I'm bad at updating!

I'm really bad at updating this thing- as I've been reminded by Natalie! Sorry! Haha. Well Anthony is learning at a very rapid pace now! He's been singing, saying animal names and sounds, he knows the color green, he answers every question with "yea", he helps clean up, and he helps me get him dressed. We really haven't been working as hard on things lately, but he's still learning, almost seems like he's learning more now that I stopped pushing him to learn! The other night we were reading one of his books, and on the back there's about 20 different small pictures of animals. So when we're done reading I point at each one and say it's name. I do it pretty quickly too. Then after I've gone through them all twice, I ask him where certain animals are. I said, "Anthony, where's the mouse?"--without him ever learning "mouse" before. He pointed at the mouse. Fabulous!

We also took him to his check up appointment at the Dr, and they are concerned about his size. Apparently he's very short and light for his age. I reminded the doc that both Joe and I are very small, as are our families. The doctor wants to get bloodwork done for Thyroid Disorder. Grrrreat. I'm praying that it's nothing and the doctor is just being cautious, but at the same time my mom's side of the family has a history of thyroid problems. Grr. But my MOM instinct tells me that all is well.

So no pics today...check them out on my myspace page if you'd like---I just don't have the patience to upload them to two different pages! www.myspace.com/karamarieb

And he rocked Halloween....

Anthony, not to brag, was the absolute best-looking spiderman I've ever seen. We went to nanna Joanie's for trick or treating, but he didn't really do that. Just sat on her front porch, helped pass out candy, and helped destroy the nicely raked pile of leaves!

Moving UP in the world :)

Check out these pictures...they're funny. You have to view them in sequence to really get the full laugh.

Step 1: Anthony figures out how to loosen the baby gate from the wall.



Step 2: Anthony discovers he can fit under the baby gate



Step 3: Anthony overcomes yet another obstacle


Step 4: Anthony is off to conquer the baby-proofed cabinet in the upstairs bathroom!






He's getting so smart! He's definitely a problem solver! Yesterday he came in the kitchen and took a hand towell and ran away with it into the livingroom. A few minutes later Joe said "ANTHONY! Give me back my towell!" And there went Anthony into the kitchen to hand Joe the towell. Joe said "How'd you even know what I said?!". It's funny how he can understand us now. Like starting last week when we would ask him a question, he'd said "yea" no matter what we asked him. But the last few days he'd only say "yea" if he meant it. So when we ask him if he wants to go take a nap he shakes his head no, but right after that we'll ask him if he wants a snack and he'll say "yea". So he knows what's up!

Last weekend we went to the fall festival at the Peak with Joe's family. We hit up the brunch first and Anthony ate SO much. We filled his plate with fruits and ham and cornbread, and he even had some mango cheesecake for dessert. He devoured everything we put on his plate. Good little eater!




Another cute thing, if I run up the stairs to grab something he'll sit at the bottom of the stairs and call me REALLY LOUDLY! "MAMMA! MAMMA! MAMMA!" until I come down, then he says "HI!".

He's also playing peek-a-boo by himself. He'll cover his face up with a blanket or pillow, or anything he can find, and say "PEEK" when he pops out. Really cute. It just seems like all of these advances are happening all at once!

He's getting SO BIG!

My little Anthony is appearing more and more like a "KID" instead of a baby. It's amazing and saddening at the same time! I miss my little baby, but it's so unreal to watch him grow and learn. I've never experienced anything like it. He's all of a sudden climbing into things, which is a little scary! The other day we found him in the cupboard underneath the bathroom sink (it's our downstairs bathroom, so we keep the cupboards completely empty for him to play in now). There's pictures below of that. SO funny. And when there's a TV show on where there's a clapping audience, he claps along. Like "Deal or No Deal" was on today and the guy won $175,000, so the audience went mad and Anthony dropped what he was doing to clap too. Funny. He's starting to get a little better with other kids too. We have a daycare at the gym, and the first time I had him in there he panicked because he's not used to being around more than a couple kids at a time. But he's gone in 4 times now and was a perfect angel and didn't cry at all. So that's a bit of a relief. Ok, and now I've noticed that 5 people that I know that were pregnant around the same time I was are now pregnant again. So I'm beginning to discover that the little tiny thought in my head that I wish Anthony was still a baby must be a pretty common feeling....because everyone's starting their second round already!! I'm going to try to stay strong because for us, now is just not the time to have another baby! Maybe in 5 years.....

