Mommy...The Wanna be Photographer

From the very second we brought you home I knew that I did not want to miss one second of your life. Mommom and Poppop O'Hara bought Daddy and I a really cool camera for Christmas and I couldn't wait to try it out on your beautiful little face. Within four weeks I had two photo albums filled and I knew that i had to slow down on the snapping. I captured you sleeping...in the bassinet, the cradle, the swing, and the floor. I waited for you to smile and laugh and anything else that seemed worthy of a photo. Here are just a few of the priceless pictures of the beginning of your life...

December 30, 2009

New Year's Eve 2009

New Year's Day 2010

First bottle Daddy fed you.

You were such a little sweetie.

This is just a small taste of all the pictures Mommy took of you. I look so forward to the day when you are old enough to sit on my lap and flip through all the  many albums we have created for you. For now...we continue to enjoy capturing the memories.

Tubby Time!

On January 17, 2010 Daddy and I gave you your very first "real" bath. That was the day that your cord fell off completely. Looking at your face you don't look so happy, but truthfully you really enjoyed it. We had that adorable little whale tub which I picked out just for Daddy but it ended up not being my favorite.

We placed it on the kitchen sink which was not the warmest place in the house. For that reason bath-time was always cut pretty short. We used Johnson and Johnson baby wash on you in the very beginning and continued to use it mixed with some really cool Mustela. I still cant believe just how tiny you were.

As I write this you are almost 4 1/2 months old and so many times I tell Daddy that I cant remember you being any smaller then you are today. Looking back at these pictures it seems like a lifetime ago. Now...you fill that tub up with your pasty little body and love splashing around while inside of the real bath tub.

Daddy was never the best photographer, but I am so grateful that we were able to capture these precious moments. They are something that we will never be able to get back. You were and always will be our crazy little crab and we love you to the ends of the Earth. Tubby time is now a regular part of life for our family, but back when you were 4 weeks old it was a milestone. One day when you are a mommy yourself you will understand and hopefully you will appreciate looking back at these blessed moments.

Play Date!

You were only a couple of days old when you had your very first play date...

Your girlfriends Michaela Maria and Maya Grace came over to visit. The three of you are all so young but with the grace of God and the guidance from your Mommy's will grow up to be the very best of friends. This visit was the first of many shared moments and set the tone for how our future would look. Jen, Danielle, and I are all so lucky to have not only shared pregnancy, but the joy of having three beautiful and healthy little girls. Little did we know that there was about to be another little girl to join your pack.

Nicknames

Something that Mommy was always good at was assigning nicknames to people. Whether it be friends, family, or co-workers it was something that came naturally to me. I would meet someone and instantly have a new name picked out. Perhaps because I had so many nicknames as a kid. Some have stuck and others are ancient, none the less, they were me. The most popular of course is JR (Jeanette Ryan). Aunt Shannon always refers to me as "Bear" and your Great Aunt Kelly called me "Bee-Lee". As a young girl my friends called me "Jet" which was then changed into "Net" or "Nettie". As I got older and started to work at the restaurant I was instantly known as "Net Spag" which was then shortened to simply "Spag". After time my new name became "Jeanie" or as Larry would call me "Juice". Which ever name I was called, I always knew people were talking to me. Meeting you was no different. The second the doctor placed you on my belly and I looked down at you I (with out thinking) looked at you and said "Hi Peanut". It just came out and rolled off my tongue with ease. While staying in the hospital I even made up 2 songs for you. One was called "it's ok peanut" and the other "She's my little peanut". Since then it has totally stuck, you will forever be my little peanut. As time passed and we started to get to know you a little better everyone started to call you "Crab", because that is what you were. A little crab! You are so temperamental and so easily disturbed. If things aren't going your way you get real crabby! It was a cute nickname and Daddy and I started looking every where for clothes with crabs on them. It was not easy to find in the girl section, but we did locate one dress and you looked so cute!

Being named Reese also comes with the ever so cute name "Reesey Cup". The Reilly's started calling you that right from the beginning and your Godfather (Uncle Ron) shortened it to simply "Cuppy". Just like your Momma, you already have so many adorable pet names and I know that are already getting used to each and every one!

No matter what we call you, you will always be our little peanut and we love you so very much! I am confident that this is only the beginning of the many nicknames that are coming your way!

First Nights...

Mommy was required to stay in the hospital for the next two nights and Daddy stayed there with us the entire time. He slept on a hard leather chair for both nights and was in no way comfortable. It was so surreal to both of us that you were now here. The responsibility that came along with you was overwhelming. Right from the very beginning you just wanted to be cuddled. You were not a huge fan of just laying around in the little plastic crib and cried quite a bit. You were your happiest when Mommy or Daddy was holding you.

Because we were in the hospital and you were so new to the world, it was standard procedure to keep you swaddled tight in two receiving blankets at all times. Little did we know at the time how much you loved it! You were so cute and tiny and had the cutest little button nose. You made the cutest little faces right from the start, especially when you were nursing. It was easy to fall in love with you. Abington Hospital had such a wonderful nursing staff in their nursery so Daddy and I tried to take advantage of them during the late hours. We would send in around 11 and they nurses would bring you back when it was time for you to eat again. On the second night they brought you back and told Daddy and I that you would not stop crying and that it was because you really just wanted to be snuggled. The nurse told me that she held you for about an hour but that she couldn't anymore. We knew right then and there that you were high maintenance. We took turns holding and rocking you and we were flooded with visitors who all wanted a turn to hold our little crab.

