Ventura Familia

I can not believe Lauren is 2!! These past 2 years have seriously flown by!!! At this time, 2 years ago, Victor and I had only been parents for 5 hours. We had just moved from recovery and were getting settled into our hospital room. I can still remember all the feelings (even though I was on crazy amounts of morphine!) Happiness, relief that Lauren was healthy, awe, excitement, gratefulness, but most of all love. So much love, just overwhelming love, both for Lauren and for Victor. And to this day I still feel all those things. Lauren makes me smile every single day. She makes me realize what life is all about. Yes, some days are tough, some are really tough, but even on those days, I am forever grateful that I was blessed with this beautiful little girl. Lauren is my sunshine. I love her more than she will ever know. Well maybe 1 day she’ll know….on the day she becomes a Mother.

Ok, enough with all that sappy stuff Here are some pictures from her birthday! Unfortunately, my camera battery died 1/2 way through the party so I didn’t get nearly as many pictures as I wanted to. I’m so mad I didn’t check it before we left the house! But she had a blast at her party and got some really cool presents!!

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This family is taking over Care.com!!! I’m no longer a stay at home Mom, I am now officially a work at home Mom!! I started my job on the Mom Force last week with training and have had 3 successful days of working from home. I’m really liking it a lot!

Training was tough, it was 3 looong days, but it actually went by faster than I thought it would and I think the time away from home and away from each other was good for both Lauren and I! Training was last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 9am to 5pm plus driving time, I was gone from 8am to 6pm…those are really long days for someone who hasn’t worked in 2 years!! But it was good, I learned a lot and had some fun! And I ate really well….Care.com likes to feed their employees

And Lauren made it through the days pretty well, too. Poor Tanya had the worst of it. She watched her the first day, which also happened to be her birthday, and it was kind of rough. Lauren screamed for the first hour and was fussy for the last hour but was okay for the time between. But she had 4 poops (that’s unheard of!!) so that, plus Jack and Emme….Tanya has never changed so many diapers in 1 day in her life!!! I seriously can’t thank Tanya enough for watching her, on the first day, along with her 3 children, on her birthday…she is a rock star!!!

As much as I don’t want to admit it to Tanya, Lauren did really well the next 2 days! Jenny watched her on Thursday and she said there were no tears. She went to Early Intervention group with Ari and had a blast! They want Lauren to go back to be a model student!! Then Mom watched her here on Friday, which I was nervous about because I thought she’d associate home with me and be upset all day but again, there were no tears! A little upset for a few minutes after I left but no tantrums or meltdowns! I’m so proud of her for being such a big girl!!

So I’m liking the job a lot! The company is really great and I’m glad I got the chance to go to the office. It’s very modern and high tech but still very causal and they are very accommodating and generous to their employees. A seriously huge transition from the last place I worked. Pretty much exact opposites. I think they value their employees and want to keep them happy and comfortable, which results in people excelling at their job and a lot less turnover, which is a really good thing. I’m so happy to be a part of Care.com….and I can’t wait to bring home a paycheck!!

Christmas was awesome this year!! (Awesome other than a little mishap on Christmas Eve) Lauren was so much fun with the presents and loved seeing Christmas lights and decorations! She even learned how to sing a little of Rudolph and Jingle Bells
We went to a Christmas party at the Portuguese club and she had a blast!! She painted a mug, ate tons of junk, and got to see Santa!! All the other kids were sitting patiently as he walked in the room but not Lauren….when she saw him, she ran right up to him and said hi!! It was so funny! And when it was her turn, she sat on his lap!! I couldn’t believe it! Must have been because he gave her a present!
We were supposed to go to Tommy and Tanya’s for the annual Heal Christmas Eve party but unfortunately, Lauren woke up that morning sick My poor baby was throwing up all day on Christmas Eve. There’s nothing worse than seeing your child sick and not being able to do anything about it. I still don’t really know what happened….she never had a fever. I don’t think it was something she ate because she threw up so many times and if it was a stomach bug, no one else in the house got it. She’s never thrown up from teething before but a molar did break through her gums a few days later, though I don’t think that’s the reason either. Who knows! She threw up for the last time at 1pm and was feeling much much better soon after, thank goodness!!
The next morning we woke up and Santa had come!! Lauren must have been a very good girl this year because Santa brought a lot of presents! Her most favorite was her big gift, a kitchen set! She loves to pretend she’s cooking!! Then of course we got the big news!!! It’s a BOY!! Mike, Jenny and kids and Danny, Veronica and kids came over for breakfast with us and Connie and Joe and to exchange gifts around 11 then it was time for a nap! After that, Grammy and Pop, Julie, Eric and kids and Tommy, Tanya and kids came over for presents and my birthday celebration! Connie cooked us a delicious turkey and ham with all the fixings! I’m so blessed to have her as a mother in law
It really was a great holiday and it’s not even over yet! Tonight we are going to the New Year’s Eve party at the Portuguese club and next weekend we’re heading to Greg and Michelle’s for the annual Pimental Christmas get together! Should be tons of fun and I’m sure I’ll post more pictures from both events!
Happy Holidays!!!