It's been a while....

Well, sorry folks! It's been a while since I've posted anything. Life has been really hectic the last few weeks. We moved into our new place (yay!), and the gym finally opened...Joe is working there as a trainer now too! But Anthony is just trucking along! He's officially walking all over the place now. I just think it's the cutest thing that I can hold his hand and walk through the store and things now! It's amazing. He's getting so big, and so much of a personality. There's just so many different milestones that I couldn't possibly write about them all. Sooo, here's just a bunch of pictures!

Brushing His Teeth....



He loves playing in our bed :)



Bath-time!

Anthony's 1ST BIRTHDAY!

It's been a year. CRAZY! We had lots of fun at Anthony's party. Thanks to all of those who made it...and we missed those of you who couldn't. Check out the pictures! More on my myspace page www.myspace.com/karamarieb

One year ago tomorrow....

A year ago tomorrow marks the most scary, most exciting, most painful, and most special day of my life. I had a rough pregnancy, and a really, REALLY rough labor. But the outcome was the love of my life. I can't even remember what my life was like before Anthony...but I know that now it has a whole lot more meaning. He's an amazing little boy. So full of energy, and love, and excitement, and a bad temper :) But I wouldn't have created him any other way. He's perfect. I cannot believe it's been a year already! If this first year has flown by, I know the rest of them will come and go and he'll been in high school before I know it. I'm so blessed so have such a fascinating little man in my life and I thank God for him every single day!

My permanent tribute to Anthony :)

Here's a photo of the tattoo I got on my birthday in honor of Anthony. Read a few entries back for the description of the ink--meanings and all :) OUCH!

Smiling for the camera...

...Anthony started the thing where he smiles every time I point the camera at him. It's so funny...he knows that I'm taking a picture and he wants to look his very best!

New tooth :)

Anthony just cut his third tooth, it's his top right front tooth (does that even make sense?)! It's a biggin' too.

And for those of you who didn't know, for my birthday next week, Joe and I are getting tattooed (yes, again). Mine will be an extension of my lower back clover (which means "luck" obviously). It will be vines. I decided on vines because in the Irish culture, vines are symbolic of determination, in English culture they're symbolic of youth and joy, in old American culture, they symbolize fidelity, and Biblically they symbolize growth and eternal life. Yes...I've put a LOT of thought into this. :) There will also be the letter "A" written in the vines, kind of hidden and that symbolizes ANTHONY of course....

We have our final consultation appointment on Saturday to see the final drawings, and then next Saturday on my Birthday we'll get the actual ink done.

The FOLLOWING Saturday, exactly 1 week after my birthday is Anthony's 1st BIRTHDAY and 1st Birthday Party! I'd love for all of you to be there! I will be sending out invitations on Monday.

Sunglasses.....

Just a couple of cute pictures of AJ with my sunglasses on from the pool today :)

"Anthony....say MOMMA"

So Anthony started doing yet another totally cute thing...well it's cute now, but it might get old pretty quick. He figured out how to shake his head "no" (and what it means when he does it.). So I say, "Anthony....say MOMMA" and he shakes his head-quite violently-NO! He'll do it over and over too. it's acutally quite hilarious. I'm going to try to upload a video I have of him doin it, but I've never tried that before so I can't make any promises!



Also, this cute pic....I had JUST put all his books away. He just recently became interested in books. Typically he wouldn't sit down long enough for me to read him a book, but now he likes to turn the pages himself.

Cute story...

