park was filled to capacity. We were lucky, we got there just in time. Clara again enjoyed herself on all the rides. Mike and I went on the new roller coaster: The Verbolten-brave the black forest. It was pretty good. It shoots you out real fast and does a bunch of twists in a very dark tunnel. Then it stops and you sit there for a few seconds, then the coaster drops. It is a surprise, the drop, but it is a short drop. Then it shoots you out again and the ride is over.

The only coaster we made it on that day. But I am just glad that Clara had fun.

Sister and brother

St. Patrick's Day 2013

Snacking on some cookies

Easter 2013

Spending time outside 2013

I just love this photo. They are imitating each other.

3, 4, and 5 months

Joseph's "tantrums"

Are so cute! I cannot help but smile and love on him when he does it. He'll lay on his stomach on the floor and cry and kick his legs (like swimming in water). He has got the tantrum down pat.

Oh, and he has terrible separation anxiety. If he sees me and I am not holding him, he wants me and he wants me bad. He starts reaching for me and starts crying like he is being tortured (because this just started, he has thrown a scream sound into his crying, ya think you are hurting him when he starts that wail). Today at my parents, he crawled around on the floor crying and following me. Poor guy.

At least Mike can calm him down and he loves his daddy too. So I get a break sometimes. Clara was never like that, preferred me and still does. But Clara's separation anxiety didn't start till she was much older. I dread the day I have to drop Joseph off at a daycare (but will be happy at the same time because that will mean...I have a job! So pray I get one.).

Crawling to pulling himself up

So he is now crawling and he has pulled himself up and put all his weight on his legs. No...no...you cannot start cruising or walking yet...you are too young.

His motivation is the fact that to get things out of his reach, we've been picking the forbidden object up off the floor and putting it on the couch or table. He watches us do it, his eyes so big with curiousity. He is like a lion staring down its prey. And I see the look of determination, he knows where the items go now...and he is going to go get them.

My life will be over. HA!

Oh, another milestone, he is feeding himself. Cheerios seem to be his favorite snack. But he has wolfed down a bagel too (but half ends up in his lap). Boy, he loves feeding himself. He is doing quite well on solid food. I'm sort of doing the baby led weaning thing but still am doing pureed food too. He first solid meal was rice cereal. Then at six months, we did peas. I made homemade pureed carrots, he has tried green beans, apples, squash, and sweet potato. Oh, I've given him pieces of banana but I don't think he cares for the texture. I think he needs to get used to it...so we'll keep trying.

So today he decided to...

He is so proud!

...sit up on his own.

I've been putting Joseph down in a sitting position since he was about 5 months old. At first, he would last about a second and then crumble to the floor. Slowly, the length of time he would sit up got longer. This morning, when I went into his room to get him after he woke up, I found him sitting up in his crib.

And then this afternoon he sat up on his own in the living room.

And somehow he made it from the living room into the middle of the kitchen. The boy sure has mastered the army crawl. But yesterday, he did move forward slightly by crawling with his stomach off the ground.

It is fun to watch him as he tries so hard to get up on his hands and knees (all at the same time) and move forward. He is very close to mastering the crawl. And once that happens, my life is over. And so is Clara's. She thinks he is fun now, "oh wait...wait till he is moving and is getting into all your stuff girl. Oh, will you still love him and think he is adorable then...."

I've already had to break up a few "fights between the two of them. Because Joseph is starting to care when a toy is taken right out of this hands or when he tries to grab what Clara is playing with because it looks so very interesting to him.

And let me mention that when he gets upset, he has got the leg kicking thing down to a tee. He will lay on his stomach on the ground, holding his head and shoulders up with his hands and he'll kick his legs as he does his little upset cry. I recorded it for good measure (and to use later in his life as blackmail :)  ).

My two children couldn't be more opposites except they both are very strong willed. I love them to pieces!

let me introduce you to Clern and Gong

Clara's imaginary friends.

There was also:

Gobble
Monster Bill
Joey the dog

and many other imaginary friends with very strange made up names (should we get another dog-which we will-I don't think I'll be asking Clara to name it :) ).

I've had to help get her friends in and out of the van, put them in shopping carts, get the lunch, oh what fun.

