I'm Trying to Figure it Out!

Here's at least ONE picture to satisfy your curiosity.  I'm so sorry for the very long gap between posts and have had one or two ready to go for quite some time now. However, when I went to post, Blogger let me know that I have officially run out of bandwidth and I can start paying a subscription fee to continue to post.  SO, I'm trying to decide whether I delete old posts and make books out of them, pay the subscription fee, or stop blogging altogether.  I'm still trying to decide and of course, if you have a strong opinion one way or another, please do leave a comment, Facebook message me, or shoot me an email:  danielledambro@msn.com.  I, myself, am a Facebook and blog lurker and don't tend to comment much, but I AM WATCHING YOU.  :)  This time around, if you are a lurker like me and do like keeping up with us, I would love for you to let me know so that I know whether it's worth it to continue or not.

Administrative stuff aside, the kids are doing great.  Alessandra is her same old corny self and makes me laugh every day.  Now is the time when I wish I would start writing some of her better exclamations down.  The other day when I asked her if she had a pet horse what would she name it, she naturally said "Sexy".  I'm like, what?!?  Okay.  "Sexy" it is.  Probably better than a lot of those crazy horse names out there.  Really, "I'll Have Another"?!?

Bettino just had his 4 month checkup and is continuing his moonlighting career as a Buddha.  17 lbs, 9 ozs (92nd percentile), 26.5" (93rd percentile) and a tiny head.  I don't remember the exact measurement, but it's in the 28th percentile.  Alessandra was always high in weight and height and low in head circumfrence as well, so very consistent with each other, and I know she turned out to look just fine.  As a matter of fact, at her preschool screening (Brag alert: at which she tested into at least kindergarten, by the way), they were slightly concerned with her BMI because she is super tall and skinny.  I suppose that's what will happen when all you ever want to eat is fruit.

Back on Bettino, he is so mild-tempered and is starting to give us some smiles.  He has a gnarly case of eczema that we're dealing with, so let us know if you have any tips for that.  Developmentally, he's right on task and there is not a worry in the world about him except for that he is so awesome that he will exceed the scale of awesomeness.  Ummm...Yeah.

So, wanted to keep this one short and sweet for you, and please, please, please, let me know if you think I should keep up my blogginess, even if you're usually a lurker!  (Then I will BARRAGE you with pictures.) 

Hugs!

Spring Arrives On Time!

Global warming has reared it's ugly head.  And since this is a blog about my kids, I shouldn't be singing it's praises all that much, since our human race depends on us preserving this beautiful planet, and it will be my kids' kids or their kids' kids problems.  Nevertheless, the weather over here in frosty Minnesota has been Ah. May. Zing.  This is the first winter in my entire life that I can recall no real snow to speak of.  Each time it did snow (I think it may have been three times or something like that), it all melted completely inside of a week.  There was only one day this winter that registered a subzero temperature (my poor mother was here from Florida), and it was a brownish Christmas at best. 

I'm not mad.  Not in the least.  On St. Patrick's Day this year, we sat outdoors in tank tops all day.  I remember waiting tables at Bennigan's where they had a tent out in the parking lot, and trudging through snow to deliver shots to my patrons.  Well, I'm not waiting tables anymore and I'm definitely not trudging through snow.  Those buds in the above photo have been growing in my backyard under the perfect spring conditions (75-80 degrees most days for the last couple of weeks), and Mother Nature has even watered them a couple of times.  I think it's safe to say that spring is here not only on the calendar, but in real life too.

Bettino has been enjoying what little life he knows outside of the house.  The only thing that makes me feel better about being at home most of the time is that the house is a whole lot bigger than my womb was and he did just fine in there.  Most of the time when we go out anywhere, he just sleeps anyway, so seems that new experiences don't excite him too much at this point.  Conversely, they lull him to sleep. 

His two month check up has him clocking in as another large baby (just like his sister was):  He weighs 13 lbs, 10 oz which puts him in the 89th percentile for all boys his age, and is 24.8 inches long, 95th percentile.  His head circumference is 15.5 inches, which is only in the 30th percentile.  Big body, little head.  Just like Alessandra was!  Bettino has good reason to be such a big boy as I told you last time, the kid eats voraciously.  Doc says that kids that age can't eat too much, so we'll just keep feeding him until he eventually turns into Big Baby from Toy Story 3.

Life would be a lot easier for me if Bettino COULD carry a bottle around with him all the time!

Just check out those chins!

Alessandra is toning down a leeeeetle beeeeet when it comes to loving up her brother.  I think the repeated nagging may have worked to a degree.  She still goes through all the same motions, but they're just...tamer.  Either way you look at it, we are fortunate that all she wants to do is hug and kiss him as opposed to throw him down the garbage disposal.