This morning I sat Anthony next to me on the couch and poured some puff snacks into my hand. Typically when he wants to eat something and he has his pacifier in his mouth, he'll spit the pacifier out and put the snack in. It's kind of cute. Today he did that, spit out his bink, and went to put the puff snack in his mouth. But he stopped mid way and noticed his bink on the couch cushion. He looked at it, then at the snack, then at the bink. With his other hand he picked the bink up, put it in MY mouth, and ate his snack! haha. I guess he figured that mom would be a better place holder than the couch! It was hilarious. And THEN he put the lid back on the snacks. He's never done that before. Getting SMARTER!

My poor baby is sick....

You want to know what makes me MADDER THAN ANYTHING?!?!? Mother's who could care less about the health and well being of their children and other people's children. My son goes to a babysitter who happens to be Joe's cousin. She also watches 2 other children most of the time...but typically not in the summer because their mother is a school teacher and has off. Well for some reason this "mother" decided to ship her kids off to the sitter when she had off (not the first time) and one of the children was sick. So my little boy caught this "hand foot mouth" -I think that's what it's called- virus from this other baby. Friday night he had a fever of 102.7 and I panicked! He's never had a fever that high. I gave him tylenol and slept with him on the couch. In the morning it was up even higher and by this time he was GRUMPY. I could tell something was bothering his throat, and he wouldn't eat because of it. I scheduled a doctor's appointment to take him in and get him checked out. I took his temp right before we left and it was 103.7. The "doctor" didn't do anything! He listened to his heart, asked me a couple of questions, and took a strep throat culture! I was so mad. We got more information on this "hand foot mouth" virus from the pharmacist at CVS! Apparently little blisters form in the baby's throat which makes it really painful for him to eat or drink. There's not much you can do about it, either. Just keep up with the Motrin and try to keep him hydrated. My poor angel. The only 3 times Anthony has ever been sick was a direct result of this other "mother" sending her sick child to the sitter's. I'd like to slap her. Anyhow, we've been spoiling Anthony with love and Dairy Queen Star Kisses!

Forcing laughs....

Ok so a couple of times we caught Anthony laughing when we laughed. But NOW he's just FORCING laughs and it's really funny. It almost sounds like a cough! He'll do it for like 10 minutes at a time and it just keeps going on and on because we're laughing at him, and he's trying to laugh at us too, even though he doesn't understand what's so funny!

Good weekend....

Anthony, Joe, and I had a really nice weekend together. My work schedule really allowed us to spend the whole weekend together, which never happens! On Friday we spent the day at the pool, and then headed down to the Yacht club for a picnic and to watch the fireworks. I really didn't think Anthony would stay awake for them...he usually goes to bed between 8 and 8:30. But he did! He watched the fireworks up on Daddy's shoulders...and didn't seem to intriqued, just indifferent! On Saturday we did a lot of running around...but we bought a new booster seat for Anthony that he seems to love.

The cutest picture....

I took the cutest picture today. So I'm not a professional by any means, but with some good editing and a better camera, this would have been an award-winning shot!

Anthony loves his daddy so much! I've honestly never seen a baby that was SO clingy to his father. He clings to me, too, but a lot of the time he prefers his daddy!

Our first Chuck E. Cheese Adventure!

The rainy day changed our plans today. Originally we intended to go swimming and check out the Festival of the Arts. So we had to get creative (and slightly desperate)...and went to Chuck E. Cheese! It's not at all like I remembered it as a kid. When you're a kid it's like a magical land. When you're a parent its a germ infested, highly annoying, instant migraine. But you gotta do it for the kids, right?! Anthony wasn't really too amused. I figured he was still a little too young for it, but they have a toddler area now. So we played some games, won some tickets, couldn't redeem them because there was only one operating ticket machine, so I just gave the tickets to a little boy. Check out the pics....

MOMMA!!!

Anthony is FINALLY SAYING MOMMA!!!! Woo hoo! I mean, he's said it before a couple of times, but it was almost a fluke. The last month or so he's been repeating "dada dada dada" over and over and it's been totally depressing for me. But the last 48 hours he's been calling me by name! I wanted to wait a day or so to make sure it wasn't just a fluke...but it's definitely not! And the clapping thing is getting WAY better. He's actually making noise now when he claps. I'm SO HAPPY!

