Reminiscing

One Year ago...

39 Weeks


Damn!

Gobble Gobble

Anna's first Thanksgiving was a wild success!  She wore her comfiest jeggings to avoid any feelings of guilt while overeating, took a couple good naps, played and had fun, and ate everything in sight at the Thanksgiving table.  It was so fun to have her sitting there as part of our meal. (Even though she had a meltdown just as we were sitting down pretty much yelling FEED ME NOW I AM STARVING OMG!) Please see this photo as proof:

Oh I'm sorry.  If you can't see, try this:

FEED MEEEEE

Fun was had by all!

Everyone had fun place cards too!

Handprint turkeys.  Take 1 of MANY I'm sure.

It was really nice to have 4 days off all together. We all got to do some things we wanted. Some relaxing, some cleaning, lots of eating, Doug went hunting for the first time this season, Anna had a sleepover with Gram & Pop, Doug & I went out for a friends birthday - had a nice dinner and drinks out in Red Bank... it was really a relaxing weekend. When I headed back to work today I felt like I had been gone for a LONG time - which is the sign of time well spent!

Somewhere in the middle of all of this, little miss decided she'd like to try walking. The first time she did 3 steps between me and Doug and that was that. Random, it seemed.  Then about 2 days later she did it a few times in a row. I got one on tape & I love it:

Now she is much more brave. She will take up to eight steps in a row. She mostly is just wobbly and can't keep it up for too long, ends up bending in half or just plopping on her butt. But she is pretty brave. Can stand up by herself from the floor (mostly only barefoot - any type of footwear that isn't a shoe is too slippery. And shoes.... forget them. We can barely keep anything on her!) She walks well holding just one hand next to you. It won't be long till she is taking off on her own. She is determined and SO cute.

This week Doug is in Philadelphia for a work project. Kind of crappy timing, as I am working all week and trying to plan and prepare for the party this Saturday, but as always - I will conquer!  I'm sure Anna was excited to head back to see Miss Sandy and her friends today. We had to stop at the grocery store or else we'd be eating canned soup and frozen veggie burgers all week. No good!

Lots of prep and fun stuff planned for Anna's birthday party. I can't wait to celebrate and watch my little munchkin eat cake!

Until then, I'll end with some photos.  A (FIRST) birthday party update coming your way next week! Unbelievable.  I won't go down that route now, but how has it been one whole year??

At brunch with Mommy & Daddy's friends!

Awesome shoulder ride from Daddy at Lowe's

Mommy & Daddy are OUT!

Has finally learned to put the rings on the base!

The longest, most overdue post yet.

I have to apologize, but life has been a bit crazy lately. The last 2+ weeks have been a few of the weirdest of my life... much less Anna's short life so far. So I'm sure you'll all excuse my absence.  I'll try to cover everything as best I can, and hopefully from here on out be a little bit more on top of updating!

Before Superstorm Sandy hit, we were all kind of just waiting for it to arrive.  There were shopping trips to Costco and the grocery store (and the liquor store....twice), house cleaning, laundry doing, worrying, fretting, etc. Anxiety levels were high.  We knew it could be bad and all predictions had it hitting New Jersey directly. Things were not looking good for us or the boatyard.  My dad & his crew worked tirelessly for DAYS to prepare, doing everything they possibly could to get ready for Sandy. Then it was a wait and see-type event. Nothing you could do after Monday morning arrived.

Anna practiced her walking from inside the kitchen chairs.

She wore her special "Lil Dane" outfit to help cheer up Pop on the Sunday before Sandy.

She helped me unload the dishwasher by playing with a spoon for 10 minutes.

We carved our pumpkin, who was also equally concerned about the storm.

It weighed 28 pounds - bigger than Anna!

Early in the day on Monday while the winds whipped through, we lost some branches.  Then we lost power around 8pm and had no idea what was happening around our area......

Unfortunately when we woke up on October 30, life would forever be different. It's a little hard to write about it, even harder to talk about it, and hardest to be living it. The storm was more powerful and destructive than anyone had imagined. It tore through the boatyard leaving nothing in its path standing.  The shop had 4 feet of water inside. 2 boats tore through the end of the building. The gas shanty and "Little House" apartment plus a 3000 gallon tank of gas......GONE.  Wiped out.  It was one of the saddest, most surreal moments of my life that morning. It was cold, wet, windy and overwhelming. All the guys were there and Doug quickly got to work helping however he could. I had Anna strapped to my chest, covered with a blanket as I tried to wrap my head around what had happened to our family.  She was wonderful that day (and pretty much all week - sleeping 12 straight hours... almost like she knew we couldn't take anymore..)

I will say it again and again. We are fortunate. Our families are safe. Our homes were spared. We have warm beds to go home to (well, now we do... it was pretty chilly without power for 7 days) - we have food, clothes, cars. HOUSES.  Many people right here in our neighborhoods, our towns, the areas we go to dinner in, spend our summers, where our friends, family live........their lives are completely torn apart. Some have no homes. The rebuilding will take months. The places we knew and loved will never be the same. It tears me apart to think of all that Sandy did to everything we love so much. 

My trusty sidekick through it all - never a peep or complaint all day long.

Still, we persevere. We had no power but we did have a generator. We would turn it on for a few hours for fridge/freezer use and a light in the kitchen. We bundled up.  We had my mom and dad live with us for 3 days since they had no heat, no hot water (we did!), no working generator. My dad needed a place to come, relax, shower and try to take his mind off of all that was happening.  The roads were a mess. No stoplights working for miles. You couldn't get anywhere easily.  A normal ride from my house to my parents takes about 12 minutes.  One day it took me 65.  Yes, one hour and 5 minutes. 

