Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Trip to Philadelphia 11/16 - 11/18

Ja went to Philly to work the weekend 11/16 -11/18 so Vin and I tagged along. On Saturday we went to the aquarium with some of the gal cousins. We had a blast. Here are a few pics from the day.
My favorite pic!

Group shot - you can kind of see Philly in the background
(Lori & Christina, Dia & Vin, Mary & Ariel, Jenn & Carter)

Vin enjoying the hippos


Cutie Christina checking out the hippos.

If you are wondering why so many pics of hippos. I left my camera at the hotel and Mary's camera died shortly after the hippo exhibit.

Friday, November 9, 2007

Asthma? Not so fast! & Other Stuff


Vin had his regular 9 month checkup yesterday and so we got to chat with his regular pediatrician regarding the entire asthma diagnosis we were giving by another pediatrician in the same practice, and she said she feels it's too early to diagnose him with asthma that she would rather wait and see. We were very relieved to hear this. Just because he's had two viral infections with asthmatic type symptoms doesn't necessarily = asthmatic kid. So our instructions for now are to give him breathing treatments as needed (like when he starts wheezing or coughing a lot). Other than that it's wait and see.


He weighed in at 18lbs 15 oz and was 28.5 inches long. Nice work kiddo.


Apparently we have to start being a little harder on the guy about independent play since he's not making huge strides towards hitting some milestones (for example: being able to pull himself up on on things or moving around on his own). And while the doctor wasn't concerned right now she did mention that if he doesn't start making progress in these areas in the next three months he may need physical therapy. While this sounds serious let me tell you why Ja and I aren't concerned yet: 1) we are realizing that Vin has developed a way of getting the toys he wants and for moving around - he does this by yelling at us to do it for him. And until yesterday we generally complied with his demands not wanting to be neglectful parents and all. 2) so we believe he has the physical ability to do these things but not the motivation. We think it's more a matter of personality vs. ability and that's where we come in.


Here is a great example: Last night at dinner Jason broke up pieces of bread and then put them on Vin's highchair tray. Vin kept waiting with an open mouth for Jason to feed him and he became pretty darn angry when Jason didn't comply. In fact, every time Jason put a piece of bread on his tray Vin picked it up (expertly, might I add), looked at Jason and then dropped it on the floor. When Jason still didn't give in he threw a whining and screaming tantrum. So we just went back to eating our dinner. After a few minutes he stopped yelling, looked down at his tray, picked up a piece of bread and stuffed it in his mouth. After successfully feeding himself a few pieces of bread he was all smiles. This sums up our new struggle with the kiddo.

Thursday, November 8, 2007

And we finally have teeth!


I forgot to mention that Vin broke his first two teeth this past week. You can kinda see them in the pic above. If you really like teeth and want to get a dentist's view of them you can click on the pic to get a super closeup. We were very excited and that excitement quickly faded the first time he bit me with his new found teeth while nursing. Not cool.

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Forgot to Post this One - Halloween Parade 2007


This is the adorable Isaac. He was trying his hardest to pull his stroller. Poor guy, the wheels were locked.


Dad's and their boys.

Waiting for the parade to start.

Vin trying to grab my hot cider.

I just love the tail!

Vin chewing on Isaac's toys.



Isn't he adorable!


Playing trucks together.

Starting to get cranky.

Wish I could say Vin enjoyed the parade but he started crying a few minutes before the parade began and then he fell asleep shortly after. It was during his nap time so I'm not sure what we were expecting. Anyway, we had a great time with our friends Tim and Amy and their adorable little tiger, Isaac.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Kid with Asthma

Much to the initial shock, surprise and dismay of Dia and myself, Vin has been diagnosed as an asthmatic. While we trust that 'many have gone before us' by way of kids with asthma this is our first trip. I am now certain that every parent deals with their own sense of surprise and dismay at the uncontrollable.

For us, this little discovery has brought more knowledge of the shortcoming of mankind and our complete dependence on the fact that 'all things work together for God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose,' Romans 8:28. And we believe that through little surprises such as a kid w/ asthma God graciously reveals more of our lacking and dependence on Him.

We also depend on the encouragement and support of family and friends that God has put in our lives... so, encourage away (in the comment section)!

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

A Fall Day at the Park

On Sunday Ja and I took the little dude to a local park to enjoy the chilly fall weather. We had a blast!!


Having fun with Dad



Thanks Autumn and Michael for the adorable hat. It came in handy since it was a cold fall day.










I love this picture Jason took.




Family Shot






















Friday, October 19, 2007

I Try, Part II

Here is a video of Vin trying to feed himself Cheerios. ***Spoiler warning: he does not conquer the task

http://s149.photobucket.com/albums/s72/jdangello1998/?action=view&current=ITryPartII.flv

Autumn and Ada Come to Pitts for a Visit!!

Autumn and her little girl Ada are in NJ visiting family and made a detour out to Pittsburgh for a few days to visit us. I'm so bummed that their visit is over but I'm so glad that they made the journey out to western PA. I had such an awesome time with my bud and felt like my heart was breaking when I had to say goodbye to that precious little Ada.

Wednesday, 10/17
Asleep after a ride home from airport



The beautiful Miss Ada


Vin saying hi to Autumn


Thursday, 10/18

Phipps Conservatory - we took the kiddos to Phipps Conservatory to check out the Chihuly Gardens and Glass displays.


Autumn and Ada





This was one of my favorite garden/glass displays

Stroller talk




Chihuly glass display



Enjoying a wind chime that was hanging in one of the outside gardens

Miraculously they both took a nap in their strollers!

BATH TIME!!!
Vin was thrilled to have a friend during bath time!

Just in case your curious as to why there are daisies all over Ada - this photo was edited to remove baby nakedness.

Just plain drunk with fun



Such a little cutie!


Friday, 10/19

Watching Baby Einstein on the laptop.


Thanks you two! Can't wait till the next time...

Monday, October 15, 2007

Faux Camping - It's the only way to go!





Tim and Amy














Hello blogger people,

This past weekend we went up to visit our friends Tim and Amy who were camping at Ohiopyle. We had initially planned to camp the weekend with them but two things got in the way: 1) leaving Vinny for two nights (I'm still nursing so this makes leaving him difficult. After I posted that entry last month about being done breastfeeding I was able to get some great advice from a doula who helped get us back on the breastfeeding track.) 2) Jason is not a huge camping fan. And if I'm being honest the thought of public showers doesn't thrill me either. So we went to visit Tim and Amy for the day on Saturday and enjoyed the best parts of camping: hiking, the campfire, and smores.