Xmas in NYC

We made it home from our whirlwind trip to New York for the holidays. The travel there and back was exhausting and not without mishaps. I've become convinced every Mirrione/Sosa trip will be filled with challenges. Rental car at the wrong airport, stroller left at the gate, delayed planes, etc. is just our fate; we are beginning to embrace it. Leo did well on all the flights and did a lot of sleeping. Overall, he was lacking sleep during the whole trip so he wasn't 100%. He still charmed everyone with his newly-discovered dance moves and long eyelashes.

Rosa's

For Tom, the holy grail of New York pizza is Rosa's Pizza in Middle Village (Queens). Apparently, Mike has similar feelings for Rosa's and both guys make Rosa's their first stop when they get to town. We actually had leftover Rosa's for breakfast on Christmas morning. But one Rosa's trip isn't enough, so we headed there for dinner on Friday night with Ruth and Mike. Leo seemed to really like it.

The Big City

If we are going to fly all the way to the East Coast, we are going to head into Manhattan. It is an exhausting adventure, but totally worth it.

Here's Leo waiting for the Long Island Rail Road. He really like riding the train and sharing a real New York bagel with his mom. We walked from Penn Station to Rockefeller Center to see the big tree. And indeed it is a very big tree. Here's Leo and I and about half the population of the United States.

Mike, Leo and Tom.

Tom thought it would be a good idea to let Leo walk around the center a bit. That didn't last long since it was extremely crowded. So crowded, in fact, as soon as we got a couple of good pictures, we high-tailed it out of there.

Leo fell asleep on the walk from Rockefeller Center to the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle. He actually slept through a very nice lunch at a fancy restaurant overlooking the park. Tom and I couldn't believe how lucky we were to enjoy the meal with two hands and engage in adult conversation.

Mike, Leo and Tom at Columbus Circle. After this picture, we caught a cab and headed back to Penn Station to get the train.

Tom and Leo having fun on the train.

Christmas Day

Christmas day, after our Rosa's breakfast, we all had a nice nap and then headed over to Uncle Sal's. Sal and Barbara made a beautiful meal and let us pretty much take over. Leo had his second nap in his portacrib in their room, so Tom and I got a chance to eat, play Caitlin's new Wii and visit. When he woke up, he was in a good mood and enjoyed playing with his cousins.

Here are Nicole, Leo and Caitlin. Mike and Leo.

Caitlin and Sal battle it out on Wii tennis.

Gathering in the living room for Wii and fun.

Christmas Eve

After flying in on the red eye and going from JFK to La Guardia for the rental car, we were all pretty pooped. We took a nap at Ruth's and Leo caught a decent nap as we traveled from Queens to Staten Island to celebrate Christmas Eve at Aunt Marie's. The traffic getting there was pretty ugly, but we had an amazing view of Manhattan. Marie had a ton of food and a full house. The party was fun, but their tradition is to stay up until midnight for gift opening on official Christmas. This isn't easy to do for a mom and baby that have missed many, many hours of their normal sleep pattern. Leo actually was able to get a little sleep in the portacrib, but when he woke up at a little past 1 am, we had to rush out of there. I have no idea how much longer the party went on, but we needed to head out. Unfortunately, we had to run to the car in the hardest, wettest, meanest rain I've ever experienced. Crazy. Needless to say, once we were back at the hotel (after 2am), we slept like the dead.


Alex helps Leo get into a festive mood.

Leo with Nicolas and Joshua. These are two of Jessica's three sons. Jessica is a second cousin to Tom.

Grandma Anne opens her gift from us, a photo collage of Leo.

Marissa and Mike.

Family shot. (I intentionally edited out my lower half b/c I am wearing the most unflattering jeans in the history of denim. I doubt I'll ever put them on again after seeing this picture.)

Rough Day

Leo's fever improved during the night, but it has come and gone all day. And what a day it was. Last night, I noticed his right testicle looked a little purple, but I figured he must of landed on a toy or something and bruised it. (I'm sure he'll be thrilled to know I discussed his testes on the internet.) This morning it was swollen, which made me nervous, especially in combo with the fever. I called the doctor and she said to take him right to urgent care. I ended up letting him have his morning nap first since he didn't seem particularly uncomfortable. Thank god I did because we were there for five hours. We started out in urgent care and spent over two hours in a small exam room. This was definitely a test of my creative mothering skills to keep Leo entertained during that time. We had a surgery consult and the docs decided we needed to have an ultrasound. Thankfully, Tom was able to come over from work and help me take Leo and all our stuff down to the imagining center. Leo was a trooper during most of the ultrasound, but he become frustrated with how long it was taking and peed on the tech. He began to really fuss so I nursed him while she finished up. It was awkward and stressful, but I'm glad we got through it. Back up to our favorite urgent care exam room to wait for the results. By this time, Leo was way overdue for his afternoon nap and melting down. The doctor (who was really great) came in to explain Leo has a hernia. An inguinal hernia, to be exact. It is somewhat common in little boys. It will require surgery to correct it, but it isn't urgent. The doctor said we can wait a few weeks or even a few months. I think we are going to try to do it sooner rather than later. It was a stressful day for everyone. Worrying that much is exhausting. We definitely feel lucky that it isn't something more serious, but I dread sending my baby into surgery.

We're off to New York tomorrow (on the red eye), so I'll post once we're back in town.

Merry Christmas

We celebrated our little family Christmas slightly early since we'll be in New York for the actual event. Unfortunately, Leo isn't feeling well. Poor kid. He enjoyed opening gifts, but then got pretty fussy and didn't eat much dinner. The thing with sick kids is they nap really well and are extra cuddly, so you kind of enjoy it (but feel guilty). You're also are practically sick yourself with worry. I hoping he makes a speedy recovery so he's in good shape to travel. I don't want to fly to the East Coast with a sick kid. I plan to get up at least once tonight to check on him, administer some Tylenol and makes sure he has some fluids. It will be just like the little baby days.


Here he is opening gifts.

Reading his new Belly Button Book while playing with his belly button.

A garbage truck from Mama (but Dad seems to like it too).

He got a cool bucket of planes, trains and automobiles from his Great Aunt Marie. It even had a couple of boats that we plan to try in the bathtub.

And the "big" gift. A Kettler "Go Green" tricycle made from 95% recycled materials.

He's still pretty little for it but I think he realizes it will very fun very soon.

Reading a new monkey book with his new spider monkey.

Holiday Cookie Swap

I organized and hosted a holiday cookie swap with my moms' group. Each person brought a batch (or two) of homemade cookies and then went home with a few from each batch. Only a handful of moms and kids showed (pretty typical for this group), and I got left with a lot (I'm mean a whole lot) of cookies. Nothing makes me realize how much I lack in the Christmas music and decorations departments like throwing a holiday party.

Here are all the cookies laid out.

The kids playing.

Check out the eyelashes on Addison.

Santa is one scary dude

Playdate with a purpose

Cara, Addison's mom, organized a playdate and an opportunity for members of the moms group to drop off donations for a local community center. I brought a number of items, included a whole bunch of diapers that Leo has outgrown. It feels good to give. I highly recommend it.

Here are Sophia and Leo. Sophia and Ava checking out the bus (that thing was really popular, but made a lot of annoying noise)

The Arborist

Walking

Over the last couple days, Leo has become almost a full-time walker. He only crawls when he wants to go as fast as possible, like when he's trying to run away with a poopy diaper. He loves to walk around the house carrying various objects. Today he wandered into the living room with a stapler, so very proud of himself.

Here's the man on the move.

Seal Beach visit

We spent the weekend in Seal Beach visiting family, specifically my Uncle Tim who was in from Michigan to soak up some California sun. We arrived Friday evening in time to attend the Seal Beach Christmas Parade. It was Leo's first parade and he loved it. LOVED IT! He missed his afternoon nap and stayed up two hours past bedtime, but was totally thrilled with all the kids, cars and drums he witnessed marching down Main Street. It was a great time.

Here's Leo having fun with Aunt Sheila at the tot lot on the beach. Tim, Sheila and Nana

Oops, face-plant in the sand

"Hello?"

"It's for you"