Spectacular and Educational!

What an amazing way to end the day. Less than two hours ago, as the sun was setting in the sky, we experienced a double rainbow. According to Wikipedia (an online encyclopedia) a secondary rainbow is very rare. If you look at the secondary rainbow, which is usually fainter than the first rainbow (in our case it is just above the primary rainbow – you have to look hard for it), the colors are reversed!! An even more astonishing fact is that our primary rainbow has a supernumerary rainbow immediately below it. A supernumerary rainbow is a few detached rainbow “bows” which are various colors – in our case green and purple. This was a rare and extraordinary site indeed. Tony and I ran outside to take pictures just before it began to drizzle (I carried Tommy out so he could “see” it too). We also call our friends the Gandy’s so that their kids could look outside and see the rainbows. Everyone thought it was really amazing.

Here are a couple pictures of our rainbows.
In the first you can see the primary rainbow hovering just about our house. In the second you can see both rainbows above our roof - look hard, the secondary rainbow is pretty faded. They looked so close, I thought we'd be able to almost reach out and touch them!In the third you can see the secondary rainbow above the primary one, and you can almost make out the supernumerary rainbow below the primary one. The fourth is a close up of the supernumerary rainbow. You can see the extra green bow just below our bright primary rainbow (and you can see the secondary rainbow above the primary one too).

Much Ado About Stonehenge

I need to vent...just a little.

I am so irritated. I read an article today about recent vandalism at Stonehenge. Apparently, the men were spotted before too much damage could be done (they escaped!) but not before they used a hammer and screwdriver to cut a piece off one of the stones. As a lifelong history buff, Stonehenge is a thing of historical significance, and even enchantment to me. I don’t understand why it is that people have this need to destroy what they don’t understand. I know much of the world is so caught up in the comings and goings of their own lives that they don’t care to learn about or cherish our past. I’d like to know why they try to ruin it for those of us who believe in the importance of Stonehenge and other historically imperative sites? I believe with all of my heart that we should preserve our past, not destroy the last lingering remnants of it.

It just breaks my heart that someone does not have respect for something so captivating. It is my dream to someday visit England and Ireland – to visit historical landmarks, medieval cathedrals, jovial pubs, and rolling green hills. I want to walk in the footsteps of the Knights Templar, listen to lingering tales of folklore, see where the kings and queens of the past lived and died. I guess that is part of the reason why this recent vandalism has upset me so much…they don’t appreciate what is in front of them, and I would give anything to experience these places. I hope with all of my heart that the two men who took part in the vandalism are caught and are dealt with accordingly.

Milestones

I can't believe it! Tommy is a month old today! It feels like only yesterday I was lying in the operating room and the docs were delivering my little boy. It's really hard to believe that a month has gone by. Tommy has changed so much from those first couple of days when we welcomed him into the world. He's looking more and more like Tony every day, though thankfully he has something of mine - my ears! We're just so happy to have him in our lives. He has certainly made our world a brighter and happier place.

I'm really enjoying spending so much time at home with him, especially now that my body is feeling a lot better, and the nightmare of labor has (slightly) started to fade into a vague memory. He recognizes my voice, and I love how he’ll cuddle up into a little ball in my arms and fall fast asleep.

Tommy has had a bit of a rough day today. This morning he woke up and was very gassy. In the middle of changing his poopy diaper this morning he was apparently not finished, so I ended up having to change him and clean him up about 3 or 4 times before he was comfy in his pjs again. Then later on today he was drinking down a bottle when he suddenly projectile vomited it all over himself, me, and our couch – it was at least 2 or 3 ounces. Once again the poor little guy had to get cleaned up. He’s not a fan of being “naked baby.” He makes me laugh. All day he’s been grunting at me when he’s not pleased about something, it’s pretty funny. He’s generally a very happy little guy though, which is both a blessing and something that makes me very proud. He makes me feel like I’m doing a good job as his Mommy whenever he smiles.

Got Milk?

Every day Tommy seems to do something that makes me laugh. He's been rolling towards his right side since the weekend, and today he laughed!! I had just gotten done feeding him a bottle when I put him down for a second on his boppy. Sometimes he'll smile after he eats so I had the camera on hand and ready to snap away. Well just as I took a picture of him starting a little smile, the little smile turned into a huge smile and a little laugh. I was completely blown away by it. I know they say when babies smile its "just gas," but I don't believe it! What I saw and heard was a laugh and its something I'm going to cherish.

Here is the picture of the smile which turned into a laugh, as well as a picture of my messy boy eating (taken yesterday). Also - here's a picture of him looking up at me, and one where he has rolled onto his side while napping.

Happy Mother's Day!!

Happy Mother's Day to all of the Mommies out there! I hope you have a wonderful day full of love, gratitude, and all the pampering you greatly deserve!

I'm having a relaxing day with my loving husband, loyal dog, and amazing little son. They gave me a pretty little emerald cross to mark both the birth of little Tommy and my first Mother's Day. So sweet.

Content...

Wow, what a week! It went by so quickly. I’m sitting here listening for Tommy to wake up for his next feeding and watching the rain pour down outside. Looking out at our backyard it certainly looks like May. All of our trees and plants and even the grass have a sort of emerald glow. It’s a beautiful contrast to the dark wet wood of the fence. Sleep deprived and hormonal as I certainly am, I still feel content with my life. Tommy’s napping in his crib, Maverick is lying at my feet, and I know Tony will be home in a few hours. I feel at peace, I feel happy, and I feel blessed.

Tommy has grown so much over the past few weeks. I look at pictures from our week in the hospital and I can’t believe how much he’s changed. His little cheeks are filling out, and he’s got a little round belly. He’s starting to really grip our hands, lift his head, and he’s always opening his eyes and looking around at his new world.

The hardache we experienced for almost three years trying to get pregnant (all the testing, surgical procedures, monitoring, and failed in-vitro fertilization) feels like a distant memory of someone else’s life. I truly feel that going through what we did made us stronger as a couple, and now we’ve been blessed with our son – now we’re a family – and that is the most remarkable and humbling feeling in the world.

I took a couple pictures this morning (and a cute one of Tommy and Tony last night). The pictures from this morning are a little dark but you can see his big smile. Tommy’s always so happy after he eats! (I think he looks like my Dad in the pictures where he's smiling.) He is up to 3 oz sometimes 4 oz per feeding now! He’s an eating machine!

He Amazes Me

Tommy is craddled in my arm right now, giving me secret smiles and gently cooing. I can't believe this amazing little person is two weeks old already.

He got a clean bill of health at the doctors office on Friday. In fact the doctor called him "perfect." Which of course Tony and I were thrilled to hear. I had a doctors appointment yesterday and I too am doing well as far as "healing" is concerned. I'm not allowed to drive for at least one more week, but since typically you can't take the little one's out for the first month or two anyway we've got no where to go. Tony started back at work today, so its my first day at home alone with the little guy. Now the real fun begins! hahaha!

I didn't get a chance to do so before, but I wanted to congratulate one of my best friends Malinda & her husband Dimitri on the birth of their daughter Amelia who was born on the 20th - just hours before we had our Tommy on the 21st. I can't wait to watch our children grow up together!

Here are some cute updated pics of our Tommy.

His first stroller ride (to our backyard).

Maverick and Tommy - best friends already!
All new sights and sounds too explore.
He's too funny! I love to watch him make silly faces.
Our sweet Tommy asleep in his crib. He's so precious.

A Whole Lot of Firsts

We're taking Tommy to his first doc appointment today for his 10 day check up. I can't believe how quickly these days go by. It's a good day when I can make sure I've taken a few minutes to brush my teeth, let alone actually have time for a shower! hahaha


He's so worth every moment of my time though, I can't remember what life was like when he wasn't a part of ours. We are so overjoyed.


I just wanted to jump on quickly and share a few pictures of Tommy's first sponge bath - this past Wednesday. He was not pleased to say the least. It was hilarious!