Ultrasound Photos-20 weeks

Here she is opening her mouth. The tech said she was eating!
She looks like Theo when he was a baby.

That's the most perfect, adorable, tiny tushy! Hopefully 2 weeks from now I'll have photos of her facing the other way.

My Beautiful Melody Jade

I can't stop watching the first 60 seconds of this clip and sobbing. I've been singing "you're my beautiful Melody" (at 00.50 seconds on this video) since I found out we were having a daughter today. Or should I say yesterday...it's 4AM. I can't sleep! I'm too giddy!

Anyway, please watch the first minute.


Back in November I bought this mermaid costume. I knew it was silly but I couldn't help it!

It's not that I'm naming Melody after a mermaid, exactly, but I did fall in love with the name when seeing this movie years ago.

Joe and I are already planning Halloween. Theo would make a great crab, we agreed.

The sonogram was blissfully long...well over an hour. We saw Melody kiss her hand, and open and close her mouth several times--apparently she was eating! How fascinating! She has a perfect brain, spine, hands, feet...everything. And we swear her face looks just like her brother's.

I don't know whether to call her stubborn or calm. Try as we might, we could not flip her to see everything the ultrasound tech needed for his full evaluation, but hey, this means we get to go back in 2 weeks and see her again! She was squished between my back and placenta or something, and she looked cozy as anything. Her legs were up like she was lounging, and she simply had no interest in moving over for us. My silly girl!

The magical part about having a second child is the simultaneous newness and familiarity. Daddy's tears streaming down his face when we learn the sex...calling the grandmas who are waiting by the phone...the excitement of the growing belly...the celebrating and the fear...it's Theo all over again, but 4 years later, and therefore nice and fresh.

You have to hear Theo say Melody's name...I'll record it and post it soon. It's currently my favorite sound in the universe.

Artist at Work

Uncle Elliot and Aunt Gloria got Theo these magic fingerpaints for Christmas, where the color only shows up on this magic paper. Is that mom friendly or what? Incidentally, he's also wearing the pajamas they got him.

Theo was good about using one color at at time 'til he said screw it and mixed all the colors together, making some weird purple. This is exactly the way it goes with play-doh, too.

Why We Have Children

Ah, to be needed.

At 6:52 AM I heard a little groggy voice: "Moooommmy. Come."

Well, even a tired mommy can't resist a request like that! I went over and his arms reached out. All I did was sit next to him with my arms around him and he fell right back asleep (for 8 minutes...then the alarm went off). He needed nothing except to feel me next to him.

When the alarm went off, I went to stir my husband, who instructed me to lay with him for ten minutes before we move. "You too?" I giggled.

It was one of those moments in life where one feels utterly fulfilled and happy, because the people she loves love her and need her.

I really get why a single woman whose biological clock is ticking would go ahead and have a baby through artificial means or adopt. I'm about to break into "peooooooooople who need peooooooooople are the luckiest peeeeeeeeeeeople" in about two seconds! Good thing there's no sound on this thing...I don't do the best Streisand impression.

Belly Shot Numero Uno

Here's my first official belly shot, at 19 1/2 weeks. The clothes came off during the shoot and we got some pretty silhouettes, which I'll show upon request. :) They're artsy, after all! The idea is to do this every couple of weeks, or as much as possible.

Over the weekend, Joe and I watched the video of Theo's big sex-determining sonogram. We told Theo it was him on screen, but he resumed playing with cars, uninterested. The doctor told us that Theo had an erection. Theo certainly made his manhood very obvious that day! We were so proud--sniff sniff.

This Friday is the next big sonogram for this baby. I'm going crazy with anticipation. Wondering about the sex, and of course wondering if there will be 10 fingers and toes and hoping all is well. I can't think about anything else. I haven't slept well in a few days and don't imagine I will before Friday.

Random Stuff

Last night, Theo told Bruce to get dressed. I told him Bruce was already wearing an orange coat. Theo thought about this for a second, then told Bruce, "No! Coat off, sweater off! Get dressed!"

Also, it's become a nighttime routine for Theo to order me to lie in my bed after I put him to bed. The more tired he is, the more seriously he takes it. As in, if I disobey and go into the living room, he'll cry. So now I'm pretty much stuck with having to lie down in my bed every night after leaving him. Being the tired preggo that I am, sometimes I fall asleep and still have my contacts in and am fully clothed, but usually he's asleep after just a few minutes and I can sneak back into the living room.

Theo sure isn't boring, that's for certain.

Theo, Life of the Partay

I have friends of different varieties. I have the kind who don't care too much for kids, but like Theo well enough because he's mine. I have the kind who like kids and like to be around Theo in small doses. Then I have the kind who love kids and are practically friends with me because of Theo!

These photos are from Saturday night at Marcail's apartment. Marcail and Katie fall into the latter group of friends, and Saturday was spoil Theo night. Marcail happened to have two other friends over, both guys, and even THEY were wild about kids and spoiled Theo!

Demetrius adorns Theo with Marcail's apron, carefully concealing the Yankees' emblem.

Theo is focused on prepared Gluten-free brownies for Katie.

Marcail, Demo and Theo baking together!

Theo enjoying mommy's biggest craving, cheese doodles--my kind of kid. Actually, he's also kind of my kid.

Katie and Theo spooned on Marcail's bed but drifted apart after falling asleep. Theo started out under the covers, but as usual, kicked them off. He's been doing that since he was a newborn kicking out of his swaddle.

Adam drove me and Theo home around midnight, and groggy Theo sweetly clung to me in the elevator. Anyway, it's very rare that I bring Theo when I'm with friends, so I'm grateful to have this group of friends who have loved him since he was a baby. Although they were probably more into watching his Thomas the Tank DVD than they should have been.

Interactive Yoga

I was doing my prenatal yoga video last night. I can't say I was able to relax, since it was more like an aerobic routine with the monkey around. He was really cute doing stretches next to me, but then he got hyper and decided he was going to sit on me any time I was on my hands and knees, or crawl under me when my legs were apart, creating the perfect tunnel.

The best part, though: I was in downward dog (that's where you make an upside down V with your body) when Maow strolled up, parked herself beneath me, and started stretching.

Two Sweet Moments

1.This morning I sat down on Theo's bed and gently pet him awake. His eyes opened, blinking and groggy, and settled on me. He immediately held out his arms and pulled me in for a hug.

The rest of the morning went downhill from there (today he decided "No schoolbus. I want stay.") But I keep the mental picture of his long, skinny arms in Mets-covered sleeves and choose to ignore the tantrum that stemmed from my attempt to help him put his socks on since we were running late.

2. On Sunday morning Joe let his preggo wife sleep in. When I woke up, I lay in bed a while playing my Nintendo DS, with Bruce's front paws on my face as he lay next to me, purring.

I love all my kids.

Ode to Da Daddy

Theo has no school today because of a conference, so he gets to have a day with daddy. I just called to say hello to my boys, and they were at the playground and then going for chicken nuggets.

Joe has always changed as many diapers as I have. He packs lunch, gets Theo dressed, takes him to the schoolbus. He takes him to the toilet and makes a big celebration when Theo is successful. He is always first to jump up at Theo's request for cereal or a drink.

When Theo was a baby you could always find him strapped to Joe on the baby carrier.

He is simply the best. He's the new generation of DAD and a superdad at that. I'm incredibly lucky to have him, and I don't know how so many moms do it all alone.

Now that I'm pregnant --yes, it's my first time announcing it on this blog, I'm pregnant!!!!--Joe is eager to come to all my appointments just to hear the heartbeat. There are so many worries that go along with bringing a baby into the world, and it feels good that I can at least rest assured that this baby will have the planet's best dad.

And don't even get me started on what a great cat daddy he is...

Mommy, What Happened?

Yesterday, on Little Christmas, Joe took down the tree and put it outside while Theo was at school. So when Theo came home and saw the big empty space where the tree was, he produced a great sentence! He held out his hands and said, "Mommy, what happened Christmas tree? Christmas tree gone. Not here."

Poor thing was pretty disappointed and perplexed! He loved that tree! He even went into the kitchen to look for it.

His reaction to tossed trees laying on the street is always "Oh no!"

Oh well, 'til next year...

Santa Big Boy

Theo gets an A+ for his behavior when meeting Santa on Saturday. He stood on the 40 minute line like a pro, and sweetly said hello to Santa when he met him. His excitement grew as he watched the other kids sit on the big red guy's lap. I think it's cool that we have the same Santa every year...it makes our photos consistent!

Santa is conveniently located smack between a Haagan Daz stand and a Pretzel Time stand. I don't think there was one parent on line who didn't negotiate a treat for their kid as a reward for good behavior during the wait. And you know Theo with his "First ___ then ____" negotiations.

This is the first year Theo has shown true Christmas excitement. He was in the bath when Joe brought home our tree, and when he came out and saw the giant tree, he shouted "Christmas!" He was unbelievably adorable helping us decorate. He told us "I want to help" and put all the balls in clusters at the very bottom, and if that wasn't hysterical enough, he found a wire hanger lying around on my bed and thought "hmm, that has a hook," and he stuck that on, too! Visual representation of this on the right. ----->

Unfortunately, we couldn't keep the balls where he put them because the cats went to town. Bruce and Maow are enjoying the tree as much as we are. It's one big playground for them.

Halloween 2007

Betcha didn't know there was a yellow brick road in Union Square...




We had a cranky and exhausted Tinman until we got to the parade. We got to be in the parade with the ASPCA. The three of us eventually broke away from our group and went skipping down the parade route, Oz style. We had never been so photographed!

School Visit

I went to visit Theo's school the other day. First thing in the morning, 8:30, was his occupational therapy session with Karen. Karen is really wonderful with him. You know how I'm always saying how fun his school is and how I wish I could go there? Case in point: this video. Here he is on his airplane swing. There are all kinds of swings that work different parts of his body and his coordination. And he always gets to choose which swing he wants! She told me he chooses different things, which made me happy.

For a while we couldn't tell if he was a lefty or righty, but it's finally starting to show that he's dominant with the left.

After the swing, Theo hung out upside down, then did the spider walk. He likes to do these things at home in our hallway.

After the physical stuff was done, we sat at the table and Theo cut out leaves (I was proud to see him cut curves!) and glued them on a giant tree on the wall.

Back in the classroom, I sat with Theo as he ate breakfast. I noticed most of the kids barely touched their cereal, but not my boy--he finished his, and drank all his milk. And he opens the milk carton by himself! I still can't do that, which is why I buy the gallons with the cap top.

Next, Yushi came to do speech therapy. I told her that when I ask him about what he does at school every day, he just says Grace or names a kid, and it would be helpful if I knew what he did. So now she's been sending home pictures of his activities, which has been incredibly helfpul.

In the computer room, it was so cute to see Theo with an actual mouse. Last time I was there he was using the touch screen. Here he is clicking on bubbles to pop them -- definitely a Theo game. Each kid has a job to do every day, and they rotate. Today was Theo's turn to be calendar leader. Grace, his teacher, went over the day of the week and the date, and Theo got to attach the date to the corresponding number on the calendar. It was cute to see how excited he was to do his job, as all the other kids were with theirs.

After that, they sang a few songs. That's when I left. I gave Theo a hug goodbye and he made a sad face. When I reached the door and turned around to look back at him, I realized he was crying. Which is, you know, both heartbreaking and incredibly satisfying for a mommy.

To be honest, I wrote the good things about the visit. With every visit there are a number of hard things for me to see, like Theo sometimes not being quite with it or on the level of most of his classmates. But it's more fun to write about the cute stuff, and for now it's enough to know he loves school and he's where he needs to be. I can see that the teachers are really prepping him for kindergarten now. They are working on his socialization and sometimes he does his therapy sessions with one or two other kids. And he certainly absorbs everything, even though it doesn't always show at school--it shows at home. Theo's an observer.

Piano Man

Whenever my mom comes over, she and Theo play the piano. She's taught him some amazing things, like where middle C is and how it's next to the two black keys. You'll see that in video number two.

I often find Theo sitting at the piano playing a tune. Sometimes he bangs like a normal kid would, but other times really pretty music comes out! He's so sweet to watch. His face is focused and he is fascinated.

Sorry these videos are so dark. I wish I knew how to fix that.

I get a kick out of the fluctuation in his notes. And the way he says pamio instead of piano. Check out this super cute ending!

This video begins with Theo asking to go to the mailbox. He loves mailing stuff!

Cats in Protest

Bruce and Maow protested Joe's leaving for Cincinnati this weekend, as evidenced by these photos:

Well, this one is just of Maow and a sock.

Day Out with Our Buddy Katie

We met outside the Plaza, then headed into Central Park.

Katie's first carousel ride ever!

Theo polished off his entire bowl of egg drop soup.

He almost finished this giant plate of fried rice, beef, and broccoli!

Crackin' Me the Hell Up

Dictator Theo is hysterical. He has rules for everything and is unbelievably demanding.

If I'm watching TV, and he's trying to get my attention and I'm ignoring him, he'll stick his face directly in front of mine and say "helloooo-oooooo." It's the funniest thing!

He has a game where he sits down on the couch and I lay down and put my legs on his lap so he can drive his little car up and down my legs. God forbid I'm not in the mood for a game or sitting up on the couch. "Mommy, sit here! Mommy, lay down! Right here, mommy! Come on, mommy!"

Yesterday morning I was putting on my bra, and it was below my boobs while I was attaching the clasp in the back. He said, "No mommy, up here" and tried to move my bra up over my boobs the way it's supposed to go. So friggin funny.

The other night I was exhausted and he refused to go to bed. Finally, I gave up and I told him "Do what you want, mommy is going to bed." And so what did he do? He brought me the pillow from his bed! The silly little sweetie!

When we get to the playground, if I follow him to the slide he corrects me and orders me to take my usual spot on the bench. He points to the bench and says "Mommy, go sit down!"

He is a riot to hang around! We're always, always laughing at what comes out of his perfect little mouth.

Sunday in Harlem

Friday, after I fired my babysitter for not being there when the school bus dropped off Theo (I'm still too mad to write about it), he cheered me up by being a cutie pie when I took him for comfort pizza.


Sunday we went to Harlem for some authentic fried chicken, and to visit that lovely side of Central Park with the gardens and fountains...it's just stunning, I love it over there.

HIT PLAY TO SEE THIS VIDEO



Theo was a daredevil on the tire swing. He is so strong, he had no problem holding on, and daddy just couldn't push him fast or high enough! That other little boy you see in the picture above--he's also 4, and he was terrified. He made his dad go very, very slowly.


Theo gathered shells and brought them to me one at a time.


Check this out...you can actually see the penny going in. Do you see it?





My handsome, statuesque husband and my fascinated-by-the-fountain cutie.

I Love This Boy

Spend Sunday with the Orecchios

I love Sundays. It's the one day we get to do everything as a family.

1. Wake up, eat breakfast. I made a power omelet - egg whites, tomatoes, and asparagus.

2. Laundry - whoohoo!

3. Dunkin Donuts for coffee and munchkins. Theo ate his usual glazed donuts until he spotted another boy with powdered munchkins. After that it was all over. He HAD to have "the white ones." Luckily, the other mom suggested a trade, so we didn't have to spend a whole-gasp-extra dollar!

4. Playground

5. Haircuts for daddy and Theo. Awwwwwwwwwwww. Theo was so excited to watch Joe get his, and couldn't wait for his turn. How do I have this kid who makes everything easy? I'm so lucky! He can get excited about anything! Laundry, haircuts. Sheesh! Someone needs to send him a memo explaining the real fun things on life.

6. Train time! Off to the San Gennaro festival we went, in Little Italy. We got some zeppolis and Theo ended up wearing white powder all over his black sweatshirt. We sat outside at some cute corner restaurant, and Theo ate most of my Rigatoni alla Vodka (grrr) and a bunch of my broccoli. [See Gloria, I give him other things besides rice and beans!! :) ]
Like I said, he's so good. Since it was a special day, I let him put way too much butter on his bread.

7. At home, it didn't take long for Theo to pass out after a day like that. Or us. We passed out watching the Emmys.

Pajama Fashion Show

Moooom, I know I look cute, just let me sleep already. Enough with the camera!





zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Saturday With Uncle and Aunt

Theo and I traveled to Bayside on Saturday to spend some quality time with Uncle Elliot. Ell bought us Mexican food, we briefly met up with the parents, and journeyed back to Ell's area.

At the playground, Theo wouldn't leave my brother alone. "Ewwwwiot! Ewwwwiot!" He made Elliot help him cross the swinging bars repeatedly, and Elliot chased Theo all around the playground. Up the ladder, down the pole, etc.


Don't you love the dual baseball caps?

Theo wouldn't let Elliot stop, he kept turning around and making sure his uncle was following him, hysterically laughing. I have some video evidence of their cuteness:



Back at Elliot's house, Gloria came home and took Theo back out to the park!

Hence his sweatiness. Theo's aunt and uncle spoiled him with chocolates, bananas and juice.

I'm really glad that Theo has gotten to know them and gets excited when he finds out he'll see them. Warms a mama's (and sister's) heart. Elliot and I sat on the couch playing video games, and he mused about Theo playing with us in a couple of years. I can't wait!

Little Genius...Future President?

Last week, Joe taught Theo about the first president while showing him a quarter. The next day, Joe asked Theo,"Who was the first president of the United States?"

Theo thought about it for a few seconds, then responded, "Quarter."

Theo's First Day of Preschool: Year Two

This morning, Theo and daddy drew together as we waited in the lobby for the school bus. Theo's been asking about school all week, and he was so excited to finally be able to go! We went to the window and his face smiled at us through the glass as they drove off. And so another year begins.

I was disappointed to see that there was a different driver and bus matron, but they seemed nice enough. We'll miss Miriam and Sharon, though!

I wonder what he's doing right now. Probably all kinds of introduction songs and having a blast. He'll be with some of the same kids, and some new kids. This year, he'll be the pro!

Max starts kindergarten this month. He'll be going on a school bus too, as Ethan and Alexander already do. All the boys are so big now, it's insane!

Munchies Glorious Munchies

Theo's got vanilla swirl in one hand and chocolate chocolate chip in the other (mommy's favorite). He was so funny alternating bites from both cones that I had to whip out the camera!



This is from our Starbucks excursion. Look at him lounging...such a New Yorker already!



Such a big boy! I love you so much, little man.