Is it a coincidence that Ethan entered into the Yellow Jacket family the same year that Paul Johnson did? I think not. Ethan kept saying “To hell with georgia” just like his daddy. Go Jackets!!
The video James doesn’t want you to see Saturday, Nov 29 2008
Uncategorized 3:51 pm
The point of this video is seeing Ethan laughing, but the best part is seeing James acting like an idiot 
Happy Thanksgiving y’all!! Friday, Nov 28 2008
Uncategorized Thanksgiving 12:45 am
Happy Thanksgiving y'all!
Tonight I blog with a full tummy and a simultaneously happy and troubled heart. By now we have all heard about the terrorist attacks which still continue to shake India. We don’t normally watch a lot of CNN, but it has been on over this holiday and we have seen the scary footage. My heart and thoughts go out to the many people affected by these senseless attacks…..I will never understand the killing of innocent people in the name of a belief system, or really killing people at all. Anyway, I don’t mean to start this post on a down note, but it makes me sad for those people who are suffering today and it feels wrong to just post about all the wonderful things we have experienced the past few days without recognizing their pain.
But, the past few days have been truly wonderful!! James’ dad and stepmom, Gian and Carmen, flew up to NJ to be with us on Thanksgiving. They arrived on Tuesday and we went out for dinner. Ethan was still getting over a cold so he was not as sweet and well-behaved as he usually was, but that was ok. Yesterday we mostly hung out. Carmen, Ethan and I went grocery shopping and prepared for Thanksgiving. James and Gian made a grand Home Depot run and prepared for all the projects they HOPE to complete tomorrow. We’ll see what gets done!
Ethan, Nonno Gian and Mimi Carmen
Today was a wonderful day, we got a bit of a late start but eventually we got going and made a delicious meal!! Carmen took care of Ethan while we cooked our wonderful meal.
Carmen and Ethan
Ethan is getting more and more smiley, he has started laughing and giggling a lot and just in the past day or so has realized he can reach out and grab things, though he doesn’t quite know what to do with it once he’s got it.
Happy Thanksgiving!
We had Pancetta-Sage Turkey with a pancetta sage gravy, caramellized onion and sage mashed potatoes, sweet potato souffle, green beans, pumpkin chiffon pie and some delicious wine! Everything turned out beautifully!
Ethan wants to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving, so here he is telling everyone what he is thankful for….
More pics can be found here.
While these past few days have been as wonderful as we could imagine, we really miss our other family and friends today and hope that all of you are having a great celebration with your loved ones. We all have SO MUCH to be thankful for – don’t take it for granted for a minute. Love to all of you!
Some fun videos of Ethan Monday, Nov 24 2008
Finally getting around to uploading some recent videos of Ethan. The first is Ethan talking and smiling during tummy time. The second is James singing his made up “Italian song” to introduce Ethan to all his relatives. The third is Ethan laughing out loud on the changing table – the laugh is right at the beginning of the video.
Enjoy!
Settling into our new home Saturday, Nov 15 2008
Baby and New Jersey 10:43 pm
“How’s the new house?” “Are you getting settled in?” “How is New Jersey?” I apologize to everyone for falling off the face of the earth after we flew up here. 1) I didn’t have internet access and as you all know, email and facebook are pretty much my lifeline and 2) We were so busy that I literally didn’t call ANYONE for over a week because it was just nonstop and we were exhausted at the end of every day that picking up the phone just wasn’t an option.
So – how are things going you ask?? Well at this point we have the rooms on the main level and top floor at a reasonable state, as in they are useable, even if we still have a few boxes hanging around. The basement is another story, but all in all I think we are settling in well considering we have a small infant at home.
New Jersey has, so far, been great. Everyone we have met has been very friendly. The weather hasn’t been bad – a few chilly days and several rainy days but nothing unmanageable. It is very very flat here which is strange coming from Atlanta and there is always a nice wind whipping about. It feels like you are at the beach a lot of the time (the wind that is) and I remind myself that we are only about 15-20 away from the ocean, which is pretty cool.
Ethan has been basically unfazed by the entire move. The only noticeable difference is that he WAS sleeping through the night and day 2 or 3 after moving into our house he started waking up around 4AM again but it hasn’t been too bad so I can’t complain. Other than waking up again he has, as always, been very very good….letting me put him down for a good bit of the day to get things done and just making me laugh constantly and keeping things in perspective.
James has been working very hard at his new job, now that he can finally be there Monday – Friday, no traveling. I have been settling into my new life as a stay at home mom. When we were in Atlanta my mom helped me out nearly every day so it has been an adjustment, but not a bad one.