There were gas lines for miles. For hours. People with cans standing outside for hours. It was one of the scarier things of that week without power. PANIC was setting in. 

Red Nose in her own kitchen!

We still had to dress in our Halloween attire, even though this was the year with no Halloween.

We wore many hats inside, struggled to keep her socks on her & layered up at bedtime to keep her warm. She was a trooper most nights, never complained and slept well.  Thank you God.

My office had power after a couple days, and although I couldn't fathom doing actual "work", the 3 of us did go to get warm, watch the news, have some pizza and just get out of the house.

Doug's parents selflessly drove down from RI with a brand new generator in the truck for my parents. Doug and Peter installed it on Saturday for them so they could have their house back, even partially. Thank God they did, as even though 95% of Keyport was back up and running by Friday, my parents didn't regain power until Wednesday. And then after that, their furnace broke.  To this I say to God.... ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  But thankfully it wasn't too bad with electric heat upstairs and hot showers, but come on. 

We dined in the living room watching football on the generator.

The family bundled in our hoodies!
Then the power RETURNED just before her bedtime! AMEN!

So as I said, they all but canceled Halloween throughout NJ. Some towns held them on different days, but it was just.... off.  Too bad, as we had a super cute costume planned for Anna (and us) and we were going to execute it no matter what.  On November 5, we costumed up and headed to Keyport to spread some cheer.

The "I Survived Sandy" was a cute afterthought

Watching her crawl in her full lobster costume was the best part!

This picture is just cute.

Then on November 6, I took Anna to the voting booth and we voted together for the first time of many to come. She was not as impressed as I was about voting for President.

BOR-ING.

We practiced blowing kisses during dinner. Messy but cute.

Then to top it all off, we got SNOW last Wednesday.  Again.......seriously?

Just the beginning.  We got about 3+ wet inches of snow overall.

So I bit the bullet and went to find Anna a "real" winter coat.

We came back with this gem from Old Navy.

And this amazing puffy vest. I love them both. Anna.... less impressed.

Since I have been feeling so powerless in all of this madness, I decided to bring my company together to do something for the people of Monmouth County who have been the hardest hit.  I made a brochure and started collecting donations of clothes, coats, food, cleaning supplies, personal hygiene items, baby care - diapers, food, bottles, etc.

Doug & I loaded up the first round of donations and this weekend we took them to some of the places who needed them the most. Anna was a big helper.

We continue to collect and I have been making a few more runs here and there to some places. I hope to get out this week (possibly tomorrow) and bring more items to those in need.


So I think that's it. For now.  We are about 19 days away from our little peanut turning ONE. Can't even believe it.  Getting another flu shot on Monday and celebrating her very first Thanksgiving on Thursday! We'll watch the parade, eat lots of turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes and hopefully go into a Turkey coma.  I know I am looking forward to not weighing 500 pounds at Thanksgiving this year, being able to help prepare instead of laying around complaining, and DRINK WINE!  YAHOOO.

Then starts a super busy month of celebrations...... a few for Anna, a few for Jesus. Fun for ALL.

Man this update is exhausting.

11 Months

No, I didn't forget.  Even in the midst of the chaos that has been surrounding us, I remembered to take Anna's 11-month photos.  I am nothing if I am not dedicated to seeing something through. (HAAAAAA)  But I did it. I had to set a reminder on my phone, but I did it.

We don't have a doctor's appointment until the 19th, so height and weight are anyone's guess. Based on a home-scale estimate, I'd say she's in the ballpark of 23 pounds. I'll let you know for sure in a couple weeks.

Anna and her Kermie

It is SO hard to keep her on her back facing the camera

This month has been a big one for Anna. She is changing and getting smarter every day. She is desperately trying to stand from the floor on her own. She's taken a few tentative half-steps not holding on a couple times. She is saying "words" - some we know (ball, HI, bear, up, dada, and a version of "please" and "give it to me now before I just DIE" - which sounds like "peeeez" or "meeeeeee") and some that are just sounds but that she repeats a lot.  She has a funny one that kind of sounds like "pizza", may also be a way to say "I want that now!"  A few other funny word/sound combos that make me think she is trying to say something specific because the sound combo is always the same.   She can "woof woof" when you ask her what the dog says. and she LOOOVES dogs. She knows where her belly is. She has mastered pointing (with a purpose) and can even put her little finger up to yours if you point it at her. If you say "Is Daddy outside?" she crawls to the sliding door to look. She knows when she's being funny or bad and acts appropriately.  Still hates the word NO, avoids listening to it.

She eats so well.  Not too much you can give her that she won't eat. Looking forward to trying more things once I get my fridge and cupboards re-stocked. She still loves peas, ground turkey, CHEESE and pretty much all fruit.  We went back to having apples (tried natural applesauce recently) and had no reaction. Thank God that was a short-lived "allergy" so we can continue trying fun combos of food with apple in it!

Hard to believe in less than a month Anna will be one whole year old. It's true what they say about "time flying" and all. On one hand it's flown by and another says "wait, it's only been a year??" The whole thing makes me feel feelings... and I've done enough of that lately.  We'll deal with that in 28 days.

So that's all for now. Will have a much better, more detailed update about the "Halloween that wasn't", Superstorm Sandy, Anna goes to the Polls and much more very soon.

Until then, stay safe and warm everyone.

Some outtakes for fun:

oooh these blinds look like they need to be yanked

Seriously mom, I got this.

Just a chubby girl and her Kermie

Baby Air Guitar

HEY MAMA!