Bettino is a good boy in general.  He's content, but not as happy as his sister was, but then again, who is?  As their pediatrician said, it can skew your perception when you have an extraordinary performer first, because then your second, normal baby seems not-so-rock star at that skill, whatever it may be.  Don't get me wrong, Bettino IS a rock star all around as far as I'm concerned, just not a giggly rock star.  To make up for the lack of laughter, my boy sho' does love his mama.  And I will take that all day long.  A willing little bean to cuddle with?  Yes please.  Another characteristic of his introverted personality?  He rarely cries.  He just sort of grunts which becomes more pronounced the more agitated he gets.  The final stage of agitation is indeed to cry, and when he's particularly upset he begins to bleat like a little lamb.  "Baahahahahhaaaaa!!!!!"  Again, it's rare, so he must not be upset that much.  I'll take that too.

We are starting to get some smiles and little coos, so there's definitely a little personality in there waiting to emerge just yet.  Good thing he's so darn adorable.  That will keep me occupied until then, staring at his cute pudgy face and rubbing my nose and lips on his fuzzy head.  (It feels so nice and soft!  Is that weird???)  I also love the way he smells.

Cheeks = Chunky Monkey = One Million Kisses All Day Long

On St. Patrick's Day, we were very busy.  Ricardo ran his first race that morning and did very well!  He placed 1,294th  out of over 8,000 people in a 7k in downtown Minneapolis!

Good job, Cardo! 

While daddy was out running, an unexpected visitor broke into the house and cooked us breakfast.  A leprechaun turned our pancakes and orange juice green!

We then went to Sawyer's 4 year old birthday party, and afterward, I even got a night out with my friends!  It was glorious...Coors Light never tasted so good!

And speaking of glorious, here are some pictures of Ali enjoying the weather outside in our backyard.  I can't say that I miss her playing in the sandbox and tracking it all inside, getting it in her hair (her ringlets tend to act as sandtraps), and burying her stuffed animals, but anything is worth this beautiful weather!

Just look at those beautiful red lips!

Her eyes are still one of my favorite things about her.

Burying "puppy", her favorite stuffed animal

Well, hopefully I'll get to updating more often from here on out now that I'm at my computer more.  I started working from home this week, and I hate to say that it actually feels quite good.  

Until next week, I leave you this sugary sweet photo of my little monkey.

Hugs!

Life With Bettino - 7 Weeks

Well, I'm busy.  I don't ever recall maternity leave being so...maternity-ey.  Part of it might have to do with the fact that my son is a pig eats a lot.  So, the majority of my day is spent nursing him until I'm drained, and then making bottles of formula to satisfy him further.  That's when he drifts into a deep sleep (during the day), so I spend that time pumping in order to stockpile the good old mother's milk for when he goes off to day care and doesn't have me at his disposal.  Then he's up (through the night) for me to nurse him some more.  Oh yeah, and all that eating means a lot of pooping.  So, when I'm not feeding the child, I'm changing his diaper.  So, I'm tired.  Yeah.  He's lucky he's so darn cute.

 

He is very healthy and bouncing.  His cheeks are full, his skin tone (the thing we receive the most compliments on) is beautiful.  It's like a golden brown.  People (including me) pay lots of money to have skin that looks like his.  Bettino's eyes are black as coal, it's difficult to even see his pupils, exactly like Ricardo's.  Aren't all black eyes supposed to be evil?  Oh boy, I'm in trouble.

He's also starting to smile and coo a little bit, and just those little additions to his personality give me enough energy to get up and at 'em in the mornings.  Enough to perhaps take a shower and brush my hair.  I think I even put on makeup once since he's been around!

If you've been following along all this time (I don't doubt that several readers have dropped off given my long gaps between posts lately), then you know I was feeling pretty anxious about how Alessandra would handle all of this, or rather, that I would not be cognizant of her need to receive special attention.  I am happy to report that I think I am staying on task with that, as is Ricardo.  There are definitely times when we need to divide and conquer, but Ali doesn't seem to mind too much.

She successfully completed her first season of dance class, of which they wrapped up with an adorable performance to "Do You Know the Muffin Man".  This performance was done the day that poor Alessandra was feeling terrible.  I was so proud of her, just for plowing through it in the first place!

Their costumes were little chef's hats and wooden spoons.

They stirred stuff as part of the routine.  Adorable.

Blowing kisses at the end.

...And then she waves as if she just won the gold medal in the Olympics...

...But it was really just a cool "Certificate of Completion" and a cheap medal made of something quite different than gold.

My sick girl.  :(

What a trooper.

Uncle Mac and Marley also paid us a visit.  It was so wonderful to have all of us together (Mac, Marley, Team Torres, and Grandma Jo).  Grandma Jo also stayed home with the kiddos for a couple of nights so I could go out and indulge in a few postpartum drinks.  They were deeeelicious!  And lot o' fun.

Uncle Mac meeting Bettino for the first time

Marley and Ali missing each other.

Alessandra loves her Uncle Mac.

Love turns into a goof fest.

Me loving my little man

And not too long after Mac, Marley and Grandma Jo left, Grandma and Grandpa Torres came to meet their 8th and final grandchild.

I'm told I used to have eyes this big. 

Love my girl's curls.

Ali (and company) singing an early "Happy Birthday" to Grandpa Torres

There hasn't been so much regression with Ali, but more "I can do it too" behavior.  Case in point: 

Ummm...You know you're too big for your car seat when your head sticks clear out of it's cover's hole.

