Thursday, November 13, 2008

2x2x2x2x2

she is:


chubby


cute


crafty


kind


compassionate


considerate


pretty


wise


loving


sexy


witty


smart


funny


intuitive


considerate


thoughtful


passionate


creative




stubborn


earnest

idealistic




healthy




self-sacrificing




honest




and loyal. whew.

but that's not all.


she's great at:


snuggling


cooking tasty meals (breast milk included)


taking care of beebs


taking care of me


and while her fashion sense can be suspect, ahem, the garfunkel, ahem, she mostly cleans up real good.


she's the most entertaining singer


and the best road trip partner ever.


she's my favorite grown-up in the whole entire world, she's the best mommy, and the most loving wife and friend, and today she's one year older than she used to be!


we don't know where we'd be without her and we sure are glad she was born (good job mems and teed)! beatrix and i love you so much!


HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY!!!!!!!



















































what a great lady! there are a lot of things i have to be thankful for- meeting you, falling in love, the life we've begun to build together, star wars, our baby... i can't imagine my life without you. every day with you makes me feel happy and fulfilled. i love you, love you, love you!

















Wednesday, November 12, 2008

tummy time!

beatrix used to really hate tummy time. as many of you know, she likes to be able to look around at everything, and i don't think it occurred to her that if she just lifted her head up, she'd still be able to see everything. well, she gets it now. but for a while she was really not interested. so disinterested, in fact, that when we rolled her onto her belly, she would sigh loudly and just lay her little head down on the floor without even trying. but then all of a sudden, she started getting into it. we're still not sure why...



ugh. more tummy time. what a drag. if i could just get that whole 'rolling over' thing down, then at least when i spit up i'd have something to chew on and re-swallow. if i spit up now it'll just go all over the gymini.



wait a second... i think i see some dried spit-up right over here!


oh yeah. this is definitely mine. i think. what am i saying- who cares! jackpot!


oh man, this is at least a few days old! i can barely scratch any of it off. if only i had an endless amount of goopy liquid i could dump onto this spot to soften it up a little... slurp.



drool don't fail me now!



it's working! it's working! mmmmm, that's the good stuff.



tummy time is yummy time!







Tuesday, November 11, 2008

weekend part 2: la familia

after our visit on saturday from the fudges, it was time to hit the road. it was a short trip to my auntie janice's house, right down the road from where we live. even though we were only going a short way, we still had to strap in the beebs.


binky?


check. little mouse?


check. okay bebe, we're ready! let's get you in the car-


the car?!?!!

beatrix was a big hit. she was her totally sociable self and didn't even flinch at all of the new faces she saw as my mom's side of the family met her for the first time. cousin brian took a turn with beebs, and as per usual, she was a flirt. here she is snuggling up:



we were all together to visit with my uncle dennis and aunt joyce. they live in florida so we don't see them much.

this is my uncle bob and his wife barbara. my maternal grandparents had five kids. the first baby died when she was only seven months old. after that came my uncle bob, my aunt janice, my mom, and my uncle dennis.

this is my uncle bob (auntie janice's husband), my aunt joyce, and auntie janice.


the siblings were going over the documents my grandfather had left behind when he died. there were some pretty old papers there, including birth certificates from the first and second decades of the twentieth century, my grandfather's enlistment certificate (he was in the national guard), baptism certificates, death records for my great grandmother, and also a few old pictures. my uncle bob had even done some research in the office of public records in providence and found the cemetary where the first baby had been buried. with both of my grandparents gone, none of the siblings had known the burial site until uncle bob found it. in with the documents was a lock of the baby's hair that my grandmother had saved. it was a light brownish-blond, the same color that bebe's is becoming right now. my hair was also that color for a short while when i was a baby.


some serious thinking going on here...



beatrix sat at the big kids table


littler kids


bigger kids


waiting for permission to have dessert


it was fun to just give bebe to my aunts and let them spend some time with her. it's too bad none of them have any baby experience though. i had to keep a close eye on them...


and of course, grammy wrestled her away from everyone else. often.


and just when we thought it was nap time, face got her second wind and held court in the living room with her cousins. she laughed and giggled and shrieked and yelped, all to the delight of anyone in attendance. the best part about the day was that everyone got the full bebe experience. she was a little fussy at times, and silly and flirty and charming, too. good one, beatrix!


three old dudes and a dog, closing out the pats game...






Sunday, November 9, 2008

weekend part 1: the fudges

saturday brought a visit from my old friend shawn. he was the drummer in our band and was given the nickname 'fudge,' so he and his gang were known as the fudge family, or simply, the fudges.


when the day starts off with your pal wearing the bumbo as a gladiator helmet, you know you're in for a good time.



beatrix made the rounds, first with alexis fudge


and while the baby stuff was happening, armando fudge challenged me to a flash off:



ha, sucker!



melissa and alexis look on


as armando steps to the plate, hitting a baby homerun.




mama fudge had let the babies handle the baby for long enough. it was time for some real mothering. sensing the experience and ease of her handler, beebs melted into cuddle mode.




alexis took another turn with baby number one


while armando takes a turn with baby number two, aka the playstation 3:

oh, how i love baby number two. and baby number one. and baby number two...


as the afternoon wore on, evening took hold, and the ps3 took hold as well, sinking the clutches of grand theft auto 4 into all of us, bebe included.

the soothing, yet stimulating, sounds and images of simulated violence. ahh...


her reaction was a little extreme at first.


but she settled right in. and luckily her uncle fudge was there to answer any questions she had.


uncle fudge?


what's a stripper?


um, jeeze. that's a great question bebe.


that is a really great question.


i'm sorry, what was the question? oh look- more flashing lights!


uh, does someone else want to hold bebe for a little while?


we had a great time hanging out with shawn and melissa and alexis and armando. beebs can't wait till next time!