Pages

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

So many things.... so little time....

i am feeling so bad about my lack of blogging but i got a promotion at my job several months back and i have absolutely no spare time in my day anymore.  it's a good thing and a bad thing.  i love my new position it keeps me very busy (which i love) but it keeps me from keeping everyone updated on my son (which i hate).  i have several new photos to upload and show you how big D is getting.  hopefully i can get around to that sooner rather than later. 

now can you believe D is less than 2 weeks away from turning "1".  OMG i can't grasp this quite yet but it is true.  i have been planning his birthday party and hope that everything turns out wonderful.  i can't wait to get his personalized birthday shirt from Kacia over at Coconut Robot.  she does amazing work.  i already have a shirt for D from her and need to post pics of that asap.

D is growing and learning so much it just amazes me every day.  he can now take several steps; throw a crazy tantrum; he says ball, bath (anything that is water i.e. pool, tub, ocean etc.), nana, bo (grambo), dada, sometimes mama, don (no).  he gives awesome kisses and hugs, he shakes his head no when he knows he isn't supposed to be doing something then looks back at you for confirmation that the answer is still no.  he has an attitude!!!! i think he gets it from his father but some think he gets it from me (i don't have an attitude so i don't know what they are talking about) i actually captured this "attitude" on camera and really need to get that picture uploaded. 

so the one bad thing.... i cannot get my child to eat table food.  he will eat a few select things such as goldfish, crackers, cheerios and gerber veggie sticks, cheddar and cinnamon maple but that is it.  he will not eat anything else.  he only wants pureed baby food or a bottle.  he drinks juice and water from a sippy cup.  we see the GI doctor on the 31st and she is expecting him to be on mostly table foods but unfortunately i will have bad news for her.  hopefully she can give me some ideas.  i don't know how much of it is because he is picky and how much of it is stubbornness or that maybe he is just not ready.  we have tried everything.  i would love suggestions if anyone has them.

ok well here are some pics from a birthday party we attended a few weeks ago:

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Update time!

Dominick now has a tooth... Finally!!!! He has been super cranky and trying to bite on everything and sure enough last Wednesday I saw a little tooth sticking out :)  I was starting to think my kid was never gonna get a tooth (ok so I exaggerate a little) but he was 10 1/2 months before the first tooth broke through.  It looks like there is definitely another one on its way and possibly another.  It's like once one comes they all start coming.

Next.... when I dropped Dom off at daycare today Mima (daycare lady) told me that yesterday Dom took 2 steps on his own.  OMG what is happening to my little baby he is growing up so fast.  It was a little sad to hear that he took his first steps without Momma being there to see but I guess that is just one of the downfalls to being a working mommy. 

I can't believe that Dom is 10 months and 3 weeks old today :(  I am planning his 1st Birthday Party and that terrifies me and excites me.  My baby is growing up so fast but I love the little boy that he is becoming.  He has an amazing personality and has this smile that you see in his eyes it is the cutest thing.  He is so funny when he plays... he always has to stop and crawl over to me and give me a hug then goes right back to playing.  He really knows how to melt my heart. 

Ok now on to some pictures...


Thursday, July 15, 2010

Randomness

Some current photos of Dom...

4th of July

Thursday, June 24, 2010

8 years

June 24, 2002 Mike and I started "officially" dating.  I cannot believe how fast these 8 years have gone.  I can't believe how much has happened in these past 8 years.  We have had many bumps in the road but I could not be happier to call this man my husband and the father of my child. 

Who would have thought 8 years ago that the 2 of us would have ended up together forever?  Not me and I am sure he didn't either.  We were "that couple" that met in a club! 

I love you so much baby and can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you :)

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Sorry I haven't posted in a while...

So I have been M.I.A. for a little while.  Life has been a little on the crazy side.  I have been super busy at work and then I get home and chase the monster a.k.a. Dominick around and by the time he goes to sleep so does Mommy.  It also doesn't help that we have been passing a lovely cold around the house.  First Dom gets sick then its me, then Nana, Grambo, Dom, Daddy etc.  It has been crazy.  I am the lucky one that is battling this cold again and I feel beyond horrible.  I am TRYING to keep my distance from Dom but easier said than done.  I just really don't want him to get this AGAIN.

So a few updates.... Dom has another cousin, Mia Isabella was born May 29th.  She is beautiful and so tiny.  Dom welcomed her by trying to eat her feet.  I really miss Dom being that small and it is so hard to remember him ever being that little.  Before I couldn't take my eyes off of him because I wanted to make sure he was breathing now I can't take my eye off of him because he is into EVERYTHING.  He is crawling around like Speedy Gonzalez.  He is in a funky stage right now where he screams A LOT.  He screams because he is happy and laughing then he screams because he wants something then he is screaming because he is pissed.  I think this is my least favorite stage so far.

Dominick has been fully switched off of Soy formula and onto regular milk based formula and is tolerating it great.  We tried to stop the Prevacid but that was not a success.  Dominick is now eating stage 3 breakfast and some stage 3 veggies but he HATES stage 3 dinners.  He throws the spoon out of my hand and screams bloody murder if we try and give him stage 3 dinners it is so weird.  He also is not a fan of the Gerber Puffs or any of the Gerber snacks.  He loves Goldfish and Cheerios.  We are trying to work with him on drinking from a sippy cup but he doesn't seem to interested.  He thinks it is a toy. 

Trying to change his diaper or clothes... totally not an easy task anymore.  He does not want to stay still.  When we change his diaper he wants to roll over sit up or stand up and he tries to take the diaper off as I am putting it on.  Sometimes I am lucky to even get it half on before he tears if off and we have to start all over again.  Getting him dressed and undressed... WOW the screams that come out of this kid you would think he was being beaten or something.  It is crazy.  I definitely have my hands full with this booger.