That's more like it, my little munchkin

So, all in all we are doing just fine, albeit a little bit busy  We've still got some time yet until we establish a routine, ergo, some bona fide rest, but it is all worth it, I assure you.  I start work next week and will work from home until Bettino is 12 weeks old, and he'll go to daycare from there.  Alessandra is more than eager to show him off to all of her friends there.  In between now and then, I do have to travel for work to a couple of places for a couple of days each, should be interesting to see how Ricardo does as a single dad during that time.  He'll be paying me back very soon when he heads to Vegas with a few friends next month.  I'd be lying if I said I weren't terrified!

Here's to hoping I find some time to start snapping more photos and posting weekly again, now that I've relieved the backup once again.

Happy March!

Introducing Bettino John Torres!

Bettino John Torres

Born Friday,  January 20th, 2012 at 10:32 am

8 lbs, 9 ozs

21.5 inches

As I sit here in my robe and pajamas, hair unkempt, teeth unbrushed, wondering how in the heck 2 1/2 weeks have already passed and I have still not found time to update my digital friends with this great news, I could not tell you.  What I can tell you is how our little journey to Awesome Pants #2 came about since it's good to record things like this for you and for me.

So, here is where we last left off:

39 weeks pregnant, and a little bit (okay, a LOT) over it.  See how happy I look??

I was 3 centimeters dilated and around 80% effaced for around 3 weeks.  Of course, anyone that I spoke to told me that when I finally went into labor, I just better hope I wasn't that lady on the news that just gave birth in her car on the way to the hospital.  Nice.

So, I was sure I was going to go early, and fast.  So I told mi madre to shake her skinny butt on over here a week early since we would need her here when i finally did go into labor...Early. 

So, she did, and it was good since Alessandra and Grandma Jo got some good one on one time in before she had to share her attention with a human raisin in the very near future:

They played dress up

And danced

So, we entertained each other and prepared the house and the baby things and each night before we went to bed we would all say to each other, "Tonight could be the night, you never know!" and each morning I would wake up and would still be pregnant and I would be a little bit disappointed but somewhat relieved at the same time.

Then, the Wednesday of my 39 week appointment arrived and when waiting for more news on progress, there was none.  So, Dr. West asked the same question she asked me at my 38 week appointment:  "Are you interested in an induction?"  At the same time that I said "No", Ricardo who happened to be there said "Yes".  I was pretty set on letting things happen naturally, but the more we discussed the option, the more it seemed like the right choice.  I could plan it so my doctor would be the one actually delivering him, we could be ultra-prepared at home knowing exactly when he would be born, and most importantly, I would NOT be giving birth on 35W with my very underqualified husband playing the role of doctor.  (He wouldn't have gotten that far anyway, he would've been passed out on the side of the expressway by the time the news cameras got there...)  So we chose January 20th at 6:00 am as the day and so it went.

We arrived at Abbott at 6, they started the Pitocin drip at 7, it started to hurt a little so they gave me my epidural at 8 and then I had a baby at 10:30.  Please and thank you.

Our first family of four photo

The obligatory big sister holding the little brother picture

And another...There will be lots of these, won't there?

Daddy's first time holding Bettino.  Photo taken awkwardly from my hospital bed.

Grandma Jo's first time holding Bettino.  And so it shall be written that she changed his very first diaper, all full of black tar poop and everything.

Insurance covered a two day stay in the hospital, but we felt so great that we went  home after one, and all was right in the world.

Back at home, we allowed ourselves to relax and let the initial euphoria wear off.  This paved the way for big sister suffocation intervention among other things.  To this day, we are needing to stay ever-vigilant to ensure that Alessandra doesn't kill her baby brother with love.  She likes to get very close to his face and hug and kiss him, oftentimes getting dangerously close to covering his little airways, she also likes to holler in his ears, shake his head, and place unsafe objects too near to his little head.   We are working with her all the time, and as much as I love my little girl, it is nice to send her off to daycare during the weekdays to allow for a little respite from nagging at her to "be gentle...like a feather" and feeling terrible since to her it probably appears that I am favoring the wee one over her while I protect him.

Her form of regression (as is always inevitable, I'm told) has been to misbehave in the way of being a very poor listener and also she is not so nice to her grandmother.  It is a thin line because as much as you want to put her in her place for acting this way as we normally would, we also know that this is an uber-sensitive time in her life and we don't want to further damage her little soul until all has settled in.

Bettino is healthy, happy and normal, and we are all adjusting as best we can to the lack of sleep as do all new parents.  All things considered, we are doing quite well.  It is wonderful to have my mom here to help, I'm not sure what we would have done without her.  She leaves next week and I'm pretty sure I might cry.  

Mac and Marley are arriving on Thursday and we are very excited to have the boys here.  It will be a welcome distraction for Ali to have her cousin here to go crazy with, and of course I am looking forward to having my family here all together.  More to come on that.  Until then, please enjoy these adorable photos from Bettino's very first session:

And a few more of the unprofessional variety: