Happy Birthday Eddie!

 Happy Birthday Eddie-man!!!!!!

{huge smile? marker on the face drawing a goatee like daddy? this is pretty much your standard every day}

You are three years old today, and I can hardly believe it. You seem so small and so big all at the same time....but, well, instead of small I suppose I should say young, because buddy? You're not small. You're quite a few inches taller than every kid in your preschool class and just built differently - while their arms and legs just seem so little and frail, yours are just.....sturdy. Its the best word I can come up with to describe your build....one day you are going to grow up to be quite the guy. A protector of your friends, just like your daddy.

You love anything that is construction, firemen or sports. Your daddy and I laugh that we go through all of the sports in a day...your favorites right now are golf (ugh, please stop with the fascination of watching golf on TV!) and baseball. But you don't descriminate and also love to watch swimming and diving with Momma (and you're great and taking your mark on the ottoman and diving on to the couch) and even gymnastics. You are going to love the 2012 Olympics.

This month you became a big brother, and you are so amazing. Your daddy and I were just talking about how we are so happy that we are able to see you as a big brother...it is just another peice of you that is so amazing and I feel so blessed to be a part of. This picture of you holding Finn is a pretty good representation of you on a daily basis. You're such a happy fellow, except when you aren't and then? Holy crap, buddy. You can throw a fit. Also? You shirts are stained within 2 minutes of putting them on, always. You're pretty messy.

You got a big boy bike for your birthday! And oh man, you were so excited. In fact, you threw quite the massive tantrum when it was time to go to preschool orientation because you wanted to stay and ride your bike. Thank God for your love of Dunkin  Donuts, because that was the only way we could get you out of the house! You're also currently trying your best to convince me that your bike should be an inside toy. And even though you're stubborn, you got that from someone, honey. And I will always be more stubborn than you.

We went to your favorite restaurant - Mr. Samaurai - for your birthday dinner and you loved it, of course. You still love to watch people cook, even on TV (your favorite it the Barefoot Contessa), and this time you were chatting up the chef the whole time. Every item he put on the cooktop you said you loved it. And even though it was true, you do love brocolli (still your favorite veggie) and shrimp and steak and mushrooms and zuchinni (you say zuppini, and we have some growing in the garden that you are in charge of picking. You love finding new zuppinis and always jump up and down yelling), it was funny to watch you.

Also? I love that picture of you and your daddy. I can't see how people say that you look anything like me....you are a total clone of your daddy. Check out the lips, cheeks, eyebrows...even your ears are mini replicas of your daddy's! The only thing you got from me are your teeth (yay for future orthodontic bills!) and your eye color.

You are very independent and will now only hold my hand crossing the street. We even went to the outlet mall and you did such a good job opening the door for me to push the stroller thru and staying close(ish) while we looked around. You love to help and we can convince you to do pretty much anything if we sell it as you being the BIGGEST! HELPER!! EVER!!!! Actually, we can pretty much sell anything to you if we use enough exclamation points. You are very, very smart though, and your memory surprises me every day. You can recall the smallest details about a trip or person and can memorize things so quickly. You can tell us the town and street you live on and you now are obsessed with knowing what town people live or work in.

 I once bribbed you to say your ABC's for a marshmallow and you still expect one when you say them. You still love Saddie and are skeptical of Jack-Jack, but overall Sydney and Daisy are your favorite dogs. Your best buddy is still Velia, your little wife-to-be. You love to talk to anyone and we can often find you sneaking into the backyard to talk to the neighbors.....the adults, not the kids :)

I love you so much little man and can't wait to see what three brings us. You amaze me every day, every hour and every minute...in good ways and in bad (ha!). 2 year old you was pretty awesome and I know 3 will be just as great!

Happy Due Date!

Happy Due Date to Finnegan Matthew!

It is hard to believe that Mr. Finnegan is almost 4 weeks old!

-He is still able to fit into newborn clothes, but also starting to fill out 3 month sizes.

-Finn's eyes are still blue (and I swear, getting brighter every day, not darker) and his hair is a blonde/copper color (just like Eddie's) that turns out more red in pictures.

-He loves being held and if he figures out that you've put him down you are in for some screaming.

-Finney is more aware as the days go on, loving to watch Eddie and crossing his eyes less when he tries to focus on faces.

-He still is grunting a lot, farting a lot, and peeing and pooing on us a lot. His tush is now referred to as Mount St. Finnegan and it erupts on a regular basis. We'll start selling tickets soon.

-Finn is doing really well at night - most nights he sleeps in 5 hour stretches, making us keep like our asses have been kicked when he wakes like a normal 4 week old.

{big brother eddie loves to hold him still}

{he got loved on by nanna and grandpa}

{and uncle mac finally got a chance to hold him! he loves it, even if he is uncomfortable. aunt amy is much happier snuggling her nephew}

{and met great grandma rosie! (sorry for the bad cell phone pic)}

{and he already loves firemen just like eddie!}

All in all, Finn is an awesome little man. Sure, he wants to be held a lot, but you won't find me complaining about baby snuggles! He also has gotten snuggled by his Auntie Tiss and Grandma and Grandpa Frank, but somehow I don't have pictures of that. Poop! So far it has been a wonderful 4 weeks....I can't wait to see how the little man grows and changes <3

Fan Days at BVZ!

This weekend was the Blackhawk's themed "Fan Days" at Brookfield Zoo and of course we went :) There were lots of hockey themed activities and giveaways and autographs by legend Dennis Savard. Of course we also saw the animals, ate lunch in our favorite little getaway of the play zoo backyard and just had lots of fun. It was also the first time Frankie has gone to the zoo in a while, so that was a special treat.

