Gammy & Papa with Little Miss

My Grandparents (my mother's mom & dad) were more like parents to me than my Mom & Dad were to me at times. My Grammy & Poppy as I called them had time, patience and money that my parents just didn't have when I was little. Poppy retired young from the cement business and Grammy worked to have "mad money" for our shopping trips - needless to say I was SPOILED! The time that I spent with my grandparents shaped much of the person I am today. They showed me what love and commitment were, what it meant to be kind and giving, they had time to show me how to do things like sew, cook, even pick up after myself. I will never forget the countless weekends, summer vacations and evenings spent in their company.

As I watch my little one with her Gammy & Papa I see the same relationship forming that I was fortunate to have with my grandparents and I am so very grateful for it.  These are the relationships that define you as a person later in life and are priceless. And as you can see, Little Miss really loves her Gammy & Papa, and they love her too!!

Hey, How ya doing? This is my Gammy, have you met?

These are my Gammy & Papa, and I love them!

Gammy's Girl

Can you tell I'm Papa's girl? We have the same facial expressions!

Papa, why is your hand so wrinkly?

Have I told you that I love you Papa?

Papa makes me laugh!

Papa, Don't blame me for your farts!

Abbey's First Pony

I'm sure that by the time our little girl becomes a young lady Daddy will have turned every shade of white, green purple and red but I have to tell the story of the first time Daddy turned a vampire shade of white.

Grandpa Monroe thought it would be a good idea to buy little Miss her first pony...he thought it would be even funnier if Daddy thought that he bought a real life, eating, pooping, whinnying pony.  Needless to say Daddy didn't think that was such a good gift, even if it was no bigger than a dog and could easily live in the house with us!  Although he couldn't keep the charade up for long, it was quite entertaining to watch Daddy look at Grandpa with real concern in his eyes that the old man had really bought his grand baby her very own pony.

Luckily for everyone involved the pony turned out to be pink and white and stuffed...although it does whinny, gallop and snort like a real pony.  The fact that it sits in the corner and doesn't poop is the real bonus. Once her pink boots fit a little better she'll be a little cowgirl just like her Mommy was!

 

 

The Christmas Hangover

The "Christmas Hangover"is not from an all night drinking binge with friends and family the way it might have been in our pre-child days but rather it's the day after Christmas when all the traveling, unwrapping, eating, drinking, entertaining and all around holiday festivities have come to an end and you're left to clean up the mess and put away all the Christmas gifts - exhausted. In years past (pre Abbey) we would lay around the house, order Chinese, and nap...post Abbey, it's time to play with all those new toys, find room for all the new stuff, take lots of pictures, and wake up all too early to do all this. This years Christmas hangover feels like we were out all night drinking Irish car bombs till dawn and we have to go to work the next day...and we're feeling our age!

That said, today just happens to have brought a blizzard to upstate NY so we're enjoying some additional recuperation time at home.  Working in between watching little Miss squirm and roll all over her crib puts a smile on my face. What I wouldn't give to work from home every day...although I'm not sure how much work I would actually get done given the distraction of a cute little girl who just wants to play all day!

Special Photo Session

As many know Michael has a love of photography and is amazing with a camera which means we get lots of great pictures of our little one.  The day before Christmas was a beautiful sunny day here in upstate NY, something we haven't had a lot of lately. It was warm enough to get outside and get some fresh air and some pictures.  "Auntie" Cindy had made these great hats for little Miss and I...well she made a hat for little Miss that turned out to be HUGE so she went back to the drawing board to make one that would fit her before her 18th birthday which meant that I got a hat too :-) So with our matching hats on we went out to enjoy the sunny winter's day and posed for what have become some of my favorite pics of my big little girl. 

Look at that little face...no not Mommy's!

Can you say happy Abbey?

Mommy's Big Little Girl

Christmas Morning

Baby's first Christmas began at 7am, thankfully little Miss let Mommy & Daddy sleep in a little after a later night than usual. It still isn't enough to make us fully functioning adults.

The first present opened was from Grandma and Grandpa Gardner.  Her very own Radio Flyer red wagon, Daddy put it together for her the minute we finished unwrapping!

Next came a box of beautiful new outfits from Uncle Leon and JoAnn - pink and perfect!!


Then one of our favorite gifts this Christmas was her very own Fairy Princess story. Abbey Jean Vincent was crowned the Fairy Princess by Tony, Gwen and Liam...thank you and Merry Christmas to our NJ friends!!

Miss Heidi and Miss Maria's gifts were next. The daycare ladies knew exactly what little Miss needed for the drooling she'd been doing lately...chewy, blinking, rattling toys!!

Since little Miss wasn't awake for presents last night at Gammy & Papa's last night we had to go through all the presents she got...Bath toys and a great Dr. Suess book from Uncle Jim, Aunt Donna and cousin Kerrie Elizabeth.  More fun bath toys and a big bath scoop from Aunt Kathy and Cousin Meagan.


From God Mommy Michelle and "uncle" Ryan, lots of books to add to my collection. Daddy's personal favorite was Walter the Farting Dog but Mommy's favorite by far is The Giving Tree. Although a tear jerker, a book that I love that we did not have in our collection yet.

A gift to top all gifts, from God Father, Scott, Auntie Teresa, Josh and Anna - a tribute to our dog BonBon - a new line of toys "Rebbeca BonBon - the French Bulldog" - who knew that they had cloned our dog and started marketing her!! We'll be looking for a kick back on this product line in hopes of paying for college someday!!

Speaking of paying for college, Gammy & Papa, besides buying out Babies R Us, gave little Miss an amazing gift that in 18 years when college rolls around, should be an amazing start on tuition and books!! Thank you Gammy & Papa!!

Twas the Night Before Christmas...

Our first "night before Christmas" was busy and wonderful. Filled with lots of smiles and joy!!  Little Miss was in fine form ready to eat, drink and be Merry with family and friends in preparation for Santa's arrival.

Our first stop was the Rendine's for a little dose of AC/DC to start the holiday off right...

Ready to Rock n' Roll my way to Christmas Day

A Baby's First Christmas ornament from Ashlyn and we were off to Gammy & Papa's house!!  In a pretty red Christmas dress, little Miss lit up the house with lots more smiles!!

While we were there we had lots of fun with all of Daddy's family...

Once back home little Miss went to bed and Mommy & Daddy (and big sister BonBon) stayed up awhile to enjoy a midnight cocktail and exchange the gifts we said we weren't going to buy each other. BonBon started and got a new nylabone.  Daddy got the typical pajamas, movies, sweaters, etc....

Now Mommy on the other hand was spoiled, as usual.  Daddy decided to combine my "push" gift and Christmas into one and go a little overboard with a beautiful necklace. It's three tiers of stones; the top stone being little Miss's birth stone, the middle stone is Mommy & Daddy's birth stone (both of us being November babies/topaz) and the bottom (and biggest stone of all) is a diamond which happens to be BonBon's birth stone.  So beautiful!!

Now some of you may be wondering what a "push" gift is and in the spirit of Christmas I'll keep the definition short...I "pushed" out his little girl in August and I get a gift for that :-) For all you mother's to be, be sure to let your husbands and partners know that they need to be prepared to buy a really good "push" gift!!!

And on that note, it's time for bed. Little Miss will be up in a few short hours - ready to open her gifts!! Good night all!

Twas the Morning of the Night Before Christmas...

Sitting here watching an Angel napping. I can't believe that Christmas day is almost here.





But we're not waiting for Santa to bring presents because we already have the very best gift of all. The past 135 days (give or take) have been the most incredible, tiring, challenging, wonderful days of our lives.


Oh how far we have come in these 135 days...









Michael and I have gotten everything we ever wanted (short of lotto winnings) so it comes as no surprise that we're giddier than a pair of 6 years old on Christmas morning (aka we couldn't be happier).  Our family is complete and in less than 24 hours our little Angel will awaken to her first Christmas morning. I know that we'll watch in awe as her smile lights up the dim morning and warms our hearts.

Hopefully everyone is enjoying Christmas Eve morn as much as we are.  For all of our friends who are expecting their first or second little Angel, we wish you the very best and hope to be celebrating with you and yours next year :-) You have a little miracle of your own this Christmas so relish these moments because your life is about to change in all the most amazing ways!

Having a Moment

So today I had a melt down in the shower. Chalk it up to sleep deprivation and postpartum hormones gone wild but as I washed my hair I found my hands full of my hair - no longer attached to my scalp.  It seems to be falling out like I'm a Chemo patient rather than a recent mother and the thought of bald patches sent me over the edge. I'm living with the fact that I have enough cellulite on my thighs and ass to ensure that I will never wear a bathing suit in public again and that my breasts are now officially sagging but now add extreme hair loss to the overall self image and it's crippling.

My beautiful little girl is worth all of it but I really would like to feel sexy again sometime before I'm too old to care about being sexy. So on that note, I went out and bought hydroxycut, green tea detox and a new pair of sneakers - the minute Christmas is over the starvation diet, exercise even when I'm tired, don't stop until my body returns to some resemblance of it's former self or I die...whichever comes first, begins!

There has to be a balance between Mommy Kelly and Kelly Kelly - I will find it again. So to my girl I say, be true to yourself, do what you can with what you have and be happy with yourself because when you do these things, and your hair starts falling out in clumps or you find extra cellulite on your thighs...you'll be able to pick yourself up off the shower floor and do what you need to in order to get on with your day.

Meeting Santa for the First Time

Do you remember your first time meeting Santa?   Or how about when you stopped believing in Santa (because your older brother/sister or the kid on the bus told you he wasn't real). I figured it out early on because my mother was too lazy to effectively hide my "gifts from Santa" and she never wrapped the gifts in different paper or tried to write the "To/From" in different hand writing than her own...I wasn't a genius kid but I was smart enough to put it all together. I plan on keeping this dream alive as long as possible.

God help the kid who ruins Christmas for my little girl by telling her Santa isn't real. I will whoop that child's mothers ass for raising a rotten child and for doing a piss poor job at keeping the miracle of Christmas alive in their kids eyes.

That said, the magic of Christmas is alive and well in my little ones eyes and there is no greater joy then watching her laugh, smile and wiggle in Santa's arms. I can't wait until the day that little Miss is excited to meet Santa and ask him for what she wants but this year it's much less expensive since she can't talk yet!

Abbey's First Meal

Little Miss is hungry...what should we feed her? How about some rice cereal? I would have opted for something that tasted a whole lot better than this but hey, we have to start somewhere!

Short of putting plastic on the floor under the high chair we prepared for the first meal by adorning baby with the largest bib we have. We also had wet wipes standing by so we could slop up any additional mess. With warm bowl of cereal in hand we prepared for the feast. Little Miss was not to sure what this new dinner time routine was all about but thankfully her easy going temperament equated to a "sure lets try this" attitude.

With a watchful eye she sat patiently waiting for the food to be served up...

Cautiously she takes the spoon...all the while looking at it like "what the hell is this? where's my baba?"

         

Then the deliciousness touches her lips and the eyes close and the mouth curves upward to a full fledged smile...we are happy!! 

More please...

Needless to say our first meal was a success!!

A Whole Four Months Old!

Last Sunday was little Miss's official 4 month "birthday" however this afternoon was her official 4 month shots. Unlike the last time Mommy and little Miss went to the doctor, we did not have the pooping mess fiasco or any other drama. Although shots are traumatic enough for both of us, that's where the drama for the day ended.

We are still growing like a little weed, at 16 pounds and 25.5 inches long, little Miss is in the 90th percentile for both height and weight (thankfully proportionate)! Which explains why we're wearing 6-9 month clothing already and we're in level 3 Pampers!