Now that things are at a reasonable state in our home I have been reaching out to new friends and joining some mommy and me groups, hoping to make some new friends in our new home. I also found a community theater nearby and am thinking about auditioning for a play though I’m certainly not expecting to get cast, its been so long.
Ethan has gotten very good at holding his head up, smiles and talks all the time, has started laughing and giggling, has rolled over (stomach to back) a couple of times and is just starting to realize that he can reach out and grab things. Every day with him is something new and is so much fun.
So I know you want to see recent Ethan pics, so I’ve posted several below. If you want to see all of the latest pics, click here. I added the rest of Ethan’s month 3 pics into the 3 month album and started his month 4 album.
First night in our new home
A celebratory bottle of wine for James and I, and bottle of milk for Ethan
Ethan gets a bath in the sink
He's a pro at holding his head up now!
Playtime with mommy
Look at all the handsome men in my life
Happy Halloween!! Saturday, Nov 15 2008
Baby 2:05 pm
I wanted to be a cowboy
Well neither James or I got it together to dress up for Halloween this year, but we didn’t exactly have anywhere to go either. I did manage to find some of our Halloween decorations, including my witch which I hang on the door that James desperately tried to “accidentally” leave behind. My dad carried it on the plane so it arrived just in time.
Of course, Halloween this year was a bit different than past years for 2 reasons: 1) We had LOTS of trick or treaters! We found out from a local that our neighborhood is known as “Tangletown” and is a great neighborhood for families. The second reason it was different was because of course we had our own little trick or treater in the house, though he’s a bit young to go out – but he did get in costume as a cute little pumpkin! I think he was far cuter than the pumpkin we got at the store.
My fists taste better than candied apples!
My costume doesn't fit.
So cute its scary!!!
Grandma Carly loves pumpkins!
A big day for the Rossi family Saturday, Nov 15 2008
Baby and New Jersey 12:46 pm
October 30 was an eventful and important day in the Rossi family. First, we were moving into our new home in New Jersey. Second, Ethan turned 3 months old. And third, James and I celebrated being married for 4 years. It really is amazing to look back over the past year and see how much has changed for us. Last year’s anniversary was marred by a devastating event for James and I. However, the next few months brought about many big life changes: James graduated from college and was offered a promotion – at the price of moving to New Jersey. We found out we were pregnant with Ethan. We sold our house. We moved into my parents house. I turned 30. We bought a new house. We had a baby. We moved to New Jersey. That is a LOT to process and all in one year. And yet, here we are on the other side of all this change….older, maybe sporting some new wrinkles, but none the worse for wear. I think the best way to show how we feel is this pic of Ethan on his 3 month birthday:
Sometimes you just gotta grin and bear it!
The airplane adventure Saturday, Nov 15 2008
Baby and New Jersey traveling with babies, traveling with cats 11:13 am
aka, why you should never attempt to give a cat a pill in an airplane lavatory.
On Wednesday I arrived with Ethan, our other cat Jambo, and my mom in tow. I have to say I was a little concerned about traveling with a baby, a cat, a stroller, a carseat, 2 huge bags and a carryon given today’s traveling conditions. Thankfully my mom was there to help! However, the trip was not without incident.
After reading online about traveling with babies and cats, I knew to have a bottle available to feed Ethan during takeoff and landing to prevent his ears from popping (and, I feared, lots of screaming.) I also read that flying is stressful for cats and they recommend getting a tranquilizer from the vet to help keep them sedated. Check and check. Somehow we made it through security (did you know you have to take the pet OUT of the carrier and walk them through security? Well I didn’t. I think we made quite the sight lugging the baby, all the baby gear and a heavily sedated cat through security….) We make it to the gate in good time and….the flight is CANCELLED, supposedly due to the rogue storm that had passed through NJ the day before. Ugh. So we are scheduled on the next one, 2 hours later. No big deal really, except….the cat’s tranquilizer is wearing off. Her meows get louder and more frequent and she starts to throw herself repeatedly against the sides of the carrier. I call the vet and get permission to give her half of another pill, but it is a capsule, not a pill, so I have to open it up and empty out some of the powder. While all this is happening I’m nursing Ethan in the waiting area and all of a sudden they start boarding the plane. And I never had time to give Jambo the rest of the tranquilizer. Oh well, we get on the plane, take off (Ethan does beautifully, drinks his bottle and falls asleep, not a peep!).