Dominick has developed such a personality now and is just the most amazing little boy (maybe I am bias but he is damn cute).  Pictures to come soon promise!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Isn't he so cute...

Look at this cutie without a helmet :)

The Results


Ok I know how ghetto is that... I took a picture of the pictures on my computer but I couldn't figure out how to upload them on to stupid Blogspot :(  So this is the only way I could get the photos up. 

I hope you guys can see them well enough to see the results.  The right column is the before and the left column is the after.  The first page, first photos I think I can tell the most difference.  The second page the bottom photos I also see a huge difference.  His head doesn't look as wide and his ears look much better.  Also the third page the bottom pictures I can tell a nice difference too.  His head has rounded out really nicely.  I am so sorry about my ghetto way of posting the results.  Hopefully I can figure this out soon and get it fixed. 

Another Cold :(


 So Dominick has another cold.  His daycare was closed on Friday and Monday because it was her 50th Birthday and her sons took her on a cruise (must be nice hint hint Dominick).  I was so excited to have a 4 day weekend with my prince and I got up early Friday morning got my self ready and when Dominick woke up.... He was running a fever :(  Poor little guy has never had a fever.  I called the pediatrician and they had me bring him in.  We saw a substitute doctor which I LOVED!  She said Dominick had a right ear infection, possible left ear infection and had some rattling in his chest.  She wanted him to have a nebulizer treatment while we were there so she could hear how well he would or wouldn't respond to it.  The nurses got us set up (this was his first time ever doing this) and showed me how I can try to hold him since I only have 2 arms and he would use his 2 arms, 2 legs and body to try and fight me.  He cried for maybe 30 seconds and passed out (see photo 1 above).  I was so relieved with how well he did and the doctor said he sounded much better and gave us a prescription for the Albuterol through the nebulizer and sent us on our way.  The rest of that day he just wasn't my happy little baby and it broke my heart so see him so sick.  The rest of the weekend we laid low key and Monday morning came around and he sounded horrible.  I started the Albuterol treatment which did not go as easy as the first time unfortunately.  He screamed and kicked and tried to wiggle his way out of my arms the entire 10 minutes.  It SUCKED!!!!  I had to return to work yesterday but Dominick was still running a low grade fever and had a horrible cough so Daddy stayed home and took care of him.  Today Dominick sounds and seems much better.  Thank goodness because it was a big day for him today.  Mommy is so happy he feels better and has his helmet off.  Hopefully he stays feeling good and is in a good mood for my Birthday tomorrow. 

No more Helmet!!!

Today was Dominick's Exit Appointment with Cranial Technologies.  He is officially done with his treatment NO MORE HELMET!!!  His head looks great.  We are very happy with the results.  They will be emailing me his before and after pictures and hopefully I will be able to get them loaded up here. 

We had such a great experience with the clinicians and the facility.  The time flew and we are so happy we decided to take the right move and get him the treatment he needed.  To be honest I am actually a little nervous about what is to come now that he doesn't have his helmet.  He uses his head for EVERYTHING!  I hope he adjusts fast and learns quickly that his head is no longer to be used for headbutting and making noise and helping to sit himself up. 

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Baby Proofing...

So since I am a first time Mom and have no idea what to do or how to baby proof a house besides basics PLEASE any suggestions would help.  We live in a 2 story house with tile downstairs and wood floors upstairs.  I hated carpet but now I am realizing that carpet is actually great when you have kids.  So please share any tips you might have or any funny experiences you have had.  Thanks!

It's a Big Week for us

So not only is this week the Blog Party and my new Blog design but my baby is CRAWLING!!!!  Yup he is now mobile!  He has not perfected this new trick yet and does not get further than a few inches but if there is something just outside of his reach he gets up on his hands and knees and goes for it.  I am so happy and yet so sad.  It's amazing to see how fast they learn things but OMG my baby is growing up.  I also can't believe that I have to call the pediatrician TODAY (if not they wont be seeing him until he is like 10+ months they are that busy) to make his 9 month appointment.  This appointment I am actually looking forward too.  No shots!!!!  Plus last time we were there (yay for no major sicknesses) there was still the concern about Dominick's flat spot.  They haven't even seen him with his helmet and from the looks of it they wont be seeing him with it.  They will get to see this new beautifully round head.  That makes me so happy you guys have no idea.

Well that is it for my updates gotta run to check out more of this Blog Party!  So many people keep joining this thing is awesome!  Check it out if you haven't already: Blog Party!

Monday, May 17, 2010

Blog Party!!!

MMButton

Welcome to my Blog!!! Well what a great way to start out this week for me... Blog Party and a new design for my Blog.  AWESOME!!!! So a little about why I started this blog was to keep family and friends up to date on how Dominick was doing.  Then when we found out that my son needed the DOC Band I decided to try and get my blog out there a little more because I did not have that much knowledge about the helmet and wanted other parents that might be in the same situation to see that it really isn't that bad.  My cousin's son had to wear a helmet and I went to her a lot with questions and how I felt like I failed as a mother.  She offered some great support.  I also had amazing support from the rest of my family and friends.  D-Listed Mom Blogs (Alissa) has done a great job at really getting blogs out there.  I love what she has done!  If you have a chance take sometime and look around at some old posts if not continue you on with the amazing Blog Party!!!!

Friday, May 14, 2010

Cupcake Friday

Welcome to Cupcake Friday!  I am starting out a new thing here and hopefully I will have something to post on this every Friday.  I am walking during lunch with Laurie everyday.  If I walk at least 4 times a week I get to treat myself to a cupcake from Clarebelle's Cupcakes YUMMY.  She has some really cool stuff there and I love sweets but I have to be good all week to get one.  My first intention was to buy 1 cupcake and review it each week but today Lisa came with us for my first experience.  She bought 1/2 a dozen mini cupcake in assorted flavors.  I jumped aboard and bought 1/2 a dozen as well.  BAD IDEA! I have almost eaten them ALL.  So now that kinda defeats the purpose of walking huh?!?  Here is my review of the 3 cupcake I have eaten already...