The doctor's agree that's she's just about perfect :-) something Mommy and Daddy already knew but it's nice to have a professionals opinion on the matter. With all the measuring and assessing done, we're getting ready to have our first meal and enjoy a quiet night in front of the fire watching the lights on our Christmas tree!

Childhood Quote

Childhood is not from birth to a certain age and at a certain age

The child is grown, and puts away childish things.

Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies.

- Edna St. Vincent

Time Spent with Gammy & Papa

With Daddy away in Rochester all week little Miss and I have been frequenting Gammy & Papa's house for dinner every night. Little Miss loves to see her grandparents almost as much as they love to see her.  As the holiday season winds up I find myself in awe over the sheer love and joy a life can bring. All those months of carrying this little person with me, feeling her grow inside me, there was no way I could have ever imagined the joy she would bring to all those around her. There is nothing more wonderful than to watch my in-laws faces light up at the sheer presence of their little Angel.

So during this very busy, and sometimes financially taxing, time of year there is something to be said for the simple gift of time. Time spent with those around you, those that you may not get to see every day even though they live just down the road. These evening with my in-laws have reminded me to take time to stop and enjoy the people in our lives, for time passes by far too quickly, and before you know it they may be gone. 

The best gift one can give is love and love requires time. Although it may not be free, (love usually comes with it's own price) it is something that no matter your financial circumstances, can be given in abundance. So to everyone in our lives, you have my love and hopefully we'll be spending some time together so you can all feel that love!

Abbey's First Baby Shower

Okay, technically it wasn't her first baby shower but it was the first one attended outside the womb filly dressed. The star of the show, she was equally as cute as mom-to-be Jessica.  Although it was a drab, dreary, cold Sunday afternoon the warmth of a glowing fire welcomed family, friends and extended family such as myself and little Miss to Jessica's Aunt Debbie's beautiful home.  Baby Myles's Great Grandma on his Daddy's side drove all the way from Wallingford, CT just to celebrate with the rest of us - what a wonderful gift...over 80 years old and still willing to travel the distance to be there for family...truly one of the best gifts Jessica received (and I'm sure she'll agree).

After a wonderful afternoon with the ladies celebrating the impending birth of Mr. Myles Edward Vedder, little Miss and I returned home to enjoy a fire of our own, some snuggle time with Daddy and BonBon on the couch in front of the Christmas tree. Later in the evening we opted for a family photo shoot in front of that same Christmas tree in hopes of snapping the perfect picture for our Christmas cards that are coming dangerously close to being sent out late.  I must say that the fact we're still creating a custom card and getting it out at all is amazing to me since we live and breath by the eat, sleep, poop schedule of little Miss. (Something we happily do).

Tonight all of us girls are missing the man of the house. Michael is away in Rochester this week for training but he'll be home on Thursday night to his ladies in waiting.  Fortunately this will be the last trip of this nature, where he will be away from us for so many nights in a row, for quite some time. No more weekly travel, is it NJ, NYC or Buffalo this week? Thankfully the new territory will keep him close to home and at the dinner table with us every night!! Speaking of dinner table...we'll soon be eating solid foods and Mommy can't wait to do away with a bottle or two!!  For now I must close, I have a little one on my shoulder whose ready for nite nite...Sweet dreams everyone!

Christmas is coming...

What's harder than catching a muddy pig in an open field? capturing the perfect picture of a kid and a dog in the same snap...thankfully there is something called Photoshop. Last night Michal and I tried to prop our "children" up to capture the perfect holiday pic. What we got were a pissed off dag with a scowl on her face and a baby who, in a fit of exhaustion, had a giggle-squirm fest that Daddy was lucky enough to capture on film.  I must say it was the most exhausting experience we've had to date. (Note to self, schedule the next photo shoot for a well rested Sunday afternoon).

After some clever editing by Daddy we have what we think is one damn cute picture of our kids! So from the Vincent Family to all our friends and family we wish you a happy holiday season and if we don't get the chance to see you...a very...