All of a sudden a foul smell hits my nose and I suspect its coming from Jambo’s carrier….”Great,” I think, she has pooped in her carrier and it will stink up the entire plane unless I clean it up. So we traipse back to the airplane lavatory where I let her out and peer into her carrier. The good news was, no poo. I watch her as she explores the bathroom and decide, well, she’s already out, I might as well give her this pill. Famous last words…..
So, if you have ever given a cat a pill you know its a challenge anyway, typically best done with at least 2 people and not in a box about 3 ft across and 6 ft high, 15,000 ft in the air. Ooops. So I grab her and stuff the pill down her throat and hold her mouth closed for a minute until I think she has swallowed. Then, I check and I see the capsule is SPEARED on her big canine tooth. “Well, THAT won’t do” I think and I reach my hand into her mouth to remove the pill from her tooth and….of course….she sinks her teeth DEEP into my finger. Both canines puncture my forefinger like a snake bite. Blood starts POURING out everywhere. Its on the floor, the toilet, the mirror, the cat, me. Jambo is now throwing herself against the mirror in the bathroom thinking its a ledge she can jump on. I’m trying to grab toilet paper to stop the bleeding and grab her and stuff her back into the carrier. Once I achieve that I wrap up my finger tightly and wash it and clean up the bloody scene in the lavatory so the stewardesses don’t think I tried to ritualistically sacrifice my cat to the gods in the bathroom.
I get back to my seat where my mom is innocently sitting with Ethan and say, “Um Mom, the cat bit me and I think I need stitches.” Luckily I was wrong there and the bleeding finally slowed down, but needless to say it was quite the adventure.
The great move Saturday, Nov 15 2008
Family and New Jersey 11:12 am
OK, since I’m several weeks behind I’m just going to write several posts, hopefully in chronological order that will get you up to date on our lives. We left off when the movers had packed all of things and they were on the way to New Jersey. James, his dad, and one of our cats, Henry (the black and white tuxedo cat) drove our other car up that Sunday. James and his dad were hoping to complete refinishing our floors as well as do some painting before the movers arrived with our stuff. They had told us it would be delivered on Monday, so James and Gian didn’t think they would get a lot done, but our stuff came on Wednesday instead so they got a good bit done. However, as always happens with these things, on Tuesday there was a rogue storm in the Northeast that dumped about 6 inches of SNOW and revealed a leak in our roof that caused a small part of our living room ceiling to cave in!! Luckily since our things weren’t here yet, there was no major damage and we got the roof fixed quickly. We are still working on getting the ceiling patched up though.
James and Gian prep the guest room for painting
When we (Ethan, my mom, Jambo (our cat) and I) arrived I have to say it was a little daunting. Gian and James were still working on refinishing the floors in the master bedroom and the dining room. We still had to do a ton of painting. Our life was in about a million boxes stacked in the middle of each room. But, we all dove in and got to work. My dad flew up on Thursday to join the fun.
Our life stuffed in boxes in the middle of the living room
Mom cleaning the grime from the previous owners before we add our grime to the mix
Dad up to his nose in paint
Ethan was a rock star through this entire thing. He napped a lot and spent a lot of time in his new-to-him baby papasan (Thanks to cousin Will for passing it onto Ethan!) watching everyone run around and get the house in order.
Ethan supervises as we put the kitchen together
As the weekend passed and we got closer and closer to Gian and my dad leaving I was a little nervous, but we got a REMARKABLE amount of work done by Sunday. The floors that James and Gian did turned out BEAUTIFULLY.
Newly refinished floors
The living room, hallway, guest room and Ethan’s room all were painted and various other things were done – scrubbing doorknobs, arranging the kitchen, assembling and placing furniture. By the time we dropped off my dad and James’ dad at the airport on Sunday our major living areas were in reasonable order. My mom stayed with us through Thursday and helped me watch Ethan, keep laundry going, scrubbed places that I wouldn’t even touch.
To say that we are appreciative is the understatement of the year. Our parents are AMAZING. The support they provided to us: physical, emotional, monetary is simply without measure and there just aren’t the right words in the English language for us to express how deeply appreciative for everything they did for us. We really and truly could not have made it through all this without them. At least not without a serious nervous breakdown or two. For me, as a new mom, seeing what our parents did, and continue to do, for us inspires me to be a better parent to Ethan and reminds me of all they have done for us during our lives. I aspire to be as wonderful of a parent to Ethan and any future children as James and we have been lucky enough to have.
The anticipation is building I know….. Friday, Nov 14 2008
Uncategorized 9:30 pm
That’s right folks….I have internet access again. Lots of pics and updates will be coming this weekend so stay tuned!!