{eddie is all "what's up, guys?"}

{HOCKEY ALL STAR!!! Eddie made 2 out of 3 of his shots. He's awesome}

{loved the giant bag set. LOVED. also? loved the little old lady (behind us) and the little old man running it. When there weren't kids on it, they would play and it was adorable}

{oh man. good thing his hockey form is better than his bags form!}

 Today also marked Finn's first trip to the zoo! I'm sure we will go a billion more times this fall, but we had to take some first time pictures.

{'momma!' says eddie 'finney has grass on his back!'}

{best big brother, let me tell you}

{Aw, Finn has major old man face going on here. Sweet little farter.}

{Check out those blue eyes!! Fingers crossed they stay that way, I would die to have a blue eyed boy}

And of course I got some fun random pics from around the zoo.....

{about 4 years ago my mom and i got to pet a white rino at a behind the scenes tour of disney's animal kingdom and I have loved rinos ever since. this guy was loving all the people in front of him lining up for the autographs}

{eddie loves watering the plants in the greenhouse, i love taking pictures in there}

{does this guy remind anyone else of Melvin from the movie Madagascar?}

Such a fun day, totally worth Eddie's lack of nap to watch him be a awesome hockey player and wander with the hubs. I love, love wearing Finney around in the wrap - it is so, so easy (5 yards of jersey fabric and google how to tie a moby wrap - it's the same thing, half the price and worth the sanity if you have a newborn and a toddler).



(((yawn)))

Phew. Finney kicked our ass last night.

He's been a rockstar lately with sleeping - mostly 5 hours at a time at night for a couple days now. We got spoiled. So last night when he was up until 11:00, slept until 1:00 and was up until 3:00 and then got up again at 4:00, my ass was done. So while I normally let Frank sleep through the am feedings (and glare at him with hate in my eyes) I woke him up, handed him the baby and slept. And what do you know? Finn was fed and out within 25 minutes. Damn. Hopefully tonight he goes back to the much preffered once a night waking.

I'd like to say I'll write a longer post later, but this is probably how it's going to be for a while! I'll take nap over blogging any day :)

one year older (and a brunette!)

 it has been a weekend of birthday love for me, starting with a trip to lowes over the weekend to get my birthday presents (plants, plants, bench, more plants), a gathering with frankie's parents and sister,  an impromptu playdate with my favorite cousin (in law) and dinner with my parents and brother and sister in law. last night we decided to take advantage of my p's awesome backyard and gt some cut pictures of me and the boys (and my new kardashian hair, which thankfully lightened up after some highlights!).

and since i'm typing this one handed while i pump, i'll be back later with a better post!

Beautiful Boy

Since most people have gotten them, I wanted to post Finney's birth announcement picture here. Like I said before, I'm really proud of this picture and am slowly beginning to be better at taking compliments on my photos....my mom is actually getting this picture (in black and white) and my favorite picture of Eddie (the black and white one at the end) printed on mounted prints for my birthday :)))) so excited!!

{and yes, he rocks a mowhawk all the time. and yes, it is awesome}

Midweek Ramblings

*Lots of people have been asking how Finn is eating, and the answer is simple : he's doing great. We have him off of the every 3 hour schedule and are just feeding him on demand, which basically comes out to be every 3-4 hours. Except for that really fun night where he ate every hour and a half and Frank and I were all SHIT. And in that moment, I was thankful that I wasn't actually nursing. Because holy nipple pain, batman. Every hour and a half would have SUCKED.

*And since I mentioned that, I'll clarify this as well - I am pumping for Finn, just like I did for Eddie. The NICU nurses and the nurses at Kish were very encouraging when it came to nursing Finn once he got used to the bottle, and Finn rocked at latching and all of that fun stuff. But my milk came in and it came in hard. As in, I get 4 feedings for Finney out of one 20 minute pumping session. And since Finn was still getting used to the bottle at that point, I was scared that he was going to get flooded from my oversupply and get freaked out and all of the progress we had made with the bottle would be gone. For me, it was easy to go back to my routine of pumping since I did it with Eddie and honestly, it felt more natural and comfortable for me. So we still get to measure what he's eating, he still gets breastmilk and everyone is happy.

*And Eddie? He kinda loves the pump. For the first couple of days he would take anything and everything, shove it up his shirt and say 'i pumping'. Which, as I'm sure you can guess, is awesome. Try to explain that one to a three year old and see how far ya get. And while he hasn't 'pumped' in a while, it hasn't stopped the crazy questions I get while I do it!

*And Eddie part 2? He's a big brother rockstar still. He loves Finn, hasn't shown one hint of jealousy or asked to send him back or anything of the sort. He loves to hold him, kiss him, lay with him on the floor...on and on. I hate to say it, but I'm totally shocked. I expected some outbursts and trouble, but so far so good! Let's hope it continues.

*Today is my first day alone with both boys. And I'm shitting my pants.

*A scheduling problem with our normal photographer had me playing her part with Finney yesterday. And thanks to my mom and my super cute baby, I got an awesome and amazing picture that I can't wait to send out. And in turn, I learned a fun lesson - I really need to believe in myself more! I saved us a bunch of money (and time, which is most important to Frank since he's so hard to schedule when he's back at work) and got a beautiful picture of Finnegan.


And possibly the most random thought of all?

*I'm 90% sure breast feeding is mother nature's way of saying she's sorry for the crap she put us through for 9 months. Because seriously? I get a happy little surprise every time I look in the mirror and remember that I've got instant implants. No more big tummy, finally able to dye my hair and amazingly awesome boobs....I haven't been this confident in months! Ha!