Christening

This past Sunday Emmy was baptized at our parish church.  It was a beautiful day and the weather couldn't have been better.  My parents were awesome for all they did to make the day special for Emmy.  From cleaning their house to controling the food to everything in between.  My little girl looked beautiful that day thanks to her godparents, Uncle Kevin and Aunt Barbie, who bought her the christening gown.  The food was delicious and everyone had a great time.  Thank you everyone for coming to help us celebrate with Emily Grace.

Speechless

I took this picture of Emmy yesterday and words can't do her justice!  She is such a beauty.  I can't help but think about how beautiful she is going to be as she grows.  I always think of that song lyric that says "You must have been a beautiful baby, you must have been a beautiful child, you must have been a beautiful baby cause baby look at you now!"  She will be a heartbreaker!  This has quickly become my favorite picture of Emmy.  I love her to pieces!!!

Daddy's Little Girl?

This Father's Day has got me thinking about not only my dad but my Pop~Pop Fish too.  There are many days where I miss you Pop~Pop so much it hurts and today is one of them.  This is the first time I am celebrating Father's Day without him.  This is not an easy day for me just as I am sure it is not an easy day for my mom.  In fact this morning I almost called him to wish him a Happy Father's Day only to realize that I couldn't.  I nearly cried when I remembered that I couldn't do this by phone.  My heart breaks whenever I look at my daughter and realize that she didn't get to meet this great man.  She was born not even a week after he died.  I never asked myself why him but at the time (and to be honest I still do) I ask why that time?  With only 4 days until my due date I got the phone call that my grandfather had passed away and at his funeral I stood giving the eulogy praying my water wouldn't break.  Not exactly how I invisioned going into labor. 

So while today I miss my Pop~Pop so much that it hurts I have to remember to celebrate the other men in my life.  Growing up, and even now, I never considered myself your typical "daddy's girl".  Sure I love my dad and he was a hero in my eyes but I wouldn't have pegged myself as a daddy's girl.  Then I realized something today, I was more a daddy's girl growing up and even today then I ever realized.  My dad has always been there for me to show me the way, teach me new things and tell me everything was going to be OK.  I have had the privilege of being taught how to throw a softball, roll a bowling ball and even empty the dishwasher (which I still don't do that often).  My dad always made sure to do things that as a dad he was "obligated" to do although I know he never felt obligated.  We went to Father Daugther Dances all through High School and only now as an adult do I realize what precious moments they were for us.  Perhaps my favorite thing to think about when I think about my dad is when we danced at my wedding and his speech.  Sure I pick on him for his speech but it was from the heart and he meant every word he said.  So here I am this Father's Day ready to say to the masses that I am proud to call myself a Daddy's Girl for I know that my life was influenced by a great man!  I know I can go to him for anything.  He is supports me in all I do even if he doesn't agree with it and he is someone that I will always be able to count on.

My hope is that my Emmy gets to have this realtionship with her daddy.  At only 2 months old you can tell she is completely in love with her daddy.  She looks at him with awe as almost to say "daddy you are my hero".  She smiles at him and talks to him on a regular basis.  She loves him and knows that he is her daddy.  My mom one time told me that she realizes that we are her mommy and daddy even if she doesn't know what those words mean.  And I thought what could this mean to a 2 month old.  Sure she loves us you can tell in her eyes but what must that feel like for her.  It much be such an overwhelming emotion for her tiny brain to comprehend, I'm 29 years old and I barely comprehend it.  Anyway getting back on track I know that when my baby is my age she will look back on her relationship with her daddy and smile.  She will know that he would move heaven and earth for her.  He will have been at every recital, softball game, bowling game, birthday party and everything in between.  He will be her hero and I will be second best,  and I am OK with that.  She is truly a daddy's girl and I hope she realizes it much sooner than I did.

One Hand

The time is now 10:34a.m. and I am typing this blog with one hand not because I can and want to show off but because I have to.  Why?  Because my daughter has decided that the best place for her to nap at the present moment is on my left arm (completely asleep by the way).  It's amazing what your body can do when it has to.  For instance the things you can do with one hand. I have learned that I can make a bottle, make a sandwich, pack a diaper bag, put on pants, pick something up, brush my teeth, brush my hair, turn on a swing, blog. . .the list goes on and on.  I can remember before I had Emmy watching moms carry their baby around in one arm and I used to think "isn't that dangerous" or  "I would be so nervous to do that".  Within one day of being home with Emmy I was a pro at the one arm hold just like every mother before me and every mother after me.  The one arm hold is getting a little trickier these days as Emmy is squirming a lot more and likes to look at different things.  So I've learned that I am now a pro at switching holding positions while standing with Emmy.  So the truth is I am not nervous about holding Emmy like this nor do I find it particulary dangerous (as long as I'm the one doing it).  But I would never hold another person's child like this for fear that I would drop them.  It's the whole "you break it you buy it" mentality.  The time is now 10:45 a.m.  and I am finished typing this blog.  But that's not really a fair assessment of my one handed ability as in this time I have typed this blog, put a crying baby in her swing, made sure she had her binky in her mouth, went to the bathroom, hugged and chatted with my husband, pet and chatted with my dog and got a drink of water.  Ah the multi-tasking days of a mom

