Is it Spring Yet?

Ok, so I know I can't complain too much. I have been watching the weather channel and realize that the north has been absolutely pummeled with snow this winter, but I must say I'm OVER the cold! I mean, I live in the deep south for a reason and it has nothing to do with below freezing temperatures! Two weeks ago we had what I like to refer to as a 'good snow'. Growing up in Georgia, I've come to realize that 'good snows' are far and few between...mostly we get slushy ice. This time it was the pretty, fluffy stuff that even was conducive to snowball making. And while it was fun for about an hour, I was ready for the sunshine to come back. Yeah, that didn't happen. We actually had snow on the ground for almost a week (Aunt Brenda, stop laughing at me). Ugghhh. I did get some pretty cute shots of the kids though...

Lou

As some of you all may know, we had to take our dog Louey in for surgery to repair a torn ACL in his knee. He is our Boxer/Bulldog mix who is 4 years old. He went in on Friday 1/29 and stayed the night at the vet's office. After a week of pain meds, he seems to be doing just fine. He's already putting weight on the leg and isn't chewing at the bandages at all (we were concerned about that!). The hardest part has been keeping him in his cage. He has to stay in his cage all day except for potty breaks and to eat. For a dog who is used to playing and sleeping on our bed, it has been quite an adjustment. For us all! Here is Lou with his soft cast... And here is a picture Cameryn drew of Louey - note the black bandaged leg :)

Stomach Bugs, Bug Bites & Chicken Nuggets

It was a rough weekend to say the least. The stomach virus hit the Nardello household in FULL EFFECT. Reid was sick Thursday night, Cameryn and I were sick Saturday night and Jimmy was sick yesterday. No fun at all! On Friday morning Lou had surgery on his right knee to repair damage done to his ACL. He is on his way to a full recovery, but it is going to be a SLOW process. He has to stay in his crate for 60 (yes, SIXTY) days, only coming out for potty breaks and to eat. Uggghhh. Poor thing; as if he didn't have enough issues already :-) On a funnier note, last night Cameryn (once again) had me in stitches. Here is how our conversation went: Me: Cameryn why do you keep scratching your leg? Cameryn: Because I have a bump on it...look! Me: (Afer examining) I don't see anything...maybe it's just a bug bite. Cameryn: Ummm, no, I think it means I'm getting the chicken nuggets. I REALLY need to start writing these things down!

Cameryn and Reid Playing

Cameryn and Reid Playing, originally uploaded by Sharice88.

They just get along so well :-)

Mr. Giggles

No one can make Reid giggle quite like his big sister! Mon, 25 Jan, originally uploaded by Sharice88.

Gymnastics (Day 1)

Here is a short video clip of Cameryn's first day in gymnastics (Tumble Tykes). It was taken this past Saturday (1/23). The class was 45 minutes long and it was at the same gym that I took gymnastics 15-20 years ago! There were about 6 other 3 year olds in the group and they worked on everything from forward rolls (as seen below), to uneven bars, to the trampoline. I have never seen her more focused on anything...she definitely enjoyed this WAY more than soccer! We go again this coming Saturday and I don't know who is more excited...me or Cameryn :-)

Christmas Pics

This year, we spent Christmas in Brunswick (at my sister-in-law Janine's home). Because my parents live in Snellville and Jimmy's are in Boca Raton, FL, we switch off holidays each year. It works out well for everyone that way! Anyway, Christmas morning was so much fun. Cameryn really understood the excitement of presents/Santa this year and was a joy to watch. Reid was still too young to care about much of anything other than the wrapping paper, but that was o.k. too. I (of course) managed to leave my camera at home, so no pics from Christmas day. We did take video, but I haven't figured out how to transfer the video from our camcorder to my computer. The pics below are from "Christmas" with my parents, Chris, Tina and Owen. We actually celebrated and opened presents about two weeks into January, but that was just fine. We all had a wonderful time and as you can see by the pics, Reid REALLY enjoyed his new Tonka truck :-) Cameryn received a leotard, tutu and ballet slippers from Mimi and Grampy and was surprised to find out she was starting gymnastics too! Should be fun!

