The LaGreca Family

Yes!! Anthony is 4 months old today. I can’t believe it!

He is a joy to have around. The happiest little guy that I know. Loves his Mommy, can’t stop smiling at his Daddy and giggles at his brother ALL the time.

He is such a gift to this family.

Do you ever think to yourself — “Why can’t I just be content?” It’s a simple question…but I bet your answer is probably complicated, just like mine.

There is always SOMETHING, right? If it’s not this, it’s that. We fix one thing and something else breaks. We clean up a room only to find it dirty/messy 5 minutes later. One good night’s sleep followed by 5-6 awakenings the next night. It’s always something.

Do I sound like the Mother of two young children — just trying to make it through another day? Yup.

You know, it’s not bad…it’s just hard. And it’s really no surprise, after all — who ever said that raising kids was easy?

Tonight, both boys were in bed, asleep by 8:02pm. That is miracle. I was happy. It’s 8:45pm, and I have already taken my shower. Another miracle. Now, if I can convince myself to turn the light out by 9:30pm…that would surely be the third miracle of the night!

So I guess I should feel content right about now, right? It sure sounds like it…but, it was a tough day. A very long day. It didn’t end up quite like I would have liked it — but as they say, “there is always tomorrow.”

Maybe tomorrow I will feel more content…after all, that is the way Anthony lives his life. How hard can it be?

How in the WORLD am I going to be able to say good-bye to this face? (for 8+ hours at a time)

The longest I have been apart from this little angel is 5 hours (not counting sleep time–but even then–I have been right next to him or just down the hall).

Monday is going to be tough.

Oh, the things you get excited about as a mom. Napping and bedtime are probably two of the biggest for me. We have VBS this week at church (vacation bible school) and it’s BUSY! NCL didn’t take a nap yesterday and we ALL needed one. And then, to make matters worse, he was up nearly the entire night last night (no exaggeration). We were all hurting today (except Anthony – who slept great last night).

I promised NCL that I would take him to the park if he took a nap. The boy was TIRED. He went to sleep right away and slept for 2.5 hours! Anthony slept for 2 hours!! And i laid down to rest (even fell asleep for a bit).

So, when NCL woke up – we went to the park. Just him and me

More VBS fun tomorrow… And for my birthday, I would like another quiet afternoon.

I am pretty sure that time speeds up with every year that goes by..anyone agree?  It’s already the end of July….my birthday is around the corner..and Anthony is THREE months old today!!!!

In honor of AJ’s 3 month birthday, I guess I better finish my Birth Story and get that sent out..just for fun, huh? It took me a long time to write (in fact, I am pretty sure I remember typing up the end while we were on our road trip..I haven’t touched it since, but I think it’s nearly done). I feel like April 27th was just a few weeks ago..not 3 MONTHS ago!  That day was so awesome.

Let’s see if I can sum up the little guy’s accomplishments thus far:

• He still has a full head of dark hair (minus the part that he continues to rub off while sleeping)
• He eats quite a bit these days (I was able to nurse him 100% of the time, up until he was 6 weeks old – and then we had to start supplementing.  I promised myself I wouldn’t freak out about it with baby #2 and I was able to stay very calm about it.  If my kid eats everything I have for him and he is still hungry, then all I can say is Thank God for formula — and give him a bottle).
• He smiles/giggles ALL the time. It’s SO easy to get him to smile. I feel like I had to work a lot harder with NCL, but AJ is perfectly happy when I walk into the room and say his name.  It’s adorable.
• He only cries for 3 reasons:  (1) He is hungry (2) He is tired or (3) He has a dirty/wet diaper
• He loves to be carried in the Baby Bjorn — and that is probably his favorite place to nap
• I can NOT complain about his nighttime sleeping.  For the past 4 nights he has slept 8-10 hours. It’s pretty amazing.  Our trick:  fill him up with LOTS of food (breastmilk and formula).  That’s it. It was the same with Nicholas as a baby..as long as their bellies were/are full..they will sleep. (Now, if only Nicholas would go back to that..sleeping the whole night..then we would ALL be rested…..I guess I can’t have everything, right?)
• He is starting to grab at toys that are hanging over him or are in front of him. He seems to favor his left hand — hmmmmm.
• He isn’t rolling yet — but I think maybe that is our fault. He doesn’t get as much tummy-time as he should. Bad parents!
• He loves the pacifier. A lot.  He rarely nurses to sleep (which is so strange to me!)  — he would prefer to eat and then have his paci. As soon as I put the paci in his mouth, his body relaxes, his eyes cloths and he goes to sleep. I wonder if we will have a hard time getting rid of the paci one day…we shall see.
• He is a complete joy to be around.  I love hanging out with him everyday.

We are madly in-love..all over again.

Three months…really?  Gosh, this means I have to go back to work soon.  Ugh!  I am going to miss my baby!