Marble
It was pretty yummy.  I love marble everything.  Now Clarabelle's is apparently made without milk not sure I need to go in there next week and ask some questions as to this.  The flavor was great.  The texture seemed a little weird and Lisa and I opined that it must be the lack of dairy. 

Rocky Road
This one was better than the last.  I love marshmellows and chocolate!  It was really good.  It was small and had icing on top with a marshmellow, nuts and a chocolate chip.  YUMMY!!!

Samores
This was OMG I think I am in love!  It was not a cupcake though.  It was some gooey yummy graham crakers, gooey marshmellow stuff and chocolate.  HOLY CRAP I THINK I WANT MORE!  I will be buying this every Friday to go along with whatever flavors of cupcakes she has but this is a must have!

The Keys!

Went went down to The Big Chill a couple of weekends ago to celebrate Daddy's Bday and we had a blast.  The Big Chill is so family friendly and relaxing.  It is our home away from home during the summer.  Here is a picture of Dom and Daddy my 2 favorite boys :)




This little guy is so awesome!!!!


Pics of Dom's new helmet style





Mother's Day

I know I am a little late but my first Mother's Day was very nice.  Hubbs had a baseball game early that morning so he woke me up gave me some kisses and this:

I love this necklace!!! It is a mother and child necklace with a diamond at the bottom.  LOVE IT! 

So back to my day... Hubbs took off for his game.  The baby woke up at a decent time I fed him breakfast as Grambo (stepdad and Dom's grandfather) made breakfast for Nana and I.  We relaxed around the house for a while and then once hubbs was back we headed out to see Grammy then off to see Grandma Pat then off to the Alvarez family to spend time with them.  After running around spending time with all the beautiful and amazing moms and mommy's to be we headed home and had a nice steak dinner.

Twitter Tat Tour




WELCOME!!!!!

I got my first tattoo just before my 18th birthday.  I was going through a bit of a bad girl phase in my life and had to get one before I was 18 just to prove a point.  I had wanted a tattoo for a long time and always thought I would get a cross with my name under it.  Somehow I showed up at the parlor and ended up leaving with a tribal butterfly.  I think part of me knew how pissed my mom would be and thought well she loves butterflies she can't be too mad at me.  NOT she was sooooo pissed!!!  This tattoo is on the lower part of my back and really isn't too big.  Yes I have a Tramp Stamp.  LOL. 


(Sorry the picture is a little blurry)

Next... I went back like a month later because yes people tattoos are addicting (at least for me they are).  I wanted another one soooo bad.  I got a Chinese symbol for heaven on the top of my foot.  Now the first tattoo did not really hurt (and if you know me I have 0 pain tolerance).  I told them I wanted something small and on the top of my foot.  The tattoo guy (he also did my previous tattoo) looked at me like I was crazy.  I asked "Is it going to hurt"  His response nope!  If the last one didn't this one wont.  His brother started laughing (not a good sign).  He said it was going to hurt A LOT (and that was a major understatement).  So why did I choose heaven...  well I believe in God and that people go to heaven and I felt that I should not regret having heaven on my body.  I do not regret it and as the years have passed and I have lost someone very close to me it actually has gained a lot more meaning.


My last tattoo has the most meaning to me.  I got this one several years later.  I actually did it in Key West when I was on a Bachelorette party for my cousin.  We all decided we were going to go get tattoos and nope only me and one other girl ended up doing it.  I didn't really want another Chinese symbol and I didn't want it on my hip but I am very happy with it and it's location.  I wanted something either on the back of my neck or my wrist.  My cousin was getting married a couple of weeks later and we were going to be wearing our hair up and I decided that would probably really upset my mother and my grandmother (they are not fans of tattoos at ALL).  My mother gets so upset every time I talk about them or she seems them but this is who I am and I love them!  So the meaning behind this one.  It stands for eternity.  I had just lost my grandfather who I was extremely close to and I feel like he will be forever with me (hint eternity).  Now I choose this symbol because I told the tattoo guy (not the same as my last two) that I wanted it written out and small.  He did not agree.  He said that the letters would kind of bleed together and I probably wouldn't be happy with it.  I was upset!  I wanted this soo bad.  So I stood there just looking around to see if anything else would come to mind and was looking around with the other girls at stuff they were thinking of.  I found my next tattoo.  It looks like a K which is my first initial (Kacie).  That is it!!!! I already have a Chinese symbol so it goes with the theme or whatever and it's my initial and the meaning I wanted.


Now those are my three tattoos.  I would probably have more if it weren't for my husband and my mother not being big on the whole tattoo thing but I am getting one more in the future.  It will be my family tattoo.  It will represent me, my husband and my child.  It will be one that I can add to for any additional children I have.  I can't wait to find someone to draw it out for me! 

My hubbs had wanted a tattoo for a long time but could never really decide what we wanted.  After our amazing little boy was born he went to a Tattoo Expo and he got a tattoo that represents him and his son.  I think he is addicted now too.  He wants to add to this one and he wants more.  If you look at it closely you will see the Taurus bull head (my husband is a Taurus) and the little "m" in the middle is for our son (he is a Virgo).  It is also very cool because the "m" for the Virgo is also my hubbs initial (Michael).


So there are our tattoos. 

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

DOC Band update

Ok so today we had another appointment that went really well. The clinician said that next week will be his exit appointment :) Now there are 2 things that can happen. Dominick will either be done with his treatment on May 26th or we will have his exit appointment and last adjustment on May 26 and he will continue to wear the helment for another 2 weeks and then he will be done but without having to go back to Cranial Technologies. Either way YAY!!! Go Dominick for having an amazing response to the treatment and great growth during these past 8 weeks :) The clinician did come in after he did the adjustment to the helmet and said that these past 2 weeks Dom did not have much growth and that if next appointment (in 2 weeks) he hasn't had much growth that is it we are done. He said that his ears are back in alignment and that there is still a little asymmetry in the back of the head toward the side that was really flat but that that is pretty normal and might not ever fix. His head shape looks absolutely amazing. I am so happy with the results. At the exit appointment they will do measurements and photos and another scan of the head and we will have the before and after of all of that. Hopefully I will be able to find a way to upload that information on here so everyone can see the amazing results.

P.S. We changed the look of Dom's helmet. The paint was peeling really bad so we took it off and put stickers on it. I think I love this more than the Marlin's mural we did and it was much cheaper :) I will hopefully be able to post pics of it tomorrow. So if you have the DOC Band and were thinking of painting it DON'T DO IT!!!! Stickers work so much better!!!!

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

We are learning new things everyday!!!

So last night I was on the phone with my cousin Katie and Dominick was playing on his playmat and all of a sudden he rolled over to his tummy put his head on the floor (I think this is his thinking position) scootched his knees under him and sat himself up. OMG Katie hold on my kid just sat himself up! I called my mom to tell her the great news and when she came home he did it again. YAY it's not just a fluke. Called the Daddy and when Daddy came home we did it 2 more times.... We officially have a baby that can now sit himself up. Watch out world we will be up and running before you know it! This age is truly my favorite so far. He is showing so much personality now and learning new things it seems like daily.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Updates!!!

Ok so Dominick is now 8 months old O.M.G. where has time gone?!? He loves dancing. He loves music and when he hears a good song he starts bouncing and if he really loves the song he even puts his hands up and wiggles. It is the cutest thing ever. The boy loves music. He is also waiving hi and bye he has 2 different waives one is opening and closing his hand and the other is moving his entire arm up and down. Dominick is not crawling yet but getting really close to it. He sits and then leans really far forward getting one leg into crawling position and the other one still in the sitting position and then inches forward a little (sometimes backwards) and then sits again. He also is pulling himself up to standing and kneeling. He takes a few baby steps sometimes. He really loves to stand. The kid definately knows how to get wherever he wants to go. His new favorite toy is the TV trays. He loves them!!!! So those are Dom's new tricks! I can't believe our baby is growing up so fast. I remember and miss the days where he was so tiny and you had to hold him so carefully and now when you hold him you have to use every muscle in your body to control this maniac because he wants to touch everything and throw himself everywhere. My how things change.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Sick!

Well we were on a nice little streak of Dom not being sick until FRIDAY! I thought with winter over and the nice warm weather here that we would have a healthy little baby on our hands. WRONG!!! I have never wanted to be a SAHM (stay at home mom) so bad until Friday and this past weekend. Thursday when I dropped Dom off at daycare there were 2 out of the 4 kids there with really snotty noses and sure enough Thursday night I got no sleep because my kid was up ALL night coughing. I called the pediatrician first thing in the morning to see what I could do for Dom since whenever he has gotten a cold or a cough in the past it turns into really bad bronchitis. They told me there is really nothing I can do for him except to start him on the Albuterol treatments and if he gets a fever then to bring him in. I pretty much sat at work all day worried about poor Dom knowing this isn't going to turn out well and sure enough the weekend was HELL! He has been sleeping through the night since about 7 weeks and well he has not slept through the night since Thursday and this is killing me. It's killing me because 1) I hate that he is so sick that he wakes up coughing so hard that he starts screaming bloody murder and 2) because I really liked being able to sleep. I wish there was something we could do to help him feel better. I stayed home with him yesterday which really made me want to stay home forever even more. He was such a little cuddle bug yesterday and I LOVED IT.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

DOC Band Adjustment

So today Dom had another adjustment for his helmet. I have not been for a while and I was able to take him this morning along with Nana. He has made some great progress in these past 5 1/2 weeks. They are estimating that we should be done with the helmet within the next 6 to 8 weeks which should only be another 2 or 3 visits YAY!!! They did still notice that Dom has a bit of a head tilt and we need to really get serious about his neck stretches. His rotation has gotten almost 100% better but still that slight head tilt GRRR. I am so happy with the results so far and can't wait to see the final results.

Now that we are moving into the really warm weather down here in South Florida the tech recommended that we watch Dom's skin a little more closely and remove the helmet to wipe down the helmet and his head due to the sweat.

We go down to the Keys a lot so having the helmet on Dom 23 hours out of the day is not as easy as we thought. We are still managing to keep it on him a good part of the time but since we can't put sunscreen on his head or have him in the water without washing his hair before putting the helmet back on it's a little more difficult than we thought. Hopefully these next 6 to 8 weeks fly.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Superhero Baby

Dom must think he is a superhero because lately he has been turning his bib around so that its on his back. Which totally defeats the purpose of him wearing it and no we are changing shirts constantly because the front of his shirt gets covered in drool. Oh child of mine!

Monday, April 19, 2010

Weekend Recap

Ok so here I am trying to get back on this weekend recap thing. I haven't been doing so well at it but like I said I am going to TRY!

Friday... Rushed home from work and got Dom fed and changed, dogs walked and fed and hubby and baby loaded up in the car and off to Johanna and JC's to help (I am not a very good helper by the way) get everything finished up for their baby shower on Saturday. Got home and put me, hubbs and baby all to bed!

Saturday... Dom slept in (loved it!) got up and got Dom fed and ready and me ready to head out to Johanna and JC's Baby Shower. Had fun took no pictures but thank you Julie for taking tons of pictures. Headed home for some rest.

Sunday... Dom and I were supposed to go to Daddy's baseball game but due to the yucky weather we did not. Instead we got ready and headed out with Nana and went shopping for Daddy's b-day (O.M.G. I did not buy Dom anything for the first time since I was pregnant)then went to visit with Grammy and headed to Flannigan's to pick up dinner to go. Nana, Dom and I went in and you have to order your To Go food at the bar. Manager dude "I'm sorry you can't have a baby at the bar" Me "You shouldn't have your To Go orders at the bar". The food was yummy though. It rained all day yesterday which we needed but totally sucks when you are out and about especially with a baby. Daddy's baseball game got cancelled by the way so I don't feel so bad for not attending.

This week is going to be crazy!!! Please keep my Grammy in your thoughts and prayers as she is having heart surgery tomorrow. I love you and wish you the best. Can't wait to see you tomorrow Grammy.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Updates!!!!

So Dominick had 2 appointments this week and both went fantastic. The first appointment was with Dr. Koutouby the GI doctor. She said Dominick is doing great he weighs 17 pounds 8 ounces and 26 1/2 inches long. She wants us to try and start switching Dominick off of the Soy formula and on to the regular formula and if that goes well then we are going to try and start reducing the Prevacid. YAY!!!! Big changes coming your way baby :) Hopefully he tolerates everything well. Fingers crossed!

Next we had our appointment at Cranial Technologies for his helmet. The clinician was super happy with his progress. His ears are pretty much back in alignment and his head is rounding out really well. He told Daddy (who took him to the appointment) that he thinks for sure at 3 months he will be done if not maybe as early as 2 months he could be done. YAY!!!! Tomorrow Dominick will have been in the helmet for 4 weeks already. Time is going by so fast. We are both really happy with the decision we made to go ahead and do this treatment for him. The results so far are incredible. Time is flying and the progress is coming along so much better than I expected. The people staring are not that bad. But like my friend Laurie told me "Focus on your family not on other people" so when we are out I am not people watching as much so if there are stares I don't notice them as much. I focus on my crazy son who is now wanting to me in the middle of anything and everything. I have really only had one weird reaction to his helmet and other than that a really good reaction from a a guy passing us while we were at the County Fair who said his son just finished the treatment and it is so worth it and then a few people here and there that are just curious what it is but are very nice in their approach towards it. The kids that see him when we go places are usually the ones that ask a lot or talk about it to their parents but to me I don't mind the kids talking about it they are curious and KIDS that is what they do. It's actually pretty funny to hear how they think.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

The Fair

Ok so the picture totally sucks and you cant tell where we are :( I am so bad at taking pictures. So now on to the story.... Last night Dominick and I joined Nana and Grambo at "The Fair" it was actually Dominick's 2nd time there as we went last thursday with Daddy and some of my friends and family. Unfortunately I did not take any pictures that time (told you I was really bad). Well we don't go to the county fair for the rides anymore or should I say yet (for Dominick) I love to go and eat all the yummy food (which is not good for the diet that I am trying to be on), Nana goes to play games which Dominick is holding one of her 3 winnings. She is really good at the games. The dogs seemed a little disappointed when I was showing Daddy what Nana won for Dominick because Nana used to always give her winnigs to them. There is a new kid in town now pups and he is takin over! So back to our Fair trip. Last week it was so packed that we could barely move the stroller around without running into people this time it was so nice it was not crowded at all. Dominick seemed to really enjoy it both times because there are so many lights and all new different things for him to look at. We stayed out well past his bed time both times and he did end up falling asleep at the very end. He is such a trooper!

Monday, March 29, 2010

Meet the dogs!


Dior is the little Yorkie that now looks like a Chihuahua since we hadn't gotten her groomed in over 6 months. She had terrible knots and so they had to shave her really short. I think in the end she is probably happy because now Dominick can't pull her hair. Auto is laying on "his pillow" (a bit spoiled huh?!?). Those are the crazy pups. I am sure they will start making more appearances as Dominick is becoming more and more fascinated with them every day.

Weekend Recap

Well I am going to try and do weekend recaps because 1) I would like to be able to look back and remember what all I have done with the family and 2) these next couple of months are CRAZY!!!!

Starting Friday... My Mom, Grammy, Aunt Trish (really my great aunt), Aunt Paula (same thing), Joyce and Shirly and Dominick and I went out to dinner at Bone Fish. It was so nice seeing everyone. It has been a while since I have seen Paula, Trish, Joyce and Shirly so it was very nice seeing them and Dominick meeting them. Dinner was very yummy and Dominick was pretty well behaved. It was actually our first attempt at taking Dominick to a restaurant not in the infant carrier. I am so upset that I didn't take pictures :( He sat in a high chair (with this protective thingy) and he did pretty good for about 30 minutes then he wanted to be held. We passed him around but when the food was starting to come out we put him back in the high chair which did not work. He was over the high chair experience. Thank goodness we were in my Mom's car because she still has the infant carrier in her car. So she quickly went out and grabbed it and we put him in there so we could enjoy our meal. Dinner was great but had a little bit of a hectic ending with Paula taking a fall.

Saturday... My Mom, Dominick and I went shopping. We are very dangerous when shopping together. We went down to an outlet mall in Homestead and bought lots of clothes for Dominick, had to do some birthday shopping for all the upcoming parties, and I need some new spring clothes since my old ones still don't fit :( Our first shopping outing was very rushed since we needed to be back home to take Grambo to sing in a wedding. We were not done shopping so after Grambo's singing we rushed down to pick up Dior (who got her haircut which now made a yorkie look like a Chihuahua) then dropped her and Grambo off. The three of us (Dominick, Mom and I) headed back down to the mall and did more damage. I was exhausted after all that shopping but made out with some pretty cute stuff. After that we headed home and called it a night.

Sunday a/k/a Crazy day.... As you can see from the post below we had Dominick's helmet painted Sunday morning/afternoon. Then once he was done painting it we rushed out to Elizabeth Marie's birthday party. The party was so cute. They had a petting zoo which Dominick got to pet a Lama and had his first Horse Ride. I hope to see pics posted soon since I didn't take any. After that party we rushed home and got Grambo and headed off to my families parties. We were celebrating Brooke, Ray, and Paul's birthdays and Jodi and Erika's confirmation. Mike had a baseball game up in Broward so he could not attend any of the above parties. He missed out on lots of fun.

The front of the helmet

Dominick got his helmet painted

So on Sunday we had Dennis a muralist that Michael found come to the house to paint Dominick's helmet. As you can see we went with a Florida Marlins baseball theme. I was very happy with the results. It took a little longer then expected but shhh don't tell anyone. Now here is the problem... there is a reason why not that many people paint them.... within less than 2 hours of him having his helmet back on there were scratches everywhere. Dennis is coming back out tonight to try and do some touch up work and apply a clear hopefully protective coat.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

A day at the Zoo

Today Dominick and I went to the Zoo with Laurie, Brianna and Tricia. The weather was amazing not too hot but perfect (like always I have a sunburn but not to worry we did our best and Dominck made another outing without a sunburn YAY). Anyway Dominick seemed to have a lot of fun. Most of his fun seemed to come from watching Bri then from watching animals. After lots of walking we stopped for some play time at the palyground. Domionick had his first swing experience and LOVED it! He laughed the whole time he was on the swings.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Dominick's first day in his helmet

Well fingers crossed didn't work. I got a call from his daycare lady around 2:30 saying that he has been very grumpy and crying all day (which is so not like Dominick) but when she took it off for his redness check for about an hour he went back to wanting to play and being happy and now that the helmet is back on he is crying again. I feel horrible that I am at work and didn't even think to take the day off to be with my son so that I could be the one to monitor him and if he needed cheering up it would be me. So here I sit at work crying wishing I was with my son on his first helmet day. I hope this is just him getting used to wearing it because good lord help us all if we have to go through 23 hour days for the next couple of months dealing with a grumpy Dominick. I can't wait to run out of here and go get my little man. Good thing is at about 7 p.m. tonight off comes the helmet for bath time and sleep. Tonight he does not wear the helmet to sleep but starting tomorrow he has to wear it to sleep (wish us luck on the sleeping part). Maybe once he sees his helmet all nice and decorated he will like it more. Speaking of decorating... the day has come that he has his helmet and I still have no idea how I am going to decorate it. I am hopefully going to go to a place that I can have it wrapped tomorrow and will hopefully come up with something cool for it. Otherwise stickers here we come. By the way have I mentioned that I am not very crafty so this will be an interesting task if it comes to stickers and local family and friends I would like your help if you are up to the challenge.

Dominick got his helmet today!

I will update later to let you guys know how he is doing. He did great at the place when they put it on and he never grabbed at it or even acted like he knew it was on. Hopefully it stays that way... fingers crossed!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Dominick eating

Ok so finally I am posting a picture of Dominick eating his bananas. So far he did not like oatmeal too much, loved pears and likes bananas ok. Today we are moving on to peaches (can't wait to see how this goes). I am so proud of my baby. He is eating so well. Oatmeal was a mess as it was his first time eating but by the time he made it to his pears he was eating like a pro. He even understands the concept of food and silverware. The other night we were at my Grammy's house eating Chinese food (very yummy by the way) and I had Dominick sitting on the couch next to me and every time I would take a bite of my food he would start kicking his legs (I think to get my attention) and then would open his mouth like a little birdy for me to feed him (which I did not feed him Chinese food). It was the cutest thing. He had us cracking up. He is such a smart little guy now. It is crazy how time is flying and he is getting so big and such a personality.

Happy St. Patty's Day!!!

Sorry I am a day late guys and Dominick really just didn't want to smile for the camera so this was the best shot I got. Hope you all had a great day!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Dominick's 6 Month Check Up

Holy cow I can't believe it is time for me to write this post already!!!! Well first lets start off with last night Dominick has officially started sitting pretty well on his own. He now knows how to find his balance (not always). He has also been sitting in his high chair for about a month now (sorry I can't believe I haven't posted about this already) which will finally come in handy for something other then entertaining him while we eat.

Now on to his actual doctor appointment.... It went great. He weighs 16 pounds 2 ounces and he is 26 7/8 inches long. The doctor said he was doing great. We are going to start solids tonight. I think this go round was my hardest time with his shots. He screamed and held his breath it was totally heartbreaking to watch. But he did very well and as soon as I could pick him up he started to calm down. now hopefully we wont have to go back until his 9 month appointment (fingers crossed). Well I will have to post lots of pictures soon of him sitting and in his high chair and eating all the yummy foods he gets to start trying. My baby is growing up so fast.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Dominick is a big boy now

He was getting way to heavy for me to carry in his infant carrier so Monday night Daddy installed the big boy carseat. This was Dominick's first ride in it and he did GREAT!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Helmet

Well Dominick had his first evaluation today at Cranial Technologies. He definitely needs the DOC Band. The evaluation went pretty well and I am feeling a lot better about this. I was having a very hard time excepting the fact that my son needed to wear a helmet. I have known since he was 2 months old that this could be a possibility due to torticollis. I just figured that it would fix itself and there was no way my son would have to wear it. Well another month would go by and it wasn't getting better but I just kept thinking it will get better. I started putting Dominick to sleep on his tummy because I figured the more time he had off the back of his head it would get better (not to worry he was already rolling over). NOPE!!! We went into the pediatrician because of a tummy problem and Dr. Flicker recommended we see Dr. Garri and Dr. Flicker seemed pretty concerned about the flat spot. I still felt like once Dr. Garri saw him he would say that it wasn't that serious and it will fix itself. Wrong again! Dr. Garri felt that it was a pretty severe case and sent us to Cranial Technologies. I was still holding out hope that they would say Dominick was perfect (which he is but he will be even more perfect after the helmet). Wrong yet again! It was all starting to really hit me yesterday and I just could not stop crying thinking about my poor baby being in a helmet. I kept thinking it would be like when I got braces and they tell you "oh you will have them on for a year and half" but then in reality it was like 3 years. The helmet is a big commitment. Dominick will have to wear it everyday for 23 hours out of the day. The only break he gets is for bath time and we have to clean it everyday during that one hour. Wow if I have to commit my family to this helmet for 2 years 23 hours out of a day I just don't think I can do it. Hello we live in Florida and love going to the pool or beach this means my kid cannot enjoy swimming or anything. I was also really struggling with the fact on how people will stare and react to the helmet. I know I shouldn't care what other people think but I DO. So now that the initial evaluation is over I am feeling a lot better. It went really well today. They have a very friendly staff and explained the process very thoroughly. Today they took pictures and measurements to make sure Dominick medically needs the helmet. He does! Big time according to the numbers they got. I should be receiving a call from them within the next 24-48 hours to go over insurance, payment options and setting up the next appointment. They told me to expect his next appointment to be next week. That appointment will include a scan of Dominick's head to get precise measurements to do a molding and a fitting of the helmet. Dominick should be in the helmet within the next 2 weeks. Once we have the helmet we will be going every week for an adjustment. The process should be anywhere from 8 to 12 weeks. They told us they really like to go 12 weeks to get the best results. The inside of the helmet is made of foam and the outside is a plastic piece and at every weeks adjustment they shave a little bit of the foam off inside as his head starts to change in shape. They really like to keep the helmet on until the get all the foam shaved out and its just the plastic piece left. There is a slight possibility that Dominick will have to have 2 different helmet sessions (8-12 week ones which means possibly 24 weeks)because the shape of his head but they do believe that just one round will do the trick. Lets keep our fingers crossed for just one round! Now to the fun part. The helmet is an all white footbally looking thing and we can decorate the outside however we want. So I am really looking forward to doing that. I need to find some positive (besides the fact that my kids head will be normal)thing to look forward too. Mike and I have been discussing different ways to decorate and are debating between a Marlin's Baseball style or maybe a Nascar style. But once we decide and get the helmet we will definitely post pictures.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Doctor Appointments - February 23, 2010

Ok so not so good news from either doctor appointments. Dominick has an ear infection in his left ear :( He is on antibiotics and hopefully this will clear up fast. I really hope he doesn't get them like I used to get them they were terrible for me.

Dr. Garri is the doctor he saw about his head. He has positional plagiocephaly which is the flat spot on the right side of his head. Well the good news is he doesn't need surgery WHAT!!! I didn't even know I should have been concerend about surgery. The bad news is... the doctor thinks it is severe enough that Dominick will need to wear a helmet. Dr. Garri thinks Dominick should only have to wear it for about 3 to 4 months and 23 hours out of the day. Hopefully time flies. Tomorrow we go see Cranial Tachnologies to get measurements, photos and discuss financial options for the helmet.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Update

Well here is a little update on Dominick. Currently he has a horrible cold. Poor little guy has lots of buggies and a real deep cough. We are going to the pediatrician at 12:30 and then off to the head specialist at 3:30. Today is full of driving around town to the doctors. Anyway on to the good. Dominick is now reaching out to people to be held and if you are lucky you will get a big hug. Hopefully I can catch this on camera soon and post pictures. It is the cutest thing. He is also reaching out for anything in his reach i.e. remote controls, my phone, last night.... my food. He threw my sandwich on the floor and grabbed my plate to try and eat that (you got it wrong little buddy the food is what you want to eat!). He is also really enjoying the puppies now. He loves Dior because right now her hair is really long so he grabs and pulls her hair. Surprisingly she tolerates it pretty well. Auto he likes as well but since his hair is short he likes to grab his floppy cheeks or tries to eat Auto (yuck! what is it with you trying to eat everything non-edible). Hopefully I will get a chance to post either tonight or tomorrow about his doctors appointments. Wish us luck!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Valentine's Day Weekend

Well this was our first Valentine's Day with Dominick. Mike and I took him to the Boat/Yacht show. The Yacht show was amazing. Lots of really nice HUGE boats. The boat show was ok. Nothing spectacular. It was nice to get out in the nice weather and enjoy a nice family day. Yesterday was President's Day and well Mike had to work and I got to stay home and enjoy Mommy/Dominick time. Ok so I don't know how much of it was really enjoyable because he was Mr. Crankypants. But it was still nice to be home ALL day with him. Yesterday he started a new trick... He blows kisses (well that is what I like to think it is) he sucks in his lips and makes the kiss noise and then starts blowing his raspberries (which involves spit going everywhere NICE!) He is also shaking his head no for everything now its the funniest thing. Pictures will be uploaded soon. Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Doctor Appointment - February 9, 2010

Dominick saw Dr. Koutouby on February 9th for a follow up on his reflux. His weight is doing great. He weighs 15 pounds 8 ounces and is still 25 inches long. Dr. Koutouby said we can take him off the Zantac at night and to keep him on the Prevacid in the morning. While he is still having the tummy thing going on we can give him some Maalox. Of course Dominick loves her so the entire time he is talking away to her and blowing her raspberries. I was glad to hear he is doing better with the reflux :)

Monday, February 8, 2010

Doctor Visit on Friday February 5, 2010

Starting last Sunday Dominick had been having lots of poopy diapers a day which is not usual for him. I called the doctor on Tuesday to let them know what was going on and they told me everything sounded fine but to keep an eye on him and if anything got worse (i.e. fever or bloody stools) to call and bring him in immediately. Well by Friday he was not better so I took him in and well he is fine. They told me that this can last up to two weeks and to make sure that he does not get dehydrated or have bloody stools. Then the doctor mentioned that his head is still not rounding out. For those of you who didn't know... Dominick had torticollis (which is a stiffening of the muscle on one side of his neck) which caused him to always keep his head to the right. We has gotten much better about looking to the left but when he sleeps he very much favors his right side. So the flat spot on the right side of his head is not getting any better. We were referred to a specialist to see if he will need to be placed in a helmet. We go to see that doctor on February 23rd. Poor little guy has so many doctor appointments coming up. He sees the GI doctor tomorrow and then the specialist on the 23rd and then his 6 month check-up on March 9th. So lots of updates are coming. Wish us lots of luck for good news at the next 2 appointments.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Crazy Weekend!