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So last year I didn’t make any resolutions, just a list of things I wanted to accomplish in the new year. I decided to go back and see if I had reached any of my goals and I don’t think I did all that bad! There are a few that weren’t reached that I’d still really like to have happen….hopefully in 2012. This year my resolution/goal is to be happy and healthy and more patient with Lauren (and Justin, too!). That’s it. Simple and hopefully not too hard Here is my list from last year and the updates on how it went….

1. I don’t usually make New Year’s resolutions but I have one this year: to grow my hair long enough to donate it to Locks of Love. I would then like to continue doing it, grow, cut, donate, again and again, but I’m going to do it at least once.
This was not accomplished but it wasn’t my fault Locks of Love changed their guidelines so that they no longer accepted highlighted hair. I was very upset when I found this out, I had been growing my hair out for almost a whole year and really wanted to donate! But I made a financial contribution instead and do plan on doing that every year.

2. Get Lauren to sleep, all night, in her crib, and to do so by falling asleep on her own. I’m ashamed to say it but as of right now, I am rocking her to sleep, putting her in her crib once she is already asleep, then she wakes up, sometimes a few hours and sometimes only a half hour later, and I take her to bed with me and that is where she spends the rest of the night. And for naps, I rock her to sleep in her bouncy chair, which she is WAY too big for. I know it is going to be really tough. Habits are really hard to break but this one needs to be stopped! We are going to start the day after Christmas because the in-laws will be off to Florida so we don’t have to worry about anyone downstairs being affected by the screams. Maybe this one will be checked off before 2011….fingers crossed!
This was accomplished and it was before 2011!! She still isn’t a great sleeper but she does fall asleep on her own and sleep in her crib all night. She has inherited her fathers horrible sleeping habits which is no fun for me. She’ll be getting a big girl bed for her birthday so the crib can go in Justin’s room and I’m not really looking forward to that. Hopefully it goes easier than I’m expecting it to.

3. Organize the office. It is a mess!! Everything from the move that didn’t have a “home” ended up in that room. The desk, floor, shelves, everything, is covered with clutter and crap. I need a good hour or two to myself to get in there and organize!
This was done, several times, but no matter what, all the clutter and crap end up in that room.

4. Hang pictures. We have a ton of Lauren and the family, most of which are already framed, they just need to be hung.
Done!!

5. Cook more often. Ive been making some things for Lauren to eat, pasta, raviolis, vegetables…..easy stuff. But I still don’t make dinner, except for the occasional crock pot meal, and I’d really like to. It’s not fair that Victor has to work all day and then come home to make dinner.
Also done!! Though it only started very recently, but better late than never! This is our system…we (mostly just me) figure out the weeks menu on Saturday, I go grocery shopping on Sunday, and I make dinner every night except Friday, that’s when we order pizza! Nothing has been incredibly delicious but I feel good about cooking dinner and Victor is not one to complain (thank goodness!) He’s just happy he doesn’t have to cook

6. Be outside with Lauren when it is nice out. I need to let my fear of the sun subside a little. As long as we have sunscreen on, we will be ok. We need to get some fresh air and Lauren needs to run around. I see a lot of trips to the park in our future this spring!
We were outside this past year A LOT more often than we were the year before. Lauren loves to play outside and we had a lot of fun checking out some parks in the area. This coming up year may be a little tough with a newborn but we will make it work!

7. I want to get involved with a melanoma foundation of some sort. If my story can help just 1 person, I’ll be happy. I’d really like to go to middle and high schools and educate these kids about skin cancer.
This didn’t happen but IT WILL! I need to do this, it is so very important to me. It may not seem like it is since it didn’t get done, but it is. I’m thinking after the baby is born I will look into what I can do to help.

8. Spend more time with people!! I’m a stay at home Mom and I know a ton of other stay at home Mom’s but somehow, I never see them! Lauren needs the social skills, and so do I! I just found out that Stoughton has a Mom’s club that is for stay at home Mom’s and their kids and they do play dates and lots of activities. I’m pretty sure we’re joining and I’m excited! But I’d also like to see a lot more of my friends and family as well!
This was sort of accomplished. I did see some people a little more often but not as much as I’d like to. I also did join the Stoughton Mom’s club and we did a few activities but it wasn’t really for me. I still am in need of more adult interaction in my day!!

9. Get closer to Victor. We have a really good relationship and we love each other but sometimes, with a baby, its really hard to stay close. Before Lauren was born, I had this vision of us putting Lauren down in her crib for the night and then we would cuddle on the couch and watch movies. That does not EVER happen. By the end of the day, I’m tired, and once Lauren is asleep, I want to go to sleep, and I do. Hopefully, once she is falling asleep on her own (it will happen!!) and bedtime is not taking me an hour or more, I will be able to stay up with Victor for a little while. Then I’ll just have to get him to shut off the PS3…..
We are able to spend some time together after Lauren goes to bed now which is nice. It’s not too much since I can’t stay awake much later than 10pm but it’s more than before!