BIRTHDAY PARTY PLANNING IN PROGRESS......

Well, I've officially begun the planning (yes...I said PLANNING) of Anthony's 1st birthday party. I'm still an event planner at heart, so don't make fun of me for planning a 1 year old's party 2 months ahead of time! Anthony's birthday happens to fall on a Saturday, so it will be on 8/23/08. I feel like I'm a bit of a bad mom (you'll notice I have these little guilt trips quite frequently!) because Anthony doesn't have more friends! Haha. That sounds weird I'm sure. But with the situation as it stands now, he's never around other kids! So if you're reading this, and you have a little one who would like to be my little one's friend....we need to arrange a playdate! Haha. I'm already trying to fix him up!

But anyhow, party, 8/23/08 probably at my mom's house....backyardigans themed. That's what we've got so far!

Clapping and laughing and screaming...OH MY!

Anthony is officially clapping...with his hands TOGETHER! He's been doing it for months when he's excited but missing. It was really cute, but it's even better now that he knows the real way to clap! And just this morning he was playing with his toys and Joe and I were talking, I laughed about something and Anthony laughed too! Like he knew what we were saying! I've seen other older babies do this, but it's the first time he's done it.

He's on the VERY VERY edge of being able to stand without support. He'll do it, but then he realizes he isn't holding on to anything and falls a split second later. He's really cruising around from furniture to furniture so it's only a matter of time. People keep telling me not to push it, but honestly, he's the fastest crawler in the world, so it can't get too much worse! I'll let you know if I completely regret saying that soon!

I'm not very good at this blogging thing.....

Friends of mine with blogs for their little ones (Christie, Kat, Ashley, and Meg) all post blogs almost daily. I'm not as good...so you'll have to survive with weekly updates. SORRY :)

Anyhow, Anthony is developing quite the little temper. All the baby books and websites I read say that you can't really begin to shape a child's behavior until their around 2 years old...and I think that's a TOTAL CROCK! I'm just wondering what I need to do to make him STOP with his tantrums. I like to think that Joe and I are really good parents and are making the right parenting decisions. I always use manners with Anthony. I always say "say please" and "say thank you" when I'm handing him anything. We let him know that he can't have everything he wants. We defintiely SPOIL him just like any parent would of their first child, but we draw the line. But if we take something away from him, he pitches an absolute fit. I mean, like he kicks his legs, turns bright red, and often times tries to bite me! Ahhh do I have a demon child? It's obvious that he knows what he's doing and knows that this behavior is unacceptable because he only does it to me, and sometimes Joe, but never in front of anyone else or in public. Anyone have any insight for me.

The ONE thing that we do that we know we're doing wrong is putting him to sleep every night. Anthony has a very strict bedtime routine that we've been upholding since he was born so he would know that bedtime means bedtime. We bathe him around 7:30, then we put him in a clean diaper and PJs after putting his bedtime lotion on. We brush his teeth-now that he has them. Usually stories are reserved for naptime....I like to sing to him at night. So I'll make his bedtime bottle, feed him. And curl him up in a blanket and sing to him and walk/rock him to sleep. I KNOW THIS IS BAD. I just can't break the habit! We've tried leaving him in his crib to fall asleep a few times, and he just screams and screams. I know eventually he will fall asleep, but the longest I waited was around 35 minutes and I couldn't do it anymore. I just can't listen to my baby cry. HELP!

So okay this post makes Anthony sound like a little terror. He's not at all, just those couple of things. He also does the funniest stuff imaginable. Like he gives kisses, but not a real kiss, just his version of a kiss. He'll open his mouth as wide as he can and just maul me repeatedly. It's so super cute, and I always say "aww, thank you!" and he'll do it again! He also has this hearty CHUCKLE of a laugh that he's got. He laughs all the time. And when Spongebob or the Backyardigans comes on TV he'll drop whatever he's doing and dance (just bobs his head up and down).