Closing Times

Like the song says "every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end".  Today I went to close out my classroom and it was a little bittersweet for me.  There is so much drama that is surrounded by the end of this school year and I am just grateful to have a job.  For the 3rd time in 6 years I will be switching classrooms and for the 5th time I will be changing grades.  I have taught the same students for two years in a row and am glad that I am able to get a group of new kids next year.  I have to admit though this is the first time in years that I haven't looked forward to summer vacation.  I'm lucky I've never known what it was like to not have a summer.  I was always in school or a teacher.  Sure I worked at Kohls all through college but it was still summer and I had a break.  At that time I wanted to work so I could have money.  There is a big difference between wanting to work and having to work.  Now I have to work and it sucks!  I would love to be a stay at home mom and it's sad that in today's economy and world this is not a possibility for many moms.  So alas I am sad that it is summer because that means I am closer to going back to work and having to leave my baby girl.  I'm not looking forward to this one bit.  I don't know how my husband does it everyday.  He leaves me and Emmy laying in bed and goes off to work to provide for us.  I admire him for this.  I hope I can be like him and be brave when I go to work and leave my baby at home.  I hope that I am able to focus on my job and not worry about my daugther all day.  And it doesn't make it any easier when people say, "oh it's going to be so hard for you to go back to work!"  I want to slap them and say yes thanks for pointing that out I thought it would be really easy to leave my daughter for 8 hours a day.  But then I think that I have to be grateful for the job I have.  I'm lucky that I get days off, half days, good vacations and summer vacation to spend with my daugther.  Most moms won't get this opportunity and I am grateful for it.  It's a running joke amount teachers when people ask what is your favorite thing about teaching and you reply "June, July and August".   This was never my response until becoming a mom and now I know that teaching will be a whole different experience for me.  I know I will look at these kids and say I hope my daughter does/does not become like this child.  I will wonder will my child be the talker or the geek of the class.  I know I have a while to think about this but it is what enters my mind.  For now though I am going to enjoy my summer with my daughter and not think about going to work this coming Sept.

"I made you!"

So last night Ryne was telling Emmy the story of her conception, well parts of it at least.  He told her how she was a Disney baby and what we did that day and how she came to be her.  He ended it with an enthusiastic "I made you!"  She thought that was funny and let out a little giggle.  When Ryne finished his story I really thought about what he said and it got me thinking.  This time last year Emmy wasn't here.  The world didn't know of any Emily Grace L.   In fact this time last year we were trying to concieve our first baby and if she was a girl her name was going to be Madison not Emily.  Only after we became pregnant did our little girl become Emily.  I love my little girl so so much but if it wasn't for that perfect time she wouldn't be here.  Another day or another time and she could have been a boy or a girl but not this little girl.  Not my precious "happy baby"!  It amazes me everyday when I look at her and realize that Ryne and I made her.  She is a part of each of us.  Not long after I gave birth to Emily Ryne sent me a text that said something to the effect of "this is why we met".   And I realized that he is right.  We went to the bowling alley that night to meet and we fell in love and got married all to end up HERE with this little girl.  If it wasn't for Bobby (God help us!) Emily wouldn't be here.  I can't help but be sad by that thought!  The world is forever changed just by the mere presence of my daughter.  My life is forever changed by Emily.  She is my everything and she will change the world!

Phillies, Parties and 2 month shots

So this was a looong weekend for me and I am 29 years old so I can only imagine how it felt for Emmy.   The weekend started with Ryne having off on Friday and we all went to his doctors appointment that lasted longer than I expected.  Friday night was the first time I left Emmy for a long period of time.  But she was left with Aunt Courtney and I was very comfortable leaving them together.  So Ryne and I went off to the Phillies game with my class for "Be A Phanatic About Reading" night.  It was so much fun!  We always have a blast when we go each year!  And the Phillies won!

Saturday Emmy and I went to Tricia's graduations party.  She was pretty fussy that day.  Emmy is typicaly a very happy baby but I think from being passed around to everyone she was extra fussy.  She did eventually go to sleep but we found out she loves balloons.