Cannot remember exactly when this all started but it is quite fun.

Month photos for Joseph and comparisons

Clara - minutes alive

Joseph - minutes alive

Joseph - one month

Clara - one month

Joseph - two months

Clara - two months

I thought they looked alike for a long time but I think their sameness really only lasted a few minutes after birth.

Like sister, like brother

Clara

Joseph

My second birth story

Found out I was pregnant on March 10, 2012. First trimester was okay, I was tired and hungry 24/7. It was during lent too, so I had to renig on one of my lent "resolutions." But I at least ate healthy snacks.

The tiredness and hunger made me think I was carrying a boy. "He is sucking the life out of me" I would say.

I wanted to find out what the sex was but Mike didn't. So I found it out when we went for our ultrasound in June. And my intuition was confirmed, I was carrying a boy.

Second trimester, I wasn't so hungry but I was still very tired. And hot. Summertime is not the time to be pregnant.

I ran up to 33 weeks. And was able to earn my ironman award at summer track.

Third trimester was when it got interesting. My due date was November 15. At the beginning of October, the palms of my hands became really itchy. I chalked it up to dry skin. Then I spent the night at my parents' house, using soap instead of my bath wash in the shower, my whole body became itchy. Again, thought it was just dry skin. Then a few days later, I was on the TriangleMommies' website and a woman wrote how she believed she had PUPPs (a very itchy rash pregnant women can get). I didn't have a rash but decided to google: itchy while pregnant. I read about this: "intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP), a liver problem that affects up to 1 percent of pregnant women in the United States." It sounded like what I could of had. I wanted to mention it at my next OB appointment (at 37 weeks) but forgot. (Yes, my memory went down the tubes during this pregnancy and I have not gotten it back.) The itchiness was driving me insane and I was not getting any sleep. I did remember to mention it to the midwife (Deb) at my 38 week appointment. I had blood work done but did not hear from them right away. I called the following Tuesday and then Deb called me back on Wednesday. She said my numbers were elevated so she felt it was the start of ICP. She said at my next appointment (which was the next day) I would talk to the doctor about how to proceed.

I arrived at that appointment and they put my on the nonstress test. Mike arrived and Dr. Grana came in. She wanted me to have my blood drawn again and that most likely they would induce me on Friday evening or Saturday depending on the blood test results. Heather (the midwife I was to see) came in also and talked with us. Then Lucy (another midwife) came in too. Lucy looked at the NST and asked if I was feeling the contractions I was having. I was like, no. Anyway, Lucy ended up talking with Mike and I further and she checked me to see if I was dilated. I was: 2cm.

She said at the latest, I should be induced by Monday. I did not want to be induced. My goal was to have natural childbirth with no medications or an epidural. I had pitocin with Clara and did not want to go through that again. I begged Lucy to do something so I could go into labor naturally but she couldn't because I also tested positive for Group B strep. So Mike and I left the appointment thinking we had the weekend to get ready to have this baby. I was not in labor (at least I wasn't feeling any contractions at that time).

But...soon after, I did start feeling something. I picked Clara up from school and came home and started nesting. If this was labor, I didn't want it to stop. So I kept moving and cleaning. But...I didn't tell Mike I was feeling anything...till about 10 that night. Mike freaked, we packed our bags, called our neighbors and my parents, called the doctor, and headed to the hospital.

We got to the hospital, registered and went to a room. A nurse came in and checked me, I was at 4cm. We walked the halls for an hour...didn't cause me to dilate anymore. It was going on 1am or so (I think). She said we could go home and try to sleep at home or they could give me a shot of some drug that would help me sleep at the hospital. All I know is I was tired and I wanted to sleep really bad (so did Mike). So I opted to get the shot and try to sleep at the hospital. It was around 3am.

7:30am. New nurse comes in, Cheryl. She checks me, I am at 7cm. Wow, I labored from 4 to 7 overnight. And mind you, I did not sleep much at all during that labor but Mike snoozed away in the chair beside me. I mentioned to her that I did not want to labor in bed and I wanted to try and have a natural labor and delivery (no meds or epidural). Jessica, one of our midwives, came in and checked on us. Cheryl started the bathtub. I spent a good amount of the morning in that tub. Mike spent a good amount of the morning doing his lesson plans and following me around the room with the computer playing Klove. When I look back at it now it is kind of funny (and amazing), he was right there, the whole time...starving too...making sure I would meet my goal of having a natural child birth. And to shorten the story, I did meet the goal. At 7:30am, I was 7cm. And at 12:20pm, Joseph was born.