We've recently been giving him some real people food. He's still on formula and baby food, but lately he's been especially interested in what everyone else is eating. He loves mashed up baked beans, soft pretzles, chicken, pasta, and apparently Joe has given him steak. He's really good about just taking one piece at a time and not picking up another piece until he's done with his first. He's of course been well-versed in ICE CREAM. We've been giving him little tastes of ice cream since he was 3 months old. And spare me the lectures on cow's milk under age one. I'm talking LITTLE tastes here, nothing that will affect him. He doesn't like jell-o or cottage cheese. But other than that he'll eat just about everything.

Fun with old friends....

Anthony got to meet some new friends, and I got to visit with some old ones yesterday! My childhood friends Krista, Kat, and Betsy all happened to be in grand ol' Erie PA at once so we all got together with our little ones. Strange that we all had babies around the same time!!! Anthony is 10 months old, Diella is 12 months, Ava is 14 months, and I believe Joey is 24 months. CRAZINESS. Anyhow, this is the first time we were all together in SEVEN YEARS! We got together at my place, then headed to Sarah's and the Peninsula to take some pictures!

First post, it's a doozie...

Well I did it....I broke down and did the baby blogging thing. Some may think it's a little....uhm....CHEESY, but those people clearly aren't moms. Us moms need a way to brag about our children without cramming it down everyone's throats. This way, you can hear ALL about how my son is the coolest on the planet, but only if you WANT to. It's optional. There. See how that works?

Anyways, I thought I'd start with a general summary of the past 9 1/2 months. Anthony was born in Pensacola Florida last August 23rd. It was a relatively easy pregnancy (although I really detested every second of it...I know, I'm a horrible person. But I was fat, hot, and uncomfortable!), a HORRIFIC labor and delivery, and a blissful 9 1/2 months since then.

Anthony has more personality than any baby of his age I've ever encountered. He looks just like his daddy, only like me when he's sleeping. If anyone is baby talking him, he raises his eyebrow at you and looks at you like you're crazy. He honestly likes to be treated like an adult and acts embarassed by me when I give him repetitive kisses. He's got a combination of my SHORT temper, and daddy's explosive one. That's a bad combination! He's learning at an amazing pace at this point. He was an early crawler, and early babbler, and early wave-er, and early on just about everything else too. He's not walking QUITE yet, but he's close. He gets made at me when I leave him with the sitter or any family to go to work. I'll hand him over and then try to kiss him, and he turns away and ignores me. He's going to be a TOTAL momma's boy, and that thrills me.

Having a baby has changed my life in ways I never even thought of before. Instead of just jumping in the car to run to the store I now have to pack a full diaper bag complete with bottles and diapers for a week--JUST IN CASE (that's a term I didn't start using until I became a mom) I broke down and was deserted in the middle of nowhere somehow between my house and the store a mile away. I grab my purse, the diaper bag, Anthony, his bink (my term for pacifier), and an emergency bink for when he throws his first one on the floor at the grocery store. I then strap Anthony into his car seat, buckle my seat belt, realize that I forgot my cell phone in the house and need to go in to get it JUST IN CASE. I have a weird phobia about leaving Anthony in the car, even for 30 seconds in the driveway right outside the house in a perfectly safe neighborhood. So of course at that point, I unbuckle him and take him in with me. When I finally get to the store, I forget what I went there for in the first place, so I end up buying a whole cart full of groceries. Anyways, not even sure where I was going with that little rant. But life is different!

I do not believe another baby is going to be in the works for a very long time. I just can't imagine loving another child like I do Anthony. I want Anthony to have everything he needs, and a lot of the things that he wants...including TONS of attention from his mom and dad. I feel as though every child deserves that. I feel like I don't get enough time with Anthony as it is, I would never want to lessen that time or divide it between two children. If I was a stay at home mom, I know I would feel differently.

So that's about the gist of things as they stand now. Anthony, Joe, and I are currently house/apartment hunting, so I'm sure there's MANY more adventures to come :)