Mommom and Moppy

After two days in the hospital they finally cleared both me and you to go home and we were so so excited. We could not wait to start our lives and introduce you Jack and Toby. Mommy had a special outfit ready for your first day home and your first car ride.

Clearly it was a little too big!

Mommy sat in the back seat with you and on that beautiful and sunny, yet freezing cold day, we drove you home. It was all finally happening. We could not wait to get you home!

Once we got there we were only home a short while before we were once again bombarded with visitors. All of Mommy's sisters and their husbands came over along with all of your cousins with the exception of Jackson because he was real sick. They brought over all of our Christmas gifts and we had our own little Christmas morning. Everyone loved you and wanted to hold you and you were soooo good. You never cried and went for about 5 hours before you even wanted to eat.

Uncle Chris

The Browns

You have such a huge family already and it is growing more and more. You have no idea yet how lucky you are, but one day you will have so many great friends in your cousins and you will know just how blessed you are. This was just the beginning.

Back Tracking....

Just to back track a tad and mention a couple of more things that happened while mommy was pregnant with you. On November 7, 2009 our family tried to surprise me with a baby shower. It was held at the Brick Hotel in Newtown. It was thrown by both of your Mommoms, and all of your aunts. They really tried to surprise me but it did not work so well (but I pretended). All of Mommy's friends and family were there to celebrate and I got tons and tons of really cool stuff for you.

This was Daddy's blanket when he was a little boy and it was made by your Great-Grandmother Barber.

We had so much fun and it was a wonderful day. I truley could not have been happier.

When Mommy was 34 weeks pregnant we met with Sarah DiCicco at The Valley Forge park for a maternity photo shoot. It was the middle of November and it happened to be a freezing cold day. It was about 35 degress and raining but I really did not want to cancel. We did tons of poses and some even included Mommy being wrapped in nothing but a small piece of linen. I tried to be a trooper for the sake of the pictures, but I think you can see my nose actually run in a few of them. They turned out just breath taking and I will have them forever!

What beautiful pictures. I am so lucky.

The Arrival

I started my maternity leave early and stoppped working when I was 38 weeks pregnant. I sat around the house every day just waiting for some sign of labor. Some days I went shopping and others just cleaning. Daddy had got you nursery all ready with lots of hard work and he repainted the most of the house. We were sooooo ready for you to come home.

Once the house was all ready is was just a matter of waiting. My due date came and went and the doctor scheduled me to be induced on December 29th. I was glad that you would be born before the new year, but I was still so worried that you would be born on Christmas. On Christmas Eve Mommy got all dressed and ready for church. I was not feeling good all night, it was almost as if I had no more room for you in my belly. Church was nice but I was so uncomfortable the entire time. Afterwards we went to Ria's like always and I was miserable. I wanted nothing to do with anyone and I could not wait to get home.

Once at home and sound asleep, I awoke at 4 am to use the bathroom and started with contractions right away. I was not sure at first that it was really contraction because they just felt like cramps. But I knew for sure when 4 minutes later the exact same pain came back and it lasted for about 30 seconds. This pattern continued and just got more frequent and more painful. I tried to ride out the pain but it was too hard, and on top of everything...it was Christmas morning. I was worried about waking the doctors and it was still dark out....I was so excited but so sad at the same time. Daddy and I came downstairs around 6 and opened our presents to each other but it was so hard because I was having contractions every 4 minutes that lasted 60 seconds each. We finally called the doctor around 7, Mommy took a shower, and we headed to Mommom and Poppop's house with Jack and Toby.

Everyone thought I was joking when I said that we were headed to the hospital but the pain on my face gave it away. They all wished us luck and we headed off to celebrate Christmas at Abington Hospital.

While in the elevator my water broke and were able to admitted right away. I was so happy that you were finally going to arrive! When we got there Mommy was only 1 cm dialated so I was not allowed any pain medicine. Dr. Carapalotti came in and told me he would be back later to deliver you and to try and stay comfy. Daddy put "A Christmas Story" marathon on tv and we just waited. Finally around 10:30 I couldnt take the pain and asked for medicine. I was already 3 cm and they gave me the epidural. After that it was smooth sailing! I did not feel a thing. It was great!! Arounf 3 o'clock they checked me again and I was 6 cm. They started me on pitocin so that you would be born sooner and the next thing I knew I was 9 cm and they told me to get ready to push. At 5:20 I started to push and was surprised at how much I did NOT feel. I pushed with the help off Daddy and the nurse Linda who was awesome! The doctor came in to check on us and said that I was doing great and told Daddy and I that he could see your hair. That was the moment when everything changed. For the first time in 9 months I was able to picture you...or something about you. I can never replace the way I felt at that very moment. You were real. You were not just in my belly, but a real little person. It was the most amazing and surreal sentance I had ever heard..."I can see some hair". Now I was so eager to get you out. I pushed and pushed, and at 6:59 pm on Friday December 25, 2009 Dr. Carapalotti pulled you out and placed you in my arms and said.."It's a, it's a, it's a GIRL!" I could not believe that you were a girl and that you were here. I remember you were so clean...not like they show you in the books. You were perfect in every way. And you were all mine. 7 lbs 7 oz and 20.5 inches long. You had just a little bit of fuzzy light brown hair and boy did you have some lungs!

This was the moment I fell in love with you.

Daddy and his little girl.

Mommom and Poppop Barber and Aunt Rachel were there first. Then came Mommom and Poppop O'Hara with Aunt Kristin. Everyone loved you and loved your name. We were all so happy! I was relieved that the anticipation was over and I was so looking forward to getting to know you and our first night together as a family.