10. Get pregnant!! My plan is to get pregnant in July or August so we have the baby in April or May. That would be ideal! But no matter what, I want to have another baby and I want the kids to be close in age so, getting pregnant in 2011 is what needs to happen!!
This obviously happened! The date for my scheduled c-section is May 4th!! I’m such a good planner So exciting!!!

I can not believe it!!! First of all, I can not believe we were able to wait till Christmas morning to open the envelope!! It wasn’t even the first thing we did! Lauren opened all her gifts, we cleaned up a little bit and then we opened it! And to our surprise, we found out it’s a BOY!!! I think we still are in shock! We really were expecting it to say girl!! We are super, crazy excited!!! Now I’m on the hunt for the most perfectly adorable little brother and big sister shirts

Emme Grace has arrived!! Tommy, Tanya, Lucy and Jack completed their family of 5 on December 13th at 7:25pm. The little bundle of joy weighed in at 6lbs 12oz and 19 1/2 inches! She is truly perfect!! Soooo cute! She looks just like Jack in some pictures and in others, just like Lucy. Both are enjoying their new little sister! The whole family is doing very well!!

We got to visit very briefly while they were in the hospital and Lauren and I stopped by for a more proper visit yesterday morning. I absolutely love holding her…and so does Lauren! All she wants to do is hold Baby Emme but she is so so sweet with her <3 She holds her very gently, gives her kisses, rubs her face, strokes her hair, and the whole time she has this look of love and amazement on her face. It's really magical. Of course it will be a little different when the baby is ours, here full time, and getting most of Mommy's attention, but I hope it's a sign of the awesome big sister she will be

Here's a great moment Tanya captured on film of Lauren holding Emme at the hospital. It's seriously so precious!!

I’m almost half way there!! I can not believe how fast this pregnancy is flying by!!! We went to Brockton Hospital yesterday to have a level 2 ultrasound and see the high risk doctor. Everything is going very well The baby is measuring just right, 8oz, which is the 58% percentile. Really can’t get any more perfect, especially for a diabetic Mom! The little peanut was very active and we could see him/her yawn a few times!! So cute! The tech could see, easily actually, what the sex was and she sealed it up in an envelope for us. It’s waiting patiently on the Christmas tree….only 16 days till we open it and find out!! The heart rate was 135. Even though I know that’s just an old wives tale, it has me thinking twice about it being a girl. But who knows!! I seriously can not wait until Christmas morning!!!

They say you show a lot earlier in your second, and third and so on, pregnancy than your first and boy am I proving that to be right!! Here are 2 pictures….the first is of me pregnant with Lauren at 12 weeks and the second is of me pregnant this time around at 12 weeks. There is a significant difference!! The funniest thing is that when I posted that 12 week picture on Facebook 2 years ago, I said I was huge! If I only knew what I was in for!! Lol!

Ten adorable things Lauren is saying and doing these days….

1. She loves to count things. But she refuses to say 1. This is how she counts, “3, 2, 3, 2, 3, 2″
2. We’re starting to teach her colors. She points to everything and says, “What color is that?” Her answer is almost always, “Blue.” Sometimes she says, “Pink.” Either way, she’s pretty much always wrong. But it’s a start!!
3. I think she thinks my belly button is the baby. I’m sure it’s all very confusing for her. When we’re sitting on the couch, she’ll ask me, “Where’d the baby go?” Then she’ll lift up my shirt, pull down my maternity pants, and kiss my belly button. Then she’ll point at my belly button and ask, “What is that?” I’ll tell her it’s my belly button and she says, “Baby.”
4. About a month ago, she was playing with all her Toy Story toys. She said, “Where’s Bullseye?” (She doesn’t have a Bullseye toy but she’ll be getting one) I said, “You don’t have a Bullseye. Maybe Santa will bring you one for Christmas.” So now every time I say or anyone says, “What is Santa going to bring you for Christmas?” Even though she knows how to say presents and she knows that’s what Santa brings, she says, “Bullseye!!” I wish that was all we had to get her! Lol!!
5. At Halloween time, she loved looking out the window of the car and seeing all the pumpkins! She’d yell out, “Spooky pumpkins!” Now when we’re at the store and she sees Christmas lights on display, she says, “Oooooh…pretty!” So I can not wait to drive around with her once Christmas lights are up on houses!
6. She loves the Bruins! Every time she sees a Bruins emblem she says, “Bruins!!” When we’re watching a Bruins game, she yells out “Goal!” and “Yay Bruins!” Makes her Daddy proud
7. When she does something not so nice and she knows I’m upset, she’ll look at me and say, “Sorry, Mama.” It melts my heart every time.
8. On that note, she calls me “Mama” and Victor “Daddy.” Not Mommy and Daddy or Mama and Dada but Mama and Daddy. I think that’s funny.
9. Last night at dinner, Victor was eating pepperoncinis. Lauren wanted one so Victor gave her a little piece, making sure there were no seeds. She put it in her mouth, took a bite, took it out, and said, “Spicy!” It was so cute!!
10. She can now look at pictures of all her cousins and say their names! Ryan, Josh, Ari, Brittany, Zachary, Lucy, Jack, Brandan, and Chloe!! Also Grammy and Pop!! That makes me really proud! Now we’re working on Aunts and Uncles names