Let me just say, I'm glad I did it but gosh, I don't know if I could do it again.

Joseph memories

His toothless smile that lit up the world (and how it was very hard to get him to smile for the camera).
His real laugh.
The way he would bury his face into my shoulder when tired or hungry.
His delirious babble when he was tired.

Falling asleep in my arms.
His funny poses when he was sleeping.
His snoring.

The way he would grab a piece of my clothing and pull it close, thus pulling me close to him as if he had something important to tell me.

The way he pulled my hair (ouch).
The way he would grab tightly a finger or part of my arm when eating or falling asleep, as if he wanted to be sure I wasn't going anywhere.
How he would smile and be wide awake at 4 in the morning.
How he would watch and look at everything with such interest.
How he would just watch and stare at his sister, Clara. He admired(s) her.
He wore at least 4 outfits a day.
His chubby cheeks.
His blue eyes and blond hair.

He put his hands on everything and everything in his mouth.
He rolled over (from stomach to back) at a week old (twice).
He rolled over (from back to stomach) on February 26, 2013. (and now we cannot keep him from moving/rolling around).
When he started "talking" and his conversations during diaper changes.
How he tried so hard to say words.

Some more of Clara as an only child

 She loves bathtime.

 In her new big girl bed. She was reluctant to move from the crib to a regular bed but we put the bed in her room one day and that night, she was like, I want to sleep in the big girl bed. Hasn't looked back since. And she loves her princess sheets.

 Clara is becoming her own person. She lounges on her chair quite often.

 For Christmas 2011, she got her very own camera. Our budding photographer took some nature photos outside.

 Whenever she has a lollipop, she likes to know what color her tongue has become. Here she had a blue lollipop and then a red one so that turned her tongue purple.

 Clara loves this bunny statue at the library. We have many photos of her next to this bunny. (I know it looks like she is modeling the alarm system sign.)

 We went to 2 Durham Bulls baseball games in the summer of 2012.

 Her first day of preschool at Calvary Baptist Church (Kingstown).

 Helping me bake some pies.

 Pumpkin patch October 2012.

 Mommy and Clara at pumpkin patch.

 State Fair pony ride, October 2012.

 Painting pumpkins for Halloween.

 Clara was a dinosaur for Halloween (October 31, 2012).

 Her first ice cream cone (November 2012).

Marbles Kids Museum (November 2012).

Mike's 40th and our 5 Year Wedding Anniversary

My 40 year old man :) (June 26, 2012)

2012 saw two significant events: Mike's 40th birthday and our 5th wedding anniversary. And somehow I managed to pull off a surprise birthday party for him AND a surprise anniversary trip to Ocracoke Island in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

I started planning the surprise party in January by checking with Mike's parents to see when they'd be free to come and also watch Clara so we could go on this childless anniversary trip. Once the date was settled, I emailed family and friends and asked them to save the date.

Plan was Mike and I were going out to dinner for his birthday and my parents were going to watch Clara. So they stop by. A few minutes after that, Ray and De and Kim and Dave were to come over and say they were going to help watch Clara and also wanted to learn how to play Bananagrams. Mike was wondering what was going on as all these people started showing up. Then Preston and Lila were to knock on the door, followed by Raymond, Melissa, and Mike's parents.

After that, the rest of the guests arrived and Mike just kept saying when they'd walk in, "and you knew about this too?" He was amazed that everyone (including me) kept it a secret.

Clara packing herself in the suitcase so we wouldn't forget her.

Ferry to Island

The next day we left on our surprise trip to the Outer Banks. Neither one of us had ever been to Ocracoke Island. I found a really nice Bed and Breakfast, The Cove, online (and used a gift card Mike got me for Christmas one year) and reserved 2 nights there. It was a nice, relaxing time.

Sunset on beach

Hatteras Lighthouse

Ocracoke Lighthouse