Time, please stand still!

Oh, I just can't believe our little boy is already one month old!  It makes me quite sad actually that time could slip by me so fast.  People tell us enjoy every minute because they pass so quickly...and you suspect they are right, but you really have no idea how fast until you want time to stand still for as long as possible.  This has been such an amazing month.  We have learned so much, and I think we are getting the hang of parenthood.  We discovered just how magical Mylicon is, and Gripe Water is pretty special, too.  Passing on this vital information to other new parents is so much fun, too.  We all sigh in relief when we find out there are solutions to some troubling situations, like when you OD your kid on formula!

Vincent is becoming more alert during the day and sleeping for up to 4 hours at a time at night.  That extra hour is wonderful!  But he likes to stay awake for about 2 hours in the middle of the night.  He likes to walk around, slow dance, and rock with me, and even though it's hard to keep my own eyes open, it is an incredibly special time for us.  I'm not sure there has been a day or night that has gone by that I haven't looked into my little boy's eyes and thanked God for His gift to us.  I look at Vincent's sweet face as I try to sing lullabies (what am I supposed to buy if that diamond ring don't shine?) and tears roll down my cheeks.  I cry all the time over how beautiful and perfect he is.  I cry because I am just so overjoyed, it's almost like I can't contain all the love I feel for him.  I cry because for so long I never thought I'd hold a baby of our own, and here he is!  I cry because we have been so blessed.  I cry because I want to remember each moment and I can't.  I want time to stand still and it won't.

And then, watching Anthony with him is so fun, too.  I have to tell you how impressed I am with how quickly Anthony slid right into fatherhood.  He holds, bounces, sways, soothes, feeds, and changes Vince without hesitation-and there isn't a poopy diaper that he tries to pass off on me.  What a guy!  He says Vincent is so cool, and even though he sounds like such a "dude," he sums Vincent up perfectly!

I miss my big belly, I miss how little Vincent was a month ago, and I wish I could remember that time better.  I thought I would never forget, but I did, and that makes me sad.  During those 2 am rock-a-thons I think of all these poetic ways to journal my feelings, and then, well, the moment passes and the words slip out of my memory.  Maybe Vincent hears me though, perhaps he understands.  I hope he feels how much he is loved.

Vincent Gets Baptized

This was a blessed weekend.  Vincent received the Holy Sacrament of Baptism.  It was a day Anthony and I had prayed would happen for a long time now.  All babies are special, and we do believe that all life is a miracle...but Vincent is a miracle baby indeed.  So many prayers have been sent his way, even before he was conceived, and we give thanks to God everyday for blessing us with such a perfect child.  

We wanted to have Vincent christened while my parents were still in town so that he would have all four of his grandparents there for the ceremony.  Vincent's Godfather, Brian, came out, too which was a special surprise.  He has much to celebrate these days:  his engagement to Katie and the birth of his niece, Emma Rose.  She is only 3 weeks younger that Vince, and she was born the day after Brian arrived!

Nine other children were christened,  too, since baptisms are not performed during Lent.  So the oil, Holy water, and candle are all newly blessed from Easter last week.  Vincent slept throughout the whole Mass and Christening.  He was such a sweet little boy.

God Bless Vincent Joseph!

Vincent's First Easter

This is our friend's son, EJ, holding Vincent.

Louise's mom, Lorraine.
Uncle Tom


Our day began by ringing up Babci's house on Skype.  It is so amazing to be able to show Gram and Papa Vincent in real time on the computer.  They love to see Vince wiggle, yawn, stretch, and smile.  We loved being able to talk with Baby Blaise, too.  That's my mom in her glory getting to see him blow kisses to her.  He's so cute!  Vince can't wait to play with his cousin when we come home in June.

We all went to Mass, an hour early much to my dad's chagrin.  Dad was annoyed that we were fighting the people coming out of the early Mass to get into the late Mass.  But we had good seats!  Vincent was so good the whole time.  Afterwords, we went to Chris and Lorraine Kulpinski's for Easter Lunch.  Louise's parents always host Easter, and it's always a nice afternoon.  We sat poolside and enjoyed the beautiful weather while Vincent was held by everyone.  As much as I love how little he is, I am looking forward to hiding Easter eggs and sneaking chocolate out of Vincent's Easter basket!

My Cousin Vinny

Here is a great picture of James and Justin, the two youts, with their cousin Vinny!  Weez brought the boys over earlier this week, and they came bearing a very special edition copy of our new favorite movie, My Cousin Vinny.  I'd say we have ourselves 2 very qualified babysitters!  Vince has so much to learn from the boys.  I hope he grows up to be just as compassionate, intelligent, athletic, and funny as his big cousins.  Just wait until he meets the rest of his cousins in KY, VA, and CT!

Vince is 2 weeks old already!

We just can't believe how fast these past two weeks have flown by.  So often I find myself just looking down at Vincent's sweet little face in amazement, and I just cry.  Our lives have been completely changed forever, and it is just wonderful.  Vincent hans changed our perspective on everything.  I look at everything differently now.  While he was in my tummy, I used to be able to read books to Vincent with great expression, but now, I can't even get through the first few pages of Guess How Much I Love You without breaking down in tears.  Even Anthony has a hard time reading about Little Nut Brown Hare!

So here are a few snapshots of the little boy.  He makes the funniest faces-and he loves to hold his fists up to his ears and cover his eyes while eating.  Remember that crazy 3-D ultrasound?  Vincent still loves to fan out his hand next to his face in that same pose.    Happy 2 weeks old baby boy!  We love you!

First Few Days at Home

Baby Vince is so lucky to have all four of his grandparents here to welcome him home. They love to hold and rock and love this little boy. It's so hard to put him down. We are adjusting well, getting used to being up all night, but not used to functioning during the day. We keep telling ourselves to nap while the baby is down, but it's been pretty busy around here with visitors and trying to finish up all the little things hat we were supposed to do before the baby came early! By now we all know that UCONN lost to Michigan State, but we did all watch the game as a family. Vince already loves watching sports with Daddy! Anthony is gearing up for the Master's with Vince next weekend. I have a feeling my posts will become shorter and shorter...it's taken me all day to get these last couple done! Enjoy the pictures!

Welcome Baby Vincent!

Vincent Joseph Mandrola was born Thursday, March 26, 2009 at 6:45 am. He weighed 7 pounds 0 ounces and was 21 and 3/4 inches long. Well, here he is! Vincent has finally arrived. I wish I had something more prolific to say, but if I'm being honest, I just can't find the right words to describe just how perfect and amazing Vincent is. No words seem to match up to the grandure of our feelings. Going from no baby to baby has been surreal and wonderful. If I were playing that game where you say the first thing that pops in your mind, I would choose words like miracle, blessing, lucky, in love, happy, sweet, perfect, tiny, busy. Here are a bunch of pictures from our stay in the hospital. We had wonderful care, from triage, to labor and delivery to recovery. We were admitted right after my routine OB check-up on Tuesday evening because of my elevated blood pressure. Long story short, I was put on magnesium and an epidural, and did not start pushing until Thursday morning at 4 am. Tara and Jerri got me through delivery and helped Anthony become the best coach ever. 2 hours and 45 minutes later, Vincent Joseph Mandrola made his appearance with the help of Dr. Sawyer, the best OB ever. It was a rough delivery, but all worth it! He was wonderful. Once I was moved to recovery, Yulia, Debra, Kara, and Michelle took good care of all of us. We stayed in the hospital until Saturday afternoon. Vincent got to watch his first UCONN basketball games right there in hospital! All is right in the world.