Halloween 2009

For the fourth year in a row, we spent Halloween over at my brother and sister-in-laws home. As many of you know, we are far and away the youngest family in our neighborhood; its a gorgeous place to live, but its not so great for trick-or-treating! Chris, Tina and Owen's neighborhood on the other hand is slam packed with young ones. Cameryn decided to be a Butterfly Princess (again). It was a bit too cold for Reid to go out, so he was designated as the door greeter with Mimi & Grampy :-) I did put his cousin's Yoda head piece on though - just for pictures! Enjoy...

Pictures

Just a sneak peek at some of the professional pics we had done of Cameryn & Reid this past weekend...they are so darned cute!

Reid is Walking!!!

Reid took his first two steps Friday night and it was no stopping him after that! He continued to toddle around all day Saturday and even surprised us by dribbling Cameryn's little pink soccer ball around. It's just amazing to us that he moved from crawling to full blown walking in two months...what a little overachiever :-)

Reid's Creative Side

Reid had a BLAST last week 'painting' at daycare! He and two other babies were present on this particular day and apparently he was the only one who jumped right on in. From these pics you can just imagine what he looks like after eating spaghetti for dinner :-)

I'm Back!

After a 4 week hiatus, I'm baaack! I know, you can hardly contain yourselves ;-) So, to catch you all up quickly, here is what has transpired with the Nardello's over the last month.

• Reid turned ONE July 10th!!! It was emotional in so many ways, but we are so proud that our baby boy is so healthy and happy! He weighs 18 1/2 pounds and has finally made it onto the full term baby growth chart for weight (5%) and head size (50%!). Still quite a bit shorter than the average 12 mo. old...I know, SHOCKING! He's also walking as long as he is holding onto something. We are making the transition from bottle to sippy cup and are also beginning to introduce whole milk! Such a big boy :-)
• We went to NY for a wedding and spent a nice long week with family. I certainly have learned however that vaca with two little ones is NOT very relaxing! A side note about this...on the way home we decided to fly standby...not the best idea. We called ahead and were assured that there were 15+ seats available on the noon flight, so we headed down two hours early and checked Reid's car seat (bad idea). Needless to say we did not get out on the noon flight and the next flight out was delayed until almost 4pm. Trying to entertain a 1 year old and a 3 year old for 5+ hours is not my idea of fun. Anyway, they had 2 seats available on the 4pm flight, so I decided I could channel my inner wonder woman and fly BY MYSELF with both kids. Really they were both very good on the plane (except Cameryn fell asleep and peed all over her seat cushion...nice.) and Jimmy made it to Atlanta on the next flight shortly after us. WHEW!
• This coming Saturday Jimmy and I are attending my 10 year high school reunion - I'm very excited to see some old friends!

A Precious Gift

For the better part of this difficult and emotional year I have felt a particular pain when I think about how the boys never spent time together in the 'outside world.' After my emergency c-section they were whisked away and put in separate incubators, Reid on C-PAP and Jameson on a ventilator. I can't tell you how many times I've wished that I could have just had ONE picture of the boys side by side. Unfortunately that has been an impossibility...until now.

My dear friend Aja has given me a such a precious gift. She is an incredibly talented artist and offered to draw a portrait of the boys together. I sent her what few pictures of Jameson I had along with a few pictures of Reid. This portrait came in the mail today. I am literally crying as I write this blog...tears of joy to finally have a picture of the boys together...tears of sadness for what I wish could have been and ultimately tears of gratitude for this amazing friend of mine. She has been such a huge part of my support system over the last year and words can never express my gratitude to her.

Aja, thank you so much - this picture will forever have a special place in our home and in our hearts.

