Monday, December 29, 2008

The last post of 2008

I figure before this year comes to an end I should take a minute to reflect on all that has happened this year. I could bore you with all the details but why?? If you really want to know it all check back in my posts.

Instead here is my 2008 year in review:
Happy New Year-2008!
One last class for Master's, class ends on due date- Oops, that could be a problem.
Bry turns 30 and my first time as a V.I.P. at a club is when I'm 8 months pregnant.
Maternity leave starts, Happy Easter.
I'm having a baby-it's not an April Fool's joke.
Welcome to the world Moira Ann!
Three weeks later, I haul ass to Rutgers for my last graduate class.
Graduation- 7 weeks post-partum May 21!
My push-present, tickets to Pearl Jam! Yes!!
Summer = BLUR.
September I turn 30 and Bry surprises me a dinner w/some of my favorite people.
Vacation- Mo's first swim and Mo decides to sleep through the night.
Halloween, our little butterfly learns to crawl
Thanksgiving
December brings two teeth, and a walker!

What a year, what a year!

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Happy Holidays!

Our Mo-Mo, does her best "Ho,Ho,Ho!"



Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!



I figure this is the only time I can get away with posing her in only a diaper!

Sunday, December 21, 2008

A "Poo" Christmas

Disclaimer: The following post includes an incident w/one dirty diaper. Read at your own risk!
As Mo gets older, our pediatrician told us we could start her on more table food. Like any child trying something new and exciting, Mo has inhaled pretty much every morsel of people food we have put in front of her. This includes: macaroni & cheese, yogurt, pancakes, meatballs, & most recently stew. (All of these foods are mushed into teeny tiny pieces!) I make a mean stew, if I say so myself, and Mo really seems to enjoy it. I guess, like anyone who tries something new, sometimes it doesn't quite agree with your system. It may back you up, and it appears stew does this to Mo.
We learned it the hard way!
We made a trip down the shore to visit Bry's parents this weekend. The ride takes about an hour and 45 minutes. We planned it appropriately to leave right around her first nap of the day. We put her in the adorable outfit my mother-in-law purchased her from the tres' chic baby shop in Cape May. She did look like an adorable elf! Anyway, as we were packing up the following conversation occurred between Bry & I: (feel free to insert a certain expletive for poo)
Bry: Did Mo poo today?
me: Uh, not yet.
B: Crap, she's usually pooed by now.
me: Our luck she'll have a blow-out in the car seat.
B; We definitely should bring a change of clothes.
me: Got you beat! There's an extra outfit in the diaper bag and along w/her snowsuit on the hanger, I also put another outfit.
B: Nice!!
We both were so psyched that we thought ahead. Honestly, I think we may have even patted ourselves on our backs and high-fived. We had everything we thought we needed....or so we thought.
She slept most of the trip and the rest of the trip was a happy baby!
YES!
We pull into the parking lot and before we go into see Bry's dad, we decide to change Mo in the back of the car, as there's really no place to change her inside. (I should also set the stage that this is December in New Jersey, so it's a little chilly!) She seems fairly happy as I look into the window, but as soon as I open the door.
BAM! The smell of poo hits me!
The stew went through her and her diaper and her pants! Nothing on the car seat, THANK GOD! I attempt to change her but, crap (no pun intended) I can't take her pants off quick enough because today was the day we decided to try her in the new tie up WHITE shoes. Double crap, there's poo all over the onesie. Now I have to take off her coat AND sweater to get to the onesie! CRAP AGAIN, she's squirming and now there's poo all over her legs, and socks, and oops, the shoes..the white shoes! I don't even realize there's poo on my hand until Bry starts pointing at me as he hands me wipe after wipe. Our poor girl is crying, Bry is gagging (weakened by her stew poo) and I'm trying to clean up this mess!!!
Like I said before, Thank God we brought a change of clothes. After using all the wipes we had, she's finally dressed. We had extra of everything except socks and she looks darn cute.
We go in and hang out with Mo's grandpop and grandmom and she is AWESOME! She looks cute too!
We take an unexpected trip to Marshalls were we pick up some socks, a cute pair of boots for Mo, and some wrapping paper. We then hang out at Bry's mom's house for a little bit before bundling up and walking around Cape May.
All in all, we survived! Lesson learned: make sure to pack socks!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

A nickname is a nickname

It has recently come to my attention that my brother-in-law has told my mother-in-law that he won't call Moira, Mo. His reason- (paraphrased of course) is that when he thinks of Mo he does not think of her:

He instead thinks of him: This Moe Szyslak from the Simpsons. I think besides the obvious physical differences between my Mo and this Moe, they spell their names differently. Plus our Mo is real, while Moe is a cartoon!

It gets better, he also said he thinks of this Moe:

Again, physical similarities are huge. Moe is an actor, and his real name is Moses Horowitz. Doesn't sound like Moira, does it? Our gal is Mo not Moe.

I guess this little comment got to me for some reason. I love Moira's name, even though a lot of people have trouble pronoucing it correctly. (Not Maura, Not Mara, Not More-A, MOIRA, Like TOY.) Bry and I also found "Mo" as nickname to be adorable. We went to college with a Maureen who played soccer and went by Mo. We loved how easy it was to shout "GO MO!" when she was playing and thought that it would neat when Mo plays soccer or swims to shout out "GO MO!" to our own dear daughter.
Now Uncle Casey had to say this comment so I had to search. Are these the only Mo's he could think?

Mo Rocca- A comedian, usually you see him on VH1
Mo Gaffney- Another comedian
Mo Collins- Yet another comedian, she was (is) on Mad TV
Mo Cheeks- Former 76ers Head Coach
Mo Evans- A basketball player
Mo Peterson- Yet another basketball player
Mo Vaughan- Baseball Player and Seton Hall Alumni
Mo Williams- ANOTHER basketball player
So overall, I guess with a nickname like Mo, she is destined to either a career in comedy or basketball. Not too bad!


I must admit, I also searched the name: Moira besides finding Moira Kelly- Think either One Tree Hill or The Cutting Edge. I also found Moira Shearer a ballerina/actress who starred in the Red Shoes. I should tell you the day before Mo was born, this movie was on t.v. as was The Cutting Edge. I guess that was my "sign" that I was going to have a girl. I also found Moira Brown . She's actually a whale researcher. Not too shabby!
But I digress.
Back to the Mo debate- Moira is and will be Mo forever, or until she tells us otherwise, so Casey get used to it!

Friday, December 12, 2008

The Pitter Patter of Little Feet

December is not even halfway throughand it already has been a HUGE month for our dear Mo! Not only did her first tooth finally cut through... (I know the pic is a little crappy. It's the best I can do!) but Mo, our ever fearless daredevil has taken her first steps.

No, this is not a typo!

MO CAN WALK!

I have an 8 1/2 month old who has taken steps unassisted on numerous ocassions. I won't lie, at first I just attributed it to momentum or gravity. I just chalked it up to her cruising from point A to point B quickly, there's no way she can walk already. Seriously, how many babies do you know that walk this early? I bet there are a bunch of you reading this who are thinking "That Jackie is full of crap! There's no way an 8 1/2 month old walks!". I write this, because if someone told me their 8 1/2 month old was walking I'd think they were full of it but then she did this and I was able to get it on tape:




We are royally screwed!

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

8 Months!

Mo is 8 months old and cruising all over the place! Everyone seems to think she'll be walking soon, GULP! Here's her 8 month shot:!


She let me know when the photo shoot was over!



I then let her play a bit in our bedroom. Lucky for me I had the camera and this is what ensued...



Mo & her daddy surprised me with flowers yesterday for no reason other than a smile