Ok so this weekend was probably one of the craziest weekends I have survived since becoming a "MOM". It started with Friday.... After rushing home from work (which I left late and hit pretty bad traffic) I had to get me and the baby ready to go to a family party. Since Dominick always has to look his best when we go out I had to give him a bath and find one of his cutest outfits. Then off to my Aunt and Unlce's house for the family b-day parties. Now the party started at 7:00 p.m. (for the Rodriguez Family that means we show up at 7:45p.m.) which now means we are entering Dominick's bedtime. He did pretty good and lasted till about 8:30 p.m. When I finally gave in and put him on my Aunt's bed. I kept going back and checking on him and of course he was passed out. I wish I had a picture to post of his new sleeping position but unfortunately I do not. Every night he sleeps with his seahorse. Well of course we didn't bring it with us so I go back to check on him and he is sleeping on his side (his new position) and rubbing the pillow (one of the pillows which he was surrounded by). It was so cute. Note to self... Bring seahorse if we are going to be around bedtime. Now on to crazy Saturday....We woke up early (like its an option) and Mike took Auto (dog) to get neutered. Poor guy! Then we headed off to Katelyn's birthday party at the Miami Children's Museum. I thought it was pretty cool but wasn't sure how much Dominick would really understand but man he loved it. He loved his Daddy taking him around and looking at all the different lights and noises. It was so cute to see him smiling the entire time. Pictures of that event to come soon. Sorry they are on my Mom's new camera. Then we headed off to another B-day party/Baby shower which we could only stay at for a little while because then we were off to get my step-dad and finally celebrate my Mom's b-day (Did I forget to mention at the beginning of this day it was my Mom's B-day!!!) So we finally went home and had the yummy Big Cheese for dinner and called it a night early. Oh I forgot to mention Dominick's nap time is from 12-2 p.m. which was the same time as the Museum party and there was no way that kid was going to miss out on the action. Nap Missed!!! Now off to Sunday.... I nearly missed my Aunt and Uncle's (another set) renewal of their vows and then off to the Rusty Pelican for brunch. Another nap of Dominicks missed. He did pretty good until the end he just couldnt fight his sleep anymore and finally passed out in my arms. Several Mimosas later and I am ready for my nap. It was very nice weekend spending so much time with the family this weekend. My cousins came down from Orlando and its always great to see them.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

4 Month Check-Up

Yesterday Dominick had his 4 month check-up with Dr. Paul. His weight: 14lbs 14 oz height: 25 inches. He is in the 50th percentile in both height and weight. Dr. Paul said that Dominick is doing great and is perfect (which I already knew that ;) ) He then got 4 shots. He screamed during them but a few minutes later he was fine. He was a little cranky afterwards but went to sleep early (which I thought was great until he was up every 45 minutes starting at 2:45 a.m.). So needless to say, we are very happy that his growing and doing just fine!

Monday, January 25, 2010

Dominick Rolled Over!

On Sunday, Dominick finally rolled over belly to back three times!!! Since he has been doing so well with pushing himself up while on tummy time my Mom thought Sunday morning might just be the time he will roll over. We put him down and in less than 2 minutes he was on his back. I thought it was because he was half on the matt half off but my Mom swore he really did it on his own. So back to the tummy we go and sure enough he did it again. Yay Baby!!!! Daddy was busy still getting us moved so I called him to tell him. By the time Daddy got home Dominick was not wnating to show off his new trick so hopefully Daddy will be able to see it soon.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Dominick is finally tolerating Tummy Time!


Dominick has not liked tummy time very much. I was starting to get a little worried becuse every time I did tummy time with him he would just lay there and fall asleep or he would lay there and scream. Our routine for bedtime this week has been... I give him his bottle, then we sit up and hang out for a little bit, then go to my room and lay on the bed and play and then we roll over and for tummy time. We have been doing much better with tummy time now. He plays for a few minutes and the passes out. He is also starting to push himself up and hopefully he will rollover soon!

Getting Started

Ok so this one will probably be a little long.... I am going to try and keep this updated as best as I can. This blog will mostly be about Dominick because well.... he is what our world is all about.

Quick catch me up on Dominick... He is 4 1/2 months olf and has the cutest personality ever. He is a major talker (which I think he gets from me). The kid can out talk me! He has been talking since he was probably about 2 months old. His favorite thing to do right now is chew on his hands. Oh and he also likes to try and blow raspberries. Dominick has been starting to sit up since January 2nd. Daddy was working very hard with him while we were in Georgia and he did it once up there to show off for me. He has been getting better and better every day. Yesterday I got my first laugh from him. It was awesome! Of course the way I got it was because I was talking about the dogs (which he absolutely loves). Now to the not so good.... Dominick suffers pretty bad from acid reflux. He has been on cereal in his bottles since he was about 6 weeks and was on Zantac but it wasn't cutting it so now he is on Prevacid and Zantac. We had an appointment last week with the Gastroenterologist, Dr. Koutouby and I think starting next week we will be giving Dominick the over-the-counter dose of Prevacid which means.... feeding Dominick pears every morning!!!! I will definitely post pics of that mess. On Monday, Dominick has his 4 month check up and will be getting 4 shots :( but only if he is better from his cold. Dominick had his first major cold these past few weeks and had bronchitis and laryngitis. Poor guy!!! He is doing much better now and has stopped the Albuterol. Well I think that is it for now but will keep you all posted on his doctor visit Monday and all his new adventures.