One Year Ago Today

I've learned that as strong and positive as I try to be, some days I'm still just going to feel broken... For the past month or so, I've felt a dark cloud approaching. I know that I should be elated that Reid has done SO well, and I truly am thankful for that, but I'm just not looking forward to his first birthday. I'm scared because I don't think I'll be 100% happy like I should be. It's back to the roller coaster of emotions for me...facing the one year 'anniversary' of the life of Reid and death of Jameson terrifies me. I can't tell you how many nights I've laid in bed thinking about my three children. I can't help but play the 'what if' game and I wonder if it will always be so. Bottom line is that I love my children with all of my heart. Reid and Cameryn feel that love each and every day. I think in a different way, Jameson feels that love too. *************************************** One year ago today, I was five months pregnant. One year ago today, I was given news that terrified me. One year ago today, my world started crumbling. One year ago today, I began a 22 day bed rest regimen. One year ago today, I looked into the eye's of loved ones and saw fear. One year ago today, I cried for hours - I've only cried harder once. One year ago today, my priorities shifted and the small inconsequential things stopped mattering. One year ago today, I still had a ray of hope for the possibility of Jameson's life. One year ago today, I began a LONG journey that has made me a stronger person inside and out. I sure have come a long way from where I was....one year ago today.

The Next Soccer Star!

We signed Cameryn up for an instructional soccer camp a few weeks ago. Yesterday was the first session and Cameryn was SO excited! She did ask if she could wear a dress...we compromised and she wore a pink shirt with pink socks (pulled up, of course!) and brought her own shiny pink size 3 ball. The video below is Cameryn and Jimmy "warming up" before the session started. She's got a little bit of work to do, but hey, it was her first try :-)

And another video of her dribbling with 'little touches'...well more like pushing the ball :-)

She really had a lot of fun. We've got some major work ahead of us in teaching her things like locking her ankle when she kicks the ball and NOT using her hands all the time! Well, unless she wants to be a goalie :-) She has had no training at all and suprisingly was very good at dribbling and it's apparant that she will be very fast too.

Here are a couple of still shots from the afternoon...

And then we finished off the afternoon with a nice swim in Owen's neighborhood pool...can't wait to do it all again next Sunday!

Rub a dub dub...

...two munchkins in a tub! My friend CB blogged about the success she had giving her two little girls a combo bath and I thought I'd give it a shot too -what a blast they had together! Reid tried his best to crawl out of his baby tub and laughed at Cameryn's silly antics the whole time. Cameryn just loved having her 'Baby Reid' in the bath with her too :-) Here are a few pics. Oh, side note...those are not bruises on Cameryn's eyes and face. She got into my makeup back and decided to doll herself up.

Pics from Cameryn's 3rd Birthday (Link to Snapfish)

Amanda really took some wonderful pics at Cameryn's 3rd birthday bash...thanks my friend - you're the best! So glad we finally were able to meet Miss Addison :-) http://www2.snapfish.com/fbshareredirect/p=58231244052237958/l=1787404009/g=37380514/redirectURL=share/otsi=SALBBL/AlbumID=943800009/a=37380514_43493495/usercomments=I_xqd%20like%20to%20share%20my%20Snapfish%20photos%20with%20you.%20Once%20you%20have%20checked%20out%20my%20photos%20you%20can%20order%20prints%20and%20upload%20your%20own%20photos%20to%20share./counttext=62%20photos/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish

Happy Birthday, my Princess!

Seems impossible...I can't believe Cameryn is 3 years old today! I swear it feels like these years have flown by. From the moment I found out I was pregnant with Cameryn, other 'veteran' parents have been telling me to enjoy my babies while they are small, because they grow up so fast. I'm realizing just how true this is...on one hand it makes me sad to realize I'll never get this time with her back. On the other hand, it is so exciting to see her grow into this amazing little person. She really is something else - I couldn't have asked for a more loving and beautiful daughter! Here are just a few pics of Cameryn through the years....