On Sunday it was finally time for me to cash in on my Christmas present from Ryne.  He took me to see NKOTBSB in East Rutherfood at the Izod Center.  So Emmy had her first over night at Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop D's house.  The concert was so much fun!  And I got to be 11 years old again and not be in "mommy mode" for the night.  Ryne had bought seats that ended up being the last row in the building but we told the usher I just had a baby and that it was a csection and we got moved to row 5!!!!  It was great!!  I was so close to Jordan Knight at one point!  After the concert we went for a ride around Manhattan and saw things like Time Square and Central Park.  We got home about 3:30a.m.

Monday was time for Emmy's 2month visit and the dreaded shots.  I felt so bad for her.  She screamed during her exam she definitely didn't like when the ped. touched her belly or check her hips.  It was nice to see that she calmed down when she saw me and Ryne though.  I love knowing we can calm her because she recognizes us now.  She got a total of 4 shots, one in each limb.  I felt so horrible for my baby.  She screamed and I cried.  I think it effected me more than her.  She slept most of the day but at one point she was so sore she screamed for half an hour.  I felt so bad that I couldn't help her.  However by the end of the day she was back to her normal happy self. 

This week is the last week of school so I will be going in to help close out my classroom.  I'm so happy summer is here but also sad because I have to go back to work that much sooner.

Growing up fast

I decided that today I would post the pictures of Emily to see how much she has grown. 

                                                                                Birth

1 month old

2 months old



2 months old

Today Emmy is 2 months old!!!  I have decided that I am going to make a list of the top 5 things that these past 2 months have shown me that I can't live without.

1)  My Husband, Ryne

OK so as cliche as it sounds it is so very true!  I know I couldn't have gotten through these past two months as a new mommy without my loving husband.  He has been there for me in more ways then I could ever imagine.  I tell him that the month of April really put our wedding vows to the test expecially the ones that stated "in sickness and health".  I am really lucky to have him because not every man would do what he does.  He has been there for me when I need a good laugh or a hug.  And I can never thank him enough.  He is the man of my dreams and I am lucky to have him.


2)  THE BOPPY:  This wonderful pillow is what helped us get our little Emmy to sleep when she wouldn't lay on her back for the first 6 weeks of her life.  Without this magical pillow we would have had many more sleepless nights.






3)  Playmat:  Emmy loves her Jungle themed play mat.  She loves watching the lights and listening to the music.  When she is on it I can get ANYTHING done, while in the same area as her of course.  She kicks her legs like crazy and talks to the animals.  I love it and every mother should have one!





4) Snap and Go Stroller:  This is probably the best invention I have EVER seen!  Under the advice of my cousin Melissa I registered for this stroller and it has been great!  I love how compact it is and that we just pop the car seat in and out of it.  This stroller goes everywhere with us.  I will be sad when we can't use it anymore. 






5)  Pack and Play:  Emmy would NOT sleep in her crib so we had to try so many things to try and get her to sleep.  We even tried her cradle that I had slept in as a baby and that didn't work.  So on a whim I decided to set up the PackNPlay in our bedroom and we never looked back.  She loves sleeping on the elevated part of the PNP and I love being able to roll over and see her at night.  We have all been there and roll over to make sure our precious angel is still breathing (it's a mom thing).  I am going to be really sad when she sleeps in her own room :-(

Gotta start somewhere. . .

. . .so why not at the beginning.  

I met Ryne (my husband) on January 10, 2005.  We met at a bowling alley in NJ with the help of his cousin and my friend Bobby.  It's funny to think about how Ryne and I met because in reality this wasn't our first time meeting.  Since I had grown up being friends with his cousin, Ryne and I were at the same block parties, graduations and birthday parties and didn't realize it.  This is probably because of our age difference.  We dated for 2 years before getting engaged on Valentine's Day in 2007 and then finally said our I Do's on April 18, 2009.  Fast forward almost 2 years later and I gave birth to our first child.  A beautiful baby girl, Emily Grace, on April 5, 2011.  She was born via c-section due to "being stuck".  She was literally stuck in the birth canal and wouldn't fit through my pelvis.  So after 30 hours of labor we opted for the csection.  And our gorgeous baby was born at exactly 5:30 p.m. and she looked just like her daddy!

This brings me to the reason for this blog.  Some may ask why start a blog?  Even better why start a blog now?  Well I have several answers for that.  My first being that I want a place to share my thoughts not so much for the outside world to view but more for my little girl Emily to read about sometime in the future.  And my final reason is that I realized fairly recently that life goes by very quickly and we have to stop and take in the memories.  So this is a place to share my memories so that I will remember them and can come back and read about the good times when I have a particularly bad day.

So hopefully I can fill this blog with many happy memories of my family and it will be something I can look back on and smile. 

Happy 25th Birthday to my baby brother Kevin!

And here is a picture of Emily now: