Maine 2011

We took a grandparent bonding trip to Maine (Acadia National Park). Thanks to both sets of grandparents for surviving the long drive! We had a great time, minus cell phone, TV, and Internet for a week. How did we survive? We played lots of games (dan being the phase 10 champion for the week), explored the beautiful nature (great weather for 3 of the 5 main days), and all stared at baby josie the whole week! Searched all over but couldn't find the moose, but lots of deer and a fox! Thank you grandma and grandpa and grandma and poppa!

me and my girl

Since we've found that I seem to have no pics with the girl...dan snapped one of us snoozing on the couch and another when we caught her in a good mood one evening (which is a rarity....seeing that her "fussy period" is always b/t 7 and 9 at night! Oh well...she's so good during the day so we can't complain...and her morning smiles make the night forgettable!

love (and miss) uncle joey.....

Uncle joey came in from Arizona for our friend's wedding. He and Dan drove all the way back from the rehearsal dinner to meet Josie at the airport! She loved him and can't wait to see him in December! Here's some pics of their meeting!

Josie's 2 month MD visit---aka SHOTS!!!!

Today was Josie's 2 month check up....attached (hopefully if I got the uploads to work) you will see her vaccinations, her measurements, and just a view of her doctor's office. It was traumatic for both her and I to get the shots. I decided to get the flu vaccination as well so that she wasn't the only one in pain! Enjoy her videos:)

Josie's First (or second?) Airplane Ride!!!

So Josie was fortunate to finally fly after her MD gave her the ok after 6 weeks. We followed the guidelines and she ate on take off and landing so that her ears wouldn't pop and she did AWESOME! On her 2nd flight, the cabin pressure changed mid flight and she started screaaaaaaming...however, every baby started screaming and people were even awakening from sound sleeps it was so bad...but it resolved! On the last lag of our second flight, we were fortunate enough to have the entire back row to ourselves so I was even able to bring the carrier on. Josie had a window seat (airplane requirements) and all of the stewards were nice enough to personally show me the infant oxygen mask location if needed. We also got to board first and even got our own line in the security checkpoint. Traveling with a baby isn't so bad!

eyes still blue

Josie's eyes still appear to be light....like dan's....they change color according to what she's wearing. Sometimes they look blue, sometimes grey, and now a little greenish too....guess we'll still have to wait it out and see. But one thing's for sure...they are BIG beautiful eyes!

attempted photo shoot....attempted!

So here's 3 of probably 75 pictures that I attempted to take in our afternoon photoshoot.....needless to say....this will have to be redone. She was not diggin the tutu or the "boots with the fur."

Josie's 1st Italian Festival

So every year on or around Labor Day weekend, Dan's hometown of Fanwood, NJ hosts an Italian Festival. We usually stop in for an hour or so to 1. get zepole's (fried dough balls covered in powdered sugar), 2. dan wins me a prize at one of the games, 3. we buy 50/50 lottery tickets for the chance to win thousands in their drawing at the end of the weekend (no luck yet) and 4. just to maybe see some old faces that dan knew in high school. This year we dropped in with Josie. Dan...however was unable to win her a stuffed animal...however the effort and money put out in his attempts were worth a truch full! Don't worry baby...he'll win you one next year!

toes

We have the ink in hand and will be stamping out some hand and footprints this weekend...pics to follow, however here's a toe shot to hold you over until then!

J's 1 month check up

Today we went for Josie's 1 month check up! She measured in at a whopping....drumroll please..... 10.36 lbs (77th percentile), 21 inches length (50th percentile), and 60th percentile in head circumference! She also received her first shot out of the hospital. This was traumatic for both her and I! They stabbed her right into the left thigh. She went from happy baby looking at the lights and wiggling on the table to red, screaming until she stops breathing, tears running down her face baby in 2.2 seconds. I have NO pictures to represent this moment seeing that I scooped her up as quickly as possible to console her! However, at the 2 month appointment, Dan will be attending and we will be sure to capture her shot reaction! The following picture is a close re-inactment of the shocked shot reaction!

Why so serious?

This is one of J's typical "serious" faces. The pic is a little blurry and I'm sure we'll get tons more of these but she often furrows her brows and starts this face and it cracks us up every time!

pretty baby

These are just a few pics from the last couple weeks! J LOVES her hand massages... it almost prompts a smile but not officially yet! We've had a couple but nothing caught on camera yet! She DID smile twice on her 1 month birthday when I told her the line from "The Help". "You is beautiful. You is kind. You is important" and Dan caught a smile a couple times...but we're waiting on it to be captured on camera!

Crimmins in Charleston

So, after 16 hours....5 in torrential downpours....the three of us made it to Charleston, SC. Baby J slept pretty much the entire trip! I have to give a shout out to our new best friend, "passy!" We could not have done it without him! We rented a home in Charleston on the Isle of Palms for the entire Crimmins family! The private pool (partially salt water btw...which was awesome) was great and our weather could not have been more perfect! Josie had her first swim (which you'll see in pictures....was not liked at first but eventually, it soothed the diaper rash and she liked it)! She also finally met and was able to play with her other aunts and uncles and cousins! Other than that she spent the week napping in the cabana under the fan in a wicker laundry basket! Thank you so much to my parents for this amazing

week! We can't wait to do it again next summer!

planking

This is random but too funny to not share. If you are unfamiliar with the term "planking" either youtube it or check out Tash.O! This is dan's attempt at it!

Loose hips?

Today we went for J's first ultrasound OUT of the womb! She had probably 19 inside so that would make this her 20th ultrasound:) Dr. Doubek wanted to check her hips to make sure she didn't have Hip Laxity....which basically means loose hips and would mean that she would have to wear a brace to re-align them correctly! Josie was fortunate enough to have my FAVORITE doctor that I work with, Md. Pete Snieckus perform the procedure! Turns out....hips look good! No braces for the baby!

First Picnic!

Before we went to the hospital to get J's hip ultrasound, we met Dan for our first family picnic! Dan had a roast beef sandwich and chips from Panera (because Lisa totally ordered the wrong thing and didn't even realize it...but it was still delicious), Lisa got a spicy Thai chicken salad with edamame (my new tasty treat choice for the moment), and J had some sweet milk! The weather has been truly beautiful and it's a pleasure to be off work to enjoy it with my girl!

Our new BFF

meet....passy! YAY!

j's first md visit

Today we went for Josie's first doctor visit with Md. Doubek. She is the sweetest pediatrician and j seems to like her very much! Josie grew 0.5 inches bringing her to 20.5 inches and gained almost a pound from when she left the hospital bringing her to 8.4 pounds. It's hard to believe that she's still not as big as I was when I was born and just a tad bigger than dan at birth! She had a bath before the md visit and LOVED every bit of it! We have to go for an ultrasound of her hips next week to make sure that she doesn't need a brace b/c her hips feel a little "loose" according the the doctor. Keep your fingers crossed b/c braces on those legs in this summer heat would not be fun! Here's some pics from the obviously enjoyable bathtime and a couple in the doctor's office! in

found it!

While cleaning the condo today, I found what appeared to be a smooshed, old craisen in the doorway to our bedroom. This would not have been surprising seeing that in my preggo state, I used to DOWN bags of craisens in bed which is probably what led to my 2 new cavities! HOWEVER, this was no craisen...it was indeed Miss J's belly button! GOT IT! Preserved for la scrapbook!

projectile poop and the loss of the button

Today was a BIG day. Not only did daddy go back to work but josie lost her belly button. We are in search of it for the scrapbook but it is still MIA...i believe we will find it in between a thigh fold or concealed in the onesie! We also had a case of projectile yellow "seedy" poop. It shot OFF the changing pad, avoided the duvet cover, and landed on mommy's toe and flip flop. Josie then smiled and somewhat giggled?! to what I assume was the petrified look on mommy's face! There are no pictures to document this occasion seeing that I could not grab the wipe fast enough to get this stink mustard off of my foot!

lazy sunday

today was our first lazy sunday....we woke up, had some coffee, all bathed and then hung on the couch. Dan read, lisa took pics, and josie just hung for the day! dan goes back to work tomorrow....sad day for lisa and josie but we just may meet him for lunch!