Stroller Lessons 101

True Story......

Taylor and I went out this morning to meet Becca and Nicole at Starbucks. Becca and I pulled up at the same time and I asked her opinion about either taking Taylor inside with a) the stroller so she could hang out in there or b) just the car seat and she would end up chillin on the floor since putting it on a table is a big no-no. We decided that we would take her in with the stroller.....

So we took the monster of a stroller out and got it on the ground. At this point Becca is waiting for me to open it so we can get Taylor out of the car. This is also the point at which I realize I don't know how to open the damn thing! Every time we had gone out - Ben had been with us and took care of getting this chore done - well except one time but I was with Heather and she opened it out of excitement that we were taking Taylor to the COACH outlet. After a few moments of laughing at ourselves (well - at me) I had to swallow my pride and call Ben at work. I'm not sure he found the situation as entertaining as we did but he was able to guide me through it.....his exact words were "just pull up the handle - duh". Brilliant!! We pulled up the handle - got her in and we were on our way to enjoying our gossiping over skinny cinnamon dolce lattes!

The moral of this story.....learn how to operate the stroller before your husband goes back to work. Dear Crazy!!

Trip to Nanny's

Taylor had another "first" this past weekend......her first road trip down to Williamsburg to meet the Nanny! :)

We got up EARLY on Saturday to feed Taylor then got her ready and into the car for her first big ride. We stopped in Reston to pick up Norma as clearly it wouldn't be the same without all of the girls there. For those that don't know - "all of the girls" include myself, Mom, Sissy, Nanny, Aunt Kathy, cousins Denise & Donna and now Taylor. My dad "had to work" - coincidence maybe?? HA!

We had such a nice time and Taylor did great! She LOVED meeting everyone - especially Nanny - and the feelings were mutual.

Denise took lots of pictures - here is the link to Snapfish....

http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=235196936/a=5781352_79754185/t_=5781352

Cardiologist

We got a clean bill of health from the cardiologist today. He did hear a slight murmur but said that it was perfectly normal and then she had a sonogram which I have to admit was pretty cool. He told us that her heart was nice and strong and there was nothing to worry about and he wouldn't need to see her again! WHEW!!

What a weekend!

Wow - we had a busy weekend! Lots of firsts for Taylor!

Friday started off with her first appt with the pediatrician. She weighed in at 8lbs 10ozs! We really liked the doctor (thanks to Amanda V for the referral). She told us that she heard a small heart murmur and we now have an appt to see a cardiologist this Wednesday morning. We were told that it's not uncommon and it could be something that she just grows out of. We won't know anything else until Wed. From there we met up with Antonio to go to Sprint and get our new phones. Yes - we are dorks and were pretty pumped about them. Dear Crazy! Afterwards we went out to lunch and Taylor did great. She had a full belly so she just slept in her car seat while we ate. We came back to relax a bit and decided that we would go to Friday Night Live since our friend Julie was singing back up with the band that night. Heather and Matt were going so we met up with them and headed to downtown Herndon. We were a little nervous and wondering how Taylor would do and she ended up sleeping through it all. She got up to have her diaper changed and to have a bottle and then went right back to sleep. A few pics from the evening are below.









Saturday was a little less eventful. Everyone came to us so we had a nice day at home. It was the first day since we brought her home that we didn't have to go anywhere. Boy was that nice! Taylor got to meet Brandi and Brooke in the afternoon. Brandi brought her a new little watermelon outfit that she just can't wait to wear! Thanks B!





Later that day Heather came by and we gave Taylor a bath. Fun for us - not so much for Taylor! Who doesn't love that little bunny towel! ;0)




Shortly afterwards Lauren, Seca and Jessie came by for a BBQ. We had a great time - even though I burnt 1/2 of the hot dogs. And I mean burnt! To quote Heather "hot dogs aren't supposed to be that crunchy!!" Seriously - who let me work the grill!?! Good thing the burgers and corn came out alright!

Yesterday we were supposed to go to our family friend Petre's 90th bday party. LONG story short.....turns out the venue was changed but no one thought it necessary to tell my dad or aunt so there was 9 of us at the wrong place. We ended up at our favorite (well - not Jacqueline's) Kabob place in Arlington for a family dinner. Once again - Taylor just slept through most of it. She woke up to eat and hung out on Ben's lap for a little while before nodding off again.

Nicole stopped by this morning and then it was just the 3 of us hanging out at home which was nice as I needed a day to recover. HA!

Yay for Billy!

My brother in law (Ben's little bro) Billy graduated from Parkview High School yesterday!! I can't believe it as he was only 11 when I first met him! Time sure does fly!

He's off to VA Tech in the fall and we're so proud of him! Congrats Billy!!

Taylor's Homecoming

FINALLY!!! Taylor is home!! Big day for Ben and I!!




I felt like I was waking up on Christmas morning today! I was so excited that we were finally going to be able to bring our little girl home! I can't even put into words (I know - shocking) how it felt to walk into the NICU with the car seat in hand and knowing it was our last time. We met with the doctor and one of the nurses to go over everything and at the end of our conversation the doc asked if we had any questions. I turned to the nurse and asked her if she wanted to come home with us! hahahaha Dear Crazy!!





One thing that the nurse did tell us was that Taylor might seem to be a little out of sorts after we get home and that it would probably be because our house is too quiet. She's been in the NICU for over 2 weeks with other babies, beeping monitors, doctors/nurses/parents always talking etc. So we get home and Ben starts straightening up. He started to vacuum and it didn't phase Taylor. He even went right by her while she was sleeping in the Boppy chair and she didn't even flinch! Don't worry - I took a picture to document it and it's below. hahahaha!

Here is the link to the pics on Snapfish http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=223171759/a=5781352_5781352/t_=5781352

I can't wait for all of you to meet her! Call me whenever you are in the 'Burg!!

First car ride!

Having a bottle at Nana & Pop Pop's house

Hanging out in the Boppy chair

Yes - it's on!!!

Congrats to Sissy & Todd

CONGRATULATIONS TO JACQUELINE & TODD!!!

My little sister got MARRIED this past weekend!! Even with the rain storm (which we dubbed Hurricane Jacqueline) that came in - we had an amazing wedding! She was absolutely BEAUTIFUL and I couldn't be happier for her and Todd! I'll post pictures as I get them but here is one of the bridal party.....