My First Mother's Day

Okay, I'm getting a little behind in my blog posts.  And now, let the catching up begin!

Well we were all ready for my very first Mother's Day!  We had a HerStammSman brunch planned (kugel and monkey bread and fruit, oh my!).  We even had the flowers ready to go to decorate Mommy and Daddy's house:

But we got a call that it was time to head to Birmingham (more on this later), so we packed up the babe, grabbed his wrap and headed to the airport.  Leo looks like he's getting used to this, doesn't he?  I have to say, he is a super flyer - I think he has racked up more miles in the air than most people do before they turn double digits.  We walked onto the plane and people said "oh, wow, such a little baby!  Is this his first flight?"  Nope, no this is his fifth flight already.  He's an old pro at 3 months:  

Leo is so comfortable on the plane that he doesn't even realize he's flying.  Instead he likes to lay on our laps and practice his smiling:

We made it to Birmingham in the evening and got to meet Grammy in person!!!  So here we are, four generations, spending Mother's Day together: Leo, Mommy (name TBD at a later date), Bibi, and Grammy.  And you know what?  I wouldn't have it any other way.

p.s. look what Leo and Brad gave me for my first Mother's Day!  It now lives on my desk at work.

Happy (belated) Mother's Day to all!

Leo's First Day at School

Well this post is long overdue, but I want to share with you Leo's first day of school!  He started, and I returned to work, about 2 weeks ago, when he turned 12 weeks old.  He is going to day care at a wonderful place called Tender Care, which is only a couple miles from home.  He is going full time - 5 days a week.  

Here we go, on our way to school, on his first day!  Doesn't he look excited?:

Leo wore one of his favorite outfits to show off on his first day.  We even chose a pair of socks that sometimes stays on (as compared to most socks that never stay on):

When I got to work, I had beautiful flowers waiting for me from the Boss Lady, aka Mommy, as a welcome back to work surprise!  They are so beautiful:

And as if that wasn't enough, Brad sent me beautiful flowers that were delivered to the office!  How lucky am I?:

Overall it has been a very smooth transition.  I did get choked up on the car on the way to school as I was giving Leo his pep-talk on how much he's going to love it there, but I'm proud to say there were no tears from him and no tears from me.  And I only called to check in on him once.  The teachers there are so fantastic and they tell me they love to snuggle with Leo - one of them told me they're even calling him Mr. Perfect!  He rarely cries, he eats (drinks) his whole bottle, he only sometimes has diaper blowouts, and he loves to be held - what's not to love!

Let's hope Leo continues to love school for the next 22+ years!

My Last Day of Maternity Leave

Well, 12 weeks has come and gone.  Last Tuesday was my last day of maternity leave.  I am so lucky that I have been able to take this time off of work and spend the time with Leo.  Had I gone back to work after 6 weeks or 8 weeks, I don't think I would have been ready - he would have still been in that "fresh baby" stage where he was eating every 1.5-2 hours at night.  I wouldn't have been able to function at work and no one would have been happy.  But now, after 12 weeks, we're in our groove. We have totally bonded this last month. Leo is latching really well, he's on medicine so he isn't spitting up as much, he's sleeping for a 5 hour stretch most nights (!!!) and we understand each other.

So how did we spend this last, glorious day together?

We slept in:

Leo hung out in his favorite place, Puppy Chair:

We cuddled:

Then we were ready to pound the pavement for a fun day out!

We went to the library and picked up some books for Leo to listen to while he rests after he eats and for me to read while I pump at work:

We visited the AJ office so Michele and Erin could get one more Leo fix before he started day care.

Then we drove to Lawrenceville to pick up the clay footprints Leo made when he was 3 weeks old.  They're so cute!  Since we were in the area, Leo and I figured we would kill some time so we went to the cutest baby store nearby and tried our best not to buy everything.  We resisted and only bought one (of the softest) swaddles and a pump part cleaning thing for me.  Oh la la!

We went to the Strip District!  See how excited Leo was to be here? We went to Enrico Biscotti to get biscotti ends, and we went to Pennsylvania Macaroni Company to get delicious Italian food for dinner:

Then we drove downtown and picked up Brad, and drove home as a family:

And with that, my maternity leave came to and end.  Time to head back to my new, exciting reality!

