A Christmas Tribute...

Did you ever hesitate to ask for a little help just because you were afraid of what people may think? Well, I admit to have done that just a couple weeks ago. Without disclosing too specific of information I was in search of a particular item for someone in need. I reached out to a group of women that knew nothing or very little about me and asked for help. I hesitated because of that reason. Those of you that are reading and know me personally know that my intentions are always honest and true. But I wondered if these ladies would question my intentions. That maybe they would think my requests were to benefit my own self. Then I thought what a sad world it is that when we try to do good and ask for help we wonder if others are going to think twice about helping due to all the "scams" of the world today. I decided to go against my negative thoughts and put it out there. In less than 30 minutes I had help. An overabundance of help. Like tears and goosebumps overabdunace-it was nothing short of amazing, inspirational, generous, kind, thoughtful... should I keep going?!

These ladies not only helped me spread Christmas joy but also gave me faith that there are still A LOT of kind people out there with even more kindness in their hearts. and believe in a world where mainly negative things make the headlines and where working a job where I continuously hear one tragic thing after another that can dampen your spirit on the overall good of the world. I could have asked my close circle of friends and family to help and with no doubt would have had an ample amount of assistance. But to have pretty close to strangers able to restore my faith in others is exactly what has happened when I reached blindly in the name of help. And that is exactly what my heart needed and why I'm grateful I took that hesitant step in asking. Through others I was able to provide much more than what was originally anticipated and for that I'm even more grateful. 

So thank you ladies for bringing good to light. For being my chauffeur to pick up the donations. For going out of your way to help. For being present wrappers. And most of all for your incredible generosity. Thank you for helping me make a couple families that are truly deserving not have to worry about the stress of what sometimes this season can bring. You all are nothing short of angels on Earth. What's even better is that these wonderful women (and hopefully including myself too) are teaching our little people how to spread love and joy as well. And that is what is even more beautiful for me is giving hope to the future. 

My message and what these ladies have taught me time and time again-LOVE and LIFT as often and as much as you can. Not only are you LOVING and LIFTING others but I promise you will be LOVING and LIFTING yourself. 

Merry Christmas Everyone. ❤️

XO. 

JLOVE AKA "Mommy"

Mr. Independent

It's been awhile! After my big tribute posts I kind of have lost the desire to blog as I felt the reasoning behind my purpose had been served. Not to mention it's really hard to find the time of late to do so. I began to question if I should continue on with blogging so I went back to a few of my first posts and read them over and realized- YES I may not want to take the time to write the blogs anymore but I NEED to. As it was so amazing to see where we started and reminisce about what Nico was up to at different parts of his life. Once again, I was reminded that it just happens all too quickly and since I'm sucking at filling in the baby book and I'm sucking at getting picture developed I need to keep something going! So here I am, writing bits and pieces at a time whenever I have a spare second. Thank goodness I'm an efficient typist and that my thoughts come rather quickly. I'm not quite sure how often I'll be able to blog-or if there is certain milestones after 12 months that are logical to set as checkpoints so I guess from here on out it is what it is.

After Nico turned one things seemed to get a tad bit crazy around our house! A week after his birthday we took him in for his check up after a good report I had pointed out a little white spot I had noticed in the corner or his mouth. His doctor said not to worry about it since it was just a canker sore. I was still nursing and I thought he may have bitten me because I was a little sore. By the end of the weekend my sister had him laughing so hard that he had his mouth wide open and his head back and noticed more white spots in his mouth. At that point I knew both my uncomfortableness and the spots were thrush. Damn, damn, damn. Now let me tell you-I love nursing. Like love love loveeee it. Unfortunately, due to the thrush even the thought of nursing made me full of dread. Because of the pain, I was only nursing here and there and I thought once this clears up we will be on our way to my magical age of 18 months before I weaned. But little did I know that I was weaning without even realizing. It got to the point one night that I knew I couldn't nurse him before bed. He cuddled on me and was a little irritated but he ended up getting comfy and falling asleep-I was crying as it was the first time in 13 months that we hadn't nursed as part of our bed time routine. Basically, it was harder on me than it was on him. I was beating myself up that I didn't make it to my goal of when I wanted to wean. And I was angry at the doctor that my mother instincts were right and I let the doctor talk me out of something that I knew wasn't normal. After considering the larger picture I realized we made it through a 13 month journey of nursing and that is an accomplishment within itself! I realized that my body provided for not only my pregnancy for him but also served him for an additional 13 months where he depended solely and largely on me to receive his nutrients and grow into the healthy and incredibly strong little boy that he is. In that, I decided to stop being so hard on myself and give myself a little credit for a job well done.

I'm Allowed To Take Credit For This Right? 

Since Nico's 12 month update he has been taking a few steps here and there. My sister had gotten him the cutest shopping cart ever for his birthday and he utilized that and his primary mode of transportation. All while my husband is saying that the cart was "delaying" him in walking. I just laughed and told him that he would be eating those words one day.

One evening we were going a little stir crazy in the house because of a cold snap so I decided to get the bubble machine out that his TT also got for his birthday. As this was a new experience and who doesn't like a little bubble action? Of course I spent about 4 hours trying to get it out of the package (seriously whoever creates packaging for products I believe purposely makes them impossible to drive already crazy parents that much more crazy, right?!?) Then I spent another 1.5 hours trying to round about 16 random batteries to get the motor running (again...seriously, right?!) Finally, got everything unwrapped and screwed back in and I called Nico over to the kitchen (he was in living room) I then see his little head moving from the other side of the counter but I don't hear the wheels of his cart. All of a sudden he comes around the corner of the cabinetry and he's walking on his own with the assistance of one battery in each hand! Little did we know that in order to get this kid to walk more than a step or two we had to put batteries in him! The next morning over breakfast I told my husband the story and he of course was "yeah righting" me and thinking I was making it up. Since I always have to be right and prove a point- I took Nico out of the chair and gave him a battery for each hand and just like that he started walking. Mr. Independent once again showing up. Not only is amazing seeing him becoming physically independent but it's just and maybe even more amazing to see him actually comprehending words, tasks, and directions. We were at music class a few weeks ago and the teacher instructed the children that it was time to put the toys away (of course in song). So Nico started putting the toys in the container and one of the other children came and grabbed a toy back out. Nico said, "No, no, no, no" took the toy out of the child's hand and put it back in the container. It was mind blowing in my little brain-not only was Nico following directions but he knew that the toys were to go in the container and not to be taken back out by anyone. Amazing. My Mr. Independent. 

Mr. Independent is also ball obsessed. I've had to upgrade the size of his ball basket 3 times to accommodate all his balls. He had all sorts of balls-footballs, baseballs, waffle balls, ping pong balls, golf balls, basketballs, bouncy balls, and well just balls. :) Every day the ball is the first basket to be emptied. He sees football on TV and is pointing and making grunting noises and sounds of  expiration and holding his hands together and then up in the air (Mini Stefano). When we yell "Touchdown" he's nothing but smiles. He loves when I take his football and pound my hands against it yelling "hut-hut-hike!" Nico's future as some kind of athlete is looking promising.  

Oh and can I also tell you that if Nico doesn't become that professional athlete that is being predicted by others he's going to be the best (and friendliest) damn custodian you have ever met! This kid is OBSESSED with cleaning! He's showed some obsessive cleaning tendencies already a few months back but now it's going to some extreme levels. His "TT" hasn't helped the situation either-she bought him a vacuum as well as his own swifter, mop, and broom. After playing with all his balls he then cleans everything. Can't say that's a bad habit eh? :)

What favorites does Nico now have? Well, his next favorite thing after balls (and cleaning) are books. His current favorite? "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" Of course this fact for love of any book brings me unlimited joy. Not only that-my ESL husband has joined the bandwagon and now seems to be a book lover too. I believe Stefano can now say he's read an entire book. In their repertoire of interests, they both have a fascination with lions. Nico never woofs, meows, or moos like other children he ROARS. For real. It's the best. His favorite foods currently are pasta (of course), bananas, he's tried a persimmon, grapes, and pancakes! I've now become quite the pancake connoisseur! Banana pancakes, pineapple pancakes, pumpkin pancakes, and other pancakes in queue. But in true Gallina style he loves to eat. He gets so excited for his meals it's comical and borderline may be a problem. 

Everyday Occurrence….Multiple Times…Ughhhh…All In The Name Of Learning.

Nico continues using his fork (which I'm super proud of his abilities) and he was trying to stab a little pea onto it. I watched him struggle a bit and I wanted to help him so bad but I knew that moments of struggle are really such learning moments to individuals (yes even a one year old!) that I would just observe and reign in my desire to make his attempts successful. Lo and behold within a minute he had the slippery little pea on the prong and then into his mouth. My little big boy once again proving his independence to me. 

Just when I thought Nico may not need me anymore we had a scary bout of sickness. 2 weeks before Thanksgiving he spiked a high fever at night but was acting fine and eating like usual. My motto is to treat the child rather than the fever. A fever is a healthy and normal immune response to whatever may be invading and since Nico didn't seem uncomfortable or bothered by it I let the fever climb to close to 103 degrees until it finally broke around midnight and next morning woke up with no signs of illness. That following weekend he spiked a fever again 2 nights in a row.

Being Sick Is The Worst!

By the 2nd night I was getting worried as the fever was getting high and as a nurse you start thinking worse case scenarios and have a husband that is also now borderline freaking me out asking if we should take him to the hospital. I so wanted to because the pressure of taking care of a sick child and watching your child be down and out is the worst. But knowing fine and well what they would do/say I knew I was doing all the right things in the comfort of our home. Fortunately, the week of Thanksgiving he was on the mend with only cold/cough symptoms and we were able to celebrate Thanksgiving with our extended family. We then left for Chicago that evening.

Hotel Life

As my followers know we enjoyed a week in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico! We wanted to take some time as our own little family unit for some well needed quality time together and to get some real vitamin D to cure us from the rest of our germs.  Once again, my baby proved to be a dream on our travels.

Relaxed Much?

We arrived at our resort safely and little to our knowledge we were arriving on the tail end of a hurricane. Hurrican Sandy to be exact. Huh? We had no idea! I thought that some of the homes we saw from the airport were abdonded thus the boards in the windows. Maybe I should have checked the forecast before we left? Does that tell you anything about my state of mind prior to leaving if I didn't even look at a forecast? Nonetheless- we had a drizzle day and half after our arrival but when you go from 20 some degrees to over 70 it still feels amazing. 

It quickly cleared up and become even more beautiful! We stayed at the perfect resort with such friendly staff and other guests. They all thought Nico was the best thing ever. Which I couldn't argue with. :) Usually we would be the ones to be acknowledged but nope it was only Nico that got all the attention. He would smile with his whole face till his eyes were squinty and wave to everyone he encountered. Friendly little spirit we have. And that obsessive cleaning I told you about prior? Well, I thought he would take a chill pill since he was on vacation but nope his obsession continued. If there was anything on the ground he'd point and grunt and not stop until it was picked up. Luckily, the resort was pristine otherwise we may have spent our whole vacation as part of the grounds crew. Oh and when he saw the workers with any cleaning supplies? He went ape. This kid is strange. My dad has some of these obsessive tendencies so I'm blaming him for Nico inheriting this. Since I still can't sit on public toilets, touch bathroom fixtures/handles, or walk barefoot in most bathrooms because of my dad we all may need some therapy down the line. I digress…back to beautiful Mexico….

His Curls-Come Out More With A Little Mexico Air

As you may have assumed we enjoyed ourselves immensely. Traveling with a baby is always an adventure and I can't say it's uber relaxing since back in the duo era when we vacationed our biggest concerns were what WE wanted to do. Now vacationing revolves around nap times and what NICO wants to do and what NICO is in the mood for. There wasn't much relaxing but it was still so nice to be parenting together, giving Nico a bath together, eating meals together as those things happen rarely back home due to work schedules. We have special memories of our trip and of course a little chaos (like almost missing our flight home-would that have been so bad?!). All in all we are grateful to have time together as a family in a beautiful part of the world and thankful to be able to clear our heads for a bit and focus 100% on each other.


I recently read a quote that stopped me in my tracks and made my world stop moving and everything became quiet…something that has only happened two other times in my life-the quote stated, "Little children, from the moment they are weaned, are making their way toward independence." and I knew those words were exactly what my tears stood for going back to that first night I didn't nurse Nico. My baby was/is making his way to becoming independent. Each and every day right in front of my own eyes I'm seeing him become more and more autonomous. It's amazing but at the same time there's this new pull on my heart strings letting him go little by little. I keep hoping and praying we are doing right by him and we are helping him become confident in his own abilities and skills and raising him into not only being a wonderful son but also into a wonderful man.

Mr. Independent But Still My Baby

Till next time....

XO. 

JLOVE AKA "Mommy"