State College Family Visit

Hey all,

Brad here with another post. Last Sunday, March 30th, Stacey, Leo and I hit the road to meet Grandma Carol, Poppa, Great Grandma Judy and Ed at Penn State so they would have a chance to meet the little guy for the first time (and maybe to stock up on Penn State gear and eat ice cream...). Great Grandma Judy and Ed were already up in the NY area for a wedding a few days before, so they hung out with Grandma Carol and Poppa and drove in to Penn State a day early.

On the car ride there we stopped and got our traditional Dunkin Donuts road trip breakfast, and then we hit the road for the 2.5 hour drive. Leo fell asleep right after we hit the road, and didn't wake up (read really hungry) until we were about 30 minutes away from the hotel where we met them. Luckily we were able to reach in to the back seat and get cork back in so he was content enough until we got there.

Upon arriving, Leo ate, burped, and spit up and was very happy about all of it. Then Great Grandma Judy had a chance to hold him for the first time, and we had the special opportunity to take a four generation picture. While holding Leo, Great Grandma Judy let us know that there was some southern movement, which we doubted as it's usually just gas, but her time and experience with kids showed us as not only was she right, she was very right (the clothes you see below didn't last long after this picture). After an eventful changing session on the hotel bed and a clean, fresh outfit we hit the road to brunch at the Waffle House.

From brunch we then went to downtown State College to find some clothes for Leo (these pictures will show up once football season arrives, but trust when we say they're cute!). After hitting up a few stores it was time to go to the Creamery to get our fill of ice cream. We all ate our fair share and yet another diaper and clothing change was needed (yup, 2 diaper changes and 3 outfits) it was time to say goodbye to the grandparents and great grandparents so they could get back on the road before it was too late.

Once they hit the road, we weren't ready to leave Happy Valley just yet, first we needed to get a picture at the Lion Shrine. Apparently it was the weekend before graduation, so there were people everywhere taking pictures at the traditional locations with gowns on, so the line for the Lion was going to take some time, but as parents we've been forced to get creative. After about 30 minutes waiting in line patiently, we realized that with the right angle we could get a picture of me holding him with the Lion in the background and if we were fast enough between groups taking pictures there wouldn't be anyone else in the picture, huzzah!

From the Lion we went to visit an old friend of mine from school who lives in town, a quick dinner at Wegmans, and hit the road back home to Pittsburgh. It's always fun getting to go back to Penn State, even if for a short visit, but getting to share some of my college experiences with Grandma Judy, Ed, and to bring Leo there for what I hope will be the first of many times was truly special and hopefully Leo and Great Grandma Judy will get to see each other again soon. 

When Mommy Sneezes

When Brad sneezes it sounds like a bomb going off.  When Brad sneezes, Leo is completely unfazed.

When I sneeze it is about 1/10th as loud and is 1/10th as quick.  I have lovely little dainty sneezes.

This is Leo's reaction to my sneeze a few days ago:

Leo's Tricks

What is Leo working on these days?  Well, he's still trying to perfect a few things:

Leo's first trick?  Sucking his thumb!  He is just trying so hard.  Leo puts his whole hand in his mouth - he just doesn't realize that he's supposed to stick his thumb out in order to suck on it.  Instead his sucks on his whole hand just hoping it will work out.  Occasionally he gets it!  Those are the good, fleeting moments - they're few and far between.  Come on Leo, get that thumb!

 

Leo's next trick?  He's an excellent burper!  Yes, he got it from his Daddy.  No, I do not have a video of this as I do not want it to become a habit when he's older (ahem, ahem):

 

Taking big boy baths and not crying!  I mean look at him - straight chilling.  Bathtime is for washcloths and whale water spouts and baby mohawks:

This is one we have been practicing so he's ready for day care.  Look at him chugging from this bottle!  It takes me about 20 minutes to make the milk and it takes him about 2 minutes to drink it.

Up next?  Leo is getting so good at holding up his head!  He has been going to physical therapy so he doesn't get a flat spot on his head and she's really working with him on neck control.  Look at this!  He'll sometimes pick his head and bob it around - looking left, looking right, making eye contact, then setting it back down.  When he's wearing green he looks like a little turtle.

And last but not least, smiling.  He has been trying and trying to smile.  Sometimes he will crack one side of his mouth and I can coax another smile or two out.  Along with these teeny smiles time tiny little, playful coos!  I just can't get enough.

Here's my attempt and catching a little smile on video: